Chinese herbal pharmacist, Li Shi Zhen, writes that mung beans are "highly recommended not only as a rich source of nutrients but also as medication.” The many benefits of mung beans include:
Making soup with bone marrow stock enhances your immune system and provides you with easy to assimilate minerals. The marrow inside the bones contains nutrients that feed your whole body, including your own bone marrow. When your bone marrow is nourished, you create healthier immune cells and can better fight off colds and the flu.
Because of all the wonderful herbs added, this delicious soup is a qi tonic and blood tonic that can restore the body's resources. It has a good effect on brightening the eyes and slowing down the aging process. This recipe uses a 'black chicken' or 'silkie', which is considered very nourishing for the blood and essence and is available at specialty Asian markets. Locally, you can easily find it at Ranch 99 in El Cerrito or Concord, CA. You can also use a regular, organic chicken.
Seaweed is from the sea, and like the ocean, it is cooling in nature. There are various types of seaweed, which can all detoxify the body by pulling heavy metals and toxins out of the body, like a natural chelation therapy. Be sure to use good quality seaweed from a clean(ish) ocean. Cool seaweed can also transform hot-phelgm which is generally sticky and possibly yellow in color.
Here's Grace's family recipe for seaweed soup.
This recipe comes from Rebecca and is especially good for maintaining a strong digestive system (healthy Spleen Qi) and reducing dampness (water & mucus retention). Strong Spleen Qi is the basis of 'post-natal Qi' and health. Keeping your spleen strong ensures that your digestive system will have the ability to extract all the nutrients from your food so your body can stay well nourished. This is a super tasty recipe - enjoy!
The sea vegetable in this soup is detoxifying and cleaning for the body. Seaweed is 'cold' in nature and its main action is that of clearing heat and transforming phlegm nodules. This action of reducing phlegm-heat is connected to seaweed ability to promote urination, which is an avenue to guide the hot-phlegm out of the body. Both of these functions are cleaning and clearing in nature. Modern research for seaweed has shown it has the ability to lower cholesterol (phlegm plaques), which is related to the cleaning action seaweed has on the body. Further, seaweed can bind with heavy metals (such as mercury and lead) and guide them out of the body. This last bit of modern research has prompted the use of various species of sea vegetables for detoxifying radioactive contamination. Try to buy seaweed that comes from healthy seas, since seaweed detoxifies the oceans too and can absorb toxins from the ocean.
