When meals weigh heavy and the chest feels laden
A feeling of fullness in the chest, a throat you often need to clear, heaviness after rich meals, a waning appetite, a heavy tiredness… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Phlegm-Dampness: the Spleen poorly transforms what is eaten and drunk, the Fluids thicken into Phlegm, and the Phlegm rises to settle in the chest. Tradition sums it up this way: the Spleen is the source of Phlegm, the Lung its reservoir (脾为生痰之源，肺为贮痰之器).
The formula brings together two classics. Er Chen Tang, the “Two Aged Ingredients Decoction”, appeared under the Song, around 1148, in the Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (《太平惠民和剂局方》): it is the pharmacopoeia’s basic formula for Phlegm. San Zi Yang Qin Tang, the “Three Seeds Decoction for Caring for One’s Parents”, is the work of Han Mao (韩懋), a Ming physician, around 1522. Three scholars had come to him on behalf of their elderly parents; he devised for them a decoction of three garden-vegetable seeds, pleasant to the taste. Our version takes up Er Chen Tang without pinellia (Ban Xia).
For Phlegm, start with the Qi
The whole formula follows a traditional adage: for Phlegm, start with the Qi; when the Qi flows, Phlegm resolves of its own accord. Poria and tangerine peel, from Er Chen Tang, support the Spleen and get the Qi moving again; the three seeds of San Zi Yang Qin Tang send the Qi down and lighten the Middle. Fresh ginger and smoked plum, which the Er Chen Tang recipe already added during cooking, complete the whole.
Helps transform Phlegm: White mustard seed, pungent and warm, dissolves the Phlegm lodged in the chest, and perilla seed sends down the Qi that carries it.
Helps transform Dampness: Poria, the most highly dosed ingredient, supports the Spleen and helps it transform Dampness: it works at the source, where Phlegm is born.
Supports the flow of Qi: Tangerine peel moves the Qi of the Spleen and Lung, so that the Fluids circulate instead of thickening.
Contributes to good digestion: Radish seed moves along food that is stagnating; prepared licorice and smoked plum harmonise the Middle and temper the drying character of the whole.
