Enjoy Warm Belly-Nourishing Lamb Soup

A bowl of shaved ice in summer is undoubtedly an immediate remedy to cool down and relieve heat.But according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), eating too much ice can consume the body's yang energy, especially for women who love ice, which may increase the burden on the uterus and ovaries. This can lead to poor blood circulation causing menstrual pain symptoms.Suggested is a mild nourishing angelica sinensis mutton soup to warm the uterus.

TCM believes that cold snacks and drinks are considered 'cold dampness' substances, consuming too much of which can increase internal dampness in the body, suppressing yang energy operation, thus affecting metabolism and circulation. Although everyone has different tolerance levels for cold food, women who frequently eat ice may easily turn into a constitution with 'cold dampness stagnation in the uterus', impacting uterine contractions, causing menstrual blood to flow less freely, leading to menstrual pain, reduced menstrual flow, and increased vaginal discharge.

According to TCM practitioner Zhang Wenyin, to expel the body's cold dampness, one can choose angelica sinensis mutton soup,

a time-honored traditional Chinese prescription that can effectively dispel cold, warm meridians, and warm the uterus.

The ingredients are simple: an appropriate amount of mutton, 3 jiang of angelica sinensis, 6 slices of ginger, 1 tablespoon of rice wine, 4 cups of water, a little salt.

First, wash the mutton, remove the tendons and membranes, cut into small pieces; then wash the ginger and slice it thinly. Put the angelica sinensis in a small cloth bag, add the ginger slices and rice wine to a pot with water, bring to a boil over high heat, transfer to an electric pot to simmer for half an hour. Once done, you can season with a little salt to enhance the flavor.

Dr. Zhang Wenyin advises that fresh mutton should be used as it is a pungent and fishy substance; if not fresh, it may trigger skin diseases or asthma in severe cases. Also, those with sore throats should avoid eating this for fear of aggravating wind-heat conditions.