Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 Chinese medicine uses food to treat health problems far more extensively than Western medicine does. Actually, Western medicine uses diet to help treat relatively few medical conditions, and the majority of these use elimination of certain foods. Examples are low sugar diets for diabetics and hypoglycemics, low fat for heart patients, and low salt for people with high blood pressure. The one exception I can think of is that some doctors will recommend that patients with gout eat cherries though I don't think this is standard medical practice. In contrast, Chinese medicine has a very well-developed knowledge of using food to treat and even to prevent health problems. For example, if a person lacks yang energy, tends to be tired a lot, and is too Cold, some of the yang tonic foods are pistachio nuts, sword beans, kidney, and chestnuts. This person also would be encouraged to eat food that use spices and herbs like cinnamon bark, dillseed, cloves and fennel seeds. If a person is too hot, a Chinese healer will recommend foods like bananas, bamboo shoots, tofu, Irish potatoes, clams, eggplant, grapefruit, mung beans, peppermint, and squash. Damp heat is a special category of Heat disorders, and often is the root cause of gallstones and other gallbladder and liver problems. Foods that reduce damp heat in the body include buckwheat, Chinese cabbage, common carp, olives, plantains, and soybean oil. There are even foods that eliminate mucus (phlegm) like when you have a cold or allergies or you suffer from phlegm disorders. Among these are celery, almonds, apple peels, tofu, black and white pepper, dates, clam, garlic, figs, leaf mustard, lemon peels, licorice, lobster, onions, pears, radishes, seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, green tea, and walnuts. Dairy and greasy foods are avoided when a person has a phlegm disorder. The Chinese idea of a balanced diet is very different from that of the West. In Chinese medicine and diet, herbs and foods are classified according to taste: Pungent (spicy), sour, bitter, salty, and sweet. Some herbs and foods have a neutral taste. A balanced meal in Chinese medicine is one which contains all 5 tastes. The reason for this is that each of the 5 tastes tend to have different properties. For example, pungent herbs and foods get energy moving. Salty herbs and foods tend to dissolve obstructions in the body and to move energy downward in the body. Sweet tends to tonify and harmonize. A very good book on food uses in medicine is Henry C. Lu's Chinese Natural Cures. You can ask your local library to order it for you on interlibrary loan. I liked it so much that I ended up buying myself a copy from a local bookstore. Lu's book doesn't contain meal recipes so I also picked up a copy of The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook by Gloria Bley Miller. It's an old book but still in print. Between the two books I'm learning a lot. I'm also applying it. A lot of people just don't like veggies. I'm married to a man who believe it or not used to be a vegetarian who hated vegetables. He still isn't wild for vegetables, but he likes the Chinese recipes. You can stir fry them and sprinkle with herbs and spices the person needs. You can steam them. I've learned that steamed vegetables taste a lot better than boiled ones. And you can mix them. I fixed brocolli, celery, summer squash, and onion steamed together for lunch. I sprinkled it with a little bit of salt and cayenne. T-mex has a cold, and cayenne really opens you up when you have a cold and congestion. The Chinese boil very few vegetables, preferring other ways to cook them. Greens like spinach, mustard, collards, etc. often are boiled. Then they're served with a topping of meat sause or some other sauce. This was a hit too. You can vary the taste and the use of dishes by the herbs and spices you use. Like sprinkling a little cayenne on top of the mixed, steamed veggies. BTW, some herbs actually work better combined with food than when you take them as a tea or in a capsule. Cayenne is a good example of this. There are no one size fits all diets or herbal treatments in Chinese medicine. Everything is tailored to the individual. Also most Western diseases and medical conditions do not have an equivalent in Chinese medicine. They sometimes are regarded as symptoms that can occur in a number of TCM (Traditional ) syndromes. Asthma is one example. In the West there's pretty much one treatment for asthma with few variations. It's regarded as one condition. But under TCM, asthma is something that can occur as part of several TCM syndromes. The treatment and diet will be different based on which TCM syndrome it is. For example, if the person has more trouble exhaling than inhaling, that usually is what the Chinese call an Excess condition. The root cause (TCM syndrome) usually is in the lung (Heat in the Lung) though I think some liver disorders can cause it too. In any case the treatment will be different based on exactly what the TCM root problem is. In cases where the person has more trouble inhaling than exhaling, this usually is a Deficiency condition. The problem may lie in the lungs (Deficiency of Lung Qi) but often it may lie in the Kidney meridian (Kidneys Not Grasping Qi or Kidneys Refusing Qi). --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 This is my favorite Chinese cookbook. A really good one. Someone with friends in Chinatown (NYC) gave me a copy years ago. I found another copy used a couple of years ago and gave that