Bei Qi Poria Damp-Clearing Soup (Bei Qi Fu Ling Qu Shi Tang)

Why people make this soup

Many people today live under sustained stress, skip meals, or eat at odd hours — all of which, in Chinese medicine thinking, can gradually weaken the spleen’s ability to transform and transport fluids through the body. When that happens, dampness accumulates: you feel heavy, puffy (especially around the face or ankles), persistently low on energy, and your digestion feels sluggish. This straightforward four-herb soup addresses exactly that pattern. The formula is anchored by a generous amount of astragalus root (bei qi), used here at a higher dose than usual — the other herbs, poria and alisma, work alongside it to move fluid through the body rather than letting it stagnate.