Hi my name is Josie Zhuo. I come from a family of four generations of Chinese Medicine practitioners. For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has emphasized the importance of postpartum care, especially the first month after the birth of a baby, in bringing the transformation of a woman’s health to a better stage. 

According to TCM, there are three major energy transformational periods in a woman’s life:

     1. The first menses

     2. The first month after birth

     3. Menopause

During these energy transformational periods, if a woman takes good care of herself, she can prevent greater health problems later in life.

This is a picture of a woman who has a good postpartum recovery: Her skin is shinning.  The abundance of energy within radiates through her eyes.  Her smile is content.  Her steps are light even though her shape is still bigger than before pregnancy. However, in my Chinese Medicine practice, I have seen many postpartum women who look pale, are exhausted and suffering from joint pain.

The First Month of postpartum recovery is extremely important.  There are three points to remember:

     1. Arrange enough help in your home, so that you can have as much rest as possible

     2. Keep yourself warm

     3. Eat nourishing food

Food therapy is an important part of postpartum recovery.  Eating for healing is one of TCM’s ancient tried and true techniques.  Every food has a unique healing property and a specific energy essence.  Traditional postpartum healing varied from area to area in China, but they all share two common characteristics - warm food and soup or porridge. They do not eat dry, baked or deep fried food.

Let’s talk about warm food first.  Why is it important to have warm food during postpartum recovery, especially the First Month?  TCM believes that during the postpartum recovery, especially the First Month, the woman’s body is going through a stage of energy transformation.  During this period of time, the cold energy (whether it is from the environment or from the food) can easily enter the body’s energy channels, causing cold blockages.  Those cold blockages can cause future health problems, such as joint pain and menstrual problems. So it is extremely important to keep the body warm and to have warm food.  Why are most of the postpartum healing food in the form of soup and porridges?  Soup is easy to digest, great for milk production and good for the woman’s facial rejuvenation.

Here are two postpartum healing food recipes for you to try.

1. Organic Chicken Soup

       Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pound organic whole chicken
• Six slices of fresh ginger (each as big as a quarter coin)
• Six TBSP of rice cooking wine

       Directions:

• Peel off the chicken skin and cut off the fatty parts.
• Add fifteen cups of water to the chicken
• Add the fresh ginger and cooking wine to the chicken to enhance the warm energy               of the soup.
• Use big fire to bring the soup to boil, and then simmer for one hour.

What you need is the broth.  You do not need to eat the meat. Refrigerate the chicken broth. This is a supply for five to six days of chicken soup. Each day take two cups of chicken broth as your base and add in your favorite seasonings, fresh vegetables, shrimps or noodles.  Be creative, and add different things each day.

2. Five Bean Soup

       Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of each bean: Chinese red bean, soybean, black bean, green bean (mung bean), and Chinese barley.

       Directions:

• Soak the beans overnight
• Cook the beans with ten to twelve cups of cold water. 
• Use big fire to bring it to boil, and then simmer for one hour.  Make sure the beans become very soft. If they are not soft enough, you need to cook for a longer time.
• Put the five-bean soup in the refrigerator for future use.
• Each day, take about one cup of the bean soup and add in your favorite seasonings. They can be salty or sweet. Make sure you add a little water to it and then heat it up on a stove.

              Functions according to TCM:

                    Chinese red bean: Nourishes the blood and strengthens the digestive energy.

                    Black bean: Strengthens the kidney energy.

                    Green bean (Mung bean): Helps release toxicity.

                    Soybean: Strengthens the kidney energy and digestive energy.

                    Chinese barley: Strengthens the digestive energy and helps expel dampness                                    and increases joint mobility.

In order for food to work as medicine, consistency and enough quantity are important.  I suggest that you should have either organic chicken soup or five bean soup everyday as one of the three meals for the First Month of postpartum recovery.  If you are already past the First Month, these recipes can still be your good source of energy healing. 

If you have any questions, please contact Josie Zhuo, of Four Seasons Healing Center at (206) 633-0346