Atractylodes and Croaker Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Strengthens the spleen and nourishes the stomach; regulates qi and stops diarrhea. Suitable for various types of chronic diarrhea.
given the warm nature, caution is advised if the tongue is red with scant coating or there is tidal fever and night sweats; in the absence of frank deficiency, or where an excess or heat pattern prevails, indiscriminate warming tonic use is inadvisable; the warming-tonic nature is inadvisable during damp-heat, yin deficiency with fire, or episodes of exterior-heat
Commentary
Atractylodes macrocephala occupies the sovereign position; of warm nature and bitter, sweet flavor, entering the Spleen, Stomach, it tonifies the spleen, dries dampness, promotes urination and secures the exterior and becomes the guiding principle of the whole formula. The ministerial layer, dried tangerine peel (nature warm, flavor pungent, bitter, channeled into the Spleen, Lung, regulates qi, strengthens the spleen, dries dampness and dissolves phlegm), and ground pepper (with hot nature and pungent flavor, having Stomach, Large Intestine tropism, warms the middle, dissipates cold, and resolves phlegm), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Finished with sea bass, rich in blood-and-flesh essence, nourishing the righteous qi, the formula attains a regulated, neither-excess nor-deficient balance. The combined effect is tailored to the spleen deficiency with dampness pattern.