Infertility, Wellness & Alternative Medicine

Mary Zhang, Chinese Medicine Clinic, Kansas City -- Mary Zhang, licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine, Kansas City Missouri, understands the importance of balance and harmony of the body, mind, and spirit. The founder of Chinese Medicine Clinic, Inc., she considers herself a life coach for patients. --  Specializing in Infertility and other Reproductive Wellness with Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Licensed acupuncturist, received her medical degree from the Chinese Medicine University, Liaoning, China. Over the past fifteen years, Mary has practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China, Germany and the United States in both hospital and clinic settings. She has taught classes and seminars in various hospitals and universities.


Healthy Choices, Positive Results


 

Food Functions

Complete Body Health Methodology

 9229 Ward Parkway, Suite 107
Kansas City, MO  64114
 
Phone: 816.361.8885
Fax: 816.523.3555

 
E-mail Mary Zhang


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Chinese Medicine Clinic offers many types of herbs for all different
conditions, including those needed for cooking herbal food.

 

JING

 

Healthy Kidney Jing is vitally important for fertility. It is the balanced path through life which helps to conserve Jing.  Jing is ultimately related to reproductive processes.

 

Food substances can enhance many different levels of energy, including Jing. Eggs of birds, such as chickens or ducks, are one of nature’s most complete protein food packages and represent a type of Jing themselves. Fish eggs or roe are a form of Jing themselves and provide useful food if we wish to nourish our own Jing. Caviar may be precious not just because it is so rare and expensive but also because it is such a marvelous Jing tonic.

 

Seeds and nuts contain not only fertilized germ cells but also supplies for the immediate nutritional requirements of the potential new plan for Jing nourishment.

 

Bone marrow can be used to make a particularly good Jing-strengthen soup. Oysters bolster Jing by delivering essential minerals like zinc to the sperm-manufacturing cells.  Seaweed and algae are plant products that nourish Jing by providing trace elements which are necessary for many processes in the body, including the production of the gametes and the hormones which control their development. 

 

Additional foods that have a special effect of Jing are artichoke leaf, nettles and oats.

 

 

YIN

 

The Yin energy of the body is the internal, quiescent, restorative and moistening force to balance Yang’s more outward, active, stimulating and warming force. Yin reflects anabolic activities (synthesizing and storing) and Yang reflects catabolic (energy-producing) activities.

 

Yin-deficient women, especially older one find getting and staying pregnant a challenge. Their juices are dried-up – they have little fertile mucus to carry the sperm safely into the uterus, and the lining of the uterus can be thin. The development of the egg too is compromised if the Yin is inadequate. And men are not immune from the damaging effects of the Yin-hungry lifestyle; internal Heat which develops as a result of Yin deficiency can have very dire repercussions for the development and maturation of sperm. Yin can be nourished and rebuilt by attention to inner calm.

 

Yin can be damaged by chronic dieting and by the use of recreational drugs.

 

Diets composed of foods which are rich in nutrients and not overly stimulating are those which nourish Yin. A diet of fruits and vegetables and adequate protein (especially fish and tofu) is one which fortifies the Yin. On the other hand, drinking too much coffee and eating very spicy food can consume Yin.  More food recommendations are barley; millet; string beans; asparagus; all dark-colored beans; dark fruits like blackberries, mulberries and blueberries; seaweeds; and animal products including fish eggs, duck and pork. 

 

YANG

 

A Yang-deficient body is one without enough driving or warming energy, so that metabolism and mental processes become sluggish. The body and limbs easily feel cold and lethargic, and modification and assertiveness flag. As much as Yin needs rest and a quiet mind to regenerate itself, Yang needs movement and stimulation to feed it. Providing there is a good Yin base, and activity and stimulation are appropriate for the circumstances, Yang will benefit from activity and physical exercise.

