Classic Dietary Recipes for Women to Replenish Qi and Blood

Traditional Chinese medicine has a concept known as "food as medicine," where food can be used as a form of treatment, and sometimes food-based remedies are even preferred over medicinal ones. As far back as the Zhou Dynasty, medicine was categorized into four major fields, and "dietary medicine" held a significant place in disease prevention.

The importance of medicinal diets lies in their ability not only to treat diseases but also to "strengthen the body" and "expel pathogenic factors."

Three Celery-Based Recipes for Lowering Blood Pressure

Celery is a crisp and flavorful vegetable, considered both a common culinary ingredient and an excellent remedy for high blood pressure and its complications. Here are three celery-based recipes for lowering blood pressure:

Celery and Red Date Soup: Besides treating high blood pressure, this soup can also help with conditions like acute jaundice-type hepatitis and cystitis. It's prepared with 200-400 grams of celery and 50-100 grams of red dates, simmered and consumed in divided portions. If celery is not in season, dried celery (150-250 grams) and red dates can be used for brewing.

Fresh Celery Apple Juice: This juice can lower blood pressure, calm the liver, ease tension, relieve spasms, and aid digestion. It's suitable for high blood pressure patients who experience dizziness, headaches, facial flushing, and easy excitability. To make this, you'll need 250 grams of fresh celery and 1-2 green apples. Briefly blanch the celery in boiling water for 2 minutes, chop it, and then juice it with the apples. Consume one cup of this juice twice daily.

Celery Root and Water Chestnut Stew: This recipe has the effects of lowering blood pressure, calming the spirit, and providing tranquility. Simply take 60 grams of celery root and 6 water chestnuts, place them in a pot, and simmer them in water.

Menstrual Delay Dietary Recipe

Some women often experience delayed menstrual periods due to Qi and blood deficiency, leading to various discomforts. Here's a dietary remedy for treating menstrual delay caused by Qi and blood weakness:

Ingredients: 250 grams of mutton, 18 grams of Chinese angelica (dang gui), 15 grams of ginger, and a pinch of salt for seasoning.

Instructions:

Clean the mutton and place it in a soup pot. Add water, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat, and simmer for 2 hours. After the mutton becomes tender, season with salt.

Remove the mutton and add Chinese angelica (dang gui) and ginger to the soup. Simmer for another hour, then remove from heat.

Consumption: Consume this dish after menstruation has ended, eating the meat and drinking the soup once daily for five days. This medicinal diet has a delicious taste and is known for its blood-nourishing and menstrual regulation effects, making it suitable for women with weak constitutions who experience symptoms like dizziness, palpitations, light menstrual flow, pale complexion, lack of appetite, and forgetfulness.

Eight Postpartum Xueyun (Blood Deficiency Syndrome) Medicinal Diets

Postpartum Xueyun, or blood deficiency syndrome, refers to symptoms experienced by women after childbirth, such as dizziness, visual disturbances, difficulty sitting up, fullness in the chest and abdomen, nausea, vomiting, or even unconsciousness. Traditional Chinese medicine attributes the causes to either excessive blood loss during childbirth leading to deficiency of vital Qi and blood or blood stasis and Qi stagnation, which disrupts the spirit. To address different patterns of symptoms, specific medicinal diets can be used:

Qi and Blood Deficiency Type:

Astragalus (Huangqi) Porridge: Boil 20 grams of astragalus in 200 milliliters of water until it reduces to 100 milliliters, remove the dregs, and add this extract to a porridge cooked with 50 grams of glutinous rice. Consume it warm twice daily.

Five-Flavor Seed, Jujube, and Ginseng Soup: Take 50 grams of five-flavor seeds, 10 jujubes, and 12 grams of ginseng. Prepare the decoction, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar, and take it daily.

Lotus Seed Powder Congee: Grind lotus seeds into fine powder and take 15 grams of it with 30 grams of glutinous rice for making congee. Eat it twice daily.

Chinese Angelica (Danggui), Lamb, Astragalus, and Ginger Soup: Prepare this stew with 500 grams of lamb (sliced after washing), 60 grams of Chinese Angelica (Danggui), 30 grams of ginger, 30 grams of Huangqi (Astragalus), and 10 jujubes. Stew them in water and consume the meat and soup.

Blood Stasis Type:

Walnut Porridge: Mash 15 grams of walnuts, add water for soaking, and then strain the juice. Cook 50 grams of glutinous rice into porridge, and when it is half-cooked, add the walnut juice and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Continue to stew until the porridge is fully cooked. Consume it each morning.

Finger Citron, Yuánhú, and Hawthorn Decoction: Prepare this decoction with 6 grams of finger citron, 6 grams of Yuánhú, and 10 grams of hawthorn. Consume the decoction once daily.

Black Bean and Safflower Decoction: Make this decoction with 30 grams of black beans and 6 grams of safflower. Consume it once daily.

Artemisia Leaf and Dried Ginger Vinegar and Sugar Drink: Prepare this drink with 9 grams of artemisia leaf and 9 grams of dried ginger. Add 100 milliliters of rice vinegar and an appropriate amount of sugar. Heat briefly, then consume it once daily.

Five Jujube-Based Dietary Recipes:

Red Jujube and Lychee: Take 30 grams of red jujubes and 15 grams of lychee. Wash them separately and then place them in a pot with an appropriate amount of water. Simmer until the red jujubes are soft and fully cooked. Eat the lychee and red jujubes, and drink the liquid. Consume this on an empty stomach once daily. It has the effect of nourishing the heart and spleen, tonifying blood, and calming the spirit. Suitable for people with Qi and blood deficiency, fatigue, a sallow complexion, poor appetite, dizziness, and forgetfulness.

30 grams of red jujubes and 100 grams of glutinous rice. Cook until the jujubes are completely cooked, then add rock sugar and mix well before consuming. This has the effect of tonifying the middle burner, replenishing Qi, nourishing blood, and calming the spirit. It is suitable for those with weak spleen and stomach, insufficient Qi, diarrhea, blood deficiency, internal heat, and restlessness.

30 grams of mulberries and 50 grams of red jujubes. Simmer them together until they're fully cooked. Remove the jujube pits and skins, add an appropriate amount of sugar to taste, and consume all at once. This has the effect of nourishing the liver and kidneys, enhancing brain function, and is suitable for people with neurasthenia, insomnia, and palpitations.

25 grams of longan flesh, 250 grams of red jujubes, 2 tablespoons of ginger juice, and 250 grams of honey. Place longan flesh and red jujubes in a pot, cook until they're soft, and then add ginger juice and honey. Simmer briefly, cool, and bottle the mixture. Consume 1 tablespoon twice daily before meals. This has the effects of enhancing appetite, strengthening the spleen, nourishing blood, and enhancing the spirit, and is suitable for people with anemia and weakness.

250 grams of black-boned chicken, 30 grams of astragalus (Huangqi), and 100 grams of red jujubes. Cut the chicken into pieces, remove impurities from the astragalus (Huangqi) and wash it. Place them together in a gauze bag and simmer. Consume the meat and jujubes, and drink the soup. This can be used for postpartum Qi deficiency, menstrual irregularities, and any deficiency of Qi and blood.

These dietary recipes, grounded in traditional Chinese medicine, offer a natural approach to wellness and may assist in alleviating a variety of women's health concerns.