Kelp and Tofu Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Resolves phlegm and disperses nodules. Suitable for simple goiter.
being cold-natured, it may chill the middle and impair digestion in those with weak spleen-yang; prolonged use of the heat-clearing, cold herbs may harm spleen yang; those with yang deficiency or poor appetite with loose stools should avoid them
Commentary
At the head stands Kelp, the sovereign, with cold nature and salty flavor, having Liver, Stomach, Kidney tropism; it softens hardness, disperses nodules, resolves phlegm, and promotes diuresis, underpinning the principal thrust of the decoction. The ministerial layer, tofu (nature cool, flavor sweet, channeled into the Spleen, Stomach, Large Intestine, tonifies qi, harmonizes the stomach, generates fluid, and clears heat), and ginger (nature warm, flavor pungent, channeled into the Lung, Spleen, Stomach, disperses cold, relieves cough and harmonizes the stomach), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Completing the formula, scallions, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, so that potency is moderated and stomach qi protected. Viewed as a whole, the formula addresses the qi stagnation with phlegm presentation, treating both root and branch.