|
What is Food Medicine
As we know each food we eat has its unique chemical, physical and biological properties. In terms of chemical properties, there are about 500 chemical ingredients in a single food. In our daily life, if we eat, say, ten to twenty kinds of food, we take in five thousand to ten thousand kinds of chemicals. But how do these chemicals work for our body? What are the relationships among the natural chemicals? What systems do they affect? Which organs do the natural chemicals work better for? … There are a myriad of questions remaining unanswered. It seems, in the chemical field, the more we human beings probe, the more confusing the consequences are. As we see it, from an Oriental point of view, dealing with food mainly from chemical approach is not enough. For example, in America, people see the chemical components labeled on almost all the packages of goods being sold. Yet nutritional facts are not the only values for consumers to rely on. As we discussed in our previous books food is not a puz zle; food is a science. As a matter of fact, food is synchronization of three sciences, namely: biology, chemistry and physics. Of these, if we only analyze a food chemically and neglect the other two aspects, we will be grossly mistaken. Doing this is like what is revealed in that famous parable of The Blinds and the Elephant: each of the six blinds was feeling a part of the giant animal and took the assumption as what the elephant was really like. Living in the new millennium, in treating what we eat on a day-to-day basis, we can’t only see the trees not the wood. We are not blind, therefore, we are not supposed to eat blindly, anything as long as it’s fast, and it’s convenient. This is what you see happening in America everyday. Here in America, people don’t pay as much attention to their food as they do their attire. In fact, a good-looking dress doesn’t help a bit to our health, but a good diet can lead us to the path of health and longevity. From physical point of view, a food’s color, taste, coded in temperature, fragrance, taste and so on all have some, sometimes, magnificent, impact on our health. For instance, color serves as a directional map for our daily diet. Certain color affects certain corresponding part(s) of our body. Red color affects the blood system, heart system, circulatory system and so on. Some red colored foods are bell pepper, red chili pepper, tomato, red onion, watermelon, red meat, ham, hotdog and red clover. Orange and yellow colors affect the digestive system, immune system, muscular system, stomach system and spleen system. Examples of foods in this category are fat tissue, butter, carrots, citrus, egg yolk, lemon, orange, pineapple and yellow corn. Green colored foods affect all organ systems but particularly target the liver and gallbladder systems. Black is classified into dry black and moist black. The dry black color affects the water content of the body because it dries up moisture. Foods that fall under this category are black coffee, burnt and scorched food, charcoal food and black pepper. When they are eaten very often, can cause premature aging, dry skin, wrinkles and a weakened immune system. The moist black color affects the bone system, kidney system, reproductive system and urinary bladder system. Foods that are moist black in color are black sesame seeds, black tremella, black bean, sea cucumber and turtle. These foods can replenish the immune system along with the water content of the entire body. Another physical aspect of food is coded in temperature. This is a temperature that cannot be measured by a thermometer but directly regulates the body’s internal environment and internal temperature. If the body is in a cool to cold stage and the foods eaten are of a cool to cold nature, the body will be hurt. If the body is in a warm to hot stage and the foods eaten are of warm to hot nature, the body will also be hurt. The key is to maintain thermomic homeostasis. On the other hand, foods of a cool to cold nature can help the body when it is in a warm to hot stage, and foods of a warm to hot nature can help the body when it is in a cool to cold stage. That is why we advocate in winter eat hot, in summer eat cold, in spring eat cool, and in autumn eat warm. This is part of our Seasonal Food Theory. In the same principle, when we diagnose a disease and treat a patient, one of our healing theories is to balance the patient’s internal temperature, each organ system of which is used to differentiate the nature of disease. Distinguishing between the syndromes of cold and heat is of utmost importance for treatment, because cold is treated with hot-natured medicines and heat is treated with cold-natured medicines. The fragrance of foods is yet another consideration when we consume. Each food has 