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    Home » Health and Diet » Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) » Introducing the Five Energies of Food

    Introducing the Five Energies of Food

    Published: Mar 22, 2017 · Modified: Aug 25, 2020 by HWC Magazine · 7 Comments

    Introducing the Five energies of Food / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Introducing the Five Energies of Food to help you understand from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective what food choices you need to select to keep your body in balance and healthy. (Author: Cindy Mai from Root + Spring)

    Chinese Tea Ceremony in the background introducing the concept of the 5 elements.

    In the Western diet, if we are health conscious, we typically assess our food for their calories, fat, carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutritional content. However, in the Chinese diet and according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), there are two additional properties that foods are classified in: "energy" and "flavor". Today, I introduce you to the ENERGIES and give a few examples of what types of foods could fall into which category.

    According to traditional Chinese medicine, foods are just like healing herbs that can and should be selected appropriately for your body whether you need to cleanse, tonify, or regulate your system. There are five total "energies" of food: cold, hot, warm, cool and neutral. Energy, of course, refers not to the actual temperature of the food but the effects they generate in the human body.

    Let's take chrysanthemum as an example. Chrysanthemum has a cold energy, which means that when we consume chrysanthemum whether it be a hot tea beverage, after the temporary heat fades away, cold energy will begin internally. This is why chrysanthemum is known to have a cold energy.

    Different energies act upon the human body in different ways and affect our state of health, so it is important to know about the five energies of food. Introducing the five energies of food is very important to your health. If a person suffers from heat rashes and the pain is particularly severe during the summer, eating foods with a "cool" or or "cold" energy can alleviate the pain significantly. Or if a person suffers from joint pain that worsens during the winter, one could find solace in "warm" or "hot" foods.

    Introducing the Five Energies of Food (both Chinese and Western) and their energy effect on your body.

    Cold: Bamboo shoots, bananas, chrysanthemum, crabs, cuttlefish, clams, spinach, wild rice, grapefruit, tomatoes, sprouts, lettuce, watermelon, kelp, soy sauce, salt, lotus root

    Introducing the Five Energies of Food/ https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Cool: Apples, barley, broccoli, buckwheat, cauliflower, cucumbers, celery, eggplant, coconut, cheese, cream, eggplant, strawberries, oranges, mangoes, mushrooms, peppermint, pineapple

    Neutral: Cabbage, carrots, cashews, corn, figs, grapes, lemon, olives, oysters, sugar, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, pistachios, beef, pork, duck

    Introducing to the Five Energies of Food / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Warm: Asparagus, apricots, chestnuts, cherries, chicken, venison, garlic, ginger, coffee, vinegar, peaches, longans, lychee, rambutan, pumpkin, mussels, lobster, tobacco, scallion, onions, turmeric.

    Introducing the Five Energies of Food / https://www.hwcmagazine.com

    Hot: Black pepper, chili, chili peppers, cinnamon, ginger, jalapeños, mustard, mustard seed.

    We hope that by introducing the five energies of food concept to you, it will open your eyes to a new way of thinking about food. When we view food in this context, it's no longer just eating nourishing healthy food but selecting food that is right for our body types and current condition.  Food can actually help or hinder or efforts to recover from ailments or improve our health.

    Do you Want to Learn More about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?

    Check out these posts...

    Feed Your Spleen: Nourish your Body

    Goji Berry and Red Dates Herbal Tea

    How to Prepare Wood Ear Mushrooms

    Women's Health Soup

    About the Author:

    Cindy Mai is the founder of ROOT + SPRING a shop that provides quality traditional, Chinese holistic remedies and information to everyone. Based in Los Angeles, she sees the need for alternative healthcare now more than ever. Her goal is to provide knowledge on gentle, herbal science, and create innovative herbal products that naturally will make you feel great, from inside out. Healing is within our hands.

    More Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

    • Love your Liver; Self Care and Meal Plans
    • Feed Your Spleen: Nourish your Body
    • Women’s Health Soup

    About HWC Magazine

    Join our Healthy World Cuisine medical editors (trained in both Western and Eastern Medicine) and learn how to EAT your way around the WORLD from the comfort of your own kitchen. Grab free health tips, recipe ideas, meal plans and gain a better understand how eating choices can affect your health. Be the healthier and happier YOU!

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    1. Larry says

      July 20, 2021 at 3:42 pm

      I never knew this -- HWC is a great resource.

      Reply
      • HWC Magazine says

        July 21, 2021 at 1:55 am

        Thanks so much Larry. We are delighted to hear that our Eastern insights about nutrition are helpful. Take care

        Reply
    2. Carla says

      December 26, 2020 at 12:50 am

      Very interesting.

      Reply
      • HWC Magazine says

        January 03, 2021 at 3:35 am

        Thank you Carla. Glad you enjoyed learning more about the introduction of the five energies of food.

        Reply
    3. angsarap.net says

      April 18, 2017 at 7:29 pm

      Wow this is nice to know, now I can plan better what food to have on specific season based on their properties

      Reply
      • HWC Magazine says

        April 19, 2017 at 4:48 pm

        We are so glad you liked the article about the Five Energies of Food. This is just a very high level overview but there is so much more to learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine and how food can be either a help or a hinder to our health.

        Reply
    4. HWC Magazine says

      April 07, 2017 at 1:25 am

      Thank you Cindy Mai for posting this very informative article on the 5 energies of food!

      Reply

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