one to a friend, I like it so much. Instead of moo shu pork, I've used the recipe and substituted tofu and not had any complaints from the people eating it...including my brother-in-law who was not a fan of tofu at the time. Cathy, Wise Weeds http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/ > " " <victoria_dragon > > Lu's book doesn't contain meal recipes so I also picked up a copy of > The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook by Gloria Bley Miller. It's an old > book but still in print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 >Instead of moo shu pork, I've used the recipe and >substituted tofu and not had any complaints from >the people eating it...including my brother-in-law who >was not a fan of tofu at the time. Thanks for the idea of using tofu. I'm discovering that I don't like pork all that well in Chinese dishes, even though they call for such a small amount. On the other hand, I'm discovering that a little bit of chicken is very agreeable and tasty to me even though I don't usually like chicken. Victoria --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 >Instead of moo shu pork, I've used the recipe and >substituted tofu and not had any complaints from >the people eating it...including my brother-in-law who >was not a fan of tofu at the time. Thanks for the idea of using tofu. I'm discovering that I don't like pork all that well in Chinese dishes, even though they call for such a small amount. On the other hand, I'm discovering that a little bit of chicken is very agreeable and tasty to me even though I don't usually like chicken. Victoria --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 I usually slice the tofu thinly, " deep " fry it and so it's got a " meatier " texture for this dish. You can also freeze tofu, defrost it, and then it has a spongy and absorbant texture...but I probably wouldn't use it that way in this dish. BTW, there are a couple of Chinese restaurants in NYC in Greenwich Village that are totally vegetarian--broths and all. They do " mock chicken " and other dishes. I understand this is a whole cuisine that comes from China. I've grown away from eating pork (except for rare occasions where I eat bacon <shuddering at the fat> or sausage. If one can find it organically grown and produced, Pork (and Beef and Lamb) can help in " grounding " a flighty individual or someone who's unfocused. But this is less a TCM concept, as I'm thinking of it, and more an energetic one. Cathy, Wise Weeds http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/ > " " <victoria_dragon > > >Instead of moo shu pork, I've used the recipe and > >substituted tofu and not had any complaints from > >the people eating it...including my brother-in-law who > >was not a fan of tofu at the time. > > Thanks for the idea of using tofu. I'm discovering > that I don't like pork all that well in Chinese dishes, > even though they call for such a small amount. > > On the other hand, I'm discovering that a little bit > of chicken is very agreeable and tasty to me even though > I don't usually like chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 >I usually slice the tofu thinly, " deep " fry it and so it's got >a " meatier " texture for this dish. I don't know if I would like it that way, but I think Houston would love it. That's one of the funny things that has happened since I started eating more Chinese. My food preferences are changing. Used to I prefered fried foods. When I first started cooking Chinese I went really heavy on stir-fired dishes. Then I got turned off to them and started preferring more steamed veggies, especially leaf vegetables. I'm finding the Chinese food very filling. For years I've had a problem with feeling hungry all the time (Heat in the Stomach in a lot of cases) and never feeling satisfied after I ate. It was like I was starving and there was something missing and food didn't totally provide what I needed. I'm finding the Chinese dishes very satifying and filling. I've lost that feeling of needing something I'm not getting and of starving. I find I'm eating smaller portions because it's like I'm finally getting the nutrition from the food. I still occasionally cook American dishes, but the majority of the meals are Chinese. I'm also not having to eat as often. The hypoglycemia finally is improving. I know some people say they're hungry again an hour after a Chinese meal, but it's working the opposite for me. For years I've had to eat every two or three hours in order to keep the hypoglycemic symptoms under control. I'm finding that I can go longer between eating now. That's nice. >produced, Pork (and Beef and Lamb) can help in > " grounding " a flighty individual or someone who's >unfocused. But this is less a TCM concept, as I'm thinking >of it, and more an energetic one. I've got some lamb in the freezer that I haven't been able to decide which dish to put it in yet. I'm thinking maybe something with a sauce made with vinegar. I haven't cared for lamb in the past, but I'm willing to try a lot of the aspects of using diet to help my medical problems. I even looked for beef kidney (great Yang tonic food) the last time I got groceries. The store didn't have any. Victoria --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 Ugh....beef kidney....<grimaces> Cathy, Wise Weeds http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/ > " " <victoria_dragon > . I even looked for beef kidney (great Yang tonic food) the last time I got groceries. The store didn't have any. > > Victoria > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 >Ugh....beef kidney....