Treating Disharmony with Chinese Medicine Dietary Therapy
Treating disharmony with Chinese Dietary Therapy is the first step in reclaiming wholeness and balance. That’s why I call it the First-Step Dietary Therapy Program. In some instances, it is the lead medicine in a treatment plan. At other times, it serves as an adjunct to acupuncture and herbal remedies and/or Western therapies, helping the other treatments work more effectively.
Anyone suffering from imbalances can benefit from a program of general purification—unless you are extremely weak. Dietary Therapy gives your body a break—a time to calm down, gather its forces, and clear out foods that are causing disharmony or discomfort. This allows for restoration of normal bowel function so your body can harmoniously absorb and use food and harmonize the Qi and the other Essential Substances.
The First-Step Dietary Therapy Program is especially helpful for people with digestive troubles, such as colitis, lactose intolerance, or irritable bowel syndrome; immune system difficulties such as allergies, hepatitis, HIV, or chronic fatigue; chronic gynecological disturbances; chronic sore throats or colds; and skin disturbances.
GENERAL DIETARY GUIDELINES
Before beginning the First-Step Dietary Therapy Program, understand the following simple guidelines.
• The First-Step Dietary Therapy Program should be followed within the context of a total healing program under the supervision of a licensed practitioner.
• Each Phase may run from one-half day to one week. You and your practitioner can determine the duration.
• If a Phase seems inappropriate for your specific situation, skip it and go on to the next one.
• If you are already losing weight due to disease, do not use any Phase that may cause weight loss.
• If you feel weak or unable to do a Phase, you may skip it or shorten it. The Phases are intended to help you cleanse as well as rebuild your energy and health.
THE FIRST-STEP DIETARY THERAPY PROGRAM PHASES
The First-Step Dietary Therapy Program is divided into five phases.
Phase One
To tonify the Spleen and Stomach, limit your diet to the following foods for one to seven days.
Miso broth: Miso is a fermented paste made from grains and beans, originating in Japan. It contains good bacteria that replenish the flora that may have been depleted or destroyed in the digestive tract through antibiotic or hormone use, poor diet, alcohol intake, or stress. In general, I recommend rice-based miso. If you are not gluten sensitive, try using mugi (barley) miso with some mellow yellow (light yellow miso) if it is summertime. Avoid hatcho (dark) except when it is very cold. I especially like natto miso.
If you are on a low-sodium diet, it may be better to skip using miso because it contains a lot of sodium. If you are lactose-intolerant or do not eat dairy products, a good non-dairy alternative is nondairy kefir. Because miso contains soybeans, make sure that you use organic miso as all other soybeans are genetically modified.
Vegetable broth and juices: You can drink fresh organic vegetable broth and juices during this Phase. These could include carrot, beet, celery, daikon, and watercress juices. Avoid adding onion or garlic at this stage. When vegetables are juiced, they increase in Yang qualities, and they may become more warming than just the raw vegetable. It is also much easier to digest raw juice than raw vegetables. I recommend that you cook the juice into a warm broth as well. You may add an unsalted pure vegetable powder used for vegetable stock to the fresh vegetable broth. This increases the nutrients as well as the flavor.
Lentil broth (cook lentils, strain off the water, and drink as a soup) may also be used in addition to the vegetable broths.
If you have an immune system disorder, I recommend that you wash all vegetables thoroughly to avoid parasites and bacteria, even organically grown ones. Remember that organic vegetables are grown in manure, which is filled with microorganisms. Wash the vegetables in a diluted bleach solution (1/2 teaspoon bleach in 1 quart [946 ml] water) to kill microorganisms. Use only plain bleach that contains no additives. (Many bleaches sold are not pure bleach.) Rinse off the bleach completely after washing. An alternative to this are vegetable and fruit washes found in your local natural foods store.
Brown rice cereal: Organic brown rice cereal provides added protein and energy. You may find this in any natural foods store.
Phase Two
After you have comfortably tried—or skipped—Phase One, you may want to move on to Phase Two for no more than seven days. You also may choose to skip it and go directly to Phase Three.
To the foods in Phase One, add steamed fresh organic vegetables, especially root vegetables (carrots, daikon root, burdock, turnips, and beets) and green vegetables (cruciferous such as broccoli, kale, and chard). Again, make sure all your vegetables are washed thoroughly in a diluted bleach solution.
Phase Three
Begin this Phase only if you feel strong. Follow Phase Three for no more than seven days.
To the foods in Phases One and Two, add organic cooked grains, including brown rice, millet, barley, and buckwheat. If you have a very Hot condition, avoid buckwheat. Check with your practitioner for advice. You may also add unbleached white rice or white basmati rice for diarrhea. Avoid wheat, corn, and oats. Do not eat any bread products in Phase Three.
NOTE
In Phases One, Two, and Three, you may add protein powder or predigested protein if necessary to prevent weakness and too much weight loss. Consider using rice protein, hemp protein, or whey protein. Don’t use milk powder or soy-based protein powder, which may cause loose stools and/or produce Damp Cold.
If you are allergic to milk, whey protein may be contraindicated. If you have insulin resistance and are trying to eat a low-glycemic diet, rice protein is deemed to be low-glycemic.
