Diet

In Chinese culture, a balanced diet is considered to be one which includes all five tastes – spicy, sour, bitter, sweet and salty. Different tastes in food are considered to have different medicinal properties.

For example, bitter foods tend to be drying and cold, which makes them good for treating Damp Heat conditions, but ineffective for people who are too Cold and/or Dry. Bitter foods are also said to have properties similar to antibiotics.

On the other hand, salty tasting foods tend to be warming and moistening and thus are good for treating people who suffer from Cold and Dryness, but should not be consumed cautiously by people who are Hot and Damp.

Sour food can be classified as being ‘sour-tasting’ (warming and moistening) or ‘astringent’ (cooling and drying).

There is also a ‘bland’ taste associated with certain foods. These foods and herbs are able to go to places in the body where other tastes cannot reach and are used to drain Dampness.

A food or herb, such as Wu Wei Zi (Five Flavour Seed, fructus schizandrae), can have more than one taste.

In general, a balanced diet will include all of these five tastes. However, the ratio of these tastes in the food varies according to the individual’s body’s needs and is also affected by seasonal changes. A person who has Dampness problems should eat less sweet, salty and sour tasting-food, which have moistening effects and more bitter food, whilst a person who suffers from Dryness should eat the opposite diet, and so on.

A large part of TCM is about balancing out Deficiencies and Fullness and Yin and Yang are also associated with food. During the winter, which is the most Yin time of the year, more Yang foods should be eaten to keep the balance and during the summer, the most Yang time of the year, more Yin foods should be eaten. However, this is only a generalisation, which can be changed to suit the individual’s needs.

Meats are generally classified as Yang foods and vegetables as Yin foods. However, the way food is prepared can also affect the amount of Yang or Yin energy it has.

For example, stir-frying increases Yang energy and steaming increases Yin.

Also, food which is served warm are more warming than foods which are served cold or raw.

Tastes are also associated with strengthening the body’s organs:

Salty – the Kidney

Sour – the Liver and Gall Bladder

Bitter – the Heart and Small Intestine

Spicy – the Lungs and Large Intestine

Sweet – the Spleen and Stomach

In the case of a Deficiency, eating foods with the associated tastes will strengthen the Deficient organ. However, the associated taste should be avoided when the organ is Full.