以形补形 - where is the basis?
By admin • Aug 29th, 2007 • Category: Herbs & Substances“以形补形 ” - a concept frequently mentioned by Chinese people concerned about eating for health. Its assertion is that by consuming a certain body part of an animal you are nurturing a certain part of your body. Examples of animals whose organs are consumed by this principle include the pig and the chicken. Let’s explore some ways with which people in the past have practiced this dictum, and possible reasons why…
Examples purported to have a basis:
- Endothelium Corneeum Gigeriae Galli(鸡内金) for digestion: 鸡内金 is the inner lining of a sac in the domestic chicken that is use to collect sand that the chicken sometimes ends up eating. It contains enzymes that would facilitate digestion.
- Pig’s liver for eye problems: according to chinese medicine, the liver opens up to the eyes （“肝开窍与目”）. Sun Simiao, a famous physician from the Tang dynasty, used pig’s liver as an ingredient to cure night-blindness. Of course, now we also have a biochemical basis, that pig’s liver is super-rich in vitamin A.
- Pig’s pancreas to help with diabetes: Porcine insulin differs from human insulin only by one amino acid residue. Beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas secrete insulin, so eating pig pancreas is more directly targeted at Type I Diabetes where the patient’s beta cells are no longer producing insulin.
- Pig’s liver for hepatitis: It may be due to some action of the ribonucleic acid (核糖核酸) inside the liver.
- Animal bile for gallbladder inflammation and stones: Due to the action of bile acid. For example, bear bile (熊胆) aka ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is one candidate for the job.
- Animal blood for anemia due to iron-deficiency: Animal blood is a good source of iron - because it contains heme-iron, which is absorbed more easily than non-heme iron in vegetables like black fungus (黑木耳), sesame (芝麻) or seaweed (海带). A comparison of different types of animal blood shows that pig blood (almost 50% iron) contains more iron compared to lamb or cow blood.
Be careful when eating:
- Pig liver for your eyes if you have high cholesterol or are at risk for hypertension. It’s also a no-no if you’re a pregnant lady because vitamin A excess could be harmful to your baby. Use carrots and yellow-green vegetables as a substitute - they are a rich source of beta-carotenes, a precursor to vitamin A.
- Pig brain for brain power especially if you have high cholesterol or are at risk for hypertension. Pig’s brain is full of cholesterol!
Sources:
- 上海科技出版社，生物化学
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
- http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml