The incidence of obesity is higher when people have better living conditions and a more modern lifestyle. A study published in The Lancet by a research team from the University of London, UK showed that obesity is closely related to 21 diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and so on. Methods to lose weight such as the ketogenic diet, and fasting are everywhere. Many people want to lose weight but often give up halfway. However, have you tried “Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to lose weight?”
TCM diagnoses the disease by inspection, listening, smelling, examination, inquiry, and palpation (probing with fingers). TCM believes that each person’s physique and etiology (cause of illness) are different, and it is necessary to adjust the body according to the individual situation in order to achieve the effect of curing the root cause and creating a physique, which is easy to stay slim, and a slim body.
Japanese TCM practitioner He Xia pointed out in an interview with the Epoch Times that dysfunction of the organs is the main cause of obesity, so adjusting the body is the key. She said that “Medicine and Food Homology” is one of the ways that TCM treats obesity.
“Medicine and Food Homology” means that many foods in fact are medicines, and there is no absolute boundary between them. Under the guidance of the theory of TCM, delicious cuisine is prepared and cooked with TCM food. They have preventative, healing, and health-preservative effects and therefore are known as “medicinal cuisine.”
He Xia recommended four recipes of medicinal cuisines, which not only can help everyone to adjust their physique to become slim but also have health-preserving effects.
4 Recipes of Medicinal Cuisines to Help You Lose Weight
1. Braised Wax Gourd
Wax gourd, also known as the “weight-losing gourd” and “slimming gourd,” is a high-fiber and low-calorie food that can provide the feeling of satiety, promote gastrointestinal motility, and slow down absorption and digestion. It is useful food for losing weight.
Ingredients: 500g (17.64 ounces) wax gourd, an appropriate amount of green onion, ginger, and vegetable oil.
Method:
(1) Peel and wash the wax gourd, cut into rectangular with a thickness of 1 cm (0.39 inch);
(2) Add an appropriate amount of vegetable oil to the frying pan, and when it is almost half hot, add the green onion, and ginger and fry;
(3) Add the wax gourd and cook over low heat until the wax gourd is soft, then season to taste.
Efficacy: It has the functions of clearing heat and promoting diuresis, reducing swelling and relieving cough, getting rid of phlegm, and so on. The “Medicinal Cuisine of Materia Medica” from Tang Dynasty of China recorded wax gourd, “People with the Hot physique eat it is good for health, people with the Cold physique eat it will become slim; cook it can benefit the five organs of Zang Fu, it is also the reason for the lower Qi (vital energy). Those who want to be slim, just eat it regularly.”
Wax gourd has high water content and contains glyceric acid, which can reduce subcutaneous fat and inhibit the conversion of sugar, and it has a good effect on weight loss.
2. Fat-reducing Wax Gourd Soup
Ingredients: 500g (17.64 ounces) wax gourd, 40g (1.41 ounces) kelp, two pieces of dried tangerine peel, 250g (8.82 ounces) papaya.
Method:
(1) Peel and wash the wax gourd, soak the kelp in water and cut it for later use;
(2) Put the dried tangerine peel and papaya into the casserole, add eight bowls of water, cook over low heat for about two hours, and season to taste.
Efficacy: It can relieve summer heat and remove heat, eliminate fat in the body and cholesterol, and it has a noticeable weight loss effect.
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3. Bamboo Shoots Slimming Soup with Snow Fungus
Ingredients:20g (0.71 ounces) dried snow fungus, 300g (10.58 ounces) bamboo shoots, 1 egg
Method:
(1) Wash the bamboo shoots, soak the dried snow fungus in water and remove the stems, beat the egg;
(2) Add an appropriate amount of water to boil in the pot, pour in the beaten egg, then add the bamboo shoots and snow fungus, simmer for 10 minutes over low heat, and season to taste.
It can also be considered a weight-loss appetizer before dinner.
Efficacy: It has the effect of eliminating abdominal fat. In addition, snow fungus can moisten the lungs and nourish the skin.
4. Weight Losing Porridge with Chinese Hawthorn, Lotus Leaf, and Barley
Ingredients: 15g (0.53 ounces) Chinese hawthorn, 10g (0.35 ounces) lotus leaf, 10g (0.35 ounces) dried tangerine peel, and an appropriate amount of barley.
Method:
(1) Wash all ingredients for later use; add 700ml (1.48 pints) of water to the pot and the ingredients.
(2) Boil over high heat, then boil over low heat for 10 to 30 minutes.
Efficacy: It has the functions of detoxification and maintaining beauty, strengthening the Spleen and the Stomach, reducing fat, and losing weight.
She reminded us that although the medicinal properties of TCM are relatively mild and it can be taken every day; when a certain weight loss effect is achieved, one should stop taking the TCM, so as not to overburden the kidneys and liver.
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Ellen Wan has worked for the Japanese edition of The Epoch Times since 2007.
