Eat These TCM Foods To Strengthen Kidneys

Do you think you have weak kidneys and would like to strengthen them through diet? I will share some of the potent foods that will strengthen your kidneys in this post, but before that, let’s find out what the main functions of kidneys are from the perspective of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).

The Function of The Kidney in TCM Perspective

There are three main functions of kidneys in TCM perspective:

  1. Storage of Life Essence – How much life essence is left in a person will affect longevity. And the kidney plays an important part in this. At the time when we were born, we were given a certain amount of life essence inherited from our parents. The life essence is used for growth and reproductive purpose.
  2. Fluid Distribution – Kidneys help to warm the fluid in the body before distributing it to other organs for use. If a person’s kidneys are weak, then that person will eventually develop water retention in the body. The kidney also helps to manage the opening and closing of the bladder for the discharge of urine.
  3. Holding of Qi – The depth of every breath we take depends on how strong are the kidneys. The stronger the kidney, the deeper you can breathe in. It is a common misconception that people believe breathing in and out depends entirely on the lungs but this is not true. The kidney is in charge of breathing in, and the lungs are in charge of breathing out.

How To Know Whether You Have Weak Kidneys (Qi Deficiency in Kidneys)

If you have some qi deficiency in the kidneys, the following indications will happen:

  1. Feeling of weakness in knees and/or waist area.
  2. Feeling tired easily.
  3. Experience a ringing sound in the ear sometimes. But this often lasts temporarily.
  4. Get up to urinate frequently (more than 2 times) during sleeping hours.

Foods That Will Hurt Your Kidneys

The following will hurt your kidneys so avoid them as much as possible.

  1. Eating too salty foods – Do your best to eat and drink foods that are not salty. If you really must eat salty foods, make sure you drink a lot of water after that!
  2. Eating too sweet – Sweet foods will cause pain in the bones, and bone health is also affected by the kidneys. Thus, do your best to avoid sweet stuff, especially beverages that are sweet.
  3. Drinking cold drinks – Cold drinks will make your kidney work harder as they also need to warm the fluid in the organs. Make sure you drink room-temperature or warm water as much as you can.
  4. Having too many sexual activities – Having sex and masturbating will deplete the essence in your kidneys so it is recommended to limit the number of times, especially beyond the age of 40.

Foods That Help To Strengthen Your Kidneys

The following are some foods that will help to strengthen your kidneys. If you have the above symptoms of weak kidneys, then you might want to consume more of the following foods.

  1. Black Sesame – Black sesame is safe to consume for most people. It has great benefits in nourishing the kidney especially if you have more white hair than your peers around the same age. Read here for more details on black sesame.
  2. Walnuts – Walnuts are commonly used for treating back and knee pain. It is also used for reducing the frequency of urination during sleeping time. Read here for more details on walnuts.
  3. Chinese Chestnut – Chinese chestnut is very good for people with weak kidneys and legs. In the past, Chinese chestnut was used to treat elderly people with weak legs. You can read more about Chinese chestnut here.
  4. Mulberry – Mulberry is an excellent fruit for people with Kidney-Yin deficiency. But it can also help if you are experiencing ear-rining sound and grey or white hair before elderly age. Read more about mulberry here.
  5. Chinese Yam – Chinese yam helps in boosting Qi in the kidneys so if a person often wakes up a few times in the night to urinate or keeps feeling weak and sore in the waist and knees, then he/she should eat Chinese yam more often. You can read more about Chinese yam here.

Hope this post helps!

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