Cordyceps-Flower Yam Goji Fox-Nut Teal-Duck Soup (chong cao hua huai qi qian shi shui ya tang)

What studies say about the key ingredients

Traditional use is not the same as clinical proof. Here is the strongest human research we found for each ingredient, limitations included.

• Cordyceps flower · Randomized controlled trial · 2015
  Compared with placebo capsules, the C. militaris group had greater increases from baseline in NK cell activity, lymphocyte proliferation, IL-2 and IFN-γ. No statistically significant adverse reactions were reported.Limitation: Only healthy men were studied, for 4 weeks, with 39 and 40 per group. Findings are immune-marker changes rather than clinical outcomes, and the capsules were an ethanol-treated preparation.PubMed 26284906 · 2 more cordyceps flower studies
• Goji berries · Meta-analysis, 161 participants · 2012
  Compared with placebo (n=80), the goji juice group (n=81) reported greater improvements in several self-rated symptoms, including stress, mental acuity, sleep quality and overall well-being, under a random effects model.Limitation: Outcomes were self-reported symptom questionnaires, and several symptoms showed significant heterogeneity across the four pooled trials of a single branded juice.PubMed 22897500 · 3 more goji berries studies
• Ginger · Meta-analysis, 23 studies · 2022
  Overall, acute and delayed nausea and vomiting did not differ significantly between ginger and control groups. A subgroup taking 1 g/day or less for over four days had less acute vomiting (OR 0.30).Limitation: Clinical heterogeneity between trials required subgroup analyses, and the authors state that sufficiently large, high-quality RCTs are still needed.PubMed 36501010 · 3 more ginger studies

From the Nourilo Research Library. Findings come from specific doses, extracts and populations and may not apply to a home-cooked recipe.