Cinnamon Twig and Lamb Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Dispels wind and cold; transforms dampness and unblocks the meridians. Suitable for rheumatoid arthritis of the wind-cold-damp type.
the whole decoction leans warm; use with caution in those with yin deficiency and internal heat or lingering excess heat; in the absence of frank deficiency, or where an excess or heat pattern prevails, indiscriminate warming tonic use is inadvisable; the tonifying-warming action may aggravate internal heat; avoid during feverish or inflammatory episodes
Commentary
The formula is led by cinnamomum cassia twigs as the sovereign herb; with warm nature and pungent, sweet flavor, having Heart, Lung, Bladder tropism, it chiefly warms the channels and frees yang, striking at the root of the condition. The ministerial layer, jujubes (warm in nature and sweet in flavor, with Spleen, Stomach, Heart tropism, tonifies qi, nourishes blood and calms the spirit, and harmonizes the formula), and lamb (with warm nature and sweet flavor, having Spleen, Kidney, Stomach tropism, warms the middle, tonifies qi, and invigorates kidney yang), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. The formula is rounded out by scallions, harmonizing the stomach and supporting dietary nourishment, and ginger, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, keeping the combination balanced and well-tempered. Together the herbs converge on this action, in accord with the wind-cold pattern.