Calm the Stomach
平胃散 · píng wèi sǎn
For bloating and heaviness that lingers after too much cold or raw food.
What it's for
When your stomach still feels packed hours after eating and food has lost its taste, this is what TCM reaches for. In TCM that stuck, waterlogged feeling gets called 'dampness,' a sluggish build-up of fluid your digestion can't move along, and the giveaway is a thick white film coating your tongue. Practitioners use it when the problem is congestion rather than weakness, so it clears things out instead of building you up.
Signs this formula is a fit
At least 2 of the 3 main signs below should sound like you. Fullness that doesn't shift is the signal that locks the pattern in.
Main signs
Full and bloated long after you've eaten
a tight, packed feeling below your ribs that just doesn't shift
Food has lost its taste
you eat because it's time, not because you actually want it
Heavy, waterlogged arms and legs
limbs feel weighted, and you want to nap all afternoon
Extra signs
- Loose stools or diarrhea
- Nausea, belching, or acid coming back up
- A swollen-looking tongue with a thick, white, greasy coating
- A pulse that feels soft and relaxed, or slippery
Signs it isn't
- You feel dry rather than waterlogged, with a dry mouth, dry skin, or night sweats
- Your appetite is low with no bloating at all, which points to weakness rather than congestion
- You are pregnant
What's in it
Safety
- Built for a congested gut, not a weak one. Low appetite without bloating or heaviness needs a building formula instead.
- Warm and drying. If you already run dry, with dry mouth, dry skin, or night sweats, it can push that further.
- Skip during pregnancy. Magnolia bark and licorice root are both avoided, and the classical texts flag the whole formula.
- Contains licorice root, which is not a good match if you have high blood pressure, heart failure, or kidney problems.
- Generally well tolerated at the standard patent-pill dose, with no significant side effects reported.
- Licorice root deepens the potassium loss caused by diuretics and stimulant laxatives.
- Licorice root can strengthen corticosteroids such as prednisone and heart drugs such as digoxin.
- Ginger taken alongside the blood pressure drug nifedipine slowed clotting more than nifedipine alone in one human trial.
- Tangerine peel can interact with statins and with other drugs your liver clears through the CYP3A4 pathway.
How to take it
What to get
Ping Wei Wan
Plum Flower200 ct
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Dose
Take 8 pills, 3 times a day. Other brands and forms use different doses, so follow the label on what you buy.
How long
Follow any time limit on the product label. If it gives none, ask a qualified TCM practitioner when to reassess. Do not keep taking it unchanged if nothing improves.