<grimaces> I'm desperate, ok!<G> I figure everything else has worked so well that I'm willing to give that a try since it's supposed to be one of the biggest guns for Kidney Yang Deficiency. Liver was also recommended for some other things. The store didn't have beef liver so I got a bag of frozen chicken livers. Somehow I haven't quite become desperate enough to try the chicken livers. I keep hoping to discover a really strong, really good tasting sauce to try those suckers in. The pets may be getting a treat instead. Victoria >> " " <victoria_dragon >> . I even looked for beef kidney (great Yang tonic food) the last time I got groceries. The store didn't have any. >> >> Victoria >> > > >--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- > >Shabang.com is the place to get your FREE eStore, Absolutely FREE >Forever. If you have any desires to sell your products or services >online, or you want to expand your customer base for FREE, Come check >out Shabang.com FREE eStores. ><a href= " http://clickme./ad/shabang " >Click Here</a> > >------ > > > Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine > Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- > Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- > List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner > >Shortcut URL to this page: > /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine > > --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 Now...chicken livers...I used to be able to eat. Haven't had them in years though. Beef liver makes me shudder. My mom supposedly made it well...and I've tried it over the years and, well, NO, I can't eat it! Cathy, Wise Weeds http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 Victoria, As my first post to this list, I'll write about something I'm more familiar with than TCM, which I just discovered in December. But I'm reading all I can and this list will teach me a lot. My mother used to make a delicious chicken liver dish. Depending on your diet preferences, it might not be suitable, but here's how to make it. Fry some bacon, drain, and chop into pieces. Brown the chicken livers in butter. Add basil, salt and pepper to season. Add a pint of sour cream. Heat. Serve over rice. It's very simple, tasty, but loaded with fat! I don't eat it, but I remember how delicious it was. Lynn <victoria_dragon Chinese Traditional Medicine <Chinese Traditional Medicine > Friday, February 18, 2000 10:49 PM Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] Chinese Food Cures > " " <victoria_dragon > >>Ugh....beef kidney....<grimaces> > >I'm desperate, ok!<G> I figure everything else has worked so well that I'm willing to give that a try since it's supposed to be one of the biggest guns for Kidney Yang Deficiency. > >Liver was also recommended for some other things. The store didn't have beef liver so I got a bag of frozen chicken livers. Somehow I haven't quite become desperate enough to try the chicken livers. I keep hoping to discover a really strong, really good tasting sauce to try those suckers in. The pets may be getting a treat instead. > >Victoria > >>> " " <victoria_dragon >>> . I even looked for beef kidney (great Yang tonic food) the last time I got groceries. The store didn't have any. >>> >>> Victoria >>> >> >> >>--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- >> >>Shabang.com is the place to get your FREE eStore, Absolutely FREE >>Forever. If you have any desires to sell your products or services >>online, or you want to expand your customer base for FREE, Come check >>out Shabang.com FREE eStores. >><a href= " http://clickme./ad/shabang " >Click Here</a> >> >>------ >> >> >> Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine >> Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- >> Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- >> List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner >> >>Shortcut URL to this page: >> /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine >> >> > > >--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- >Share what you know. Learn what you don't. > >--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- > >Get what you deserve with NextCard Visa. ZERO. Rates as low as 0.0 >percent Intro APR, online balance transfers, Rewards Points, no hidden >fees, and much more. Get NextCard today and get the credit you deserve. >Apply now! Get your NextCard Visa at ><a href= " http://clickme./ad/NextcardCreative6 " >Click Here</a> > >------ > > > Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine > Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- > Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- > List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner > >Shortcut URL to this page: > /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2000 Report Share Posted February 19, 2000 >Fry some bacon, drain, and chop into pieces. Brown the chicken livers in >butter. Add basil, salt and pepper to season. Add a pint of sour cream. >Heat. Serve over rice. Thanks. This sounds like one that might taste sort of good. (I can't get over the fact that it's chicken livers - which I've never tried and am obviously reluctant to try.<G>) Victoria --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 See the books by Henry C. Lu at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=Henry+C%2E+Lu and his home study?courses at http://www.tcmcollege.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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