Relieve food stagnation (xiao shi)

Herbs that relieve food stagnation (xiao shi) reduce or guide out food that has stagnated and accumulated in the digestive tract causing symptoms of distention, pain, bad breath, nausea, vomiting, gas and diarrhoea.

Some common examples include shan zha (Chinese hawthorn, Crataegus pinnatifida) and shen qu, a fermented mixture of leavened herbs and grains.