Blood is the lifeblood

Chapter 30 Food is the best medicine—a porridge and a meal are also good for health (1)
Slow food is good for blood
[Qi and Blood Health Sutra] From now on, learn to eat slowly, and let the delicious food linger on the tip of your tongue.Because the finer the food, the more nourishing the blood, chewing slowly is itself a good habit of nourishing qi and blood.

In the era when the concept of slow life returns, slow food has become a healthy way of eating.The so-called slow food is to advocate that we should slow down the speed of eating, not to wolf down, but to enjoy the food, let the delicious food dance on the tip of the tongue, and chew slowly.While we slow down our eating speed, our Qi and blood are greatly benefited.

A small part of blood production is congenital kidney essence, but it is mainly formed by acquired water and grain essence transported by the spleen and stomach, that is, diet. "Medical Law" says that "eating more can produce blood, but eating less can prevent blood production", which means that most of the blood is produced through diet.But this sentence is not complete enough. It’s not about stuffing food into your mouth or stomach. Fundamentally achieved the purpose of blood.Many people gobble up and swallow dates wholeheartedly when eating, regardless of size or size, they swallow all the food into their stomachs in one go without digesting it.This can't achieve the purpose of nourishing blood at all, it's just food going through the motions in the human body, not to mention not benefiting the body, but also wasting a lot of blood in vain.

But some people are different. He chews slowly, and the food he eats has to be torn with his teeth, stirred with his tongue, and melted with saliva until the food becomes thinner, crumbled, and soft before it enters the spleen and stomach.Such food can be fully absorbed, the part that should be used is not wasted at all, and the useless part is all excreted from the body.So regular and regular, each organ cooperates seamlessly, the natural qi and blood are sufficient, and the body is healthy.Don't you see, those old birthday stars with white hair and childlike faces are eating slower one by one.

Therefore, the ancients often said that eating should be chewed slowly, which makes sense. Only by chewing slowly can the food be fully ground and chewed, fully absorbed and turned into blood.In short, the finer the food, the more nourishing the blood!This truth can be verified from many places.

When many children cook for their elderly parents, we will notice one thing, that is, the soup should be as thin as possible, the porridge should be sticky enough, the vegetables should be stewed enough, and the meat and other thick foods are not easy to digest, so we will It is boiled into broth, and the meat in the soup must be cooked very badly before it can be eaten by parents.The truth couldn't be simpler.Because people are getting older and the functions of the spleen and stomach are getting weaker and weaker, food that is too large, too raw, too hard, or too rough may damage the organs of the elderly, and it is also extremely difficult to absorb. Therefore, the elderly Remember to make finely chopped food.

This conclusion can be confirmed even in Western medicine.There is a method in Western medicine, which is to grind food into powder and ingest it into the human body. Nutrients can be directly absorbed by the human body without even the transportation and transformation of the spleen and stomach.We all know that a one or two-year-old child cannot eat hard chews because his digestive organs are immature, so he can only be fed breast milk, milk powder, noodle soup and liquid food. Even if he can eat steamed buns and other things, his mother will also I chewed it into a puree before feeding it to him.

Don't these all show that finely divided food is more easily absorbed by the body, that is, it nourishes blood?
Therefore, we suggest that those who have recovered from illnesses, postpartum women, the elderly, children and other people with weak spleen and stomach should eat more meat soups that are stewed badly, such as beef soup, mutton soup, pork liver soup, chicken soup, etc. It is very beneficial for health preservation and disease treatment.In addition, black rice, blood glutinous rice, rice, etc. that are eaten daily should be made into paste, and mixed with red dates, peanuts, lotus seeds, medlar, etc. that are also made into paste, the effect of nourishing blood is also excellent.

In order to ensure that the food entering the spleen and stomach is fine enough, it is recommended to use these two simple and easy methods:
1. Swallow more saliva.Because saliva has the effect of diluting food, cleaning the mouth and helping digestion;

2. Each mouthful of food should be small and swallowed twice.Swallowing twice can dilute the food more thoroughly, which is especially necessary for people with digestive difficulties.

The finer the food, the more nourishing the blood. This is a blood nourishing rule suitable for all ages.Maybe you have already done it subconsciously, and we tell it again today, hoping that you can consciously start with small things like eating, maintain the balance of your body's energy and blood, and affect every relative and friend around you.

Going on a diet to lose weight, blood has shrunk severely
[Qi and Blood Health Sutra] Absolute vegetarianism is not good for health, because vegetables and fruits alone cannot maintain the source of Qi and blood.

Nowadays, there are many "new dietary concepts", one of which includes the principle of not eating staple foods and focusing on vegetables.There are two groups of people who hold this view: the first group, people who want to lose weight; the second group, certain religious people.We have found in clinical practice that many women who lose weight do not eat staple foods but only eat vegetables and fruits in order to control their calorie intake. It causes less menstrual flow or even menopause, so I come to the clinic for treatment of gynecological diseases, hoping to regulate menstruation.

There is a patient, 35 years old, who unfortunately got cancer.The doctor asked her about her usual eating habits. She said that in order to lose weight, she did not eat staple foods all the year round, and her body temperature was low, making her prone to illness and colds.The doctor finally knew the cause of her cancer, and listed the patient's cancer formula: malnutrition caused by not eating staple food or meat - low body temperature - severe cold - loss of both qi and blood - low resistance - Poor immunity - easy to get sick - grow tumors - eventually get cancer.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "spleen and stomach are the foundation of the day after tomorrow, the source of the biochemistry of qi and blood." If you don't eat staple foods, you can't take in the essence of water and grains, and you can't biochemically qi and blood.Therefore, when doctors diagnose and treat such diseases, they usually require patients to return to a normal diet to ensure the source of qi and blood. In addition, it is recommended to drink millet porridge with brown sugar to nourish the spleen and stomach and quickly restore vitality.

