Chinese Food Therapy
CHINESE FOOD THERAPY
Chinese dietary medicine is used to nourish qi and blood and restore organ/meridian functioning. Based on yin/yang and five element theory, each food is characterized by its energies, therapeutic actions and flavors. TCM food therapy utilizes the belief that hot (yang) and cold (yin) food properties affect different energies in the body.
Both types of food should be included in the diet to keep the body in balance. Yang foods increase the body’s heat and raise metabolism while yin foods lower body heat and metabolism. Individuals susceptible to yin diseases (anemia) or yang deficiencies should include additional yang foods in their diet. Yang infections (measles, sore throat) or yin deficiencies can be treated with yin foods. Intake of food should also be balanced according to the season. Summer (yang) should have more yin foods in the diet and winter (yin) should include more yang foods.
Related to yin/yang, food properties are further divided into four energies (cold, cool, hot, warm) with an additional neutral category for foods that have no energetic temperature. Cold/cool foods (tofu, raw vegetables, melon-type fruits) reduce inflammation of the kidneys, clear heat and eliminate toxins. Hot/warm foods (chicken, garlic, ginger, plums, chili pepper, onion, most meats) strengthen spleen/stomach/kidneys, eliminate cold, invigorate blood and warm meridians. Neutral foods (glutinous rice, tuberous vegetables) improve lung/kidney systems and act as diet harmonizers. Hot treats cold conditions, cold treats hot conditions.
Food flavors correspond to five element organ functioning and should be balanced in the diet. Fire (bitter/heart/small intestine/yin) foods are cooling, earth (sweet/stomach/spleen/yang) foods are strengthening, metal (spicy/lungs/large intestine/skin/yang) foods are warming, water (salty/kidneys/bladder/yin) foods are cooling, and wood (sour/liver/gallbladder/yin) foods are cooling. Food intake should correspond to the elements and related organ systems that require strengthening.
These TCM dietary factors should be tailored to individual constitution to preserve health and prevent and treat illness. Fore more information on Chinese food therapy contact Dr. Richard Browne at (305) 595-9500.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. It can be used as long as credit is attributed to the author by including the following section :
“Written by Rev. Dr. Richard Browne
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June 27th, 2007 at 1:23 am
It’s all good to know about Chinese food therapy. According to Chinese food therapy both the hot (yang) and cold (yin) food properties are important for a rightly balanced body. Both type of food are responsible for maintaining the metabolism and heat of a human body. Really Chinese are having a good food therapy. But this is also a fact that proper nutrition we need to have a balanced body. It’s our thinking that our daily food behavior is enough capable of offering the proper nutrition which our body require. But it is not like that! So in that case people are depending upon health supplements available in the market to fulfill their need. I will suggest one thing that goes for natural products.