After you have your Chinese medicine diagnoses, you can add foods into your diet to support your constitution. Nutrition is a great way to affect change in your health. You need to eat anyway! Add foods into your regular diet that complement your Chinese medicine diagnosis. Don't eat anything you are allergic to! And see your Chinese medicine provider for more detailed suggestions.
Building Kidney Yin:
in tonics tend to be sweet and cool. To tonify Yin, we favor sweet, sour and salty over bitter and pungent flavors. The quintessential yin tonic is the pear, sweet and juicy. Some other examples are eggs, asparagus and duck.
Building Kidney Yang:
Yang tonics tend to be sweet, pungent and warming. Spices such as cinnamon and ginger are typical yang tonics. They are foods that warm the body. Other examples of yang building foods include garlic, shrimp, lamb and walnuts.
Building Spleen Qi:
Qi is the energy found in all living things. Foods which tonify Qi tend to be sweet and often warm in nature. Good Qi tonifying foods include rice, royal jelly, sweet potato, squash, dates and oats.
Building the “Blood”:
In general naturally red foods help to build the Chinese medicine idea of blood (which includes but isn't exclusively what we normally think ofblood). In particular, dark green leafy vegetables and chlorophyll-rich foods are helpful. Some other good Blood building foods are beets, dark berries, red meat (especially organ meat), the redder fish such as salmon and molasses.
Moving Blood Stasis:
Blood stasis can be a serious diagnosis in both western and eastern medicine. If that is the case with you, please talk to your doctor about exercise and nutrition because you may need an individual determination on what’s best for you.In general, Blood stasis often benefits from movement.Eating a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables should be the basis of everyone’s diet and this is also true for the person with Blood stasis.Pungent spices, such as turmeric, peppermint, coriander and pepperare also helpful to moveblood.
Moving Liver Qi Stagnation:
Moving Qi is much easier than moving Blood but mostly the same food and lifestyle suggestions apply. Keeping your digestion moving with the digestive enzymes found in foods like papaya is another great way to keep the Qi moving.
Foods to Help Build Heart Qi:
In general, you can eat the qi building foods above but you can also add in foods and herbs specific for the heart such as schisandra and longan berries.
Foods to Help Remove Excess Heat:
You can almost imagine what a cooling food would be. Here are some easy examples: watermelon, cucumbers, tofu and peppermint.
Foods to Resolve Dampness:
Foods that drain fluids and resolve dampness include: aduki beans, job’s tears (Chinese barley), mushrooms and green tea. Greasy foods exacerbate dampness as does sugar, alcohol and dairy. Think of ice cream as frozen phlegm…Sorry about that!
Written by Stephanie Gianarelli of Acupuncture Northwest & Associates. An acupuncture clinic specializing in mental health, pain, fertility and pregnancy with clinics in Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, Washington.
FAQs
In particular, dark green leafy vegetables and chlorophyll-rich foods are helpful. Some other good Blood building foods are beets, dark berries, red meat (especially organ meat), the redder fish such as salmon and molasses.
What foods are good for Chinese medicine? ›
Eat drier and crunchier food including celery, asparagus and pumpkin, whole grains, onion, ginger, garlic and aromatic spices. Avoid greasy foods. Limit alcohol and drink green tea. Add warming and drying spices to food such as cinnamon.
What foods should you avoid if you have Qi deficiency? ›
Foods to avoid
- refined sugar.
- refined grains.
- fried or salty foods.
- iced or refrigerated foods or drinks.
- dairy products.
- citrus fruits.
- pork.
- yeasty foods, such as beer or dough.
Of course, spoiled and unclean foods, raw meat, wild mushroom, and food not thoroughly cooked are all prohibited. should avoid raw, cold, greasy, smelling fish, pungent food, barbecued, roasted, and fried oily foods. Light and blended foods are highly recommended.
What foods restore Qi? ›
Foods You Should Eat to Nourish Qi
This includes foods like rice, shiitake mushrooms, lean beef, chicken, lentils, grapes, figs, cherries, sweet potatoes, whole grains, tofu, ham, dates, ginseng, royal jelly, squash, potatoes, yams, herring, or longan.
