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Black bone chicken
Diet is a causal factor in menstrual problems; women can alleviate many symptoms by changing their dietary habits. Common suggestions include limited consumption on alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar, salt, dairy products and animal fats. A well-planed diet is important for women with menstrual problems.
In the Chinese diet (and that includes herbs), one looks not only for vitamins and minerals but also the energetic properties of food such as nature, flavor and movement. Other less important aspects include the meridian tropism or organic actions; these refer to specific internal organs or the meridians on which the foods can act. Foods just like herbs possess specific functions to tonify, cleanse and regulate the body.
Menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and lactation are unique to women. Blood is the material basis of these physiological functions, while kidneys are the root for them to perform smoothly. It is advised to eat certain foods that can modulate these particular functions in women.
Physicians always suggest their patients to modify the daily diet to help recovery. The ingredients for women with menstrual problems are below:
- Blackbone chicken: tonifying liver and kidney, enriching blood and replenishing qi, which are beneficial for heavy menses or excessive vaginal discharge.
- Dried mussel: tonifying liver and kidney, replenishing essence and blood, which are beneficial for irregular menses or heavy menses.
- Dried sea cucumber: tonifying kidney, replenishing essence and enriching blood, which are beneficial for heavy or scanty menses, excessive vaginal discharge and missed periods.
- Cuttlefish: nourishing yin and replenishing blood, which are beneficial for missed periods due to blood deficiency.
- Abalone: nourishing yin and replenishing essence, which are beneficial for irregular menses or heavy menses.
- Pigeon’s meat: nourishing kidney and replenish qi, which are beneficial for scanty menses or missed periods.
- Mutton: replenishing qi, warming middle burner and relaxing bowels, which are beneficial for irregular menses and abdominal cold pain during periods.
- Clams: nourishing yin and clearing heat, which are beneficial for heavy menses.
- Cumin: warming kidney and womb, which are beneficial for menstrual pain and missed periods.
- Cinnamon: warming meridians and womb, dispersing cold and unblocking blood circulation, which are beneficial for menstrual pain and missed periods.
- Fresh rehmannia root: nourishing yin and replenish blood, which are beneficial for irregular menses, heavy menses and excessive vaginal discharge.
- Chinese angelica root: replenishing and harmonizing blood, regulating menstruation and stopping pain, which are beneficial for menstrual pain, irregular menses, heavy menses and missed periods.
- Motherwort herb: relieving swelling, promoting qi flow, regulating menstruation and detoxifying, which are beneficial for irregular menses.
- Leeks: warming middle burner, activating qi and dissipating stasis, which are beneficial for menstrual pain and irregular menses.
- Brown sugar: warming stomach, reinforcing spleen, pacifying liver, dissolving stasis, activating blood and lubricating bowels, which are beneficial for menstrual pain, and irregular menses after delivery.
- Hawthorn fruit: activating blood and qi, resolving stasis and stopping pain, which are beneficial for menstrual pain, missed periods or delay periods.
- Mango: regulating and smoothing menstruation, which are beneficial for scanty menses and missed periods.
- Chestnut: reinforcing kidney, activating blood and stopping bleeding, which are beneficial for scanty menses.
- Shepherd’s purse: stopping bleeding which is beneficial for heavy menses.
- Black fungus: stopping bleeding which is beneficial for heavy menses.
- Lotus leaves: cooling blood and stopping bleeding which are beneficial for heavy menses.
- Lotus root: clearing heat, cooling blood, resolving stasis and stopping bleeding, which are beneficial for heavy menses.
Beside it is always advised to eat warm and cooked foods, and to avoid food and drinks that are raw, frozen, not easily digested or spicy. Improper eating habits cause the spleen and stomach to malfunction which then affect the source of blood and qi productions. Furthermore, the dysfunction can lead to phlegm and dampness accumulated inside the body and develop more complicated conditions.
For those who appear discomforts around menstrual cycles, TCM also likes to use food remedies for relief, commonly selected ingredients are below:
- Qi stagnation and blood stasis that experienced distending pain in rib sides, abdominal distention, non-smooth menses flow with blood clots. The beneficial ingredients to promote qi and blood flowing include citrus fruits, dried tangerine peel, areca seed, day lily, chinese raddish and villous amomum fruit.
- Cold and dampness coagulation or cold deficiency that experienced cold pain in lower abdomen, scanty menses, sensitive to low temperatures, limb coldness, and paleness. The beneficial ingredients to warm the body and dispel dampness include chicken, beef, quail, chub fish, ricefield eel, Chinese date, cherry, litchi, peach, fresh ginger, green onion and pepper.
- Over-heated blood that experienced heavy menses, irritability, poor sleep, preference for cool drinks, dizziness, red faces, or skin rashes. The beneficial ingredients to cool blood include spiral shells, clams, oyster, duck, edible frog, rabbit, mung bean, mung bean sprouts, persimmon, strawberry, banana, fig, watermelon, bitter melon, tomato, black fungus, and sweet potatoes.
- Chronic and weakened individuals are beneficial to consume more milk, egg, fishes, royal jelly, ginseng, astragalus root, wolfberry fruit, Chinese yam and fleeceflower root.
