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"Food is more
important than herbs." Ancient Chinese
adage.
The food we eat is
considered extremely important to
physical, mental and spiritual health in
TCM, and a change in diet is often
prescribed alongside other treatments.
The simple fact is that our bodies are
not designed to deal with artificial
additives, colors, and chemicals. With
the "advances" in science, our food
today is coated and infused with many
unnatural substances. We get too much
alcohol, acid and fat, and naturally our
health suffers. As one system is upset
it affects other processes in the body
and the entire balance can be thrown.
Persistent abuse can lead to a build up
in toxins and a gradually reduced immune
system, bad digestion, headaches, back
pain, and other more serious problems.
As diet is considered one of the major
elements of health, Chinese doctors
recommend diet changes if the patient's
intake is unbalanced.
The cliché
"you are what you eat" sums up this
approach perfectly. The body is
constantly repairing and renewing itself
- in fact, in 10 years time you will
retain not a single cell of your current
body, they will all have been replaced.
This applies to your skin, organs,
brain, bones and every part of the body.
We must realize that the fuel for this
process, the very building blocks of the
physical body, comes from our food, so
we really are what we eat.
The theory
for diet is based on simple rules, one
of the most important being 'eat only
food' - this means avoiding unnatural
products that the body cannot process
(artificial additives, drugs etc.) and
heavily processed foods that contain
little or no nutritional value (white
flour, sugar etc.) These are not things
that the body is designed to consume, so
are not really 'foods' beneficial to
human consumption.
The final
recommendation is to eat the food nature
intended us to eat by opting for locally
grown seasonal produce whenever
possible. It also follows that organic
is best, as organically grown food
contains no artificial chemicals and
causes less harm to the environment.
By eating a
varied diet with some low fat protein
(meat), lots of whole grains, seeds,
nuts, seasonal fruit and vegetables you
get everything you need for a healthy
body and mind. After all, we are a part
of the natural world, and have evolved
to eat the foods that grow around us.
Everything we need is readily available
to us without the need to rely on
man-made additives and chemicals.
In Chinese
medical theory, further properties of
foods are explored, such as actions and
temperatures. This means that the ‘best’
foods will be different for different
people depending on their constitution
and the nature of their illness at any
given time. Although a clear
presentation of the Chinese energies of
food is beyond the scope of this page,
there are several books are available as
resources for greater depth of
information.
Chinese
System of Food Cures, Prevention and
Remedies by Henry C. Lu
Healing with
Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions &
Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford
These make
good on-hand references for
incorporating better food choices into
your diet for your health. A healthy,
balanced diet is one of the most
essential parts of obtaining and
sustaining good health.
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