Food and Eight Principles:
Food can be used to clear the exterior and bring about diaphoresis. It can also be used to warm the interior and support Zang Fu function. Besides flavors, food have directions and thermal properties (in terms of their effects). Some foods are neutral while others are cool, cold, warm or hot. Hot conditions can be subdued with cool foods, while cold conditions can be warmed by hot foods. Deficiencies can be corrected with foods that support the body’s weakness. Excesses can be drained and the balance between Yin and Yang restored. Changes may not occur immediately; but, given time, food can be the most influential factor for maintenance of health of all forms of therapy. Foods also have energies capable of generating the sensations in the body upon consumption. The five energies of foods are cold, hot, warm, cool and neutral. These energies act upon the body in different ways and can be used to treat conditions which are caused by imbalances in the bodies energy. Symptoms caused by cold conditions can be alleviated by consumption of warm or hot foods, while hot conditions can be helped by cool or cold foods. Examples:
Cold |
Cool |
Neutral |
Warm |
Hot |
Bamboo shoots |
Apple |
Egg Yolk |
Brown sugar |
Black pepper |
Banana |
Barley |
Beef |
Chicken |
Cinnamon bark |
Clams |
Tofu |
Carrot |
Fennel |
Ginger |
Crab |
Chicken egg |
Peanuts |
Garlic |
Green pepper |
Lettuce |
Eggplant |
White sugar |
Green onion |
Red pepper |
Kelp |
Wheat |
Oyster |
Shrimp |
Soybean oil |
Seaweed |
Mushroom |
Pork |
Lamb |
|
Sugar cane |
Spinach |
Rice |
Ginseng |
|
Watermelon |
Mung bean |
Egg Yolk |
Raspberry |
Excess conditions can be assisted by feeding foods which help control or counterbalance the abnormal energetics involved. Deficiencies can also be helped with food.
Actions of Foods:
ARREST BLEEDING: Black fungus, chestnut, Chicken eggshell, cottonseed, cuttlebone, guava, lotus plumule, spinach, vinegar
STOP URINATION: Raspberry
CLEAR TOXINS: banana, black soybean, clam (freshwater), cucumber, date (red & black), fig, honey, radish, aduki red bean, star fruit, vinegar
DISPERSE BLOOD STAGNATION: Brown sugar, chive, chive root, crab, saffron, vinegar
DISPERSE COLD: Ginger (fresh), wine
INDUCE BOWEL MOVEMENT: Castor bean, sesame oil
LUBRICATE DRYNESS: Tofu, chicken egg & yolk, honey, maltose, pear, pork, sesame oil, spinach, yellow soybean
LUBRICATE INTESTINES: Banana, peach, soybean oil, walnut, watermelon
LUBRICATE LUNGS: Apple, apricot, chicken egg white, ginseng, lily flower, loquat, peanuts, persimmon, strawberry, white fungus
PROMOTE BLOOD CIRCULATION: Black soybean, brown sugar, chestnut, peach, saffron, and sweet basil, wine
PROMOTE DIGESTION: Apple, coriander, ginseng, green & red pepper, nutmeg, papaya, pineapple, plum, radish & leaf, sweet basil, tomato
PROMOTE ENERGY CIRCULATION: dill seeds, dry mandarin orange peel, fennel, garlic, radish leaf, spearmint, star anise, tangerine,
PROMOTE URINATION: Asparagus, barley, Chinese cabbage, carrot, coffee, corn, cucumber, grape, kidney bean, lettuce, mandarin orange, mango, mung bean, onion, pineapple, plum, star fruit, water chestnut, watermelon
REDUCE FEVER: Muskmelon, star fruit, water chestnut
RELIEVE ASTHMA: Bitter apricot seed
TONIFY BLOOD DEFICIENCY: Beef, chicken egg & yolk, cuttlefish, oyster, spinach
TONIFY QI DEFICIENCY: Sweet apricot seed, tofu, beef, brown sugar, chicken, eel, maltose, potato, sweet rice, sweet potato
TONIFY KIDNEYS: Black sesame seed, string bean, sword bean, wheat, kidney
TONIFY LIVER: Black sesame seed, liver
TONIFY SPLEEN: Beef, ham, white rice, potato, string bean, sweet potato, yellow soybean
WARM INTERIOR: Black & white pepper, chicken, chive roots, clove, fennel, dried ginger, green & red pepper, nutmeg, sword bean
I love thinking of food as a medicine, because essentially, it is! Mother Nature knows what she is doing, eh? 🙂
Jenn
GREAT info! Thanks!
Have a great week, Coco! 🙂
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So neat!! This was my favorite of all the TCM posts because it listed specific foods to eat for specific conditions. It’s so interesting Coco. thanks for sharing this information.
HAve a great day!
Loving these TCM posts, Coco!
Funny how chicken eggs are cool and chicken is warm. Hmm…And I can totally see how ginger, red peppers would be hot. Very neat….
I am not sure where it falls under here, it is sweet, but anyway Star Anise is guaranteed to relieve the bowel upset that comes with my period. I have to have it on hand!
Thanks for this helpful and neat post!!
Loquat is for cough and lung in Chinese medicine. Sometimes i would take the Ninjiom Pei Pa Koa (a famous loquat syrup) when got scratchy throat.
You can access info online @
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nin_Jiom_Pei_Pa_Koa
ninjiom.50webs.com
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