Dietary Principles According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese medicine proper diet is an important component of health. All foods are categorized into temperature, from hot to cold and flavour, pungent, spicy, sweet, sour and salty. Different temperatures and flavours of food influence the body in specific ways. One should try to include all flavours and a balance of temperatures in every meal. If too much of one type of food is consumed it can create an imbalance with in the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes how we eat our food is also very important. It is very common these days to eat in our car on the way to work, eat at our desk while working or have the television on while eating, this weakens our digestive energy.

It is important to：sit down to eat; chew food well; pay attention to eating; turn off the television; get away from the work desk; eat organically and locally; eat seasonally; do not skip meals.


Traditional Chinese medicine views the stomach and spleen as a cooking pot that breaks down the food that is eaten and turns it into energy and blood for the body. The stomach is the cauldron and the spleen is the digestive fire that warms up the pot. The stomach cooks and breaks down the food, sending the pure part of the food to the spleen to be distributed to the rest of the body and eliminating the waste as feces and urine. It is important to maintain this digestive fire and too many cold and raw foods can put out the digestive fire, weakening and slowing the digestive system.