Nourishing Wisdom for Life: A Chinese Guide to Health for Families and New Mothers

Growing up in Hong Kong as the youngest of ten children, Sylvia L. Quan was always at her mother’s side as the matriarch of the Lau family cared for her children, her grandchildren, and the entire household. As the youngest, Sylvia was able to learn and observe first hand the basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which looks first to food and herbs in order to nourish, restore, and heal. Most of all, Sylvia remembers her mother caring for daughters and daughters-in-law who had just given birth: in China it is customary that when a woman gives birth, she is to be taken care of by the women around her, and fed special soups and herbal tonics. Simply by being with her mother and the other women in her family, Sylvia learned these traditional recipes and ways of caring for new mothers and other family members.Sylvia eventually moved to Houston, Texas, where she married and had three daughters of her own. In Houston, she also served as an interpreter for a doctor who was trained in both Western medicine and TCM from China, who invented her own YSY Energy Medicine and further recognized by the Chinese Government, and through her work and friendship with Yong Shu Yang, Sylvia’s understanding and knowledge of the foundations of TCM expanded and filled out what she had learned growing up. Wanting to pass on not only the recipes, but also a general understanding of the principles of TCM, to her daughters and grandchildren, Sylvia decided to write Nourishing Wisdom for Life.The recipes included in this book are not gourmet, but are perhaps more important, as they have been handed down through generations for the care and healing of women who have just given birth. There are recipes for herbal broths, soups, and teas, as well as general guidelines and suggestions for the health not only of new mothers, but of the entire family as well.