Soups

Four-Blacks Soup

Traditionally used to nourish the blood and support healthy, dark hair

In short: Four-Blacks Soup is a soup that Traditionally used to nourish the blood and support healthy, dark hair. It is most often made for skin & natural beauty, sleep & calm, blood nourishment. Total time about 50 min. Key ingredients: mulberry fruit, southern dates.

Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Total
50 min
Makes
900 ml
Four-Blacks Soup

Why people make this soup

Nourilo once shared a “Three-Blacks Soup” of black soybean, black sesame and southern dates for those prone to chronic hives. This “Four-Blacks Soup” adds black mulberry, and beyond its traditional roles in clearing free radicals, brightening the complexion and easing recurring hives, it is also associated with nourishing the blood and the liver and kidney, and supporting healthy, dark hair. In traditional thinking, “hair is the surplus of the blood” — when the blood runs thin, grey hair and shedding tend to follow, and a depleted qi-and-blood is what lets hives keep coming back. Those affected can take this soup, one batch every other day, until things improve.

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.

  • Black soybeans · Randomized controlled trial, 100 participants · 2013
    Systolic blood pressure fell more in the black soy peptide group (-9.69 mm Hg) than in the placebo group (-2.91 mm Hg) after baseline adjustment. Plasma malondialdehyde decreased and superoxide dismutase activity increased compared with placebo.Limitation: Used an isolated peptide supplement rather than whole black soybeans, and followed participants for only 8 weeks, so the results may not apply to food intake.PubMed 23924691
  • Mulberries · Randomized controlled trial, 24 participants · 2017
    Post-prandial self-monitored glucose was lower than placebo (18.2%), but A1C did not differ between mulberry leaf extract and placebo. Serum creatinine rose about 15% in the extract group.Limitation: Small pilot: only 17 of 24 enrolled participants completed the study, limiting statistical power.PubMed 28619294 · 3 more mulberries studies

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

Safety first — read before you cook

This is a traditional food, not a treatment. Please check with your doctor or pharmacist before making it a regular part of your diet if you:

  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are cooking for a young child;
  • take regular medicines — especially blood thinners, blood-pressure, diabetes or immune-suppressing drugs;
  • have a kidney, liver or heart condition, or a known food allergy.

Stop eating it and seek advice if you notice an allergic reaction or feel unwell. Safety notes reviewed 8 October 2026 · How we write safety notes

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