8 Natural Health and Beauty Tips

The Connection Between Inner Health and Outer Beauty

In Chinese medicine, it's believed that true beauty is a reflection of inner health and well-being. This ancient wisdom suggests that many external beauty issues can be addressed by focusing on internal health. For instance, skin problems like acne and eczema, hair loss, and premature graying can often be traced back to internal imbalances. By using specific foods and herbs, you can improve your overall health and, consequently, your appearance.

Bright Eyes: The Window to Your Health

Bright, clear eyes are often seen in babies and young children, symbolizing vitality and a healthy mind. According to the oldest Chinese medicine classic, "the essence of the internal organs ascends to the eyes." Similarly, the Bible states, "Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light."

How to Achieve Bright Eyes

1. Address Emotional Health: Work through emotional issues with a professional counselor or therapist.
2. Herbs and Foods for Eye Health:
   • Lycium Fruit (Gou Qi Zi)
   • Black Sesame Seeds (Hei Zhi Ma)
   • Privet Fruit (Nu Zhen Zi)
   • Shepherd’s Purse
   • Undried Raspberry (Fu Pen Zi)
   • Animal Liver

Combatting Bags Under Your Eyes

Bags under the eyes can indicate a deficiency in the Kidney system, blood stagnation, or allergies. Each of these issues requires a different approach.

Solutions for Bags Under the Eyes

1. Increase Energy and Minimize Overwork: Practice moderation and eat better.
2. Improve Circulation: Engage in regular physical activity.
3. Address Allergies: Identify and eliminate allergens, and take anti-allergenic herbs and foods.

Recommended Herbs and Foods

• For Kidney System Deficiency: Black cohosh, Chinese chive, mutton, walnut, oysters, pork, dried rehmannia (Sheng Di), Chinese yam (Shan Yao), horny goat weed (Yin Yang Huo).
• For Blood Stagnation: Celery, rose, yellow soybean, seaweed, mung bean, corn, eggplant, cucumber, hemlock parsley (Chuan Xiong).
• For Allergies: Garlic, fresh ginger, royal jelly, chicken, beef, chestnut, astragalus (Huang Qi), kudzu vine (Ge Gen), Welsh onion (Cong Bai).

Tackling Acne

Acne is often a sign of excess heat in the body. To cool down and clear your skin, consider the following foods and herbs.

Foods and Herbs for Acne

• Mung Bean
• Seagrass
• Seaweed
• Chinese Hawthorn (Shan Zha)
• Job’s Tears (Yi Yi Ren)
• Purple Sage (Dan Shen)

Moisturizing Dry Skin

Dry skin can be alleviated by incorporating moisturizing foods and herbs into your diet.

Recommended Foods and Herbs

• Soy
• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Millet
• Barley
• Salt
• Seaweed
• Apple
• Tangerine
• Pine Nut
• Persimmon
• Peanut
• Pear
• Honey
• Oysters
• Clams

Managing Eczema

Eczema can be managed by avoiding certain foods and incorporating beneficial ones.

Foods and Herbs for Eczema

• Guava
• Clam
• Irish Potato
• He Shou Wu
• Wild Chrysanthemum
• Mugwort
• Job’s Tears (Yi Yi Ren)
• Asian Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying)

Treating Psoriasis

Psoriasis can be managed with specific foods and herbs.

Recommended Foods and Herbs

• Turnip Root Leaf
• Vinegar
• Grapefruit
• Black Plum (Wu Mei)
• Cloves (Ding Xiang)
• Dang Gui (Dong Quai)

Addressing Prematurely Graying Hair

Premature graying can be due to a deficiency in the Kidney system or "hot blood."

Solutions for Premature Graying

• For Kidney System Deficiency: Refer to the Kidney deficiency solutions under the section on bags under the eyes.
• For Hot Blood: Black soybean, processed dried persimmons, processed rehmannia (Shu Di Huang), dried rehmannia (Shu Di Huang).

Combating Premature Aging

Premature aging is often linked to a deficiency in the Kidney system.

Recommended Foods and Herbs

• Walnut
• Chicken
• Duck
• He Shou Wu
• Chinese Ginseng
• Deer Antler Velvet (Lu Rong)
• Astragalus (Huang Qi)
• Lycium Fruit (Gou Qi Zi)
• Horny Goat Weed (Yin Yang Huo)
• Caterpillar Larva Fungus (Dong Chong Xia Cao)
• Red Date (Da Zao)

Conclusion

By focusing on your inner health, you can achieve natural beauty that radiates from within. Incorporate these ancient Chinese medicine tips into your daily routine to address common beauty concerns and enhance your overall well-being.

References

• Sionneau & Gang. The Treatment of Disease in TCM: Volume 2.
• Lu. Chinese Herbs with Common Foods: Recipes for Health and Healing.
• Pitchford. Healing With Whole Foods.
• Maciocia. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine.

For more information on the benefits of Chinese herbs, visit WebMD and Mayo Clinic.