Avoid fish with which herb?

• A. Ren Shen
• B. Shen Qu
• C. Shui Hu
• D. Long Gu

Answer: (D)

Incompatibilities between foods and herbs is the idea behind this question: some herbs are not paired with certain foods because their properties can clash and disturb balance. Dragon bone (Long Gu) is a mineral herb with strong astringent, binding, and stabilizing actions used to anchor the mind and Qi. Its drying, sealing effect can antagonize the moist, greasy, damp nature of fish. That combination can tilt the digestive balance toward stagnation or digestive upset for some patterns, so it’s advised to avoid pairing fish with dragon bone. The other herbs listed don’t have a widely cited fish-specific incompatibility in standard references, so they aren’t the best match for this particular rule.