Plant-Based Foods Beneficial for Kidney Health
Plant-Based Foods Beneficial for Kidney Health
Huang Jingxiang
Job's tears (Coix seed)
Seed of the grass family plant Coix lacryma-jobi. Also known as white millet, common millet, sorghum, or hard millet.
Used to treat spleen-stomach deficiency-heat, nausea, vomiting, diabetes, diarrhea.
Usage: Cook into porridge.
Contraindications: Do not take with apricot kernels—may cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Lotus seed
Seed of the aquatic plant Nelumbo nucifera (Nymphaeaceae family). Ancient names include lotus fruit (Lian Shi), water gem (Shui Zhi Dan), lotus seed, lotus meat, Xianglian, Jianlian, Bai Lian, and Shi Lian.
Used to treat frequent dreams, spermatorrhea, turbid urine, chronic dysentery, weak diarrhea, and abnormal uterine bleeding or leukorrhea. Stone lotus seeds also stop vomiting and stimulate appetite, commonly used for “fasting diarrhea” (inappetence due to illness).
Notes and contraindications:① Choose high-quality lotus seeds—large, plump, smooth, and uniform in size are best. ② Avoid use during initial stages of external pathogenic invasion, constipation, malaria, or malnutrition.
Formulas and Usage
① Lotus Seed and Yam Porridge: 40 grams of lotus seed meat (remove inner germ), 20 grams of yam, 10 grams of chicken gizzard lining, and appropriate glutinous rice. Wash rice, place in a clay pot, add water. Wash lotus seeds and yam, combine with chicken gizzard lining, and boil together. Once cooked, add sugar to taste and consume. Treats diarrhea and poor appetite due to spleen deficiency. Lotus seeds and yam strengthen spleen and Qi; combined, they enhance spleen digestion. Chicken gizzard lining aids digestion. Glutinous rice warms and strengthens the spleen. Together, they fortify the spleen, stop diarrhea, and improve appetite.
② Lotus Seed and Tremella Soup: 15–25 grams of lotus seeds, 12–15 grams of euryale seeds, 6–9 grams of tremella, 15 grams of yam, one egg, and appropriate rock sugar. First, decoct lotus seeds, euryale seeds, and yam in water. Then add tremella. When lotus and euryale seeds are cooked, break the egg into the pot (stir with chopsticks), add sugar, and consume. Treats spermatorrhea due to kidney yin deficiency. Lotus seeds and euryale seeds tonify deficiency and solidify essence. Tremella moistens lungs and spleen, and also nourishes the kidneys. Egg nourishes and strengthens the body, enhancing spleen and kidney Qi. Combined, they effectively tonify Qi and Yin and stop spermatorrhea.