Anecdotes About Food-Therapy

Anecdotes about food-therapy

WRITTEN BY HE QINGHU

TRANSLATED BY HOU FEN

Copyright © 2018 by China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine Co.Ltd.

All copyrights reserved.

Original Chinese edition was published by China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine Co.Ltd.

English language edition © 2022 by Toronto Education Press

English language edition is published with the authorization of Zhongxing Xueren

(Beijing) International Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. with the consent of China

Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine Co.Ltd.

All copyrights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permissions in writing from the publisher.

Publishing Planner: ZhongXing XueRen (Beijing) International Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.

ISBN: 978-1-894534-59-8

Price: C$ 39

Publisher: Toronto Education Press Ltd.

Toronto, Canada

tep4services@gmail.com

Printed in Canada

Chapter 1 You Can Make Yourself Tall, Attractive, Fair-Skinned and Nice by Eating

1.1 Dietetic therapy of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is our “nutrition”

Teenagers have a strong demand for nutrition when they grow up in adolescence, thus parents often pay great attention to their nutrition. Like many families, mothers often make angelica ginger mutton decoction, barley porridge and so on for their kids. In fact, students may not know that such delicaciesserve as medicine and food with a good tonifying effect.

A saying in The Book of Changes goes like this: “Alternation between yin and yang is called the way. To spread and carry on it is of goodness and to perfect and persevere in it is of nature. A benevolent man who finds similarity between the way and benevolence calls the way benevolence, a wise man who finds similarity between the way and wisdom calls it wisdom, commonfolks are not aware of the existence of the way but make use of it in their daily life. Consequently, few understand the way in full as superior men do.”

This sentence means that the change of yin and yang is called the way. Being

Anecdotes about food-therapy

one after another is good, and being perfect and continuous is of nature. From the perspective of the benevolent, it is called benevolence; from that of a wise man, it is called wisdom. Common folks stay with the way of yin and yang every day yet without knowing it at all, so it is no wonder that the way of gentleman remains unknown.

Every day, you students get in touch with such ingredients, and it is helpful for your diet if you can acquire more knowledge about medicine and food homology. Since Chinese food therapy is a great treasure of China, if we use it every day but just tell little about it , isn’t it a great pity? It is just the same as we are in a garden, but know nothing about flowers. That is why we wrote this book.

Food therapy of TCM originated from primitive society. In the process of fighting against mother-nature, our ancestors gradually came to realize that some animals and plants are not only available for eating but also for curing diseases, thus having accumulated experiences of food treatment.

With the emergence and use of pottery, food-processing is not limited to just “burn meat by fire” and “cook grain on stone”. Cooking methods turned to be more diversified and food tasted better. During this period, a book named Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu family recorded the appearance of liquor like “Yidi making liquor ”. But at first liquor was only made by natural fermentation of food-oriented crops and fruits, and then came the edible liquor and medicinal liquor with complex components.

Yi Yin, a minister of the Shang Dynasty, reformed the cooking utensils, invented food like congee and decoction et al, and created the eating ways like boiling and drinking soup by removing residues. The 5th century BC in the Zhou Dynasty saw the appearance of a special “food doctor” in charge of diet, nutrition and health-care, followed by physicians, surgeons (sore and wound doctors) and other practitioners, showing how people valued the food therapy at that time.

With the establishment of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, dietetic therapy, as a branch of traditional Chinese medicine, was discussed by ancient

doctors. Huangdi’s Internal Classic , the first medical canon in China, proposed in Plain Conversation. Major Discussion on the Administration of Five-motions: “To use medicine with great toxicity to treat a disease, the rule is to stop the use of it when 60% of the disease is cured; to use medicine with moderate toxicity to treat a disease, the rule is to stop the use of it when 70% of disease is cured; to use medicine with mild toxicity to treat disease, the rule is to stop the use of it when 80% of the disease is cure; to use medicine with no toxicity to treat disease, the rule is to stop the use of it when 90% of the disease is cure; then the patient should take food, meat, fruit and vegetables to build up health. Care should be taken to prevent excessive use of medicine lest Zhengqi (Healthy-Qi) be hurt .” The effect of dietetic therapy was highly valued in the book.

You students may know Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, who was respected as “A medical saint”. When treating exogenous diseases, he pointed out that after taking Guizhi decoction, some hot porridge should be taken to help the absorption of the medicine. He also warned that during the period of taking medicine , raw, cold, sticky and pungent food should be avoided. Now diet has been specifically applied in adjuvant treatment due to its effects.

The Sui Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty witnessed the publication of many monographs on food therapy. Sun Simiao advocated in Volume 24 Valuable Prescriptions for Emergecy that: “A doctor must first understand the pathogen, know the types of the disease and treat it with food. If food therapy doesn’t work and then there should be medication.” In other words, people should rely on a reasonable diet rather than taking medicine to keep healthy. Doctors should first figure out the cause of the disease and treat it with food therapy. If the food therapy fails to work well, medicine can be a second choice. It was exactly under the guidance of this concept that Sun Simiao himself lived for more than 100 years, which made people at that time and in later periods accepted his theory of dietetic therapy and health preservation.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

In the Song Dynasty, the book Comprehensive Recording of Sage-like Benefit specially set up a part to introduce different methods of dietetic therapy for various diseases. In the Song Dynasty, Chen Zhi in his book Health Preservation by Diet for the Old put forward the idea about the health care for the elderly and emphasized the dietetic therapy. Hu Si hui, the chief physician of diet in the Yuan Dynasty, discussed a lot on diet for healthy people based on the heritage of food, nourishment and treatment in his book Principles of Correct Diet, the first monograph of nutrition in our country. The book Compendium of Materia Medica compiled by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty listed more than 300 kinds of cereals, vegetables and fruits, and over 400 kinds of animal-oriented medicine, all of which can be used in food therapy.

Now, with the enhancement of our national strength, Chinese food is becoming more and more popular in the world. However, for foreigners, they just enjoy the delicious food, but for us, we can enjoy the delicacies and take care of our health as well.

1.2 Food is the best medicine for human beings

Chinese ancestors obtained natural medicine from mother-nature and formed a unique theory of Chinese medicine which was closely related to our daily diet. Medicine can be taken as food which can also be used as medicine, thus having formed food therapy and medicated diet. There is a saying:

“Food therapy is better than

medicine.”

As early as more than 2,000 years ago, the idea of health preservation “medicine and food homology” and “food preservation and food therapy” was recorded in ancient Chinese medicinal documents. It is well known to all that daily dietetic material can prevent and cure diseases. If a family member catches a cold, normally drinking a bowl of soup boiled with several slices of raw ginger and shallot white with brown sugar works well.

In fact, in Chinese medicine and medication, there is no clear boundary between medicine and food materials. For example, hawthorn can promote digestion and invigorate spleen, activate blood and resolve stasis, with the function of astringent dysentery; when it is taken as food, it is sweet and sour. Mutton has the effect of warming yang, so its decoction can help students with cold hands and feet in winter.

Think about this question twice: in daily life, if such herbs or animal meats with medicine and food homology are taken as food to nourish our health, can we have the ability to fight against the disease before it happens? In this case, when we fall ill , it is unnecessary to take those bitter decoctions.

Food nourishment serves to help us to become healthy by combining the nutritional effects of food with our body to strengthen our capability of physical resistance and immunity. For instance, when we are ill , our families always prepare a bowl of nice chicken soup. In summer after school, mothers often make a cup of cool mung-bean soup for us in advance to clear our inner heat. Such actions may be interpreted as some casual care, but they are actually effective ways to treat diseases by food.

In contrast to medicine, the purpose of food is to correct our deviation and keep us in a long-term healthy state. However, medicine is the way for treating disease when we are unhealthy. So, food therapy is more fit for the health-preservation essence represented by “treat the disease before its onset but not after”. Medicine has failed on the starting line in the long-distance running to serve health for human beings.

What’s more, food is more natural, green and harmless compared with medicine . No matter how neutral the medicine is in nature, man is always worried about its least poison, but for food, we don’t seem to have this worry at all.

Take you teenagers as an example. You are at the peak time of study, so you can take more food like peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame, pine nuts, hazelnuts et al to invigorate the brain and calm your mind. Carrot, pork liver and muskmelon

Anecdotes about food-therapy

are good to prevent shortsightedness. Such food can serve as food when you are hungry and medicine when you are ill, which was well expressed by Zhang Chunxi, a medical expert in modern times in his book Integrating Chinese and Western Medicine entitled “For a sick person, food can not only treat disease but also allay hunger.” It is convenient, affordable and less adverse.

As believed by modern medicine, food therapy is a most natural and gentle way among various measures for treating and preventing diseases ; It is the fundamental way to improve life quality. Hippocrates, Father of Western Medicine, used to say: “Food is the best medicine for diseases of human beings”. This shows that Chinese and Western medical sages reached an agreement on “Food has the functions and effects to prevent and treat diseases.”

1.3 People who know food well are not likely to become ill

Food is the material for man. It can satisfy our taste buds and nourish our body. H owever, as a saying goes: “Disease comes from the mouth.” Lots of diseases are close ly related to unsuitable diet. We eat every day, but it doesn’t mean we know the correct way of eating.

As remarked in Huangdi’s Internal Classic, a traditional Chinese medical canon:“ Five kinds of grain can be used to nourish the body, five kinds of fruit can be used to assist five kinds of grain which can be used to nourish the body, five kinds of domestic animals can be used to supplement Five Zang-Organs and five kinds of vegetables can be used to enrich the viscera. Harmonic mixture of proper flavors can supplement Jing (Essence) and nourish Qi. Take the foods when they are in harmony of smell to tonify essence and replenish Qi” and “ food, meat, fruit and vegetables should be taken to build up health; care should be taken to prevent excessive use of medicine lest Zhengqi (Healthy-Qi) be hurt.”

Foods are diverse and each has its unique function. Five kinds of grains refer to Shu (broomcorn millet), Jingmi (polished round-grain nonglutinous rice), Dadou (soy bean), Xiaodou (red bean) and Mai (wheat). They serve as the staple food to nourish the human body. Five kinds of fruits are Tao (peach), Li (plum), Xing (apricot), Li (chestnut), Zao (date or jujube), which can help preserve health and invigorate our bodies. Five kinds of domestic animals are Niu (cow or ox), Yang (goat or sheep), Shi (pig), Quan (dog) and Ji (chicken or rooster), which can tonify and replenish our bodies. They can also make up for insufficient nutrients of five staple food as the main supplementary food in balanced diet. Five kinds of vegetables include Kui (sunflower), Huo (leaves of beans), Xie (acrostem onion), Cong (scallion) and Jiu (Chinese chives), which can enrich health, as the important supplementary food in balanced diet.

It is not hard to find out from the statements of sages that the importance of five kinds of grains, five kinds of fruits, five kinds of animals to humandiet structure descended. Food like wheat, corn and rice are staple, while fruits, meats and vegetables are supplements. If we mess up their order and take the fish and meat as staple food, something may go wrong with our health. Many overweight pals around you students are good examples. If you are too overweighted, in the future you will have higher risk in suffering from such diseases as hyperlipidemia, diabetes and high blood pressure.

The final objective of food therapy in TCM is to keep our body in a state of balanced diet. Precious Mirror of Health said: “What matters about food is not the amount we eat but our self-control.” It is an ancient but not old view on food diet to insist on a proper combination of five grains, five fruits, five animals and five vegetables without food partiality, preference and overeating, which is also a balanced diet advocated by modern nutrition.

In addition, according to TCM: “Five flavors are harmonious and should not be partial.” Food obtains five flavors like sour, bitter, sweet, acrid and salty. These five flavors have their unique channels and preferable zang and fu which are there and not

Anecdotes about food-therapy

because of five flavors. Too much intake of salty food stagnates the blood vessels and changes the countenances. Too much intake of bitter food makes the skin dry and bodyhair lose. Too much intake of sour food causes wrinkled thickness of muscles and the chap of lips. Too much intake of sweet food leads to the pain of bones and loss of hair. These are the impairments caused by too much intake of five flavors.”

The above statements mean that the fundamental principle of diet should follow: “Diet is organized and five flavors are harmonious.” You are not supposed to prefer a specific flavor to another just because of personal appetite. In addition, Zhang Gao in the Song Dynasty pointed out in On Medicine that human taste should be: “Throw away the fat and greasy, control the sour and salty”. We should center on light vegetarian food in daily life and eat less fat, sweet, greasy, sour and salty dishes.

In addition, as recorded in Huangdi’s Internal Classic : “Sages cultivate yang in spring and summer while nourishing yin in autumn and winter.” “So, sages preserve health b adapting themselves to the cold and heat.” Foodies know how to adapt themselves to the “ time of mother-nature” and center on food with different properties and flavors in accordance with different seasons, climates and time so as to adapt themselves to the changes concerning environment as well as yin, yang, Qi and blood of human beings.

For instance, in spring, with the ice and snow thawn , all creatures are awake and weed begins to sprout. This is what the ancients called “In the first three months of spring, all creatures on the earth begin to grow.” At this time, the corresponding changes also appear in humanbodies, so you had better take in some food to help promote the body yang, such as common yam rhizome, lotus seeds, euryale seeds, hyacinth beans, leek, crucian carps, water chestnuts, peanuts, dried longan aril and so on.

In spring, it is frozen with hard ice and thick snow. To adapt ourselves to such severe frozen setting and store enough energy to survive the winter, the tonifying diet should follow the warm-tonifying principle. Most of such products for winter tonifying

are nourishing and slimy medicine, or fatty and greasy food, especially those so-called “animal medicinal and edible tonics” with the best nourishing effect.

Humans eat to live. Eating seems like a piece of cake, but it matters a lot because it is closely related to our health. The leading function of eating is to fill the stomach, then to satisfy our taste buds and to preserve health. A foodie is not likely to fall ill and good wish for all foodies after reading this book.

1.4 Ingredients have their own “properties”

You students may know the witticisms: “Doll clays also have a little bad-temper!” Both human beings and animals, large and small, have their own temper. But do you know this? The same is true of plants!

Facing the yummy hotpot, some people enjoy it very much while some do not. Because after eating, they might suffer from a red and swollen throat, or have acnes on the face, which all mean they have inner heat. The word “heat” refers to the “property” of pricklyash peel and chili. The hot and spicy hot pot is like a small buffalo with badtemper. If you pair with a similar temper, the result is that you can’t deal with it, on the contrary, you might even be bitten by it.

TCM holds that food contains four properties: cold, heat , warmth and coolness, which means food has four different features. If you know its properties and flavors well and take in properly, it can help a lot to nourish your body, if not, some side- effects would occur.

Generally speaking, warm and hot food has the effects of warming the middle , tonifying deficiency and eliminating cold, so it is fit for those people with deficiencycold constitution and better to be taken in winter. Such food includes beef, venison, chicken, eel, leek, walnuts, lychee, durian and so on. Food with cold and cool properties can clear inner heat, purge inner fire and remove toxin, fitting for people with inner-heat

Anecdotes about food-therapy constitution, reddish complexion and eyes, yellowish urine and dry excrement . Foods like cucumbers, bitter gourds, watermelons, pears, green beans, crabs, pork, beer et al belong to such category.

According to TCM’s principle of “Treat inner-heat with cold and treat cold with inner-heat”, people with cold constitution should nourish the body by eating warm and hot food, while those with hot constitution should cool their body with cold food. If a person with lots of sweat and inner-heat eats some over-nourishing ingredients like raw ginger, green onion, leek, chili, mutton, dog meat, it is undoubtedly like adding fuel to the fire.

Just like the way of how people get together. Only those people with complementary personalities can stay peacefully. Two strong persons , if put together, are doomed to fight against each other, just like Zhang Fei and Li Kui. It is the same case with man and food.

Further study on the food property uncovers that some kinds of food have their preferable organs, namely, they like to play wiith certain organs after entering the human body. For example, raw ginger, cinnamon and hawthorn are good for spleen and the appetite; persimmon and honey can nourish yin, moisturize dryness and stop coughs; mustard and water chestnuts can resolve phlegm and are good for lungs; wolfberry and pig liver can enhance vision and are good for liver. All these show the “little temper” of food.

Having known the “little temper” of food can consciously guide us to make good use of them to function on specific organs. For instance, you can choose hawthorns when you have no appetite because your spleen is weak in its functions . You can brew wolfberries for tea when you have dry eyes due to deficient liver blood.

Chinese food therapy stresses different properties, flavors and functions of food, that is to say, use food’s partial likes to adjust Qi, blood, yin and yang to reinforce healthy Qi and eliminate pathogen so as to reach the state that “only when yin at peace

and yang is compact can Jingshen (Essence-Spirit) be normal.” Knowing and fully understanding food characteristics and choosing the ones suitable to our constitution can help to prevent diseases and preserve health. Knowing cold and hot properties of food, we can select suitable foods with the right seasoning and cooking-methods to adjust or even change their functions.

Then in daily life, what kinds of different properties do some common food have? Let’s see briefly:

Cold food: Commonly used ones are mulberry, purslane herb, dandelion, day lily, wax gourd, watermelon, bitter gourd, crab, seaweed, mung bean, kelp, mung bean sprouts, tomatoes, melon and so on.

Hot foods: Commonly edible ones include chili, pricklyash peel, pepper, cinnamon, dried ginger, wine vinegar, fennel, broad beans, coriander, mutton and so on.

Warm foods: Commonly edible ones are mustard, greens, onion, garlic, leek, carrot, raw ginger, peach, lychee, longan aril, citrus, papayas, brown sugar, dates, grapes, glutinous rice, walnuts, oolong tea, beef, chicken, goose meat, shrimps, crucian carps, eels and silver carps, etc.

Cool foods: Commonly edible ones are pear, banana, sugarcane, olives, chrysanthemum, loofah, cucumbers, rapeseeds, amaranth, celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, spinach, lotus roots, taro, egg-plants, radishes, spinach, tofu, fungus, rabbit meat, black fish, eels, frogs and turtles, etc.

Foods of nutural nature : The commonly edible ones are beans, sesame, yams, peanuts, lily bulbs, soybeans, corns, pea, sweet yams, lentil, wheat, japonica rice, apples, loquats, mushrooms, honey, sugar, carps, eggs, duck-eggs, pork, etc.

1.5 Does “tonifying viscera by eating offals” make sense?

Son: “Dad, what on earth is this black stuff you have cooked for me?”

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Dad: “Good boy, it is the pig-marrow specially bought for you. Eat it quickly! You can have your brain tonified by taking the marrow, then you will be much cleverer than before.”

Son: “……”

Many of you might have such similar experiences. Then is it really true by following the saying “tonifying viscera by eating offals”?

In fact , the idea of “tonifying viscera by eating offals” originated from traditional medicinal theory of “Tonifying the shape by shape, organ by organ”. The main concept is to use the food or the offal similar to that in the human body in shape to tonify human organs. For example, walnuts, being like the human brain, can tonify the human brain, and kidneys, or rather animal kidneys, can tonify human kidneys.

But, is this theory reliable?

The theory of “Tonifying the shape by shape, organ by organ” is the law of TCM through long-term observation of mother-nature. TCM is an empirical medicine which can only summarize the laws by looking for common grounds against the background of being unable to study things in a micro-way. This method may not always work, but in most situations, we may find it quite interesting or even magical.

As a folk saying goes: “Frequent intake of walnuts keeps the age away”.Ancient people discovered the effect of walnuts in invigorating brain, but they failed to analyze its ingredients. Noticing the similarity between walnuts and the human head, they took this common feature and formed the saying of “Tonifying brain by brain”.

Actually, modern research shows that the reason why walnuts can tonify brain is not because it looks like the humanbrain, but because it has highly unsaturated fatty acids, like linoleic acid and linolenic acid, which can improve brain function. Vitamins and lecithin in walnuts are beneficial for improving sleep, tranquilizing nervous tension and eliminating brain exhaustion.

For instance, when a carrot is cut into two parts , the middle of its cross section is

like the human pupil, and it indeed functions on brightening vision. Tomatoes look like human heart, frequent intake of it is of great help to the heart. Raw ginger looks like the stomach and it indeed has the function of nourishing the stomach.

So even though the idea of “Tonifying the shape by shape” sounds somewhat awkward, “Tonifying organs by organs” in the theory of “Tonifying viscera by eating offals” is rational to some extent.

Sun Simiao, a great medical expert in the Ming Dynasty, discovered that animal offals are closely related to human inner organs in the functions of histology, morphology and physiology, so he brought forth the theory and treatment of “Tonifying organs by organs”. For example, kidneys govern bones, so mutton bones are used to make congee to tonify bone-Qi and strengthen sinews and bones; liver is associated with eyes , thus mutton-liver is used for treating night blindness; deer kidneys are used to cure kidney deficiency and impotence due to the decline of life-gate-fire and insufficient kidney yang. Besides, one can often read offals such as the pig heart and mutton liver in ancient decoctions, which proves that the preservation of tonifying organs by organs has been under application for over one thousand years. So, if they sound no sense, why do they have such a long-term practice?

Theoretically speaking, zang-fu organs are different between TCM and what is known to all in concept. They cover a group of certain synthetic functions. For example, “liver” in TCM has concepts different from those of the liver in Westerm medicine. “Tonifying organs by organs” in TCM doesn’t narrowly mean to tonify human liver by eating animal liver, but a group of synthetic functions related to liver and gallbladder.

In all, we cannot fully trust the theory of “Tonifying viscera by eating offals”. But partial trust in it is accepted. Anyhow, the theory has been handed down by experiences with high value to us. If you are interested in it, you can keep a close eye on such ingredients. That’s very interesting !

Chapter 2 All Things Grow in Spring and It’s the Right Time to Preserve Health

2.1 Date porridge with Chinese wolfberry blesses people with a ruddy face

In spring, everything in mother-nature grows by working hard to absorb nutrients, so willows turn green, flowers become red and a reviving landscape makes people relaxed and happy.

Actually in such a season, our skin also tries to absorb nutrients, so long as the skin is provided with enough Qi and blood, it can surely grow as red as flowers.

You girls at the high school are more concerned about your complexion. Influenced by many factors like genetics and climate, the skin of some girls will become fair and tender, some may be yellow and dark. Here is a jujube porridge with Chinese wolfberry (Gouqi) and frequent use of it can help to make the face ruddy and beautiful. In fact, it is quite simple to make such porridge. The ingredients include 30 grams of wolfberry fruits, 3-5 pieces of red dates (remove the core), and 60 grams of rice. 1. Soak the wolf berry and red dates in clean water and wash them; 2. add the rice with a small amount of water and boil up the rice; 3. add some more water after the rice is boiled up (based

on the daily water amount of rice porridge), and drop the wolfberries and dates in turn. After the rice keeps boiling over strong fire, turn to mild fire for another 15 minutes;

4. you can enjoy it. This porridge tastes very good and some rock sugar is suggested according to your personal flavor.

