Food Therapy Basics

“Medicine and Food Share the Same Source. “

If you know food properly, wellness and longevity are possible. 

Ever since the mortality rate from infectious diseases has gone down with the improvement in living conditions and sanitation, the main cause of death has become degenerative diseases. These degenerative conditions include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases such as hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke, and cancer. All of these conditions are closely related to inappropriate dietary habits and unbalanced nutrition. This is why we need to implement Food Therapy into our lives regularly.

Food Therapy is based on the fundamental idea that “Medicine and Food Share the Same Source”. Hence, Food Therapy can also be called “Medicinal Food”. A famous Chinese Medical Doctor in the Tang dynasty, Sun Si Miao, said, “When seeing a patient, a doctor should find the cause of the illness first and foremost, and try to treat it with food first. If that is ineffective, he should then treat it with herbal medicine.” In China, as far back as 11 - 7 centuries BC, there were food doctors in the palace of the Western Zhou dynasty. These doctors were like dietitians in the present day, managing the emperor’s nutrition for overall healthcare and disease prevention. China’s ornate culinary culture and human desire to live long and healthy have continuously passed on and developed over the years. Now, big cities in China and Taiwan have successful restaurants that specialize in Medicinal/Therapeutic Cuisine. This takes the form of dishes made by combining food and medicinal herbs. Therefore, the study of Food Therapy also involves researching and applying how one can mix medicine and food items harmoniously to make them palatable while treating illnesses / preserving health at the same time. Such culture has also been passed on to other Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea and is continuously growing. As a result, manufactured food items such as beverages and snacks labelled as “(health) Functional Food” can be commonly found in these countries. In the West, food should also no longer be something that sustains life at a bare minimum or something that satisfies our palate only. We should think about what and how we should eat to benefit our health. If we choose food well, we can prevent illnesses as well as treat them.

Chinese Medicine Food Therapy not only looks at the nutritional contents of a food item but also its Chinese medicinal properties. These include innate temperature (different from the physical temperature measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit), locations it tends to affect, and other therapeutic actions it has on the body to treat and prevent diseases. This is important to note because it ties in closely to the basic principles of Food Therapy. 

Food Therapy Principles are built on the following fundamental Chinese Medicine Theories. 

1. Balance of Yin and Yang: Excess and Deficiency of Yin and Yang are adjusted by foods to recover balance between them and treat illnesses that come from their imbalance. 

2. Coordination between the Visceras (organs): Foods are used in consideration of the relationship between the organs and the relationship between organs and tissues to restore the mutual and functional state. 

3. Holism between Human and Nature: We are a whole organism made up of various organs and tissues. However, we are also a part of the universe we live in. Therefore, we must consume foods with consideration of the environment, such as seasonal changes, as well as the characteristics of the location we inhabit. 

Now that we know the foundational theories of Chinese Medicine, we can look at the basic principles of Food Therapy. There are two:

The first is that we should “know about food”. Just like we all have different personalities, talents, and roles in society, so do foods. For instance, an Aloe that some people may grow ornamentally or as food can clear heat and promote bowel movement (it drains heat with the expulsion of stools) with its moisturizing effect on the intestines. 

The second principle is that we should “know about disease and our own body”. Even if two people have the same disease, it cannot always be treated the same way, because they can arise from different causes. 

This second principle is based on the Chinese Medicine’s Treatment Principle according to Syndrome Differentiation. Based on the syndrome differentiation of a disease, even if the disease is the same between two patients, we must give different foods if the cause of the disease, specifics of the symptoms, constitution of the patient, and habitat/lifestyle of the patients are different. On the other hand, even if the diseases are different between two patients, if their pathogenesis and syndrome differentiation for the diseases are the same, then we can treat them using the same food. 

For instance, constipation can be caused by 6 different syndromes/patterns according to Chinese Medicine diagnostics. In a pattern due to Excess Heat drying the intestines (symptoms would be round and dry pebble-like stools, lots of thirst, scanty dark urine), aloe mentioned above, as well as other foods of similar nature, such as banana, cassia seed, senna leaves, bamboo shoots, and eggplants, can all be helpful. However, in constipation due to Yang Deficiency (symptoms would be thin pencil-like stool that requires a lot of effort to push, susceptibility/dislike of cold, pale and profuse urine), these foods can worsen the symptoms by further cooling the body, and foods like goat meat and chives should be used instead. 

