Soups
Winter Melon, Bamboo-Tip and Frog Soup
Traditionally supports the spleen and helps clear excess fluid
In short: Winter Melon, Bamboo-Tip and Frog Soup is a soup that Traditionally supports the spleen and helps clear excess fluid. It is most often made for respiratory & lung wellness, digestive wellness, skin & natural beauty. Total time about 3 hr. Key ingredients: adzuki beans, dried scallops, ginger, pork ribs.
Why people make this soup
After days of grey, rainy weather, Nourilo says the body can feel heavy with damp — tired limbs and a touch of puffiness. He picked up a packet of dried flat bamboo-shoot tips, which pair beautifully with winter melon for an especially savoury, fragrant pot. Adzuki beans and job’s-tears go in to support the spleen and help move fluid, while frog, dried scallops and ribs add richness. It is traditionally seen as helpful for those who feel sluggish, puffy or carry extra weight in damp weather.
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.
- Adzuki beans
Adzuki bean meals had a low glycemic index (21–51 range reported with lotus seed), whereas other starchy foods did not differ significantly from rice. Adzuki bean hydrolysis index was lower than other test foods.Limitation: Only ten healthy participants and acute single-meal responses, so effects in people with diabetes or with regular intake are unknown.PubMed 30875961 · 1 more adzuki beans study - 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.
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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