Qi and blood are the foundational and decisive factors for the health of humanbeings, especially for the complexion of women. Qi propels blood to circulate, and blood carries Qi. Qi and blood breed each other . Qi deficiency leads to less blood which results in Qi deficiency. Generally, people with insufficient Qi and blood look dim and dark on the face, and the qi and blood cannot be pushed forward. Therefore, the wastes in blood vessels would easily precipitate on the face, form various spots and affect the outlook .

Therefore, only a girl with sufficient Qi and blood can a have beautiful appearance and lustrous hair.

In “Date porridge with Chinese wolfberry”, Chinese wolfberry is a good product for nourishing qi and preserving blood. Shennong’s Classic Materia Medica records Chinese wolfberry as a top-grade medicine which “can be taken for a long time, strengthen sinews and bones, and be lithe and not old”. Date tonifies blood. According to modern pharmacological studies, date can increase the oxygen content in blood and nourish cells in the whole body. It is a strong agent with mild effect. Many folk sayings like “Three dates a day keeps time away” and “A date tree in front of the door keeps the beauty forever” and so on are widely known, which shows thatthe date efficacy to preserve beauty has been accepted.

Love for beauty makes a person beautiful. All youngsters want to have both strength and beauty. And this “date porridge with Chinese wolf berry” can contribute a little bit to your beautiful youth.

2.2 Eating it, you can be taller in spring

Nowadays, two Chinese versions are quite popular, i.e. “Gao Fu Shuai”, meaning a tall, rich and handsome man and “Ai Cuo Qiong”, standing for a short, ugly and poor man. You see, height always comes first when judging a person.

In society, height is the first impression on others. Being too short is easily looked down by others. Height is always the most important factor for employers to consider when they hire employees, such as honor guards and flight attendants, because appearance is important for these jobs.

“30% of our height is determined by genes, and 70% by our efforts.” Although the height of a kid is influenced by heredity, we can change it through our own efforts.

As shown by a study by the World Health Organization,, the growth rate of children is not the same in four seasons of the year. Children grow fastest in spring, especially from March to May, with a monthly height of 7.3mm. According to Huangdi’s Internal Classic, “Three months in spring is the time for the growth of new life.” It is full of vitality everywhere, and everything seems to be thriving. Spring is the season of growing hair and height, so we had better make good use of it.

Here is the recommendation of Carrot and Yam Porridge as a simple food therapy for height growth. Specific ingredients include: 100 grams of carrots, 100 grams of yam tuber and 60 grams of rice.

The steps are as follows: First cut carrot and yam tuber into small pieces for use, then cook rice porridge, add carrot and yam after the porridge is cooked, and then stew them again. With this done, you can enjoy it.

Carrot is rich in carotene which most can turn into Vitamin A after entering our body. Vitamin A is an essential substance for the normal growth, bone-development and one of the elements of body growth, which helps cell proliferation and growth.

Huai Yam is one of the “four major kinds ” produced in the city of Jiaozuo, Henan province, which has the effects of invigorating spleen and tonifying lungs, replenishing stomach and tonifying kidneys, helping five zang organs and strengthening sinew and bones. Once spleen and stomach are sound , there will surely be a good appetite , which will help us eat more and help us grow tall.

As shown by research, boys’ epiphyseal close comes up at the average age of 18 and that of girls at 16 respectively. After the epiphysis is closed, they will not grow any more in height. Therefore, they should make good use of the golden age of growth at junior high school.

2.3 Fish-head decoction with gastrodia (Tianma) brings you a happy spring

“My love for the capital for ages has gone, sudden spring rains remind me of my home.” “Helpless, flowers disappear. Familiar swallows come here”, “Spring keeps people agitated and awakened; Moon moves the shadow of flowers to the hand-rail”.

Dear students , aren’t these poems about spring very beautiful? Are they sentimental as well? When it comes to spring, ancient scholars would always associate it with grieving over, sympathizing with, retaining and sighing about spring.

Spring should be a pleasant season, but people seem to have a particularly depressed and low mood in spring. Modern research uncovers that low air pressure in spring can easily cause hormone secretion disorder, and changeable weather can lead to frequent mood changes. What’s more, people tend to have greater pressure in spring because they are likely to have good wishes after the Spring Festival. But it is hard to foretell things. Once things go against wishes, impatient people with introverted or in-confident personalities become more easily nervous, anxious, sleepless and inappetent.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

TCM holds that spring matches liver, an organ to dredge and smooth the route of channels . Human beings adjust the mood by relying on liver’s dredging and smoothing function. To get rid of the depressed mood in spring, try this “ Fish- head soup with gastrodia (Tianma)” to replenish Qi and nourish liver.

Specific preparations with ingredients include: a fish head, 50 grams of gastrodia, a little salt, green onion, ginger, garlic, cooking wine. Wash the fish head with clean water, remove the dirt in the gills and cut it into two parts. Wash and cut the gastrodia into sections, soak it in water and drain it for use. Then burn the cooker until it is hot, add oil, stir ginger slices until it smells good, add a little cooking wine, pour in the fish head, fry it to remove the fishy smell, after 1-2 minutes, take it out for use.

Then put the fish head and gastrodia into a stew pot, and add enough water to cover the ingredients. Finally, stew it in water for 1-2 hours, and finally add an appropriate amount of salt, then it is done.

Gastrodia is sweet in flavor, flat in property and goes into the liver meridian. It can tonify Qi and nourish liver. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: “gastrodia is the medicine of liver meridian Qi”. The meat of the crucian carp is delicious, rich in nutrition. According to traditional Chinese medicine, crucian carp also has the therapeutic effect of invigorating spleen, appetizing, replenishing Qi, promoting water and removing dampness. Eating more crucian carps in spring can not only supplement nutrition, but also enhance the ability of fighting against diseases.

The human liver is characterized by “preference of regulating mental activity”, Regulating mental activity means mental smooth and accessible Qi, in other words, it is to let the Qi “go within its route”. If the liver Qi goes smoothly, the human body can better coordinate its mental activities. In this case, such a person can always be in a happy mood and can quickly resolve unhappiness .

As a folk saying goes: “The work for a year best begins in spring”. For you students, spring is the best time to learn. If you are unhappy in spring, you may be

ruined by a bad mood for a whole year. Hence, even though this bowl of fish head soup with gastrodia looks normal, it is of great help to keep you in a good mental state.

2.4 Beautiful black hair is no longer out of reach

Dear students, have you ever heard the song named “My hand goes through your dark hair” by Luo Dayou? If not, I suggest the song for you. The melody and lyrics are wonderful. Every girl wishes to have beautiful dark hair. In fact, whether the hair is dark not only affects your appearance, but also shows the state of your health.

The hair relies on the nourishment of Qi and blood to grow. Now students are often under great pressure and overuse their brains. If the area of the scalp is not fertile, hair cannot thrive. Meanwhile, spring is the right season for all things to grow, and everything is vigorous. If we irrigate the land like hard-working farmers , we will certainly harvest.

Black bean decoction for hair growth is a good choice. Choose 30 grams of black sesame, 30 grams of black bean, 12 grams of Chinese wolf-berries, 20 grams of white sugar. After boiling in water for about 30 minutes, take the soup with medicine. Once a day for 60 continuous days.

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, black sesame can tonify the liver and kidneys, moisten five internal organs, replenish Qi, grow muscles and fill the brain. It is known to all for its efficacy in dark hair and beauty. The Compendium of Materia Medica quoted baopuzi as a saying: “Taking black sesame for 100 days can remove all pain and diseases; take it for a year, the body and face become lustrous; for two years, gray hair can turn dark; for three years, the falling teeth will grow again.”

Black sesame has the functions of strengthening the stomach, protecting liver and stimulating the growth of red blood cells. It also has a magical effect on darkening and preserving hair and can be found in many modern shampoos.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Black beans are called “King of beans” with high nutritional value. Modern research shows that black beans are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E, which can remove free radicals in the body, reduce skin wrinkles and help to keep people beautiful and young. Li Shizhen once told a story in his Compendium of Materia Medica: A man named Li Shouyu had a habit of swallowing 14 black beans every morning, as a result, he didn’t look old at all even when he got old. So that is why we say black beans can prolong our life.

Moreover, according to the theory of “Tonifying the shape by shape”, ancients believed that black beans were the valley of kidneys which are bean-like in shape and black goes into kidneys, so they can tonify kidney Qi, which has been proved to be true in practice. Kidneys take charge of the hair. If kidney Qi is enough, hair will be thick and glossy. If kidney Qi is weak, hair will fall out. Therefore, black beans are a good source of growing dark hair.

Chinese wolfberry can also tonify kidney Qi and stimulate the production of blood. We can have enough Qi and blood by taking the decoction boiled with such berries and black beans and black sesame. In such a case, we don’t need to worry about a harvest in the fields. I hope you students can often drink this soup, because it can not only make your hair dark, but also invigorate your brain, hence killing two birds with one stone.

2.5 Date soup with astragalus and polygonatum helps you expel the spring sleepiness

In spring dawn , I found myself o’ersleep; here and there birds twitter or cheep. Last night wind slashed and rain fell on; how many blooms have fallen down?

This is from Meng Haoran’s “Spring Dawn”, which shows a beautiful picture of deep sleep in the spring night without realizing the advent of the dawn.

In early spring, lots of people become particularly sleepy and still feel tired after

waking up in the morning, this is what we call the spring sleepiness. Spring sleepiness, also known as spring fatigue, is a physiological reaction of the human body to seasonal changes. It is often embodied by exhaustion and drowsiness.

Some students may say it’s very easy to solve this problem: just sleep a little longer. This is a wonderful dream. Firstly, study time is too limited; secondly, it is enough to sleep for about 8 hours a day because the sleep of more than 8 hours will change the normal cycle of sleep and awakening, leading to the biological clock disorder of the human body. If the brain is in a state of inhibition for a long time, it will also make the brain cells mainly responsible for sleep tired, make people more drowsy. Finally, people are more likely to enter the vicious cycle of “the more sleep, the more drowsy” by feeling dizzy and uncomfortable.

In traditional Chinese medicine, date soup with astragalus and polygonatum is a good choice to remove spring sleepiness. Choose 15 grams of astragalus, 10 grams of polygonatum and 6 grams of date. Boil them in water and take one dose a day.

Astragalus is sweet in flavor, warm in property and good for spleen and stomach.

It is an important medicine for tonifying middle and replenishing Qi. Modern research shows that it also has the effect of anti-fatigue. Polygonatum, sweet and neutral, can nourish Qi and preserve yin , invigorate spleen and replenish kidneys, also as a tonic medicine . Date tonifies blood and Qi. There is such a saying: “Three dates a day retains the youth.” Winter is the season featured by storage, while Qi and blood also flow slowly. This leads to the failure of quick adaption of Qi and blood to the state of the body when winter comes. So, at this time, drinking a liquid decoction mixed with date, astragalus and ploygonatum can help to tonify Qi and blood to move actively and stay away from the "dormant" state.

In addition, scientific diet also has a positive effect on dealing with spring sleepiness. In spring, it is better to have a light, fresh and easily digestive diet. Foods like vegetables, carrots, kalimeris (Malan head) celery, cabbage, water chestnuts and so

Anecdotes about food-therapy

on are the best choices. Try to eat less greasy meat , so that it is easier to be absorbed by intestinal tracts. More pungent foods like onion, ginger, garlic are good, for they help to remove dampness, dispel filthy turbidity, promote blood circulation and stimulate central brain.

The most important thing is to conform to the weather, go out for more exercises, and stretch the body to shake off the laziness in winter and welcome the new year with a positive mood.

Spring is the time for the weather to be warm and everything to revive. It also provides a breeding ground for all kinds of viruses and bacteria. Moreover, the more the outdoor activities of people are, the easier it is for the disease to spread among them, so spring is a particularly popular season for flu. That is why many people are free from symptoms of cold in the cold winter but in warm spring.

With a flu, you might feel hot, sore and tired all over the body and have no mood of learning. And the most important thing is that flu is transmitted through the air. That is why once one of your classmates has a flu, many of your classmates and friends are also infected .

In fact, there is an effective way to deal with flu by means of traditional Chinese food therapy. A cup of ginger-tea decoction a day is good enough. Soak 10 grams of ginger and 7 grams of green tea with hot water and drink it while it is hot.

Ginger is an ingredient of daily diet. As believed by TCM, ginger serves to enhance yang . Dry ginger can warm the middle and disperse cold, invigorate the stomach and activate blood circulation, so it has been known as “ Ginger is a must for a long time ” since ancient times. As a saying goes:“There will be no evil if there is sufficient healthy Qi in the body.” With enough yang Qi in the body, you can resist the

2.6 A cup of “ginger-tea decoction” a day keeps the flu away.

invasion of foreign virAs discovered by scientific research, raw ginger plays a key role in killing bacteria and fighting against viruses.

Originated in China, tea is known as one of the three major beverages in the world. Green tea generally refers to Longjing tea, Biluochun tea, Xinyang Maojian tea and so on. Tea contains some medicinal substances beneficial for health, like catechin, cholesterone, caffeine, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic acid and so on. Its antioxidants help to enhance human immune function and resist the invasion of viruses and bacteria.

As shown by a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition, experimenters taking a special green tea capsule reduced their risk of common cold and flu by 23%, shortened the course of their disease and produced more immune cells that could fight bacteria and viruses. Such cells can help to prevent the cold.

For students fond of drinking tea, ginger tea is a good drink to prevent flu in spring. Moreover, drinking tea frequently can excite the central nervous system, help people keep up their spirits, enhance their thinking, remove fatigue and improve their learning efficiency.

What’s more, because the temperature in spring is still changeable, you students had better keep the following suggestions in mind: do not follow the fashion like “elegance comes before warmth ”; do not add or take off clothes at will , especially in the morning and evening; put on more clothes to keep warm. With sneezing or coughing, cover the mouth and nose with a handkerchief or paper towel to prevent droplets from infecting others. In the high incidence period of flu, stay away from crowded and polluted places. When you have to go, wear a mask. All of the above details are the precautions against flu.

2.7 Spring bamboo shoots fried with shrimp meats tastes good and makes one slim

As remarked in Huangdi’s Internal Classic : “The sages in ancient times who knew how to cultivate health followed the rules of yin and yang and adjusted their ways to cultivate health. They were moderate in eating and drinking, regular in their work and rest, trying avoid any exhaustion. That’s why they could keep desirable harmony between the mind and the body, enjoying good health and a long life.”

Ancient sages taught us that health preservation must “follow the rules of yin and yang”, i.e. go with the law of the seasons. As for food, the ingredients we choose must be in season .

Spring bamboo shoots are the food of spring. After the Beginning of Spring, baby-shoots break through the earth, which is just the scene of spring when all things revive and grow. Bamboo shoots after rain are as white as jade and tender with delicate fragrance and mellow when they are chewed. That is why they have such a good reputation as “The first vegetarian food” loved by people since ancient times. Scholars and gourmets praise them and say: “It is not a fresh taste without fresh bamboo shoots”. Su Dongpo once said: “No meat makes people slim, but no bamboo makes people vulgar”.People of following generation take this opportunity to remark: “Anyone who doesn’t wish to be neither vulgar nor thin, just cook meat with bamboo shoots every day.”

Spring bamboo shoots not only taste good but also have high medicinal value. According to the records in Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians : “Bamboo shoots govern consumptive thirst, benefit water channels, replenish Qi, and can be eaten for a long time.” As pointed out in Supplements to Compendium of Materia Medica : “Bamboo shoots benefit nine orifices, dredges blood vessels, dissolves phlegm and

saliva, dissipates food and distension", especially good at clearing away inner-heat phlegm. Modern medicine also believes that bamboo shoots can absorb fat, promote food fermentation, help digestion and excretion, as one of the most perfect foods for reducing weight.

Food with good taste and weight-reduction is an ideal food for girls. Here is a kind of food for clearing intestines and slimming: 200 grams of shrimps, 500 grams of spring bamboo shoots, half of a cucumber, some amount of green onion and ginger. 1. Remove the shrimp-thread from its back, wash it, slice the spring bamboo shoots and the cucumber, and shred the green onion and ginger; 2. Pour the salad oil into the pan, keep the shrimps in the hot oil for a while, and then stir-fry the bamboo shoots, the cucumber, shredded green onion and ginger; 3. Add a suitable amount of salt and a little cooking wine, then it is done.

Bamboo shoots contain little fat and starch. They are the ideal food for the overweighted people because it contains low fat and low calorie. Shrimps taste light and refreshing, being easy to digest with high nutrition, which can enhance the human immunity. At the same time, due to its low calorie and fat, it will not lead to obesity.

Now, you students are at the key stage to watch your body-shape and growth. Without enough nutrition, you will lag behind in height growth. In fact, the abundance and lack of nutrition do not depend on the amount of the meal. So long as you eat right, your nutrition will not be insufficient. This fried shrimp with spring bamboo shoots not only meets nutritional needs, but also has the effect of weight reduction.

2.8 The secret of improving your academic scores

You students are a group of people who overuse your brain. Because you are often engaged inelbow-deep study for a long time, especially stay-up-late before exam, you will have a dizzy and swollen brain, poor memory, and even low learning effect. All

Anecdotes about food-therapy

these indicate that you should stop learning and obtain some energy.

Many kinds of food in daily life can be used to “charge your brain”, such as walnuts, eggs, peanuts and sesames and so on.

Every March in spring is the right time for fish to look for food and for you to enjoy the fish-meat thanks to its tenderness. In fact, it remains unknown to all that fish is the first choice to tonify and invigorate brain in spring. Research shows that fishmeat has good proteins and lots of unsaturated fatty acid which are very important to the normal development of brain and eyes. Particularly, the rich lecithin in the fish-head is an important source of nutrition for nerves in human brain. It can strengthen human memory, thinking and analysis abilities, control the degeneration of brain cells and delay aging.

Among many kinds of fish, loach is nicknamed as “ginseng of the water” and can tonify kidneys. TCM believes that kidneys govern bones and produces marrows. Brain is the sea of marrows, so sufficient kidney Qi means sufficient marrows that can provide the brain with continuous energy.

Here is a “Bean curd loach soup” for you to tonify and invigorate the brain. Take 3 to 6 loaches, a piece of bean curd and some raw ginger. 1. Use the scissor to cut the loach stomach and take out the viscera, wash the sticky liquid on its surface and clean its body; 2. Wash the raw ginger and shred it; 3. Wash the bean curd and cut it into small chops for use; 4. Pour oil into a hot pan and fry bean curd until golden on both sides and then set aside; 5. Keep oil in the pot, add shredded ginger and stir fry the loaches; 6. Place some amount of water to boil over strong fire, put the fried tofu inside and continue for five more minutes till the soup turns milky white, drop some salt and chicken essence, then here it is for you to enjoy.

Bean curd has a history of over 2,000 years so far. Its unique flavor, simple processing and convenience make it gain its great popularity among common folks because it contains high protein, low fat and has the effect of lowering blood pressure

and blood lipids. Moreover, bean curd, made from beans, includes lecithin which is good for nourishing the brain, so it can replenish energy for the brain.

Nowadays, many kinds of so called brain tonics for improving student memory are sold in the market, but frankly, at the same price, their effective ingredients are not necessarily higher than a bowl of “bean curd loach soup”, which is shown in the following saying: “Tonic is inferior to diet.” Your DIY can not only improve your life quality and get experiences but also improve your academic scores after enjoying it, so why not try one?

2.9 Drinking chrysanthemum tea in spring can help clean liver and improve vision

TCM believes that liver is associated with eyes, since the liver and eyes are closely related. As the earliest book of Chinese medicine theory in China, Huangdi’s Internal Classic records: “Nourished by the blood, eyes can see; nourished by the blood, feet can walk; nourished by the blood, palms can grasp; nourished by the blood, fingers can take things.” One of the functions of liver blood is to nourish eyes and protect the vision. Therefore, “When the liver Qi is in harmony, eyes can distinguish five colors.”

The liver is closely related to the eyes, so whether the liver function is normal or not can be reflected from eyes. If the liver blood is sufficient, eyes are good and the vision is clear; if the liver blood is deficient, eyes cannot be nourished, thus leading to the dryness and faint or even blurry vision of eyes.

In the clinic, we often have some teenagers. Some say that after reading for some time, they often suffer from blurry vision, some say that their eyes are dry and uncomfortable, and some have to put on glasses at an early age.

Spring is the season to nourish the liver. Nourishing the liver means nourishing

Anecdotes about food-therapy

eyes. In spring, the rise of yang Qi stirs up the accumulated heat in the liver, resulting in hyperactivity of liver Qi. So, some people might have symptoms like troublesome and reddish eyes. Due to its sweet and bitter flavor and slightly cold property, chrysanthemum can help to disperse wind and remove inner-heat, hence clearing the liver and brightening the vision. Since ancient times, Chinese people have realized chrysanthemum’s function of protecting eyes. Besides, in daily life, you can smear the chrysanthemum to eliminate edema or drive away the eye-fatigu by drinking a cup of chrysanthemum tea.

How can you drink in various ways by using chrysanthemum? Here are some tea decoctions:

Chrysanthemum hawthorn tea : 10 grams of chrysanthemum, 10 grams of hawthorns and honeysuckle respectively, drink it as tea. Hawthorns can remove blood stasis and disperse fat, cool and lower down blood pressure. Honeysuckle combined with chrysanthemum can clean the liver heat . Therefore, this decoction can not only help to brighten vision, but also reduce weight.

Three-flower decoction : Soak a little chrysanthemum, honeysuckle and Lili and drink it. Jasmine, fragrant and pleasant, can help to pacify liver and relieve liver depression. Used with chrysanthemum and honeysuckle, it can not only clear inner-heat and detoxify poison, but also pacify the mind.

Chrysanthemum honey drink : 50 grams of chrysanthemum and 200 ml of water. Stew the flowers in water and keep it warm for 30 minutes, filter the drink and add an appropriate amount of honey, stir it and drink. Chrysanthemum can clear liver heat and honey can nourish yin, so this decoction has the effect of nourishing liver and brightening vision, generating fluid and relieving thirst.

