Doctors in China Swear By These 4 Healing Foods

Did you know that in ancient China, the best doctors were paid not when their patients were sick, but when their patients stayed healthy? And that's because they believed food was the very first medicine. And even today, in clinics all across China, doctors still prescribe everyday foods to heal digestion, calm anxiety, boost energy, or prevent disease. So, in this video, I'm going to share four healing foods that Chinese doctors swear by. Foods that aren't exotic or hard to find, but can transform your health when used the right way. Hey guys, I'm Dr. Dr. Alex Hine, a board licensed doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine and author of the health book Master of the Day. Let's get it. In the West, we usually separate food and medicine. We eat food when we're hungry, and we take medicine when we're sick. But in China, these two things have always been connected. You know, there's a saying in Chinese medicine that says medicine and food come from the same source. For thousands of years, doctors weren't just writing prescriptions for herbs. They were also teaching their patients which foods to eat and which to avoid depending on the season and their condition. Now, if someone had weak digestion, they were told to eat warm kanji made with rice and ginger. If someone was aging too quickly, doctors recommended black sesame seeds and walnuts to nourish their blood and kidneys. When a family wanted to protect themselves from epidemics, they would simmer a stragalus root, hang in, and chicken soup. The very first Chinese medical texts written over 2, 000 years ago contained just as much about diet and lifestyle as they did about acupuncture or herbs. Because the idea was simple. If you eat correctly, you prevent disease. If you eat incorrectly, no medicine in the world can save you. That's why even today in clinics across China, you'll still hear doctors telling patients, "Start with your diet." So, let's look at four specific foods that Chinese doctors still swear by today. Let's start with one of the most famous goji berries or gocha. In Ningsha, a small region of northern China, they're actually villages where people regularly live past 100 years old. And when scientists went to study why, they found that one of their daily habits was drinking tea infused with goji berries. So, in traditional Chinese medicine, we say goji nourishes the liver and kidneys, builds blood, and brightens the eyes. So, doctors often give it to patients who are fatigued, have dry eyes, or signs of fluid or yin deficiency.