Incorporating Chinese Recipes into a Ménière’s Disease-Friendly Diet

A listicle of Chinese recipes for a Meniere’s disease-friendly diet. These recipes from drinks, soups to rice porridge go beyond cutting sodium and taking diuretic pills.

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What is Meniere’s Disease

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear. It causes severe dizzy episodes, tinnitus, a feeling of congestion in the ear, and hearing loss. There is currently no cure or effective treatment because the cause of the disease is unknown. The dietary changes recommended by most doctors is to eat a low sodium diet and take diuretic pills.

I have been feeling that my ears were clogged for a few years. I visited an ENT specialist who ordered several tests including a physical examination, a hearing test, urine and blood test, and MRI. We could not find the cause of the ear fullness. It comes and go so I ignored it.

Late last year, I suffered a sudden onset of severe dizziness. I had to be sent to the ER. It was weeks later before another ENT doctor diagnosed me with Meniere’s disease and prescribed Betaserc. The vertigo is now less frequent, but the clogged ear sensation and tinnitus persisted. Since there is no effective treatment, I need to get to know the disease and find ways to alleviate my symptoms.

I couldn’t quite grasp what fluid buildup in my inner ear mean. I found this video by Dr David J Clark helpful in understanding this disease.

Dr Clarke surmised that the disease is caused by inflammation or autoimmunity. And that different people require different treatments since the cause might not be the same.

The Meniere’s disease diet Dr Clark recommends include cutting out gluten, milk, sugar, caffeine, and sodium. I can cut sugar, sodium, milk and even gluten (which can be quite challenging in my neck of the woods), but caffeine! I tried stopping coffee but the headache together with the tinnitus is unbearable. I will try to cut down, but I cannot cut off coffee.

As a Chinese, I also look to Traditional Chinese Medicine for solutions. A Chinese medical website recommends the following recipes for Meniere’s disease especially for the vertigo and tinnitus:

Drink Recipes

White Chrysanthemum Tea

This tea is detoxifying for the liver. Relieves dizziness. Drink as often as possible.

• 5g white chrysanthemum flowers
• 10g green tea leaves

1. Place the chrysanthemum flowers and green tea leaves into a cup.
2. Pour boiling water and infuse for a couple of minutes.
3. Drink as often as possible.

Dried Plum and Longan Drink

This drink nourishes energy and blood. Calm the nerves.

• 15g dried plum
• 10g danggui
• 10g dried Chinese yam
• 10g dried longan
• 20g sugar

1. Simmer the dried plum, danggui, and Chinese yam with 400ml water for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the ingredients, add the dried longan and sugar and simmer till longan is soft.
3. Drink it daily over 2 or 3 sessions.

Grape and Celery Juice

This juice balances the liver.

• Half a cup of grapes
• Half a cup of celery

1. Juice the grapes and celery together
2. Mix the juice with warm water 3 times a day

Soup Recipes

Luffa soup

This soup nourishes energy and detoxify the body.

• 30g astragalus root
• 3 to 4 slices American ginseng
• 200g luffa squash
• 300ml water

1. Peel the luffa squash and slice thinly.
2. Place the squash slices, astragalus and American ginseng in a soup pot with 300ml water
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the luffa is cooked
4. Drink the soup and eat the squash slices and American ginseng.

Steamed tofu with shrimp and fresh Chinese yam

This soup strengthens the spleen and invigorates energy.

• 30g fresh Chinese yam
• 20g fuling 茯苓
• 400g soft tofu
• 200g fresh shrimp
• 1 tbsp cooking wine
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• Sesame seed oil

1. Marinate the shrimps with the cooking wine, salt and cornstarch for about 10 minutes
2. Slice the soft tofu into small cubes and place them into a bowl that can be used for steaming
3. Peel and slice the Chinese yam thinly. Break the fuling into similar-sized pieces
4. Arrange the fuling pieces and Chinese yam around the tofu
5. Place the bowl into a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
6. Add the shrimps on top of the tofu and drizzle with some sesame seed oil.

Rice Porridge Recipes

Red date and Heshouwu rice porridge

This rice porridge nourishes the blood and liver. It strengthens the spleen.

• 50g heshouwu 何首乌
• 90g white medium-grained rice
• 4 red dates

1. Boil the heshouwu in 3 cup of water for about 10 minutes
2. Wash the rice and place into a rice cooker together with the red dates
3. Remove the heshouwu and pour the water into the rice cooker
4. Cook until the rice porridge is done. Add some honey to taste.

Red bean and Fuling rice porridge

This rice porridge nourishes energy and strengthens the spleen.

• 15g fuling or fuling powder
• 18g red beans
• 60g white medium-grained rice

1. Cook the rice and red beans in a rice cooker with 500ml water
2. Ground the fuling into powder and stir into the rice porridge when it is done.

I’m going to try some of these recipes out, especially the rice porridge recipes.

Fuling seems to feature repeatedly in the recipes. I know that it is also sold in powder form.

I found 2 instant drink mixes that contain fuling:

1. 四神粉 Sishen Powder Lotus Seed Chinese Yam Fuling Children Strengthening Spleen and Nourishing Stomach Recuperation Package [Shopee].
2. Bazhen powder, invigorating the spleen, appetizing and dehumidifying [Shopee]

Both of these can be added to rice porridge, like the last recipe. Looks promising.

I am not sure how effective these recipes are for Meniere’s disease, but no harm trying.

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