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I WAS in Jiuzhaiguo, China, recently for a holiday. This world heritage site in Sichuan province, where Zhang Yimou filmed the swordfighting movie Hero (2002), is famous for its crystal-clear lakes and majestic waterfalls.
Our tourist guide regaled us with many interesting tales on the 41/2-hour coach ride from the province's capital, Chengdu, to Maoxian town, where we stopped for the night.
I remembered most clearly what he told us about his mother. She was suffering from such terrible pain in the lower back that she stopped working. Ironically, she started playing mahjong from morning to night, and sitting for long hours was going to worsen her back problem.
The filial son bought a dog, ostensibly for himself. He told her to take it out for walks every morning and night whenever he was away. Soon, she got attached to the pet and stopped playing mahjong at night just to take it out for walks. That, plus the medicine she was taking, made the pain disappear.
Back pain, going by anecdotal evidence, is quite common here too. A couple of my friends suffer from it, one of them for close to 20 years.
The pain can be due to several reasons, says Cao Bei, a physician and senior manager, TCM development and education, with Eu Yan Sang. Apart from external factors like injuries from sports or strenuous activities that require carrying heavy items, it could also stem from bad posture.
From the perspective of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), insufficient 'qi' in the kidney and liver and stagnation of 'qi' in the blood could trigger lower back pain.
Apart from acupuncture, Cao Bei says herbal medicine can be prescribed to strengthen the lower back. She recommends a tonic soup, in which the main herb is duzhong (eucommia bark). The rest of the herbs are combined to aid its functions and efficacy.
Duzhong, which enhances 'qi' and blood circulation, is also known to have anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties and helps to lower high blood pressure.
The soup, which can be taken once or twice a week, is not suitable for pregnant women.
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Kidney tonic soup
(serves 3 to 4)
INGREDIENTS
- 300g lean meat
- (chicken or pork)
- 11g duzhong (eucommia bark)
- 9g niuxi (achyranthes root)
- 10g bajitian (morinda root)
- 10g huangqi (astralagus)
- 15g dangshen (codonopsis root)
- 10g gouqi zi (Chinese wolfberry)
- 10g longyan rou (dried longan)
- 5 rice bowls water
METHOD
- Put all ingredients into a pot and add water.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for three to four hours. Serve hot.
Prepacked packets of the above herbs are available at $6.30 each from Eu Yan Sang retail outlets.
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