A comprehensive guide to the Chinese art of healing with food • Provides more than 300 authentic Chinese recipes for curing specific ailments and for promoting happiness and vitality • Explains the theories behind traditional Chinese beliefs about health and diet and reconciles these beliefs with contemporary Western medical knowledge • Includes a complete fitness program centered on the popular Chinese qi gong exercises Through 5,000 years of recorded history the Chinese have developed an unequaled pharmacopoeia of food remedies and have turned this knowledge into a delicious cuisine that is simple to prepare. This cuisine has little in common with the dishes on the menus of many Chinese restaurants--which have sacrificed traditional Chinese principles to appeal to high-fat Western tastes. Instead, it emphasizes all-natural ingredients eaten in season and in the most beneficial combinations. The Healing Cuisine of China features more than 300 authentic Chinese recipes, ranging from simple preparations to cure specific ailments to traditional "longevity banquets." The authors also explain the underlying theories behind traditional Chinese beliefs about health and reconcile these ancient beliefs with Western medical knowledge about bacteria, viruses, and other causes of disease. A complete fitness program, centered on the popular Chinese qi gong exercises, and a questionnaire to help readers discover their individual body requirements make this the most comprehensive guide to the healthy lifestyle of China ever published.