Eight precious chrysanthemum drink : 20 grams of chrysanthemum, 10 grams of honeysuckle, 5 grams of dry tangerine peel, 1 boat-fruit sterculia seed, a little rock sugar and a few hawthorns, 5 grams of green tea and two dates. Brew the above ingredients

with boiling water for 5 minutes and drink it. Chrysanthemum and honeysuckle can clear liver and brighten vision. Dry tangerine peel can relieve liver and regulate Qi. The boat-fruit sterculia seed can moisten intestines, defecate and remove thinner- heat. Dates can replenish blood;. Green tea can clear heart and eliminate boredom, promote fluid production to quench thirst, reduce inner-heat and brighten vision. Finally, people should know that there are various chrysanthemums and the best choice is the most effective “Gongju”, also known as “Huangshan Gongju”, which was given to the emperor as a tribute in ancient times, leading to the name: “Gongju”. The flowers of Gongju are snowy white and its peduncle is green. After brewing for a long time, the tea soup may even turn green. Due to its mild cold property, Gongju has an outstanding effect on both clearing liver and brightening visions, preserving liver and eyes, as a good medicine for protecting the eyes of students.

Chapter 3 Keep troublesome Far Away From Teenagers in Hot Summer Days

3.1 Why are you agitated with no appetite in summer?

Hot summer is the season to see the biggest energy consumption of human bodies. When you students study and play in the environment of over 30℃, your physiological conditions and metabolism will inevitably be affected. The most obvious symptoms are being vexed and flustered, all of which have something to do with the “heart”.

According to TCM, summer corresponds to the heart in five zang-organs . The heart is “the house of spirit” which mainly controls human emotions and consciousness. Hot weather is apt to cause exuberance of heart fire , so at this time people tend to be agitated and restless, which will affect study and sleep.

As also found out by modern medicine, when the temperature is over 33℃, the metabolism of the human body will be significantly improved, thus increasing the workload of the heart. Meanwhile, in hot weather, people sweat a lot due to the opening of sweat glands to dissipate heat, and blood volume is reduced with blood viscosity increased. Therefore, it will be more difficult for the heart to pump blood. In summer, the heart works harder and gets relatively poor nutrition, so it is easy to go wrong if you

are not careful enough. Therefore, the key to preserve health in summer is to nourish the heart.

According to TCM, animal-related medicine is “the product of flesh and blood”. In the process of long-term evolution and development, animals and human beings have common characteristics in visceral tissue structure, chemical composition and physiological function. Therefore, animal-related medicine can treat some relevant diseases mentioned in TCM.

“To tonify organs by organs” is not only to tonify people by eating animal organs. It also means to regulate the physiological functions of relevant human organs through substances contained in animal’s internal organs to treat diseases. The pig heart has a very good effect on nourishing thehuman heart. TCM believes that the pig heart is cool in property and sweet in flavor, functioning to calm nerves and nourishing heart and tonify blood. Recipe of Suixi-Ju records that the pig heart can “tonify human heart, treat trance, palpitation, epilepsy, anxiety and other syndromes.”

In accordance with the analysis and proof of modern nutriology, the pig heart is a food rich in various nutrients which can help to strengthen myocardial nutrition and improve myocardial contractility. Whether the activity of myocardium is normal or not is closely related to the strength of heart function.

How to cook the pig heart as food? Here is a recommendation: Pig heart decoction with lotus seeds which can clear the heart and troublesome. The specific instruction: 1. A pig heart, 60 grams of lotus seeds and 30 grams of heterophylly falsestarwort root; 2. Wash the pig heart, lotus seeds and heterophylly falsestarwort roots and cut the pig heart into pieces; 3. Put all of them into the pot, add a proper amount of water, after the water is boiling under strong fire, turn to the mild fire to simmer for another 2 hours; 4. Add some seasoning, then you can enjoy it.

Choose those lotus seeds with green germs (i.e. pits of lotus seeds) in the middle. Because the pits of lotus seeds are bitter as they enter the heart and can “tonify heart by

Anecdotes about food-therapy

heart”, it is suited to clear heart heat .

Heterophylly falsestarwort root is sweet and slightly bitter with neutral and slight cold mild property. It can not only replenish Qi, but also nourish yin and produce body fluid. Its neutral medicinal effect makes it a good tonic for moistening and tonifying the human body.

After the Slight Heat, when it is becoming hotter, it is easier for people to get troublesome or even have a worse temper unconsciously. All of these happen because of the excessive heart-heat. At this time, people may cook a pot of pig heart soup with lotus seeds. This soup can not only make you full, but also clear your heart and tranquilize your mind, dispel summer-heat and eliminate summer troublesome as well.

3.2 This summer cold drink is far better than Coca Cola

In hot summer, many students like drinking cold drinks to cool down, especially iced Coca Cola. However, it is surelynot a good and clever way.

According to TCM, summer corresponds to yang Qi in the human body. At this season, human skin, striae and interstice are loose and open, like the opening of a door to exchange yang Qi. At this time, having too much ice cream and cold drinks is like leading a wolf into the room. Despite feeling cool and comfortable at that moment, people really have their yang Qi hurt and the yin locked with cold Qi inside the body, finally as a risk factor for health.

In fact, we don’t have to drink those cold drinks to drive away summer-heat, which is equal to stop the thirst by drinking poisons. Many dietetic ingredients in our life have the effect of cooling and dispelling inner-heat, generating fluid and stopping thirst, such as sour plums, watermelons, mung beans, wax gourds and so on.

Today, let me recommend a home-made summer drink: mung bean, lotus seed and lily bulb drink. The specific instruction: 1. Choose 25 grams of dry lily bulbs, 50 grams

of lotus seed (with pits), 50 grams of mung beans, and 20 grams of rock sugar; 2. Soak mung beans in water for more than 2 hours, wash lotus seeds, wash lily bulbs and break into pieces, set them aside; 3. Cook the soaked mung beans with water over strong fire until boiling and the beans are split, then turn to the mild fire, add some more water and lotus seeds and continue to stew; 4. Simmer for about 10 minutes, add rock sugar and lily petals for seasoning, and stir it while boiling, turn off the fire after the rock sugar is completely melted, and then drink it after it becomes cool

TCM believes that mung bean is cool in property and sweet in flavor and can clear inner-heat and remove poisons, dispel heat and vexation, stop thirst and invigorate the stomach. It can be used to prevent heat-stroke and treat food poisoning. According to Recipes of Suixi-Ju , mung bean is sweet and cool. It can be boiled and eaten to clear the gallbladder, nourish the stomach, dispel inner-heat and stop thirst. It is conducive to promoting urination and treating diarrhea. Therefore, mung bean has been used as a sharp weapon for dispelling inner-heat since ancient times.

Every summer, mung bean soup is always a regular summer drink for families. The green germ in the middle of the lotus seed is called the lotus plumule.

As recorded in Detailed Analysis of Warm Diseases : “Pits of lotus seeds enter kidneys from the heart, and can make heart-heat pass down to kidneys and then return, it can also make the kidney-fluid go up to the heart. In the theory of TCM, heart governs fire and kidney governs water. Pits of lotus seeds can help heart-heat go down and kidney- water go up, which plays a good role in “extinguishing fire”. Lily bulb is slightly cold in property and enters the heart meridian. So, it can pacify the heart, remove vexation and calm the mind. Because lily bulb, lotus seeds and mung beans are complemented among themselves, there is no drink better than these in stopping thirst.

Although cold drinks like coca cola can quench thirst for a while, they can only relieve the symptoms but not solve the problem. On the contrary, people will feel much thirsty and sticky in the mouth after drinking those drinks. Only by extinguishing heart

Anecdotes about food-therapy

fire to eliminate the source of fire, can the problem be solved fundamentally.

3.3 The “heart fire” makes the urine scant and yellowish

In hot summer, people may feel mentally lazy and physically sluggish. People may also seldom go to the toilet to pea or even have scant and yellowish urea. Sometimes people may feel hot at the urethral orifice. In fact, all these are caused by “heart fire”.

According to the theory of TCM, the heart and small intestines are in externalinternal relationship. As a saying goes: “The fire at gate brings disaster to the fish in the pond”. The exuberant heart fire inevitably moves down to the small intestines, and then influences the function of the small intestines to separate lucidity and filtrate turbidity, thus resulting in the symptoms of painful urination, reddish urine, short urine and so on.

As we all know, urine is actually the excretion of the human body. It is useless garbage and should be discharged from the body in time. If the excretion system is “on strike” for a long time, poisons in urine will return to the human body and affect health.

There is a formula in TCM for clearing heat and promoting urination: “Decoction of three fresh ingredients ”. This formula is very simple. People can buy some fresh reed rhizome, fresh lophatherum herbs and fresh Lalang grass roots. 1. Take 30 grams of fresh Reed Rhizome, 10 grams of fresh lophatherum herbs and 20 grams of fresh Lalang grass roots each time; 2. After brewing in boiling water, add a little white sugar; 3. Drink it when it is cool. It can help you clear heat, promote urination and generate body fluid.

Reed rhizome is the medicine for clearing heat and purging fire. It is the general name of fresh or dry reed stems. It is sweet-cold in flavor with the effects of clearing heat and generating fluid, eliminating irritability, stopping vomiting and promoting urination. It works effectively in treating irritation and thirst caused by feverish diseases, stomach-heat vomit, lung-heat cough, as well as lung-pyesis and the pain caused by

heat stranguria.

Fresh lophatherum herb is widely used in China, with a long history of medicinal and edible usage. It was first recorded in Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians treated diseases like “The phlegm heat in the chest, and cough with dyspnea”. As a traditional medicine for clearing heat and relieve toxin, it functions to clear heat and remove irritation, produce fluid and promote urination. It can treat diseases like irritation and thirst caused by feverish diseases, infantile convulsion, cough with hematemesis, reddish face, scant and yellowish urine, sores in the mouth and on the tongue. Besides, it can also clear lung heat and stomach fire .

Fresh lalang grass root is called “spear” because its leaf shape is like a spear. Its flowers and roots are white, so they are called “Baimaogen” in Chinese. The buds, flowers and roots of the lalang grass root have high medicinal value, especially its root effects of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, clearing heat and promoting urination. These three herbs (reed rhizome, lophatherum herb and lalang grass root) function to clear inner-heat and promote urination, and clear heart and dispel irritation. Moreover, because they are quite cheap, easy to take, quick and safe in its effects, they are called “Three treasures in summer” by Chinese people. Drinking their combination has a good effect on the prevention and treatment of scant and yellowish urine and heat syndromes. In addition, to spend the hot summer peacefully, mentality is also very important.

Qiu Chuji recorded his unique view on health preservation in summer in his News of Health Preservation . In his views, in hot summer, “It’s better for people to regulate breath and purify heart as if there are ice and snow in heart. The heat will be reduced when the heart is calm. You can’t make yourself vexed in hot summer, which will lead to more heat in the body. This is also the saying that “Calming heart naturally makes you cool”. No matter what your diet formula is, mentality always comes first.

3.4 With this diet formula, don’t worry about the scorching sun in summer

As a saying goes: “The fair skin can cover all the ugliness”. All girls wish to have smooth and fair skin, so when summer comes around, they are too scared to go out because of the scorching sun.

The ultraviolet rays are extremely strong in summer, so even if people go out occasionally, you had better go with sunshades, long sleeve clothes, sunscreen and any other sun-protective equipment. Yet even with these sun-protective methods, if not careful, people will be also mercilessly kissed by the sun and have traces caused by sunburnt, which can result in uneven skin color, sunburn and other problems.

In summer, to protect ourselves from the sun-burn, we should not only start from the outside, but also from the inside. If you make your skin fair with dietary therapy, you don’t have to worry too much about the scorching sun.

Let me recommend you a sharp tool for skin whitening: cucumber porridge . 1. Choose 100 grams of rice, 300 grams of fresh cucumber, 2 grams of refined salt and 10 grams of raw ginger; 2. First wash the cucumber, then peel, remove its pits and slice it. Wash rice and ginger and then smash the ginger; 3. After that, add about 1000 ml of water into the pot, put on the fire, add rice and ginger in turn, and boil over strong fire. When it is boiling, turn to the mild fire until the rice is rotten, then put in the cucumber slices. Finally, stew until the soup is thick and sticky, add salt as the seasoning and enjoy it.

Cucumber is a seasonal vegetable in summer. Because it is crisp and refreshing, it is the first choice as an appetizer for many people. Due to its cool property, 96% of its ingredients is water, so eating it can help to remove excessive heat inside the body with the effects of clearing heat and promoting urination, removing toxic and dispersing

swelling, generating fluid and stopping thirst. Modern scientific research has proved that the cucumber enzyme of the fresh cucumber is a very strong biological enzyme. It can effectively promote the metabolism of the body, promote blood circulation and play a role in moisturizing and beautifying the skin. So, cucumber has been known as “The kitchen beauty-agent”. Frequent intake of cucumber porridge can eliminate freckles and whitening skin. Therefore, some people love to slice cucumber into pieces as facial masks in daily life.

In addition, dampness is prevalent in summer, and it is sticky and stagnant. Dampness can block Qi and blood. If Qi and blood move slowly, it will cause pigmentation. Raw ginger has a good effect of removing dampness. Modern research shows that it has a good antioxidant effect. So, eating raw ginger can resist aging and prevent skin spots.

Cucumber and raw ginger are things easily available , and their price is much cheaper than some of your cosmetics. Besides, they have nearly the same effects as those cosmetics. If you learn to make cucumber porridge, you not only don’t need to worry about being tanned in summer, but also can save a lot of pocket money.

Of course, in addition to cucumbers, there are some other well-known sun-screen and skin-whitening foods, such as lemon, which can not only whiten skin and remove freckles, but also remove toxin and lose weight. Tomato is also one of them. The cooked tomatoes have a high content of lycopene which is an anti-oxidant to greatly increase the skin procollagen content. Besides, Vitamin C in tomato can reduce skin melanin deposition, reduce and even remove skin black spots and freckles, and quicken the speed of the whitening of skin . So, fruits with high Vitamin C such as oranges, hawthorns and citrus are also good choices for sun-screen in summer.

3.5 Let the Eigh precious Ingredients cake “save” your stomach

I think the most terrible thing for a foodie is the hot summer. The temperature soars in this season, and people are also easily affected by such weather not only in their appetite, but also in losing interest in food.

As a saying goes: “The body is iron, rice is steel. We will be very hungry without a meal”. A normal diet is an important guarantee of good health. If the appetite is poor, it will cause a lot of side effects to the health. Especially for you students who are in the golden stage of growth and development, you must have your meals even though you have no appetite, otherwise you will be short of nutrition.

In fact, in summer, having no appetite to eat does not mean that you are not hungry, but because of the fact that the spleen and stomach are troubled by both heat and humidity in summer, and thus the spleen and stomach are not active in responding to food, and the brain’s response to signals of eating is somewhat slow.

In this case, you can make some cakes as appetizers, such as the “Eight precious ingredients cake ”. The method is also very simple, just like steaming “Mantou”, a Chinese-style bread.

The specific instruction:

1. Prepare 15 grams of Tangshen, 30 grams of white atractylodes, 30 grams of poria, 30 grams of common yam rhizome, 30 grams of hyacinth beans, 30 grams of coix seeds, 15 grams of gordon euryale seeds, 30 grams of lotus seeds, 15 grams of raw hawthorns and 15 grams of fried germinated barley. These medicinal herbs are sold in TCM drug stores. When buying them, you had better ask the assistants of those shops to grind them into fine powder, and then filter them through a fine sieve after getting home.

2. Take 200 grams of glutinous rice and rice respectively, grind them into powder, and mix them with the above medicinal powder evenly, then put these rice powder and

Anecdotes about

medicinal powder into water, mix them into dough with a little white sugar.

3. Finally, steam the dough in a steamer. With this done, cut the steamed dough into cakes, bake them and store them. They are edible at any time.

With a long history, Eight precious ingredients cake is one of the traditional famous pastries of Han nationality in Shaoxing area of Zhejiang Province. It can tonify middle, replenish Qi, appetize stomach and invigorate spleen. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi, Empress Dowager, did not have desire to eat and drink due to indigestion and depression. The imperial doctors were extremely anxious about it. After many doctors’ consultation for Cixi’ case, they reached an agreement that such symptoms were caused by the weakness of the spleen and stomach. After careful discussion, doctors prescribed eight materia medica which were also seen as food, i.e. poria, euryale seeds, lotus seeds, coix seeds, common yam rhizome, hyacinth beans, germinated barley, and lotus root starch, 100 grams for each. Then, all of them were ground into fine power with 350 grams of sugar added into it. Finally, the powder was mixed with water to make cakes called “spleen-invigorating cake”. After eating the cake for a few days, Cixi found her symptoms were completely gone. She even had better appetite and was full of energy . Being so happy, Cixi changed the name of “spleen invigorating cake” into “Eight precious ingredients cake ”.

Since then, “Eight precious ingredients cake” had become Cixi’s favorite food. No matter whether she was sick or not, she always ordered the imperial cook to make such cakes for her.

“ Eight precious ingredients cake ” in modern times is composed of ten kinds of materia medica, most of which can also be taken as food. Among them, Tangshen and white atractylodes rhizome are good medicines for nourishing spleen yang. Common yam rhizome, lotus seeds and hyacinth beans are used to nourish spleen yin. Poria and coix seeds are for removing dampness. Euryale seeds are astringent. Raw hawthorns and fried germinated barley are for invigorating spleen and digesting food. So, in this case,

Anecdotes about food-therapy

the whole prescription has yin and yang, with rise and fall of Qi. When combined, it turns to be a magic medicine for regulating spleen and stomach. No wonder some people say Eight precious ingredients cake has been considered as the first cake to preserve health for over one thousand years.

After learning about TCM, you will find there is lots of fun in traditional Chinese medicine. Just like this “cake of eight precious ingredients ”, you can DIY on weekends, put them into a box, and take one or two pieces as snacks during break. By doing so, you don’t have to worry about your appetite. Of course, if you think it is too troublesome to DIY such cakes , you can also make tea with the above materia medica and drink directly, which can achieve the same effect.

3.6 Sound sleep at night leads to effective learning in the day-time

Every summer, the hot weather and the buzzing mosquitoes always make it difficult for us to sleep, which directly affects the quality of our learning the next day and distresses many students very much .

According to the theory of TCM, the decrease of sleep quality in summer is because that summer corresponds to the heart of five zang-organs . When yang enters the heart in summer, the heart will be full of heat. The heart also stores spirit. At night, the spirit should go back to rest in the heart, but the “house” is as hot as a stove. So, the spirit naturally can’t have a good rest, resulting in troublesome and sleeplessness of people.

Fresh lily bulb, as a diet ingredient, is a good helper for sleep. Here is a recommendation to help you fall asleep early: honeysuckle flower and lily bulb porridge.

The specific instruction: 50 grams of lily bulbs, 10 grams of honeysuckle flowers and 100 grams of non-glutinous rice. 1. Wash lily bulbs, honeysuckle flowers and nonglutinous rice; 2. Put the rice into a pot with water and cook until it is thick and sticky; 3.

Add lily bulbs and honeysuckle flowers and cook for another 10 minutes and take it out;

4. Add some sugar and you can enjoy it.

Lily bulb enters the heart meridian. Being slightly cold in property, it can clear heart and dispel vexation, calm the mind and spirit. Honeysuckle flower, as a commonly-used Chinese medicine with a long history, was first listed as the top grade in the Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians. It is cold in property and sweet in flavor, functioning to clear heart and purge heat.

After entering the body, these two materia medica, just like the refrigerator, can quickly drain the fire in our hearts, so that our mind and spirit can go home at ease to rest, then we can fall asleep quickly.

In addition to drinking honeysuckle flower and lily bulb porridge to help sleep, you cannot ignore the following details:

1. Many of you students have the habit of drinking coffee as refreshment . If you don’t want to keep awake at night, you had better not drink coffee after 2 pm, because the effect of caffeine can last for more than 8 hours.

2. Take a hot bath before going to bed. Try to take a bath one hour before going to bed. The water temperature should be or higher than 38℃, and the time should be no less than 20 minutes. In this way, toxins accumulated in your body in a whole day can be driven away and your fatigue can be relieved.

3. Stop eating food three hours before going to bed. TCM believes that “stomach disharmony causes difficulties in sleep”. Eating too much can easily lead to the reflux of gastric acid, thus affecting sleep.

4. Stop strenuous exercise four hours before going to bed to avoid being too excited to sleep.

5. Room light should not be too bright. To much brightness will make your brain too clear to sleep. During sleep, it is better to turn off all light sources.

6. Keep the indoor temperature suitable. Research shows that when the room

Anecdotes about food-therapy

temperature is between 18 ~ 24℃ and the bed temperature is 27℃, you will enjoy the best quality of sleep.

3.7 What about making a herbal tea by yourself?

Every summer, we would have some young patients because of heat-stroke. I was very impressed for one case. Our emergency doctors were on duty when they received a 120 emergency call. It turned out that a high school student fainted in the afternoon when he was playing football with his classmates. The doctor immediately told the caller: “Move your classmate to the shade of a tree, wipe his forehead, neck and armpits with a wet towel, and wait for the arrival of rescue workers." Thanks to proper instructions, the student who passed out came to himself when 120 people arrived.

Heat-stroke is an acute disease happening in high temperature environment. The normal human body temperature is about 37℃, which is the result regulated by the thermoregulation center located in the hypothalamus, which makes heat production and heat dissipation roughly balanced. At room temperature, the human body dissipates heat by radiation, evaporation and other ways. When the environmental temperature is higher than the skin temperature, the human body mainly relies on the evaporation of sweat to dissipate heat. If the body produces more heat than it dissipates or if the heat dissipation is blocked, the excessive heat will accumulate in the body and damage organ function and tissues, then heat-stroke may happen.

The symptoms of heatstroke were long ago recorded in books of Chinese medicine in which they were called “summer-heat”. In ancient times, because there was neither air conditioner nor fan, heat-stroke happened more frequently among people. However, the ancients had a very clever way to prevent heat-stroke, that is, to drink “herbal tea”.

Guided by the theory of health preservation of TCM, herbal tea uses herbal materia medica as raw materials. It is a kind of beverage with the functions of clearing heat

and removing toxin, promoting fluid production to quench thirst, and dispelling innerheat and removing dampness, etc. The products like “Wong Lo Kat”, “Heqizheng” and “Jiaduobao” are all herbal tea products.

Herbal tea has a long history. In 306 A.D., because of the epidemic of miasma, Ge Hong, a Taoist medical expert in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, came to Lingnan to study different materia medica for febrile diseases, which formed the herbal tea with profound cultural basis. Its formula and terminology have been handed down from generation to generation.

What kind of herbal tea can be made conveniently for us to drink? Here are several herbal tea products characterized by easy access to materials and convenient production.

Plum syrup : 100 grams of smoked plum and 500 grams of brown sugar. Wash the smoked plum and put it in the pot with brown sugar, add 1500 ml of water, boil it over the mild fire for 30 minutes, then filter out the plum, take the juice and put it in the refrigerator for drink. When drinking it, you can add some cool boiled water. Smoked plum tastes sour and is conducive to promote fluid to quench thirst. Plum syrup is a summer drink, especially suitable for sweating too much, thirst and other symptoms.

