Chicken gizzard membranes are useless in cooking, but are considered more valuable than gold in TCM because of its amazing health benefits. "Ji nei jin," literally chicken internal gold, was so named partly because of its yellow color and its amazing effects in improving digestion and tackling reproductive problems.

As a major organ for grinding food, ancient Chinese figured it could also work for digestive problems. They were proven correct. TCM classifies chicken gizzard membrane a "cold" medicine that travels through the spleen, stomach, small intestine and bladder meridians. Modern research also found humans secrete more gastric juices and have better digestion after eating it.

There are generally three kinds of processed chicken gizzard membranes available in TCM pharmacies, namely "sheng (raw) ji nei jin", "cu (vinegar) ji nei jin" and "chao (fried) ji nei jin." Raw chicken gizzard membrane eliminates stagnation and stones; vinegar chicken gizzard membrane can help the liver and digestion; fried chicken gizzard membrane can help relieve indigestion.

For stomach inflammation
Pour 3g fried chicken gizzard membrane powder and 10g honey into a glass of boiling water. Drink one glass before breakfast and another before dinner.
Benefits: Honey can help nourish organs and relieve pain, while gizzard membrane can help improve digestion and heal stomach ulcers.

For gallbladder or kidney stones
Cook decoction with 50g raw chicken gizzard membrane and 50g corn stigma. Drink 2-3 times a day for 10 days. Benefits: Help promote urination, eliminate stones and improve digestion.