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Qi Deficiency
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Qi is the term used in traditional Chinese medicine to describe your body’s energy.
Qi flows around your body in a series of meridian pathways. These pathways are separate
from your circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems and influence the way in which
your body functions. The qi that is presently in your body is a combination of your
genetic makeup at conception, how you have lived your life since birth, and your
daily intake of food and air. Foods that build qi include;
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Grains
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wheat bran
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Vegetables
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Asparagus, button mushroom, cabbage, eggplant, peas, potato, pumpkin, shiitake mushroom,
squash, sweet potato, tomato, yam
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Fruit
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Apple, cherry, date, fig, grape,
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Bean Products
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tofu
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Nuts and seeds
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Almond, black sesame seeds, coconut (meat)
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Fish
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Eel, herring, mackerel, mussel, octopus, oyster, sturgeon, tuna, trout
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Meat
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Beef, chicken, chicken liver, duck, goose, ham, lamb, pheasant, quail,
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Dairy
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Chicken egg |
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Herbs and spices
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Bay leaves, liquorice
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Condiments
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Barley malt, honey, molasses, rice syrup
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Supplements
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Algae, ginseng (American, Chinese, and Korean), pollen, royal jelly
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Foods especially useful to tonify Spleen Qi Deficiency.
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Grains |
Oats, rice, sweet rice
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Vegetables
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Potato, squash, sweet potato, yam
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Fruit
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Cherries, dates, figs, grapes, longan
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Bean product
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Tofu |
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Meats
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Beef, chicken, goose, ham, lamb
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Herbs/ spices |
Liquorice
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Oils/ condiments
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molasses
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Supplements
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Algae, pollen, American ginseng, Chinese ginseng, royal jelly
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Examples of every day western foods that can be used to build qi
• Oat porridge with dates and honey
• Roasted sweet potatoes with pumpkin and yams
• Chicken stir fry with shiitake mushrooms and rice
• Shepherds pie with beef or lamb mince, mushrooms, carrots and mashed potato as
a topping
• Tuna fish pie made with hard-boiled eggs and served with mashed potatoes peas
and corn.
• Stir fired Tofu, eggplant and mushrooms with black sesame seeds on rice
• Home made oat/muesli slice with honey and dates
Foods to avoid
People with Qi deficiency tend to seek out sweet foods. In traditional Chinese dietary
therapy there are two categories for sweet foods; the first is termed empty sweet
which in small amounts is considered cooling and eliminating. It contains simple
sugars such as fruits, juices, honey and raw sugar.
The second category is termed full sweet, is considered warming and nourishing.
It includes complex carbohydrates, protein and tonifying herbs and contains food
such as rice, potatoes, meat and red dates.
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