We tend to think of blood in purely mechanical terms: a fluid that ferries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. But according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), blood does something more — it nourishes the tissues, steadies the organs, and gives the mind a place to rest. When that nourishing function falters, the effects show up well beyond a lab report.

This piece draws on the reporting of Shu Rong, published in The Epoch Times as Part 8 of the series “The Wisdom of Ancient Medicine” (original article here). All clinical insight, the patient case study, and the recipe below are credited to that original reporting; we are summarizing and reflecting on it here for our own readers.

Two Views of the Same River

Western medicine traces blood back to the bone marrow. TCM takes a broader view: blood arises from the body’s essence and the food we eat, and it is carried through the body by qi, the vital energy that nourishes tissue and organs and “anchors the mind.” As Shu Rong puts it, blood is like a nourishing river, and qi is the energy that drives that river through the body. When the river runs low, organs go unnourished and the mind loses its anchor — showing up as pale skin, fatigue, dizziness, cold hands and feet, poor concentration, insomnia, or emotional instability.

Importantly, TCM’s “blood deficiency” is not the same thing as anemia. You can have normal hemoglobin and still experience these symptoms if the blood is not doing its nourishing job — often because of stress, poor sleep, weak digestion, or long-term illness.

When Stress Becomes Physical

Shu Rong’s article includes a striking case: a 16-year-old patient whose two years of exam anxiety eventually produced trembling hands and irregular menstrual cycles. The chain of cause and effect, in TCM terms, ran from emotional stress disrupting the flow of qi, to weakened blood circulation, to disrupted sleep, to blood deficiency — a self-reinforcing loop where mental strain and physical weakness kept feeding each other. Treatment focused first on calm and sleep, then on nourishing blood through herbal medicine and simple home recipes. Over time, the trembling stopped, her cycle normalized, and she regained the clarity and confidence to sit her exams.

It is a good reminder that in TCM, symptoms a Western doctor might file under separate specialties are often read as one connected picture.

Four Daily Pillars for Healthy Blood

Rather than starting with pills or herbs, Shu Rong recommends cultivating four everyday habits:

Foods That Nourish Blood

The article points to cooked legumes, beets, dark leafy greens, black sesame, whole grains, mushrooms, red dates, and goji berries — foods rich in iron, protein, folate, zinc, and vitamin B6. A little fresh ginger and garlic helps digestion absorb what is on the plate. Animal foods like organ meats, red meat, eggs, and fish are also highlighted, both in TCM tradition and modern nutrition, as sources of readily absorbed heme iron, B12, complete protein, and folate.

One recipe from the piece worth trying: Red Date and Chicken Soup — chicken, red dates, goji berries, and ginger, simmered for 1.5–2 hours, with a bowl once or twice a week as part of a balanced diet. As Shu Rong notes, it is meant as nourishing food, not a treatment for disease, and is not recommended during acute infection, active inflammation, or flare-ups of internal heat (mouth ulcers, acne, boils). Anyone on medication with dietary restrictions should check with their doctor first. Full ingredient quantities and precautions are in the original article.

The Takeaway

Every meal, every night of real rest, and every emotion we work through (rather than push down) is quietly shaping the quality of our blood — and, by extension, our clarity and resilience. Small, consistent habits matter more than any single remedy.

It is a principle that holds well beyond physical health, too:

“To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.”— Winston Churchill
Read the full original article

Credit: This post is based on reporting by Shu Rong for The Epoch Times, Part 8 of the series “The Wisdom of Ancient Medicine.” Illustration credited to Ran/The Epoch Times. All clinical insight, the patient case study, and the recipe are credited to that original reporting.