Nutritional Counseling

Food is medicine.

“Only a diet comprised of all five flavors — sweet, bitter, acrid, sour, and salty — can keep the bones straight, the sinews supple, the Qi and blood flowing, the pores closed, and the functioning of the five major organs coordinated and balanced harmoniously.”

— Ling Shu (Spiritual Pivot)
Chapter 63

Yin Shi Zhi Liao Fa, Chinese dietary therapy, is the keystone of TCM. Diet can be effectively used to treat various diseases or to preserve a healthy state. Think of food as the medicine we eat at every meal. Learning what foods to eat, when to eat or avoid them, and how to prepare them becomes a powerful tool in managing our health.

Whether a food is good or bad for a person is entirely dependent upon that person's TCM pattern diagnosis and the nature and flavor of that food. Everyone should try to eat fresh food, freshly prepared, with a minimum of chemicals, preservatives, or additives. Grains should be cooked thoroughly to allow for easy and complete digestion. Vegetables on the other hand should not be overcooked so as to conserve valuable vitamins and enzymes. Sugar, salt, oil and fat consumption should generally be kept low. Most people should try to eat large amounts of roughage and fiber. Dietary changes for chronic disease should be implemented slowly over a period of time but made a continuous part of one's lifestyle.

In addition to a healthy diet it is vitally important to get adequate exercise and sleep. These are three free therapies which are the basis of good health. Our bodies take the food we eat and transform it into Qi, the vital energy we need to move our bodies, think clearly, and fight disease. Being aware of what we eat will help maintain our internal balance and prevent disease on a daily basis.