‘Food is so powerful’: how Zoey Gong, TCM influencer, food therapist and dietitian, uses traditional Chinese medicine to heal

Gone are the days when traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was seen as pseudoscience in the West. In New York, at least, people cannot seem to get enough of the 3,000-year-old practice. Shanghai-born Zoey Xinyi Gong, a TCM food therapist and registered dietitian based in the city, is far from the stereotypical TCM practitioner. With nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram and 170,000 on TikTok, Gong has a solid fan base. Sporting a vibrant orange-hued hairstyle, red lips and loud tattoos, her striking appearance inspires her followers to see TCM in a new light. From introducing massage points to relieve period cramps to harnessing the power of TCM herbs to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder, or teaching her followers about tongue diagnosis – looking at one’s tongue to learn about the body’s overall health – Gong lives and breathes the art of TCM. Gong’s passion for TCM and nutrition did not develop until she moved from Shanghai to New York at age 16. Three months after she moved to the United States, Gong began to develop issues such as skin rashes, allergies, joint pain and even breast tumours. “I was so young, confused and stressed at that time. I went to see doctors, but they couldn’t do much. They were just giving me steroids,” Gong recalls. “I went to the hospital every two weeks to get a steroid shot for my allergies.” It was around that time that she flew back to China to get the breast tumours removed. “That’s when the doctor told me ‘oh, you should eat less animal products so there would be less artificial hormones’,” she says. Inspired by her conversation with the doctor, Gong started some research of her own. She cut out dairy products completely and ate less meat. “After three weeks, all my rashes were gone. And I felt better. That’s when I was like, ‘oh, food is so powerful’.” Gong’s interest in functional medicine grew, leading her to study nutrition and public health at New York University. Despite learning much about the topic, she still struggled with her menstrual health. “I was still missing my period,” Gong says. “My mum brought me to acupuncture for the first time and I started taking herbal medicine. And that’s what really, really helped me get my period back and feel better mentally and physically. After that, I combined nutrition and TCM in my practice.” Gong then focused on TCM, enrolling in the Pacific College of Health and Sciences in Chicago to learn more about the topic. Now the influencer is an established TCM figure in New York and has hosted TCM-focused pop-up dinners, workshops and events regularly since 2018. In January, she announced the launch of The Five Elements Cookbook, a cookbook centred around TCM theories and herbs. While the cookbook is health-focused, Gong has fun in her recipes, mirroring her flexible approach to health and food in her daily life and with clients. Gong’s favourite recipe from her cookbook – a TCM version of mulled wine, infused with Chinese medicine ingredients such as safflower, a Chinese version of saffron; angelica root; jujube date; goji berry; and orange peel – reflects just that. “This recipe is really good for removing blood stagnation and helping with women’s health,” Gong says. “And with these warming herbs, it’s a really good recipe for the colder days.” The alcohol provides added warmth, while the herbs elevate mood and help with premenstrual symptoms. Adding Chinese herbs to our diet can improve our daily health, but TCM is much more than that, she says. The name of Gong’s cookbook refers to a fundamental philosophy in TCM which relates each of the five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water – to the human body’s organs and anatomical systems. To reach optimal health, a balance of all five is needed. Food plays a large role when it comes to achieving this. According to Gong, every food has its own thermal nature: cooling, warming, neutral, hot and cold. The goal is to eat a variety of foods to achieve a balanced diet. “The ideal thermo nature of food is warming, neutral or cooling. We don’t want something too extreme such as alcohol. It’s very hot. You can feel it when you drink it – your body will physically feel warm,” says Gong. “Something too cold, like watermelon during winter, can give people diarrhoea.” Rather than giving her clients a list of food restrictions, Gong provides cooking alternatives instead. “Let’s say the client is eating a lot of heated foods such as grilled, baked, dried and fried foods. I will tell them, ‘you can still eat the same food, we’re just going to cook them differently – maybe instead of a grilled lamb, you’re going to make lamb stew or lamb soup’,’” Gong says. “I try not to restrict anybody from anything, because that can create eating disorders and all kinds of problems.” TCM can sound like a cure-all – a Google search will show you a list of symptoms and diseases it can possibly treat – but Gong is quick to correct this. “It definitely cannot cure everything,” she says. “But TCM can cure a lot of things.” On Gong’s list of can-do remedies, the most common illnesses that her clients come to her for include digestive issues, women’s health problems, weight management and skin issues. “They’ve tried a lot of tried Western methods which [did not] really help much,” says Gong, who adds that TCM will not be able to help with serious illnesses such as cancer or bad injuries. Even if you do not have any health concerns, incorporating TCM rituals into your daily life can be beneficial. Gong recommends adding bone broth to your daily diet with a few cups every day. “It’s packed with protein and it’s easily digestible for our body. All the essential amino acids help us build stronger bones.” Seeing age-old Chinese traditions become mainstream health and wellness trends in the West is validating, she says. “[Bone broth] has become a trend in New York since maybe five years ago. They sell bone broth in coffee cups. “When I saw that, I thought, ‘my grandma has been doing that since I was two years old!’,” she laughs. For Gong, this is a step in the right direction and will help people learn more about the art of Chinese medicine. The Five Elements by Zoey Xinyi Gong is published by Harvest. Yin-nourishing pork bone broth Dairy-free/gluten-free/nut-free Seasonality: warm, dry Energy: cooling Meridian affinity: lung, spleen, stomach, kidney Functions: yin nourishing, cooling, calming Yield: 6 servings Time: 3.5 hours Pork bone broth is difficult to come by in the United States unless you are having a bowl of tonkatsu ramen. In China, when bone broth is mentioned, it implies that it is pork-bone based. Pork bone has a neutral to cooling energy, and thus is suitable to nourish yin and cool excessive heat in our body. Beef and chicken bone broth are great too, but they do not have the same cooling quality as pork bone broth. To pair with pork bones I chose a blend of yin-nourishing, cooling herbs that are functional for the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive organs. Without the common aromatics you often see in a bone broth, this clear, light soup is perfect to help you calm down and unwind. Ingredients 900g (2lb) pork ribs or pork leg bones 35g (1¼ oz) dried or fresh lily bulbs 20g (¾ oz) Solomon’s seal 25g (⅞ oz) lotus seeds, hearts removed 25g (⅞ oz) glehnia root 25g (⅞ oz) ophiopogon root 2 tbsp (8g) sliced American ginseng 2 tbsp (20g) goji berries 1 hand-size piece kombu 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped 1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped 2 celery ribs, chopped Sea salt, to taste Chopped fresh chives, for garnish Method 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and blanch the pork ribs for about five minutes. Drain and set aside. 2. Rinse and drain the lily bulb, Solomon’s seal, lotus seeds, glehnia root, ophiopogon root, American ginseng and goji berries. Add enough clean water to cover and set aside to soak for 30 minutes. 3. In a large soup pot, combine the blanched pork bones, kombu, carrot, parsnip, celery, and water to cover. Bring everything to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer the broth, covered, for two hours. Skim the foam off the surface with a mesh skimmer. Add the soaked ingredients to a filter or cheesecloth bag, tie, add to the pot and cook for one hour. 4. Fish out the bag of herbs and discard. Season the broth with sea salt and serve warm, garnished with the fresh chives.