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NaturalWay – Margit Slimáková

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Half Mountain in the Sun & Half Mountain in the Shade

In order to determine how foods can be used to maintain health and vitality, TCM has classified them as cold, cool, neutral, warm or hot. The grouping is based on their effects on the body and not on the physical nature or temperature of the foods itself.

The goal of nutrition in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an energetically-balanced diet to build healthy bodies; a nutrition that gently helps in the prevention of diseases and in the treatment of diseases already present. From a Chinese perspective, this means intake of food of different flavors, "energies" and functions in accordance with individual constitutional needs. In TCM, nutrition is evaluated as two opposite yet complementary energies, known as Yin and Yang. It is also based on the thermal effect of food and its flavors, as well as their tendency of movement in the body and their relevance to the five elements. 

Yin and Yang

Classical Chinese texts liken Yin and Yang energies to a mountain, half of which lies in the shadow, the other half in the sun. The former part of the mountain is cold, damp and dark. This, according to TCM, represents Yin properties. The sunnier side is hot, light and dry. All of these are the typical characteristics of Yang energy. To put it in practical terms, it is possible to diagnose that people who often feel cold have low blood pressure, that by preferring warm and sunny weather they can be categorized as having more Yin than Yang. Hyperactive people, on the other hand, who always seem to be in a hurry, are those with a predominance of Yang energy. Cooling and moist food types contain Yin energy, whereas dry, warming foods are sources of Yang energy. 

Therefore, for people who often feel cold and exhausted, a beneficial diet will be one with a predominance of Yang energy. On the contrary, "hot tempered" individuals would thrive better on food with refreshing Yin energies. 

Thermal Effect of Food

The thermal effect of food represents the ability to induce feelings of cold or heat in the body.

The goal of nutrition in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an energetically-balanced diet to build healthy bodies; a nutrition that gently helps in the prevention of diseases and in the treatment of diseases already present. From a Chinese perspective, this means intake of food of different flavors, "energies" and functions in accordance with individual constitutional needs. In TCM, nutrition is evaluated as two opposite yet complementary energies, known as Yin and Yang. It is also based on the thermal effect of food and its flavors, as well as their tendency of movement in the body and their relevance to the five elements. 

Proper nutrition is a complex issue and must be based on each individual's medical and constitutional status. The best that I can recommend generally is to adopt a preference for natural food, and limit intake of processed food. The more natural the nutrition, the more one will begin to feel its positive influence on one's own constitution, which eventually empowers people to adhere to the customized nutritional plan best suited to themselves.

The East is not Afraid of Calories

In the West, many of us, before each meal, calculate calories or the number of hours we have to exercise in order to burn the calories consumed. On the contrary, in the East it is recommended that people eat high-energy food. What is the logic behind this?

Eastern philosophies do not evaluate foodstuffs according to their individual components of joules, carbohydrates or fats but according to their overall quality, expressed in the form of living energy. Eastern understanding is derived from an observation of human behaviour once the food is taken into the body. Food is assessed according to the nature and quality of its "vital energy," which in China is called Qi. Therefore, the word "energy" in Eastern philosophy has a different meaning, and energy measured in joules has no value here. 

My Recommendation for the Dalian Winter

Drink like the Chinese, which means lukewarm water and tea. Don't chill your digestive system with iced drinks, as is common in western countries. Especially in the winter months, our digestive system will not tolerate the continued intake of cold substances such as food or drink taken directly from the refrigerator, or the overuse of energetically cold substances such as raw food. Eventually the fire which supports the body by energizing the digestive system will become weakened, leading to an increasing inability to derive proper nourishment from food. So even if you do overeat, you will remain undernourished. 

Food that belongs to the 5 categories:

Cold/cool: banana, asparagus, watermelon, seaweed, crab, clam, salt, green bean, eggplant, apple, cucumber, barley, orange, wheat.

Hot/warm: chilli, durian, chestnut, pumpkin, garlic, cherry, chicken, prawn, beef, wine, ginger, leek, coffee, peach.

Neutral: cabbage, egg, fungus, coconut, soya bean, carrot, abalone, grapes, pineapple, squid, rice.