For the blood deficiency constitution: what is behind those vague off-days may be blood running short

Dry skin that make-up will not sit on. Nails that split, hair falling out. A complexion that looks somehow poor. Light sleep and tiredness from the moment you wake. If small things like these are piling up, it may be the blood deficiency constitution, where blood is running short.

Chinese medicine treats blood not simply as nourishment but as the circulating power that nourishes every corner of body and mind. When blood runs short, alongside outward changes in skin, hair and nails, it is held to affect sleep, concentration and steadiness of mood as well.

This article covers what marks out the blood deficiency constitution, what to do for yourself, and gentle yakuzen wisdom you can bring into everyday meals.

\ Know your type and look after yourself /
▶ Check in more detail with the Yasai Yakuzen check

What is the blood deficiency constitution?

Blood deficiency means the blood that circulates through the body is running short, so the nourishment and moisture body and mind need are not reaching them.

What marks out the blood deficiency constitution:

• A pale complexion, without lustre
• Dry hair, hair falling out
• Nails that split easily, pale in colour
• Dizziness and light-headedness on standing
• Trouble falling asleep, light sleep
• Anxiety, poor concentration, forgetfulness

It is a constitution seen particularly often in women, and is held to be closely tied to menstrual trouble and to trying to conceive.

Self-care for the blood deficiency constitution

1. Make a point of eating to replenish blood

For blood deficiency, meals that replenish blood, yin and qi are the ones to aim for.

Replenishing blood: carrot, spinach, peanut, pork liver, chicken liver, pork heart, pig's trotter, squid, octopus, ark shell, grapes, lychee

Nourishing yin, which nourishes yin fluids and replenishes blood too: lily bulb, black sesame, white wood ear, pine nuts, silkie chicken, egg, duck, milk, oyster, scallop, goji berry

Replenishing qi, the energy that produces blood: Japanese yam, potato, dried shiitake, chicken, beef, jujube, honey

2. Make time for blood to build, through sleep and rest

Blood is made slowly inside the body overnight.
Staying up late and too much time on your phone get in the way of that.

Put the phone down 20 minutes before bed
Warm up properly in the bath in the evening before you sleep
On days when you are short on sleep, do not push; save your energy

The more tired you are, the more resting properly is the short route back from blood deficiency.

Yasai Yakuzen for the blood deficiency constitution

Blood deficiency does not mean you need special ingredients.
Simply bringing ingredients that nourish the blood into everyday meals changes the body, little by little.

Category	What it does	Example ingredients
Replenishing blood	Replenishes the blood	Carrot, spinach, peanut, pork liver, chicken liver, pork heart, pig's trotter, squid, octopus, ark shell, grapes, lychee
Nourishing yin	Nourishes yin fluids and replenishes blood too	Lily bulb, black sesame, white wood ear, pine nuts, silkie chicken, egg, duck, milk, oyster, scallop, goji berry
Replenishing qi	Replenishes the qi, the energy, that produces blood	Japanese yam, potato, dried shiitake, chicken, beef, jujube, honey

See all vegetables and their benefits

Filling up your blood is a way of valuing yourself

The blood deficiency constitution may not be about lacking anything so much as being a little worn down by how hard you have worked.

Sleeping well, keeping warm, eating gentle food.
Small things like these, added up, bring your body both nourishment and a sense of being all right.

\ Know your type and look after yourself /
▶ Check in more detail with the Yasai Yakuzen check