Dispelling wind and blood stasis, slimming and weight loss: A soup made with akebia quinata, rice vinegar, and black fungus in white wine to help postpartum women regain their slim figure.

When a woman becomes pregnant, she often feels especially happy and warm. Her husband is attentive and accommodating; her family is incredibly caring; relatives, friends, siblings, and parents visit and inquire about her daily; her colleagues at work are exceptionally considerate; even strangers will offer her their seats when they see her large belly. At this time, she feels incredibly warm and loved. This fruit of love is truly joyful and intoxicating. However, she will face the various challenges of ten months of pregnancy and find that her slender figure gradually changes, and her slim body becomes heavier. During pregnancy, the safety and health of the fetus should be the top priority; do not consider dieting. However, after giving birth, it's time to work on getting back in shape!

During pregnancy, a woman's endocrine system is highly active, leading to a increased appetite and more food intake than usual. This is because one person is eating for two, and the growth, development, and health of the fetus depend entirely on the mother's nutritional supply. Even knowing that overeating will lead to weight gain is not a concern, as the health of the fetus is paramount. The mother would rather gradually lose weight later than give birth to a chubby, adorable, and intelligent baby. Insufficient nutrition can have a significant impact on the fetus. To avoid stillbirth, birth defects, abnormal births, sick births, deformities, intellectual disabilities, or other abnormal births, it's best to eat more and eat well. Ensuring the fetus receives good nutrition is acceptable, and a little weight gain is acceptable.

Obesity is always related to calories. Excessive calorie intake and insufficient calorie expenditure naturally lead to weight gain. For a pregnant woman, increased appetite, larger food intake, and higher nutrient consumption make weight gain easy. Simultaneously, calorie expenditure decreases. How can she not gain weight? This is because after becoming pregnant, family and colleagues often provide extra care. She is spared from any strenuous tasks, even household chores. Furthermore, normal exercise, such as running, swimming, badminton, and skipping rope, is immediately stopped. The significant reduction in activity and physical exertion means reduced calorie expenditure. With calorie intake significantly increasing and expenditure significantly decreasing, a large amount of calories accumulates in the body. How can she not gain weight?

Under normal physiological conditions, pregnant women will gain weight. However, the concern of parents, the worry of family members, the attentiveness of relatives and friends, and the enthusiasm of colleagues often lead to the preparation of nourishing soups, pregnancy-supporting delicacies, and sweet drinks for them. For example, one day they might eat ginseng stewed black-boned chicken, the next day they might drink astragalus and longan soup, and the day after that they might have mulberry mistletoe, lotus seed, and egg tea. Everything is nourishing and sweet. Pregnant women absorb too many calories and nutrients, leading to an uncontrollable weight gain of several tens of pounds in no time. The nourishing and tender foods do not stop after childbirth. Because women are depleted of vital energy after childbirth, they need to take tonics soon after delivery to replenish their energy. This makes their already bloated figure even more bloated, and they can truly say goodbye to their once slender figure.

Postpartum women immediately face the first hurdle of weight gain: the "confinement period." Traditional thinking holds that postpartum women should absolutely avoid housework and exercise during this time. All strenuous work should be avoided. They should rest more to allow their energy to recover slowly. With such a lifestyle, it's no wonder they gain weight. Furthermore, breastfeeding has become popular in recent years. It's believed that breast milk is the most nutritious and easily absorbed by infants, promoting their growth and development. Mothers who breastfeed must ensure they receive sufficient nutrition; otherwise, it could affect the baby's health. For the baby's health, mothers naturally need to eat more nutritious foods. Excessive nutrition naturally leads to weight gain.

Women may experience many physiological changes after childbirth, such as constipation, hemorrhoids, breast engorgement, excessive or insufficient milk production, uterine bleeding, urinary tract infections, and persistent lochia. It is crucial not to immediately begin dieting or strenuous exercise after childbirth. Weight loss should only begin after the body's physiological state has stabilized. Even when breastfeeding, excessive nutrition or tonics should be avoided. While strenuous exercise or excessive labor is not advisable during the postpartum period, moderate, gentle exercise is acceptable. It is not only harmless but also helps improve blood circulation and promotes the tightening of tissues such as the uterus, pelvis, and abdominal wall. It also helps prevent obesity. In terms of dietary therapy, it is essential to dispel wind and blood stasis, replenish vital energy, strengthen the body, and reduce fat and swelling.

