What should people with excessive liver fire eat to reduce it?

Generally, individuals with excessive liver fire can consume foods such as mung beans, bitter melon, celery, pomelo, and chrysanthemum to help reduce liver heat. Additionally, medications like Long Dan Xie Gan Wan (Dragon胆泻肝丸), Dan Zhi Xiao Yao Wan (丹栀逍遥丸), Xia Ku Cao Gao (夏枯草膏), Huang Lian Yang Gan Wan (黄连羊肝丸), and Jia Wei Zuo Jin Wan (加味左金丸) may also help alleviate liver fire. If discomfort persists, timely medical consultation is recommended. Detailed explanations are as follows:

I. Foods

1. Mung Beans

Mung beans are cool in nature and affect the heart and stomach meridians. They are rich in protein, B vitamins, calcium, and iron. The bioactive substances in mung beans, such as polysaccharides and flavonoids, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can assist in regulating metabolic functions. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, mung beans can clear heat and detoxify, relieve summerheat, and promote diuresis, thereby helping to alleviate symptoms like red, swollen, and painful eyes and irritability caused by excessive liver fire.

2. Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is bitter and cold in nature and affects the heart, liver, spleen, and lung meridians. It contains bitter glycosides and flavonoids, which have good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. From a TCM perspective, bitter melon clears heat, purges fire, detoxifies, and improves vision. It helps alleviate symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, bitter taste in the mouth, and dry throat caused by excessive liver fire, aiding in eliminating internal heat pathogens.

3. Celery

Celery is cool in nature and affects the liver, stomach, and lung meridians. It is rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. Components like apigenin in celery have effects such as lowering blood pressure and calming the nerves, helping regulate physiological functions, alleviating irritability caused by excessive liver fire, and reducing symptoms like headaches and flushed face due to upward inflammation of liver fire.

4. Pomelo

Pomelo is rich in nutrients such as vitamin C. Its nature is cold and cool, capable of clearing heat, reducing fire, regulating qi, and resolving phlegm. Pomelo helps regulate the liver's qi and blood circulation, clears liver fire, and alleviates irritability caused by liver fire. It can be consumed directly.

5. Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum has the functions of dispersing wind, clearing heat, soothing the liver, and improving vision. Drinking chrysanthemum tea can clear heat from the liver meridian, relieve symptoms such as dry eyes and blurred vision caused by excessive liver fire, and is highly beneficial for protecting liver and eye health.

II. Medications

1. Long Dan Xie Gan Wan

Long Dan Xie Gan Wan consists of multiple herbs including Gentiana (Long Dan), Bupleurum (Chai Hu), and Scutellaria (Huang Qin). Gentiana, which is extremely bitter and cold, can purge excessive fire from the liver and gallbladder and also relieve damp-heat in the liver meridian. Scutellaria and Gardenia, which are bitter and cold, assist Gentiana in clearing excessive fire from the liver and gallbladder. Bupleurum regulates the qi of the liver and gallbladder and guides the other herbs to act on the liver meridian. Together, these herbs clear liver and gallbladder heat and resolve dampness, used for symptoms such as damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder, dizziness, red eyes, tinnitus, and deafness.

2. Dan Zhi Xiao Yao Wan

Dan Zhi Xiao Yao Wan is based on Xiao Yao Wan with the addition of Cortex Moutan (Dan Pi) and Gardenia (Zhi Zi). Xiao Yao Wan itself has the effects of soothing the liver, strengthening the spleen, nourishing blood, and regulating menstruation. The addition of Cortex Moutan clears heat, cools the blood, activates blood circulation, and removes blood stasis, while Gardenia clears heat, relieves irritability, and promotes dampness elimination, enhancing the heat-clearing effect. The entire formula has the effects of soothing the liver, relieving depression, clearing heat, and regulating menstruation, used for symptoms such as liver qi transforming into fire, chest and rib pain, irritability, and restlessness. It regulates the body's condition by soothing liver qi and clearing liver fire.

3. Xia Ku Cao Gao

Xia Ku Cao Gao mainly consists of Prunella vulgaris (Xia Ku Cao). Prunella vulgaris is cold in nature, pungent and bitter in taste, and affects the liver and gallbladder meridians. It has the effects of clearing liver fire, improving vision, and dispersing nodules to reduce swelling. Its triterpenoids and flavonoids can inhibit inflammatory responses in the body, alleviating symptoms such as red, swollen, and painful eyes and headaches caused by upward inflammation of liver fire.

4. Huang Lian Yang Gan Wan

Huang Lian Yang Gan Wan contains multiple herbs such as Coptis (Huang Lian), Picrorhiza (Hu Huang Lian), and Scutellaria (Huang Qin). Coptis is extremely bitter and cold, effectively clearing heat, purging fire, detoxifying, particularly clearing heart fire and eliminating damp-heat in the middle jiao. Picrorhiza and Scutellaria synergistically enhance Coptis' heat-clearing and fire-purging effects. The entire formula works together to purge fire and improve vision, used for symptoms such as excessive liver fire, red and painful eyes, and blurred vision. It improves eye and systemic discomfort caused by upward inflammation of liver fire by clearing liver fire.

5. Jia Wei Zuo Jin Wan

Jia Wei Zuo Jin Wan consists of Coptis (Huang Lian), Evodia (Wu Zhu Yu), Bupleurum (Chai Hu), and others. Coptis is bitter and cold, capable of clearing liver fire. Evodia is pungent and bitter with a warm nature, able to soothe the liver, descend qi, regulate the stomach, and reverse counterflow. Bupleurum soothes the liver and regulates qi. Together, these herbs have the effects of soothing the liver, descending counterflow, resolving depression, and relieving pain, used for symptoms such as liver qi transforming into fire and disharmony between liver and stomach, including chest and epigastric distension, irritability, and anger. It regulates liver and stomach function and alleviates symptoms of upward inflammation of liver fire.

In daily life, maintaining a cheerful mood, avoiding long-term anxiety and depression, ensuring sufficient sleep, moderate exercise such as walking and tai chi can promote blood circulation, enhance physical fitness, and regulate liver qi function.