Three-Ingredient Winter Melon Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Relieves summer heat, clears internal heat, promotes urination, and reduces swelling. Suitable for the early stages of acute nephritis.
as the formula is predominantly cold-cool, use with caution in those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold, loose stools, or aversion to cold with cold limbs; prolonged use of the diuretic action can deplete yin and fluids; those with inadequate yin should be cautious
Commentary
The formula is led by winter melon as the sovereign herb; with cool nature and sweet, bland flavor, having Lung, Large Intestine, Small Intestine tropism, it chiefly clears heat, transforms phlegm and promotes urination, striking at the root of the condition. The ministerial support — shiitake mushrooms (neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, with Spleen, Stomach tropism, supports the upright, tonifies deficiency, strengthens the spleen, and opens the appetite), and winter bamboo shoots (with cold nature and sweet flavor, having Stomach, Large Intestine tropism, clears heat, resolves phlegm, and harmonizes the stomach) — reinforces the sovereign’s main effect and coordinates the drug strength. The formula is rounded out by chicken broth, rich in blood-and-flesh essence, nourishing the righteous qi, keeping the combination balanced and well-tempered. The combined effect is tailored to the spleen-kidney yang deficiency pattern.