Postpartum obesity and corresponding herbal formulas:

(1) Akebia quinata, rice vinegar, and peach kernel soup. Serves: 2. Ingredients: 1 tael of Akebia quinata, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 tael of peach kernels, half a pig's trotter. Preparation: Simmer in 12 bowls of water for 2 hours. Benefits: Promotes blood circulation, removes blood stasis, lowers lipids, and aids in weight loss.

Besides postpartum weight gain, women also face physiological challenges such as breastfeeding, breast engorgement, and menstrual irregularities. To address these issues, consuming Akebia quinata (木通) can be beneficial. Akebia quinata is bitter and cold in nature. It can promote urination, reduce swelling, and aid in weight loss; it also improves blood circulation, promotes lactation, regulates menstruation, and facilitates urination and defecation; furthermore, it has heat-clearing and fire-reducing effects. It is suitable for postpartum women. Akebia quinata stewed with pig's feet is a well-known folk remedy, highly recommended for postpartum women.

Rice vinegar is actually very beneficial, especially for postpartum women. Vinegar has a sour and bitter taste, earning it the nickname "bitter wine." It is warm in nature and has the effects of promoting blood circulation, reducing swelling and bruising, aiding digestion, and killing bacteria and detoxifying. Adding a little vinegar when cooking can remove fishy odors, aid digestion, and increase appetite. Vinegar also has good weight-loss effects. It can both inhibit fat formation and promote fat breakdown. It also has the effect of dispelling wind and removing blood stasis. Therefore, it is very suitable for postpartum women.

Peach kernels have a bitter and sweet taste and are neutral in nature. They have the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. They are commonly used for irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal masses, and traumatic injuries. Peach kernels can also be used for postpartum abdominal pain, lochia stasis, and postpartum amenorrhea. In addition, peach kernels have the effect of moistening the intestines and relieving constipation, and treating lung abscesses and intestinal abscesses. Peach kernels are very suitable for postpartum women. However, pregnant women should absolutely not consume them.

(2) Black Fungus, White Wine, and Ginger Soup. Serves: 2. Ingredients: 2 qian (approximately 6 grams) of black fungus, 2 tablespoons of white wine, 2 slices of ginger, 1 piece of chicken. Preparation: Double-boil in 3 bowls of water for 2 hours. Benefits: Promotes blood circulation, removes blood stasis, lowers lipids, and aids in weight loss.

"Chicken and Wood Ear Mushroom Stew in Wine" is a famous postpartum dietary therapy recipe for women. This recipe uses wine to promote blood circulation and qi flow, and chicken to replenish qi and blood. Wood ear mushrooms further invigorate blood and dispel blood stasis. It can also be used to make soup. Wood ear mushrooms are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They have the effects of invigorating blood circulation, dispelling blood stasis, cooling the blood, and stopping bleeding. They are commonly used for metrorrhagia, hemorrhage, and injuries from falls and blows. Studies have shown that wood ear mushrooms have lipid-lowering, cholesterol-lowering, and anti-cancer effects. They can be used to prevent and treat obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and cerebral arterial diseases.

The invention and application of alcohol are closely related to medicine. Alcohol tastes sweet, bitter, and pungent, and is warm in nature. It has the effects of promoting blood circulation, relaxing muscles and tendons, dispelling wind and cold, and reducing swelling. Postpartum women can benefit from its effects of promoting blood circulation, dispelling wind and removing blood stasis; those with a deficiency of qi and cold can benefit from its effects of dispelling wind and cold, and relaxing muscles and tendons. However, alcohol should only be consumed in small amounts. Excessive consumption can cause dryness and heat, and damage the liver.

Ginger has a pungent and slightly warm flavor. It has the effects of inducing sweating to relieve exterior syndromes and warming the middle jiao to stop vomiting. Besides its widespread use in cooking and dietary therapy, it is also a common food for postpartum women. Women are prone to catching a cold during childbirth, and postpartum lochia is prolonged. Therefore, it is necessary to dispel wind and remove blood stasis. Because ginger has the effect of promoting qi circulation and dispersing stagnation, it can dispel wind and remove blood stasis. For this reason, most postpartum women eat ginger. In addition, ginger has a cardiotonic effect, which can promote metabolism and enhance fat burning.