Phase Four
To the foods in Phases One, Two, and Three, add other organic foods and fish or high-quality plant-based proteins. Watch for any unfavorable reactions to foods and eliminate them from your diet. Make sure that you do not sacrifice moderation, balance, and sound nutrition. At this point, it is great to establish a balance of low- to moderate-glycemic carbohydrates along with good organic protein sources.
Phase Five
Once you establish a moderate natural foods diet that is unrestricted, except by your health considerations, you will have entered Phase Five, which is a dietary regime for lifelong good health and harmony.
TIP
If going through Phases One to Four in order feels too restrictive, you may begin your First-Step Dietary Program with Phase Four, which is a generally healthy diet based on organic grains and vegetables and high-quality plant-based or animal proteins. Once you are comfortable with that eating style, you may want to go back to Phase One for one to seven days.
THE FIRST-STEP DIETARY THERAPY PROGRAM THERAPEUTIC RECIPES
To augment your dietary program, the following delicious, but medicinal, foods will provide you with well-balanced energy and nutrition.
To Purify Xue
KICHAREE
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Kicharee is a well-balanced Ayurvedic medicine healing dish, and it is high in easily assimilated protein.
1/2 cup (80 g) cooked mung beans or lentils
1/2 cup (85 g) steamed brown rice
Sesame oil or clarified butter (ghee)
Pinch cumin seed
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups (940 ml) water
Yogurt, such as goat’s milk yogurt (optional)
In a pan, sauté the mung beans or lentils and rice in the oil or ghee for 5 minutes with the cumin seed, turmeric, and coriander. Add the water and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve, top the mixture with the yogurt, if using.
(From Abigail Surasky, L.Ac., Berkeley, California)
To Regain Strength
CONGEE
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
Rice is often used for healing in Chinese medicine. Congee is a porridge made from rice or other grains that is an extremely therapeutic food that strengthens the constitution of people who suffer from chronic disease or are convalescing. Many Chinese families eat congee at least once a week to help prevent disharmony.
The many varieties of congees are suitable for different conditions. Your Chinese medicine practitioner can give you recipes using herbs and/or protein sources and vegetables that are specific for your constitution or diagnosis.
1 cup (195 g) rice (see Note on following page)
7 to 9 cups (1.6 to 2.1 L) filtered water
Health-giving ingredients (optional, see below)
Cook the rice in the water for 6 to 8 hours. A slow cooker is extremely useful for simmering congee while you are off doing other things. Once the rice is cooked, add health-giving ingredients from the list below, if using.
To add health-giving properties to congee, add the following ingredients to your congee, to taste.
• Herbs, such as ginseng, Dang Gui, Codonopsis, red dates, and ginger: Traditional Chinese families serve congee made with herbs on a weekly basis.
• Astragalus: This is often used in immune tonic congee.
• Wheat congee is soothing to the spirit and cooling to fevers.
• Sweet rice congee strengthens the Stomach, tonifies Qi, and is a tonic for diarrhea and vomiting.
• Mung bean congee cools fevers and aids in detoxification.
• Adzuki bean congee removes Dampness, helps ease swelling and edema, and aids in the treatment of Urinary Bladder-Kidney diagnoses.
• Carrot congee eases indigestion and dysentery.
• Leek or garlic congee warms and tonifies.
• Kidney congee is used to tonify the Kidney and is traditionally recommended for impotence, premature ejaculation, and lumbago.
• Liver congee helps fight general Yin Deficiencies and strengthens the Liver.
• Lamb congee helps rebalance poor circulation and coldness. It is often recommended for women in general, with the addition of ginger and Dang Gui (see page 148).
• Beef congee bolsters a weak Spleen.
• Chicken congee is also good for women who do not have stagnant Qi, with ginger and Dang Gui added.
• Ginger, garlic, and scallion congee is good for staving off the External Pernicious Influence Wind-Cold.
Note: In the clinic, we recommend alternative grains other than rice to make congee, such as barley (if you can eat gluten) or quinoa (if you can’t eat gluten) along with other grains, depending on the Chinese diagnosis as well as to reduce the glycemic load and index.
AMERICAN BREAKFAST CONGEE
MAKES 2 GENEROUS PORTIONS
1/2 cup (100 g) white rice, well rinsed
1 tablespoon (8 g) grated ginger
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups (700 ml) chicken stock
1 cup (235 ml) water
Mushrooms
Bell pepper
Green onions, white parts separated and chopped
Cooked chopped chicken or leftover vegetables (optional)
Red Boat fish sauce
Sesame oil
Chopped cilantro
Soy sauce
Chopped peanuts
In a pan, place the rice, ginger, garlic, stock, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking. Prepare and use as much of the mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, cooked chicken, leftover vegetables, fish sauce, oil, cilantro, soy sauce, and peanuts as you wish.
In a sauté pan, 10 minutes before the congee is ready, sauté some mushrooms, bell pepper, and the white parts of the green onions. At this point you can add cooked chopped chicken or leftover cooked vegetables to the congee too, if using. Taste the congee and add Red Boat fish sauce and sesame oil to season it. Add in the sautéed vegetables and some chopped cilantro along with the remaining green parts of the green onions.
Serve the congee with soy sauce, hot sauce, and chopped peanuts to be added at the table.