Mung bean decoction : some mung beans and white sugar of proper amount. 1. Cook the mung beans with 5 or 6 times of water over strong fire until it is boiling; 2. Turn to the mild fire to stew until mung beans are rotten; 3. Put in the white sugar, then you can enjoy it. As recorded in Recipes of Suixi-Ju: “mung beans are sweet and cool. Eating boiled mung beans can clear gallbladder and nourish stomach, relieve heat and it’s good for promoting urination and stopping diarrhea...” In summer, many families have the habit of cooking mung-bean soup to dispel heat because of its effects of clearing heat, removing toxin, eliminating vexation and quenching thirst.

Chinese chrysanthemum porridge : 15 grams of chrysanthemum, 100 grams of non-glutinous rice, and some rock sugar. First, cook the chrysanthemum in water for 3-5

Anecdotes about food-therapy minutes, remove the residue and get the juice, then put non-glutinous rice into the pot to cook porridge. When cooked, add rock sugar and chrysanthemum juice, cook again for a few minutes and then you can eat. Chrysanthemum has strong ability of pacifying and clearing liver as well as brightening vision. It also functions to clear heat, remove toxin and purge inner-fire.

Chrysanthemum porridge is suitable for treating vexation and thirst caused by summer-heat, as well as dizziness and headache.

Water chestnut and sugarcane juice : 500ml soybean milk, 150 grams of water chestnuts and 500 grams of sugarcane. Firstly, peel, chop and squeeze the water chestnuts and sugarcane, then mix them with soybean milk, cook until boiling, then cool them and drink at any time. Water chestnuts are cold in property with the effects of clearing away heat, removing toxin, cooling blood, generating body fluid, promoting urination, relieving stool, resolving dampness, dispelling phlegm, digesting food and removing distention. Sugarcane is sweet in flavor and cold in property, entering the lungs and stomach meridians. It can clear heat and remove toxin, promote fluid production to quench thirst, harmonize stomach and stop vomiting, nourish yin and moisten dryness. Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his Give cherries as Imperial gifts to all officials that “high-ranking officials don’t need to worry about their internal heat after eating too many cherries, because they are offered with sugarcane syrup to clear heat.”

In fact, heat-stroke is completely preventable. Firstly, ventilate the environment. The flowing air can speed up the heat to dissipate. Even though the temperature is not very high, due to the high humidity and poor ventilation, heat-stroke can also happen. Secondly, drink plenty of water and replenish the lost water and salt at any time. Finally, prepare some drinks mentioned above to dispel summer-heat, then you don’t need to worry about heats-troke.

3.8 Eating more purslane herbs helps to stop your diarrhea

Summer is the season with high incidence of diarrhea, because the relatively frequent rain in this season provides suitable natural conditions for the growth and reproduction of intestinal pathogens. What’s more, in hot summer, many people like eating cold fruits and dishes to cool the body-temperature, thus, the frequent stimulation of cold food and hot weather would weaken gastrointestinal function or even lead to diarrhea.

As a saying goes: “A hero can’t stand going to the toilet three times because of diarrhea.” Frequent diarrhea will make you lose too much water and nutrients, which may lead to physical fatigue and poor immunity.

Then do you students have any good food therapies when you suffer from diarrhea? There is a classical formula widely spread among people, a formula which has been practiced by people for over one thousand years and is very effective for treating diarrhea.

The plant in this classical formula is purslane herb, a plant serving both as food and medicine. Purslane herb is a kind of wild grass which grows widely in the field. It is drought-and waterlogging-tolerant. Despite its plain look, it has high value in medicinal and food therapy. Purslane herb is sour in flavor, cold in property and non-toxic. It enters the large intestine and liver meridians with the functions of clearing heat, removing toxin, cooling blood, stopping bleeding and stopping dysentery. According to Compendium of Materia Medica and Meteria Medica for Dietotheropy , Chinese people often use purslane herb decoction to treat acute diseases like enteritis, dysentery and diarrhea. Modern research also shows that it has a strong inhibiting effect on shigella dysenteriae, typhoid bacillus and Escherichia coli, so it is known as “A natural antibiotic”.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

When treating diarrhea, you can prepare 100 grams of purslane herbs. Wash them with cool boiled water for several times and chop them; then mix them evenly with 20 grams of white sugar and 20 grams of garlic mud. Finally, you can take them, twice a day.

In this prescription, garlic also centers on warming the middle and invigorating stomach, as well as disinfecting and sterilizing. The sulfide in garlic has strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, with inhibitory and killing effects on a variety of cocci, bacilli, fungi and viruses, so it has turned out to be one of natural plants with the strongest anti-bacterial effects. This prescription works quite well in treating diarrhea.

Besides, purslane herb is also a weed with a unique flavor, which can be eaten raw or cooked. You can cook its soft stem like the way you cook spinach. In daily diet, suitable intake of some purslane herbs can also help you achieve the goal to prevent diarrhea.

3.9 Drinking lots of water in summer cannot stop your thirst ?

As a saying goes: “Although having no diseases in summer, you will still be somewhat weak”. That means, in summer, even though you are not ill, you still feel tired and weak.

This is because in hot summer, it is easy to sweat a lot, and even a little physical activity will make you perspire. Treatise on Cold Damage, a TCM classic, records that “In lunar May, yang Qi is on the exterior surface.” The excretion of sweat from skin pores also damages yang Qi over the exterior skin. All human activities, including the normal operation of all viscera functions, depend on the gasification of yang Qi. If yang Qi is deficient, the functions zang-fu will be weakened, thus leading to fatigue and weakness.

There are more fruits in summer and many people just eat them raw. In fact, to decoct soups by using some fruits and meats can not only keep the fragrance of fruits, but also replenish Qi and promote fluid production, and it is also very delicious. Guava and chicken decoction is one of such delicacies.

1. Prepare 1 guava, 30 grams of dried common yam rhizome, 30 grams of euryale seeds and one chicken.

2. Wash the guava and cut it into pieces;

3. Wash dried yam and euryale seeds separately;

4. Wash the chicken and chop it into large pieces and put them into pot with proper amount of water, then cook and blanch chicken blood and drain;

5. Add some water again to cook until boiling, then put in the chicken, guava, dried yam and euryale seeds. After it is boiling again, turn to the mild fire and stew for about 1 hour;

6. Add salt as theseasoning.

Guava’ meat is very soft, sweet and almost seedless. Its sour and sweet taste can enhance your appetite. Moreover, it is rich in nutrients, such as lots of proteins, fat, sugar, Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus and iron. If you use it as medicine, it can help to regulate spleen and stomach and treat dyspepsia. Common yam rhizome is a good tonic which can tonify middle and replenish Qi. Euryale seeds can tonify spleen and stop diarrhea, replenish kidneys and consolidate human essence. Compendium of Materia Medica records that euryale seeds can stop thirst and replenish kidneys. TCM holds that “Kidneys are the root of Qi”. If kidney essence is insufficient and kidney qi is deficient, they will lead to the symptoms caused by Qi deficiency, like frequent asthma, shortness of breath, and vice versa. So, if you have such symptoms, chicken is a good tonic for strengthening body and tonifying Qi.

The decoction made with the above materia medica can not only invigorate spleen and replenish stomach to replenish Qi, but also promote fluid production because of the

Anecdotes about food-therapy

guava in the soup. In summer, you students sweat a lot and often feel thirsty or have a dry throat, and some may still feel thirsty even after drinking a lot of water. This is caused by your insufficient fluid. This guava-chicken soup with special flavor can not only replenish Qi but also promote fluid production to quench thirst, so it is really a good tonic in summer.

Chapter 4 Brisk all over with no dampness in long summer

4.1 Spareribs in this way are light and don’t produce dampness

Every year from mid-July to mid-August according to the Gregorian calendar is the most damp and humid period of the year, known as , “dog days”. As an old saying goes: “Practice in the coldest winter and the hottest summer”, because dog days, the hottest time of the year, is called “sauna days”, those who can bear the weather surely cannot be underestimated in their willpower.

In traditional Chinese medicine, dog days is named as “long summer” when dampness is predominant. The turning-point of summer and autumn in this period witnesses the mixture and prevalence of heat and dampness due to the descendant of hot Qi and ascension of water, leading to the weakened spleen and stomach. Therefore, at this time, the basic principles of diet should center on invigorating the spleen, clearing heat and removing dampness, namely, being light but not greasy.

You students are growing right at this time and your mothers may often make you some dishes with spareribs. If you finish reading this article, just share it with your moms about this method of making spareribs.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

TCM holds that “Meat generates dampness”, so it is easier to accumulate dampness inside your body if you often eat meat. If you eat greasy dishes like “braised spareribs”，“stewed spareribs in oil”and “crispy spareribs” in hot and humid summer, it is undoubtedly just like adding fuel to the fire.

Actually, when eating spareribs, we can make it healthier just by changing its way of cooking . Here is a recommendation for you: “Sparerib decoction with wax gourds and coix seeds”, which is light in flavor, helping to remove dampness.

Specific instruction: 200 grams of spareribs, 500 grams of fresh wax gourds, 50 grams of coix seeds, and an appropriate amount of oil and salt. Wash and chop the spareribs. Slice the wax gourds with skin and wash the coix seeds for use. First scald the spareribs to remove the bloody water. It’s better to blanch it for a few more minutes to blanch the fatty oil and make sure the taste of the soup will not be spoiled.

Next, wash the scalded spareribs with warm water and put them into the pot with coix seeds and water. You can drop a little white vinegar to promote the dissolution of calcium into the soup. After boiling for 2 hours, place the sliced wax gourds and cook for another 30 minutes. Finally add a few salts according to your taste and enjoy it!

Spareribs are high nutritional with the function of nourishing yin and strengthening yang, replenishing essence and tonifying blood. In addition to the ingredients such as proteins, fat and Vitamins, it also contains lots of other nutrients such as calcium phosphate, bone collagen, bone adhesion protein, etc., which can provide rich nutrition for your bone growth.

Wax gourds, cold in property and sweet in flavor, can clear heat and generate fluid, relieve summer-heat and remove troublesome, being nice to be taken in summer. They enter the meridians of lungs, large intestine, small intestine and bladder, so it has the effects of clearing lung-heat and resolving phlegm, clearing stomach heat and eliminating irritation, stopping thirst, lightening sweet and draining and excreting, dispelling dampness and heat, draining urination and alleviating diuretic.

Coix seeds serve to invigorate spleen and drain dampness, so they are used as medicine for promoting urination and draining dampness. Spareribs, cooked with wax gourds and coix seeds, can neutralize the fatty and greasy meat, and eliminate the dampness in the human body. Hence, while enjoying delicious food, you can also better your health. That is the advantage of dietetic therapy.

What’s more, the spleen and stomach are the “acquired basis of life”. A healthy spleen and a healthy stomach are better than anything else. Although it is hot, you had better not drink too much iced water or beverage, in order to avoid hurting your stomach Qi because of the stay of water and dampness in the body.

4.2 A food, used by emperor Guangxu, serves to remove troublesome and inner-heat.

Tell you a story. Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty was weak and sick since he was young. It is said that one day, the young emperor felt a sudden pain in his midlumbar spine with the bones feeling like being steamed over hot steamers. Due to the pain, he could not sleep at night and just kept awake with great pain. Later, the pain worsened day by day, no matter how hard the imperial doctors racked their brains to treat the disease, the emperor was still in great pain.

The emperor denounced those imperial doctors, saying : “I have taken your decoctions again and again, but they never work . That’s all your tricks as imperial doctors!” After that, the emperor issued a circular in the whole country to recruit doctors for his disease.

An ordinary folk-doctor heard about the emperor’s illness and claimed that he could cure it, so he uncovered the emperor’s circular . After feeling the emperor’s pulse, the doctor prescribed by drawing a soft-shelled turtle and some words beside: decoct the turtle carapace and plastron with anemarrhena and sweet wormwood herb for one

Anecdotes about food-therapy

month. Emperor Guangxu was doubtful, but he took the decoction for a month and later his pain was gone.

The soft-shelled turtle did cure the emperor’s difficult and serious illness !

It turned out that Emperor Guangxu suffered from tuberculosis when he was a child. Once lung Qi was weak, body fluid would be deficient. Especially in summer, if Qi and blood are consumed seriously, yin deficiency and fever might happen in the body with bones being steamed like being in a sauna, which may keep one awake. The carapace and plastron of the soft-shelled turtle serve to nourish yin and clear heat, eliminate stuffiness and replenish kidneys, pacify liver and extinguish wind, soften hardness and dissipate mass. They mainly treat the syndromes like yin-deficiency fever, steaming-bone fever and night sweat. According to New compilation of Materia Medica: “Turtle-shell can help to tackle masses without damaging Qi, balance yin and yang , being especially suitable for treating the fullness of syndromes.”

During the long summer, the body fluid is often consumed seriously because of sweating in the day-time. So, some of you students may suffer from such symptoms as vexing heat in the chest, palms and soles, body tidal fever and sleeplessness, just like Emperor Guangxu. At this time, we can also use the soft-shelled turtle as a dietectic therapy.

Here is a soft-shelled turtle decoction with wax gourds. Take one soft-shelled turtle and 150 grams of wax gourds.

1. Kill the turtle, wash and scald it for 2 minutes, take it out, remove the black skin, the shell and innards, take the turtle meat, and then chop the turtle into 3cm square pieces; 2. Remove the wax gourd peel, dig out the gourd balls as big as grapes; 3. Heat the pan over strong fire, add the cooked lard until it is 60% hot, then fry the turtle in the lard quickly, after that, remove the lard, stir-fry it again, place the wax gourd balls, 1500ml of water and 5grams of refined salt and cook over mild fire for another 15 minutes for use; 4. Place the turtle-meat on the bottom of the plate and put on the fried

turtle meat with some seasonings like raw ginger, shallot, refined salt, cooking wine and white vinegar. Steam in the steamer until the meat is soft, sticky, crisp and completely cooked. Take the dish out of the steamer, remove the whole shallot and ginger, drop a little monosodium glutamate, buckle in the soup basin, place the wax gourd ball. Then it is all done.

The meat of the soft-shelled turtle serves to nourish yin, tonify kidneys and clear heat. Wax gourds can help to eliminate vexation and stop thirst, dispel dampness and relieve summer heat. Moreover, turtle meat is nutritious and delicious. Taken with rice, it can not only fill the stomach, but also help to remove troublesome.

4.3 A decoction for teenagers to have a good appetite

Since ancient times, there has been a theory of “tonifying viscera by viscera” in TCM. For example, people believe they can tonify and replenish their brains by eating animal’s brain or strengthen their bones by having animal’s bone-marrows, as specific practices of such a theory for tonifying viscera by viscera. From the biological perspective, this theory makes a bit sense, because animals have similar viscera with man in the structures and functions of animals, so their viscera contain rich nutrients that can supplement what man lacks to achieve the effect of “tonifying viscera by viscera”.

For example, the gastric mucosa of pigs can be used to produce pepsin and gastric membrane which is a gastric wall protective agent against gastric acid and used to treat ulcer disease and gastric acid excess.

Medical doctors of past dynasties have also left behind many empirical classical formulas for the treatment of spleen and stomach diseases, to cure anorexia and dyspepsia with pig tripe, another term for the pig-stomach. TCM believes that it can tonify deficiency, invigorate spleen and stomach, treat consumptive diseases and weakness, as well as infantile malnutrition with accumulation. As pointed

Anecdotes about food-therapy

out in Commentary on the Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica : “It is the most important for tonifying the spleen and stomach”. Pig-tribe, sweet in flavor and warm in property, is cooked as a soup and has the effects of functions of spleen and stomach in transportation, coordination of heart and kidneys, and neutral reinforcement on deficiency and damage. So, it is a good ingredient of decoction for people of different ages .

In long summer, it’s rather hot and humid. Because of the weak spleen and stomach, some teenagers may have no appetite for food and suffer from loose stool caused by the decrease of digestive function. However, such phenomena cannot be relieved by using warm and hot tonics which may increase the internal heat while tonifying in this season. So, some diet with a neutral tonifying effect without generating inner heat can be a good choice, such as the pig-tripe.

Here is a “ Pig tripe decoction with white atractylodes rhizome”. Choose 1 fresh pig tripe, 15 grams of white atractylodes rhizome, 6 grams of dry tangerine peel, 3 grams of villous amomum fruit, 10 grams of raw ginger, 3 pieces of shallot white, some salt and a gauze. 1. Remove the fat from pork tripe, scald it to remove the fishy smell and scrape off the white film; 2. Place the white atractylodes rhizome, dry tangerine peel, villous amomum fruit, raw ginger and shallot white into the gauze and wrap it in the pig tripe with water, boil it for about 2 hours. After adding a bit salt, you can enjoy the meat and soup.

White atractylodes rhizome, sweet in flavor and neutral in property, can invigorate spleen and replenish Qi, dry dampness and drain urination. Modern research has proved that white atractylodes rhizome serves to enhance gastro-intestinal motility, anti-ulcer, protect liver and improve immunity. Dry tangerine peel can regulate qi and invigorate spleen, promote the secretion of digestive juice and enhance appetite. Its volatile oil has a mild stimulating effect on gastro-intestinal tract and can promote the secretion of digestive fluid, eliminate the accumulation of Qi in intestinal tube, and aromatic herbs

can invigorate stomach, and expel wind and lower Qi. Villous amomum fruit functions on aromatic herbs dissipate pungent, resolve dampness and promote appetite and is often used as the seasoning or directly for making the soup to improve the taste and enhance the appetite as well.

Moreover, you should know that pig-tripe is not suitable for storage and should be eaten once you buy it. When buying the pig- tripe, don’t choose one with fuzzy mucous membrane and loose tissue, easily to break with a rotten odor. Food is apt to go bad in long summer, so do remember to choose those fresh ingredients.

4.4 Learn from Cantonese to remove dampness in long summer

I don’t know if you have ever had any experience of traveling to southern China, such as Guangdong, Hainan and other provinces. If staying there for a few days, especially in summer, you will feel stuffy, weak, agitated or depressed, dizzy and heavy. All of these are caused by the heavy humidity due to the humid climate in the southern China and the hot weather in summer. Normally, our body has a certain ability to adapt itself to the natural changeable weather, but when it comes to the most humid and hottest period in long summer, known as “sauna days”, we cannot endure it.

Dampness is predominant in long summer. TCM believes that dampness is yinbased evil and characterized by sticky and stagnant. “Sticky” means greasy, while “stagnant” means stagnation. Therefore, it is quite easy for dampness to suppress Qi and hinder its movement in the body. Moreover, dampness is also featured by “heaviness”. High humidity in the air will block the metabolism of the human body. So, in the state of high temperature and humidity, it furtherly inhibits the evaporation of sweat from the skin and process of dissipating heat, i.e. it represses the normal gasification function.

So, you should learn how to drive away the evil of dampness from those Cantonese who have been in hot and humid environment since ancient times.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Cantonese people enjoy drinking soup. As a local proverb goes : “Better eat without vegetables than without soup.” That is how “Guangfu decoction” of various kinds come into being.

Guangfu decoction, a kind of soup made by Cantonese, has a history of thousands of years. According to a legend, in the process of moving to southern China, Cantonese, toiled and tired, came across the humid and hot climate in southern Guangdong province, and became weak and sick. The foodies realized that, from the food tonic of TCM, they could make decoctions by pairing with Chinese Materia medica which could help to nourish, beautify and strengthen the body and dispel dampness, making such decoctions their best tonic. Years by years, such decoctions have become a must of their daily life and the types change with the seasons. Finally, together with Guangdong herbal tea, it has become a symbol of Cantonese cuisine culture.

Here is a recommendation for “ Common yam rhizome poria pigeon decoction ” with functions of “invigorating spleen, nourishing heart, dispelling dampness and beatification”:

Choose 1 pigeon, 20 grams of common yam rhizome, 5 grams of poria and lotus seeds respectively, 3-5 pieces of longan aril, 5 grams of Euryale seeds and 10 grams of coix seeds. Clean up the pigeon and cut it into several large pieces with kitchen shears. Wash the common yam rhizome, poria, lotus seeds, longan aril, euryale seeds and coix seeds and remove impurities. Then add some water to the casserole and heat it until boiling, put in the pigeon meat, when it is boiling again, and remove the foam on the top. Then put the yam, poria, lotus seeds, longan aril, euryale seeds, coix seeds into the casserole and add some more water. Boil over strong fire, then simmer for another 1 to 2 hours over mild fire. Finally add salt and it is done.

Pigeon-meat is delicious, tender and rich in some nutrients such as crude protein and a small amount of mineral salts. It is a rare delicacy. Modern medicine holds that pigeon-meat can strengthen human body, tonify kidneys and invigorate brain, thus it

Anecdotes about food-therapy

has the effects of improving memory, reducing blood pressure, adjusting blood sugar, enhancing beauty, making the skin fair and tender and prolonging life.

Common yam rhizome can tonify spleen and nourish lungs, secure kidneys and replenish vital essence. It is mainly used for syndromes like diarrhea, poor appetite and edema. As recorded in Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica, it can “tonify deficiency and weakness, eliminate cold and hot evil, tonify the middle , replenish Qi and strength, grow muscles and strengthen yin. If taking it for a long time, you will have good hearing, bright vision, light body and long life without hunger.” Poria can promote urination and drain dampness, invigorate spleen, pacify stomach and tranquilize heart and mind. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica , poria can “tonify spleen and stomach, harmonize the middle, nourish yin, replenish Qi, prevent abortion, calm the soul, nourish the mind, prevent forgetfulness, and get rid of dampness and heat”.

Lotus seeds can clear heat and troublesome , and reduce fire. Longan aril, warm in property and sweet in flavor, is good for nourishing and tonifying the human body.

Euryale seeds have the functions of replenishing kidneys, securing vital essence, tonifying spleen, stopping diarrhea, removing dampness and stopping white vaginal discharge. Coix seeds, cool in property, sweet and light in flavor, enter the meridians of spleen, lungs and kidneys and can promote water movement, invigorate spleen, remove arthralgia, clear heat and expel pustule. Moreover, They have high nutritional value known as “the grain of life and health”.

Guangfu decoction is made by simmering over mild fire without adding any water, without opening the jar, and without dropping complex seasoning until the large food becomes completely soften and rotten, and the vital essence of the food is extracted into the soup with rich flavors. This decoction is not only a must in Cantonese dinner but also the most common food culture in Cantonese life. In the past one thousand years, it has helped Cantonese people survive the yearly hot and humid environment and prevent them from many kinds of diseases.