Another common pattern of constipation in adults is Qi Stagnation, which tends to be related to mental/emotional stress (symptoms would be stool that is not dry but still small and round like pebbles, fullness/distension in the abdomen, frequent belching). In these cases, foods like buckwheat, yuzu, kumquat, and radish are beneficial.

As we know that even the most effective medicines should not be used in patients who do not require them, the same applies to food. Even if medicinal cuisine was made with precious ingredients like ginseng and deer antlers, it should be used on individuals who fit those food properties and can benefit from it. Food Therapy’s effect to correct the body’s disposition to certain illnesses and treat illnesses becomes the utmost when we know the different characteristics of food and medicines, recognize the body type/constitution of the person eating the food, and understand the cause of the disease to combine this knowledge and consume accordingly.  

Foods are generally divided into 4 temperature categories: cold, cool, warm, and hot. There are also neutral foods that do not tend to either temperature. 

Cold & Cool: They drain heat and have detoxifying effects (as many toxins are Fire-Toxins), nourish the Yin-Fluids, and cool the Blood. Often used for a Heat type constitution or Heat pathologies. These kinds of food are often bitter. They tend to naturally grow in the spring or summertime when Heat pathogens are more likely to influence our bodies. Also, all foods in the melon category, as well as those that smell like them (e.g. cucumber), belong to this category. 

Cold foods e.g., Purslane, Bitter melon, Lotus root, Crab, Salt, Fermented soybean, Tomato, Persimmon, Bracken, Water chestnut, Sea laver, Kelp, Bamboo shoots, Watermelon, Oriental melon, Banana, Mulberry, Winter melon, Cucumber. 

Cool foods e.g., Eggplant, Radish, Rape/Canola/Yu Choy, Spinach, Amaranth/Pigweed, Water parsley, Millet, Barley, Mung bean, Tofu, Wheat, Shepherd’s purse, Mandarin, Apple, Pear, Mango, Coix/Job’s tear, Green tea, Frog, Matsutake mushroom/Pine mushroom, Pork rind, Duck egg, Buckwheat. 

Warm & Hot: These foods generally tonify Yang Qi, dispel Cold, and promote Blood Circulation to free the flow in channels and collaterals of the body. Often used for a Cold type constitution or Cold pathologies. Spices or foods that are fragrant/aromatic often have this nature. Among the fish, warm or hot-natured ones tend to have red colour (e.g. trout, salmon). They are often naturally available in the fall or wintertime when Cold pathogens are more likely to affect our bodies. 

Warm foods e.g., Chives, Fennel, Ginger, Green onion, Mustard green/Leaf mustard, Cilantro, Garlic, Pumpkin, Quince, Glutinous rice, Sorghum, Vinegar, Longan fruit, Apricot, Peach, Pomegranate, Japanese apricot, Lychee/Litchi, Chestnut, Dates, Walnut, Deer meat, Sparrow meat, Mussel, Shrimp, Salmon, Sea cucumber, Chicken meat, Goat meat, Pork liver, Pork stomach, Wild chive/Wild rocambole. 

Hot foods e.g., Mustard, Cinnamon bark, Pepper (black&white), Sichuan/Chinese pepper, Trout, Hard liquor.

Neutral: Often used for life cultivation/health preservation food therapy due to their impartiality. 

Neutral foods e.g., Onion, Sweet potato, Radish seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Potato

Foods can also have one or more of the five flavours. These flavours are bitter, sweet, pungent, salty, and sour. Foods have special actions depending on their flavour. 

Bitter flavour: In Chinese medicine, they are known to cool the Heat, descend rising/rebellious things (including Heat), and dry Dampness. Hence, it is often used for a Heat-type constitution and Heat-related pathologies. e.g., Bitter melon, Wild chive/Wild rocambole, Green tea, Apricot kernel, Lily, Gingko, Peach kernel, Green laver, Lotus leaf. 

