Food therapies on chloasma

Chloasma is facial skin pigmentation illness. It is presented by brown, light brown or dark coffee color stains, often distributed on both sides of the cheek, like a butterfly, and also seen on forehead, eyebrow, nose back, upper lip. It is smooth on the surface with no itching. It is quite common among pregnant women or women in their period.

This illness is closely related to endocrine factors, most common among people of irregular menstruation, pregnancy, long-term intake of contraceptives and chronic liver disease. Sunlight exposure and mental stress, poor sleep are other inducing factors as well.

Food therapies principles：

• 1 Daily intake of protein should be of full dose. Such as the daily intake amount of lean meat, milk, soybean milk, fish, beef, egg.

• 2 Adequate intake of food rich in vitamin C, such as fresh fruits and vegetables: pears, apples, oranges, lemons, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber, gourd, sponge gourd, potato, green vegetables.

• 3 Eat more foods rich in vitamin E. Such as soft-shelled turtle, fish, milk, etc...

• Avoid stimulating foods such as wine, tea, coffee etc...

• 5 Eat less fried, pickled food such as salted fish, ham, sausage, small shrimp.

Various types of foods:

• 1 Fresh peach blossom wine：fresh peach blossom 250 grams, soak in wine. When the wine surface is higher than the peach blossom, it is ready for drink normally 15 days later. Drink 15ml daily.

• 2 Walnut milk drink：milk and black sesame 200 grams, walnut 300 grams. Smash walnut and sesame seeds in stone mill. Add milk and boil together in the pot, add a small amount of sugar later. Apply 1 time a day, each time of one small bowl.

• 3 Yi yi ren red dates soup：Yi yi ren 100 grams, red dates 10 pieces. Boil with 1500 ml water.

• 4 Xin yi hua almond Eggdrop Soup：xin yi hua 10 grams, hong hua 6 grams, jujube 2 pieces, south xing ren 20 grams, north xing ren 15 grams, 1 egg, proper crystal sugar. Soak the two flowers and clean well. Make eggdrop. Clean the almonds and peel the skin. Add all the materials except the egg drop to the casserole and boil 2 hours, then add the egg drop and crystal sugar. Stir through until the egg drop is ready. Apply 1~2 times a day.

• 5 E jiao walnut soup：e jiao and crystal sugar each 250 grams, longan meat, black sesame, walnut meat each 150 grams, red dates (to core) 500 grams, 750 grams of yellow wine. Smash longan meat, black sesame, walnut meat, red dates for later use. Soak e jiao into yellow wine for ten days, and then steam until it smelt, add longan meat, black sesame, walnut meat, red dates, stir well and then steam all until crystal sugar melt. After the cooling, it presents as jelly. Apply 2 spoons each day in the morning and at night.

• 6 Black fungus red dates porridge：20 grams of black fungus, red dates 30 grams, 100 grams of rice. Make porridge.

• 7 Beauty juice：pear 100 grams, sugar 200 grams, grape 300 grams, water chestnut 100 grams, 100 grams of honey. Mix all the materials with honey into the bottle. Apply two times a day with boiled water.

• 8 Eliminating speckles drink：Soybean, mung bean, red bean each 100 grams, proper sugar. Soak the three beans, boil and stew well, add sugar for flavor.

• 9 Four ingredients porridge：tao ren, sweet xing ren, bai guo each 10 grams, mi ren 25 grams, one egg, 10 grams of crystal sugar. Rice 50g. Smash the three almonds into powder. Make porridge with three almonds and then add in the egg, simmer well. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. Apply one dose a day at breakfast. Thirty doses as a course of treatment, wait for 1 weeks after a course of treatment for another.

• 10 Dried persimmon：eat at will everyday.

A. Liver stagnation and spleen deficiency syndrome：

Clinical manifestations：

Brown patches on face, lusterless face, chest and bloating, irregular menstruation, abdominal distension, fat tongue and pale coating, taut pulse.

Dietary principles：

Dispersing liver qi, strengthening spleen and nourishing blood.

Therapeutic foods：

• 1 Chai hu bian dou shan yao pork soup：Pork 300 grams, chai hu 15 grams, 100 grams of bian dou, shan yao 50 grams. Chop the pork, soak in boiling water for several minutes. Add appropriate amount of water in pot, put chai hu（wrapped in cloth bag）in the boiling water, along with bian dou, shan yao, pork, stew for 3 hours, add salt and seasonings. Apply 1~2 times a day.

• 2 Roses Eggdrop Soup：rose flower 10 grams, ji xue teng 30 grams, 10 grams of lv e mei, dai dai hua 10 grams, 2 eggs. Boil the above ingredients with 3 bowls of water. Peel eggs and cook another round , drop in small amount of sugar. Drink the soup and eat eggs for 1 time a day.

• 3 Hou po xiang fu stewed with pig elbow：hou po 15 grams, xiang fu 15 grams, 15 grams of zhi qiao, bai zhi 15 grams, 500 grams of pig elbow. Smash four Chinese herbal medicines, load into bag, boil together with pig elbow together in the casserole; then simmer until it’s done, remove the bag, add wine, salt, MSG, soy sauce, sugar, then simmer for a moment. Apply once every other day, 4 times for a course of treatment.

B. Qi and blood stagnation symptoms：

clinical manifestations：

Dark brown facial skin with clear edge, breast swelling pain, irregular menstruation, dark purple tongue, ecchymosis petechiae, white tongue coating, taut pulse.

Dietary principles

Regulating Qi, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.

Therapeutic foods：

• 1 Peach kernel drink：peach kernel, hong hua, dang gui, chuan xiong, yu jin, bai zhi, chi shao, bai jiang can 10 grams, boil well and collect decoction, add honey. Apply as tea daily.

• 2 Yi mu cao eggdrop Soup：4 eggs, yi mu cao 20 grams, 40 grams sang ji sheng, proper crystal sugar. Cook the eggs and peel the skin. Clean and boil yi mu cao, sang ji sheng together with eggs into the pot, add appropriate amount of water, stew for half an hour, add rock sugar cook until sugar dissolve, remove yi mu cao and sang ji sheng. Drink the soup and eat eggs for 1~2 times a day.

• 3 Peach blossom wine：peach 500 grams, rice wine 500ml. Put dried flower and soak in wine bottle, seal the bottle, shake once a day, it would be ready for drink in half month. Drink 20ml daily before bed.

C.Chong meridian and mai meridian discordance

Clinical manifestations

Black brown spots in facial skin, color deepens before menstruation, then reduces after the period. Accompanied with dizziness tinnitus, insomnia, irregular menstruation, red tongue thin coating and weak pulse.

Dietary principles

Nourishing kidney and liver, regulating two meridians.

Therapeutic foods：

• 1 Yi mu cao porridge：30 grams yi mu cao, 100 grams of rice. Boil yi mu cao and collect one large bowl of juice, make porridge with rice. Apply two times a day for 7~10 days for a course of treatment.

• 2 Di huang steamed duck：sheng di huang 100 grams, 200 grams of shan yao, gou qi zi 30 grams, 15 grams nv zhen zi, one white duck (about 500 grams). Proper onions, ginger, yellow wine. Wash the duck,remove bone, add salt, pepper, yellow wine inside and outside the duck, add onions, ginger and pickle1 hour. Slice sheng di huang and mix with nv zhen zi together into the cloth bag, pad in the bottom of the bowl,chop the duck into about 1cm square cubes. Staff shan yao, gou qi zi and duck cubes on the bag, add in water and steam about 2 hours. Apply until the meat is done. Apply once every other day for 3 times as a course of treatment.