The concept of blood in traditional Chinese medicine shares a close relationship with the western concept in that it has both a nourishing and moistening function. Attention is also focused on the strength of your digestive system’s ability to successfully obtain the nutrients from your food necessary for the production of blood. Food to build blood includes;
Grains
Barley, corn, oats, rice, sweet rice, wheat, bran
Vegetables
Alfalfa sprout, artichoke, beetroot, button mushroom, cabbage, celery, dandelion leaf, dark leafy greens, kelp, shiitake mushroom, spinach, watercress, wheatgrass, artichoke, beetroot, dandelion leaf, kelp
Fruit
Apple, apricot, avocado, date, fig, grape, longan, mulberry, avocado, dates
Beans
Aduki, black, soy, kidney
Nuts & Seeds
Almonds, black sesame
Fish
Mussel, octopus, oyster, sardine, tuna
Meat
All red meat especially bone marrow and liver (beef, pork, sheep)
Dairy
Chicken eggs
Herbs & Spices
Nettle, parsley
Oils, condiments
Amasake, molasses
Beverages
Soya milk
Common supplements
Algae, dongui, pollen
Additionally any foods that are red in colour such as apples, goji berries (goji is so amazing to build blood, put 10-15 goji in your water bottle and drink daily), raspberries, pomegranate, peppers, strawberries, berries, etc. Red foods are filled with antioxidants like lycopene and anthocyanins that curb free radicals and protect the body from diseases.
Examples of every day western foods that can be used to build Blood include:
Rice porridges with Soya milk, apricots and almonds
Dark leafy green salads with avocado and grated beetroot
Warm chicken salad with artichoke and grapes
Scrambled Eggs with parsley
Mussel Chowder
Snacks of dried apricots and almonds
Kidney bean and mushroom lasagne with a spinach salad
Any red meat dish. (Note that in traditional Chinese medicine meat is viewed as a strong tonifying food to be eaten in small amounts so that serving sizes are based around two to four ounces per serving, taken several times a week depending on individual energetic patterns).