dietary guidelines
Thousands of years ago, master healers in China perceived a way to classify food and disease according to simple, easily observed patterns: one eats cooling food for overheated conditions, warming foods for people who feel easily cold or live in cold climates.
In the West food is categorized into proteins, carbohydrates, fats, etc. In the Orient the focus lies on warming and cooling properties of food, the ability to moisten, strengthen energy, calm the mind, reduce watery or mucoid accumulations, and others. Oriental dietetics works with subtle flows of energy, reaching diagnostically far in advance to predict and prevent approaching illness.
To find balance, it is helpful to:
- Know your own needs
- Know the properties of foods
- Understand the correct preparation of foods
- Avoid overeating
- Choose high quality foods
- Avoid too many food combinations
Even the best quality food available can be harmful if it is eaten in the wrong circumstances, which can lead to disease. For example, things like eating in a hurry, discussing work while eating, or eating late in the evening can all interfere with the proper digestion of food. In Oriental terms, this can lead to the impairment of the digestive energy.
The diet guidelines that we recommend have an emphasis on whole foods, taking the Western knowledge of modern nutrition, vitamins and minerals into account and incorporating it into the holistic system of Oriental Medicine.