What is Deficient Blood (or Blood Deficiency) in Chinese Medicine?
In Spokane Chinese medicine, blood deficiency means the blood in our body is seriously depleted. Its causes may include blood loss due to childbirth or trauma, or a problem in the creation of new blood through the digestive system.
In Chinese medicine theory, blood is an important substance that’s created in the digestive system when the chi or energy from the air we breathe and the food we eat combine. Blood travels throughout the vessels in our body providing moisture and nourishment to the tissues (particularly, the eyes, tendons, and muscles) and organs. According to the Chinese medical document Miraculous Pivot, “when blood is in harmony, the bones and tendons and bones will function smoothly and will become strong”.
Blood is also needed for preserving and bringing about a happy and calm mind. After the digestive system (which, in Chinese medicine, is made up of the abdomen and spleen) produces blood, blood has the unique responsibility of housing the shen (spirit or mind). Blood is believed to anchor the mind in the body
Blood depletion may manifest as:
- Tension
- Poor self-esteem
- Poor memory
- Palpitations
- Tendon and muscle problems
- Irregular menstruation
- Insomnia
- Dry skin
- Dry eyes and vision impairment
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
If you’ve been experiencing any of the above symptoms be sure to visit your medical doctor and local practitioner of Chinese medicine to customize a plan of treatment for you.
Here are a number of Chinese nutritional tips to help keep a calm mind; strengthen your eyes, tendons, and muscles; and to help nourish your blood: spinach, sea cucumber, red meat such as lamb and beef,
pork liver, parsley, oyster & shell, mulberry, molasses, lychee, longan, kale, ham, grapes, fig, dates, cuttlefish, chicken eggs, skin of black soybean, black soy bean, beetroot, and beef.
Food Recipes for Deficient Blood
- Beef Soup
Black pepper, 10g
Beef, 1kg
Salt
A cup of fresh ginger juice (boil ginger in water after grating it)
Orange peel powder, 5g (ideal for normalizing digestion, available in Asian groceries)
Marinate and mix together for two hours, then either make the beef into soup with some beef or stock cook the beef in a frying pan. Consume small portions of the soup with meals or fried beef many times each week.
- Soybean and Rice Congee
Chinese red dates, 30g
Black soy beans, 30g
Brown rice, 100g
Boil water and add soybeans and rice, simmer until half cooked. Include the red dates (all 30g) and keep cooking till the dish is well done. For flavor, add brown sugar to taste. Eat once each day.