Want to know if you have blood deficiency? First, take the following 13 self-test questions! If you find any issues, of course, you should start adjusting your diet and lifestyle in a timely manner, and seek medical attention when necessary.
Test: Do you have a problem with blood deficiency?
1. Menstruation (40 points): This is the most important indicator of whether the amount of blood in a woman's body is normal. If you have recently noticed a significant decrease in menstrual flow or duration (less than 4 days), or if the flow has only decreased slightly but the cycle is delayed by more than 7 days, and this situation has lasted for two cycles, it can be preliminarily determined that the body's blood volume is showing a warning sign. If this continues for three consecutive cycles, it's time to make adjustments.
2. Eyes (5 points): Dryness and fatigue in the eyes.
3. Hair (5 points): Dry, split, prematurely graying, or slightly thinning hair.
4. Skin (10 points): Skin is loose, with an overall dull complexion, losing its luster, dry and prone to itching, with little or no sweat.
5. Sleep (5 points): Difficulty falling asleep, frequent nightmares.
6. Heart (5 points): Frequent palpitations (though an ECG shows no issues), especially after exertion or exercise.
7. Head (5 points): Dizziness, with no identifiable cause in Western medicine, especially after exertion or exercise.
8. Excretion (5 points): Constipation, with relatively dry stools.
9. Leukorrhea (5 points): Usually little leukorrhea, with a feeling of dryness, especially insufficient lubrication during sexual activity.
10. Complexion and Lips (5 points): The complexion is either pale or sallow. The lips are often pale red or pale white.
11. Nails (5 points): In the eyes of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the nails are a window to observe if the liver blood is sufficient. If nails become thin, brittle, or develop ridges (horizontal or vertical lines) or concave surfaces, it indicates blood deficiency.
12. Hands and Feet (5 points): The blood volume in the extremities of a normal person is relatively small. If blood is insufficient, the hands and feet cannot be well-nourished, making numbness and weakness more likely to occur.
13. Memory (5 points): Declining memory, often forgetting things.
Evaluate your situation and give yourself a score. If your score reaches 60, you should start paying attention. If it's over 80, you need to focus on long-term lifestyle adjustments.
Reasons & Solutions for Blood Deficiency
Reason 1: Weak Spleen and Stomach
TCM Perspective: Many factors can lead to a weak spleen and stomach, such as irregular eating habits, long-term diarrhea, frequent overeating causing indigestion, or picky eating and dieting to stay slim. Over time, this leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients in the body to meet normal demands. The nutrients from food are the source of blood production. If there's a problem with the source of these nutrients, the raw materials for blood production are compromised. It won't take long for the blood to become deficient.
Solutions:
Don't overeat or skip meals. Avoid foods that can cause discomfort to the spleen and stomach. These vary from person to person but mainly include sweets, sticky, raw, cold, and fried foods. If you feel discomfort after eating, it means your spleen and stomach have been harmed.
Drink more congee. Congee is a soft, gentle, and easily digestible food that is best for nourishing the spleen and stomach. Those with a weak spleen and stomach can have one meal of congee a day. Adding yams and red dates to the congee will have an even better effect on nourishing the spleen and stomach.
Scallop and Chestnut Pork Congee with Crispy Scallop Threads
Don't be picky with food. If the smell or color of a certain food makes you uncomfortable, try preparing it differently, such as making it into dumpling filling. Each food contains unique nutrients that cannot be replaced by others. Being picky often leads to a deficiency of certain nutrients in your body. Add foods that aid digestion and reduce the burden on the spleen and stomach, such as hawthorn, aged vinegar, and pomelo.
[NextPage] Reason 2: Improper Weight Loss
TCM Perspective: Most cases of obesity are due to overeating or too little exercise. If you don't approach it by controlling diet or increasing exercise, but instead use medication or stimulate certain acupoints to force excretion, you can lose weight, but most of what you lose is body water, not fat. These fluids are also important components of blood. When they are reduced, the blood decreases as well.
Weight loss should firmly grasp three principles:
Watch what you eat. Eat three balanced meals a day, and try to avoid sweets, fried foods, sticky foods, and high-fat, high-starch foods. These foods also increase "dampness" in the blood, which, in Western medical terms, means blood viscosity. Exercise more to increase consumption. Appropriate exercise is always effective in preventing fat accumulation, and it also promotes the metabolism of blood.
Strengthen the spleen and stomach. TCM believes that "excess phlegm and dampness" lead to fat accumulation. The best way to prevent this is to strengthen the spleen and stomach through various methods. Because "the spleen and stomach are the source of phlegm," when they are weak, undigested food can turn into "phlegm-dampness" and accumulate. Only a strong spleen and stomach can ensure smooth digestion and reduce fat buildup.
Methods to strengthen the spleen: Eat 7-14 red dates daily. Dates can strengthen the spleen and stomach and are also excellent for replenishing blood. The indigestible date skin also helps with intestinal movement and prevents constipation.
Honey-Glazed Chestnuts with Red Dates
TCM Perspective: Acne is just a physiological phenomenon, representing an abundance of "yang energy" in the body. However, this "yang energy" is not exactly the same as the "internal heat" we usually talk about. If you use bitter, cold, heat-clearing, or fire-purging herbs to expel this "heat," or even use laxatives for quick results, body fluids will be lost. Over time, your blood will become deficient.
Find the root cause of acne. This requires a detailed understanding of your lifestyle. If your diet is "heaty," eat more mild or cooling foods. If it's caused by emotions, then start by managing your emotions. Don't just blindly take heat-purging herbs.
Recommended acne-reducing drinks. Soak or boil 10g of Trichosanthes root, 10g of Angelica dahurica, 10g of Fritillary bulb, and 10g of Forsythia suspensa (available at most Chinese herb shops) in water to drink. This has a certain effect on reducing various types of acne without causing you to lose body fluids and leading to blood deficiency.
Choose the right skincare products. Because the main skin problems for those with blood deficiency are a sallow, dry, and withered complexion, it's best to use nourishing, moisturizing, and hydrating skincare products.