The humid "回南天" (southernly damp weather) has arrived! Not only is it hard to dry laundry, but your body can also feel trapped by dampness, making you feel lazy, lethargic in your limbs, and downcast – lacking motivation for anything. Chinese Medicine practitioners recommend several effective soups and teas that strengthen the spleen and resolve dampness. Drinking them in moderation can help the body expel dampness, improve fatigue, awaken your mind and body, and kick "spring fatigue."
Why does the body easily feel tired and the mood become gloomy in spring? Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner Dr. Leung Wan-sin explains that a damp body is influenced by various internal and external factors. These include "external dampness" like humid weather, prolonged time in air-conditioned environments, walking in the rain, and not drying hair after washing. "Internal dampness" comes from loving raw and cold foods, heavy flavors or chewy-textured foods, consuming excessive Yin-nourishing ingredients, and alcohol addiction. When dampness stagnates in the body, it easily causes lethargy. Even after waking naturally, the body feels as tired as if it hadn't slept. Dampness also affects the entire body from head to toe, causing symptoms like dizziness, heavy head, excessive phlegm, bad breath, oily skin, poor complexion, bloating, poor appetite, loose stools, increased vaginal discharge in women, and edema.
Nutritionist Wang Ching-wai adds that "spring fatigue" is actually a normal physiological phenomenon accompanying climate change. As the weather warms, metabolism accelerates, and the rate of oxygen consumption also increases, leading to insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. To adapt to this sudden change, the brain suppresses excitability, making people feel lethargic. Most people might find it harder to get up in the morning, experience mental fog, and feel weak. However, the fluctuating temperatures (warm then cold) can also easily raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of stroke. Cardiovascular patients need to pay special attention to their condition.
Chinese Medicine Recommends 9 Soups and Teas: Strengthen Spleen, Resolve Dampness, Relieve Spring Fatigue
What soups can help alleviate "spring fatigue"? Below is a compilation of multiple spring soups and teas recommended by Chinese Medicine practitioners. They combine effects like strengthening the spleen, removing dampness, and soothing the liver, helping to improve edema and restore vitality.
1. Codonopsis (Dangshen) and Poria (Fuling) Lean Meat Soup
- Efficacy: Strengthens spleen, resolves dampness, clears heat, detoxifies, relaxes muscles and stimulates collateral meridians.
- Ingredients: 100g lean meat, 30g Radix Fici Hirtae (Wuzhimaotao), 30g Codonopsis root (Dangshen), 24g White Atractylodes (Baizhu), 24g Poria (Fuling).
- Method: Blanch the lean meat. Add all ingredients with water and cook for 1-2 hours.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for individuals with spleen deficiency, Qi deficiency, and heavy dampness, especially those with allergic rhinitis, headaches, and limb fatigue. Pregnant women or those with severe damp-heat should use under the guidance of a Chinese Medicine practitioner.
2. Jade Windscreen Powder Soup (Yupingfeng San)
- Efficacy: Strengthens spleen, supplements Qi.
- Ingredients: 250g lean meat, 30g Astragalus (Huangqi), 20g White Atractylodes (Baizhu), 20g Saposhnikovia (Fangfeng), 2 red dates (honey dates), 2 slices ginger.
- Method: Wash ingredients. Blanch the pork. Add all ingredients to 4L water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for the whole family.
3. Chinese Yam (Shanyao), Poria (Fuling), and Barley (Yimi) Soup
- Efficacy: Strengthens spleen, removes dampness, promotes diuresis, reduces edema.
- Ingredients: 30g Chinese Yam, 20g Poria, 30g Barley (Coix seed), 1 section Dried Tangerine Peel (Chenpi), 300g lean meat.
- Method: Blanch the lean meat. Wash all ingredients, put them in a pot, and add enough water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 2 hours. Season with salt.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for most people, especially those with spleen deficiency and dampness, edema, fatigue, and weakness. Pregnant women should use barley (Coix seed) with caution.
4. Raw & Cooked Barley (Shengshu Yimi) and Glabrous Greenbrier (Tufuling) Soup
- Efficacy: Clears lung heat, promotes diuresis, drains dampness.
- Ingredients: 75g fresh Glabrous Greenbrier (Tufuling), 37g raw Barley (Sheng Yimi), 37g cooked Barley (Shu Yimi), 100g lean meat, salt to taste.
- Method: Put all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 2 hours. Add salt to taste.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for those with spleen deficiency and dampness stagnation. Hypertensive patients should watch the salt amount.
5. Chayote, Corn, Radix Fici Hirtae (Wuzhimaotao), and Hyacinth Bean (Baidou) Soup
- Efficacy: Strengthens spleen, removes dampness.
- Ingredients: 3 chayotes, 2 corns, 80g Radix Fici Hirtae (Wuzhimaotao), 30g White Hyacinth Bean (Baidou), 30g Rice Bean (Chixiaodou), 2 red dates (honey dates), 1 section Dried Tangerine Peel (Chenpi).
- Method: Wash ingredients. Peel and cut chayotes into chunks. Remove corn husks, keep tassels, and cut into sections. Add water and all ingredients to a pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce to low heat and simmer for 1.5 hours. Season with salt.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for people experiencing symptoms like heaviness in the body and limbs, and loose stools. Effectively alleviates these symptoms.
6. Rose and Jasmine Tea
- Efficacy: Soothes liver, regulates Qi, relieves depression, calms the mind.
- Ingredients: 5g Rose, 5g Jasmine, appropriate amount of hot water.
- Method: Put roses and jasmine in a teapot. Add hot water. Steep for about 5 minutes before drinking.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for most people, especially those with liver Qi stagnation, low mood, and chest tightness. Pregnant women or those with heavy menstruation should use with caution.
7. Lemongrass, Ginger, and Stir-Fried Rice Water
- Efficacy: Warms stomach, dispels cold, strengthens spleen, removes dampness.
- Ingredients: 1 stalk lemongrass, 2 slices lemon, 2 slices ginger, 2 tbsp stir-fried rice, rock sugar to taste.
- Method: Wash ingredients. Gently crush lemongrass with the back of a knife and cut into sections. Pour 1000ml hot water into a thermos, add all ingredients, and steep for 5 minutes. This tea can be brewed repeatedly until the flavor fades.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for people with cold-dampness symptoms like chills, lethargy, and easy diarrhea.
8. Liver-Soothing Three-Flower Tea
- Efficacy: Soothes liver, relieves depression, improves mood.
- Ingredients: 5 China Rose flowers (Yuejihua), 5 Rose flowers, 10 Jasmine flowers.
- Method: Wash ingredients. Add 300ml water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 10 minutes. Alternatively, steep in boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for people with high work stress and those who tend to overthink.
9. Monk Fruit (Luohanguo) and Cooked Barley (Shu Yimi) Water
- Efficacy: Clears lung heat, promotes diuresis, drains dampness.
- Ingredients: 1 Monk Fruit, 10g cooked Barley (Shu Yimi), 1.5L water.
- Method: Put all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let steep for 1 hour before drinking.
- Cautions/Suitability: Suitable for people with damp-heat constitution.
