Carrot, Broad Bean, and Red Date Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Nourishes qi and yin. Suitable for whooping cough characterized by deficiency of both qi and yin (during the recovery phase).
because it runs warm overall, this decoction is best avoided in yin-deficient, fire-prone constitutions; 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
At the head stands Carrots, the sovereign, neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, with Lung, Spleen tropism; it strengthens the spleen, harmonizes the middle, and nourishes the liver and eyes, underpinning the principal thrust of the decoction. The ministerial layer, white lentils (of neutral nature and sweet, slightly warm flavor, entering the Spleen, Stomach, strengthens the spleen, transforms dampness, and harmonizes summer-heat), and jujubes (with warm nature and sweet flavor, having Spleen, Stomach, Heart tropism, tonifies qi, nourishes blood and calms the spirit, and harmonizes the formula), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Viewed as a whole, the formula addresses the qi-yin presentation, treating both root and branch.