(From Jill Blakeway, M.S., L.Ac, founder of the YinOva Center in New York)
To Tonify Qi and Xue
GRAMMY ETHEL’S CHICKEN BROTH
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Chicken broth is the base of many soups that are used as Xue and Qi tonics in Chinese medicine. Taken plain, it serves as a Xue tonic. When chicken meat is added, however, it can create Stagnation and Dampness. When possible, use free-range, antibiotic-, and hormone-free chicken to make your broth. This is a secret family recipe. My grandmother always said to use a “plump” chicken! My Aunt Jane’s recipe adds a clove of garlic.
Plump 3-pound (1.4 kg) chicken
1 parsnip
1 carrot
1 onion
Unbleached cheesecloth bag
Rice, vegetables, herbs, or a matzo ball (optional)
Place the chicken in an 8- to 10-quart (8 to 10 L) pot. Cover the chicken with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
Place the parsnip, carrot, and onion in the bag, tie it closed, and immerse it in the broth. Cover and cook for another hour.
Remove the bag and the whole chicken. Take the boiled chicken off of the bones, eat it separately, or add it back to the broth when appropriate.
Cover the pot of broth and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, skim the fat from the top of the broth.
Reheat the broth and serve it alone or add rice, vegetables, herbs, or a matzo ball, if using. This nearly fat-free broth can be used alone or as a base for soup or congee.
CHINESE GINGER CHICKEN SOUP
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
3-pound (1.4 kg) whole chicken, skin removed
5 green onions, sliced lengthwise and then in half
1 fresh ginger root, halved and sliced into slivers about 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) long and 1/16-inch (2 mm) wide
Salt (optional)
Place the chicken in a 10-quart (10 L) pot and cover it with water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the green onion and ginger. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
When finished, remove the chicken from the pot and debone. Return the chicken chunks to the pot. Add salt to taste if you wish.
DANG GUI CHICKEN
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
This chicken soup, made with Dang Gui, is good for keeping the Essential Substances and Organ Systems in harmony. If you have one serving a week or month, you’ll find you are stronger and less vulnerable to disease.
Traditionally, this recipe uses a special covered Chinese clay pot—available in Chinatowns and kitchen specialty stores—that has an opening in the bottom that resembles an angel food cake or Bundt pan. If you cannot find one, you can use a regular double-boiler.
2 yards (1.8 m) unbleached cheesecloth
1 medium chicken, cut up into about 10 pieces
20 grams Dang Gui
Ginger (optional)
Root vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, potatoes, onions, and parsnips (optional)
Salt
Fill a 3-quart (3 L) saucepan with water. Roll the cheesecloth lengthwise into a long sausage shape and place it like a collar along the rim of the saucepan. (When done, rinse for reuse.) Place the clay pot on top of the cheesecloth ring, as the top of a double boiler.
Place the chicken into the clay pot. Add the Dang Gui.
Add the ginger and root vegetables if you like. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 hours, until the chicken is completely cooked and there is ample broth accumulated in the upper pot.
Add salt to taste.
For Vitalizing Xue
SAN QI CHICKEN
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
Prepare this herb recipe in exactly the same way as Dang Gui Chicken above. Substitute 20 grams of San Qi for the Dang Gui. To improve your circulation, eat one to two servings each week.
To Aid Digestion
BASIC MISO SOUP
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Miso soup, which rebuilds intestinal flora, is used to rebalance digestion. Its salty flavor can also stimulate the Kidney Organ System.
1 strip kombu, arame, or other sea vegetables (available at many natural food stores and Japanese groceries)
5 cups (1.2 L) water
1/2 cup (65 g) sliced carrots
5 teaspoons miso
1 cup (67 g) chard, kale, or other greens
Rinse the kombu in cold water for 10 minutes. (If using arame, do not soak.) Wipe the kombu with dry towels. Cut the kombu into small strips and add them to a pot. Cover the kombu with the 5 cups (1.2 L) water and bring the water to a boil. Add the carrots. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Place the miso in a small bowl. Take a little of the broth out of the pot and mix it with the miso to form a puree. (Miso should not be boiled because it will kill the beneficial bacteria.) Return the miso to the pot and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chard, kale, or greens. Simmer for 2 minutes.
HEARTY MISO VEGETABLE SOUP
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 cup (30 g) arame
6 cups (1.4 L) water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 cup (65 g) sliced carrots
1/2 cup (55 g) diced daikon
1/2 cup (85 g) cooked brown rice, barley, quinoa, or beans
1 teaspoon grated ginger or garlic
6 fresh medium-size shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (If the shiitake are dried, soak them overnight and then drain them and throw out the water.)
1 cup (67 g) greens, such as kale, chard, or beet tops
2 tablespoons (32 g) pureed miso
1/2 cup (50 g) thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
Soak and rinse the arame to remove excess salt.
Place the arame in a pot and cover it with the 6 cups (1.4 L) water. Add the oil. Adjust the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and daikon and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the rice or beans and ginger or garlic and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and greens and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the miso at the end and simmer for 1 minute. Garnish with the green onions.
THERAPEUTIC VEGETABLES
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Eating several vegetables in every meal provides a sound nutritional remedy for many disharmonies. Remember to eat vegetables according to the season and to take advantage of fresh, local produce. For example, root vegetables are recommended primarily in the winter. At each meal, try to include one root vegetable, one sea vegetable, one ground vegetable, and one leafy vegetable. For example, daikon, arame, broccoli, and chard; carrot, wakame, snow peas, and kale; beets, wakame, acorn squash, and bok choy; or onions, arame, cauliflower, and mustard greens.