50-500, now some researches show 500-1000 kinds of fragrance. Spicy fragrance affects the lung and large intestine systems; flowery fragrance affects cardiovascular systems; earthy fragrance affects spleen and stomach systems; grassy fragrance (fragrance of grass and trees) affects liver and gallbladder systems; marine fragrance affects kidney and bladder systems. There are also other kinds of fragrance like fat fragrance, the smell released when being heated. The taste of a certain food is also very important for consumers or eaters. According to the Chinese Quinary System, each of the five tastes respectively corresponds to different parts of the body. Sour corresponds to liver and gallbladder; bitter to heart and pericardium, triple warmer and small intestine; sweet to spleen/pancreas, stomach; hot to lung and large intestine; salty to kidney and bladder. They also correspond to the five primary elements and directions as the following chart shows:  top
|
Wood |
Fire |
Earth |
Metal |
Water |
| Nature |
| Directions |
East |
South |
Center |
West |
North |
| Climates |
Wind |
Summer Humid |
Dampness |
Dryness |
Coldness |
| Seasons |
Spring |
Summer |
Late Summer |
Autumn |
Winter |
| Colors |
Green |
Red |
Yellow |
White |
Black |
| Flavors |
Sour |
Bitter |
Sweet |
Pungent |
Salty |
| Human Body |
| Zang (viscera) |
Liver |
Heart |
Spleen |
Lung |
Kidney |
| Fu (bowels) |
Gall Bladder |
S. Intestine |
Stomach |
L. Intestine |
Urinary |
| Senses |
Eyes |
Tongue |
Mouth |
Nose |
Ear |
| Tissues |
Tendon |
Vessel |
Muscle |
Skin & Hair |
Bone |
| Emotions |
Anger |
Joy |
Thought |
Melancholy |
Fear |
| Sounds |
Shout |
Laugh |
Sing |
Cry |
Mourn |
The biological nature of the foods we consume should also be considered. Take chicken for example. It is common knowledge that chicken is low in cholesterol and fat but high in protein, and it is considered good “white meat”. In reality, chicken is not a white meat because it contains blood. This meat appears to be good from its chemical aspect, but when eaten, the biological nature of chicken meat harms the liver by slowing down and blocking its function. Clinically, it is found that there is a direct link between the consumption of chicken and elevated liver enzymatic activity. It is a known medical fact that the liver is the center of detoxification of the entire body and there are more functions associated with the liver than any other organ in the human body. Blockage of the liver or excess strain on the liver can hinder its abilities, which would allow microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, yeast, parasites and fungus to grow more rampantly within the body and aggravate certain diseases. In our modern society where chickens are not as often raised on farms as they are in factories, it is a misery to learn how chickens live before they are slaughtered for our food. If we say, “We are what we eat”, do you really want to know what the chickens are like before they are rendered for food? If you do, read the article “From Shell to Hell” by Carla Bennett. According to Carla, these chickens crowd in dark, dirty places where antibiotic sprays, cholesterol, saturated fats, hormone additives, and pesticides, including dioxin are used. To boost production, more often than not, antibiotics, mostly penicillin and tetracycline are used to make the birds grow faster. Normally, it takes about 16-18 months for a chicken to mature. But nowadays in order to make a fast buck, chickens are usually sold after 1.5 month when they are artificially boosted to the size of an adult chicken. This is 12 times faster than it should be. If we apply this to the human world where a 1.5-year old boy is promoted artificially mature like an 18-year old, we don’t know if we should send him to a college or a hospital. We suggest that the labels on the packages of goods in the marketplace should not only include chemical components but biological information as well. In that way, we, as consumers can find the biological facts, as we believe we shouldn’t put goods in the market without biological studies. It’s hard to imagine an ordinary person can tell if a piece of meat from a certain animal has pathological cell or cancer-causing cell, and the consequences when consumed. top
Biological Values
The biological values of food are sex, age, life span, nature, development, shape, size, how it grew, when it grew, category (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species), fresh or preserved, and environmental characteristics (sunny, shady, mountain, desert, lake, sea, ocean, dry, or wet that attributed to the growth and development or withering and death). Biology is very important when describing the individual foods, because it represents the nature of the growth and development of the food being consumed.
