Spring Recipe for Nourishing Liver
By Vicky Chan of Nourish U
The arrival of spring brings a new season of growth to all living things on earth. That is why Chinese medicine identifies spring as wood. According to the TCM five-element theory, wood represents our liver and gallbladder system. What this means is that spring is the season when the liver energy is most intense; therefore it is the best time to address and promote liver health.
The liver is the only organ in our body which is responsible for removing poisons and toxins from our blood, making bile to support digestion and making new blood and protein to support growth.
Diet has an immediate impact on liver health. Overeating, especially rich and greasy foods can make the liver system sluggish and can slow down liver functions. Too much alcohol can damage liver cells and can cause hardening of the liver and cancer. Besides food, exercise and emotions can also affect liver health. Too much sorrow is known to suppress liver energy and cause a system failure. Unhealthy lifestyle such as not sleeping at night can interfere with the liver detoxification and blood building cycles. Therefore, a healthy diet and lifestyle and the right state of mind and balanced emotions are the keys to good health.
Spring cleaning is not only necessary for our homes and gardens, but it is also necessary for our bodies, especially the liver to clean out toxins after a winter season of heavy foods and indulgences. A cleansing diet with an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables is most appropriate. Adding a bit more sour taste to our foods and drinks such as lemon and vinegar can produce effective contracting, astringent and cleansing effects.
After cleansing the liver, nourishing it is also very important. There are many foods and herbs which are excellent for promoting liver health such as asparagus, dandelion, goji-berries, bean sprout and chives. Liver meats are best for promoting liver health. One common misconception about liver or organ meat is that they are full of toxins and cholesterol and therefore is not good for health. In fact, liver meat has an exceptionally high content of quality protein, vitamin A, B vitamins and in particular B12, folic acid, minerals such as copper, zinc, chromium, copper and CoQ10. The by-products of liver detoxification cannot be stored in liver cells because there is no room for them. The World Health Organization has just recently included pork liver as one of the most healthy foods to eat.
Please refer to our website to see more foods and herbs suggestions and recipes for promoting liver health for spring. Here is a recipe using pork or chicken liver to nourish our liver. It is very easy to make, delicious and suitable for the whole family.
Stir-fry Liver with Chives and Goji-berries
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Nourishes liver, promotes good eyesight and increases yang energy.
INGREDIENTS: (2 to 3 servings)
- Chicken or pork liver – 250gm
- Chinese chives – one bunch (about 300gm)
- Astragalus (huang qi) 黃耆 - 30 gm
- Goji-berry / Chinese Wolfberry (gou ji zi) 枸杞子 - 20 gm
- Minced or grated ginger – two tablespoons
- Soy sauce – one teaspoon
- Potato starch – one teaspoon
- Cooking wine – 2 tablespoons
DIRECTIONS
1. Rinse astragalus, cut into short sections and put with 2.5 cups of water in a pot and
let it soak for 30 minutes. Then bring water to a boil and lower heat to medium-low and
cook for 30 minutes to yield 1/3 cup of tea. Discard astragalus and put tea aside.
2. Rinse chives a few times, strain and cut into bite-size sections.
3. Wash liver with salt, rinse, cut liver into thin slices and season with soy sauce, half
portions of ginger and wine, and lastly mix in starch.
4. Soak goji-berries for 10 to 15 minutes with water and rinse a few times. Soak goji-
berries with half of the astragalus tea.
5. Warm one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add the remaining ginger and stir. Add chive
and stir for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt. Add the rest of the astragalus tea and
cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and put chives aside on a plate.
6. Warm another spoon of oil in the pan and add liver. Let liver cook for one minute
each on both sides. Add in goji-berries with tea and cook for 2 more minutes or to liver
is just done. Put chives back into the cooking and mix. Put everything onto a plate and serve.
USAGE
No restrictions
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Recipe for Nursing Colds/Flu
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
This winter has been a worse-than-average flu season and many people have been infected. The Western medicine approach of using antibiotics to fight the cold and flu virus is “over-prescribing” because the success rate has only been around 20%. The overuse of antibiotics has caused many experts to project an imminent “antibiotic apocalypse”.
On average, adults can get two to four colds per year and kids can get as many as six to eight. This is why the ailment is called the COMMON cold/flu. Normally by treating it with enough rest and proper dietary care, the body will be able to recover within days if not a week, without having to use drugs. Usually, it is only people in poor health that can develop serious symptoms and complications that can result in death in extreme cases.
Chinese Medicine knows a lot about the common cold/flu. The renowned classic textbook called The Theory of Febrile Disease describes the different stages and manifestations of the illness. It gives a detailed explanation on what and how to use proper dietary care to speed up recovery and to prevent the illness from going deeper into the body. The key to dietary care is to know what not to eat and what to eat, and to stick to it.
For wind-cold type of conformation, it is crucial not to eat cold foods (temperature wise as well as foods that are cold in nature). This includes cold drinks and foods, fresh fruits and raw vegetables, and cooling foods and herbs. Eat only hot and warming foods and drinks. The common condiments found in most kitchens such as ginger, garlic, scallions, vinegar, pepper, chili and onion are all effective in helping the body to raise its internal temperature to drive out coldness and to kill bacteria and viruses. They are tried-and-true remedies and are suitable for most people. We just need to be mindful to not take more than our stomach can handle especially hot spices and vinegar.
For wind-heat type of conformation, using foods that have a cooling nature such as tofu, daikon, Chinese pears, mung beans, water chestnut, chrysanthemum tea and bok-choy are highly recommended.
In all cases, deep-fried foods and hard to digest foods are restricted because they are more work for the body to digest when it needs all its energy to heal. Plain, easy to digest, fluid and semi-fluid foods such as soup and congee are most suitable. Nutrient dense foods, warming and enriching foods and herbs are to be avoided because they can intensify the virus and prolong the suffering.
Here is a recipe which is most suitable for treating influenza and coughing with phlegm. Take it as many times as needed until most symptoms are gone. Please also refer to our website www.nourishu.com for many other related recipes.
Snow-Ear Mushroom, Fritillariae and Pear Soup
SYMPTOMS
Cold and flu with cough, chronic dry cough, weakened lung function with lack of energy and difficulty breathing.
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Treats cold/flu with sore throat and headache, nourishes lungs, clears heat in the lungs, clears phlegm, astringes cough and promotes vital fluids.
INGREDIENTS
Fritillariae Cirrhosae (chuan bei mu) 川貝母 – 5 grams
Snow-Ear Mushroom – 20 grams
Chinese Pear – one
Honey – to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Crush chuan bei into powder.
2. Rinse and soak mushroom for 30 minutes. Cut out bottom brown stem and separate into smaller pieces.
3. Skin pear, cut into halves and hollow out seeds in the centre.
4. Put chuan bei powder in the center of pear and put pear in a casserole.
5. Add mushroom and enough water to cover the pear (about 1.5 cups). Add honey to taste (about 2 spoonfuls) and cover casserole with lid.
6. Use a slightly bigger pot with water and a stand at the bottom to steam the casserole for about an hour. Add hot water regularly to the cooking to prevent drying.
7. Serve warm and be sure to eat it all for full therapeutic effect.
USAGE
To be taken once a day on an empty stomach. This recipe is suitable for all ages.