There are also some monks and lay people in the religious world who do not eat staple food but only vegetables, and are absolutely vegetarian.However, according to the observations of experts, most people who follow this dietary principle become sallow, thin, tired and dull in complexion over time.The reason is nothing more than the above mentioned that vegetables alone cannot maintain the source of Qi and blood.Vegetables are mostly stems and leaves of plants, their dredging power is relatively strong, but their nourishing power is relatively weak. Although Qi and blood can be dredged, they cannot be nourished, especially if the spleen and stomach are not nourished by water and grains.Therefore, those who look like vegetables usually have problems with their diet, and they eat vegetables all day long.Hopefully this statement will draw enough attention from vegetarians who don't eat meat.

Skipping breakfast means ruining the rest of your life

[Qi and Blood Health Sutra] When you wake up every morning, many organs in your body are like hungry babies waiting to be fed. Eating breakfast is equivalent to feeding them, which is very important.Even if you don't eat for your mouth, eat for them.

Now, people's eating habits have become very problematic. Even the three meals a day handed down by the ancestors are almost abandoned. Many people's breakfast is either omitted, or "wandering on the streets" - buns, fried dough sticks, pancakes and fruits , there are very few people who cook a good breakfast at home and enjoy the food.But do you know what skipping breakfast means?Means the destruction of the rest of life.

Mr. He is a well-known lawyer in Beijing. He has always dismissed the idea that skipping breakfast is harmful to health. He always patted his chest and said: "I haven't had breakfast a few times since I grew up. I used to sleep late when I was in school. , never eat; in order not to be late for work, I have no time to eat, I am still in good health, and it tastes delicious."

But now, he couldn't feel confident anymore. His neurasthenia, insomnia, forgetfulness, chest tightness and shortness of breath made him wonder if he was prematurely aging.When the doctor told him that this was the result of skipping breakfast for a long time, he was almost dumbfounded. Isn’t it the difference between drinking a bowl of porridge and eating an egg less than others every morning? How could there be such a serious consequence?

Therefore, the importance of breakfast is extraordinary.If you can clearly see who is eating breakfast, you will recognize this.

1. Eat for your liver
The liver governs hair growth.The morning is the time when the liver qi is the most vigorous, and it is also the time when people are most awake and energetic.If you don't eat in the morning, the liver qi will rise without the support of qi and blood, and symptoms of fatigue will occur after a long time.Premature ejaculation in men and early menstruation in women are all caused by wind-dryness due to deficiency of liver qi.Those who have completed exhaustion, fatigue, let alone diet, liver qi deficiency, stomach qi casualties, all doctors are at a loss, and all medicines are difficult to adjust.

2. Eat for your guts
It is true that skipping meals in the morning can induce cholecystitis.The rise of liver qi without the support of qi and blood will cause the deficiency and decline of liver qi, and the deficiency of liver will cause the gallbladder to prosper and inflammation everywhere.

3. Eat for the stomach meridian
Chen time, that is, 7 to 9 o'clock in the morning, when the stomach meridian is on duty.After a night of consumption, it has long been starved to death. At this time, we should supplement nutrition to it in time.

At Maoshi, the yang energy in the human body has been fully raised, and when the sun comes out at Chenshi, there is a yang atmosphere in the world.At this time, the human body needs to add some yin to adjust the balance of yin and yang.And food is yin, eating breakfast at this time is like spring rain nourishing everything.Therefore, at this time, the yang energy is at its peak, and the function of spleen and stomach is the strongest. No matter how many calories we take in, our body can "eliminate" them, so we don't have to worry about gaining weight.If you skip breakfast and have nothing to do when the stomach meridian is on duty, you will secrete too much gastric acid, and if things go on like this, stomach problems will come to your door.Furthermore, without food, the Qi and blood biochemistry of the spleen and stomach are lacking, which will also have an adverse effect on the viscera.

Many people often have the habit of skipping breakfast, which is called "losing weight" by the euphemistic name.In fact, early morning is when the body’s yang energy is at its peak, and the spleen and stomach have the strongest ability to transport and transform. The food eaten at this time can be well digested and absorbed, and there will be no troubles of “gaining weight” at all.If you don't eat breakfast, your yang energy will not be enough, which will make you gain weight.

Therefore, eating breakfast on time is very important for maintaining good health.Drink some porridge and milk every morning, and eat some steamed buns and vegetables, which can help raise liver qi and maintain stomach qi.

For those who have become exhausted, they can drink chicken soup twice a week and eat more breakfast every day, and they can generally recover quickly.Why drink chicken soup?Entering the chicken into the liver can help the liver qi rise, and the liver qi rises to relieve fatigue. It can be used in any diet, and it will heal after more than a month of recuperation.This is also the reason why confinement women eat old hens.Women lose blood during childbirth, blood deficiency and wind-dryness, and all kinds of diseases are born. Old hen stewed soup nourishes liver qi, moistens wind-dryness, and wind-dryness rests, so it is good to eat.

(End of this chapter)