According to modern research, bitter flavour comes from chemical constituents like alkaloids (broad term for all nitrogenous compounds found in plants. Most famous ones are coffee’s caffeine and chocolate’s theobromine), bitter glycosides (most famous compounds are narangin in tangerine peels, quercetin in onion peels, cucurbitacins in cucumber stem), and ketones (most famous one being humulone in beer). These have an effect of promoting stomach activity (only in small amounts, can cause acute gastritis when taken in large amounts), anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic effects. 

Sweet flavour: In Chinese medicine, they are known to have tonifying and mitigating effects against harsh medicines/foods as well as an ability to moisten & nourish dry things. It is often used for those with a Deficient-constitution or Deficient-pathologies. e.g., Most foods have a sweet taste to them. Lotus root, Eggplant, Tomato, Bracken, Radish, Onion, Bamboo shoot, Potato, Spinach, Shepherd’s purse, Pumpkin, Cabbage, Taro, Lentils, Peas, Carrot, Napa cabbage, Winter melon, Cucumber, Cinnamon bark, Tofu, Black bean, Mung bean, Adzuki bean, Soybean, Job’s tear, Broad bean/Fava bean, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Glutinous rice, Rice, Corn, Millet, Barley, Wheat, Tree ear fungus, Matsutake/Pine mushroom, Sweet potato, Honey, Milk, Sugar cane, Persimmon, Apple, Apricot, Mandarin, Lily, Pear, Peanut, Ginkgo, Watermelon, Oriental melon, Hawthorns. 

According to modern research, all sugar and sugar alcohol with -OH groups have a sweet flavour. These are mostly used in our body to create energy. Sweet flavours can also alleviate pain. 

Pungent flavour: In Chinese Medicine, they are known to promote and disperse Qi flow. Hence, it is often used for expelling/dispelling external pathogenic factors. e.g., Ginger, Garlic, Mustard leaf, Cilantro, Radish, Onion, Mustard seed, Rape/Canola leaf, Taro, Celery, Chives, Cinnamon bark, Hot pepper, Fennel, Wild rocambole, Alcohol. 

According to modern research, pungent flavours accompany aroma, and when these two combine, they promote appetite and gastric activity. Pungent foods are mostly used as spices. They have compounds such as acidic amide (such as hot pepper’s capsaicin, pepper’s chavicine), and sulphated allyls (such as garlic’s allicin, chive/onion/green onion’s dialkyl sulphide), which produce heat or facilitate blood circulation in our body.

Salty flavour: In Chinese medicine, they are known to loosen up solid/hard accumulations, nourish blood, and softly brush down things. Hence, they are used for goitres or thyroid nodules and also when the occipital region becomes tense from stress. e.g., Amaranth, Salt, Millet, Barley, Sea laver, Jellyfish, Kelp, Crab, Sea cucumber, Marsh/Black snail, Pork hock, Duck meat.  

According to modern research, salty flavours in foods come from inorganic and organic alkaline salts. Sodium is well-known for giving a salty taste. Sodium ions are responsible for maintaining fluid balance in our bodies. Sodium is also important in the transmission of nerve signals, which is important for muscle contraction & relaxation. 

Sour flavour: In Chinese medicine, they are known to prevent the leaking of substances as well as help the absorption of substances. Hence, they are used for patients who have frequent spontaneous sweating, chronic diarrhea, and seminal emission. e.g., Tomato, Quince, Purslane, Vinegar, Royal Jelly, Mandarine, Lemon, Apricot, Peach, Pear, Hawthorn, Pomegranate, Japanese plums/apricots, Lychee, Cucumber, Grapes, Trout, Yuzu.

According to modern research, sour flavour also often accompanies aromas like pungent flavour, hence they also stimulate our taste receptors and appetite. Sour flavour is felt from hydrogen ions from acids when they are dissolved in liquids. Acids are grouped into inorganic acids and organic acids. Organic acids give a refreshing sour taste (e.g. Vitamin C, lactic acid, and citric acid). Inorganic acids give a bitter flavour, and so only carbonic acids (H2CO3) are used in foods. 

