In both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) “food cures” and TCM herbology, each food and herb is assessed, not by its physical characteristics, but by how it affects the body. This is because TCM practice began more than 3,000 years ago, long before the individual components in food and herbs could be identified and quantified.

Ways to Evaluate Foods

One of the ways that foods are assessed is by their “temperature.” When it is cold out, most people tend to crave warm foods such as soups, hot chocolate, and chili (called Yang). When the temperature rises, we want cooling foods such as ice cream and cold drinks (called Yin). But hot and cold are more than physical temperatures; they are also a property inherent in food that is changed with processing.

Generally, plants that take longer to grow (carrots) are warmer than those that grow more quickly (cucumbers); foods that are blue, green, or purple are more cooling than similar foods that are red, orange, or yellow (red apples are warmer than green apples); and raw food is cooler than cooked food (tofu is very cold, but can be warmed somewhat with cooking).

Taste, of course, is another important factor for food - some might say the most important factor. TCM considers five main flavours (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and pungent) and one non-flavour (bland). Each flavour has a function and is associated with an organ system. For example, sweet flavour is connected with the spleen-pancreas, for, as we know, sugars do activate insulin production from the pancreas. In TCM, sweet foods also have a moistening function. According to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition (North Atlantic, 1993), “Quality sweet flavour in the form of unrefined complex carbohydrates forms a thin, healthy mucus coating on the mucous membranes.” However, because over consumption of sweet foods and drinks fosters unhealthy mucus and creates moist conditions that promote the growth of yeast and fungi like Candida albicans, balanced consumption is essential.

Another thing to consider is that some foods can be evaluated based on their appearance. According to TCM practice, those with acne should avoid too much pineapple because the skin of a pineapple is bumpy and hard, not the look most people strive for. Because walnuts look like a brain, TCM believes they contribute to intelligence. As it turns out, the omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts are brain food. A round slice of carrot looks like an eye: the beta-carotene and vitamin A in carrots are well-known to be beneficial for vision. These principles do not mean, however, that eating peaches or strawberries will make your face fuzzy as these principles apply only to certain foods.

When discussing food and health, it is important to discuss digestion. TCM considers the stomach as something similar to a cooking pot heated by “digestive fire” (think stomach acid). When the fire is low or out, digestion is too slow; but when the fire is too strong, the person’s appetite is insatiable and symptoms such as bad breath and heartburn can occur.

Choosing Foods

Like a fingerprint, no two people’s qi (energy) are the same. Everyone is different so, we must choose our foods based on our constitution. A woman with poor appetite who is always cold and has low energy can add more spicy food to her diet than a man with a red face who perspires easily. Also consider the weather and our environment (are California diet trends really suitable for Canadaians?). We also need to consider symptoms or illnesses, changing lifestyles and life stages, and allergies.

Melissa Carr, DTCM, RAc, RTCMP, incorporates TCM modalities, shiatsu massage, and western modalities of nutrition and supplementation. Reach her at 604-783-2846 or tcmelissa@hotmail.com.

Source: alive #261, July 2004