Traditional Chinese herbal medicine at a shop in New Taipei City, Taiwan. (Hsu Tsun-Hsu/AFP via Getty Images) Food as Medicine High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the three most common acute diseases. According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), blood pressure is the pressure […]
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High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the three most common acute diseases.
According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of arteries. An artery functions by pumping blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
There are two numbers representing blood pressure.
Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure in the arteries when a heart beats.
On the other hand, diastolic blood pressure is the number that represents the pressure in the arteries when a heart rests between heartbeats.
High blood pressure causes strokes, heart failure, kidney failure, and brain damage if untreated.
Unhealthy lifestyle choices, lack of regular exercise, being diabetic and obese, and consuming junk food increases the risk of higher blood pressure.
The danger of hypertension is the higher your blood pressure is, the more likely you will suffer from cardiovascular disease, cardiac arrest, or heart attack and a stroke.
While there are western drugs to manage blood pressure, the best way to improve your health is by making positive lifestyle changes, consuming more nutritious food to repair your body, and increasing your activity to decrease stress. Limiting sugar and sodium is also an excellent way to manage weight and diabetes.
TCM Approach to High Blood Pressure
Many patients, when they can’t find appropriate western treatments or prefer not to due to the plausible side effects, they turn to something natural or homeopathic in Traditional Chinese medicine. (TCM)
The Epoch Times interviewed a traditional medicine practitioner who resides in Japan, Dr. He Xiaoxia. The TCM practitioner explained, “In Chinese medicine, however, there is no such thing as high blood pressure.”
In traditional Chinese medicine, there is no such thing as hypertension as an illness. Instead, TCM regards hypertension as more of a reaction caused by multiple issues in the complex body.
Symptoms Explained
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Dr. He Xiaoxia explained. “From the Chinese medicine perspective, hypertension is in the same category as dizziness, fatigue, headache.”
These symptoms are caused mainly by live wind, phlegm, swelling and bruising, and yin deficiency.
Don’t be intimidated by Chinese medical terms. Live wind refers to symptoms of vertigo, spasm, or shivering. Phlegm represents mucus, cough, asthma, or any throat discomfort. Swelling and bruises also include blood clots—lastly, yin deficiency, which is an insufficient amount of water in a body. Or you can consider it dehydration.
“When patients first show these symptoms, they usually notice lethargy, headaches, nausea, and stiffness in the neck at the beginning. After a year or two, when the symptoms worsen, you may feel soreness in the lower back or weakness in the lower limbs.” the doctor stated.
The doctor also warned that if patients notice bubbles in urination, that is a sign of kidney function damage.
Since these symptoms are very similar to suboptimal health, or subhealth, patients often overlook the warning signs. When a diagnosis is realized, patients may have already been suffering from more severe complications.
A Chinese medicine practitioner recommends a few types of herbal tea and a home therapy diet. To help relieve blood pressure and improve body function.
What Is Food Therapy?
The doctor explains that medicine and food therapy go hand in hand.
In simple terms, food therapy represents eating healthily for your body. In TCM, practitioners use combinations of food to repair internal functions and speed up recovery by healing from the inside.
Bob Flaws published a book in the 90s called The Tao of Healthy Eating. In the book, Flaws discusses the benefits of Chinese medicine to everyday illnesses in the west, such as food allergy, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.
Treating with Food Therapy
Dr. He recommended a few easy recipes at home, including three medicinal tea and four food therapy recipes. You can find these ingredients in a Chinese herb shop.
Tea Recipes
- 1. Anti-fatigue Tea
What you need: 20g (0.70 oz) of Chrysanthemum, 10g (0.35 oz) of Che Qian Zi (commonly know as Asiatic plantain), 15 g (0.53 oz) of Jue Ming Zi (Cassia Seed)
How to make:
Boil 600cc (1.27 pints) water to 100C (212F).
Put all three ingredients into the water.
Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
After that, it is ready to serve.
Benefit: The combination of the three ingredients aims to improve dry eyes and mouth, vertigo, dizziness, blurry vision, and constipation. It also lowers body fat.
- 2. Anti-stress and Nausea Tea
What you need: What you need: 20g (0.70 oz) of Gastrodia Tuber, 10g (0.35 oz) of Gamdir vine, and 10g 9 (0.35 oz) of goji berry
How to make:
Add the three ingredients to 600 ccs (1.27 pints) of water and bring to a boil.
Turn off the heat and let it sit for five minutes before consuming.
Benefits: This tea decreases nausea or headaches caused by high blood pressure and rejuvenates liver and eye functions. It also lowers blood pressure.
Note: Do not consume the tea if you are allergic to tian ma. Please consult your doctor if you have gestational hypertension.
- 3. Liver Detox Tea
What you need: 25g 9 (0.88 oz) Damdir Vine, 15g (0.53 oz) of Chrysanthemum
How to make: Clean the two ingredients with water. Add the ingredients to 500 ccs (1.06 pints) of water. Bring to boil for 5 minutes. Ready to reserve.
Benefits: It improves dry mouth and bitterness, lower senile hypertension, and alleviates headaches.
These three teas can substitute for your soda or other beverages. You only need to boil once. Dispose of the tea the following day.
You can switch up the tea during the week.
Food Therapy
You can use the following recipes as part of your daily meal. For patients who are on antihypertensive medication, please take your food therapy two hours after taking the prescribed medicine.
- 1. Weight-loss Soup
What you need: About 400g (14.11 oz) of Carp fish, 500g (17.65 oz) of winter melon, 30g (1.06 oz) of barley, 25g (0.88 oz) of kelp, two slices of fresh ginger
How to make: First, clean the fish thoroughly. Then Pan-fry until both sides are golden brown. Add 1000 mL (2.11 pints) of water. Once the water turns white, put the remaining ingredients and cook for 30 minutes with low heat.
Benefit: It enhances weight loss and lowers blood pressure
- 2. Liver and Kidney Revival Porridge
What you need: 60g (2.11 oz) of fleece flower root, 100g (3.53 oz) of grain rice, 3 to 5 red dates, rock sugar to taste
How to make: Add water to a pan. Fry fleece flower root until the water thickens. Then filter. Combine the rest of the ingredients with filtered water. Cook until it becomes porridge.
Eat once day and night.
Benefit: It nourishes and detoxifies the liver and kidney, lowers blood pressure, and recovers gray hair.
- 3. Digestive Boost Porridge
What you need: 15g (0,53 oz) of Chrysanthemum, 100g (3.53 oz) of grain rice
How to make: Remove the stems from the Chrysanthemum. Cook in a steamer or rice cooker. When it is ready, air dry, then grind into powder. Put aside for use later.
In a pot, put grain rice and water, and cook to the consistency of porridge. Bring to a boil. Then turn to lower heat. Add the ground powder. Cook in low heat until rice is ready thoroughly.
Benefit: It cleanses the liver, boosts digestive function, and soothes stress.
- 4. Anti-diabetes and Weight Loss Porridge
What you need: a piece of fresh lotus leaf, 100g (3.53 oz) of grain rice, and rock sugar to taste.
How to make: Clean the lotus leaf. Fry and add water. Mix the liquid with the rice. Cook until rice becomes porridge. You can add rock sugar to taste before serving:
Benefit: This recipe alleviates high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, particularly for the elderly.
Dr. Ho reminded us,” Patients currently on antihypertensive drugs should not stop their medication while consuming the natural Chinese food therapy. Talk to your physician and follow their guidance.”
Ellen Wan has worked for the Japanese edition of The Epoch Times since 2007.