1 sea vegetable, such as wakame
1 root vegetable, such as turnip
1 ground vegetable, such as acorn squash
1 leafy vegetable, such as chard
In a bowl, soak the sea vegetable in water for 10 to 15 minutes to be soft enough to steam. Rinse and drain it to reduce the sodium level up to 50 percent.
In a pot, combine the vegetables and steam the vegetables until cooked but crisp.
WARNING
Esteemed doctor Lyn Patrick, N.D., recommends that the seaweed hijiki be avoided because there are documented high levels of arsenic sequestered in it. It has been removed from the food supply in several countries. Other sea vegetables are safe to eat.1
COMMONLY ASKED DIET QUESTIONS
Here are some of the most common questions I am asked about the First-Step Dietary Therapy Program.
Q: Do I have to change how I eat today?
A: No. I would never say you should or shouldn’t eat this or that.
For people who have chronic sinusitis, general fatigue, or digestive problems, diet therapy is used immediately. But for others, dietary changes can be more gradual.
The guiding principle is that slower adjustment is more important than radical change. Embracing Chinese Dietary Therapy is a process of expanding what you eat, not constricting your diet. You may give up some foods. However, you will find there’s a whole world of varied foods you may have never tried before. To make a shift in your diet—from out of balance to balanced—you must find the place in your heart and consciousness that makes the transition comfortable and unforced.
Discovering the best way for you to improve your diet is a very personal process. You can’t rush it. You must give yourself the time to learn about how your body functions and adjust to what it tells you.
Q: Is it better to eat Asian foods than an American diet?
A: Becoming healthy is not about growing up in Pennsylvania and eating like someone from Beijing. Chinese Dietary Therapy philosophy suggests that you generally embrace your native foods and eat foods grown locally and in season. What is unhealthy about “American foods” is not the fact that they are American, but that they are too often commercial inventions instead of natural foods. If you stick to natural, homegrown, and chemical-free products, you’ll have a bountiful supply of healthful food choices.
Q: Is meat bad for you?
A: It depends. The body handles meat protein best in small quantities. You should eat no more than 2 to 3 ounces (55 to 85 g) at a meal. Many physicians recommend that you limit the amount of red meat you eat to no more than 6 ounces (170 g) a week. Begin to think of meat as an accent, rather than as the centerpiece in any meal. All meat should be organic as much as possible and always grass-fed and raised with no hormones or antibiotics.
People with certain diseases, such as cirrhosis, should never eat red meat. Diets such as vegan include only plant-based proteins and no animal products. President Bill Clinton and other prominent people have adopted vegan and vegetarian diets to reverse heart disease. However, a recent meta-analysis shows that diets high in saturated fats, found in meat and dairy,2 are not associated with heart disease. Other evidence suggests that various forms of cancer may be associated with a diet high in saturated fats from processed meats, such a hot dogs and hams.
Q: What about sugar?
A: Sugar can be part of a balanced diet when eaten in very small quantities. Refined sugars have the fewest nutrients, but other complex sugars come tucked into nutritionally beneficial foods. Some systems of food healing believe that maple sugars/syrup is a good source. Another natural alternative to sugar is stevia.
Traditionally, Chinese medicine occasionally prescribes small amounts of sugar to tonify the Spleen and improve appetite.
A diet that includes too many high-glycemic foods, which would include refined sugars and certain carbohydrates, can lead to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and fatty liver.
There is a lot of controversy over sugar. However, one thing many people can agree upon is that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) should never be eaten. (See “The High Fructose Corn Syrup Connection” on page 303.)
Q: I’m pregnant. Should I change my diet completely?
A: It’s not a good idea to make a radical shift in your diet during pregnancy. You want to eliminate coffee, alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. As for other shifts, simply concentrate on eating as nutrition-packed calories as possible. That will naturally lower your fat intake and increase your consumption of the grains and vegetables.
If you are planning to become pregnant, however, you may want to make a dietary renovation part of your plan. Being at the proper weight and body mass index (BMI) before becoming pregnant should be your goal. Whatever you do, remember the growing embryo requires fuel. Women who eat too few calories in an attempt to control weight gain or follow strict food plans are hurting themselves and their babies.
Q: What will happen when I change my diet?
A: Suddenly changing to a diet rich in whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, and high-quality protein can come as a surprise to your body. It will free the Qi to move throughout your system, and that can evoke all kinds of transitory negative feelings until the flow is established. That’s why you want to go through the process gradually and comfortably. Also, you may want to work simultaneously with other aspects of healing, such as herbs and acupuncture, because they all reinforce one another.
If you feel you need to help your body purify itself, which is more of a Western natural medicine concept, you may want to eat Liver-supporting foods such as beets, carrots, and burdock.
Q: Are all grains good for healing?
A: Yes. All of the grains can be used to make healing congees—Chinese therapeutic rice soups. (See the recipes on page 117.) However, some grains are not for everyone. For example, many Westerners are already too Damp and have Phlegm; therefore, I would not recommend oatmeal in damp conditions, especially in damp climates. Oatmeal is beneficial, however, for Lung Yin, Dryness, or Yin Deficiency. If you like, put a little honey, milk, and butter on it because this helps increase Yin and Jin-Ye. (See the information on gluten intolerance and glycemic index on page 306.)
