Much More than Calories :: Healthy Lifestyles and Natural Weight Loss Information

Much More than Calories
by author Melissa Carr, DTCM, RAc, RTCMP

To emphasize the basics of TCM dietary principles, always remember the concept of Yin and Yang balance. Even if you are always hot, consuming only cooling foods will swing the pendulum in the extreme opposite direction, producing a whole new crop of problems. The same theory applies to flavours. It is important to achieve a balance of flavours, and to do this with good, quality, unrefined foods. When the qi of a food is good, the food will taste better and be healthier for the person who consumes it.

Five Elements, Five Flavours

An essential concept of traditional Chinese medicine is the acknowledgement of the five elements - Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. Each element is associated with a corresponding body organ system, body function, colour, and flavour - bitter, sweet, pungent, salty, and sour. The following chart highlights the major associations within each element as they relate to diet and health. Examples of foods with the various flavours are listed, as well.

Who to Call

If you want to treat specific health conditions using the dietary principles of traditional Chinese medicine, you are best to seek the assistance of a qualified TCM practitioner. Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations. Then, when you meet with the practitioner, ask to see his or her qualifications, which should include at least three years of full-time study.

You might also contact the professional association of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in your province. In British Columbia, where TCM practitioners must be licensed to practise, contact the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at ctcma.bc.ca. In Alberta, contact the Alberta College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at acatcm.com. In Quebec, contact l’Ordre des acupuncteurs du Québec at ordredesacupuncteurs.qc.ca. For Ontario and other provinces, contact the Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Association of Canada at cmaac.ca.

TCM is practised in many forms, so read widely to choose the one you’re most comfortable with. Taking the time to prepare to meet with your TCM practitioner will help you get the most out of your consultation.

Eating in Season

In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that the closer we align ourselves with the rhythms of nature, eating foods that are abundant with each season, the healthier we will be. Just as we spring clean our homes, we can use raw foods to cleanse and cool our bodies in spring. In summer, fruits and vegetables are abundant and their juices and cooler properties balance the heat and dryness of the season. Autumn brings the beginning of cooler weather and it is time to start eating more cooked and warming foods. Throughout winter, warming foods become more important and nourishing foods predominate.

Fire

Flavour: Bitter
Colour: Red
Body organ: Heart, small intestine
Functions: Reduces excessive characteristics (loud, extroverted). Reduces fever. Dries and drains dampness. Induces bowel movements.
Foods: Alfalfa, coffee, wine, celery, bitter melon, hops, romaine lettuce, radish leaf, rye, dandelion, chamomile.

Earth

Flavour: Sweet
Colour: Yellow, orange
Body organ: Spleen/pancreas, stomach
Functions: Strengthens weakness. Moistens tissues. Soothes and calms emotions.
Foods: All grains and legumes, most meats and dairy products, sugar, honey, molasses, apricot, banana, date, papaya, tomato, beet, carrot, cucumber, sweet potato, yam

Metal

Flavour: Pungent
Colour: White
Body organ: Lung, large intestine
Functions: Stimulates digestion. Disperses mucous. Stimulates blood circulation. Some pungent foods like garlic and cayenne help destroy or expel parasites.
Foods: Warming pungent: rosemary, all onions, garlic, ginger, cayenne, horseradish
Cooling pungent: peppermint, radish
Neutral pungent: taro, turnip, kohlrabi

Water

Flavour: Salty
Colour: Blue, black
Body organ: Kidneys, urinary bladder
Functions: Moves energy downward and inward. Purges the bowels.
Foods: Salt, seaweed (nori, dulse), soy sauce, miso, pickles, abalone, clams, crab, cuttlefish, duck, oyster, pork.

Wood

Flavour: Sour
Colour: Green
Body organ: Liver, Gallbladder
Functions: Astringes to prevent abnormal leakage of energy or fluids (urine, sweat, diarrhea, blood). Contracts and firms sagging tissues such as flaccid skin, hemorrhoids, prolapses.
Foods: Lemon, lime, grapefruit, pineapple, pickles, sauerkraut, sour plum, hawthorn, berry, mango, vinegar, small red or adzuki bean, star fruit

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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

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