Sara Jane Ho

In TCM, eczema is often viewed as a combination of excess heat, dampness and wind.

🔥 Heat shows up as redness, inflammation and a burning sensation.
💧 Dampness is associated with weeping or oozing skin.
🌬️ Wind is associated with intense, persistent itching.

One traditional Chinese food used to help “clear heat” is mung bean soup (绿豆汤). An easy version: buy dried mung beans from an Asian grocery store or the Chinese grocery app Weee (I shop on this weekly) and steep them in a hot-water thermos.

OR make one of my favourite Chinese summer sweet soups: add 1 cup of mung beans to 6–8 cups of water, rinse and soak for an hour, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 mins until the beans are soft. Add 2–3 tablespoons of brown cane sugar (or Chinese rock sugar) to taste.

In Chinese food therapy, mung beans are considered cooling, which is why this soup is especially popular during hot summer months.

For more listen to “The Chinese Remedies I Actually Swear By” episode 78 of my podcast Hot Water or comment LINK and I’ll DM you the episode link.