Chinese Dietary Principles
Healthy digestion is at the heart of Chinese Medicine. Think of your stomach and spleen as a cooking pot that must be hot and simmering in order to be healthy. This is not just to maximize our body’s ability to metabolize nutrients from our food, but also to receive energy or Qi from the food we eat. The Chinese also believe that keeping the stomach warm is important to prevent the accumulation of phlegm in the body. Phlegm will slowdown movement and impair the healthy internal flow of energy and nutrients.
The following are some basic dietary principles from Chinese Medicine to promote your healthy digestion and keep your center—your spleen and stomach—warm.
Drink room temperature or warm drinks, Avoid iced and refrigerated drinks. When eating, it’s preferable to consume a warm drink like green tea.
Raw of cold temperature food should be eaten after a warm meal when your stomach is already hot and it wont be harmed by the cold.
Dairy and sugar create phlegm and mucous in the body. Refined and enriched grains and excessively oily foods also create phlegm and injure digestion.
Variety is important. Eat with the seasons so that you don’t eat the sane boring foods day in and day out, year after year. Your digestive energy will suffer without diversity. It will thrive if you eat foods you enjoy.
Eat warm foods for breakfast. Think hot oatmeal, rice porridge, eggs, or sprouted or whole-grain toast, and/or lean breakfast meats. Avoid dairy if possible. Fruit is okay so long as it’s at the end of your meal. Don’t drink your breakfast in the form of cold smoothies.
Lunch and dinner follow the same prescriptions: warm drinks, warm food, and diversity. If you want a raw salad, eat at the end of a cooked meal or consider sautéing the greens slightly.
