Ever feel like a Blob?

One way we look at the body in Chinese Medicine is to consider dividing everything into two constituents — qi and  blood.   Basically, blood is the stuff  of the body while qi is what vitalizes it and what creates the being of the stuff.    It is what organizes the cell structure in this image of onion cells.  

You can see that it is really impossible for us to divide these properties — qi and blood — since every part of the body is already held together and constructed by qi by the time it is muscle, bone or brain.  But if you take out all the qi of the body what you’d end up with is a just a pile of stuff.

Which brings me to The Blob — what a great movie!   The Blob, a gelatinous alien life form, was a real drag at parties.   In it’s blobby way it destroyed and consumed everything and everyone around it.    It just brought everyone down.   And sometimes fatigue and qi deficiency feels just like the Blob has moved into your life and what you really need is Steve McQueen to come over and save the day.

But Steve McQueen is not part of the Chinese medical solution to blobness.   Food is and it’s a great strategy for dealing with the Blog.   Here are some of the foods that are traditionally used to help bring us back from the non-jaws of the Blob.   A key aspect of building the qi with food is preparing the food in a way that makes it very easy to digest.   Slow cooking is ideal.   Use less fat and keep it simple.

If you are very qi deficient and foods are difficult to digest consider stewing fruits such as apples, apricots, plums, bananas with a bit of fennel or aniseed.    Avoiding raw foods protects the stomach fires.   If you are able to easily digest foods then you can add mangos, blueberries, cherries and grapes.

Favorite vegetables to build the qi are baked root vegetables — potato, yam, sweet potato.   Mushrooms are also ideal, along with carrots, bok chop, and cauliflower.   These are all foods that are condensed and potent.

Beans that are already fermented or processed  like tempeh and tofu can be easier to assimilate.   Lentils, garbanzos and pinto beans are also recommended.

Many grains can be helpful, such as barley, millet, rice, oats and spelt.

Also many fish such as anchovy, salmon, tuna, sardines, trout and whitefish are recommended.   Along with any meat.   Just avoid fatty meats that are more difficult to digest.   And consider making a stew when you have meat.

Nuts and seeds including flax and sunflower seeds are great, along with peanuts and raw almonds.

Spices can really help too.  Consider using cardamon, dill, licorice, cinnamon, oregano, nutmeg, thyme, aniseed and cumin.

Chamomile tea, coconut water and Hawthorne berry tea are very good for the qi deficient person.

Yogurt, miso, coconut oil, honey, maple syrup and sea salt can all be considered as well.

The whole idea is to try out these various foods and see if they help.   Everyone is different and fatigue can be caused by many different things.   But by organizing your meals around some of these foods you can build your qi and feel better and stronger.    Have fun!