Chinese Food Therapy Principles for Beginners, Part 1.
In TCM food can be used as a healing tool when we consider food energetics. When we think about food we go beyond the concept of fats, carbs and proteins. Not that they are not important but because one single food can have an specific effect on the body according to their food energetics and how it resonates with the internal balance of each individual. A simple example of that model can be expressed when we picture a hot day at the beach and the ideal meal for a lunch. Would you rather eat grilled fish with a refreshing salad or chose chicken soup or lamb with baked sweet potatoes? I guess everybody can picture the idea of when catching a cold everybody benefits from a hot chicken soup with cooked vegetables and ginger tea, right?
When we consider food energetics in TCM each type of food can be categorized according to:
Thermal nature: cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot
Channel and organ affinity
Among these energetic actions thermal nature is one of the most important and fundamental to understand in order to be able to put a meal together that is balanced energetically and that will benefit the individual eating that meal. Although the actual temperature (cooked and warm, cold or frozen) may change also the energetic quality of a food and also play a role in how our body is affected the thermal nature in TCM is a bit more complex.
Each type of food can be classified into cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot. In the example above fish is cool and lamb meat hot (even if they are fed raw). Raw salad is cold and the cooked potatoes warm to hot. In practical life it makes total sense to eat raw foods on hot summer days and cooked foods on cold winter days right?
Why is it important to understand this thermal nature?
Simply because if you suffer from a “hot pattern” you want to eat cooling foods, and if you suffer from a “cold pattern” you want to eat warming foods. If you suffer from hot patterns and eat mostly warm and hot foods your health will aggravate or not improved at all. And the same is true from cold patterns and cold and cooling foods.
Bian Zheng or Pattern Differentiation:
In health or disease there is always a pattern that practitioner of TCM will identify. Understanding these patterns is crucial for health balance and success of treatment when one is diseased. For example, treating diarrhea in a puppy will likely be completely different than treating diarrhea in a senior. The diet of a healthy German Shepard that lives in Canada will likely not work well for a healthy German Shepard that lives at the beach in Costa Rica. Same thing can be applied when you are feeding a certain type of protein to your young kitty but all of sudden this no longer works well when he turns 10 and develop chronic constipation when their pattern changed. Have you ever wonder why some pets that suffer from food allergies do wonderfully well in a Lamb/ Rice commercial diet and for some other pets with the same condition the allergy comes back with a revenge when fed the same exact type of food and brand?
The Balance Principle:
In TCM everything is about keeping the balance in order to maintain or optimize health. When you do get sick you must apply the same principles to speed up your recovery. So if you have a pet that is mostly warm or hot it will be better for him to eat cooling and neutral foods, and if your pet is mostly expressing cool and cold patterns the optimum diet will be based in warm/ hot and neutral foods.
How can I identify if my pet in “hot doggie” or a “cool kitty”?
In a easy and practical way is all about observation. Does your pet digs to lie down under the sun for hours and hours, always seek his warm cozy bed and blanket, only sleeps in a curled position? Nope, my pet loves to be in the ceramic floor and drinks big gulps of “toilet water” (why does my dog do that anyway now that you mentioned??). When you touch the tip of their ears do they feel hot or warm? And when you touch their ear base does it feel cooler than the base of their head?
These are many of the patterns that a TCVM practitioner will question a pet guardian in order to put together their patterns. Interrogation, observation and palpation are often searching for these clues.
Can I apply these principles even if my pet eats commercial food?
Absolutely yes!! Let’s say your pet is a hot doggie, you may want to stay away from lamb, mutton, venison protein sources. This hot doggie would better benefit from fish, rabbit, duck, turkey and pork meat. If you live in a hot climate or during summer months you can also keep the same principle in mind. If your pet presents warm seeking behavior then yes, go ahead and feed lamb, mutton and venison.
The ideal diet, does it really exist?
In TCM the classical answer is “IT DEPENDS”. There are so many factors that we must consider but in reality the ideal diet is the one that is appropriate for each constitutional type, their life phase, geographical area and season of where they live, health condition and patterns.
The ideal diet is never fixed, repetitive and overly processed.
Read the first post of Food Therapy and Nutrition here:
http://daodogandtigercat.tumblr.com/post/155970579168/the-basics-of-food-therapy-in-tcvm-traditional
