Pork Can Also Be Beautifying
Pork Can Also Be Beautifying
Chinese culinary culture is vast and profound. Some seemingly ordinary plants and animals, when properly combined and consumed, can serve preventive and therapeutic purposes. Traditional medicine refers to such foods as "medicinal cuisine." Consuming these dishes not only harnesses the medicinal properties but also avoids side effects associated with drugs. Some foods, when eaten, can both treat and prevent diseases while also offering beautifying effects.
Similarly, the same medicinal dish may have different effects on different individuals. Therefore, to use medicinal cuisine effectively, one must understand their own constitution and use it appropriately to achieve health preservation, disease prevention, and beauty enhancement.
Consuming medicinal cuisine is one of the unique beauty methods in traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing, from the Han Dynasty, was particularly skilled in using animal and plant-based remedies for beauty treatments. He documented numerous formulas in his work *Golden Chamber Prescriptions* that could both treat illnesses and improve appearance, such as Gancao Xiaomai Dazao Tang, Danggui Shengjiang Yangrou Tang, and Zhusi Tang. These formulas reflect Zhang Zhongjing’s philosophy of "food and medicine sharing the same origin."
Zhusi Tang is a crucial formula in Zhang Zhongjing’s *Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders*. It was used clinically to treat diarrhea, sore throat, irritability, and chest fullness. The formula combines pork skin, white honey, and rice flour, boiled together to clear deficient heat, strengthen the spleen and stomach, stop diarrhea, relieve irritability, and clear heat. This formula ranks among the 112 prescriptions in *Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders* as a vital one.
Pork is a treasure in its entirety. Using pork organs and herbs in combination for treatment and beauty is a common practice among Chinese physicians. Experts note that pork skin and pig trotters are rich in protein, primarily collagen and elastin. Consuming pork skin and trotters is an excellent choice for beauty-conscious women because it is economical, easy to prepare, and delivers noticeable cosmetic results—thus very popular.
In the context of beauty, traditional Chinese medicine often uses "sentient substances" rich in essence and blood—not merely roots and bark—but animal skins and fats to achieve beauty. For example, commonly used items like Ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin), pig trotters, and pork skin all have beautifying effects. Their mechanism works through nourishing yin and blood, moisturizing the skin, improving skin environment, and thus achieving beauty. These formulas are preserved in ancient imperial court secrets and remain widely used in modern traditional Chinese medicine.
Using pork skin and trotters for beauty has a history of over a thousand years in China. Zhang Zhongjing recorded in *Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders* that pork skin and trotters have the effects of "harmonizing qi and blood, moisturizing skin, and beautifying appearance." Some beauty experts recommend that women who care about appearance consume more pork skin and trotters. Thus, pork truly is a wonderful beauty ingredient. 【Fan Zhenglun, Researcher at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine】