Chinese Food
Weight Loss — A Chinese Herbal Prescription
two don’t come into balance, you have either weight gain or weight loss. You may say that genes play a part. In fact, will power is a bigger player here. There is also something beyond your control, such as famines, which can happen due to natural disasters.
The Chinese are not as obsessed with body weight as Westerners until very recently. There is a Chinese term for gaining weight (Fa Fu). It means something good because it signifies plenty of food to eat. If you study Chinese history, famine is not an uncommon phenomenon, the previous one having occurred in mid 1960s. The Chinese used to worry more about not enough to eat than too much leading to weight gain.Since Chinese herbs were discovered by village peasants long time ago, do you think they had the time to worry about weight gain? Most likely not. On the contrary, they worried about not enough harvest to feed the family. China has barely enough cultivated lands for its huge population. As a result, no Chinese herbs have been discovered for weight loss because there is no such need. On the other hand, there are plenty of herbs for good appetite because the Chinese are obsessed with enjoying food. This is not to suggest that Chinese herbs cannot be employed to promote weight loss. I’ll give an herbal prescription later by showing how to adapt this ancient knowledge to the modern problem of overweight.
Several years ago, some businessmen promoted Ma Huang as a weight-loss herb to make pills without understanding its potency. It resulted in a number of fatalities, causing Ma Huang to be banned in the US market. Ma Huang was once rumored to be good for weight loss. On the other hand, the herbal dictionary says it is good for asthma and congestion. The weight loss effect has been fabricated just for profit.
Where does your weight come from?
o If you believe that your weight is purely a result of your genes, you should sit back and relax, because there’s nothing you can do about it.
o It’s true that weight gain is due to aging because your metabolism begins to change from age 40 onward.
o Weight comes from the food you eat. Both quantity and quality matter. Have you ever seen a heavy person in places where starvation occurs? If yes, he must be a reporter or rescuer.
o Overweight is a direct result of bad eating habit. This is obviously hard to swallow for anybody. Bad habit is most difficult to admit and to fix.
o Overweight is also a direct result of not enough muscle work or exercise. In this age of automation where people don’t depend on muscles to get things done, weight gain becomes a general health problem.
What constitutes bad eating habit?
o Too much quantity
o Irregular meal times and frequent snacking
o Too much grease and fat, especially meat and dairy products
o Not enough variety to include more vegetables, fruits, etc.
o Indulgence in a few fancy things like chocolate, ice cream, chips, etc.
o Frequent eating outside the home. You lose the freedom to control the contents and ingredients when you eat in a restaurant.
Learn from other cultures and see how other people eat:
o Chinese food offers great variety but often too greasy.
o Japanese food has little grease but less variety.
o Vietnamese food is light and almost dairy free.
o American food is well known for big portions and concentrations.
o You may want to add some others that impress you.
Because there are no Chinese herbs directly linked to weight loss, to find an herbal prescription requires adaptation of an ancient knowledge to solve a modern problem. To promote weight loss, the Chinese approach focuses on the following:
1) Enhance blood circulation to create a greater burn rate
Sang Ji Sheng
Du Huo
Niu Xi
Tian Qi
2) Regulate water content by boosting the kidneys
Jin Qian Cao
Du Zhong
Xu Duan
3) Strengthen digestion to break down and push out food more effectively
Zhi Shi
Hou Po
Fu Pi
Bai Kou Ren
A total of 11 herbs are recommended.
Drink one cup (8 oz) of herb tea a day, preferably daytime. You don’t need the herb tea for consecutive days. Drinking 10 to 20 cups of herb tea within a month will suffice normally.
This is just one formula with countless variations depending on:
* How accurate the herbalist understands your weight problems
* How does your body respond to the herbs.
* Nothing else can help if you eat more than you need.
For further information, go to http://www.herbsandtea.com Herb packages or capsules can be tailor-made to suit your needs.
A video presentation is given on http://www.youtube.com Search “askjohnfung” to see different topics being discussed.
John Fung is a practicing Chinese herbalist in San Jose, California, specializing in cancer recovery, allergy, anxiety, fertility, digestive disorder, skin problems, and other non-emergency conditions.
10 Steps to Remember When Eating at a Chinese Restaurant
Introduction
Chinese food appeals to many of us because it is tasty and relatively inexpensive. We are also under the impression that Chinese cuisine is healthy as it includes large portions of vegetables and low amounts of fat. That’s true when the dishes are prepared the traditional Chinese way in China. But American-Chinese restaurants have modified their food for American tastes and as a result, it is not as healthy as the traditional one. Western Chinese restaurants offer appetizers, fried rice, meat rolled in butter, and sweet sauces among their “goodies”. And to top it all, the portions are much larger than the ones served in mainland China. That’s why, having all this in mind, if you want to eat healthy at a Chinese restaurant, you have to choose wisely.
1. Start by choosing a good restaurant
When you are in the mood for Chinese food, avoid the typical Chinese restaurant where you can eat as much as you want for a fix price. Chances are you may not want to leave the restaurant until you feel you got your money’s worth. Unfortunately, if you do so, the restaurant will get your money but you will get the calories. Not a win-win situation. Instead, go to a restaurant where the waiter takes your order.
2. Start with a soup
A smart move when eating at a Chinese restaurant is to order a soup. Two advantages: first, less overall fat in your meal and second, the soup broth will fill you up. This translates into eating less when the waiter brings the main course.
By starting your meal with an appetizer you may ruin your goal of calories, carbohydrates, fat, etc. Pork ribs, egg rolls, fried wonton and any other fried foods are high in fat, sugar, and calories. If the waitress brings Chinese fried noodles to keep you busy until the food is served, put them aside or ask her to remove them from the table. Instead, you can kill time while you wait for the food by drinking Chinese tea. No calories there unless you add sugar.
3. Choosing the main course
When choosing the main course look for dishes that are abundant in vegetables and have small portions of meat. You can reduce calories by choosing seafood or chicken instead of choosing beef, pork, lamb or duck. You can also order two dishes: one that has meat as the base and one that is mainly vegetables such as green beans or spinach and mix them.
4. Avoid fatty dishes
Read the menu carefully and avoid for the fattiest dishes. Some words will give you a clue: beef rolled in butter or breadcrumbs, crunchy pork, etc. Find out if the meat was fried before being sauté with the vegetables. If that is the case, ask if they can sauté the meat you have chosen instead of frying it.
5. Watch out for hidden carbohydrates
Sweet and sour sauces as well as other typical sauces of the Chinese cuisine are full of carbohydrates and if you are diabetic, they can raise your blood sugar. Sugar and starches keep adding carbohydrates to many main dishes. You will also find carbohydrates in the corn flour used to thicken sauces and in the ingredients used to marinate the meat. Read the small print and ask a lot of questions to the waiter.
6. Be careful with the rice
You know that at a Chinese restaurant, you are going to be served a big bowl of rice and as you may be aware, rice contains many carbohydrates. Avoid fried rice and regular soy sauce to flavor it; you will end up with a lot of fat and sodium in your meal. If possible ask for brown rice which is rich in fiber. If they don’t have it available, hold the rice. Remember that a cup of rice has at least 45 grams of carbohydrate.
7. Reduce the salt
Order dishes with light sauces, not too thick. If you need soy sauce ask for the low sodium version and mix it with steamed brown rice, not with fried rice. To add flavor to your meal you can add some hot sauce; it has less sodium and less calories.
8. Share the dishes
If you have company, order one main dish, a soup or aperitif and some rice. Then, share it.
9. Eat with chopsticks
Eat your meal with chopsticks. If you are as skilful with them as I am, they may slow you down. But don’t worry because as everything in life, it has a positive side: you will probably eat less. Don’t fall into the temptation of asking for a fork and a knife; you may regret it.
10. And for dessert…
As for dessert, order fruit and never mind the ice-cream with sugared walnuts which I know by experience it is hard to resist. But if you have followed the above recommendations, you will feel pretty good about having eaten a healthy meal. So, why ruining it?
Emilia Klapp has a Bachelor in Nutrition Science and is certified as a Registered Dietitian by the American Dietetic Association. With her book “Your Heart Needs the Mediterranean Diet”, she has helped many people to prevent high blood pressure and high cholesterol. For more information about the author and the book and to get a FREE list of the 10 Top Mediterranean Curative Ingredients, go to
How to steam the fish fillet for Chinese steamed fish; learn more about making Chinese food in this free cooking video. Expert: Hiu Yau Bio: Hiu Yau has been a home chef and occasional caterer for more than eight years. He was born and raised in Hong Kong and is familiar with Chinese cuisine, especially Southern Chinese dishes. Filmmaker: Hiu Yau
What Foods Are Imported From China?
The value of food imports from China was exceeded only by that of North American neighbors Canada and Mexico.
The rise in food imports from China reflects robust demand for these products as well as the eagerness of Chinese exporters to supply them. Chinese prices of fish, fruit, and vegetables are as low as one-fifth to one-tenth of those in the United States (Gale and Tuan).
Food imports from China include a broad range of items, but about three fourths fall into a few broad categories: fish and shellfish, juices, canned fruits, and other fruit, vegetable, and nut products. Few unprocessed perishable foods are imported from China. Fish and shellfish (mostly frozen and prepared products) are the largest and fastest growing category of foods imported from China. In 2008, fish and shellfish imports accounted for 41 percent of the value of food imported from China. Fish and shellfish also accounted for 32 percent of the growth in Chinese food imports
Most of China wholesale products come from factories in coastal provinces that process fish and shellfish raised in ponds, lakes, or reservoirs tended by small-scale farmers.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, juices and other fruit and vegetable products account for about a third of the value of U.S. food imports from China.
Other vegetables imported from China include dried and canned black and kidney beans, peas, peppers, and vegetables, like pickled radish, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and napa cabbage used in Chinese cuisine.
China wholesale products includes a wide array of items, like tea, noodles, and vegetable saps and extracts (most of which appear to have nonfood uses6), ginseng, pastries, baked goods, soy sauce, tofu, beer, and liquor. Many of these items are Chinese specialty foods, like Chinese brands of beer and liquor,
Chinese-style snacks, and cooking ingredients, that are likely sold through Asian specialty stores or restaurants. Some are used in Chinese traditional medicines or consumed as nutritional supplements.
China is also emerging as a source of ingredients used in food processing.
Source: ERS/USDA
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