Q: What can you do to grains to make them appropriate for treating Deficiency or Cold conditions?
A: Add spicy or warm foods, such as scallions, ginger, and cinnamon. For some of the Spleen Deficiency conditions, a small amount of sweet foods are good. However, honey is contraindicated if you have diarrhea.
Q: What is the most life-extending diet?
A: Chinese medicine has long advocated moderately flavored, unprocessed food for a long, healthy life.
This diet can be pure, subtle, and sweet. Grains, beans, meat, and most root vegetables are sweet. But we’ve become used to heavy, over-flavored, impure foods that promote Dampness, Heat, Phlegm, and a cloudy pallor.
APPLYING CHINESE DIETARY THERAPY
Chinese Dietary Therapy provides a powerful tool for correcting disharmonies, and it is used in conjunction with acupuncture, herbal therapy, and Qi Gong to restore balance to the Essential Substances, Organ Systems, and Twelve Channels. Generally, Diet Therapy can help sedate Excess, tonify Deficiency, cool Heat problems, warm Cold problems, moisten Dry problems, and dry Excess Dampness. Symptomsdescribe what you feel when you are not well. Signs are the manifestations of disharmony that Chinese medicine practitioners look to guide them in identifying and diagnosing particular imbalances.
To Treat Deficient Qi
Symptoms include lethargy, loose stools, fatigue, weakness, decreased appetite, shortness of breath, and occasionally cold extremities and frequent urination.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a thin, weak pulse and a tongue that is pale, possibly swollen with tooth marks.
Western diagnoses include chronic fatigue, asthma, and urinary incontinence.
Your diet should contain: Traditional Chinese theory says that half of total calories should come from grains and legumes, a third from vegetables, and about 15 percent from fish or meats. With meats, you don’t want to tax your digestion or build Phlegm—so eat only about 2 to 3 ounces (55 to 85 g) of animal protein per serving. Five percent of total calories can come from dairy. Recommended foods include rice or barley, broth, garlic, leeks, string beans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and carrots. However, modern understanding of the glycemic index as well as protein intake gives us the ability to modify this diet. In this case, when one eats carbohydrates, it is best to eat low- to moderate-glycemic carbohydrates with a low glycemic load. It is important to eat these carbohydrates along with sufficient protein to balance the glycemic index and load.
Your diet should not contain: Raw food, salads, fruits, and juices in excess.
To treat cold symptoms with Deficient Qi: Add dried ginger, cinnamon bark, and chicken’s eggs.
To Treat Deficient Spleen Qi
Symptoms include lack of appetite, bloating, mild abdominal pain better with pressure, loose stools, and fatigue.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a weak pulse and pale, soft tongue with tooth marks and thin white fur.
DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR LOOSE STOOLS
Follow these guidelines for Spleen/Stomach and Qi and Yang Deficiencies.
Foods to tonify digestion: Warm and cooked foods, moderate-size meals, congees and soups (no cream), white rice, black tea, cinnamon tea, barley (has gluten), ginger tea, and add herbs to congee (ask your practitioner first)
Foods to enhance flora: Miso soups and sauces, Lactobacillus acidophilus (and other probiotics as recommended by practitioner), sauerkraut (without vinegar), kefir (try nondairy), pickled vegetables (without vinegar), and kimchi
Foods to avoid: Raw and cold foods, spicy foods, coffee, dairy, and excessive fats and oils
For food poisoning, eat goat’s or sheep’s milk yogurt after the sickness has subsided.
Western diagnoses include diarrhea, gastric or duodenal ulcers, anemia, and even chronic hepatitis.
Your diet should contain: Cooked, warming foods, such as squash, carrots, potatoes, yams, rutabagas, turnips, leeks, onions, rice, oats, butter, small amounts of chicken, turkey, mutton or beef, cooked peaches, cherries, strawberries, figs, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, custards, and small amounts of honey, molasses, maple syrup, and sugar.
Food should be well chewed and eaten in moderate amounts.
Your diet should not contain: Salsa, citrus, too much salt, tofu, millet, buckwheat, milk, cheese, seaweed, and excess sugar.
To Treat Deficient Spleen Qi Leading to Deficient Yang
If Deficient Spleen Qi is not treated early, the body becomes ever more depleted. The Qi cannot be replenished through what you eat and drink. Eventually, a more serious Yang Deficiency develops.
Symptoms include aversion to the cold, craving warm drinks, and chilled fingers, toes, ears, and nose tip.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a slow, thready pulse and tongue that is moist and pale with indentations/tooth marks on the sides.
Western diagnoses include swelling, gastritis, enteritis, kidney disease, and colitis.
Your diet should contain: Foods as noted for Deficient Spleen Qi (see page 127).
Your diet should not contain: Raw or chilled foods or foods that are difficult to digest, such as fatty foods, raw cruciferous vegetables, and milk. They exhaust the digestive fire.
To Treat Dampness Associated with Deficient Spleen Qi Deficiency
This is a complicated case of Excess and Deficiency.
Symptoms include headaches, watery stools, and queasy stomach.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a slippery pulse, tongue fur that is thick and greasy, and a tongue body that is swollen with tooth marks along the sides.
