How we eat is one of the most fundamental ways for us to care for ourselves and our health. There is a continuum in Chinese medicine between food and herbs, and the theories of Chinese medicine can be applied to our diet.
In Chinese medicine, each of us can be diagnosed according to our body type and habits, even while healthy. This means that we can eat according to what is good for our own particular body type. Foods that are perfect for one person may be poison for another, and foods that are great at certain times of the year or even of the day, may be unhelpful at other times. There is a rich source of knowledge in Chinese dietary therapy that we can all tap into.
Many of us are attracted to Chinese medicine when we get ill, then realise how useful it is to help us to keep healthy. We can continue to have preventative treatment with acupuncture, herbs or massage, but also we can learn to treat ourselves well. Diet is key to the maintenance of on-going personal health.
For example, many of us might be diagnosed as blood deficient, which when severe includes anaemia, but which can still be diagnosed when the situation is much milder. We might benefit from including in our diet more foods to nourish blood.
Frances may give you dietary suggestions according to Chinese medicine, and may also help you to add simple Chinese herbs to your cooking (Cooking with Chinese Herbs).
Read Frances’s personal exploration of food issues in her article Overeating: Stagnation as a Metaphysical Issue.