4.5 Duck decoction in long summer is nutritious and relieves tiredness

If you shiver a lot because of cold in winter, but in summer, you feel hot like a dog, have no appetite for food and have difficulties in sleep, you had better avoid some greasy and hot food like mutton, dog-meat and pork. Instead, you can choose duck meat as a tonic because it is cool and rich in nutrients among four common meats like chicken, ducks, fish and meats and especially fit for keeping health in hot summer.

Ancient people got to know the connection among things by means of “comparing by phenomena”, i.e. they were good at catching the common points among things. For example, flowers can be used to treat diseases which are related to the head or brain because most of them grow at the top of plants, which show the origin of the saying “all flowers rise”. Vine plants can treat diseases concerning four limbs and joints due to their strong function of carrying water and nutrition from the stems. Ducks are waterfowls which live along the waterside all year round and live on aquatic plants, so their meat is partially cold in property and especially good for bitter summer, fire and inner-heat according to the principle of “treating heat with cold” in traditional Chinese medicine.

So, isn’t it interesting?

TCM believes that duck meat, sweet and salty in flavor and cool in property, functions to nourish yin, tonify stomach, promote urination and eliminate pustules. It can be used for treating diseases like steaming-bone fever and exhausted heat, irregular urination, seminal emission and female menstrual irregularities. The old mother-duck can tonify deficiency and nourish yin, and help the patients with long-term illness and body deficiency or blood-vomiting syndromes. The saying “An old duck in the Great

Heat is better than a tonic” is a good proof.

As shown by modern nutrition research, the duck contains protein higher than other meats, and has a moderate amount of fat which is scattered evenly. Besides, the fat in duck meat is different from other kinds of animal oil, and its proportion of fatty acids is very close to the ideal value. The chemical composition in the duck meat, very similar to that in olive oil, has the effect of reducing cholesterol, being quiet suitable for people with atherosclerosis.

Therefore, eating duck meat in summer can not only supplement the overconsumptive nutrition in hot season, but also reduce the risk of having dry and hot fire caused by greasy food, and can drive away the bad influence on the human body due to the summer heat. That is why we suggest eating duck meat on the basis of keeping a balanced combination between meat and non-meat.

“Chicken decoction, duck flavor”: In summer, the ideal way to eat duck meat is to stew it, which can produce good flavor and also most nourishing. Here is a recommendation for cooking duck meat to eliminate heat and remove dampness: Duck meat decoction with lotus leaves and wax gourd.

Choose 1 lotus leaf, one duck-leg, 500 grams of wax gourd and a proper amount of green onion, ginger, cooking wine, salt, pepper and chicken seasoning. Get all the ingredients ready. 1.Wash and soak the lotus leaf in clean water until it becomes soft;

2.Wash and cut the wax gourd and duck meat respectively and blanch the duck for a while;

3.Add water to the pot with lotus leaf, green onion, ginger, duck meat and some cooking wine in turn, put on the lid and decoct over strong fire for 15 minutes; 4.Place the gourd and stew over mild fire for another 30 minutes, put in the salt, pepper and chicken seasoning to improve the flavor. Finally, it is done.

Duck meat serves to clear heat and remove poison, nourish yin and moisten intestine, promote urination and remove swelling. It is very fit for summer. It can not only drive away summer heat, but also supplement nutrition for the human body.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Wax gourd and lotus leaf can promote urination, clear heat and drain dampness. They are good medica for relieving heat and depression. This summer health preservation decoction, when made with lotus leaf, wax gourd and duck meat, increases the effects of clearing and relieving heat, cooling blood and promoting water. What’s more, it can also refresh the taste without greasy feelings, clear summer heat, nourish and preserve health.

Many people biasedly understand the principle of moistening and tonifying summer diet. They even believe that this principle is equal to taking vegetables, fruits or melons exclusively, and pursue the absolute moistening and vegetarian diet. In fact, moistening and tonifying still emphasize replenishment. If only eating vegetables, you will not have enough protein and fat, and the immunity to fight for your body, thus failing to achieve the goal of tonifying and nourishing the human body. Duck meat is a cool food which can improve the dryness Qi of the human body. After having been cooked, it can not only help to clear and eliminate heat, but also fight against the hot climate.

4.6 The tranquilizing porridge for both Qi and blood

Theoretically speaking in TCM, the Summer Solstice is the most vigorous season for yang Qi, and it is also the time when five viscera and six fu-organs have the strongest demand for Qi and blood.

In the long summer, the evil of dampness and heat is the most vigorous, and the dampness evil has the characteristics of stickiness. The human body is like falling into the swamp, feeling weak all over with no strength, so do Qi and blood. Once they are infected with evil of dampness, they fail to move smoothly and become “dispirited”, leading to Qi and blood deficiency. Moreover, in summer, the easy opening of striae and interstice and sweat is also a process of losing Qi and blood. Therefore, in the long

summer, besides nourishing yang and heart by following the principle of preserving health, we should also pay special attention to nourishing and nurturing Qi and blood in order to meet the needs of five zang-fu organs.

Then how to tell the insufficient Qi and blood in your body? Here are two practical tips: one is to check ears, and the other is to look at fingers.

If watching carefully, you will find that the youth have ruddy and elastic ears, while the elderly have drooping and loose ears and even wrinkles. This is the difference to tell whether Qi and blood are sufficient or not. If we rub the ears five or six times, and watch the color, if the red color of ears fades and then turns white, or after rubbing, ears are not red, it indicates that Qi and blood are insufficient.

Watching fingers means to press finger-tips. People generally have bulging fingers, but those with Qi and blood deficiency and internal deficiency mostly have flat fingertips. Press fingertips gently, if they rebound quickly, it means there are sufficient Qi and blood. In the long summer , how to replenish Qi and blood? There is a

“

Tranquilizing decoction by tonifying Qi and blood” which is very suitable.

Then how to nourish Qi and blood in long summer? Here is a suitable

“

Tranquilizing soup for Qi and blood” for you.

Choose 50 grams of spitedate seeds, 15 grams of poria, 50 grams of Tangshen, 15 grams of Chinese gall and longan aril respectively, 100 grams of glutinous rice and some rock sugar.

First, wash the spitedate seeds, air-dry, and pound them on the chopping board with the back of a chopping knife. Second, cook them with poria, Tangshen and Chinese gall, then put them into a gauze to filter the concentrated juice for use. Third, clean the glutinous rice, and cook with a small amount of water. After the first boiling, pour the concentrated juice and longan aril, and then simmer until it is thick, put in the rock sugar and mix. Finally, it is done!

In the long summer, it is hard to sleep due to dampness-heat. Spitedate

Anecdotes about food-therapy

seeds have the effects of calming the mind and nerves,tonifying the middle and replenishing Qi. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica : “Spitedate seeds tonify the middle, replenish liver, strengthen muscles and bones, and helping yin Qi .” Poria can promote urination and drain dampness, invigorat spleen and calm heart. Tangshen, sweet and flat, can tonify the middle and replenish Qi, pacify stomach and produce vital essence. Chinese gall, with high medicinal value, was first listed as the top grade in Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica . It serves to nourish and strengthen the body. Longan aril is a sweet fruit with sweet taste. When used as medicine, it is especially effective for laboring people who often consume Qi and blood of the heart and spleen because it can invigorate yang and replenish Qi, nourish and replenish heart and spleen, nourish blood and tranquilize mind, moisten and beautify the skin and so on.

Glutinous rice, a traditional staple food in China, is often used to make zongzi, rice wine, eight-treasure porridge and various desserts. Nutriology research shows that glutinous rice is rich in various nutrients, such as protein, fat, sugar, calcium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2 and nicotinic acid. It is a warm-tonifying food, tonifying middle, replenishing qi, invigorating spleen, nourishing stomach and stopping deficiency-type sweat.

The reason why “porridge” is used to nourish Qi and blood is that it has been treated as a tonic delicacy since ancient times. As recorded in “ Recipes of SuixiJu ”: “Porridge is the leading tonic in the world”. It is said that Zhang Tingyu, Chief Grand Councilor in the Qing Dynasty, got sick because of his poor health when he was young. Most people thought that he would die early. But finally, Zhang Tingyu lived a long life to 84 years old because he later paid great attention to nourishing his Qi and blood by eating porridge to make up for his congenital deficiency.

Many people think that it is suitable to nourish Qi and blood in hot summer, instead, it should be the time to clear heat, which is a wrong understanding. We have

an idiom called “Sweeping the old and bringing forth the new”. It is a benign cycle for the new to enter and the old to come out. If we just blindly clear dampness-heat without paying attention to replenishing Qi and blood, what we finally have is the weaker and weaker body.

4.7 Three kernels decoction for dispelling dampness and removing summerheat

TCM holds that there are five seasons in a year, namely, spring, summer, long summer, fall and winter. Long summer begins from the end of summer and ends from the beginning of autumn, covering four solar terms, i.e. the Slight Heat, the Great Heat, the Beginning of autumn and the Limit of Heat. Its climate is featured by dampness and heat transpiration. Dampness is yin evil and apt to hurt yang Qi. What’s more, it is also characterized by stickiness and stagnation, leading to the heaviness of the head and body, and the soreness of limbs. The more dampness you have accumulated in the body, the more tired you will be. The hot weather makes it easy to sweat, resulting in the outflow of Qi with vital essence. The excessive sweat hurts the healthy Qi. When healthy Qi is not enough, it is easier for people to get tired.

Long summer is a special season when you first consider to dispel dampness if you want to spend it peacefully . Wu Jutong, a famous master of warm diseases in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a book called Detailed Analysis of Warm Diseases which pointed out that “Patients with warm-dampness suffer from heat resulting from dampness in long summer and early autumn, that means, their illness focuses more on dampness than heat.” The book also records a famous damp-resolving formula called “Three-kernel decoction”, which has the functions of dispersing the upper, smoothing the middle and draining the lower, excreting triple energizers and resolving dampness.

The dosage of Three-kernel decoction is as follows: 15 grams of almond

Anecdotes about food-therapy

and pinellia tuber respectively; 18 grams of talc and 18 grams of raw coix seeds; ricepaperplant pith, ccardamom seeds, bamboo leaf and officinal magnolia, with each 6 grams. Decoct in water and the amount is up to three bowls, one bowl for each time, three times a day.

Of course, since it is a dietectic therapy, it should be convenient and practical, so we can improve Wu Jutong’s three-kernel decoction into tea-drink by equally dividing the decoction into three portions, brew it and drink as tea.

As pointed out in Huangdil’s Internal Classic : “Three energizers are the organs similar to officials in charge of dredging, being responsible for regulating the water passage”, which shows that the evil of dampness is produced by the abnormal metabolism of fluid, so it cannot do to dispel it without the function of triple energizers.

Many people may not fully understand the term of “triple energizers”, then just let’s regard it as “water-pipe network in cities”. Inside our body, there are lots of body fluids (namely, water fluid) which do not stay there with no rules, but are transported to all parts of the viscera through the water channel of triple energizers. The evil of dampness, literally speaking, is formed because of the long-time accumulation of fluids. If cleaning and clearing the water channel to discharge the water as soon as possible, we can dispel dampness.

In the formula, apricot is bitter and pungent, serving to open the upper energizer’s lung Qi. If lung qi travels smoothly, the evil of dampness at the exterior muscle can be removed. Cardamom seeds, bitter and pungent, can be used to resolve dampness and soothe spleen with aroma and dispel the evil of dampness in the middle energizer. Coix seeds, sweet, light and cold, serve to dispel and drain dampness in the lower energizer as urea. The combination of three materia medica is represented by sovereign medicinals, serving to open the upper energizer, soothe the middle energizer and drain the lower energizer for removing the evil of dampness in triple energizers. Officinal magnolia and pinellia tuber are minister medicinals which serve to remove dampness of

spleen, move Qi and relieve abdominal fullness to strengthen cardamom seed’s effects of circuiting the middle energizer and resolving dampness; Talc, ricepaperplant pith and bamboo leaf are assistant medicinals which are used to clear heat and drain dampness to strengthen coix seed’s effects of dispelling the lower energizer and clearing heat. The combination of these drugs serves to open the upper energizer with pungent flavor, eliminate turbit with aroma, and drain dampness with sweet and light property from the lower energizer, thus helping to promote the circulation of triple energizers, dredge the body fluid and remove dampness.

4.8 Frequent intake of bitter guards helps remove the dampness and inner-fire

After the cool and pleasant spring, there comes the hot summer when it is easy to lose nutrients, have a poor appetite and get agitated due to continuous high temperature.

TCM holds that summer corresponds to the heart and the bitter flavor enters the heart meridian, so bitterness can be used to relieve heart heat, and adjust the heat of summer yang. As discovered by modern nutrition research, bitter food contains amino acids, vitamins, alkaloids, bitter principles, minerals and so on. Bitter food has the effects of fighting against bacteria and eliminating inflammation, clearing heat and removing inner-heat, promoting digestion, increasing appetite, refreshing the mind and eliminating fatigue and so on. More intake of bitter food can help to enhance appetite, promote digestion and clear heat.

Among various kinds of bitter food, bitter guard is the most representative. It is the seed of cucurbitaceae plant and known as cool melon. The bitter guard, first introduced into China in the early Ming Dynasty, has now been planted all over the country, especially in the provinces around southern Yangtze River. When used as a medicine,

Anecdotes about food-therapy

it can remove pathogenic heat, relieve fatigue, clear heart and brighten vision. It is said that bitter guard contains a unique quality, namely, “never passing its own bitter flavor to any other thing”, that is to say, even when it is cooked with any dish, fish or meat, it will never pass on the bitter taste to others, so it wins its reputation as “The dish of a gentleman” and is praised to have “the value and merit of a gentleman”.

Then what are the good ways to cook and enjoy this bitter guard? In general, you can choose to stir-fry or make a salad in order to fully keep vitamins . Here are some ways as recommendation:

Bitter guard juice : Choose a fresh bitter guard and prepare some purified water. Wash it and take out the pulp, then wash again and slice it for use. Place the water and bitter gourd slices into the pot, cook for about 10 minutes over the strong fire, and then you can drink it.

Bitter gourd tea : Select a bitter gourd and prepare some green tea. 1. Wash the bitter gourd, cut it in half and remove the pulp; 2. Stuff the gourd with some green tea. After that, string up with a rope and air-dry it; 3. Wash and mince the dried bitter gourd, mix it up with green tea evenly; 4. Take out some amount of bitter gourd, brew in boiling water for a drink .

Bitter gourd mud juice: Get ready for a fresh bitter gourd and some white sugar. Wash the bitter gourd, remove the pulp and mash it into mud. Then stir it with some appropriate amount of sugar, two hours later, squeeze out the juice for a drink.

Stir-fry bitter gourd with corn kernels: Choose 150 grams of the bitter gourd and corn-kernel respectively, 20 grams of green onion section and some salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), corn oil, etc. Remove both ends and the pulp of the bitter gourd, wash and dice them. Heat the corn oil in a frying pan to 60% hot, add the green onion and corn kernel, stir-fry them and drop the diced bittier gourd and MSG. Fry quickly until it is half cooked. Then it is done after adding a small amount of salt.

Stuffed bitter gourd with purple sweet yam : choose 1 bitter gourd, 3 ~ 5 purple

sweet yams, and some honey. Remove both ends of the gourd, cut it into two sections and remove the pulp with chopsticks. Peel the purple sweet yams, dice and put them into a fresh-keeping plastic bag with a little water. Pre-heat the yams in the microwave oven for 3 minutes and mash them into mud. Blanch the bitter gourd in hot salty water. Then fill the bitter gourd with the yams for eating and it is done.

Iced bitter gourd with plum juice : Choose 1 bitter gourd, some ginger and coriander, 5 plums and 200ml plum juice. 1. Cut the bitter gourd into half, remove the pulp and boil in water, then take it out and ice it; 2. Slice the bitter gourd into pieces, chop the coriander and ginger; 3. Then put the shredded ginger, iced bitter gourd, coriander powder and plums into a bowl, pour into the plum juice, stir well and pickle in a fridge for 2 hours; 4. Take it out from the refrigerator, pour it into the plate, stir it again and enjoy it.

As a saying goes: “If enduring bitterness, you can be a superior person”. In the long summer season, we should eat more bitter food. Besides bitter gourd, there are bitter bamboo shoots, asparagus lettuce, lettuce, celery and so on. Only by eating more bitterness, can we feel light with no dampness.

Chapter 5 Pleasant Ways to Cope with Dryness in Autumn

5.1 Ways to moisturize your dry skin in autumn

Following summer is the dry autumn. Our bodies become rather dry and our skins are prone to peeling and desquamation, which may greatly affect our appearance. This happens because temperature and air humidity drop in autumn, causing the decrease of sebum and sweat, so our skin can’t be moisturized by “water”. Water can moisturize everything in the world. The land without water is as dry as the shell of a turtle. As for human skin, if not moisturized by water, it will also become wrinkled.

Many of you may think that we can solve this problem by drinking more water. Indeed, it is one of the useful ways, but not the best. Because without nutrients, the water we drink will quickly flow through the digestive tract, go into blood, and then be excreted from kidneys. The zang-fu organs of the human body are very clever. They know that pure water has nothing to be absorbed, so they say good-bye to them soon.

Compared with pure water, decoction is a quite nice choice. It contains various nutrients which can absorb a lot of water molecules, delay the absorption of water and prevent them from being excreted quickly. In this way, there is more time for our bodies

to get moisturized.

Here are four recommended decoctions for you. They will surely make your skin moistened and tender .

Longan aril, date and white fungus decoction : Prepare 3 white fungi, 5 dates, 2 longan arils and some rock sugar. 1. Soak the white fungi in water, then cut off their stalks, and tear them into small pieces. Set aside; 2. Soak the dates and longan arils in water for half an hour, then take them out and put them into the pot; 3. Add the prepared white fungi, rock sugar and water into the pot; 4. cook over a strong fire until it is boiling, then turn to mild fire to simmer for another 25 minutes, and that’s it!

White fungus is a good tonic characterized by nourishing but not sticky property. It can benefit spleen, wake up appetite, replenish Qi, clear intestines, nourish yin and moisten dryness. Wild white fungus is rare and used to be a valuable tonic in ancient China. However, since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, thanks to successful cultivation of white fungus, it has turned to be a tonic that every family can afford. Date, characterized by being rich in vitamins, is known as “natural vitamin pills” which can nourish yin, tonify yang and blood. Sufficient Qi and blood can make our skin ruddy and glowing. Longan aril itself also has the function of moisturizing skin. Therefore, this soup has the effects of improving skin tone, moisturizing skin and making it elastic.

White fungus and cherry custard : Prepare 2 white fungi, 100 grams of cherries, some rock sugar (to taste). 1. Soak the white fungi in water until they turn soft, then remove their stalks. Set aside; 2. Wash and core the cherries; 3. Put white fungi into the pot, add water, and cook for 30 minutes, then add the rock sugar; 4. Add the cherries, and cook for a few minutes. That’s it!

White fungus, sweet and mild, is neutral in property with no poison. It has the effects of benefiting spleen and waking up appetite, replenishing Qi and clearing intestines, nourishing yin and moistening lungs . What’s more, white fungus is rich in

Anecdotes about food-therapy natural plant-derived gum, with the effect of nourishing yin. It is a nice food that can be eaten over a long period for moisturizing skin. Cherry is as beautiful as crystal, and as red as agate. It is tasty and rich in sugar, protein, Vitamins, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, etc. Chinese medicine believes that cherry is sweet, with the effects of replenishing Qi, invigorating spleen and harmonizing stomach. The decoction mixed with white fungus and cherry has the effects of tonifying Qi and nourishing blood, whitening and tenderizing skin.

Lily bulb and mung bean decoction: Prepare 250 grams of mung beans, 100 grams of lily bulbs, and some rock sugar (to taste). 1. Split lily bulbs and peel off their skins; 2. Wash mung beans; 3. Put lily bulbs and mung beans into a casserole, add some water; 4. Bring them to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer, cook until mung beans and lilies turn meshed; 5. Add rock sugar, and that’s it!

Mung bean has the function of clearing inner-heat. Although the temperature gradually drops in autumn, hot weather can reappear, which is commonly known as “hot autumn”. Therefore, clearing inner-heat in autumn is still an important task. Moreover, mung bean also has the functions of evacuating toxin and beautifying the skin. Lily bulb has the effects of nourishing yin, moistening lungs, clearing away the heart-heat and calming the spirit. According to the records of Orthodox Interpretation of Materia Medica, “Lily bulb, sweet and cold in property, can promote urination and stool. Although Herbal Classic contends that lily bulb is sweet and neutral in property, it is mainly used to clear inner-heat both in ancient and modern times, and that proves its property.” Therefore, this decoction has a detoxifying effect on the body and a beautifying effect on the skin.

Beautifying decoction with loofahs : Prepare 2 loofahs, 15 grams each of roses, chrysanthemums and poria, 10 red dates (pitted), 300 grams of lean meat, condiment (to taste). 1. Peel and seed loofahs, then wash and cut them into small pieces; 2. Soak and clean roses, chrysanthemums and poria in water, slice lean meat and set aside; 3. Add

lean meat, red dates, poria and loofahs into water and cook for about 1 hour; 4. Add roses, chrysanthemums and condiments, and further cook for a while. It is done and you can enjoy it!

Loofah is both a food and a medicine. When used as medicine, it has the effects of cooling, diuresis, activating blood, dredging channels and removing toxin. Besides, loofah contains B vitamins to prevent skin from aging and vitamin C to whiten skin. It is a rare gift for beauty, which can protect our skin, eliminate spots and make our skin fair and tender, thus its juice is called “water of beauty”. Long-term consumption of loofah can make our skin smoother. Used as a medicine, rose is sweet and slightly bitter in taste, and warm in property. It can soothe liver, relieve depression, activate blood and relieve pain. Chrysanthemum, used as medicine, has the effects of dispelling wind-heat, pacifying liver, improving vision, clearing heat and removing toxin. Poria can promote urination, drain dampness, invigorate spleen and soothe heart. Jujube has the effects of nourishing Qi and blood.

Lean meat is rich in nutrition. There is such a popular saying: “Meat can nourish the body for 3 days, but broth can nourish the body for 7 days”, that is, the nutrition in broth is higher than that of meat in the soup. Broth contains part of the water-soluble substances from lean meat, such as inorganic salts and water-soluble Vitamins. There is also a small amount of water-soluble protein and hydrolysate, such as peptides and amino acids. It is these substances that make the soup taste delicious. The more they dissolve in soup, the more intense the soup tastes . They can stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and improve appetite. This prescription has the effects of smoothing skin and delaying aging.

In autumn, in addition to supplementing protein to meet the needs of our skin , we should also eat more high-fiber vegetables to relax our bowels so that to eliminate toxins from our bodies. In short, you girls should learn to take care of yourselves. The dry climate in autumn is a severe test for your skin . Girls who dream to look attractive

Anecdotes about food-therapy

should be more familiar with tips of skin-care in autumn.

