Bloating? Could be too much of a good thing
Chinese Medicine is both simplistic and complex. The same could be said for modern biology. The Digestive System is an amazingly complex area of study both anatomically and bio-chemically. Yet, our dietary guidelines are reduced to a series of arbitrary rules such as: Eat less fat, Use less Salt, Eat more fruits & vegetables, Meat is Protein, Milk makes your bones strong……
It is pretty obvious why our culture is the fattest in the world - Firstly, we physically have to do much less than our grandparents did (especially walking) and secondly, our diet is generally high in carbs and nutrients, and we eat mountains of it.
Those on strict diets spend a lot of time counting calories, focusing on what type of foods are being eaten, with little concern for how the food is eaten. No wonder those diets never seem to work.
In its simplicity, Chinese Medicine places a lot of emphasis on the Qi Hua (literally transformation of Essence) or digestive mechanism, and the energy required to run this. This is not the energy you want to “burn off” because you’ve eaten to much cake. This is the energy that drives your appetite and breaks down protein, complex carbs and fiber into absorbable components. This is the fire in your belly and when it runs low you become prone to Dampness (Shi).
Dampness is a Chinese Medicine concept that describes a failure of the Qi Hua to transform the Jin Ye or Pure Fluids. Damp can manifest as anything from cholesterol to arthritis and describes a bodily fluid that has become viscous and stagnant. The primary source of Internal Damp is dietary - particularly rich, sweet, stodgy or creamy food.
As the digestive process becomes hindered by Damp, bloating and weight gain follow, and the obvious thing to do is to eat lots of fruit, raw vegetables and salads. Or Not. By this time its too late and the “Digestive Fire” is barely glowing. So many patients come in wondering why the weight isn’t falling off - and why they feel bloated all the time.
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs may be used to rectify this, but when the Qi Hua is weak, we need to protect it and make food easy to digest. Just like babies, the old and convalescing, a weak gut needs food that is: cooked and/or warm; eaten slowly in small amounts more often; not too rich, meaty or spicy; soft or at least very well chewed.
Cooking breaks down the harsh fibre of the food, and saves using up good energy to get it to body temperature. Coming into summer, this doesn’t sound like very good news! Still, if you find yourself a common victim of abdominal bloat keep to the basic principle of Warm & Cooked.
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Chinese Medicine is both simplistic and complex. The same could be said for modern biology. The Digestive System is an amazingly complex area of study both anatomically and bio-chemically. Yet, our dietary guidelines are reduced to a series of arbitrary rules such as: Eat less fat, Use less Salt, Eat more fruits & vegetables, Meat is Protein, Milk makes your bones strong……
It is pretty obvious why our culture is the fattest in the world - Firstly, we physically have to do much less than our grandparents did (especially walking) and secondly, our diet is generally high in carbs and nutrients, and we eat mountains of it.
Those on strict diets spend a lot of time counting calories, focusing on what type of foods are being eaten, with little concern for how the food is eaten. No wonder those diets never seem to work.
In its simplicity, Chinese Medicine places a lot of emphasis on the Qi Hua (literally transformation of Essence) or digestive mechanism, and the energy required to run this. This is not the energy you want to “burn off” because you’ve eaten to much cake. This is the energy that drives your appetite and breaks down protein, complex carbs and fiber into absorbable components. This is the fire in your belly and when it runs low you become prone to Dampness (Shi).
Dampness is a Chinese Medicine concept that describes a failure of the Qi Hua to transform the Jin Ye or Pure Fluids. Damp can manifest as anything from cholesterol to arthritis and describes a bodily fluid that has become viscous and stagnant. The primary source of Internal Damp is dietary - particularly rich, sweet, stodgy or creamy food.
As the digestive process becomes hindered by Damp, bloating and weight gain follow, and the obvious thing to do is to eat lots of fruit, raw vegetables and salads. Or Not. By this time its too late and the “Digestive Fire” is barely glowing. So many patients come in wondering why the weight isn’t falling off - and why they feel bloated all the time.
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs may be used to rectify this, but when the Qi Hua is weak, we need to protect it and make food easy to digest. Just like babies, the old and convalescing, a weak gut needs food that is: cooked and/or warm; eaten slowly in small amounts more often; not too rich, meaty or spicy; soft or at least very well chewed.
Cooking breaks down the harsh fibre of the food, and saves using up good energy to get it to body temperature. Coming into summer, this doesn’t sound like very good news! Still, if you find yourself a common victim of abdominal bloat keep to the basic principle of Warm & Cooked.
- Avoid too much cold & raw food
- Eat fruit that is soft and ripe, not straight from the fridge, or stew it.Try salads with cooked ingredients eg. A rice, bean or tuna salad
- Don’t eat a lot in one sitting
- Eat slowly and chew well
- Don’t drink so much water, especially from the fridge. 2 litres/day is plenty, much less in winter
- Minimise your intake of refined & packaged food, especially sugar, wheat (bread & pasta) and dairy
- Try to find organic or biodynamic foods and eat less meat.
- DON”T EAT SO MUCH!
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