Healthy Eating

In the Western world, food is serving to keep us healthy and balanced. Chinese Food Therapy uses food properties to heal and nurture the body. The West uses a biological approach and the East a holistic approach.

The Best Diet Blends West and East Nutrition Theories

Healthy Eating

A Western healthy diet should contain adequate amounts of Carbohydrates 50%, Fat 30%, Protein 20%. Vitamins and Minerals, Fibre and Water. (The British Nutrition Foundation) 

Carbohydrates are our main source of energy in the body. Sugars provide a quick release of energy and Starches provide a slow release of energy. Starchy foods — such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, Cornflour and cereals. Fats differ from oils only because fats are solid at room temperature, while oils are liquid. They both provide us with energy, fat-soluble vitamins and an insulating layer under the skin. Moreover, they provide a layer of protection for major organs. Saturated fats are found mainly in foods of animal origin: butter, cheese, milk, ice-cream, cream. Unsaturated fats are found mainly in foods of plant origin such as nuts, seeds and olives: peanut, sunflower, soybean and corn. These oils do not raise blood cholesterol. Proteins are constructed from one or more unbranched chains of amino acids. A typical protein contains 200–300 amino acids but some are much smaller. They are required for growth and repair of tissues, manufacture of new proteins, manufacture of new cells and as a secondary energy source. Sources: Meat, Fish, Eggs, Milk, Cheese, Peas, Beans, Nuts, Lentils.

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In the East we should eat considering our diversity, according to our native element and our predominant Yin and Yang, to our Dosha.  The five Chinese element constitutional types are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Eating according to your constitutional type can nourish your body, strengthen your constitution and optimize your health and wellbeing. Prevention from disease is one of the main principle in healthy eating.

5 Element Constitutional Types

what type are you?

🌲 Wood People tend to have thin, lean bodies and move with grace. Their faces tend to be long and thin with a long nose, a broad high forehead, and slender cheeks. Wood Types can be irritable, frustrated, and impatient and suffer health problems such as PMS, high blood pressure, tight muscles, and headaches.

🔥 Fire People are willowy and well-proportioned with delicate hands and feet, fire people may have ruddy complexions and prominent cheekbones. They sometimes have red hair and freckles. Because the heart is the organ most associated with the fire element, they are also prone to circulatory problems.

🌎Earth People often have square faces with strong jaws and sallow complexions. Their features can be large, especially the mouth. Their bodies are often thickset or curvy. The organs associated with the Earth Element are the digestive organs so if they get run down they may have digestive problems, loose stools, fatigue, and food allergies.

⚙️ Metal People have strong muscular bodies and broad shoulders and tend to have oval faces with widely set cheekbones and pale complexions. They often have straight hair. The Metal Element is associated with the lungs and skin and so when out of balance Metal Types are prone to respiratory problems such as asthma and skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.

🚰 Water types often have round faces and soft rounded bodies. They have large soft eyes and often have dark hair. The organs associated with the Water Type are the Kidney and Bladder.

Chinese Food Therapy uses food to heal

The common foods and spices we find in our gardens and supermarkets all have a role to play in determining the status of our health.

Yin and Yang ☯️

A fundamental principle of Chinese food therapy, or TCM in general, is that everything in our universe consists of yin and yang, two opposite and yet complementary forces that create energy and life force. Yang is associated with light, heat, and positive while yin is linked to dark, cold, and negative. Both are necessary and neither force should exceed the other.

This is where Chinese food therapy comes in. All natural foods have characteristics which make them fall under one of the following categories:

Keep in mind 📌Yin is cold and Yang is hot. Neutral (neither leaning towards yin or yang). Slightly yin or slightly yang, Moderately yin or moderately yang. Extremely yin or extremely yang. Here are some examples of meat:

Beef — NEUTRAL.
Beef and Bison — NEUTRAL.
Beef and Trout — NEUTRAL to SLIGHTLY WARM.
Chicken — WARM.
Chicken and Salmon — WARM.
Lamb — HOT.
Turkey — COOL.
Whitefish and Salmon — NEUTRAL to SLIGHTLY WARM.

Five Colours

Another theory is the one of the 5 Colours. A balanced, healthy person should strive to eat foods from each of these categories. But for people with a health condition related to a specific organ, they should eat more foods of the colour that’s associated with that organ.

Five Colours Theory 

Another theory is the one of the 5 Colours. A balanced, healthy person should strive to eat foods from each of these categories. But for people with a health condition related to a specific organ, they should eat more foods of the colour that’s associated with that organ.

The founder of ancient Chinese culture and the father of TCM — the “Yellow Emperor” first wrote about this concept over 3000 years ago. He believed that each naturally occurring colour in our food — red, yellow, green, white, and black — benefits a different part of our body. https://buddingoptimist.com/chinese-food-therapy/

Five Tastes Theory

The 5 Tastes is again another way to nurture and heal health issues. According to this theory for each organ is beneficial to eat something with the taste that correspond to it.

Sometimes our body will require a specific taste and that may look random however that should be regarded as a signal of deficiency in the correspondent organ. https://buddingoptimist.com/chinese-food-therapy/

The Chinese healthy eating has a more holistic approach to the food we eat and makes us choose the food upon how we are feeling inside our body and in line with the biological clock. The Chinese Food Therapy uses food properties to heal and nurture the body.