The Basics of Chinese Diet Therapy

Chinese Diet Therapy – starting with the basics

Chinese Medicine is multifaceted, with acupuncture being one branch. Another branch is food, or diet therapy.

In fact, food is seen as the most used and basic form of medicine, as multiple times each day we deliver this medicine ourselves in our homes. Now there are many different systems of nutritional therapy, you can look at calories, nutrients, macros and those systems are all valid. The system that I work from, as an acupuncturist, is Chinese Medicine Nutrition. This does call for a different way of thinking to what we are used to in the west and may even contraindicate other advice. But this is nutritional advice, the Chinese medicine way.

Today I’d like to share the basic ideas around food in Chinese medicine. When I am providing dietary advice in clinic it is entirely tailored to each individual, their diagnosis and acknowledging their relationship with food. For this level of support, you need a practitioner who understands you. But for today I can share some initial ideas and food for thought (don’t mind the inevitable pun) about how Chinese medicine views food and our diet.

There are three main stages to Chinese diet therapy:

When we eat

How we eat

And lastly, what we eat

Now in the west we are only concerned with what we eat, completely bypassing the first two considerations. Today, we will look through each of these stages.

When we eat

When we eat is all about number of meals, times, and quantities at those times.

Eating at least 3 meals each day is important. Breakfast is seen as an essential in Chinese medicine, in order to wake up your digestive system and begin your daily energy production. 

There is some evidence in western science that avoiding breakfast slows your metabolism because your body is trying to conserve energy when you don’t eat in the mornings.

Eating regularly, at similar times each day is also important. We are cyclical beings, and our bodies love routine. 

Eating late at night should be avoided as this means we will be going to sleep with our digestive system still working hard and this can be disruptive.

How we eat

So, what is meant by how we eat? This refers to our mental and physical state when we are eating.

For example, we should eat while calm, and mindfully. This means no eating on the move, no eating in front of the telly and no eating while in distress. Of course, this isn’t always possible however, it is important to try and eat our meals with a sense of ceremony, with good posture and the ability to concentrate. 

 This can help nourish our relationship with food. Eating with concentration means we will chew our food better, eat slower and be more aware or feelings of fullness or overeating. Good posture can also aid digestion and improve symptoms such as bloating, acid reflux and indigestion.

What we eat

This includes both the ingredients and the way the ingredients are cooked. 

Foods and cooking methods are seen as having different qualities, temperatures and interactions with organs. 

Similarly to the theory of the body in Chinese medicine (see this blog post for more info) we look at foods in relation to Yin and Yang. 

Yang foods are warm in nature, sweet, energising for the body, encourage movement and lift. 

Yin foods are cooling, salty or bitter, about nourishing and building, and lowering the bodies energy.

For example: 

Ginger is a warm food, with the acrid, pungent quality making it even more Yang in nature. It affects the Spleen and Stomach. 

 A stew is warming and contains well-cooked compartments, this is therefore nourishing for the spleen. Adding the ginger in to a stew will create an even more potent Yang and Spleen nourishing meal

Therefore, in order to give dietary advice in Chinese medicine, we first diagnose, as we would to give an acupuncture treatment. This diagnosis will allow us to see what is out of balance, and therefore what foods can help return balance to the body. 

Chinese medicine does not count calories or look at nutritional densities of the foods we eat. This medicine is too old and rooted in tradition for this. It is all about balance and eating for YOUR body and health. All diet advice given in clinic is tailored to you and your working diagnosis.