Potatoes
Owing to their numerous health benefits, potatoes are often called the "fruit of the earth." Potatoes excel at nourishing stomach qi, while also offering benefits such as boosting energy, detoxifying, promoting bowel movements, aiding weight loss and fat reduction, improving blood circulation, reducing swelling, strengthening the body, beautifying the skin, and combating aging. Potatoes are rich in essential trace elements including potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium.Potato dishes have gained worldwide popularity, largely due to their rich nutritional value.
Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms rank among the "Four Great Mountain Delicacies," earning titles like "Queen of Plants" and "Meat Among Vegetables." They help regulate qi and blood deficiency, benefiting those who frequently feel fatigued. The Compendium of Materia Medica states: "Shiitake mushrooms benefit the stomach and intestines, transform phlegm, and regulate qi."
Millet
Millet enters the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians, strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach. It is particularly suitable for those with weak digestion and is often used as a postpartum tonic for women.Research indicates millet contains significantly higher levels of vitamin B1 and inorganic salts than rice. When millet porridge is left to stand after cooking, a film-like substance forms on the surface—known as "porridge oil." This substance protects the gastric mucosa and helps prevent gastric and duodenal ulcers.
Chinese Yam
Known as the "food of the immortals." The Compendium of Materia Medica states: "Chinese yam benefits kidney qi, strengthens the spleen and stomach, stops diarrhea and dysentery, transforms phlegm, and moistens the skin and hair." It nourishes the lungs, spleen, and kidneys, suitable for all constitutions. Its neutral nature prevents concerns like bloating or constipation after consumption.
Chestnuts
Chestnuts are sweet and warm in nature, offering benefits such as strengthening the spleen and boosting qi, nourishing the kidneys and fortifying tendons, and combating aging. Their content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber helps reduce the risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease. With high calcium levels, chestnuts are an excellent calcium-rich food, proving highly effective in preventing and treating osteoporosis.
Peanuts
Peanuts are neutral in nature and sweet in taste. The Illustrated Materia Medica of Yunnan describes them as tonifying the middle burner and boosting qi. Beyond this, peanuts also nourish the spleen and lungs, making them particularly suitable for those with qi deficiency accompanied by lung or spleen deficiency. Boiling peanuts before consumption is recommended.
Chinese Chives
From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, Chinese chives enter the liver, stomach, and kidney meridians. Raw chives are pungent and promote blood circulation, while cooked chives are sweet and tonify the middle jiao, benefiting the liver and dispersing blood stasis.Eating cooked leeks can nourish the liver and kidneys, warm the lower back and knees, and invigorate yang energy. In other words, leeks have qi-tonifying and yang-strengthening effects, earning them the nickname "yang-raising herb." A folk saying goes, "Men should never be without leeks, women should never be without lotus roots." The reasoning is that lotus roots nourish yin, while leeks strengthen yang.
As a perennial plant, leeks regrow after each harvest, seemingly endowed with inexhaustible vitality. This characteristic lends them medicinal properties that aid the body's qi circulation.
Though available year-round, leeks are best consumed during winter and spring. Their warming nature complements the cooler temperatures of these seasons, effectively tonifying kidney qi and invigorating vitality.A proverb states: "Spring-eaten leeks are fragrant; summer-eaten leeks are foul." This actually refers to the optimal season for consuming leeks. In winter, the body stores yang energy, and leeks' warming properties nourish kidney yang, perfectly aligning with the body's yang energy conservation. In spring, liver energy tends to be excessive, with wood energy overpowering spleen earth energy, potentially impairing spleen and stomach function. Eating leeks during this time helps strengthen spleen and stomach qi.
During winter and spring, it's recommended to enjoy dishes like stir-fried leeks with eggs, or dumplings and buns filled with leek and pork.
Glutinous Rice
You'll notice glutinous rice dishes like eight-treasure porridge, rice cakes, and tangyuan are more common in winter. Why do people favor these delicious glutinous rice foods during colder months?This practice stems from both long-standing tradition and the folk wisdom and principles of traditional Chinese medicine. In winter, the earth's energy sinks downward, while low temperatures can be harsh and damaging to vital energy. Cold weather most easily disrupts the body's energy flow, making winter the season when replenishing energy is most crucial. Glutinous rice foods nourish energy and warm the stomach, making them a beloved winter staple—delicious and satisfying while fulfilling the need to replenish energy and warm the middle burner.
The classical Chinese medical text Ben Cao Jing Shu provides a detailed analysis of glutinous rice's properties: it "nourishes the spleen and stomach, and benefits lung qi. When the spleen and stomach are supported, the middle burner naturally warms, and stools become firm; warmth nourishes qi, and when qi flows smoothly, the body generates its own warmth. It is suitable for those with spleen and lung deficiency-cold."Glutinous rice gently nourishes the body's vital energy. Once this energy is abundant, the body's resistance to cold naturally strengthens.
Due to its high viscosity, glutinous rice can be difficult for the spleen and stomach to digest. Therefore, it should not be consumed in large quantities at once.Regarding preparation, glutinous rice porridge is the most digestible form. When cooked into a thin porridge, it reduces the burden on the spleen and stomach during digestion. Not only is it easier to digest, but it also better nourishes stomach qi. Rabbit Meat Rabbit meat is called "vegetarian among meats," while shiitake mushrooms are hailed as "meat among vegetables." Interestingly, both are effective for replenishing qi.Rabbit meat is an excellent health-promoting and beauty-enhancing meat. It tonifies the middle energizer and benefits qi, making it highly suitable for those with spleen-stomach deficiency or insufficient middle qi. This is because the refined essence derived from rabbit meat enters the liver and large intestine meridians. Since the liver primarily governs detoxification and the large intestine is also a crucial pathway for eliminating toxins, rabbit meat additionally possesses blood-cooling and detoxifying effects.
Visibly, rabbit meat is rich in lecithin, which protects blood vessel walls and prevents blood clots. It is strongly recommended for those with hypertension, coronary heart disease, or diabetes stemming from spleen-stomach deficiency.
For individuals with qi and blood deficiency or malnutrition, rabbit meat can be used to prepare a nourishing soup that replenishes qi and blood while strengthening the constitution.The method involves steaming rabbit meat with codonopsis root, Chinese yam, red dates, and goji berries until tender, consuming twice daily. For those experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue, simmering rabbit meat with Chinese yam, astragalus root, and goji berries yields remarkable results.