From the TCM perspective, the development of amenorrhea is either due to excessive evils or organ deficiency that leads to blockage and improper blood and qi flows in the extra meridians. As a result, the blood cannot reach the uterus and form menses. Physicians will recommend certain herbs for preparing medicinal dishes.
Common ingredients are:
· Tonifying organs: wolfberry, mulberry fruit, walnut and dates;
· Activating blood: motherwort herb, red sage root, Chinese rose, rose, hawthorn and szechuan lovage;
· Expelling dampness: poria, coix seeds, hyacinth beans and tangerine peel;
· Expelling coldness: ginger, turmeric and mutton.
Women suffering from amenorrhea should avoid raw and frozen foods or foods that taste astringent and sour, because these foods have properties that interfere with blood circulation as well as the menses flow. Foods that are greasy and spicy should also be avoided as much as possible as they increase the workload of the spleen and stomach (the TCM digestive system) and give rise to phlegm and dampness accumulation.