In traditional Chinese medicine, as in modern nutrition, the “right” foods are those that are well absorbed and do not contain chemical impurities. Meat and fish, cereals and vegetables, oils and herbs, nuts and seeds – that, in fact, is all that a person needs to maintain health. One question remains: how to accustom yourself to eat right on an ongoing basis? How to negotiate with the body so that it wants exactly this, and not chocolate or chips?
Traditional Chinese medicine experts believe that any food has some effect on us. There are no neutral foods – they all somehow affect the body: either we eat what gives us strength and helps fight diseases, or we eat what contributes to the development of diseases.
Chinese doctors are taught to diagnose diseases in their infancy – to determine the imbalance by the pulse, the condition of the mucous membranes, skin and other factors, which in a few years will lead to the appearance of the first symptoms. Doctors are guided by subtle processes that are invisible even to the patient himself, and nutrition becomes one of the subtle settings of health.
What can and can not
If you go to an appointment with a Chinese doctor, he will most likely prescribe an individual type of nutrition for you and will adjust it as the treatment progresses. In general, experts consider the correct diet with the following restrictions:
- Dairy products – it is believed that they extinguish the so-called “digestive fire”, that is, slow down the metabolic processes. Food is broken down more slowly and not as productively as it could, the digestive organs become more “lazy”. Of course, it cannot be argued that milk is contraindicated for absolutely everyone in the world, moreover, in some cases it can play the role of a medicine. However, according to traditional Chinese medicine, a healthy adult can do without it.
- Sugar and products containing it are treated as drugs by traditional medicine. White sugar has a negative effect on the hormonal system as a whole and, like any drug, is highly addictive. If you have tried to give up sugar for a while, you most likely know how difficult it is to tolerate: the body literally begins to crave sweets, and no natural substitutes like fruits or honey bring satisfaction.
Even raw foods, Chinese doctors recommend eating in limited quantities so as not to overload the digestive tract.
- Artificially synthesized chemical additives that give dishes additional taste characteristics (color, smell), as well as medicines, without which modern industry is not able to grow animals and plants. There is no getting away from this, and we, residents of megacities, are forced to eat what is presented in supermarkets. Our body gradually adapts to this, but if there is an opportunity to go to places where you can eat seasonal vegetables and fruits and more natural meat products, at least during your vacation, arrange yourself such a fasting weekend. The body will be grateful for them.
- Bright flavors: an abundance of salt, pepper, curry and other natural and non-natural seasonings. Any food with an unbalanced taste changes the balance within the body. For example, if we consistently eat salted food (and prepared food and dishes in restaurants, as a rule, contain more salt than we need), our fluid exchange is disturbed: the fluid drains worse. For the first ten years, this deviation may not be noticed, but over time it will bear fruit.
- Fried, smoked, pickled, that is, cooked so that the taste is also as bright and rich as possible. In small volumes, these products are acceptable in the diet, but it should be based on boiled, baked or steamed dishes. Even raw foods, Chinese doctors recommend eating in limited quantities so as not to overload the digestive tract: the less heat treatment, the more energy the body spends on digesting the dish. And if the forces are in short supply, it negatively affects health.
Fresh and sad?
From all that has been said above, one can draw a sad conclusion: one should only eat something insipid and tasteless. I hasten to please: normally, our body enjoys just such food.
Don’t believe? Then I propose to conduct an experiment. To do this, choose the right moment: if you, for example, have to take exams and exert willpower for daily study, it is better to postpone it – the resources of our will are not endless. In addition, you need to be a healthy person without chronic diseases that are at risk of exacerbating.
If all the conditions are met and there is a desire to change to natural proper nutrition, then make it a rule to eat one product during one meal. For example, for breakfast there are boiled eggs – two or three, without salt, pepper, mayonnaise and bread. At the next meal, eat only rice, without salt and other seasonings. Then – vegetables: say, tomatoes.
There are no other restrictions: you can eat meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, whole grains, but separately and without additives – no sugar, no salt, no seasonings.
To those who are used to eating natural products without additives, chocolate seems terribly sugary.
It will be … unusual! At first, the body will require at least some bright taste experience. We are so accustomed to an abundance of sugar, salt and other additives that our taste buds are not ready to settle for little – they need a constant increase in the level of pleasure. Refusing additives, we “overload” the taste buds, returning them to their natural sensitivity.
Eat this way for a week. And then try to eat, say, a chocolate bar. I bet: the sensations will be so unpleasant that it will not be easy to finish the slice. To those who are used to eating natural products without additives, chocolate seems terribly sugary. The level of salt in the chips is beginning to disgust. Even bread becomes inedible, as sugary sweetness begins to be felt in it – store-bought bread contains a lot of sugar.
For a qualitative reboot of the receptors, it is advisable to eat according to the described scheme for at least a month. During this time, taste sensations are refined, food that previously seemed insipid acquires a rich taste, and a minimal amount of salt in soup or honey in tea is enough to enjoy.
Food without additives has a rich taste, and we can learn to feel it. It is not for nothing that more than twenty types of rice are sold in stores: it all tastes different!