What is Jian Ling Tang?

Jian Ling Tang is a herb and mineral mix from Chinese medicine. Its name means Construct Roof Tiles Decoction. It is sold as a single drug (TCM formula): one set recipe, not a blend you adjust.

In Chinese medicine it is used for dizzy spells, headache, ringing ears and a flushed face. Healers tie these signs to a pattern they call liver yang rising. Many people today take it for high blood pressure.

Long use in a tradition is not proof that a remedy works. We found no sound human trials of this mix. So read what follows as custom, not as proven fact.

How does Jian Ling Tang work?

No one has shown how it works, or whether it works at all.

The old idea is simple. The heavy mineral parts are said to pull rising energy back down. The moist plant parts are said to cool and soften the liver.

Some single parts have been looked at in labs. Peony root and rehmannia root act on blood vessels in animal tests. Hematite is mostly iron oxide (rust), and the shell and fossil parts are mostly calcium.

Lab work on one herb does not tell you what the whole mix does in a person.

What forms does Jian Ling Tang come in?

A decoction is the usual form. The raw parts are boiled in water, and the strained liquid is drunk warm.

You can also buy granules that melt in hot water, or pills and capsules. Strength varies a lot from maker to maker.

Buy only from a seller who tests each batch for lead and arsenic. Ask a trained herbalist to pick the form and the dose for you.

Where it comes from:

The recipe was written down by Zhang Xichun, a Chinese doctor, in the early 1900s. It appears in his book Yi Xue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu.

The name is a picture: laying roof tiles so water runs down and off. Zhang used it to bring rising blood and heat back down.

It is taught in Chinese medicine schools today. Still, it is young next to recipes that are many hundreds of years old.

What does Jian Ling Tang help with?

• Dizziness and a spinning feeling: This is the main use in Chinese texts. Zhang Xichun wrote the recipe for people who feel the head swim when they stand or get angry. We found no human trial that tests this claim.
• Headache, often felt at the top or sides of the head: Old texts pair headache with a red face and a tight, fast pulse. The mineral parts are said to weigh the head down. There is no trial evidence for headache relief.
• High blood pressure: Many modern Chinese herbalists use this recipe for raised blood pressure. Any reports we found were small or unclear, and we could not confirm a solid trial. Never stop or cut a blood pressure drug to try it.
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus): Tinnitus with dizziness fits the same old pattern, so the recipe is often used for it. No human study supports this. Sudden ringing with hearing loss needs a doctor, not a herb.
• Flushed face with a red, irritable mood: Peony and rehmannia are the cooling parts here, by the old reading. This use rests on tradition alone.
• Trouble falling asleep with a restless mind: Dragon bone and oyster shell are used in Chinese medicine to settle the mind. Arborvitae seed is added for the same reason. No sleep trial of the whole mix was found.

Which foods are rich in Jian Ling Tang?

1. Dairy foods: worth spacing out, since the extra calcium adds to the calcium in the mix
2. Tea and coffee: worth spacing out, since they change how the iron is taken up

Practical Tips:

This is a made-up recipe, so you cannot get it from your diet.

What are the side effects of Jian Ling Tang?

• Constipation
• Loose stools
• Upset stomach or nausea
• Bloating or a heavy feeling after a dose
• Dark or black stools, from the iron in the hematite
• Feeling cold, tired or washed out
• Rash or itch, if you react to a plant part
• Too much iron in the blood, if you take it for a long time
• Build-up of lead or arsenic, if the mineral parts are not tested

Good to know:

Most reports are mild, and they stop when you stop the mix. There are no good safety trials, so the true rate is not known.

The main long-term worry is the mineral load. Iron builds up in the body and is hard to shed. Fossil and shell parts can carry traces of lead or arsenic, which harm the nerves and the kidneys.

Stop and call a doctor if you get black stools with belly pain, or if your skin or eyes turn yellow.

How much Jian Ling Tang should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by trials. In Chinese practice, one day's decoction uses about 30 to 60 grams of raw parts in all. It is boiled once, then drunk in two servings. Granule products are often 3 to 9 grams a day. Follow the label. Better still, let a trained herbalist set your dose.
• Best time of day: Morning and early evening, about twelve hours apart. Keep it at least two hours away from any other pill you swallow. Leave four hours for thyroid pills and for some antibiotics.
• With or without food: Take it warm, between meals, if your stomach is fine with that. The minerals can sit heavy, so take it with a little food if you feel sick. Do not take it with milk, tea or coffee, which change how the minerals are taken up.
• Time to effect: Not known from trials. Old texts say a few days to a few weeks for dizziness and headache. If nothing has changed in four weeks, stop and get advice.
• How long to take it: Keep courses short. Two to four weeks is a normal first run. Then stop and take stock with your herbalist or doctor. Long, non-stop use raises the amount of iron and lead you take in. Do not take it for months on end without checks.