Soups
Longan, Walnut, Goji and Bighead-Carp Fish-Head Soup
Traditionally used to support the brain, memory and calm the mind
In short: Longan, Walnut, Goji and Bighead-Carp Fish-Head Soup is a soup that Traditionally used to support the brain, memory and calm the mind. It is most often made for sleep & calm. Total time about 30 min. Key ingredients: longan flesh, walnuts, goji berries, ginger.
Why people make this soup
As we age, memory naturally fades — but Nourilo likes to remind everyone that elders who keep their minds active stay sharp well into their seventies and eighties. People joke that a friendly round of mahjong keeps the brain limber, and there’s truth in it: the best tonic is learning new things. Alongside that, traditional “brain foods” like longan, goji and walnut are worth eating often. The fish head follows the old idea of “like nourishes like” — not everyone agrees, but a bighead-carp head is genuinely nutritious, so Nourilo offers this soup with pleasure.
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.
- Walnuts
Office systolic BP changed by -4.61 mm Hg with walnuts versus -0.59 mm Hg in controls (P=0.051); 24-hour ambulatory systolic BP difference was not significant (P=0.111). No diastolic BP changes were observed.Limitation: Only 236 of 305 participants (75%) completed the study, and the main between-group differences did not reach conventional significance.PubMed 30879358 · 2 more walnuts studies - Goji berries
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
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.
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.
Ingredient notes for this recipe
- Goji berries: A few cases of raised INR (a bleeding-risk marker) have been reported in people taking warfarin after drinking concentrated goji tea or wine. If you take a blood thinner, check with your doctor. Source: Memorial Sloan Kettering — Lycium
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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