10 Chinese Herbal Soup Benefits

While Chinese cuisine is incredibly diverse, there are several commonalities you’ll see across different regions – particularly with a philosophy that views food as medicine.

Eating a good diet that balances yin and yang is central to Chinese cooking. Chinese herbal soups blend this philosophy of healthy eating with traditional herbal medicine. They have been used to treat a range of ills for centuries, incorporating nourishing, health-boosting ingredients that provide numerous benefits.

Is Chinese Herbal Soup Healthy?

A basic Chinese herbal soup is packed with super nutritious ingredients full of vitamins, antioxidants, protein and fibre. They can be a very healthy addition to a balanced diet.

These soups can be used to treat the whole body, providing a general health and wellness boost while also targeting particular maladies with specific ingredients that aim to support different parts of the body.

The Health Benefits of Chinese Herbal Soups

When feeling ill or run down, many stand by the healing properties of hearty herbal soups. They boast a range of potential benefits.

Boosts Immune System

Often made with bone broth and nourishing ingredients, herbal soups are great for supporting the immune system and maintaining overall health. Additions like ginseng, goji berries and astragalus are used to strengthen the immune system and help protect against the common cold.

Fights Fatigue & Boosts Energy

The high-quality nutritional ingredients typically used in herbal soups also mean they work as great pick-me-ups. Energy boosting ingredients such as ginseng, codonopsis root and citrus peel are thought to replenish the body’s Qi.

Improves Digestion & Circulation

Particular recipes are also designed to support gut health, digestion and circulation. Ingredients thought to promote these areas include Chinese yams, lotus seeds, angelica root and hawthorne berries.

Reduces Stress

As the ultimate comfort meal, there is also some suggestion that Chinese herbal soups can help reduce stress on the body and the mind. The careful balance of herbs and ingredients can help soothe the soul, nourishing you from the inside out.

Supports Skin Health

Herbal soups are great for keeping you hydrated and reducing dryness, boosting the overall health and appearance of your skin. Ingredients like astragalus and liquorice root are thought to reduce inflammation, while goji berries and red dates contain antioxidants to provide potential anti-ageing effects. Collagen-rich ingredients like bone broth, chicken and pork skin are brilliant for skin too.

Supports Eye Health

Some soups are also eaten with the intent to support eye health and vision. Goji berries are a particular ingredient thought to help in this regard.

Strengthens & Nourishes the Body

All the protein and nutrient-rich ingredients in traditional herbal soups help strengthen your body and aim to support it to work at its best, whether that means filling you up with a super-nutritious meal or using specific ingredients to target and strengthen different parts of the body.

Detoxifies the Body

The concept of detoxing in traditional Chinese medicine is more about supporting the body with its natural functions. Here, it means utilising herbal soup ingredients that support the liver, kidney and digestive system to restore a healthy balance.

Helps Regulate Weight

When herbal soups are incorporated into a balanced diet and used in a holistic approach to health, they can help with weight loss and weight maintenance. Ginseng in particular is thought to boost the metabolism while also supporting gut health.

Restores Yin and Yang

The considered combination of Chinese soup ingredients is designed to restore the balance of yin and yang in the body, ensuring opposing forces of coolness and heat are in harmony. Recipes can be customised on an individual basis to provide more yin or more yang.

Ingredients in Chinese Soups

As with a lot of Southeast Asian cuisines, Chinese cooking focuses on wholesome, natural ingredients. Most soups will contain some kind of lean meat or fish along with a selection of fresh veggies and herbs, making them naturally low in fat and sodium.

Chicken

Many cultures have embraced the powers of a hearty bowl of chicken soup over the years. For many, it is a soup designed to give comfort when suffering from a cold.

Chinese chicken soup recipes will often combine this much-loved ingredient with a combination of herbs to boost its healing effect. Common additions to chicken soups are Chinese yam, ginseng, red dates, Solomon’s seal, goji berries and cordyceps.

Double-boiled chicken and jasmine soup is also said to strengthen the mind and eyesight!

Chinese Yams

Chinese yams are earthy-tasting tubers used in both fresh and dried forms in different soups. Dried, it is often used in herbal soups to support various areas of the body.

The ingredient has historically been used to strengthen the lungs, spleen and kidney as well as restore the body’s Qi.

Chinese yam is incorporated into all kinds of traditional herbal soup recipes, including classic variations like four herbs soup. It is also commonly used alongside chicken and pork soups to create extra comforting, wellness-boosting dishes.

Ginger

Ginger is added to many Chinese dishes, including stir-fries, soups and sauces, to give some heat and aromatic depth to a recipe.

It is an important ingredient in many soups and is much-loved for both its distinctive flavour and various health benefits.

Ginger is well known for reducing the effects of nausea and alleviating cold symptoms. It may also help with joint pain and brain function - the potential benefits of ginger are almost endless!

Goji Berries

For many of us, berries might not be one of the first ingredients we think to add to our soups, but goji berries are a go-to ingredient for Chinese herbal soups.

These dried red berries, also known as wolfberries, have been enjoyed for generations and are often praised as a super-food because of their many health benefits.

Adding goji berries to your soups is thought to enhance your vision, boost your kidney and liver function and benefit your immune system.

Ginseng and Codonopsis

Ginseng is a root thought to improve and restore well-being. You’ll often find it as an addition to various soups or drinks thanks to its wide range of health benefits.

Boosts to energy and focus levels, anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing effects and reduced blood sugar have all been linked to the consumption of ginseng.

Codonopsis is another Chinese root often used as a substitute for ginseng due to its similar properties and benefits.

Solomon’s Seal

Another herb we don’t often find in the West, this plant from the lily family is often combined with chicken or pork soups. The herb itself is dried and sliced into long strips.

Solomon’s Seal is thought to be good for the lungs and stomach. It is also eaten to restore your body’s balance, nourishing the yin.

Dried Citrus Peel

Traditionally, dried mandarin or tangerine peels have been added to soups to help combat sore throats. This makes the peel an excellent addition to comforting chicken soups when you're dealing with a cold or cough.

The fruit peel is also thought to have a warming property, helping to restore the body to a balance of yin and yang.

Red Dates

These dried dates give bursts of sweetness and chewy texture to soups. Again, they make popular additions for warming chicken soups or other veggie concoctions.

They are thought to boost lung and liver health while also calming the nervous system and strengthening the immune system. Along with these benefits, red dates are another brilliant source of Vitamin C and other vitamins.

Making Chinese Herbal Soup at Home

Making Chinese herbal soup tends to be pretty straightforward, usually involving simmering all your chosen ingredients together until the broth has infused with all their goodness.

Want to make your own herbal soups at home? Check out our great selection of dried Chinese soup ingredients, including everything from goji berries and preserved dates to ready-made soup kits designed to combat various ailments.

For other health-boosting essentials that nourish your body and mind, see our selection of Chinese health and wellbeing drinks.