Physical Values 
The physical values of food are taste, color, internal temperature, motion, energy, impulse, momentum, elasticity, fluid mechanics, waves, vibrating bodies, thermodynamics, acoustic phenomena, optics, electrostatics, electric currents, electrodynamics, high energy physics, and relationship with internal organs and organ systems. When the physics of foods is carefully studied, it is clear that there are many important aspects of food that have been completely disregarded, such as taste, color of food, effects to the different internal organ systems, the internal temperature and the seasonal meaning of the individual foods. top
Chemical Values
The chemical values of food represent the “science of nutrition”, and these vital nutrients are water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, co-enzymes, fiber and trace elements. Roughly, the human body is composed of 60% water, 20% protein, 15% fat and 5% carbohydrates, vitamins, potassium, sodium, and calcium. It is certainly important to observe chemical intake of foods and make sure it is properly balanced within the body to maintain normal chemical homeostasis, or balance. These chemical values are keys to drive all functions within the body. Nutrition is very important to meet the daily chemical needs of the body for survival, however, nutrition is merely a subcategory of food. Food is not nutrition and nutrition is not food. Therefore, when one looks at the “nutritional facts” label on the foods being bought, this does not represent the entire classification of food, but only the chemical ingredients needed (or not needed) by the body.
Seasonal Food Medicine
COOL NATURED FOODS FOR SPRING – American Ginseng – Arhat Fruit – Bok Choy – Chinese Celery (Water Celery) – Cooked Water Chestnut – Day Lily (Golden Needle Vegetable) – Dried Rehmanniae – Duck – Fresh Fig – Fresh Persimmon – Fresh Water Caltrop – German Bilberry – Lime – Luffa – Mint – Oriental Lemon – Pork Pancreas – Privet Fruit – Sea Salt – Watermelon Peel – Western Lemon – White Gourd Seed – Wild Jujube – Wolfberry Leaf top
COOL AND COLD NATURED FOODS FOR SUMMER
| Cool: – American Ginseng – Arhat Fruit – Chinese Celery (Water Celery) – Cooked Water Chestnut – Day Lily (Golden Needle Vegetable) – Dried Rehmanniae – Duck – Fresh Fig – Fresh Persimmon – German Bilberry – Lime – Luffa – Mint – Oriental Lemon – Pork Pancreas – Privet Fruit – Sea Salt – Watermelon Peel – Western Lemon – White Gourd Seed – Wild Jujube – Wolfberry Leaf |
Cold: – Aloe Vera – Arrowhead – Bamboo Leaf – Bamboo Shaving – Bamboo Shoot – Banana – Bear Gallbladder – Beef Gallbladder – Beet’s Leaf – Bitter Melon – Bok Choy – Brake – Chlorella – Chrysanthemum – Citrus – Clam – Coptidis – Crab – Cucumber – Egg Plant – Fermented Soybean – Fresh Bitter Melon – Fresh Hawthorn |
top
WARM NATURED FOODS FOR AUTUMN
| – Apricot – Anise Seed – Apricot – Barley – Beef – Beef Bone Marrow – Beef Heart – Black Bean – Brown Sugar – Carp – Celery – Cherry – Chestnut – Chinese Angelica – Chinese Chives – Chinese Prickly Ash (Cayenne) – Chinese Wolfberry – Chives – Chive’s Seed – Cilantro – Cinnamon Twig – Citron (Chayotte) – Clove – Coconut – Coffee – Cooked Garlic – Cooked Lotus Root – Cow’s Milk – Crucian Carp – Cuttlefish – Deer Horn – Deer Horn Glue |
