Soups

Sang Piao Xiao, Rou Cong Rong and Yi Zhi Ren Soup

traditionally used to tonify kidney yang and support urinary control

In short: Sang Piao Xiao, Rou Cong Rong and Yi Zhi Ren Soup is a soup that traditionally used to tonify kidney yang and support urinary control. It is most often made for children's wellness, kidney & urinary wellness. Total time about 1 hr. Key ingredients: goji berries.

Prep
15 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 hr
Makes
600 ml
Sang Piao Xiao, Rou Cong Rong and Yi Zhi Ren Soup

Why people make this soup

Urinary incontinence — the inability to hold urine, or leaking before reaching the bathroom — can be deeply distressing, particularly for older people. In traditional Chinese medicine, this condition is often attributed to declining kidney yang (the warming, activating force of the kidneys), which loses its ability to “hold” the bladder securely. Nourilo’s food-therapy approach uses sang piao xiao, the dried and toasted egg case of the praying mantis, which has been used in Chinese medicine for over a thousand years as a kidney-tonifying, bladder-strengthening herb. Combined with cistanche (a warming kidney tonic), yi zhi ren (bitter cardamom, associated with warming the kidneys and reducing incontinence) and goji berries, this soup addresses the root pattern of kidney yang deficiency.

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.

  • 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

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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