Diet
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Green Tea 绿茶: A Refreshing Spring and Summer Beverage with Health Benefits
As we transition into summer we reach a point in the year in which many green teas have been freshly harvested and processed and are just now hitting the market. Green tea is a healthy, delicious, and refreshing beverage that is especially suitable during the warmer months. I have met many people who think that they don’t like green tea, but in fact have never tried anything other than green tea that is mass-produced, low-quality, and generally stale. It’s one thing to find high-quality green tea, but perhaps more challenging is getting it fresh! It’s best to buy it as soon after harvest as possible from a vendor that takes…
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Li Xia Dan (Beginning of Summer Eggs) 立夏蛋
As we pass the Li Xia “Beginning of Summer” 立夏 solar term, we begin to transition away from the spring season and into the summer. Summer is associated with fire and the heart organ system, and at this time, the kidneys, associated with water, are in their weakest state. This is an important time to prepare for this transition and nourish our kidney jing (essence). Our kidney system is foundational to the three treasures (jing, qi, and shen) and therefore extremely important for those who seek progress in neigong practice. In general, nourishing our kidney jing at this time makes our health strong and robust during the shift of seasons…
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The Best Zhou 粥 (Congee) to Support the Spleen and Fuel your Neigong
One of the most important texts for Chinese Medicine, the Huangdi Neijing 黄帝内经, lists the well-known “evils” or environmental factors which can cause us harm along with the organ system most susceptible to each: 藏所惡：心惡熱，肺惡寒，肝惡風，脾惡濕，腎惡燥，是謂五惡。 The hidden evils are: heat in the heart, cold in the lungs, wind in the liver, dampness in the spleen, and dryness in the kidneys. These are the five evils. In addition to climatic factors, modern sedentary lifestyle paired with the greasy, fried, sugary and processed foods so prevalent in modern society make so many people susceptible to excess dampness, and this is especially harmful to the spleen system. A healthy spleen system is foundational…
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Autumn Wellness: Pear Soup 梨水
One of my favorite snacks (or healthy dessert) in autumn is what we refer to at home as “pear water.” A better title might be Pear and Yin’er Soup. It is an excellent medicinal food for autumn wellness as it combines several ingredients that are widely acknowledged as some of the best foods to eat during this time of year — offering the (much needed in autumn) moistening and yin nourishing support to the lungs. The result is delicious! Ingredients and their medicinal properties: Continue Reading…