Western diagnoses include hepatitis, dysentery, gastroenteritis, parasites, and severe diarrhea.
Your diet should contain: Foods as denoted for Deficient Spleen Qi (see page 127) along with foods that drain Excess Dampness, such as barley, corn, adzuki beans, garlic, mushrooms, mustard greens, chicken, alfalfa, shrimp, scallions, and rye.
Your diet should not contain: Too much red meat, salt, or sugar and food that produces Damp, including dairy products, pork, shark meat, eggs, sardines, octopus, coconut milk, cucumber, duck, goose, seaweed, olives, soybeans, tofu, spinach, pine nuts, and alcohol.
To Treat Spleen Qi Deficiency with Damp Cold
Symptoms include water retention, puffiness, feeling cold, mild nausea, trouble breathing, watery stools, and clear, frequent urine.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a pulse that is weak and slippery or soft and slow and a pale tongue with tooth marks on the sides.
Western diagnoses include edema, parasites, ulcers, and Crohn’s disease.
Your diet should contain: The traditional recommendation of about 65 percent of total calorie intake from grains or legumes. Around 25 percent of your diet should be vegetables. Eat 10 percent red and white meat, with no more than 25 ounces (700 g) a week. Modern recommendations would lower the intake of carbohydrates to closer to 30 percent. Also, the wisdom is to eat low-glycemic carbohydrates in balance with high-quality proteins to lower the glycemic index as well as the glycemic load.
Your diet should not contain: Raw food, fruits, sugar, and dairy products.
To Treat Spleen Deficiency with Damp Heat
Symptoms include a hot and heavy feeling, fever, nausea, costal or abdominal pain, labored breathing, and diarrhea.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a weak and slippery or soft pulse that’s rapid and a tongue that’s swollen and reddish, possibly with yellow fur.
Western diagnoses include colitis, acute hepatitis, and Crohn’s disease.
Your diet should contain: The traditional diet of 65 to 70 percent of calories from grains and legumes, 25 to 30 percent from cooked vegetables, 5 percent from white meats with not more than 6 to 12 ounces (170 to 335 g) in a week. An occasional salad is suggested.
Your diet should not contain: Red meat, raw vegetables (other than the occasional suggested salad), fruit juices, and dairy.
To Treat Upward Movement of Qi and Phlegm
This condition is the result of several underlying disharmonies that, only when added together, create symptoms. First, the stresses and strains of daily life coincide with a stressful diet of sugar, caffeine, and alcohol or drugs. This exhausts the Kidney Fire (in the Lower Burner), and digestion (Middle Burner) becomes sluggish. Phlegm builds up. Simultaneously, stress triggers an elevation in Liver Yang. Negative emotions make the Liver energy rise upward. Qi and fluids from the Lung rise and becomes rebellious, uncontrolled, and erratic. This combines with the Excess Phlegm production.
Symptoms include sexual problems, cold extremities, low back pain, susceptibility to every passing cold or flu, joint pain, fear, anxiety, and impatience.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for vary, but whatever else is present, there are all the signs of weak Spleen, Kidney, and Stomach Systems.
Western diagnoses include sinus allergies, watery eyes, skin rashes, sinus headaches, and chronic cough.
Your diet should contain: Cooked foods, rice, barley, mung beans, sweet rice congee, adzuki beans, mustard greens, and broth-based vegetable soups.
Your diet should not contain: Sugar, coffee, alcohol, citrus, dairy, soy, and all raw, iced, or chilled foods and all energetically Cool and Cold food.
DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR FATIGUE AND LETHARGY
Fatigue and lethargy can stem from Deficiency, Xue Deficiency, Yang Deficiency, Dampness, and Qi Stagnation.
To remedy fatigue caused by Qi Deficiency, eat foods that tonify Qi and improve energy levels, including:
• Cooked and warm foods
• Frequent, small meals
• Sweet foods (See “Food Flavors, Energetics, and Temperatures” on page 94.)
• Cooked, yellow vegetables
• Small amount of chicken and turkey, especially in soups
• Warming spices, such as dried ginger and cinnamon (except with Xue Deficiency)
• Avoid Cold or Cooling foods and tofu, milk, cheese, liquids with meals, and excess sweet foods
To remedy fatigue caused by Stagnant Liver Qi, eat foods that move Stagnant Qi, including:
• Chicken livers
• Kelp
• Nori
• Eggplant
• Saffron
• Avoid alcohol, fatty foods, food additives, unnecessary medicines, and overindulgence in sugary foods
• Avoid chicken and turkey.
• Spicy food in small amounts move Qi (see page 92); excessive use of spices creates more Stagnation
DIETARY GUIDE FOR CONSTIPATION CAUSED BY DRYNESS
Foods that lubricate bowels: Alfalfa sprouts, apples, apricots, bananas, beets, carrots, cauliflower, honey, oil, okra, peaches, pears, pine nuts, prunes, seaweed, sesame seeds, soy products, spinach, walnuts, and wheat (has gluten)
Foods that promote bowel movement: Asparagus, bran, cabbage, coconut, fig, papaya, peas, and potato
Flora-enhancing foods: Kefir (try nondairy), miso, sauerkraut (without vinegar), pickled vegetables (without vinegar), Lactobacillus acidophilus, kimchi, and natto
To Treat Excess Heat
Symptoms include warm or hot extremities, sweatiness, acne or boils, decreased bowel movements, a loud voice, irritability, and feeling hot.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a rapid, full pulse and a red tongue that may have a yellow coating.
