What to eat to quickly relieve liver fire

Sep 16, 2025 Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Sun Lianqing
Introduction
Generally speaking, there is no such thing as "eating certain foods to quickly relieve liver fire." To alleviate liver fire, one can consume foods such as chrysanthemum, bitter melon, pear, celery, and mung beans. Additionally, medications such as Longdan Xiegan Pills, Danzhi Xiaoyao Pills, Danggui Longhui Pills, Qiju Dihuang Pills, and Huanglian Shangqing Tablets may be taken under medical guidance for regulation. In daily life, it is also important to maintain a regular作息 (routine), avoid staying up late to prevent liver damage, and reduce the intake of spicy and greasy foods.

Generally speaking, there is no such thing as "eating certain foods to quickly relieve liver fire." To reduce liver fire, you can consume foods such as chrysanthemum, bitter melon, pears, celery, and mung beans. Additionally, medications like Longdan Xiegan Pills (Dragon胆泻肝丸), Danzhi Xiaoyao Pills (丹栀逍遥丸), Danggui Longhui Pills (当归龙荟丸), Qiju Dihuang Pills (杞菊地黄丸), and Huanglian Shangqing Tablets (黄连上清片) may be taken under a doctor's guidance for regulation and treatment. Detailed explanations are as follows:

I. Foods

1. Chrysanthemum

Rich in flavonoids and chrysanthemum glycosides, flavonoids have a heat-clearing effect, helping to eliminate internal liver fire and relieve symptoms such as dizziness, red eyes, dry mouth, and thirst caused by excessive liver fire. Chrysanthemum tea can also promote body fluid production and alleviate discomfort caused by upward-flaming liver fire, making it suitable for daily consumption to reduce liver fire.

2. Bitter Melon

Contains momordicoside and vitamin C. Momordicoside has heat-clearing and fire-purging properties that directly target liver fire, alleviating symptoms such as bitter taste in the mouth and irritability caused by excessive liver fire. Vitamin C enhances metabolism and helps expel internal heat, making it suitable for individuals with a hot constitution to reduce liver fire.

3. Pear

Rich in water, B vitamins, and dietary fiber, pears provide hydration to relieve dry throat and eyes caused by excessive liver fire. B vitamins help regulate the nervous system, reducing irritability caused by liver fire. Dietary fiber promotes intestinal motility, aiding in the elimination of accumulated internal heat and assisting in liver fire reduction.

4. Celery

Contains apigenin and dietary fiber. Apigenin has a heat-clearing and liver-soothing effect, helping alleviate headaches and dizziness caused by upward-flaming liver fire. Dietary fiber promotes the elimination of metabolic waste, reducing heat accumulation. With a cooling nature, celery also helps lower internal heat, making it suitable for reducing liver fire.

5. Mung Beans

Rich in protein, B vitamins, and minerals, mung beans provide essential nutrients and enhance metabolic function. With a cooling nature, mung beans have heat-clearing and diuretic properties, helping expel internal heat through urine and relieve symptoms such as yellowish urine, dry mouth, etc., caused by excessive liver fire. They are commonly consumed as mung bean water or porridge.

II. Medications

1. Longdan Xiegan Pills

Composed of ingredients like Gentiana (Longdan), Bupleurum (Chaihu), and Scutellaria (Huangqin), these pills clear liver and gallbladder heat and remove dampness and heat. They help alleviate symptoms such as dizziness, red eyes, tinnitus, earache, flank pain, and bitter taste in the mouth caused by excessive liver fire by clearing heat and dampness and regulating liver and gallbladder function.

2. Danzhi Xiaoyao Pills

Contain ingredients like Tree Peony Bark (Mudanpi), Gardenia (Zhi Zi), and Bupleurum (Chaihu). These pills soothe the liver, relieve depression, clear heat, and regulate menstruation. They are suitable for symptoms like chest and flank distension pain, irritability, flushed cheeks, and dry mouth caused by liver qi stagnation transforming into fire. They help regulate liver qi, clear liver fire, balance internal energy flow, and improve emotional issues associated with liver fire.

3. Danggui Longhui Pills

Composed of ingredients like Angelica (Danggui), Gentiana (Longdan), and Aloe (Luhui), these pills clear fire and relieve constipation. They are suitable for individuals with excessive liver fire accompanied by constipation, helping alleviate symptoms like irritability, dizziness, headache, and abdominal distension caused by upward-flaming liver fire. They relieve liver fire and promote defecation to expel accumulated internal heat and reduce liver fire symptoms.

4. Qiju Dihuang Pills

Contain ingredients like Lycium (Gouqi), Chrysanthemum (Juhua), and Rehmannia (Shudihuang). These pills nourish the kidneys and liver, helping nourish liver and kidney yin and indirectly reduce liver fire. They improve symptoms like dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, and dry eyes caused by liver and kidney yin deficiency and upward-flaming liver fire. By nourishing yin and reducing fire, they regulate the body's yin-yang balance.

5. Huanglian Shangqing Tablets

Composed of ingredients like Coptis (Huanglian), Scutellaria (Huangqin), and Gardenia (Zhi Zi), these tablets clear heat, purge fire, dispel wind, and relieve pain. They help eliminate upper-jiao heat and fire, alleviating symptoms like dizziness, oral ulcers, and sore throat caused by upward-flaming liver fire. By clearing heat and dispersing wind, they reduce internal fire and improve various upper-jiao discomforts caused by liver fire.

In daily life, maintaining a regular routine, avoiding late nights that harm the liver, reducing intake of spicy and greasy foods, staying emotionally balanced, avoiding irritability and anger, and preventing the development of liver fire are also important. Seek medical attention when necessary and use medications under the guidance of a doctor; avoid self-medication.