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Chinese Food Therapy for Weight Loss

Chinese people are very concerned about their daily food consumption; they consider it a first line of treatment. It is common for the Chinese to treat a minor ailment with a specially prepared meal or by including a particular ingredient in a dish. Based on the classification of patterns suggested above, there are two main ways of treating obesity by food therapy:

(a) Transform phlegm and eliminate dampness by drying the body and
(b) Fortify the spleen and invigorate the kidneys.
 

Chinese people consider food a first line treatment of obesity.
A. Methods of drying the body
  1. Urination
  2. Absorb dampness inside the body
  3. Cool the body to facilitate fluid passage
  4. Warm the body

1. Promote urination

The first method is to promote urination, which may be compared with diuretics in Western medicine. Small red beans, corn and corn silk, Job's tears, soya beans, wax gourd and garlic significantly promote urination.
Wax gourd promotes urination.

2. Get rid of water in the Body

This method involves absorbing tissue fluids in the body. Absorbing water in the body can be compared to that of a sponge soaking up spilt water; promoting urination removes water from the body through excretion. The majority of foods and herbs that can absorb water inside the body are aromatic, and the two items used most frequently are broad beans and hyacinth beans. The aromatic foods not only can absorb water inside the body, but also can stop diarrhea for the same reason
  • Broad beans can be ground into a powder to be taken with warm water, but they can also be fried with oil and salt until they break and smell aromatic. Use unshelled beans, as the shell has a better effect of absorbing water inside the body and promoting urination.
Oad beans help absorb water inside the body.
  • Hyacinth beans can be used the same as broad beans. In Chinese herbal therapy, hyacinth beans are very frequently used to relieve diarrhea and abdominal pain due to excessive water in the intestine. They may be used in soup or in powder form.

3. Cool the body to facilitate passage of water

A dry-hot physical constitution is not prone to obesity as is a damp-hot physical constitution. For example, if you set fire to damp firewood, it will not burn quickly but produce a lot of smoke, which is not good. Similarly when water and heat mix in the body, neither will go away. The result is difficulty when urinating or discharge of reddish urine in small quantities.

The strategy, therefore, is to cool the body, allowing water to flow. Food and herbs with a cold energy and a bitter flavor are used for this purpose, because cold energy can cool the body and the bitter flavor can dry it.
  • Bitter gourd - can significantly cool the body, reduce nervous tension due to its cold energy, and also can soften the stools due to its bitter flavor. People with a hot-damp physical constitution often suffer from constipation, which may be effectively relieved by using bitter gourd as a soup, as a vegetable or as a tea..
Bitter gourd and mung beans are helpful in people with a hot damp physical constitution.
  • Mung beans. May be used by those with a hot-damp physical constitution to rid the body of excessive water. Although mung beans have a cool energy and a sweet flavor, they are rather effective in removing water and reducing body heat.

4. Warm the body

This is suitable for people with a cold-damp physical constitution. The strategy is to warm the body so that the water can flow out of the body, either through urination or perspiration. Foods producing best results should have a warm or hot energy and a pungent-sweet flavor. Hot or warm energy increases body heat, pungent flavor increases perspiration, and a sweet or light flavor promotes urination. Cinnamon satisfies these three conditions.

  • Cinnamon
  • Fresh ginger - is used frequently to counteract cold, particularly in winter and when it is used along with dry orange peel to make tea, its effects are significantly reinforced.

**After the excessive evils in the body have been removed and the body is dry, the person should remain slim and stay in good shape. However, a balanced diet and regular exercise should always be maintained.

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