Western diagnoses include skin disorders along with redness, digestive difficulties, chronic constipation, manic behavior, and/or headaches.
Your diet should contain: Almost half of total calories should be grains and legumes. A third should be cooked and raw vegetables. About 20 percent could be juices and fruits.
Your diet should not contain: Frozen or icy foods or chicken. Eat only minimal amounts of meat, sugar, and dairy products.
To Treat Stagnant Liver Qi
Symptoms include tenderness in the rib cage, nausea, premenstrual lability, irritability, and swollen breasts and abdomen.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a wiry pulse and a tongue that is dusky or purplish.
Western diagnoses include alcohol abuse, type A personality, fibrocystic breasts, swelling or lumps in groin or breasts, goiter, PMS, menstrual irregularities, hepatitis, and headaches.
Your diet should contain: Liver-sedating foods, such as beef, chicken livers, celery, kelp, mussels, nori, plum, and amazake (a fermented rice drink). Also recommended are foods that regulate or move Qi, including basil, bay leaves, beets, black pepper, cabbages, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, leeks, peaches, scallions, and rosemary.
Your diet should not contain: Alcohol, coffee, fatty foods, fried foods, excessively spicy foods, excessive red meat, sugar, and sweets.
To Treat Fluid Dryness
Symptoms include dry throat, dizziness, emaciation, spontaneous sweating, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms vary, depending on whether the underlying syndrome is Deficient Xue or Deficient Yin.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a pulse that is fine, halting, or hollow and weak and a tongue that is uncoated and pink.
Western diagnoses include type 2 diabetes and chronic constipation.
Your diet should contain: Dairy products, most noncitrus fruits, honey, pork, liver congee, tofu, olive oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil. For Deficient Kidney Yin, eat kidney congee and liver congee. (See “Deficient Xue” below for additional guidelines.)
Your diet should not contain: Raw fruits and vegetables, cold foods, caffeine, purgative herbs and medicines, and alcohol.
Special note: If you have type 2 diabetes, combining a Chinese medicine diet along with incorporating an understanding of the glycemic index is incredibly important. (See “The Glycemic Index” on page 306for more information.)
To Treat Deficient Xue
Symptoms include dizziness, low weight, blurred vision, tingling in toes or fingers, dry skin or hair, and a pale, lusterless face. The symptoms vary, depending on the relative Deficient Xue.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a thready or hollow pulse and a pale tongue.
Western diagnoses include anemia; headaches; anxiety; nervousness; lack of, painful, or possibly heavy periods; dry skin; and dry constipation with difficult stools.
Your diet should contain: Oysters, sweet rice, liver, chicken soup, Dang Gui Chicken (see the recipe on page 121), eggs, and green beans.
Your diet should not contain: Raw fruit and vegetables, cold liquids, and ice.
HOW FIVE PHASES PRACTITIONERS USE DIET THERAPY
Five Phases practitioners put an emphasis on the flavors associated with the Phases. When the diet becomes unbalanced, the flavors may become Excess or Deficient. That can trigger disharmony in associated Organ Systems. To remedy the imbalance, Five Phases Diet Therapy advocates the addition of counterbalancing flavors. Each flavor has special powers to restore balance.
Wood is associated with sour. Sour is astringent and gathering. A diet that has an excess of sour flavor is associated with weakening of the Spleen, overproduction of saliva by the Liver, and injury to the muscles. It can be counteracted by the addition of metal-pungent food.
Fire is associated with bitter. Bitter is drying and strengthening. A diet that has an excess of bitter is associated with Spleen Dryness, congestion of Stomach Qi, and a withering of the skin. It can be counteracted by the addition of salty flavor.
Earth is associated with sweet. Sweet is harmonizing and retarding. A diet that has an excess of sweet is associated with achy bones, unbalanced Kidney, full Heart energy, and hair loss. It can be counteracted by the addition of sour foods.
Metal is associated with hot, pungent, and aromatic. Metal is dispersing. A diet that has an excess of pungent is associated with muscle knots, slack pulse, a damaged Shen, and unhealthy finger- and toenails. It can be counteracted by the addition of bitter foods.
Water is associated with salty. Salty is softening. A diet that has an excess of salty is associated with deficient muscles and flesh, lack of strength in the large bones, and depression. It can be counteracted by the addition of sweet foods.3
To Treat Stagnant Xue
Stagnant Xue results from a traumatic injury, as a manifestation of gynecological imbalances, and the outcome of long-term Stagnant Qi or Deficient Xue.
Symptoms include missed periods, excessive clotting with period, fixed painful lumps, dry skin and lips, thirst, susceptibility to cold extremities and constipation, and liver (or other organ) fibrosis.
Signs that your Chinese medicine practitioner will look for include a choppy pulse and a tongue that is purple and may have purple spots on the sides or on other parts, along with purple or blue sublingual veins.
Western diagnoses include endometriosis, menstrual cramps, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), uterine fibroids, fibrosis/cirrhosis, bruising, and fixed pain.
