Foods for healing

"Food is better than herbs,
Qi is better than food, and
Emptiness is better than Qi."
- Traditional Taoist Principle

Renee Lehman

(11/2019) When you think about healthy foods what comes to mind? In modern day, western terms, you probably think of calories per serving, grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrates in a serving, and the percentage of recommended daily allowance for vitamins/minerals. Plus, you may wonder if a particular food is part of the Keto diet, Raw food diet, Paleo diet, Gluten Free diet, etc.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the energetic essence of a food is what is to be considered when thinking about what you may want to eat to stay healthy. TCM works with the food’s energetic and its effect on the internal organs, and your body/mind/spirit. All foods have specific effects on our Qi (pronounced "chee") when they enter the human body. For example, some foods are warming, some are cooling, some are moistening, and some are drying to the body. The Nei Jing (pronounced "Nay Jing") Classic of Internal Medicine compiled over 2,000 years ago, may be the first known Chinese writings on the dynamic relationship between health and food. Let’s first review several TCM principles to understand how foods are viewed for their healing energetic essences.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Principles

One major TCM principle is that everyone is a part of the Universe. You are one with the Universe. When you are born, you received Qi from both heaven and earth. Your mind-body-spirit are an integrated and unified whole and can’t be separated from nature.

A second major TCM principle is that prevention must be a primary focus for healthy living. Reread the beginning quote – Food is considered better than herbs for keeping the body-mind-spirit healthy. TCM was practiced where the doctor was paid only if his/her patient remained well. Focus on prevention, and daily lifestyle has always been a mainstay within TCM. So, what you do daily can create many cumulative health benefits --- positive daily habits create positive health benefits and negative daily habits can damage your health. In our western culture, we don’t really have this philosophy. Our western culture has the following philosophy: when you become ill, then you try to find someone to fix your problem. The above ancient Taoist saying basically states that when it comes to eating, what you put into your body every day (on a body-mind-spirit level) has a far greater effect on your overall health than an occasional visit to the doctor for medicine when you are sick.

As a reminder, TCM deals with balancing the flow of the natural vital energy, or Qi which flows through all living things. This Qi flows through the body on specific pathways called Meridians and is essential for health. When the Qi is balanced, moving smoothly, and in sufficient quality and quantity, health and wellness are promoted. When the Qi is unbalanced or blocked in any way, disease or dis – ease, will occur. This dis – ease may show up as symptoms on a physical, mental/emotional, or spiritual level.

How to Eat According to TCM Principles

To nourish, strengthen, and balance your Qi:

• Chew your food thoroughly to release its nutrients more easily. This will ease the stress on the digestive system.
• Eat cooked foods. This will decrease the amount of energy that the digestive system needs to digest foods. Therefore, more of the energy from the foods will go to building your Qi. Large quantities of meat tend to put a burden on your digestive system and demand too much Qi to process/digest. Decrease your meat consumption.
• Eat organic food because it has more vital energy than genetically modified food.
• Eat foods that are local and in season. They have the best Qi to offer you for healing.
• A varied diet primarily of fresh foods: fruits, beans, nuts, some grains, and cooked vegetables help to keep your body in balance and its Qi flowing smoothly.
• Seafood, particularly shellfish, has many healing properties.
• Eat the greatest quantity of food earlier in the day to allow your body to fully utilize the food’s nutrition when it is needed the most.
• Avoid eating late at night to give your digestive organs a rest while your body is sleeping. This will save more Qi for healing.
• Avoid excess fluids with meals, overeating, skipping meals, and eating while working.
• Maintain a quiet and relaxed environment while eating. This helps your digestion.
• Stop eating when you are approximately 70-80% full. This will allow your digestive system to process food without using excess Qi.

Finally, the body is just like any other ecosystem. It has its own "climate" that is affected by the internal environment of the body, and exposure to the external environment. These climates are described in terms of weather: Heat, Cold, Dryness, Dampness, and Wind. Often, undesirable climates arise internally as a result of poor lifestyle choices such as diet (along with excess work, too little relaxation, chronic emotions, too little rest, or chronic stress). Another way to think about this is as follows: Each internal organ prefers a specific "natural Qi."

For example, the Liver prefers Qi that flows smoothly, the Spleen likes dryness and hates dampness, while the Stomach prefers warmth and can’t stand cold (therefore you want to eat cooked vegetables).

To nourish your "Body’s Climate":

• Eat more warming foods in winter and more cooling foods in summer. In dry climates we need more moistening foods, in damp climates eat more drying foods. For example: foods with a warm essence include but are not limited to: Scallions, Fennel, Garlic, Celery, Lemon, Ginger, and Cinnamon. Foods with a cool essence include but are not limited to: Watermelon, Carrot, Pear, Kiwi, Mung Bean, Dandelion, and Green tea.
• Avoid or limit caffeine, alcohol, fried and fatty foods, and sugar.
• Avoid foods that create dampness, including dairy, fatty meat, fried foods, sugar/sweeteners, wheat, alcohol, and concentrated foods such as concentrated orange juice. In TCM, dampness is associated with weight gain.

"The best doctor concentrates on prevention instead of fixing disease. The wise doctor concentrates on bringing the whole body into harmony instead of fixing its imbalances. If you’re already sick and then begin medication, if your health is already out of control and then you start to address it, you are like a thirsty man digging a well, or a solder making his weapon in the midst of battle. You are too late." - Nei Jing (474 - 221 B.C.)

You are Free to Choose, But You are not Free from the Consequences of Your Choice. - Universal Paradox

Renee Lehman is a licensed acupuncturist, physical therapist, with over 30 years of health care experience. Her office is located at 249B York Street in Gettysburg. She can be reached at 717-752-5728.