Congee or often-called “Jook”, a Chinese soup, porridge type food.
Malabsorption
What does malabsorption mean? Whether we are overweight and/or underweight, been through a trauma or crisis, undergone surgery, chemo, or have gastritis or leaky gut…….whatever…..we might not be absorbing our food and supplements, and thus the nutrients we so desperately need……even if we eat healthy foods.
I recently became enlightened to malabsorption. Here is my story:
About 3 years ago I experienced several traumatic events all at once. Many of us did. For me, it was a surprised forced move from my home of 17 years, dealing with a sick family member, and leaving my community – none of which I chose (on a conscious level anyway). The events caused a huge stress on my body, mind and soul. I lost weight, muscle and inspiration.
The stress caused a physical state of gastric erosions in my upper stomach, dramatic weight loss and a depressed fatigued state of being. I tried everything to repair and gain weight. I ate like a pig (sorry pig), and pooped like a baby. Of course, I ate good food (meaning – whole foods including ghee, other good fats, and lots of carb rich plant based foods. I did not consume sugar, coffee, alcohol or anything that might be irritating to my stomach and organs. I grew and made my own aloe, and did all I knew to keep my system alkaline.
Despite my focused dietary efforts and supplements, gaining weight was not happening easily. I worked with a weight trainer, which resulted in a great mood lifter. Like I said in my previous blog post: “More muscle, more everything.” I began getting my energy back , some new muscle, and felt good. My gastric erosions healed, but something else was keeping me in a less than excellent condition. Being a life long advocate for health, I was at a loss how to fix myself. Many times I wondered if this was just aging and I may feel this way the rest of my life. Arggg, I hated that thought but began to give into it. I kept surrendering, yet not giving up.
I found that there was a way to surrender to the process, and stay true to the vision in the same breath, so to speak. Surrendering was allowing the process to go at its own pace while trusting my inner knowingness to move, act or be still when called for.
During 2022 I also studied with Dr. Zach Bush. He and his team created the “Journey of Intrinsic Health (JOIH)”. I was thrilled Dr. Zach was launching this 6 week course and melted into it. Following the course I signed up for their coaching certification course for the 8 protocols of the JOIH. This is when my entire perspective changed on how I viewed our pursuit for health and how to heal and thrive. There is much more to share of my experience and the offers I will be offering for coaching, but this post is about Congee.
Just at the launch of the 2023 new year, I got the flu (covid) and lost those valuable pounds that I had gained, and felt very weak for a couple of weeks. It was like 3 steps forward and 3 back. “Perhaps this is how it will go from now on”, I wondered.
Right around mid February ,still dragging my behind around, an acupuncturist came to Maui with a quantum biofeedback system called Eductor. Something in me said, “Go, make an appointment”. So, I did.
Without getting into the weeds of the frequency device, which I found to read me correctly, Naomi, the Acupuncturist, told me that I was not absorbing my food. In reading my chart, she informed me that I was living with a viral overload as well as some inflammation.
Bingo! I instantly knew she was right as my knowing self lite up. Naomi’s prescribed protocol was to make Congee (also called “Jook) and eat it daily – along with some Chinese herbs to help tonify the organs.
Following her advice, I purchased the herbal ingredients at our local Dragon’s Den and made my first batch. It was not good. Yuk, actually. I had no idea how much of each of the ingredients I was supposed to use, or much else for that matter. But, I learned. My second batch was better, and they began getting delicious. I could feel the healing benefits in my body within a few days. Congee is easy to absorb, nurturing, nourishing and healthy. There is just something soothing about this porridge.
After about a week or two of eating a couple of large bowls a day, my stomach stopped hurting after meals. I gained a few pounds, and my elimination became hearty in a good way. I began to perk up like a flower starving for water. Things felt right and my energy began to return. I am still enjoying Congee, keeping my crock-pot brewing a batch every few days. I discovered many variations that pleased my palate and delivered plant diversity, which is so valuable to our digestive process. It is great for breakfast as it is good to break a fast with.
Now, I am not saying this Congee is a cure all or that it is perfect for you, but instead offering a new food that is known to help with malabsorption and/or is easy to digest for those that are overcoming disease or trauma. Perhaps it is you, or someone you love.
Congee is super easy make and works perfectly in a crock-pot. It can serve as an entire meal and/or an accompaniment to a meal. My particular recipe included sweet rice and lots of water or vegetable or bone broth in addition to some herbs, veggies, and perhaps some ginger and turmeric. Being the foodie that I am, I created a lot of variations.
Congee is often used to break a fast for cancer and other recovering patients, and people who are worn down and need nourishing yet may not have the digestive fire and/or capacity enough to digest other foods. It is effective in the way that it nourishes the spleen, kidneys and helps the digestive system to rebalance.
There are many ways to make Congee. Here is how I make it.
Sweet Rice – My acupuncturist stressed the importance of using sweet rice. I could not find sweet white rice, so I used sweet brown rice to begin with. Then I discovered a local Asian store that had the sweet white rice (easier to digest), which I preferred.
Thus I began my adventure making all sorts of Congee, differing from what you might find on the Internet, but in alignment with traditional recipes.
What follows is a list of the herbs, plus the other ingredients. I use a variation of the following ingredients depending on what I have on hand or was in the mood for. That being said, I usually always use the prescribed herbs.
