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Diet
Diet plays an important role in improving and sustaining your health. My dietary recommendations are based on TCM approaches, which view diet as very specific to the individual patient and his or her condition. Rather than focusing on which foods to avoid, I will suggest foods to add or emphasize in your diet. As with medical herbs, food is classified by its nature, temperature, taste and indications for the treatment of diseases. Below are some categories that I might recommend for you and that you can reference whenever you are planning your next meal. Food Categories
Each type of food has inherent energies; not the physical, objective temperature of the food, but the foods own energy and its effect on body temperature. In general, cooked foods are more warming than raw foods and root vegetables are warmer than other parts of the plant. COLD
bamboo shoots, clam, crab, water chestnut, banana, kelp,
grapefruit, watermelon
COOL
cucumber, barley, egg white, lettuce,mango, radish, strawberry,
wheat, apple, tofu, eggplant, loquat, pear, spinach, tangerine,
wheat bran
NEUTRAL
apricot, carrot, celery, corn, pork, peanuts, milk, almonds, plum,
yams, beef, potato, whole eggs, grapes, kidney beans, pineapple,
olive, papaya, rice, white sugar
WARM
cherry, chicken, dates, ginger, ham, peach, leek, pumpkin, vinegar,
chestnut, chive, garlic, green onion, raspberry, nectarine, lamb,
summer squash, sunflower seeds
HOT
black pepper, dried ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, bell peppers,
soybean oil
HEAT REDUCING
asparagus, banana, elderflower, lettuce,mung bean sprout, salt,
wheat, eggplant, chicken egg white, grapefruit, millet, peppermint,
tofu, bamboo shoot, clam, lemon, potato, watermelon (In chronic
conditions Heat is simply treated by the avoidance of hot foods and
the use of more cooling foods and methods of food preparation.
Where there is a pathogenic invasion, the pungent flavor is used
to drive the hot invader to the surface of the body.)
RESOLVE DAMPNESS
adzuki bean, barley, corn, green tea, Job's tears, lemon, parsley, rye,
umeboshi plum, alfalfa, daikon, horseradish, buckwheat tea, kidney
bean, mackerel, mustard leaf, pumpkin, scallion, anchovy, celery,
garlic, jasmine tea, kohlrabi, marjoram, radish, turnip, onion, white
fungus, button mushrooms
TONIFY SPLEEN
squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, onions, pumpkin, rice,
oats, chicken, turkey, beef, cherry, honey, maple syrup
CALM THE LIVER
nori, plum, celery, mulberry COOL LIVER YANG
celery, lettuce, watercress, kelp
MOVE QI
basil, bay leaf, beets, pepper, garlic, cabbage, leek, clove, carrot, orange
peel, tangerine peel, caraway, cayenne, coriander, marjoram, radish,
turmeric, cardamom, chive, dill seed,mustard leaf, star anise
TONIFY QI
beef, coconut, fig, grape, lentil, mackerel, oats, rabbit, sweet potato, sturgeon,
cherry, date, ginseng, ham, licorice, octopus, rice, shiitake mushroom, tofu,
chicken, eel, goose, herring, longan, molasses, potato, royal jelly, squash, yam
LUBRICATE THE INTESTINES
apple, milk, walnut, pear, peach, honey, peanut oil
MOVE BLOOD
eggplant, safflower oil, chestnut, basil, brown sugar, crab, onion, sturgeon,
vinegar, hawthorn berry, peach, chili pepper, chive,
mustard leaf, scallion
TONIFY BLOOD
adzuki beans, beets, cuttlefish, dark leafy greens, grape, longan, octopus,
sardines, watercress, apricot, bone marrow, dandelion, date, kidney
bean, algae, oyster, spinach, beef, chicken egg, fig, liver, nettle, parsley,
sweet rice
RESOLVE PHLEGM
mushroom, string bean, pumpkin, ginger, mustard greens, papaya, radish,
tuna, strawberry, potato, garlic, watercress, almond, daikon, lemon peel,
olive, pear, persimmon, seaweed, walnut, apple peel, onion, plantain, tea,
clam, marjoram, peppermint, shrimp, thyme
DRAIN WATER
adzuki bean, barley, celery, frog, kelp, sardines, alfalfa, black soybean, clam,
grape, lettuce, seaweed, anchovy, broad bean, fenugreek, Job's tears,
mackerel
TONFIY YANG
basil, chive seed, dill seed, garlic, lamb, pistachio, sage, star anise, cassio
fruit, cinnamon bark, fennel seed, dried ginger, lobster, raspberry, savory,
thyme, chestnut, clove, fenugreek seed, kidney, nutmeg, rosemary,
shrimp, walnut
TONIFY YIN
Apple, chicken egg, honey, malt, oyster, pineapple, rabbit, tomato, asparagus,
clam, duck, kidney bean, mango, pea, pomegranate, string bean, watermelon,
cheese, crab, duck egg, lemon, milk, pear, pork, tofu, yam
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