– Dove – Dried Fig – Dried Green Plum – Dried Hawthorn – Dried Longan – Dried Lotus Seed – Dried Persimmon – Dried Plum – Eucommia Bark  – Fennel – Floated Wheat – Fresh Ginger – Fresh Mustard Leaf – Green Cherries – Green Chives – Green Citron Fructus – Green Olive – Green Onion – Green Orange Peel – Green Strawberry – Hen Meat – Himalaya Teasel – Human Placenta – Kao Lian – Korean Ginseng – Large Headed Atractylodes – Lin Zhi – Lotus Peduncle – Lotus Stamen – Lychi Fruit – Macro Stem Onion – Malt … |
top
WARM AND HOT NATURED FOOD FOR WINTER
| Warm: – Anise Seed – Apricot – Barley – Beef – Beef Bone Marrow – Beef Heart – Black Bean – Brown Sugar – Carp – Celery – Cherry – Chestnut – Chinese Angelica – Chinese Chives – Chinese Prickly Ash (Cayenne) – Chinese Wolfberry – Chives – Chive’s Seed – Cilantro – Cinnamon Twig – Citron (Chayotte) – Clove – Coconut – Coffee – Cooked Garlic – Cooked Lotus Root – Cow’s Milk – Crucian Carp – Cuttlefish – Deer Horn – Deer Horn Glue – Dove – Dried Fig – Dried Green Plum – Dried Hawthorn – Dried Longan – Dried Lotus Seed – Dried Persimmon – Dried Plum |
– Eucommia Bark – Fennel – Floated Wheat – Fresh Ginger – Fresh Mustard Leaf – Green Cherries – Green Chives – Green Citron Fructus – Green Olive – Green Onion – Green Orange Peel – Green Strawberry – Hen Meat – Himalaya Teasel – Human Placenta – Kao Lian – Korean Ginseng – Large Headed Atractylodes – Lin Zhi – Lotus Peduncle – Lotus Stamen – Lychi Fruit – Macro Stem Onion – Malt – Milk Veteh – Mussel – Orange Peel – Oriental Pomegranate – Panax Ginseng – Pangolin – Peach – Pigeon Meat – Pilose Antler – Pinellia – Plum – Pork Heart – Pork Liver – Prepared Hawthorn – Prepared Rehmanniae … |
top
THE NEUTRAL FOODS
| VEGETABLES: – Black Mushroom – Broccoli – Cabbage – Carrot – Cauliflower – Chinese Yam – Corn – Daikon Radish – Dangseng – Dried Bittermelon – Fresh Hawthorn – Garland Chrysanthemum – Ginkgo Leaf – Green Cauliflower – Licorice – Lily Bulb – Loosestrife – Loquat Leaf – Lotus Leaf – Lotus Root Joint … |
FRUITS: – Apple – Carambola (Star Peach) – Chinese Coolmelon – Chinese Wolfberry – Cooked Water Caltrop – Date – Dried Fig – Fig – Fresh Longan – Fruit Cane – Grape – Green Grape – Green Plum – Heart Like Fruit – Japanese Raisin Tree Fruit – Loquat – Mandarin Fish – Mango – Oriental Pomegranate – Smoked Green Plum … |
| MEATS AND FISH: – Abalone – Black Bone Chicken – Black Carp – Blood Clam – Cow Tendon – Donkey Hide Gelatin – Goat Lung – Goose Meat – Horse Meat – Jellyfish – Loach – Mandarin Fish – Octopus – Pond Fish – Port Hoof – Pork Intestine – Pork Kidney – Pork Lung – Quail Meat – Swallow’s Nest … |
BEANS, GRAINS, NUTS, SEEDS: – Arborviate Nut – Azuki Red Bean – Black Eye Bean – Black Sesame Seed – Bran – Broad Bean – Brown Rice – Brown Rice Sprout – Brown Sesame Seed – Buckwheat – Cooked Soybean Sprout – Daikon Radish Seed – Fox Nut – Fresh Lotus Seed – Oat – Peanut – Pine Nut – Sesame Seed (brown or black) – Soybean – String Bean … |
| OTHERS: – Honey – Mother’s Milk – Sea Salt – Solomon Seal – Tuckahoe top … |
|
|
|
Food Medicine
