Women’s Health Soup is going to be your new GO TO REMEDY! Relieve your Pre-Menstrual Symptoms (PMS) symptoms and painful periods with natural Chinese herbs.
Ingredients
This Traditional Chinese medicinal Women’s Health Soup is made in the slow cooker with a few simple ingredients.
- Chinese herbs
- carrots
- daikon radish
- slow roasted pork bones
- corn on the cob
- lotus root
- fresh herbs
You can also cook low on the stovetop for several hours and add any vegetables you have on hand. We had a few slices of lotus root from making braised orange lotus. Therefore, we added them to the soup. Firm root vegetables work best in this nourishing Chinese recipe.
Women’s Health Soup
Root + Spring's Chinese Herbal Soup Mix for Women is based on a famous herbal medicinal recipe called Si Wu Tang, or "Four Ingredients Decoction". This soup is meant to act as a monthly ally against PMS. Special formula helps women recuperate from their menstrual cycle by encouraging blood reproduction and relieving pain. It also helps by balancing mood, or to manage irregular menses.
There are four simple herbs. This formula is extremely effective for nourishing and rejuvenating the blood.
- Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia)
- Dong Quai (Angelica Root)
- Chuan Xiong (Fleece flower Root)
- Bai Shao (White Peony)
Traditional Chinese Medicine
This Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal mix is a prime example of how a combination of herbs can work wonders. For example, alone white peony helps relax the liver and allow us to "unwind". However, when paired with fleece flower root, the effects of white peony become stronger and actually begin to repair the blood in our system.
Most herbalists have learned that preparing several herbs in a formula causes the infinite number of biochemical constituents to interact -especially when prepared as a soup or tea. Essentially, a formula has the potential of becoming more than the sum of its parts.
Periods and TCM
Women’s Health Soup is traditionally consumed at the end of your period. It is highly beneficial for menstrual cramps and pains, PMS, and regulating menses, hormonal headaches, bloating and sore breasts. If you want to learn More about Traditional Chinese Medicine, be sure to read our Feed Your Spleen and Love your Liver Post.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for thousands of years. Unlike Western medicine that only treats the problem, TCM treats the underlying cause of the issue. Unlike Western Medicine, TCM takes longer to work but gets to the root of the medical issue.
You may have to take the Chinese medicine longer to see its effects. Approximately 2 months of drinking the Women's Health Soup, we had lighter flows, no PMS headache, and reduced cramps.
Girls, just think about the huge cost savings in "Girlie items"! Skip the ibuprofen and CHOCOLATE and enjoy a little nourishing Women's Health Soup!
Important Exceptions
As always, you should check with your physician before starting any new diet, herbal or medical plans. This is especially important if you are on other western medications.
Dong Quai is one of the Chinese herbs in the Women’s Health Soup. It is considered safe for most people. However, there are some specific populations who should not use this herbal remedy.
- Women with breast cancer, ovaries or uterus as dong quai can act like estrogen.
- During pregnancy or while nursing
- Women with uterine fibroids or with heavy menstrual periods as it can make bleeding worse.
- Patients who are taking blood thinners
Women’s Health Soup is one of the stronger tasting soup mixes at Root + Spring. If you are new to TCM, you may want to start out with one of the milder teas.
How to Make Chinese Herbs Taste Better?
- Add naturally sweet vegetables like carrots and corn on the cob.
- Season with a dash of salt and fresh herbs.
Please note! The herb Rehmannia will make this soup turn a dark brown/black color and that is completely normal.
More Delicious Teas
Root + Spring's Goji Berries and Red Dates Herbal Tea is a delicately sweet delicious nourishing tea. It revitalize blood, balances mood and spirit, beautifies the skin, delays aging, filled with antioxidants. It's and just what your body needs to recover and heal.
Another delicious tea to try is Root + Spring’s Dried Ginger and Palm Coconut Herbal Tea . It features dried ginger, palm coconut, and dried Asian pear to soothe your stomach, support digestion, and helps get rid of belly bloat.
