What is Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang?

Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang is a herbal formula from Chinese medicine. Its English name is Raise the Yang and Augment the Stomach Decoction. It blends many herbs, but you take it as one fixed recipe.

This library lists it as a single item (a TCM formula). That is because it is prescribed and taken as one set preparation.

In traditional practice it is given to people who feel tired for a long time. Other signs include poor appetite, loose stools, and heavy or aching limbs. Some feel a weight in the head or body.

Practitioners call this pattern a weak spleen and stomach, with "damp" holding the body down.

Here is the honest evidence position. We could not find any published human trial of this formula. So its effects in people are not known.

It does have a long record of use in Chinese medicine. But long use is a record of custom, not proof that something works. That point applies to everything on this page.

How does Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang work?

In Chinese medicine terms, the formula is said to lift "yang qi". That is a term for the body's warm, rising energy. It is also said to build up digestion and drain "damp".

These ideas come from inside that system. They do not match any measure a doctor can take.

In modern terms, the single herbs have been studied in lab dishes and in animals. Astragalus and ginseng parts act on immune cells and blood sugar in animal work. Licorice changes how the body handles salt and potassium.

Citrus peel compounds act on gut movement.

None of that lab work tells you what the whole decoction does in a person. The steps from a cell study to a real effect in your body have not been shown for this formula.

What forms does Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang come in?

You may see it as:

A raw herb packet. You boil it at home to make a decoction (a strong tea, made by simmering herbs in water).

Granules or a strong powder. You stir these into hot water.

Pills or capsules, made from the dried extract.

A version tailored by a practitioner. Herbs are added or dropped to suit you.

Quality varies a lot from one supplier to the next. Chinese herbal goods have been found to hold hidden drugs, heavy metals or the wrong plant. So buy only from a supplier that tests its raw herbs and can show you the results.

Where it comes from:

The formula comes from the Pi Wei Lun (Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach). Li Dongyuan wrote that book around 1249 CE. This was during the Jin-Yuan period in China.

Li Dongyuan began the "Earth school" of Chinese medicine. It put digestion at the centre of health. This formula is one of his best known recipes.

It has stayed in use in Chinese herbal practice for about eight hundred years. It is a staple of one tradition, not a remedy shared across many. That is why its traditional tier is T2.

What does Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang help with?

• Long-lasting tiredness with poor appetite: This is the main traditional use of the formula. It is the pattern Li Dongyuan wrote it for. No human trial has tested it for energy or appetite. Long-lasting tiredness has many causes. These include anaemia (low red blood cells), thyroid trouble and depression. Get it checked before you treat it with herbs.
• Loose stools or poor digestion: Traditional practice uses it for loose, soft stools from weak digestion. Bloating and low appetite often come with it. There is no trial evidence in people. Any change in bowel habit that lasts more than a few weeks needs a doctor's check first. This matters even more after age 45.
• Heavy, aching limbs and body heaviness: The formula holds herbs that a practitioner would call "damp" clearing. They are also said to ease the limbs. This use rests on tradition alone. No study has measured pain, stiffness or movement in people who take it.
• Feeling foggy or weighed down in damp weather: Classical texts link this pattern to damp seasons. Healers give the formula in autumn and late summer. This is a traditional framework, not a tested claim. Nothing has been measured in people.
• Poor recovery after a long illness: Practitioners sometimes use it to build strength during slow recovery. There is no human evidence that it speeds recovery. Do not use it in place of treatment your doctor has given you.

Which foods are rich in Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang?

This is a prepared herbal formula, not something found in food. Ginger and jujube dates are ingredients, but eating them is not the same as taking the formula.

What are the side effects of Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang?

• Stomach upset, nausea or bloating
• Loose stools or, less often, constipation
• Fluid retention and puffiness, mainly from the licorice
• Rising blood pressure with longer use, mainly from the licorice
• Low potassium, which can cause muscle weakness, cramps or an irregular heartbeat
• Trouble sleeping or feeling wired, mainly from the ginseng
• Lower blood sugar in people taking diabetes medicine
• Allergic rash or itching
• Rare liver injury, reported with bupleurum-containing formulas
• Throat and mouth irritation if raw, unprocessed pinellia is used by mistake

Good to know:

Mild stomach upset is the most common complaint and usually settles or resolves when you stop.

The effects that matter most are from licorice. Taken daily for weeks, licorice can raise blood pressure and lower potassium (a mineral your heart and muscles need), which in rare cases has led to muscle weakness and irregular heartbeats. This is the reason the safety tier here is caution rather than routine.

Rare liver injury has been reported with Chinese formulas containing bupleurum. Yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine or pain under the right ribs means stop and get checked the same day.

How much Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by research. The formula has not been tested in published human trials. Traditional practice varies widely. A decoction is made from one day's packet of raw herbs. You simmer it, then split it into two or three drinks. Granule products are often taken at about 3 to 9 grams a day. That amount is split into two or three doses. Always follow the label on the product you have. This formula holds licorice and processed pinellia. So take it with a trained herbalist. It is not one to dose on your own.
• Best time of day: Split the day's amount into two or three doses. Take them through the day, often in the morning and early evening. Some practitioners skip a late evening dose. The formula is meant to lift your energy a little.
• With or without food: Take it warm between meals. Aim for about an hour before or after food. If it upsets your stomach, take it with food instead.
• Time to effect: Traditional sources expect slow change over one to three weeks. There is no measured time to effect. No human trial has tracked it.
• How long to take it: Tradition uses it in short courses of two to four weeks. You then review how it is going. Stop and think again if nothing has changed after about four weeks. Long use with no break raises the risk from licorice. It can push blood pressure up and potassium down over weeks or months. Do you want to use it for more than a month? Then do so with a practitioner who checks your blood pressure.