Herbs (always used these)
Lotus Seeds
Red Dates
Dragon Eyes (dried Longan fruit)
Goji Berries
Shan Yao
Food
Rice
Ginger
Turmeric
Potatoes/Squash
Various Vegetables
Beans (kidney, black and white)
Garlic
Toppings
Green onions
Ginger
Recipes also include adding chicken, turkey, fish, mushrooms, etc. depending on your desire and constitution. Of course, all of these ingredients are not intended to be used at once.
For about a week I enjoyed Congee for 2 to 3 times a day.
This all might seem complicated at first, it was for me, but it is just so simple now, and I am so happy to have something simple to make in a crock pot and have it ready at the end of the day, or first thing in the morning (setting the pot on low for the night).
How To Cook Congee
Rinse about ½ cup rice and add to at least 6 cups of water. Add the herbs listed below and whatever other foods you want (ginger, garlic, etc.) that take longer to cook. Bring to light boil and slow cook for a couple of hours. It is important to break down the rice. Try to find “white sweet rice”. If you can’t find it, then use any organic white rice. I love sushi rice.
My method is to cook the rice and herbs for a long time (3 to 4 hours on a simmer) until they are very soft. If I am adding lentils I soak them first. With the rice and herbs I add the ginger, garlic and turmeric if I am using them all. If using canned beans they can be added toward the end.
Then when the rice and herbs are thoroughly cooked, I add some veggies, and beans. Then in the last hour or so, I add in the veggies of choice. (more about the herbs below)
How I changed:
Our poop tells out story, but how do we know what it all means? I am going to be blunt. Before Congee I had at lest 4 to 5 bowel movements a day. It was a bit much I thought. Food was going right through me. This is one of the symptoms of malabsorption.
Within a few days, my eliminations were much more healthy and at a pace of about 2 times a day, which is more like it should be. My stomach also hurt much less.
Here is a little information about the Chinese Herbs I included in my Congee that I retrieved from the Internet. If you do not have a store in your area, then you can get many of the ingredients online.
Disclaimer: I am neither an herbalist nor an acupuncturist. And, this may not be the best formula for you. It worked well for me, and would most likely be good for all. But, remember. we are all different.
Shan Yao
It supports the Lung, Spleen and Kidney Qi making it excellent for anyone who is suffering from fatigue or who is generally feeling stressed and depleted. You'll find it in formulas for weak digestion (diarrhea, IBS, Crones) lung disorders (chronic cough, asthma) and formulas to improve reproduction and vitality.
Lotus Seeds
Lotus contains chemicals that decrease swelling, kill cancer cells and bacteria, reduce blood sugar, help the breakdown of fat, and protect the heart and blood vessels. Chemicals in lotus also seem to protect the skin, liver, and brain.
Lotus seeds contain many bioactive compounds like alkaloid, flavonoids etc. Lotus seeds exert anti‐inflammatory, anti‐cancer, hypoglycemic activity and others. Lotus seeds have beneficial aspects by decreasing the risk of chronic diseases.
Dragon Eyes (longan fruit dried)
It is often called 'dragon's eye' due to its pale white flesh with a central black seed. However, it is less aromatic and has a hint of musky flavor. From a nutrition standpoint, Longan fruit is a good source of B vitamins and vitamin C. Additionally it contains fair amounts of minerals like phosphorus and copper.
Longan contains a good amount of potassium, which helps control blood pressure. Many nutritionists consider potassium an under-consumed nutrient, with most Americans getting only about half the recommended amount.Sep 9, 2022
Red Dates – also called Jujubi
A number of scientific studies have found the jujube to be beneficial for insomnia, enhance mood, general gastrointestinal problems, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and blood pressure.
A number of scientific studies have found the jujube to be beneficial for insomnia, enhance mood, general gastrointestinal problems, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and blood pressure.
Goji Berries
I added these because I had them on hand, and noticed that they are in many of the congee recipes.
More Cooking Info
Beware of Shan Yao
I believe this herb is wonderful, BUT BEWARE, only use a small piece – like the size of a dime. The herb is a dry white stuff kind of like thin cardboard. So, a little chip works fine. It will “thicken” the soup. When I first used it, I did not know how much to use and my soup was really thick and kind of slimy. It tasted OK, but was weird in texture, and it gave me the creeps. Then I learned to use a very small amount. But, it is powerful, so make sure you use enough and don’t be worried if it is slightly thick in a new weird way.
Add the red dates (4 or 5), and dragon eyes (5 or so). The red dates have a hard seed in them that can be removed when they are cooked and soft. The dragon eyes expand. The lotus seeds are as hard as a rock, and thus take quite a while to cook and soften, so allow time. Before adding them you must break them open and take out the little dried green stem in the middle. It is easy, much like opening a roasted pistachio nut. Then you can throw them into the Congee. They are full of protein, and other good nutrients. Sometimes I soak them overnight so they are ready to put in Congee, but if I forget then they need 3 or 4 hours in the crockpot on high. You can add vegetable or bone broth to give it more liquid if you want.
There is lots of info on the Internet. I liked this one: https://medericenter.org/resources/blog-dr-su/how-to-prepare-and-enjoy-the-health-benefits-of-congee-chinese-rice-porridge.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAi8KfBhCuARIsADp-A56U7JPDriX21Ml74EVg-dD6S8pM4arsTVeTkhTQMAiM61D9EVlz_ucaAiQBEALw_wcB