What are the functions and benefits of millet porridge with lotus seeds and lily bulbs?

Jul 14, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yu Yongchao
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, as a common health-promoting porridge, millet lotus seed and lily congee has various functions and benefits, primarily including nourishing the spleen and stomach, calming the mind and promoting sleep, moistening the lungs and relieving cough, supplying nutrients, and facilitating digestion. Millet is sweet in taste and slightly cold and neutral in property, entering the lung, stomach, and large intestine meridians, and has the effect of strengthening the spleen and regulating the stomach. Lotus seeds can nourish the spleen and stop diarrhea, while lily helps nourish yin and moisten the lungs.

Generally, as a common health-promoting porridge, millet lotus seed and lily porridge has various functions and benefits, including nourishing the spleen and stomach, calming the mind and improving sleep, moistening the lungs and relieving cough, supplementing nutrition, and promoting digestion. The detailed explanation is as follows:

1. Nourishing the Spleen and Stomach: Millet is sweet in taste, slightly cold and neutral in property, and enters the lung, stomach, and large intestine meridians, possessing the function of strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach. Lotus seeds can nourish the spleen and stop diarrhea, while lily can nourish yin and moisten the lungs. When these three ingredients are cooked together into porridge, the texture is soft and easy to digest, which can reduce the burden on the spleen and stomach. It is suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach or poor appetite, helping improve spleen and stomach function and enhancing their digestive capacity.

2. Calming the Mind and Improving Sleep: Lotus seeds contain alkaloids such as nuciferine, which have a calming and soothing effect. Lily enters the heart and lung meridians and has the effect of clearing the heart and calming the mind. Millet also contains abundant amino acids that help regulate the nervous system. This porridge can relieve tension, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, and symptoms of excessive dreaming and easy waking, helping people achieve more restful sleep.

3. Moistening the Lungs and Relieving Cough: Lily has the effect of nourishing yin, moistening the lungs, and calming the mind, which can help alleviate symptoms such as dry cough caused by lung dryness and coughing with blood due to chronic illness. Millet and lotus seeds provide nutritional support to the body. Combined, these three ingredients make the porridge effective in moisturizing the lungs while supplying necessary nutrients, making it suitable for consumption in autumn or dry climates, thereby reducing discomfort caused by lung dryness.

4. Supplementing Nutrition: Millet is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, and B vitamins. Lotus seeds contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other components. Lily contains various alkaloids, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Cooking these three ingredients together into porridge allows for complementary nutritional components, providing abundant nutrition to meet the needs of normal physiological functions in the body.

5. Promoting Digestion: Millet contains abundant dietary fiber that promotes intestinal peristalsis, while lotus seeds and lily also contain certain amounts of dietary fiber and mucus, which lubricate the intestines. This porridge helps intestinal peristalsis, increases stool volume, promotes defecation, effectively improves constipation, and maintains normal digestive function of the intestines.

When consuming, attention should also be paid to moderation and appropriately combining with other foods according to one's own physical condition to better exert its health benefits.