Winter Melon and Three Beans Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Strengthens the spleen and promotes diuresis. Suitable for acute viral hepatitis.
being cold-natured, it may chill the middle and impair digestion in those with weak spleen-yang; prolonged use of the diuretic action can deplete yin and fluids; those with inadequate yin should be cautious; because it clears heat with cold-natured herbs, overuse can impair the middle; restraint is advised for the spleen-deficient
Commentary
The sovereign is winter melon, cool in nature and sweet, bland in flavor, with Lung, Large Intestine, Small Intestine tropism; it clears heat, transforms phlegm and promotes urination, anchoring the central strategy of the formula. The ministerial layer, adzuki beans (with neutral nature and sweet, sour flavor, having Heart, Small Intestine tropism, promotes urination, drains dampness, reduces swelling and removes toxins), and white lentils (with neutral nature and sweet, slightly warm flavor, having Spleen, Stomach tropism, strengthens the spleen, transforms dampness, and harmonizes summer-heat), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Completing the formula, mung beans, harmonizing the stomach and supporting dietary nourishment, so that potency is moderated and stomach qi protected. Together the herbs converge on this action, in accord with the damp-heat pattern.