Introduction: Women, due to special reasons like menstruation and pregnancy, can lose a significant amount of blood and thus have a greater need for blood nourishment. Many women are well aware of the importance of blood nourishment and are willing to spend a lot on it, but they also fall into some blood nourishment mistakes due to their eagerness for quick results. Therefore, the editor of Ai Mei Web tells you that to nourish your blood, you must first step out of these misunderstandings and then find the right method.
Why do women need to nourish their blood?
First, the most important function of blood in the human body is nourishment. The nutrients and oxygen it carries are the material basis for the life activities of all tissues and organs.
Second, blood is especially precious to a woman throughout her life. Due to the physiological characteristic of periodic blood loss, women are closely linked to blood. The different physiological processes that accompany a woman's life—menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation—are all closely related to blood. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine has long held the view that a woman's body is based on and functions with blood.
When a woman is young, she often experiences excessive blood loss due to irregular menstruation, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, etc., leading to a decrease in hemoglobin and red blood cell count. This can cause symptoms like dizziness, irritability, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, and a pale face and lips.
During the ten months of pregnancy, not only does the mother need sufficient blood for her own nourishment, but the fetus also relies on the mother's blood for sustenance. Therefore, pregnant women often experience symptoms like anemia, loss of appetite, dizziness, and a pale complexion. Furthermore, excessive blood loss during childbirth, induced labor, or miscarriage can easily lead to various health problems due to anemia. In severe cases of anemia, symptoms like premature wrinkles, gray hair, and tooth loss may also appear. During the postpartum breastfeeding period, the mother needs to nourish her blood to produce milk.
Misconception 1: Donkey-hide gelatin can nourish blood.
Many people believe that donkey-hide gelatin can nourish blood. In fact, blood cannot be replenished simply by eating angelica or donkey-hide gelatin. Donkey-hide gelatin does not directly nourish blood; instead, through the astringent properties of donkey skin, it temporarily causes blood to pool in one area (donkey-hide gelatin is made by boiling donkey skin), concentrating its effect in that spot to temporarily improve the body's condition. If your spleen and stomach functions are normal, even eating rice or steamed buns can help nourish your blood. This is the correct principle of "nourishment."
Misconception 2: Eating more pork liver can nourish blood.
The pork liver is the largest detoxification organ in the pig's body. Various toxic metabolic products and certain toxic substances from feed are retained in the pork liver and then detoxified before entering the kidneys and being excreted through urine. The blood containing toxins in the pork liver is dispersed in tens of thousands of liver sinusoids. While pork liver is nutritious, it also contains a large amount of toxins, making its blood-nourishing effect weak, and it should not be eaten in large quantities.
Misconception 3: Brown sugar is effective for nourishing blood.
There has always been a popular belief that brown sugar water can nourish blood. Women often drink brown sugar water during their menstrual period and after childbirth to this end. However, experts point out that brown sugar water does not have the magical blood-nourishing effects as claimed in folklore.
Experts state that brown sugar does not have the legendary magical effects of "benefiting qi and nourishing blood," "promoting uterine contractions to expel postpartum uterine blood stasis, and helping the uterus recover sooner." In fact, brown sugar contains no effective ingredients for blood nourishment, and its purification may be insufficient, possibly containing impurities.
Misconception 4: Drinking milk can replenish iron.
Milk is rich in protein and other nutrients, but its iron content is not high. Moreover, the human body's absorption rate of iron from milk is only about 10%, making it difficult to supply enough iron for women with menstrual-related anemia. Therefore, relying on drinking milk to replenish iron and nourish blood is not feasible.
Misconception 5: Fruits and vegetables cannot replenish iron.
Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, citric acid, and malic acid, but they mistakenly believe that without iron, they cannot nourish blood. This is incorrect. While most fruits and vegetables contain almost no iron, the organic acids they contain can react with iron to form compounds, thereby increasing the solubility of iron in the intestines and promoting its absorption.
Misconception 6: Eating spinach is better than eating meat.
Spinach is one of the few vegetables with a relatively high iron content. Therefore, many beauty-conscious women feel that eating spinach can both replenish iron and maintain a slim figure, leading them to prefer spinach over meat. However, research shows that meat is a better source of iron than spinach. The iron in beef and chicken has an absorption rate of 15% to 35%, whereas the iron in spinach is only 2% to 20% absorbable. Therefore, eating meat is the better choice.
Misconception 7: Eating red dates can nourish blood.
While eating red dates can indeed help nourish blood, eating them alone has almost no effect because the human body's absorption rate is low, making the result insignificant. However, if red dates are eaten with other foods, the blood-nourishing effect can be surprisingly good.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Conditioning
Commonly used Chinese herbs for blood nourishment include angelica, ligusticum root, safflower, prepared rehmannia root, peach kernel, dangshen, astragalus root, fo-ti, goji berries, Chinese yam, donkey-hide gelatin, red-rooted salvia, and rose petals. Using these herbs with blood-nourishing foods to make delicious medicinal diets can have a good regulatory effect on the endocrine system and nourish the blood.
Exercise and Health
Exercise is also an essential part of conditioning. You can practice gentle exercises like yoga, tai chi, and health-preserving qigong. Additionally, traditional Chinese medicine believes that "prolonged eye use injures the blood." Therefore, career women who sit in front of a computer for long periods should pay special attention to resting and caring for their eyes to prevent depleting the body's qi and blood from overuse.
Frequently doing head, facial, and foot massage can help dissipate blood stasis. Persisting in moxibustion on acupoints like Guanyuan, Qihai, Zusanli, and Sanyinjiao can also play a certain role in delaying aging.
Dietary Conditioning
Normally, you should eat more nutrient-rich foods that are high in high-quality protein, trace elements (such as iron and copper), folic acid, and vitamin B12. Examples include red dates, lotus seeds, longan meat, walnuts, hawthorn, pork liver, pork blood, eel, sea cucumber, black-boned chicken, eggs, spinach, carrots, black fungus, black sesame seeds, shrimp, and brown sugar. These foods are not only nutritious but also have the effect of nourishing and activating the blood.