What is the Chinese food therapy according to TCM theory

Condition analysis:
Traditional Chinese Medicine views inbalances in the body as excess ordeficient cold or heat. When the people develop unbalanced bodyfunctions, they get sick.  Likewise, when their body’s constitution is restored to a healthy balanced status, the individual can recover. If aperson already has a hot constitution (or an overheated system),consuming foods in the hot or warm category will worsen their condition. Too, a person with a cold constitution who consumes cold or cooling foods will delay their recovery.

Chinese medicine divides foods into several categories by their nature:cold, cool, warm, and hot.  That means that they can produce a cold,cool, warm, or hot condition in the body after they are digested in terms of body’s balance.  If people mainly eat from one of these food categories for a prolonged period of time, they will break down the Yin (cold)- Yang (hot) balance and develop an imbalance in their body. For instance, onions, garlic, ginger, hot pepper, cinnamon and lamb meat belong to the hot category.  If people consume too much from this food category for a long time, they can over-heat the body and stress their internal organs.  Other milder symptoms such as constipation and mouth sores can occur. If the body is not adjusted back, or if the individual has the body condition of Yin (cold) deficiency, the condition will further stress the internal organs and many other diseases or problems can develop later on, such as nose bleeding, itching skin, infection,Insomnia, fatigue, worsened Diabetes, Anxiety, sometime even urine bleeding or bowel bleeding.

Instructions:
The Chinese believe in four food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits and meats.
There’s no classification for dairy products, which are considered unsuitable for humans. The Chinese believe a balanced diet will consist of the following food combinations on a daily basis: 40 percent grains, 30 to 40 percent vegetables, 10 to 15 percent meats and the rest of the foods should be nuts and fruits.

In Chinese food therapy, foods are then further classified by taste. The tastes are defined as pungent, salty, bitter, sweet and sour. Each taste is believed to have a direct effect on a specific body organ.

The sour flavor enters the liver and gallbladder.

The bitter flavor enters the heart and small intestine.

The sweet flavor enters the spleen and stomach.

The pungent flavor enters the lungs and large intestine.

The salty flavor enters the kidney and bladder.

When consumed in moderation, the food benefits the organ, but if over consumed, it can have a negative effect on the organ.

The pungent and sweet flavors are considered yang and tend to be warming. They direct energy outward and higher into the body. The other three flavors–sour, bitter and salty–are yin and considered to be cooling. They direct energy inward and lower in the body.

So, by using the information above, we know that we can use cooling foods to counteract overheated conditions. Warming foods are excellent for people who feel too cold. If someone is deficient or lacking in something, we can use foods that are building.