Chinese nutrition theory
Eating healthy is important. By now, everyone knows that nutrition has a big impact on our health. Additionally, everyone agrees that a healthy diet includes a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. However, once you delve deeper into the subject, it quickly becomes complicated. One person swears by a vegan diet while another seeks salvation in a paleo diet, which seems to be almost the opposite.
Balance for a good energy flow
What matters most in Chinese nutrition is the right balance in your diet. Nutrition is a means to keep your life energy (Qi) at the right level and flowing well. Simply put, it means that with the right nutrition, you can:
- Save Qi by eating as little processed food as possible.
- Replenish Qi by choosing the right, healthy food.
- Let Qi flow by creating a good balance between cooling and warming foods.
What is healthy nutrition?
Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses on the individual. This means that there is no 'standard treatment' for a complaint, but an acupuncturist always looks at you as a unique person, with your specific condition, circumstances, and complaints. It is the overall picture on which he focuses the treatment. This principle also applies to any dietary advice you receive. It is completely tailored to you, and remember: what is beneficial for one person may be better avoided by another.
Healthy eating according to the five elements
How does the acupuncturist come up with a dietary advice through Chinese nutrition?
The theory of the Five Elements is an important tool in this regard. In short, it is a system through which everything in our world is organized; every phenomenon can be classified under one of these elements. In a healthy system, all five elements are represented and in balance. This also applies to our diet. The five elements are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
Interconnection
Each food belongs to one of the elements. By composing meals that include all five elements, you ensure that all organs are well supported. This way, an acupuncturist can correct an imbalance in your body with dietary advice. Because everything is interconnected, he also considers the current season and how the food should be prepared. Cooked food (warming) has a different effect on your energy balance than, for example, raw food (cooling).
Healthy eating as a lifestyle
When you understand the effect of different foods on your body, healthy eating becomes a logical choice instead of a joyless strict diet. It becomes a new lifestyle.