5.2 Five-ingredient decoction drives away “troubled autumn”

There is a Chinese idiom called “troubled autumn” which means that when autumn comes, bad things happen one after another.

In early autumn, the weather is still very hot, but the temperature is quite different throughout the day. If failing to pay attention to health care, you can easily get sick.

According to TCM, autumn is characterized by the pattern of dryness. It can cause diseases with dry mouth, dry nose, dry throat, dry cough, dry skin and other symptoms. Therefore, we should eat more moistening food, such as autumnal pear, sugar cane, water chestnuts and white fungus. In clinical practice, medicinal materials like adenophora stricta, dwarf lilyturf tuber, lily bulb and fragrant solomonseal rhizome are commonly used to clear lungs , nourish stomach, promote fluid production and moisten dryness.

If you want to get through “troubled autumn” restfully, there is a formula of dietectic therapy named “Five-ingredient decoction” for you.

It is also a very simple recipe. Prepare a snow pear, 20 grams of water chestnuts, 20 grams of lotus roots, 10 grams of dwarf lilyturf tuber and 235 grams of fresh reed rhizome. Put them into a pot. Add some water, bring the water to a boil, then turn to mild fire to simmer for 30 minutes. Add honey to taste. Store it after cooling. You can drink it as a substitute for tea.

I believe everyone knows snow-pear. Fresh snow pear is sweet and juicy, which is very popular among people. Used as medicine, pear has the effects of promoting fluid production, moistening dryness, clearing heat and resolving phlegm. Nutritional studies indicate that pearcontains sugar, protein, fat and vitamins, which plays important roles in human health. Some scientists and physicians call pear as “all-round healthy fruit”

or “general practitioner”. In addition, pear has the effect of improving lung function. Nowadays, because of the serious air pollution, more and more people use pear to lessen the impact of dust and smoke on lungs.

The skin of water chestnuts is dark purple. Its flesh is white in color, sweet, juicy and crisp in taste. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Moreover, as it is cold in property and rich in mucus, it has good effects of clearing heat and reducing fire. It is mainly used to treat symptoms caused by autumnal dryness, such as sore-throat, scanty dark urine and oliguria.

Lotus root is slightly sweet and crisp. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Due to its high medicinal value, it was appointed as an imperial meal tribute during the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty. Being eaten raw, lotus root can clear heat, promote fluid production, cool blood and stop bleeding, while cooked lotus root can tonify and replenish spleen and stomach, replenish blood and engender muscle . Moreover, lotus root is rich in vitamin C and minerals, which can make the skin glowing.

Dwarf lilyturf tuber has the effects of promoting fluid production to quench thirst, moistening lungs and relieving cough. In Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica , it is listed as a top-grade choice to nourish yin and moisten lungs by saying that “longintake of dwarf lilyturf tuber always keeps one young and full”. Reed rhizome is the fresh or dry rhizome of reed. It is sweet in flavor and cold in property, entering lung and stomach meridians. It has the functions of clearing heat, promoting fluid production, relieving restlessness, preventing vomiting and inducing diuresis. According to Treatise on Medicinal Properties, “Reed rhizome can relieve intense heat, wake up appetite and cure hiccup and choking. “

The fiveingredient decoction is not only tasty, but also beneficial to health . It is an invaluable autumnal drink, which can promote fluid production to quench thirst, moisten lungs, relieve cough and clear summerheat.

In general, autumn is the driest time of the year. Therefore, our skin and zang-fu

Anecdotes about food-therapy

organs also lack water in autumn. We might experience autumn-dryness symptoms such as tight skin, peeling, dry hair and dry lips. To cope with dryness, we should drink more water, have more porridge, but eat less or no spicy and fried food. With a reasonable diet, we all can get through “troubled autumn” restfully.

5.3 It’s not difficult to DIY “steamed snow pear with rock sugar” by yourself

There is a popular sweet drink called “rock sugar and snow pear” on the market. According to its advertisements: “Well-selected snow pears, juicy and tender, mixed with rock sugar by a combination of traditional and modern methods, give great delight in a sweet and fresh taste, as well as with effects of nourishing lungs and relieving dryness.”

Snow pear and rock sugar decoction is a popular nourishing drink handed down from generation to generation. Tasting sweet and fresh, it possesses properties of promoting fluid production, nourishing stomach, clearing heat and quenching thirst. More than a thousand years ago, smart Chinese people started to make “pear decoction” for moistening lungs and relieving cough. Since this “miracle drug” is easy to make and only requires ordinary ingredients, it is widely spread among people.

In autumn, it is dry and our lungs are weaker. Since the physiological characteristics of lungs prefer moisture to dryness, autumnal dryness is most likely to hurt our lungs, leading to sore and itchy throat, or coughing. In this case, snow pear and rock sugar decoction is very nourishing for our lungs.

However, the “ rock sugar and snow pear ” on the market is added with preservatives, pigments, sweeteners and other chemical additives, not only moistening the lungs, but also bringing harm to health, so it is not suitable to drink it too frequently.

If we make it ourselves, we can use fresh ingredients and drink it instantly after it is

done. Thus, we don’t have to worry about any harm. Its recipe is very simple. Prepare a high-quality snow pear, 6 grams of rock sugar, 3 grams of Chinese wolfberry fruits, 30 grams of water.1. Remove the top (about 1/5) of the pear with a knife and make it as a cover, then dig out the core of the pear with a spoon; 2. Clean the pear, then fill it up with rock sugar, Chinese wolfberry fruitS and cold boiled water; 3. Put the cover back on the pear and steam it in the drawer for 1-1.5 hours; 4. Turn off the fire and open the lid. It is done and you can enjoy it now!

To make the drink viscous and translucent, we’d better choose Hebei pear and polycrystalline rock sugar when selecting ingredients. Although Hebei pear is unpalatable when it is eaten raw, boiling it with water will make the drink translucent and sweet. Therefore, it is a good substitute for snow pear. As for polycrystalline rock sugar, it can make the drink more viscous. Even though monocrystalline rock sugar also works, it would be less viscous. What's more, do not add too much water into the pear, because steam will enter the bowl during the process of steaming, and that would increase the height of the water. Hence, just add an appropriate amount of water to avoid overflowing.

Used as medicine, snow pear is sweet in taste and cold in property. It contains malic acid, citric acid, vitamin B, vitamin B2, vitamin C, carotene and other nutrients, with the effects of promoting fluid production, moistening dryness, clearing heat and resolving phlegm. Medical research has proved that pear does have the functions of moistening lungs, relieving dryness, relieving cough, resolving phlegm, nourishing blood and engendering muscle. It is effective for patients with acute bronchitis and upper respiratory infections, showing symptoms of dry throat, itchy throat, sore throat, hoarse voice, thick sputum, constipation, reddish urine, etc. Thus, pears are particularly fit for tackling dryness in autumn.

Both snow pear and rock sugar are very tasty. Combining the two, steamed snow pear with rock sugar is nutritious and healthy. It can not only dispel phlegm heat, cure

Anecdotes about food-therapy asthma, nourish yin and moisten lungs, but also has a nourishing and protective effect on the throat. Singers and broadcasters use it as a secret weapon to protect their throats.

In addition, if having already begun to cough, you can replace the Chinese wolfberry fruit in the formula with tendrilleaf fritillary bulb (fritillaria), which is a traditional Chinese medicine with the effects of moistening lungs and relieving cough. Since the fritillaria produced in Sichuan province has the best medicinal effect, it is also called Sichuan fritillary bulb. Concerning the details of cooking, fritillaria should be ground into powder before adding into snow pear and steaming. In this way, the original drink turns into “fritillaria, rock sugar and snow pear paste”, with an additional effect of relieving cough.

5.4 The embarrassment of constipation can be solved at home

The symptoms of autumnal dryness such as dry lips, “smoking” nose and sorethroat seem to happen every autumn. Constipation is also very common in this season, and it is closely related to autumnal dryness.

From the perspective of TCM, constipation is caused by the weakening of conducting function of the large intestine. The large intestine can convert dregs in the diet into poopoos, which are then excreted from the body. Moreover, it can also reabsorb the water in dietary dregs. Therefore, the main physiological functions of the large intestine are transmitting dregs and absorbing body fluids.

Dryness is the dominant Qi of autumn, corresponding to lung Qi, so it is most likely to impair lungs. Pattern of dryness hurt lungs and the fluids of lungs. As the large intestine is complementary to lungs, the heat of lungs moves down to the large intestine, depleting the fluids of the large intestine and causing the dryness of the large intestine, which further leads to the weakening of its conducting function and ultimately, constipation. Therefore, people who are constipated might become worse due to the

autumnal dryness, and those who are not constipated might be prone to constipation in autumn.

Constipation seems to be a small problem, but it can be very painful. It can induce the onset of hemorrhoids and anal fissure, leading to the accumulation of toxins in the body. However, since we know that autumnal constipation is related to “dryness”, we can start the treatment with “lungs”.

Here is a home-remedy for constipation. Prepare 20 grams of carrots, 20 grams of mooli, 10 grams of great burdock achene and 5 savory mushrooms. Chop them up and boil them in water. Then it is done and you can drink it as tea.

The principal drug here is “great burdock achene”, which enters lung meridian and is good at clearing lung heat. According to the records of Encountering with Origin of Herbal Classic : “Sunianzi (great burdock achene) is a medicine acting on lungs. Regarded as a good remedy for smallpox, it can also treat rheumatic rash and wind-heat throat, and disperse the toxins of swelling and sores.” Moreover, it has a laxative effect. Modern researches show that burdock is rich in water, dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, etc. Although it does not taste soft and slithery, it can promote intestinal peristalsis and defecation, and relieve flatulence.

Everyone knows the efficacy of turnip. It is rich in crude fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, keep bowel movements unobstructed, help lose weight and prevent colon cancer. Savory mushroom is a typical health food with high protein, high iron, low fat and low calorie. It can play a considerable role in promoting gastrointestinal peristalsis and helping digestion.

In this folk formula, apart from great burdock achene, other ingredients are very easy to be obtained. The common feature of these ingredients is that they contain a relatively large amount of dietary fiber. So, the above formula is arguably a natural food therapy that promotes gastro-intestinal peristalsis and defecation.

Autumnal constipation seems to be caused by the dryness of intestines, but in fact,

Anecdotes about food-therapy

the real cause of the dryness lies in lungs. Therefore, we should not only moisten our intestines, but also our lungs by eating more grapefruits, persimmons, water chestnuts, oranges, white fungi, snow pears, lotus roots and less spicy food or condiments, like leek, garlic, chive, ginger, star anise, and fennel. Furthermore, we should also eat less fried food to avoid aggravating autumn dryness and impairing yin.

Besides, psychological adjustment is very important for the treatment of constipation. Many people often suffer from constipation due to a bad mood. Panic, tension and sadness can lead to constipation or make the condition worse. Hence, students with constipation should adjust their emotions to stay healthy, both physically and mentally. Taking part in recreational activities and doing more exercise are also conducive to intestinal peristalsis and defecation.

5.5 Autumn comes, leaves turn yellow, and some students start to lose hair.

Once a mother took her child to the hospital because her child lost hair badly. The mother felt guilty as she thought she had put too much pressure of study on her child.

Nowadays, teenagers are under a lot of pressure resulting from study. More and more students go to the clinic because of hair loss. However, hair-loss of many teenagers is also related to the season.

Think about it. Do trees gradually shed their leaves in autumn? Many animals lose their hair in autumn, so do people. Some might lose hair more seriously in autumn. Therefore, you do not need to be too nervous about hair loss, but to be clear that it happens merely because of the weather in autumn, not because of any serious illness.

When autumn comes, changes in temperature would slow down the cell division in the human body, and accordingly reduce the secretion of sebaceous glands in the scalp. As a result, hair follicles would atrophy and the channels for hair to obtain nutrients would be

blocked. These are the reasons why our hair often turns dry, dull, tangled, and even falls down in autumn.

So, it’s not surprising that you lose your hair in autumn. Just remember to hydrate your body, especially scalp when you start losing hair. As a saying goes: “Dietary nourishment is better than medicinal nourishment.” Are there any effective food therapies in TCM to treat hair loss? There is a very good choice, i.e. “mixed vegetable juice”.

This recipe is also very simple. Prepare 1 carrot, 2 apricots, half of an apple and 40 grams of parsley. Peel the carrot, apricot and apple. Put them in a blender with celery and mix them thoroughly. Then it is done. It’s as convenient as making soy milk in daily life .

Carrot is rich in nutrients. As we all know, it contains a lot of carotene which is an indispensable nutrient for human health. If eating carrots often, you can protect your eyesight, hydrate your skin and improve your immunity effectively. Apricot is a fruit familiar to us. It is a good tonic, containing a variety of organic ingredients, vitamins and inorganic salt that are essential to the human body. Moreover, in terms of medicinal efficacy, apricot has the effects of promoting fluid production to quench thirst, moistening lungs and arresting panting. It can be used for treating thirst, cough, dry throat and lung dryness caused by autumn dryness.

Apple, rich in nutrients, is the most common fruit and ranks first among four major fruits in the world (apple, grape, orange and banana). It also has such elements as copper, iodine, manganese, zinc and potassium. If our bodies lack these elements, our skin will be prone to dryness, chap and itch. But don’t worry, we can easily supplement these elements by eating more apples. Celery is a health-care vegetable rich in nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, minerals, Vitamins as well as celery oil. It has the effects of reducing blood pressure, harmonizing stomach, tranquilizing, diuresis and so on. Previous studies have proved that celery contains a lot of cellulose which can

Anecdotes about food-therapy

also absorb acidic toxins produced by fat metabolism in the body and this is beneficial to slow down hair loss.

The fruits and vegetables in the recipe above are all commonly used for hydrating, making the juice a good choice in dry autumn to prevent hair loss, stay hydrated and supplement various nutrients to the body.

Everyone wants beautiful black hair, but no pains, no gains. Scalp is the “soil” on which hair “grows”. If we don’t work hard on the soil, we won’t be able to harvest the fruit. When the scalp is dry and hard, the hair would lack nutrients. At this point, massaging the scalp can help relax nerves and promote blood circulation. You can do it by yourself: spread ten fingers to comb from the forehead to the back of the head with just a little force several times. It is like “hoeing”. Only when the soil is loosened, can nutrients be supplied to seeds painlessly.

5.6 Recurrence of asthma worries mothers. Try these dietectic therapies to prevent asthma.

Many parents are quite worried about the recurrence of their children’s asthma. Their worries are necessary, because asthma is indeed a life-threatening disease. Many celebrities, beloved by students, died of asthma. On May 8, 1995, Teresa Teng, the Asia’s eternal queen of pop music, died of asthma in Chiang Mai, Thailand when her boy-friend Paul happened to be out. On December 9, 2013, Ke Shouliang, a famous artist, died unexpectedly, and it was later confirmed that his death was caused by an asthma attack. On April 25, 2016, Mei Baojiu, a master of Peking Opera, died of a sudden tracheal spasm.

Moreover, it is easy to have asthma attacks in autumn.

According to the theory of “Five seasons correspond to five internal organs” in TCM, autumn corresponds to lungs. Because the lung is delicate and needs special care,

it is called “delicate viscus” in terms of its physiological characteristics. The climate in autumn keeps changing - often hot in the daytime and cold at night – as a nightmare for some asthma patients. Therefore, asthma most often occurs in autumn.

Based on the theory of TCM, the insidious root of asthma is that “the phlegm lurks in the body and can’t be removed”. To asthma, the evil of the root is usually “imprisoned” in lungs, and lungs are “the doorkeeper” of the disease. Catching a cold, getting caught in the rain, or dryness-heat impairing body fluids can make the lungs sick when the climate changes. As a sick employee can’t do his job wholeheartedly, sick lungs give the “insidous phlegm” an opportunity to “run away” and “commit crimes”.

Now that we know the pathogenesis of asthma, our prevention can be more targeted. As long as we take good care of our lungs in autumn, we can prevent and reduce the frequency of asthma attacks. Here are four dietary remedies to prevent autumnal asthma.

Almond and honey decoction : Prepare 9 grams of almonds, 30 grams of honey. Peel the almonds and remove their tips. Put the almonds and honey into a pot. Add some water and stew. It is done and you can take it now.

According to the theory of TCM and traditional Chinese medicine, almond has the effects of promoting fluid production to quench thirst, moistening lungs and arresting panting. In Compendium of Materia Medica, moistening lungs ranks first among three major effects of almond being listed (moistening lungs, clearing accumulated food and dispersing stagnation). Honey has multiple functions such as tonifying the middle , moistening dryness, relieving pain, removing toxin and relieving cough. It can improve the human immunity. If conditions permit, you’d better choose citrus honey which has a more prominent effect on promoting fluid production to quench thirst, moistening lungs and waking up appetite.

Boiled eggs with green tea leaves: Prepare 15 grams of green tea leaves, 2 eggs. Boil green tea leaves and eggs in a bowl with a half of water. Remove the eggshells

Anecdotes about food-therapy

when the eggs are cooked, then boil them again until the water boils away. All done. Take it twice a day.

Green tea is known as “national drink” in China. A large number of modern scientific studies have confirmed that tea leaves do contain bio-chemical components that are closely related to human health. It not only has the pharmacological effects of refreshing spirit, clearing heart, clearing summerheat, promoting digestion, resolving phlegm, removing fat, reducing weight, removing vexation, removing toxin, dispelling the effects of alcohol, promoting fluid production to quench thirst, descending fire, improving vision, stopping dysentery and removing dampness, but also has certain therapeutic effects on many modern diseases. Egg is rich in nutrition. It is sweet in taste and neutral in property in terms of medicinal purpose. With effects of tonifying lungs and blood, nourishing yin and moistening dryness, it is commonly used to reinforce healthy Qi.

Pumpkin, ginger and honey decoction: Prepare half a pumpkin. Remove the pith. Peel and cut the pumpkin into pieces. Put it in a pot. Add water, a little ginger juice, some rock sugar and honey, then simmer for 2 hours.

According to TCM, pumpkin is sweet in taste and warm in property, with the functions of tonifying middle , replenishing Qi, clearing heat and removing toxin. Pumpkin itself contains special nutrients, which can enhance human immunity and prevent arteriosclerosis. It has been regarded as a special health-care vegetable worldwide. Ginger has the effects of inducing sweating to releaseing the exterior, warming middle and arresting vomiting, warming lungs and arresting cough and removing toxin. So, taking raw ginger can help to improve human immunity to fight against diseases and there has been an old saying among doctors of Chinese medicine and common folks: “Ginger can cure all diseases.”

Fried shrimps with celery: Prepare 200 grams of tender celery, 40 grams of shrimp, 40 grams of lard, 10ml of cooking wine, 5 grams of salt, 2 grams of MSG and some

soup. 1. Wash the celery and remove its leaves; 2. Cut the leaf stalk into two halves from the middle and cut each half into 2cm segments; 3. Blanch them in boiling water for a while, then remove and drain the water. Set the pan on the fire; 4. Add lard and fry the shrimp until the color changes, then stir fry with celery; 5.Add cooking wine, MSG, salt, and stir well; 6. The dish is ready and you can serve it on a plate. This dish is tender, crisp and tasty, with functions of clearing heat and benefiting lungs.

In addition to reducing high blood pressure, celery can also cool blood, replenish lungs, tonify kidneys, dispel wind, clear stomach and enliven brain. Some people think that celery is also a kind of invigorator which can enhance sexual function and strengthen physique. Therefore, it is beneficial for asthma patients to often eat celery, which can change their poor physical fitness and reduce the severity of asthma attacks.

Asthma is a chronic disease, and the fight against asthma is a long one. It is stressed in TCM: “If healthy-Qi is sufficient in the body, evil cannot invade it .” Besides dietary therapy, we should do more exercises to develop stronger resistance. That is the fundamental to resist pathogens.

5.7 Relieving autumn cough by food

Cough refers to a disease in which dry cough or cough with phlegm is the main clinical symptom. According to TCM, cough is clinically divided into wind-cold cough, wind-heat cough, Qi-deficiency cough, phlegm-heat cough and many other types.

When autumn comes, a special type of cough called “autumn-dryness cough” may happen. It is characterized by dry cough (no phlegm), less phlegm but sticky, thread-like phlegm which is hard to bring up, itchy throat, dry and sore throat, dry mouth and nose, hoarse voice, dry tongue and little body-fluid.

Here is a reminder for you students: when having a dry cough, you had better not take cough medicine, cold medicine or antibiotics blindly or at will. If your parents have

Anecdotes about food-therapy

bought relevant medicine, tell them that it won’t work, because such medication may fail to relieve your cough, or even cause continuous cough. If you have a dry cough without other symptoms, you can just watch it first instead of taking medicine, or you can also treat it by using a dietectic therapy.

According to Collected Writings on Flexible Treatment to Diseases , “Cough is caused by dryness of lungs. If lungs are dry, cough happens. Because lungs correspond to metal in five elements, they prefer moisture and generate water to moisten zangfu organs ...” TCM believes that dryness is the dominant Qi of autumn. The evil of autumnal dryness can easily attack lungs through the mouth, nose, respiratory tract, skin and hair, and affect their cleansing and moisturizing functions, thus causing cough due to the disorder of Qi movement. At this time, we can effectively treat cough by taking more ingredients or medicine for nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing lungs and relieving cough. For example, snow pear, dried tangerine peel, tendrilleaf fritillary bulb, mooli and almond have the effects of nourishing lungs and moistening dryness, moistening intestine and relieving constipation, preventing cough.

Now let’s take a look at what kind of dietectic therapies can be made based on these dietectic ingredients.

Steamed dried persimmon with fritillaria powder : Prepare 2 dried persimmons, 10 grams of fritillaria powder. 1. Remove the cores of persimmons and add fritillaria powder; 2. Steam them in the pot; 3. then it is done. Take it twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Persimmon is one of the tasty snacks in autumn. Its sweet taste is very popular. According to TCM, persimmon is sweet in taste, cold in property with no poison. It has the functions of moistening lungs, relieving cough, resolving phlegm and astringing intestines. Fritillaria, the tendrilleaf fritillary bulb produced in Sichuan province, is also an effective cough-killer. Syrups like fritillaria cough syrup and fritillaria loquat syrup which are sold in drugstores use fritillaria as the main medicinal material as it has a better effect on dry cough.

Mooli and dried tangerine peel decoction: Prepare 250 grams of mooli, 3 grams of dried tangerine peel. Chop the mooli, decoct it with dried tangerine peel. Done. Drink this decoction once a day and it should be taken in twice. Mooli is a common vegetable and can be eaten raw or cooked. Modern researches show that mooli contains mustard oil, amylase and crude fiber. It can promote digestion, increase appetite, accelerate gastro-intestinal peristalsis, relieve cough and resolve phlegm. Moreover, it can also clear heat, promote fluid production and alleviate the symptoms of sore-throat and dry throat. Dried tangerine peel has the effects of regulating Qi, invigorating spleen, drying dampness and resolving phlegm. Therefore, this decoction is effective for patients with dry cough and cough with less phlegm.

