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.

​

Functional Food Recipes

Here are some recipes that ventilate and smooth the lungs and resolve phlegm, invigorate the spleen, remove dampness through diuresis (urination) warm the kidneys in order to relieve water retention.
 

 1. Fried Crown daisy Chrysanthemum and Radish

Therapeutic benefit: Removing fluid stagnation and clearing away phlegm-heat

Method: Wash 200g of white radish, 100g of crown daisy chrysanthemum, and cut into strips. Pour 100g of oil into a pot. When the oil is hot, add wild pepper. When the wild pepper turns black, remove it, and then add the radish strips. Add a little chicken soup until almost tender; then add the crown daisy chrysanthemum. Add salt to taste, mix in starch when the dish is done and pour a little sesame oil over it. Remove from heat and serve.

​

2. Fried Mutton with Wild pepper and Onions

Therapeutic benefit: Warming kidney-yang

Method: Pour 50g of peanut oil into a pot, and heat over a flame. Add a little wild pepper, 200g mutton shreds, 10g ginger shreds, 100g onions, and fry. Add salt, seasoning powder, vinegar and yellow wine to taste.

​

3. Weight Reducing Wine

Therapeutic benefit: Tonifying the spleen and expelling dampness

Method: Prepare and wash 1000g polished glutinous rice, 150g Job's tears, 50g lotus seeds powder, 100g Chinese yam powder, 50g Gordon Euryale seed (qian shi), 50g Indian bread. Mix well and put into a large vessel and add some water. Steam for one hour, cool and soak with baking wine until all the ingredients are covered and then seal the cover properly. Place the vessel in a warm place (25 Centigrade) for 36 - 48 hours. Each time take one small cup, twice daily. 

4. Soup of Lotus Leaf and Hawthorn

Therapeutic benefit: Promoting digestion and expelling dampness

Methods: Take lotus leaf 9g and hawthorn 9g (hawthorn should be broken up and stir-fried), 2 cups of water, put into 1 cup of soup. For simple obesity, it is suitable to drink frequently.