Diet Therapy

Chinese Medicine looks at the world on an energetic level. It sees how our body functions through how we interact with our surroundings, the food we eat and the seasons we live in. As Chinese Medicine practitioners we believe we can improve our energetic function and overall wellbeing by eating the appropriate foods for our body type and the season.

While we tend to place less importance on the vitamin and mineral components of food and more importance on whether the food will do such things as strengthen the digestive system or clear heat from the body, we do believe in the consumption of whole organic foods and ditching the processed, poor quality foods.

As a rule of thumb if you are preparing your own meals, eating a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables and staying away from too much wheat, dairy, sugar and packaged foods you are doing well. If you are a meat eater choosing free range, organic meats that have been processed chemically free is ideal. It’s a good idea to get to know your butcher and where your produce is coming from. There are some great local farmers who may not be organically certified, but still produce good quality meats.

Coffee and alcohol artificial sweeteners and MSG are other things that everyone can benefit from cutting back on substantially if not avoiding all together. Green tea, dandelion tea and any herbal tea are great substitutes.

If you have a tendency towards a Spleen deficiency, or cold digestive system we recommend the following:

Avoid:

Eating cold food directly from the fridge or freezer (eg icecream)

Eating raw foods, avoid too much salad, especially in winter

All processed, refined foods

Deep fried, overly greasy foods

Sugar and artificial sweeteners

too much wheat (wheat bread, pasta)

too much dairy especially cheese and cows milk

citrus and tomato

bananas, watermelon ad mango

peanuts

soy milk (marinated tofu, tempeh, miso are all fine)

Include/substitute:

Almond, rice or oat milk

Rye or spelt bread

Porridge

Roasted root vegetables

Aduki and kidney beans

Barley, bulgur wheat, quinoa and rice

Chicken, turkey, and white fish

cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, ginger, nutmeg and black pepper

Soups and stews are a perfect meal

Blanch or steam veges instead

Make sure fruits are very ripe or stew them.

Always eat in a quite, relaxed environment and take the time to chew your food

Exercise such as yoga and pilates are ideal.

 If you have a tendency towards blood deficiency we recommend the following:

Avoid:

Sugar and artificial sweeteners

Alcohol

Coffee

Include:

Red meat

Chicken especially as a soup

oysters

all dark leafy greens

seaweed

black beans

Black sesame seeds

Beetroot

Black currents

cherries

dates

eggs

figs

whole grains

dandelion and nettle tea

wheatgrass shots

If you are vegetarian floridix is a good gentle way to build the blood

Insuring you are resting during your menstrual flow is important, as is getting to bed early and not burning the candle!

Gentle exercise such as yoga or pilates to outside the menstrual flow is beneficial.

If you have a tendency towards heat in the body we recommend the following:

Avoid:

Coffee

Alcohol

Chilli

greasy, fatty foods

Include:

Raw foods such as bitter salad greens

herbal teas such as peppermint

Watermelon

mangos

cucumber

seaweed

miso soup

fresh fish, shellfish and pork

tofu

Asparagus

Eggs

Honey

Kidney beans

whole grains

spelt

parsley

pears

tomato

Avoid exercise during our menstrual flow.

Take a bath with essential oils such as chamomile, geranium and rose.

Make sure you are not sleeping too hot. Use layers of sheets and blankets rather than a dooner to make it easier to regulate temperatures at night.

 If you have a tendency to Qi and Blood stasis we recommend the following:

Avoid:

coffee

alcohol

chilli

greasy foods

nuts

be careful not to overeat

Include:

Rye

Bitter greens

Dark leafy greens

all fresh spring veges

root veges

Eggplant

radish

basil

cardamom

marjoram

garlic

dill

plums

pickles

chicken soup, carrot and coriander soup

herbal tea such as jasmine, fennel, chamomile and spearmint

Start the day with warm water and lemon

Daily exercise is very beneficial. Tai qi and Qigong are highly recommended, yoga, pilates and walking are also beneficial.

Daily meditation can also be beneficial to help control the emotional side of stagnant energy.