Bone Broth
We first roasted our pork bones in the oven. Then, we used the slow cooker (crockpot) to make a healthy bone broth. We used pork bones, fresh vegetables and the Chinese herbs. Alternatively, you could also use a whole chicken for a delicious chicken broth.
If you do not have a slow cooker (crockpot), you can slowly simmer your soup on the stovetop. The stovetop method takes several hours by stirring and giving your soup a little love. On the other hand, the slow cooker option keeps the whole process hands free.
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Women’s Health Soup
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork ribs
or can use whole chicken - 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 cups Water
- 1 package Root + Spring Chinese Herbal Soup for Women
rinsed well under running water - 2 inch Ginger
knob peeled and sliced - 3 green onions
cut into 2 inch segments - 2 large Carrot peeled and cut into large chunks or about 1.5 cups
- 1.5 cups Daikon radish
small peeled and cut into large chunks - optional - 8 slices Lotus root
peeled and sliced - optional - 2 cobs Corn on cob
cut in half - optional - ¼ cup Cilantro
chopped roughly - optional - 1 cup Fresh spinach optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/ 200 degrees C
- Brush pork rib bones (or whole small chicken) with olive oil and roast for 1 hour
- Add cooked pork rib or chicken to slow cooker with water, ginger
- Scallions, carrot, daikon, lotus root and cook on low for 12 hours.
- Then add Root + Spring Herbal Soup Mix for Women and cook for 2 additional hours on low heat.
- Strain the Women’s Health Soup broth over cheese cloth. Place the vegetables back into the soup.
- Serve Women’s Health Soup in a bowl with the cooked vegetable and the Chinese herbs removed. Garnish with fresh cilantro and spinach.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Women with breast cancer, ovaries or uterus as dong quai can act like estrogen.
- During pregnancy or while nursing
- Women with uterine fibroids or with heavy menstrual periods as it can make bleeding worse.
- Patients who are taking blood thinners
Divine says
Is it ok just to use the 4 ingredient concoction? I am suffering from menstrual headache every month. Sometimes different symptoms every month. I would also feel lethargic and my body would ache during and before period. So, you suggest to take this for 2 months ?
HWC Magazine says
Hello Divine, we are sorry to hear that you are having these uncomfortable symptoms. We always suggest you visit your primary physician or TCM practitioner to make sure you do not have anything else going on before self diagnosis. Once confirmed, you are having only PMS symptoms the suggested dosage of women's health soup is to consume it after your period is over. The herb package is a very general one but a TCM physician can formulate one specific for your needs. The herb package from Root + Spring comes makes 4 servings. We make the soup at the end of our period and consume 1 bowl of this PMS relief herbal chicken soup over 4 days. If you feel gastrointestinal upset, or excessive heat from the soup, then reduce or stop the remedy. Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder or are pregnant. After consulting with your physician, you may consume this soup remedy monthly or as needed.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
This is so interesting... and this soup sounds so helpful for our complicated female bodies, too! Thank you so much for sharing this savory recipe!!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Heidi. You got that right. Females are complex and so are our health requirements. Keeping our bodies in balance is no easy feat!
Jen says
This is such a strange vegetable with the holes -- I haven't seen this before. How do you cut the little holes? Does this make it cook more evenly?
HWC Magazine says
Hi Jen! This vegetable is a lotus root. They are super crunchy and a lovely vegetable for soups and stews and stir fries. Hope you give it a try.
Gerlinde de Broekert says
I have always been interested in soups and teas like this that help our bodies to recover and rejuvenate. Thank you for the recipe.
Juliana says
Wow, you really mastered this soup with all the ingredients in it...
Have a great rest of the week Bobbi 🙂
kitchenriffs says
Although I wouldn't expect this soup to be all that helpful to me medically, appetite-wise it looks wonderful! 🙂 Love learning about Chinese medicine -- SO interesting.
anupama (MGGK) says
Such a delicious and comforting soup, Bobbi. I won't say I have had something similar to this before, but I am sure I would definitely love the awesome flavors in this soup. Great to know that this is good for PMS.
Monica M. says
So interesting...it's different and familiar to me at the same time. Growing up, mom made soups like these and her friends always seem to have some sort of soup remedy for every ailment. Good of you to spread the word.