Liver Cirrhosis — TCM Food Therapy & Dietary Approach
Cirrhosis has many causes, including chronic hepatitis, cholestasis, alcoholism, and the effects of chemical toxins.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns
In TCM, this condition is differentiated into several patterns, each with a classical herbal formula:
Qi Stagnation with Damp Obstruction
Treatment principle: Soothe the Liver and Regulate Qi, Activate the Spleen and Drain Damp
Formula: Weiling Tang (Calming the Stomach Poria Decoction) — from *Teachings of Master Danxi*; Chaihu Shugan San (Bupleurum Liver-Coursing Powder)
Water-Damp Encumbering the Spleen
Treatment principle: Warm the Middle and Fortify the Spleen, Move Qi and Promote Diuresis
Formula: Shipi Yin (Fortify the Spleen Drink) — from *Chong Ding Yan Shi Ji Sheng Fang*
Accumulation of Damp-Heat
Treatment principle: Clear Heat and Drain Damp, Purge Downward to Expel Water
Formula: Zhongman Fenxiao Wan (Middle-Fullness Dividing and Reducing Pill)
Liver-Spleen Blood Stasis
Treatment principle: Activate Blood and Resolve Stasis, Move Qi and Promote Diuresis
Formula: Tiaoying Yin (Regulate the Nutritive Level Drink)
Spleen-Kidney Yang Deficiency
Treatment principle: Warm and Supplement the Spleen and Kidney, Transform Qi and Promote Diuresis
Formula: Fuzi Liling Tang (Aconite Decoction to Regulate the Middle and Drain Poria)
Liver-Kidney Yin Deficiency
Treatment principle: Nourish the Kidney and Emolliate the Liver, Nourish Yin and Promote Diuresis
Formula: Yiguan Jian (Linking Decoction) — from *Xu Ming Yi Lei An*; Liuwei Dihuang Wan (Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill) — from *Key to Therapeutics of Children's Diseases*
Pregnancy Disease·Jaundice
Treatment principle: Clear Heat and Resolve Toxin, Drain Damp and Abate Jaundice
Formula: Ganlu Xiaodu Dan (Sweet Dew Detoxification Elixir) — from *Warp and Woof of Warm-Heat Diseases*
Pregnancy Disease·Bleeding
Treatment principle: Purge Fire and Resolve Toxin, Cool Blood and Stop Bleeding
Formula: Xijiao Dihuang Tang (Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction) — from *Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies*
Loss of Consciousness
Treatment principle: Clear Heat and Resolve Toxin, Awaken the Brain and Open the Orifices
Formula: Qingying Tang (Clear the Nutritive Level Decoction); Angong Niuhuang Wan (Peaceful Palace Bovine Bezoar Pill) — from *Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases*
These formulas are for reference under TCM syndrome differentiation and should only be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner.
Food Therapy & Diet
Dietary Therapy Recipes
- Fresh hypericum japonicum (diercao) 200g (100g dried), 2 eggs. Cook the herb and eggs together. After eggs are done, shell them and cook a bit more; drink the soup and eat the eggs. Once daily for 5-10 days. Effects: drain dampness and reduce jaundice, clear heat and detoxify, invigorate blood and reduce swelling, nourish yin and protect the liver. Suitable for early liver cirrhosis and acute or chronic hepatitis.
- 1 carp, red beans 120g, tangerine peel (chenpi) 6g, stew together until soft. Eat the fish and drink the soup, 2 times daily. Effects: clear heat and detoxify, promote diuresis and reduce swelling. Suitable for cirrhotic ascites and icteric hepatitis.
- Garlic 100-150g, snakehead fish 400g. Remove the fish's innards, peel the garlic, put in a clay pot with enough water and stew over water until cooked, eat without seasoning. Once daily or every other day, continuous use. Suitable for cirrhotic ascites and chronic nephritis edema.
- Mung bean flour 500g, 4 pig gallbladders. Mix the mung bean flour with pig bile into pills the size of mung beans. 3 times daily, 6-9g each time, until the whole dose is finished. Effects: clear heat and detoxify, promote urination, relieve distension. Suitable for cirrhotic ascites.
- Live snakehead fish 250g, winter melon with skin 500g, adzuki beans 100g, 3 shallots. Remove the fish's scales and innards, wash, add winter melon, adzuki beans, shallots and water, stew until soft, no salt. 2 times daily, eat the fish and drink the soup. Suitable for cirrhotic ascites and chronic nephritis edema.
- Yam slices 30g, dried longan flesh 20g, 1 soft-shelled turtle (about 500g). Kill and wash the turtle, remove innards; stew the shell and meat with water, yam and longan until soft; eat the meat and drink the soup. 2 times daily. Suitable for liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis.
- Callicarpa (zizhu) 200g (half amount if dried), 4 eggs. Put the zizhu and eggs in a clay pot with water and boil. After eggs are cooked, shell them and boil another hour until the eggs turn black. Eat 1 egg each time, 2 times daily, 100 eggs as one course. Suitable for early liver cirrhosis.
- Fresh rehmannia (sheng dihuang) 50g (20g dried), wash, add enough water, decoct for 1 hour, strain, then add polished round-grained rice and cook into soft porridge, eat in portions.
Understanding the Condition
Cirrhosis has many causes, including chronic hepatitis, cholestasis, alcoholism, and the effects of chemical toxins; chronic hepatitis B is the most common cause.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.