There is a whole other view on food that has been tried & tested for thousands of years & most of us have never heard of it. In fact we are so far removed from our food sources, that most people have a difficult time recognizing certain vegetables or fruits, let alone know how to grow their own foods or recognize whole grains that don't already come ground & mixed in a ready-to-make box. I can't tell you how many times I've gone through the checkout line with something like an eggplant & the cashier didn't know what it was & had to ask.
I want to introduce the West to terms that Asian food energetics attribute to foods: flavor, color, season, yin & yang, Qi (pronounced Chi), deficiency/excess, hot/cold, phlegm, dampness, stagnation, etc. Nature gives us the tools we need to nourish our bodies, to live healthy, fulfilled lives. Everything in this world is connected & food is the foundation; fuel to strengthen our bodies. If you have never watched the documentary Super Size Me I suggest you do- last time I checked its on instant view on Netflix. It is somewhat dramatic, but shows the effects nutrient-depleted food has on the mind & body: depression, obesity, stress, poor sleep, high blood pressure, impotence, just to name a few. Wouldn't it be better to change before poor health forces you to or worse?
Look for more articles & resource articles coming soon.
Did you know that poppy seeds sedate & calm the nervous system? They help to relieve coughs & are medicinal for the colon.
In the West, foods are described in terms of how much protein, fat, calories, vitamins &minerals it contains. The emphasis is placed on the chemical composition of a food to determine whether it is beneficial & nutritious.
In the East, foods are described by qualities such as temperature, flavor, & action. TCM determines the unique energy & characteristic properties of each food such as hot/cold,salty/sweet/bitter flavors, & how foods act on & move throughout our body. All foods have a distinct energy & characteristic properties that either help to balance our bodies & make us healthy, or to create imbalances which ultimately result in sickness.
Eating 1-2 raw tomatoes daily will lower blood pressure. Tomatoes encourage absorption & are excellent in treating low appetite, indigestion, food retention & constipation.
Although considered acidic, once a tomato is digested it alkalizes blood. Reducing acidic blood helps to treat inflammation, rheumatism, & gout.
Most fruits are cleansing & will help reduce stagnation. The diets of most Westerners tend towards excess- for those eating meat-rich diets, fruit is very helpful in preventing accumulation of heat & stagnation. Heat & stagnation in the intestines is how most illness comes about in America, especially if left unresolved.