Stewed snow pear with fritillaria powder : Prepare 1 snow pear, 10 grams of fritillaria powder, 15 grams of rock sugar. 1. Peel the pear, remove its core and slice it; 2. Put the pear slices, fritillaria powder and rock sugar into a bowl; 3. Simmer the ingredients over mild fire for 1 hour and it is done. Take it in twice - drink the decoction and eat the snow pear. Snow pear has the effects of clearing heart, moistening lung, facilitating defecation, relieving cough and moistening dryness. Fritillaria is a commonly used medicine for resolving phlegm and relieving cough. So, this formula has an auxiliary effect on treating autumnal-dryness cough with less phlegm.

Stewed snow pear with almond : Prepare 15 grams of almonds (peeled and crushed), 1 snow pear (washed, peeled and sliced), 20 grams of rock sugar. 1. Put the snow pear, almond and rock sugar into a bowl; 2.Put the bowl into a pot and add some water to the pot; 3. Simmer for 30 minutes and it is done. Take it once in the morning and once at night for 35 days. Almond has the effects of relieving cough and asthma, and moistening intestine and relieving constipation. Snow pear has the effects of clearing heart and moistening lungs, facilitating defecation, relieving cough and moistening dryness. The addition of rock sugar makes it taste better. Since the combination of these ingredients has good effects of moistening lungs and resolving dryness and relieving

Anecdotes about food-therapy cough, you can consider it as a supplement tonic in autumn.

Diet is a very important part of disease prevention. As a saying goes: “Disease enters by the mouth.” To prevent autumn cough, we should try to avoid the stimulation of pungent and spicy food, so as to ensure that our body fluid is not depleted because such food often makes cough worse. Meanwhile, we’d better have a light diet and drink water frequently by taking some more easy-to-digest and nutritious food, like fruits and vegetables.

5.8 What’s the use of smoked plum for stopping thirst in autumn?

During the Three-Kingdom Period, Cao Cao missed the road with the source of water on his march. The soldiers were all thirsty and tired because of the long march and the scorching sun. Cao Cao thought to himself: “How can we fight if this situation continues?” Then he had an idea, saying: “There is a plum forest where we can see lots of plums in front of us. We can surely quench our thirst after eating sour and sweet plums.”

Having heard about it, those soldiers immediately drooled and regained their strength. Cao Cao took this opportunity to lead his troops to continue marching forward and finally found a way to water. This is the story of “Quench thirst by thinking of plums”.

Plum is the fruit of the plum tree. It is sour and sweet with a unique taste. Known as the “king of cool fruit”, it has the effects of astringing lungs and relieving cough, removing vexation and calming heart, and promoting fluid production to quench thirst. After having been smoked by fire, it is called “smoked plum” as its skin turns dark brown. After having been specially processed, plums have an upgraded astringent effects on astringing lungs and relieving cough, hence turning to be a specialized Chinese medicinal material.

The dry climate in autumn can easily cause yin deficiency with inner-heat, leading to dry throat, dry mouth, dreaminess, dry cough with less phlegm, dry eyes, eyepain and other symptoms. TCM believes that the health state of the human body is a harmonious state that reaches the internal balance between yin and yang. In autumn, the pattern of dryness is just in season and the domination of dryness will deplete the body fluid, resulting in less fluid of yin. In this case, yang Qi will have a relative advantage and cause excessive inner-heat in the body.

At this time, using bitter and cold medicine to clear inner-heat will further deplete the fluid of yin, leading to further disharmony of yin and yang. Therefore, we should choose yin-nourishing medicine or food to promote production of fluid of yin. Then, the relative excess of yang Qi will be restrained naturally, and yin and yang will be rebalanced in the body. Smoked plum can promote fluid production to quench thirst, astringe lungs and relieve cough, so it is especially suitable to be eaten in autumn as a good choice for nourishing yin and dispelling inner-heat.

So, what kind of dietectic therapy of smoked plum can we adopt? The following are some quite good choices.

Smoked plum porridge : Prepare 10 grams of smoked plum, 100 grams of rice, and rock sugar (to taste). Fry and boil the smoked plum in the pot. Take the thick juice (remove the residue) and set aside. Cook the japonica rice with the juice, then add the rock sugar. Done. This porridge has the effects of replenishing Qi, promoting fluid production, waking up appetite, quenching thirst and relieving diarrhea. It is useful for chronic cough, chronic diarrhea, dry mouth with no appetite.

Smoked plum and hawthorn decoction: Prepare 10 grams each of smoked plum and hawthorn, sugar (to taste). Put the smoked plum and hawthorn into the pot, add some water to boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the fire, set it aside for about 15 minutes, then filter out the decoction, and add white sugar to taste, then it is done. This decoction has the effects of promoting fluid production to quench thirst. It is suitable for

Anecdotes about food-therapy

treating anorexia, dry mouth and dry tongue, and can be used as a refreshing drink in early autumn.

Smoked plum and dwarf lilyturf tuber decoction : Prepare 30 grams of smoked plum, 15 grams of dwarf lilyturf tuber and rock sugar (to taste). Put the smoked plum and dwarf lilyturf tuber in an earthen-ware pot. Fry them twice in water, then remove the residue and mix their juice. Add some rock sugar to the juice and simmer for a while, then it is done. This decoction has a better effects on clearing heat and promoting fluid production as it combines the functions of smoked plum on promoting fluid production to quench thirst, dwarf lilyturf tuber on nourishing yin and promoting fluid production, and rock sugar on clearing inner-heat and promoting fluid production.

As for the smoked plum, there is a saying: “A smoked plum plus seven Chinese dates keep the disease and aging away”. Modern researches suggest that the catechin in the smoked plum can promote intestinal peristalsis, so it is suitable for those with constipation. Various organic acids contained in plums can improve liver function, so it is suitable for those with liver diseases. The plum acid contained in plums can soften blood vessels, postpone vascular sclerosis and prevent aging. In addition, the smoked plum has an extraordinary effect on strengthening the immune system, regulating the metabolism of fat, promoting the absorption of calcium and iron, and enhancing the vitality of the human body. So, it is not an exaggeration to call the smoked plum as “A natural green health-care food”.

5.9 Try shepherd’s purse and tofu decoction to relieve your eyes from autumn fatigue and dryness

All youngsters enjoy listening to pop songs and many of them often go to KTV. You may have noticed that many pop songs have something to do with eyes. Why? Because eyes are the window to the soul. Hence, eyes are often used to describe the

purity of girls and handsomeness of boys.

A pair of spirited eyes can always enhance a person’s mental state. Many people use the word “watery” to describe human eyes. Indeed, if observing carefully, we will definitely find that there is watery liquid in the eye sockets, which is called “vital bodyfluid” in TCM.

Vital body-fluid is one of the basic substances constituting the human body and maintaining life activities.Vital body-fluid, mainly composed of water, contains a lot of nutrients which can moisten and nourish the human body. Our eyes can stay moistened and our eyeballs can move freelyall thanks to the lubricating effect of the vital bodyfluid in the eyes.

But when autumn arrives, the climate becomes dry. As the air lacks moisture, it will squeeze water from the human body, resulting in the loss of body fluid. As the vital body-fluid is depleted, eyes will lack moisture and nourishment, leading to symptoms of fatigue and dryness, especially after we use our eyes for a long time.

Here is a recommended dietectic therapy to lubricate eyes in autumn: shepherd’s purse and tofu decoction . Prepare 200 grams of tender tofu, 100 grams of shepherd's purse, 25 grams each of carrots, savory mushrooms, bamboo shoots and watery gluten.

1. Cut the tender tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, watery gluten into small cubes;

The specific instruction:

2. Remove unwanted parts of shepherd’s purse, then wash and mince it; 3.Wash carrots, blanch them in a pot of boiling water, then take them out, set aside to cool and cut them into small dices; 4.Turn on the fire, put a wok on the fire, wait until the oil in the wok is heated to 200-240°C, put the diced tofu, mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots, watery gluten and minced shepherd’s purse into the wok and stir fry quickly; 5. Add seasonings according to your taste and add some boiled purified water;

6.After the water is boiled again, slightly thicken it with wet starch and drizzle it with some sesame oil; 7. Dish up and serve on a soup bowl.

Tender tofu is of high nutritional value. Regular intake of tender tofu can tonify

Anecdotes about food-therapy

middle and replenish Qi, clear inner-heat and moisten dryness, and promote fluid production to quench thirst. Shepherd’s purse has the effects of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, inducing diuresis and removing dampness, and clearing liver and improving vision. With the functions of tonifying liver and improving vision, clearing inner-heat and removing toxin, carrots have been historically used to treat night blindness . Savory mushroom is cold in property and slightly bitter in taste, with a promoting effect on liver and a replenishing effect on stomach. As stressed in a saying: “Liver is connected with eyes”.Eys can be bright only when the liver is relaxed. Bamboo shoot has been regarded as “A treasure of vegetables” in China since ancient times. It is rich in water with the functions of nourishing yin and cooling blood, nourishing liver and brightening vision, and promoting digestion.

This decoction is characterized by contrasting white and green, lovely fresh and tender taste. It not only has a pleasing look, but also has the effects of lubricating eyes to relieve visual fatigue and moisturizing the whole body to be protected from autumn dryness by regular consumption.

Besides, in daily life, people can eat more snow pears, grapes and other foods that have the function of nourishing yin and are rich in Vitamin A and vitamin E. People can also warm eyes with a hot towel before going to bed. It is a good way to help dilate blood vessels, promote blood circulation and alleviate dryness for eyes.

Chapter 6 Winter Functions on Storage by Having A Warm and Tonic Diet and Keeping Early Hours

6.1 A bowl of perilla ginger date decoction warms the stomach

I don’t know whether you students often think about some interesting phenomena about mother-nature or human bodies.

For example, the temperature is low in winter. When we are shivering with chills, drinking a bowl of hot noodle soup made by mother will make us feel warm all over. Our hands will not be cold, and our bodies will not tremble. It seems that the cold air inside our body is driven away at once.

Why? It has something to do with the stomach.

The stomach lies in the middle of the human body, like a “central kitchen”, providing nutrients for the surrounding viscera. These nutrients can be changed into yang Qi to warm the body. However, the stomach has a physiological feature, i.e. it doesn’t like cold. According to TCM, the stomach prefers warmth to the cold and refuses to work when it is cold.

In winter, the temperature drops sharply. Because the stomach is near the

Anecdotes about food-therapy

abdominal wall and it is not covered by muscle, fat and other substances from the outside, it is quite easy to get “cold”. In this case, the stomach works in a passive way, and the yang Qi is weakened due to the lack of nutritional supply. No wonder this indirectly results in cold hands and feet and the lack of vitality. So, it is of great importance to keep the body alive in winter by dispelling cold and warming the stomach. To achieve this, the first thing people need to do is to wear more clothes. Now because many of you students feel that wearing thick clothes in winter will cover up your slim figure, you just wear thinner clothes in the cold winter, thus resulting in thecold evil entering the body.

Secondly, warm and hot food can also help to drive away the cold in the stomach and stimulate yang Qi. Here is a “perilla raw ginger date decoction” for you.

The specific instructions are as follows: 10 grams of fresh perilla leaves, 3 pieces of raw ginger and 15 grams of jujubes.

1. Wash jujubes and remove the cores, then cut the raw ginger into slices;

2. Shred the fresh perilla leaves, then place all the above ingredients into a casserole with warm water and cook;

3. After the water boils, turn to mild fire and simmer for 30 minutes;

4. Take out perilla leaves and ginger slices, continue to cook for another 15 minutes, and then drink while it is warm.

Perilla is a kind of wild vegetable and medicinal herb as well. It can release the exterior and dissipate cold, move Qi and harmonize stomach. Among common folks, especially in Japanese and Korean food culture, perilla is often used as a side dish for raw fish fillets and crabs because their meats are cold and easy to cause stomach cold. Thanks to perilla’s function of dissipating cold, people can enjoy delicious food.

Raw ginger, pungent and warm, is often used with perilla because it can help to induce sweating and dissipating cold. When getting a cold in cold wind, you can drink a bowl of hot ginger soup and this really works well. TCM holds that ginger is the product of yang. So, since ancient times, there has been such a saying: “Men cannot keep good

health without ginger for a hundred days.” Its unique gingerol can stimulate gastrointestinal mucosa, enlarge blood vessels to enhance blood circulation and digestive ability. After taking raw ginger, people will feel hot because raw ginger helps to expand the skin pores, thus the body can sweep away the bacteria and cold.

Jujube, being able to nourish yin and replenish yang and blood, is commonly used in the treatment of such diseases like spleen and stomach weakness, lack of appetite and loose stool, Qi and blood deficiency. Moreover, jujube is rich in nutrition with a good health-care effect, which is well proved in a proverb: “Three jujubes a day keep the aging away”.

Perilla, raw ginger and jujube, three kinds of herbs for warming yang and dissipating cold, make up the “Three swordsmen”. A bowl of hot decoction can warm the stomach, dissipate cold, help digestion and move Qi. Some students are apt to feel uncomfortable in their stomach once winter comes around. If having a weak or even cold constitution, you may not have enough yang Qi and easily get sick in stomach in winter, thus it is difficult for you to survive a long winter. Then at this time, a bowl of perilla ginger jujube decoction can help you a lot to warm the stomach and keep it in this situation for a period of time.

6.2 Eating sea cucumber in winter like this can experience a miraculous effect

In the period of Warring States, after the first emperor of Qin unified China with a stable power in hand, he had only one dream, i.e. immortality. In order to live perpetually , he summoned more than 100 Taoist fairies together to study the elixir of longevity. However, decades passed, they got nothing. In his late years , when reading through ancient books, he suddenly found such a legend that “there are many immortals living on the Fairy Island in the East China Sea. These immortals often get together and

Anecdotes about food-therapy

go fishing for a special elixir on the sea by riding clouds and waves. If gods eat this special pill, they can increase their Dao karma and help them to cultivate their skills. If common folks eat it, they will feel as if they had a hundred gods to protect their body. they can stay young and turn to be immortal.” The legend is not believable, but this “magic elixir” does exist, which is what we call as the sea-cucumber today.

Sea-cucumber is seen as one of the treasures in the world together with ginseng, cubilose and shark fin. It is not only a precious food but also a valuable medicine. As recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica , the sea-cucumber is “sweet and salty in flavor, tonifying kidney meridian, replenishing vital essence, eliminating phlegm and saliva, relieving urine, strengthening yang and curing impotence, killing sores and parasites”. “It’s warm and tonifying, equal to ginseng in functions, so it is called seacucumber.”

Modern research has proved that sea-cucumber is rich in 18 kinds of amino acids, like glutamic acid, glycine, arginine et al, among which eight of them cannot be synthesized by the human body. Moreover, it contains nine kinds of high active substances, like stichopus japonicus acid mucopolysaccharide, stichopus japonicus collagen and stichopus japonicus saponin. Hence, sea cucumber enjoys the reputation of “A nutritious treasure bank”.

Sea-cucumber is tender, smooth and moist. It has been a good tonic for rich and noble families for one thousand years. Nowadays, sea-cucumber is seen in ordinary people’s homes. But do you know how to eat it?

Sea-cucumber is warm in property and good for tonification in winter. Because winter corresponds to storage which means hiding the primordial Qi inside the human body. For example, animals, when it comes to winter, begin to store the energy and fat to survive, so do human beings. In terms of eating methods, after the Winter Solstice (also known as Nine nine-winter-day in Chinese twenty-four solar terms), it is good to take a sea-cucumber for all of us during this period. There are many ways to cook the sea-

cucumber and here is a diet formula for you. If you can follow it, it can have a “magical” effect.

Specific instruction: 25 grams of sea cucumber, 25 grams of Chinese wolfberry fruits, 150 grams of pigeon eggs and a proper amount of salt, shallot, raw ginger and cooking wine. 1. Cut the sea-cucumber into strips and shred scallion and ginger. 2. Stir-fry the shallot and ginger, then add appropriate amount of water and put the seacucumber into the pot, after water boils, drop the seasoning and pigeon eggs, cook over strong fire for 20 minutes, then put in the wolfberry fruits, finally turn to mild fire and stew for another 10 minutes. Then it is time for you to enjoy.

Chinese wolfberry fruits can nourish liver and kidneys , and moisten lungs. Pigeon eggs contain lots of nutrients, like high-quality proteins, less fat, less sugar, phospholipids, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B1 and vitamin D. It is easy to digest and absorb them. At the banquet, it is a high-grade nutrition product and a fashionable dish as well. According to traditional Chinese medicine, pigeon eggs are sweet and salty in flavor with a neutral property. It also has the effects of tonifying liver and kidneys, replenishing vital essence and Qi, and beautifying the skin.

The nourishing effect of the sea-cucumber with Chinese wolfberry fruits and pigeon eggs is like a tiger with added wings.

You students can often drink this soup in winter. On the one hand, it can enhance your immunity and prevent diseases, on the other hand, it can also help you to save energy to be taller and healthier for the coming spring!

6.3 Students with cold hands and feet should eat more mutton in winter

Some of students in winter would feel cold in their hands and feet. Sometimes, when touching their cold hands or feet, you would look with a shock. Such symptoms

Anecdotes about food-therapy have something to do with spleen yang deficiency or spleen-kidney yang deficiency. Tell you a secret: You should eat some more mutton in winter, so that the symptoms of cold hands and feet can be greatly relieved.

Mutton was called “Chu meat” and “Jie meat” in ancient times. Both Chu and Jie stood for the Hun tribe in northern China at first, showing that mutton was initially popular in the cold north. Because sheep is born to resist the cold hardy by nature, local people eat mutton to resist the cold climate, which is represented by the Mongolian nationality. In the recipes of the court of the Yuan Dynasty, dishes containing mutton accounted for 80%.

In frozen winter, yang Qi is hidden in the human body, so it is easy for us to feel cold in hands and feet or even have a poor circulation of Qi and blood. Mutton is sweet but not greasy, warm but not dry. It has the effects of tonifying kidneys and yang, dispelling cold with warmth, warming Qi and blood, appetizing and strengthening spleen. Eating mutton in winter can not only resist the wind and cold, but also nourish the body. So, it is really a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. Therefore, there has been a saying that “eating mutton in winter is better than ginseng” since ancient times.

Winter is the best season to eat mutton and there are many ways to eat it, such as steaming, boiling, frying, etc. Here are some recommendations for mutton formula from the point of dietectic therapies.

Chinese angelica raw ginger mutton decoction: 500 grams of mutton, 250 grams of ginger, 150 grams of angelica, 2 grams of pepper and 3 grams of salt. 1. Clean and slice angelica and raw ginger with clear water and slice; 2. Remove bones, and sinew and membrane of mutton, put the mutton into the boiling water to remove blood, take out to cool and cut into thin strips; 3. Place a proper amount of water into the casserole and put in the sliced mutton, angelica and ginger, boil it over strong fire, discard the foam, and stew it over mild fire until the mutton is fully cooked; 4. Add pepper powder and

salt, then you can enjoy it. This formula came from the book named Synopsis of Golden Chamber. It records that mutton can warm the middle and tonify deficiency; angelica can tonify blood and relieve pain; raw ginger can warm and invigorate stomach; pepper powder can dissipate cold and invigorate stomach and enhance appetite. So, eating meat and drinking soup can improve the human ability to drive away the cold.

Middle-tonifying mutton porridge : 250 grams of mutton and 180 grams of rice. Wash the mutton and chop it into small pieces, boil it with some water until it turns to be porridge. Finally put in some salt, raw ginger and pricklyash peel as seasoning, then it is done. The porridge can be eaten 2-3 times respectively.

This formula is derived from Principles of Correct Diet , which mainly relies on mutton functions on warming middle and tonifying spleen. Warming middle means “warming the stomach”. The rise of stomach Qi can stimulate yang Qi. So, this formula can be used for diseases like cold limbs and trembling body.

Mutton and mooli decoction: 750 grams of mutton sirloin, 1 mooli, proper amount of coriander, onion, raw ginger, salt, chicken essence, cooking wine and pepper powder.

1. Wash the mutton sirloin and shred it into thick pieces, then wash the radish and cut it into shreds as well; 2. Turn on fire and pour some oil into the wok, next put into the ginger slices to stir-fly until its fragrance is smelled, then add some boiling water and drop in salt, chicken essence, cooking wine and pepper powder for seasoning; 3. After the water boils again, place the mutton sirloin until it is completely cooked, then put in the white radish and cook over mild fire until the radish is fully cooked; 4. Put in the shredded shallot and coriander leaves, then the mutton radish decoction is done.

Mutton has the effects of warming stomach and dissipating cold, and tonifying deficiency and replenishing kidneys . Turnip serves to clear inner-heat and produce fluid, extend middle and release Qi.

This decoction is fresh in liquid and delicious in meat, tonic but not dry, being quite suitable for regular intake.

Anecdotes about food-therapy

Desertliving cistanche mutton decoction: 15 grams of desertliving cistanche, 100 grams of mutton, 100 grams of rice and a little salt. 1. Wash desertliving cistanche and mutton and shred them into thin pieces respectively; 2. Decoct desertliving cistanche in a casserole, then leave the liquid after removing dregs; 3. Add the mutton and rice to boil. After boiling, put in some seasonings like salt, ginger and shallot to make porridge and eat it as staple food.

In addition to mutton, desertliving cistanche in this formula is also a valuable tonic. It has the effects of tonifying kidney yang , replenishing vital essence and blood and moistening intestines. It gets its name as “desert ginseng” because it grows in the desert. This formula has the effects of warming and tonifying kidney yang.

In history, mutton has been playing a key role in traditional Chinese dietetic structure. The ancient book records that “when offering sacrifice to ancestors, emperors were fed with beef, mutton and pork, dukes were fed with beef, high-ranking officials with mutton, common officials with pork, soldiers with grilled fish and common folks with vegetables.”.

So, in ancient times only noble people could eat mutton because ancients thought it could not only help them to fight against wind and cold, but also replenish their body. For them, it was a very noble food. However, today, mutton is no longer a scarce food ingredient any more, but has become a tonic as the most cost-effective food in winter.

6.4 Tell your mum about this good-to-all congee for your family in winter

According to TCM, winter pairs with kidneys. In winter, sudden drops of temperature would prohibit and hurt kidney yang which has the functions of warming, stimulating, exciting, steaming, storing and restricting yin and cold. TCM points out :

“If healthy-Qi is sufficient inside the body, the evil cannot invade.” In winter, cold and

pathogenic factors are stronger, if yang Qi inside the body is “insufficient”, it will be unable to fight against cold pathogens, thus leading to the occurrence of some wind cold symptoms like headache, runny nose and cough.