How to heal your gut Chinese medicine? ›
How Traditional Chinese Medicine Optimizes Gut Health
- The rice binds the intestines to stop diarrhea.
- Cinnamon bark warms the digestive tract to aid in digestion.
- Hawthorn berry helps to reduce deposits in the arteries and blood vessels by lowering cholesterol.
Below, you'll find some of the most common methods:
- Get enough sleep. Being tired is a hallmark sign of a qi deficiency. ...
- Work on your breathing. One way to improve a qi deficiency is through purposeful breathing. ...
- Try tai chi or qi gong. ...
- Give acupuncture a go. ...
- Balance your diet. ...
- Take care of your mental health.
In moderate amounts, coffee can be helpful to the liver because it can move the Qi and relieve liver congestion. The liver is in charge of moving the Qi in the body. The key point here is that coffee should be in small amounts to achieve this function.
How do you reverse Qi deficiency? ›
To clear Qi stagnation, one can practice acupuncture, acupressure, physical activity, de-stressing activities such as meditation, and foods known for their energetic properties.
What is the best time to eat according to Chinese medicine? ›
According to TCM, our bodies run on a clock, where certain organs are stronger or weaker as energy ebbs and flows throughout the day. Optimal digestion occurs from 7 to 9 a.m.—breakfast time. Conversely, after 7 p.m., the stomach is at its weakest, so evening meals should be light.
Chicken Congee (China)
Chicken congee, a classic Chinese rice porridge, is an ideal choice for those feeling ill. The dish is easy on the stomach while offering sufficient protein from the chicken. A notable aspect of chicken congee is its adaptability.
How to drain dampness from the body? ›
Self Help Tips for Clearance or Reduction of Dampness in Body
- Avoidance of heavy, rich, sugary foods and dairy products. ...
- Avoidance of cooling and cold foods.
- Take more dampness clearance foods. ...
- Use a dehumidifier. ...
- Change out of wet clothings fast. ...
- Keep feet protected.
Herbal teas that enhance your Qi
Chrysanthemum tea can be used to boost immunity, heart health, and vision health. In addition, the color yellow is associated with the Stomach and digestive functions, so Chrysanthemum is a wonderful herbal floral tea for promoting better gut health.
What emotion dissolves Qi? ›
Chinese medicine has observed this systematically since ancient times; the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, one of the earliest medical texts (~2500 years old), states that “anger makes Qi rise, joy slows down Qi, sadness dissolves Qi, fear makes Qi descend…
What organ controls Qi? ›
The lung governs the motions of Qi(vital energy), as have long been established in the basic theories in traditional Chinese medicine, but in this paper, the authors attempt to define the close relations between the heart and Qi by proposing that the heart also governs Qi, through either immediate and indirect actions.
What are food qualities in Chinese medicine? ›
The four natures of food
In traditional Chinese medicine, food is divided into five natures, called "siqi": cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot. The nature of food is not determined by their actual temperature, but rather by what effects they have on a person's body after consumption.
What is a balanced diet in Chinese medicine? ›
A healthy TCM diet only includes fresh foods, such as recently picked fruits and vegetables, grains, and humanely raised and organic meats. Using these items, a nicely cooked meal with available qi can be made to satisfy the appetite.
What foods build blood Chinese medicine? ›
Building Blood by Strengthening the Spleen
| Grains | Barley, polenta, oats, rice, sweet rice, wheat, amaranth, millet |
|---|
| Nuts and seeds | Almonds, black sesame, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, sesame, walnuts |
| Fish | Mussels, octopus, oysters, sardines, tuna, trout, salmon |
| Meat | Poultry, lamb, beef, venison, bone marrow, liver, eggs |
6 more rowsYou could add another methods like acupuncture or cupping therapy to complete your treatment. Acupuncture improves the work of body organs, cupping is efficient for external detoxification. This process encourage skin blood perfusion and removing toxins from our bloodstream.
