TCM Food therapy for the treatment of Blood Deficiency

Blood Deficiency in TCM can show up as symptoms of dryness and weakness of the body. It is like a tree that has been dried out for a long time and starts to become weak and brittle. Similarly in the body blood deficiency prevents lubrication of the sinews, and can lead to tight, inflexible musculature and creaky joints. Blood is nourishing and grounding to the body, our blood nourishes and grounds our qi. Blood is a yin humor and helps us feel embodied within ourselves. When the blood is deficient it can show up as feelings of spaciness, forgetfulness, feeling insignificant- as blood after all is animated with our consciousness and so with blood deficiency we can feel a sense of lacking within ourselves. Blood deficiency can also show up as anemia, dry skin, dry hair, thin hair, pale face, pale tongue, cracking at the edges of the nailbed, scanty menstrual cycle, infertility, difficulty falling asleep, fatigue, weakness.  

It is common for women who are menstruating to be blood deficient, and also very common for women who have just given birth to have some blood deficiency, so it is good to be proactive with nourishing your blood if you fall into either of those categories.

The blood is best nourished through eating animal protein, specifically red meat. Herbs are also helpful for the treatment of blood deficiency, as well as correcting any underlying nutrient deficiencies. The blood takes 1 month to go through its cycle and so it is imperative for someone building blood to commit to building their blood for a full month.

Tips:

-Try to eat red meat 4-5 days per week for 1 month.

-Add desiccated Liver supplement for 1 month

-Try to sleep at least 8 hours per night, the body needs time to build blood and repair itself when we are sleeping

Increase:

Veggies: Beets, dark leafy greens, spinach, shitake mushrooms, cabbage, alfalfa, ginger, garlic, onion

Fruit: Goji berries, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, mulberries, cherries, grapes, dates, figs

Meat: Beef, lamb, pork, red meat, egg, bone broth, marrow, liver

Beans: Adzuki beans, black beans, kidney beans

Teas: Nettle, Yellow Dock, Dandelion, Astragalus and Dang Gui

Condiments: black strap molasses, black sesame seeds, seaweeds, liquid chlorophyll

To learn more about how Acupuncture and herbalism can help you, working one on one with a practitioner can help get you the most individualized herbal formula and lifestyle and diet plan.