There is another property of foods, which is their tropism. This refers to the location (organs or meridians) to which they have affinity. Foods can affect one or more of the Zang and Fu organs as well as their meridians. There are 12 primary channels and 10 Zang Fu organs, which means there will be too many to list if examples were given for each. Hence, they will not be covered in this article.

We have talked about single food applications so far. There are even food pairings that balance each other or enhance therapeutic effects (e.g., the co-use of cold and hot foods to prevent skewing of the food temperature to either extreme by combining cold-natured and hot-natured foods, or combining tonic foods and aromatic foods to counter excessive greasiness and stickiness that slow digestion). Food can be combined in so many ways. What would be more efficient to remember are food contraindications (meaning when foods should not be applied), as there are fewer contraindications to remember than all the possible food applications & combinations. These contraindications are based on the symptoms’ Deficiency or Excess of Cold or Heat, Yin and Yang’s Dominance/Prevalence, as well as the foods’ four temperatures, five flavours, Rise/Fall and Floating/Sinking nature, and Meridian Tropism.

First of all, there are times when certain flavours should not be used. For instance, when a patient is dealing with an external pathogenic invasion (e.g., common cold, influenza, other infectious illnesses), sour-flavoured foods are contraindicated. This is because sour foods tend to astringe and draw inwards. External pathogens that have invaded the body need to be expelled, but consuming sour foods can work against this process. In patients who have severe Qi deficiency, pungent foods and bitter foods are contraindicated. This is because spicy foods move/disperse Qi. During this movement, Qi is exhausted and may also escape the body. Bitter foods will drain the Qi downwards and also make the patient more weary. Very sweet foods such as fruits and desserts made with refined sugar are contraindicated against patients with accumulations of dampness and phlegm because they will aggravate the condition, in addition to other items like oily/greasy foods and dairy products. 

Below are specific contraindications for acute illnesses.

i) Diarrhea with cold sensation in the belly and without a burning sensation in the anus: Raw and cold foods such as raw vegetables, fruits, cold beverages, sashimi (raw fish) are contraindicated for these patients who likely have diarrhea due to Spleen and Stomach Yang and Qi Deficiency or due to Cold-Damp invasion into the Intestines. 

ii) Early Stage Common Cold/Influenza or Lack of Appetite: Foods made from powders of glutinous rice, wheat (i.e. flour), and barley are contraindicated for these cases because these foods are slippery and can be difficult to digest at these times when the patient’s Spleen and Stomach function are weakened. 

iii) Tendency to gain weight easily or those with phlegm: Greasy foods like animal fats, fried foods, and dairy products can promote more Phlegm-Damp accumulations, which the patient already has. 

iv) Phlegm-Heat and Wind-Heat patterns such as common cold with yellow phlegm/nasal discharge and sore throat, red rashes on skin, and other visible inflammations: Meats like lamb, deer, seawater fish, fish without scales (e.g., flatfish/halibut/turbot, hairtail/cutlassfish, pomfret), shrimp, lobster, crayfish, mussels are contraindicated because they are all warm and can worsen these conditions. 

v) Internal heat patterns accompanying signs like intolerance to heat, excessive sweating, excessive appetite, dark urination, dry hard stools, red tongue with yellow coat: Green onion, ginger, garlic, hot pepper, black/white pepper, Sichuan/Chinese pepper, chives, alcohol, and tobacco are all contraindicated as they all worsen the internal heat. 

vi) Eczema patients, asthma patients, and those with a stroke history: Foods like buckwheat, bean sprouts, chicken head, duck head, pork head, donkey, other foods that have a stench or fishy smell, and spicy foods are contraindicated for these patients because they can promote relapse of the disease or aggravate them.  

That was the basics of Chinese Medicine Food Therapy. Please remember to be careful when you take in food recommendations, especially while dealing with an illness. We know that people around you want you to get better, and maybe it is true that they tried those foods themselves and have seen benefits. But everyone has a different constitution. The key takeaway is that each food’s specific nature and action can be beneficial when used on the right individual, but more harmful than good when used on the wrong individuals.