Your diet should contain: A small amount of chives, cayenne, eggplant, saffron, safflower, basil, brown sugar, and chestnuts to improve circulation of the Xue.
Foods and spices that disperse Stagnant Xue include turmeric, adzuki beans, rice, spearmint, chives, garlic, vinegar, basil, scallions, leeks, ginger, chestnuts, rosemary, cayenne, nutmeg, kohlrabi, eggplant, and white pepper.
Foods that strengthen the Stomach and Spleen Organ Systems to promote sufficient production of Xue include rice, trout, and small amounts of chicken and chicken liver.
Foods that build Yin, which strengthens Xue, include mussels, wheat germ, and millet.
Your diet should not contain: Duck, alcohol, fatty foods, and sweets. If you are cold, avoid citrus fruits and tomatoes.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
Chinese Dietary Therapy, based on the ancient texts, does not contain suggestions for nutritional supplements. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need supplements, but food contaminated with pesticides, drugs, and hormones, a sedentary lifestyle, and constant stress make it unlikely most of us receive sufficient nutrition through diet alone.
Using nutritional supplements within the context of Chinese Dietary Therapy means that you really can’t substitute vitamin pills for a balanced diet. Popping a pill won’t undo the damage done by a poor diet. Furthermore, vitamins and minerals are meant to work together, and taking too much of one or not enough of another may have a negative impact on how your body can use many supplements. That’s why I believe that nutritional supplements should be taken only after a consultation with a well-informed practitioner or nutritionist.
The following nutritional supplements are those we recommend to most clients at Chicken Soup Chinese Medicine.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus
Lactobacillus acidophilus is found naturally in the human gut. Antibiotics, other drugs, a sugar-laden diet, and other imbalances can create a lack of this normal growth. Lactobacillus produces vitamin K and lactase, which is an enzyme that digests milk sugar lactose. It is used to promote beneficial bacterial growth in the digestive tract and to suppress yeast.4 It alleviates Dampness, especially the nondairy forms. Recommended dose is 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of powdered Lactobacillus acidophilus one or two times a day in unchilled water away from meals. In our clinic, we like to use the Natren brand.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is often found to be deficient, especially in the northern part of the United States and Canada, as well as in older people. Your body can make vitamin D from exposure to the sun, but many people cover up with sunblock creams that block vitamin D production. Vitamin D is found in small amounts in fatty fish, such as herring, mackerel, sardines, and tuna. To get the proper amount of vitamin D, I recommend starting supplemention with vitamin D3(cholecalciferol) in the range from 2000 IU to 4000 IU per day and then lower or raise the dose as needed. The best way to determine deficiency is through lab testing. The lab test you want to get is known as the 25(OH)D or 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Labs vary in their normal reference ranges. We consider the best range to be between 50 and 70 ng/mL for disease prevention.
Omega-3 and Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids—particularly the omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)—are critical to your health. They support joint health, decrease inflammation, are essential to cognitive functions and visual acuity, reduce cardiovascular risk, and may help ease depression. EPA and DHA have much higher efficacy for most of these functions than does ALA. EPA and DHA are found in certain types of fish, including anchovies, herring, mackerel, bluefish, wild salmon, sardines, sturgeon, wild trout, and tuna. Omega-3 ALA comes from plant sources—flaxseed, walnuts, evening primrose, canola oil, and soybean oil; however, they are either low in or lacking EPA and DHA. ALA converts to DHA in the body, but at a very low rate.5
Vegetarians can get omega-3s from plant sources; however, the intake needs to be quite high. My recommendation is to use krill oil, rather than fish oil or plant sources, whenever possible. Krill oil typically has more EPA than fish oil. It reduces arthritis pain, inflammation, and stiffness, and it is reported to be more successful for PMS symptoms and lowering blood lipids.6 It contains astaxanthins that have anti-inflammatory properties. Krill oil is also considered to be more tolerated digestively, and it does not cause burping like fish oil does. It is also a more sustainable product.
The suggested daily intake of EPA and DHA is from 500 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams. Ask your practitioner what is best for you. Because omega-3 supplements may thin the blood, people taking blood thinners should talk with their doctors before ingesting omega-3 supplements.
Calcium/Magnesium
Supplementation of these two minerals in one balanced pill is a good idea for women, people with night leg cramps, people who have bone fractures, and anyone who drinks a lot of caffeine in coffee or colas. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends 1,000 milligrams of calcium for men and women and 1,200 milligrams a day for postmenopausal women and all people over age seventy-one. Magnesium is recommended at 420 milligrams per day. Therefore, a 2:1 calcium/magnesium supplement can give you close to the correct dosing. Or you can take them separately.
Because it is difficult for most people to eat enough calcium in a day, supplements are important. Calcium calms the Shen and decreases Stagnant Qi. Magnesium has a tendency to move Qi downward, causing loose stools, and so it should not be taken as a supplement if you have Deficient Spleen Qi. This is an important area to discuss with your practitioner.
In addition to taking a supplement, to help maintain sufficient calcium levels, you should avoid foods that produce calcium loss. The main culprits are foods that contain caffeine (including sodas), alcohol, excessive sodium, and meats, which contain phosphoric acid.
Other Supplements to Consider
With a qualified practitioner guiding you, you may also want to consider a multivitamin/mineral, vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, glutamine, B-complex, and others according to your medical conditions and diet.