Chinese Food Health gives you the basic approaches on how to nourish and preserve health in the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Black fungus is a very common and inexpensive ingredient on Chinese dinner table. It also has been labeled as a medicinal food for thousands of years known for its rich nutrients such as iron, protein, fat, vitamins, polysaccharide, and other minerals.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners, black fungus has a bittersweet taste and is “neutral in nature” that can replenish “Qi” (essential energy), enrich and activate blood, purify lungs and intestines, etc. Its applications include anemia, haematemesis, uterine bleeding, hemorrhoid, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and even cancer prevention.

Being honored as “Meat in Vegetables,” iron contained in black fungus indeed is one the highest among all the vegetables; eating regularly can enrich blood and prevent iron deficiency anemia. Besides, even the modern Western medical science has proven that black fungus is very effective in blood viscosity modulation by inhibiting platelet aggregation and lowering viscosity of blood. Studies show that people who eat black fungus regularly tend to have a normal blood viscosity—a similar result as to use aspirin—not to mention these people are at lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Since black fungus carries a compound called polysaccharide, this vegetable not only inhibits tumor growth and prevents cancer, it also neutralizes the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Last but not the least, black fungus also is a good “adsorbent” and “scavenger” thanks to its pectin that can adsorb dust in lungs and digestive system and then excrete together.

Indeed, whether you are a vegetarian or a meat-lover, eating black fungus has a mile-long list of benefits, yet requires only an inch-long list of cooking steps. Want to have black fungus on your dinner table tonight? Try this one: Stir-fry Black Fungus with Chinese Cabbage (Bok Choy).

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