Drain damp
Yi Yi Ren
薏苡仁
Coix seed
Coix lacryma-jobi
A grain-like seed that drains damp and eases a heavy body.
Not for self-dosing. This page is not a formula, not a strength, and not a substitute for a licensed herbalist or physician.
Category
Cool · Sweet, Bland
Meridians entered
Traditional uses
Job’s tears. Texts use it for damp obstructing the spleen, a heavy limbs feeling, and some damp skin or joint pictures. Eaten as food in some cuisines at food doses, which is not the same as a concentrated extract.
Common pairings
- Fu Ling 茯苓
A gentle damp-draining pair, often the first one students taste in congee stories.
- Bai Zhu 白术
Supports the spleen while the seed leaches damp.
Cautions
Not for self-dosing as a concentrated herb. Traditional caution in pregnancy. Food amounts in a meal are a separate, cultural use.