Among common folks, there is a popular ballad about “ immortal porridge ”: A pot of glutinous rice, with 7 pieces of ginger and shallot white. Decocting them into porridge with half cup of vinegar keep you away from cold.

Since it is known as immortal porridge, it surely has some magical curative effects. Just as what is said in the ballad, this porridge can cure many symptoms caused by wind cold. So, if eating the porridge within the first three days of illness, you can enjoy miraculous effects.

The specific method: Choose 7 pieces of shallot white, about 50 grams, 7 pieces of raw ginger, about 15 grams, 50 mg of vinegar and 50 grams of rice. 1. Wash the rice first and drop into the pot with raw ginger slices, add water and cook until it is boiling; 2.Put in the shallot white and simmer over mild fire; 3. When the porridge is ready to be done, add 50 mg of vinegar, stir evenly, and boil for another one or two minutes, then it is done. Eat the porridge when it is hot, then lie on bed covered with a quilt until slightly sweat. In general, after eating it 3 ~ 5 times, you will recover.

TCM believes that ginger is acrid and warm in property, and enters the meridians of lungs , stomach and spleen. It has the functions of releasing the exterior and dissipating cold, warming lungs and relieving cough. There has been a saying among common folks: “Three slices of raw ginger and one piece of shallot keep common cold away.” After having been caught or wading in rain, drinking a bowl of hot ginger decoction can not only replenish the water lost in the body, but also has the effect of cooling, bringing down fever and eliminating bacteria, and can help to induce sweating and peeing, which is beneficial for toxin excretion in the body.

Shallot white can help to sweat and release the exterior and promote yang Qi.

Zhang Yuansu, a famous doctor in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, once said: “The shallot

Anecdotes about food-therapy stems and white center on dispersing, dredging yang Qi between the upper part and the lower part of the body inside, so The Book of the Alive said, to treat severe cold headache, the decoction of shallot white with roots works well.”

Rice vinegar, as a kind of vinegar with high nutritional value, is rich in basic amino acids, sugars, organic acids, vitamins B1, B2 and C, minerals and other nutrients. As recorded in Recipes of Suixi-Ju recorded: “It is warm and can “stimulate appetite, nourish liver, strengthen sinew, warm bones, sober up and help digestion.”

Rice has the effects of nourishing yin and tonifying kidneys, invigorating spleen and warming liver, brightening eyes and activating blood. It is a good tonic whether cooked as porridge or soup and can prolong life if eaten frequently.

Lu You, with 86-years of longevity in the field of ancient Chinese poetry , benefited a lot from rice porridge. He realized that to preserve health by eating porridge was simplest and the most effective way to prolong his life. Therefore, he wrote a poem named “eating porridge” to sing highly of it vigorously: “Everyone in the world has been studying longevity for a long time, but they fail to realize that the easy way to live long just lies under their nose; I learnt a simple way from Mr Zhang Lei, named Wanqiu, to live a long life by eating porridge.” I think the ancients also wished a long life like Lu You by naming it “immortal porridge”. It is like the helpers invited by the body in winter who work together to drive cold evil out of the country and dare not attack anymore.

However, you should watch carefully that “ immortal porridge ” is specially used for treating wind-cold cold, but has little effect on the wind-heat cold like sore-throat and runny nose. Besides, you had better wear some more clothes in daily life to prevent cold. When it’s cold, one more piece of clothes is better than any medicine.

6.5 A bowl of ten major tonic decoction is good enough for nourishment in winter

Aspointed out by Chinese medicine: “All creatures grow in spring, prosper in summer, ripe in autumn, and store in winter, so should people.” The sub-text of winter nourishment is that winter is the best time to maintain and store middle in four seasons of the year. In our traditional diet customs, there is a word with special meaning called “winter tonifying”. Han people begin to cultivate their winter nourishment from the Winter Solstice. In general, common folks would kill chickens and ducks or buy mutton, while those rich people often stew those meats with angelica, ginseng and other materia medica to reinforce the nourishing and tonifying effect.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Winter Solstice saw the advent of severe cold days, the turning-point of the year when yin Qi is extremely abundant and yang Qi begins to grow. That’s why there has been such a saying: “The winter solstice is full of yang Qi” in the theory of TCM. When the solar term runs to this day, extreme yin appears and yang is generated, that means, yang Qi in human body gradually develops and it is the easiest time to absorb external nutrition for the body.

TCM points out that the natural environment in winter is featured by predomination of yin and decline of yang. If people want to get used to such a climate, it is necessary to supplement yang Qi to fight against external cold evil. What’s more, it has been well proved that, in winter, people have better appetite, and their spleen and stomach work well. If they are tonified by eating, they can absorb tonics much better than they do in other seasons and help food play a better role in tonification. That is really a good business with less input but huge output.

When it comes to the ways of tonification, there are so many different eating styles thanks to Chinese dietetic culture. People of the Han nationality have different habits

Anecdotes about food-therapy

of eating, like tangyuan, tofu, dumplings and mutton soup et al. Here is a “good-to-all” recommendation of a tonic: Decoction of ten major tonics

10 grams of Tangshen; 10 grams of roasted milkvetch root; 10 grams of white atractylodes rhizome; 10 grams of wined debark peony root; 10 grams of poria; 3 grams of cinnamon; 15 grams of Chinese angelica; 15 grams of prepared rehmannia roots; 6 grams of Sichuan lovage rhizome; 6 grams of stir-fried liquorice roots; 500 grams of mutton spinal bones; 30 grams of raw ginger and a proper amount of shallot, yellow rice wine, pricklyash peel and salt.

1. First, put the materia medica into the gauze, fasten its edge with a string and wash it in water for use. 2. Then clean the spine. Pour clean water into an earthenware pot. After the water boils , put the spine into the water to remove the dirt and set aside.

3. Then, add some more clean water into the pot and boil with the adding of the spine, green onion, ginger, pricklyash and Chinese medicine package, a teaspoon of yellow rice wine and a little salt in turn. 4. Finally, cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours. 5. Season it with a little salt and it is done.

It should be noted that this dish must be made by stewing especially in casserole. The main ingredients should be fresh but no frozen, and should be wiped and cleaned. When cooking this dish, you can make more and divide it into several portions with a purple pottery boiler, which can be steamed at any time. When drinking this soup, you feel no bitter but sweet, which definitely means that the nice taste lingers inside your mouth cavity.

This formula came from Formulary of the Bureau of Taiping People’s Welfare Pharmacy formula , also known as “Ten major tonic decoction ”. The emperors of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to health, and ordered medical officials of the royal medical bureau to compile a book named “ Formulary of the Bureau of Taiping People’s Welfare Pharmacy formula”. Nowadays, many formulas in this book are still in use and Ten Major Tonic Decoctions is one of the most popular. Besides, we can often

see it in some Korean operas as a tonic soup thanks to its popularity.

In the formula, Tangshen and milkvetch roots can tonify middle and replenish Qi, invigorate spleen and replenish lungs; atractylodes and poria can invigorate spleen and replenish Qi, dry dampness and drain water; wined debark peony roots can nourish blood and emolliate liver, relieve middle and stop ache, astring yin and sweat; cinnamon can nourish the original yang and warm the spleen and stomach; angelica has the functions of nourishing and harmonizing blood, regulating menstruation and relieving pain, moistening dryness and smoothing the intestine; prepared rehmannia roots can tonify blood and nourish yin, fill the vital essence and replenish the marrow; Sichuan lovage rhizome can promote Qi to dispel depression, activate and tonify blood; stir-fried liquorice roots can replenish Qi and nourish yin, dredge yang and restore pulse. Such herbs, warm but not dispersive, hot but not dry, would not lead to the body-heat and fever even if taken frequently. They are common medicines which can be bought at a low price in a Chinese drug-store.

Suitable tonic in winter doesn’t mean to tonify human body randomly. If eating too much, you will spoil your health. If you don’t know exactly, ten major tonic decoction is a good choice.

6.6 Deal with winter-cold easily!

Everyone would be likely to have a cold. Dear fellow students, when you or your family members have a cold, have you ever felt helpless? If so, here is a simple way!

TCM generally divides colds into two categories: cold of wind-cold and cold of windheat. Many of you might think that cold in winter is cold of wind-cold, and cold in summer is cold of wind-heat, but that is wrong.

The properties of wind-cold and wind-heat are not decided by the season, but by symptoms. In general, in winter, the temperature is low and it is easy to be attacked

Anecdotes about food-therapy

by cold pathogens. The features of wind-cold are apparent at the beginning, but the wind-cold might turn into the wind heat, and vice versa. If you cannot tell the types in advance and use the wrong dietetic therapy, what you will get might just be a little “winter fat”, but not the right medical treatment.

The clinical symptoms of cold are mainly nasal obstruction, running nose, sneezing, headache, aversion to cold, fever, soreness and pain of the body. Then how to tell the syndrome types of cold from these seemingly identical symptoms? To be simple, it is called “Five kinds of differentiation”.

Differentiation of breath: Patients who feel hot or dry in breath are hot, and those who don’t feel hot or dry in their mouth are cold.

Differentiation of nasal Qi: Patients who can feel dry in the nose and exhale hot wind are wind-heat, while patients who can feel no dryness but cool in the nose are wind-cold.

Differentiation of nasal discharge: Patients who have thick discharge of the running nose and feel hot are wind-heat, while those who have clear and thin discharge of the running nose are wind-cold.

Differentiation of face color: Patients who have the aversion to cold, white pale complexion and reddish lips are wind-heat, while those who have pale complexion, null lips or cold aversion are wind-cold.

Differentiation of urine: Patients who feel mild heat in urine are wind-heat, while those with no heat but thin and long urine are wind-cold.

In the art of war, it is said that “Know yourself, know the enemy; a hundred battles, a hundred victories.”, so do the TCM. Here let’s see what kinds of dietectic therapy work well at different stages of the cold.

At the beginning of cold

When cold starts, it is not obvious between wind-cold and wind-heat. The disease

Anecdotes about food-therapy

evil has just broken the first defender but has not gone deep into the body. At this time, the disease is relatively mild, if you just reinforce a little your middle, you can defeat the enemy. Here is a recommended decoction: Using shallot white and light fermented soya beans as medicine.

15 grams of shallot white, 10 grams of light fermented soya beans, and 250 grams of tofu. Cut the tofu into pieces and boil it with two small bowls of water, then put the fermented soya beans and continue to boil till to the amount of just one bowl. Next, place the sectioned shallot white into the boiling water for a few seconds and finally add some seasoning.

In the formula, shallot white can help to induce sweating to releasing the exterior, relieve the skin surface and move yang Qi and it is mainly used for exogenous wind cold. The Essentials of Materia Medica records that shallot is acrid and can release the exterior and dissipate cold, release muscles and travel through upper and lower yang Qi, so it works well for the external depression with different syndromes.” Light fermented soya bean is a fermented product of mature seeds of legume plant soybean. Bitter in flavor and cold in property, it can release the exterior, eliminate agiatation , ventilate depression and remove toxin. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that light fermented soya bean can induce sweating, invigorate stomach and help digestion. This decoction is light with the tofu inside being soft, tender, delicate and nutritious. When in the first stage of a cold, you can take it.

Cold of a wind-cold

The key to treat the cold of a wind-cold is to induce sweating, which TCM calls to release the exterior with pungent-warm and ventilate lungs and dissipate cold. For example, the goals of some common methods among common folks, like being covered with thick quilt, drinking ginger water with brown sugar or ginger porridge, having a foot bath and so on, serve to expel the cool from the body by inducing sweating. So,

Anecdotes about food-therapy

we had better follow this rule when using the dietectic therapy. Here is a Ginger perilla leaf decoction with brown sugar for you.

5 grams of perilla leaves, 3 grams of raw ginger, 2 pieces of shallot white and 10 grams of brown sugar. First, wash the raw ginger, perilla leaf, and shallot white, then decoct it in the pot until boiling. Next, put in the brown sugar and stir it, then it is ok for drinking. Perilla leaves can disperse the exterior cold and ventilate the lung Qi. The Interpretation of Materia Medica describes perilla leaf as the medica with yang. It serves to disperse cold with pungent-warm, dredge the thin Qi and disperse the thin flavor. It is mainly used for releasing muscles and inducing sweating, and treating colds. Besides, shallot white serves to induce sweating to release the exterior, and transmit yang Qi.

Raw ginger is also pungent and warm. Its pungent taste can help to open the sweat pores and drive away the cold evil.

The cold of a wind-heat cold

In the later stage of a cold, with the development of pathogenic factors, the cold of a wind-cold can turn into one of wind-heat. Such a cold should be treated with some pungent and cool medica to disperse wind-heat and eliminate inflammation and swelling. Here is a dietectic therapy for you: egg and shredded meat soup with mint. The specific instrument: 100 grams of peppermint leaves, 2 eggs, 50 grams of shredded meat, and an appropriate amount of salt. First, soak the peppermint leaves in water for 10-15 minutes, then add some water in the pot and decoct it until it boils. Next, add the shredded meat in the pot for 5~10 minutes, add the peppermint leaves and whipped eggs, add some seasoning finally.

The only main herb in this formula is the peppermint. Peppermint is pungent and cool. It has the effects of dispersing wind-heat, clearing the head and promoting eyesight, and draining throat and promoting eruption. When cooked with warm tonic

eggs and shredded meat, it is very suitable for treating a cold with wind-heat in winter. In severe cold in winter, people turn to be much more lazy. Although TCM advocates “winter storage”, it does not mean no sports. Exercise can help to strengthen the viscera and bones, improve human immunity, and actually a way to tonify yang Qi. However, strenuous exercise in winter is not recommended and the amount and time of exercise should be step by step. When feeling a bit hot and slightly sweating, you had better stop.

6.7 Getting rid of frostbite is not a dream

In winter, some students might feel reddish, swollen and itchy on the back of their hands, which is quite miserable. Sometimes, we doctors see some children with serious frozen flesh or even the faintly-seen bones on the back of the hand in the outpatient department. A doctor, one of the compilers of this set of books, suffered from the frostbites in his childhood. He recalled that when he was a child, his family was relatively poor. In winter, when it snowed, as a playful boy, he enjoyed playing with snow. When it didn’t snow, he liked playing with iron rings or glass balls on the icy ground. That’s why he got frozen and swollen hands or feet in winter, which made him suffer very much. When it was cold, he felt sores at the opening of the frostbite, but when it was a bit warm in the room, he felt itchy on hands and feet, which later made him have special interest in the study of frostbites.

Frostbite, in fact, is caused by poor resistance of some students to the cold in skin. What’s more, the invasion of cold might make the contraction of the peripheral skin vascular contract or spasm happen, thus leading to the disorder of local blood circulation , oxygen and nutrition deficiency and tissue damage.

According to TCM, if it is cold in winter and people have weak Qi and blood, their yang Qi will be damaged by long-time invasion of cold evil, thus leading to failure of

Anecdotes about food-therapy

smooth movement of Qi and blood. If Qi and blood are blocked in one place, and people are attacked by the cold evil, they will suffer from local numbness, itching, swelling, or even blister ulceration in the skin, thus causing the occcurrence of a frostbite.

Whether seen from the perspective of Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, a key reason for frostbite is the “cold evil”. So, the most important way to prevent frostbite is to prevent cold and improve the body’s yang. Sufficient yang Qi, like the sun in the sky, can melt ice and improve blood circulation throughout the body. In this way, people will not suffer from frostbites.

Winter is the best season to warm kidneys, tonify yang and corresponds with kidneys. The kidney yang, as the life-gate-fire, is like a stove to the human body. Only when this fire is burning strongly, can the house be warm. As a good way to help the fire of kidney yang, a dish in dietectic therapy named “Angelica mutton decoction” is a great helper to remove frostbite.

Choose 25 grams of Chinese angelica, 25 grams of milkvetch roots, 25 grams of Tangshen, 500 grams of mutton, and some proper amounts of shallot, raw ginger, salt, cooking wine and monosodium glutamate (MSG). 1.Wash the mutton and cut it into pieces, put into the pot with the shallot, raw ginger, salt and cooing wine; 2. Then, place the angelica, milkvetch roots and Tangshen into a gauze and fasten the edge with a string. Next, put the gauze into the pot with a proper amount of water; 3. Decoct over strong fire until it boils, then turn to mild fire until the meat is totally rotten; 4. Finally add some MSG, eat both the meat and the soup.

Angelica mutton decoction is a TCM diet in the Han nationality. In the decoction, angelica is commonly used as blood tonic, which serves to tonify blood and promote blood circulation. As pointed out by Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica of the Ming Dynasty: “Angelica can regulate blood-flow and is a key medicine for women. It also has the meaning of missing husband, so it is named Danggui.” Blood is the nutrient substance of human body which is necessary for the growth of yang Qi, so

bloodtonification is equal to yang tonification; Milkvetch root excels in “tonifying” and serves to tonify Qi and strengthen the exterior. Li Dongyuan, a famous doctor in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, once said: “Milkvetch root can replenish triple energizers, protect the defensive Qi and has the same function as that of cassia twig.” Tangshen can tonify middle and replenish Qi, invigorate spleen and replenish lungs . Modern researchhas found that Tangshen can help to stimulate the nervous system and strengthen human immunity. Mutton is warm in property and is the most suitable for eating in winter. So, it is called winter tonic which can be shown in such a proverb among common folks: “Mutton in winter is superior to ginshen.”

After eating this angelica mutton decoction, you will not only feel warm throughout the body, but also unconsciously remove the frostbites when enjoying the delicious meat and soup.

Of course, on weekdays, you have classes at school, so you can only enjoy this angelica mutton decoction when you go home. After class, you can help to promote blood circulation throughout the body and improve peripheral circulation by rubbing your hands to make them hot, and then rubbing your ears, cheeks and nose with hot hands. After having frostbites, do not scratch the purple nodes, because it will be slow for the skin to repair after scratching. You can also decoct some wax gourd peels, eggplant stems or fresh pine needles and use the liquid to wash the affected area. But when it worsens, do go to the hospital.

6.8 Keep your skin moisten and beautiful in winter

In severe winter, many people think that autumn is the “right” season for skin dryness. But in fact, it is not true because winter is also a peak season for skin dryness. Autumn is hot and dry, while winter is cold and dry. Once winter comes, various kinds of cosmetics for girls show up, like rehydration, moisturizing and so on. Even those

Anecdotes about food-therapy

boys who rarely care much about their skin have to use some of them.

Skin is the natural coating for the human body. So, as its host, we absolutely do not allow this coating to lose its glossiness. Then is there any good way to solve this problem? Here are some recommended dietectic therapies to moisten the skin.

Crucian carp radish decoction : 1 crucian carp, 400 grams of mooli, 2 pieces of raw ginger and two pieces of shallot. First wash the crucian carp, chop the shallot, wash white radish, peel and cut into pieces for use. Slightly stir-fry the crucian carp and put it in the pot to decoct with the radish and raw ginger, then add the shallot and salt, finally cook again for 2-3 minutes, then it is done.

Crucian carp is widely distributed in the waters all over the country all year round. It is the fattest in the months from February to April and from August to December as one of the important edible fishes in China. Crucian carp decoction not only tastes good and fresh, but also has a strong effect of tonifying the human body. It serves to invigorate spleen and disperse dampness, harmonize middle, appetize and activate blood circulation and dredge collaterals, and warm the middle and descend Qi. Besides, it is rich in protein and helps as a way of beautification. White turnip goes into the lung and stomach meridians. As a good dietectic therapy, it can treat or auxiliariy treat many diseases. It was named as “The most beneficial vegetable” by Compendium of Materia Medica . What’s more, white turnip can also help to whiten the skin. Modern research has discovered that it is rich in vitamins, especially, vitamin A and vitamin C which can prevent skin-aging, prevent the formation of black spots and keep the skin fair and tender.

Vegetable keel decoction: 1 piece of pig keel, 1 corn, 10 mushrooms, 1 carrot, 2 celeries, 8 pieces of raw ginger, and some amounts of salt and shallot. 1. Wash the pig keel, then scald it in hot water and drain; 2. Wash the corn and cut into sections; 3. Soak the mushrooms until soft and clean; 4. Wash the celeries; 5. Wash the carrot, peel and cut into thick pieces; 6. Put the pork keel, carrots, corns, mushrooms, ginger slices into

the pot with an appropriate amounts water and boil for 1 hour, then add the celeries and decoct for another 30 minutes. After that, drop the shallot and salt and it is done.

Pig keel is the spine of the pig, featured by lean meat and less fat. The pig keel contains plenty of bone marrow which will be released when cooked soft. TCM believes that “Tonifying the marrow by marrow”. Therefore, this decoction functions on nourishing kidney yin and supplementing the vital essence. Food like corn, mushroom, carrot and celery can help the body to supplement many nutrients, like unsaturated fatty acids, iron, phosphorus, calcium, Vitamins, carotene and so on, with the effects of nourishing and moistening lungs, beautifying skin and eliminating toxin.

Coastal glehnia root lean meat decoction : 20 grams of pig lean meat, 15 grams of coastal glehnia roots, 5 figs, 30 grams of lily bulb and 1 piece of dry tangerine peel. Wash the figs and cut each into halves. Wash the lean meat, cut into thick slices and scald in boiling water. Wash coastal glehnia roots, lily bulbs and dry tangerine peel. Then place all the ingredients into the pot with clean water and boil for 1.5 ~ 2 hours. Then it is done.

Pork, a key non-staple food in daily life, is sweet in flavor and cool in property and contains colloid components which can nourish the skin. Frozen boiled pigskin can make the skin smooth and delicate. Coastal glehnia roots and lily bulb can nourish yin and clear lungs, replenish stomach and produce fluid. Sweet, flat and nontoxic figs functions on strengthening spleen, nourishing and moistening intestines. Dry angerine peel contains many components like hesperidin and volatile oil which can mildly stimulate the gastro-intestinal tract, promote the secretion of digestive juice and eliminate the accumulation of gas in the intestinal tract. A bit of it to the soup can help enhance your appetite. So, this decoction has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening dryness.

In winter, it is often dry and low in temperature. Normally because the metabolism of the skin is not completely fit for the alternation, the secretion of sweat-gland

Anecdotes about food-therapy

decreases,leading to dryness . If you don’t pay enough attention to nourishing your skin, you will make your skin dehydrate, which causes temporary wrinkles of the skin. In this case, the best choice to moisten your skin is to enjoy a bowl of hot decoction rich in various kinds of nutrients. For example, the ones mentioned above can help your skin to survive the winter beautifully.