In order to get the most out of acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine, it is very important to support your treatment with proper diet and lifestyle. In Chinese medicine, there is a saying, “Seven parts nursing, three parts treatment.” Nursing in this context means diet and lifestyle modifications.
According to Chinese medicine, every food has both a “nature” and a “flavor”. A food’s nature is its effect on the temperature of the body. For example, if someone suffers from a cold disease, they should avoid cold-inducing foods and eat more warming foods, and vice versa. Likewise, each food has one or more of the six flavors: sour, bitter, sweet, acrid (spicy), salty or bland. Each flavor is associated with one of the main internal organs and has its most powerful effect on that organ. This means that whether a food is good or bad for an individual person is entirely dependent upon that person’s Chinese medical pattern diagnosis and the nature and flavor of that food.
For further reading on this subject, see The Tao of Healthy Eating: a Guide to Healthy Eating According to Chinese Medicine, by Bob Flaws. This book also contains more information about the following common patterns and appropriate Chinese therapeutic diets.
The suggestions below are given as general guidelines and should be adjusted for each individual by a qualified license practitioner of Acupuncture and Chinese Dietary Therapy, based on Chinese disease and pattern diagnosis.
For Liver Qi Stagnation
Add: Some acrid spices (ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, basil, chives and garlic)
Chamomile or mint tea
Dandelion greens
Avoid: Coffee (decaf and caffeinated)
Excess sour food and drink
Sugars, sweets and artificial sweeteners
Alcohol
Nicotine
For Digestive Weakness (Spleen Qi or Yang deficiency)
Add: Warm, cooked foods, cooked vegetable
Basmati or jasmine rice, soups and stews
Drink a cup of warm water, broth, soup or tea with meals
Incorporate moderate amounts of warm-hot spices, including black and white pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or fennel
Rice milk is a good substitute for milk.
Choose sprouted wheat breads over processed wheat breads.
Avoid: Cold, frozen or chilled foods and drinks
Raw fruits, raw vegetables, raw salads, lettuce
Tropical fruits, like banana, mango, kiwi, etc.
Large doses of Vitamin C
Dairy: milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and ice cream
Greasy, fatty, and fried foods
Sugars, sweets and artificial sweeteners
Alcohol, nicotine and other stimulants such as energy drinks
For Excessive Phlegm and Dampness
Add: Warm, cooked foods, cooked vegetable
Basmati or jasmine rice, soups and stews
Drink a cup of warm water, broth, Soup or tea with meals
Incorporate moderate amounts of warm-hot spices, including black and white pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or fennel
Rice milk is a good substitute for milk
Choose sprouted wheat breads over processed wheat breads
Mung bean soup
Avoid: Overeating in general
Excess intake of oils and fats, including fatty meats
Raw fruits, raw vegetable, raw salads
Dairy: milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and ice cream
Sugars, sweets and artificial sweeteners
Nuts and nut butters
Wheat products
Alcohol
Oats
For Damp Heat (Liver/Gallbladder, Large Intestine or Lower Burner Damp Heat)
Add: Warm, cooked foods, cooked vegetables
Basmati or jasmine rice, soups and stews
Drink a cup of warm water, broth, soup or tea with meals
Mung bean soup
Avoid: Hot spices, spicy foods, especially hot peppers
Oranges and other acidic high sugar fruits
Excess intake of oils and fats, including fatty meats
Dairy: milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and ice cream
Sugars, sweets and artificial sweeteners
Nuts and nut butters
Tomatoes
Alcohol
For Blood Deficiency
Add: Small amounts of lean red meat: beef or lamb
Small amounts of animal protein: chicken, fish or eggs
Soups, broths, stew and warm foods in general
Yellow, orange or red root vegetables: carrots, beets, squash, yams, and sweet potatoes
Cooked leafy greens: kale, collard, bok choy, watercress, spinach, and broccoli
Best fruits: cherries, red grapes, and raspberries: preferably cooked or dried
Black beans
Black sesame seeds
Avoid: Total vegetarianism, raw, uncooked salads and vegetables
Raw fruits can be eaten if at room temperature and followed by a cup of tea or warm water
For Blood Stasis
Add: Moderate amounts of alcohol, preferably red wine
Moderate use of warm spices, like cinnamon, cloves, fennels, black, and white pepper and cardamom
Avoid: Greasy, fatty or fried foods
Dairy: milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and ice cream
Overeating in general
For Intestinal Dryness
Add: Prunes, pears, figs, almonds, sesame seeds, walnuts and aloe vera juice
Avoid: Use of warm, drying, hot spices
For Liver Stasis transforming into heat, upward flaming of Liver Fire, ascendant Liver Yang, Hyperactivity, Heart Fire, Stomach Heat or Fire Patterns
Add: A Moderate intake of cooling foods, including celery, melon, cucumber, zucchini, plus same general dietary suggestions for spleen deficiency, bur exclude warm-hot spices
Drink chamomile or mint tea
Dandelion greens
Avoid: Greasy, fatty or fried foods
Warm, hot spices and spicy foods
Alcohol
For Lung Weakness
Add:
Cooked or dried pears, walnuts, loquat, lily bulb
Avoid:
Cigarettes
For Kidney Yin Deficiency
Add: Lean meats and fish in general, some shellfish, eggs, and the same suggestions for spleen deficiency except the use of warm-hot spices.
Avoid: Excessive use of warm-hot spices, alcohols, caffeine, sugar, sweets and artificial sweeteners.
For Kidney Yang Deficiency
Add: Add warm-hot spices, especially ginger and cinnamon, walnuts, onions and garlic
Avoid: Chilled frozen foods and drink, raw, uncooked fruits and vegetables, coffee (both decaf and caffeinated), other stimulants and energy drinks.
Other personalized dietary suggestions:
In general, everyone should try to eat fresh food, freshly prepared, preferably organic, with a minimum of chemicals, preservatives or additives. It is also important to eat local seasonally available produce. In addition to a healthy diet, it is vitally important to get adequate physical exercise and rest. Diet, exercise and rest are the three free therapies that are the foundation of good health.
- Exercise: at least 30 minutes of MODERATE activity, 5 times per week
- Internal Exercises: Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, Meditation
- 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar twice a day
- 8+ hours of sleep
- 6+ glasses of water
