Soups
Purslane, Mung Bean and Barley Soup
traditionally used to clear heat and support the body during and after shingles (herpes zoster)
In short: Purslane, Mung Bean and Barley Soup is a soup that traditionally used to clear heat and support the body during and after shingles (herpes zoster). It is most often made for cooling & summer heat, skin & natural beauty. Total time about 1 hr 10 min. Key ingredients: purslane, mung beans.
Why people make this soup
Shingles develops when the dormant chickenpox virus reactivates — usually when immunity is low — and travels along nerve fibers to the skin, producing the characteristic painful, blistered rash. In traditional Chinese dietary wisdom, the condition is understood as a build-up of damp heat and toxic fire in the body. Purslane, mung beans, and raw barley are three ingredients long associated with helping the body clear this internal heat and support the resolution of inflammation. Nourilo recommends this soup as a complementary food-therapy measure, taken a couple of hours after any antiviral medication — not in place of it.
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.
- Mung beans
Breath hydrogen and methane were higher after wheat than after rice or mung bean noodles. Bloating scores after mung bean did not differ significantly from wheat, and mung bean produced gas levels similar to rice.Limitation: Small sample of 20 patients, with single meals tested rather than habitual intake, so longer-term effects of mung bean on symptoms are unknown.PubMed 31484315 · 1 more mung beans study - Job's tears (coix)
Myeloperoxidase activity rose significantly in the placebo group after 8 weeks but showed no significant change in the adlay tea group. Vascular endothelial function improved in the adlay group, especially in those over 40.Limitation: Participants were healthy adults and the outcomes were surrogate markers, so the results say little about clinical disease outcomes. Tea is a polyphenol-rich extract, not whole grain.PubMed 38945894 · 2 more job's tears (coix) 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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