The Healing Cuisine of China

A comprehensive guide to the Chinese art of healing with food • Provides more than 300 authentic Chinese recipes for curing specific ailments and for promoting happiness and vitality • Explains the theories behind traditional Chinese beliefs about health and diet and reconciles these beliefs with contemporary Western medical knowledge • Includes a complete fitness program centered on the popular Chinese qi gong exercises Through 5,000 years of recorded history the Chinese have developed an unequaled pharmacopoeia of food remedies and have turned this knowledge into a delicious cuisine that is simple to prepare. This cuisine has little in common with the dishes on the menus of many Chinese restaurants--which have sacrificed traditional Chinese principles to appeal to high-fat Western tastes. Instead, it emphasizes all-natural ingredients eaten in season and in the most beneficial combinations. The Healing Cuisine of China features more than 300 authentic Chinese recipes, ranging from simple preparations to cure specific ailments to traditional "longevity banquets." The authors also explain the underlying theories behind traditional Chinese beliefs about health and reconcile these ancient beliefs with Western medical knowledge about bacteria, viruses, and other causes of disease. A complete fitness program, centered on the popular Chinese qi gong exercises, and a questionnaire to help readers discover their individual body requirements make this the most comprehensive guide to the healthy lifestyle of China ever published.

Zhuo Zhao was born and raised in Beijing, where she learned the traditional arts of cooking and healing from her family. After coming to the West and discovering how little was known about these genuine Chinese traditions, she returned to China for two years of intensive research. This book is the product of that research. George Ellis traveled extensively in Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, writing and translating texts on Yoga, Ayurveda, and Naturopathy. He is the author of The Breath of Life: Mastering the Techniques of Pranayama and Qi Gong. Zhuo Zhao and George Ellis met in Beijing in 1985 and married in 1988.

Preface Introduction 1 The Origins and Theory of Chinese Medical Knowledge 2 The Causes of Illness in Chinese Medical Theory 3 Eating for Health 4 Foods and Their Healing Properties 5 Chinese Home Remedies for Common Health Conditions 6 Longevity Banquets 7 Exercising Health Appendix 1 Daily Requirements of Protein, Minerals, and Vitamins for the Healthy Adult Appendix 2 Mail-order Resources Notes Index