 

Yang benefits from a diet that is warming, eating foods which are nutrient or calorie-rich such as protein or carbohydrate and eating foods which have been cooked. Avoiding ice-cold drinks and foods like ice cream. Cooking foods like fruits can reduce their cooling nature and addition of some spices like ginger, shallots or cinnamon can increase Yang Qi in foods. Very hot spices like cayenne and chili certainly add Heat to food and in moderation can be helpful in raising a sluggish metabolism. When very pungent spices are eaten a lot they can have the opposite effect, becoming cooling, because they provoke sweating.

 

For the person with weak Yang Qi, a diet of raw and Cold foods can quickly douse the inner Fire, creating problems of Spleen and Kidney Yang deficiency. This will manifest firstly as digestive symptoms such as bloating and loose stools. If this situation continues, it can start to mimic a chronic food allergy picture where many foods become difficult to digest and stamina and mental concentration are affected.

 

Recommended foods to add would be garlic, onion, chicken, lamb, trout, salmon, lobster, shrimp, prawn, mussel, black beans, walnuts, chestnuts, pistachio, raspberry and quinoa.

 

QI

 

A diet of varied fresh and tasty food eaten in an unhurried and regular daily routine will benefit the Spleen Qi and ensure its capacity to transform the nutrients in food into the myriad molecules which are required for all the thousands of biochemical processes which occur every moment in every organ and tissue.

 

Drinking warm water with a little lemon or lime juice to add a sour flavor is a useful Liver Qi invigorating start to the day.  The diet should include some with sweet, some with bitter and some with pungent flavors. The sweet flavor is found in root vegetables and grains and these usually form the base of a meal. If eaten in excess, however, they can create stagnation. Bitter leaves like arugula or watercress help digestion and pungent foods like onions, garlic, coriander or chives also help digestion and Qi movement.

 

BLOOD

 

Foods which build Blood best are meats and poultry, and especially stocks and soups made from bones. Such stocks provide Blood-fortifying bone marrow and also calcium forms the bones. Small amounts of meats which have been marinated before cooking or stewed in casseroles for a long time will provide rapid nourishment to the Blood. Egg yolk and legumes also help to nourish the Blood, as do grains, green leafy vegetables, and beetroots.

 

Food which are obviously heating and stimulating, like chili, pepper and coffee, can contribute to Heat in the Blood, as can alcohol and spirits.  Heat is not conductive to the development of good-quality sperm or eggs or a thick endometrium.

 

To allow the Blood to flow freely during the periods, sour, astringent foods should be avoided. If consumed in excess, such foods can inhibit or temporarily stop the flow. During the period, vinegar and pickles, some sour fruits like grapefruits and gooseberries and sour yogurt should be limited or avoided. In general, very fatty foods are not advisable because they slow the blood and make it thicker and easier to stagnate.

 

PHLEGM-DAMP

 

Phlegm-Damp creates an internal environment of congested and stagnant fluids. Excess mucus forms in the gastrointestinal tract and bowel movements become sluggish and unformed.

 

In terms of fertility we are concerned mostly with congested or stagnant fluids blocking the cervix (pathological vaginal discharges or inflammation) or the tubes (mucus and inflammation), or affecting the ovaries (cysts) or the uterine lining (excess secretions). Damp in men can contribute to impotence, prostatitis, discharges from the penis or thick congealed semen – all of which have an affect on sperm.

 

Poor eating habits or poor digestive function allows accumulation of Phlegm-Damp. A diet which is unlikely to create Phlegm-Damp is one which has few fatty rich foods and includes foods which help to mobilize fluids and break up congestion.

 

Reducing intake of fatty meats, dairy products, sweets (especially chocolate and ice cream), bread and fried foods is important. Dairy products are one of the main dietary culprits for many Westerners. Some studies relate the inability to digest dairy products or overconsumption of dairy products to impaired ovarian function.

 

A diet based on aromatic rice (and some millet and barley) with the addition of broad beans, chickpeas and especially, adzuki beans will support the Spleen and drain Damp.