- TABLE: which products have a warming and which have a cooling effect?
- Warming spices recommended in the fall-winter season
- Warming up diet in practice
Chinese medicine divides food into chilling, cooling, indifferent, warming and hot. The diet should be adjusted to the climate in which we live and the season of the year. Following this rule is to ensure our he alth and proper body weight. See the list of products that warm up and cool down the body.
Chinese medicine presents the body as a microcosm filled with Chi's life energy, which gives strength, and its proper circulation is a guarantee of he alth and vitality. According to these beliefs, it is essential to maintain the balance between the yin and yang elements in all areas of life, including nutrition. Chinese medicine also divides allfood productsintowarmingandcooling the body , and their proper consumption according to the followers of this philosophy, it guarantees he alth and proper body weight.
According to Chinese medicine, the diet should be adjusted to the climate in which we live. Climatic zones are divided into hot, warm, moderate, cool and cold. Similarly, food is divided into five categories. There are chilling - Han, chilling Liang, neutral - Ping, warming - Wen and hot - Re. The inhabitants of Poland live in a cool, temperate climate, so they should eat food of a warming and indifferent nature, and avoid cooling and cooling products. In practice, this means excluding raw vegetables and fruits, as well as raw water from your diet.
TABLE: which products have a warming and which have a cooling effect?
| Breakdown of food products according to their energetic nature | ||||
| chilling | cooling | neutral | heating | hot |
| vegetables | ||||
| mung bean shoots, seaweed, water chestnut | alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bamboo shoots, beetroot, broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, turnip, eggplant, lettuce, chicory, potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, squash, zucchini, tomato | beetroot, sweet potatoes | peppers, chives, beans, kale, leek, onion, parsley, parsnips | garlic, young onion |
| fruit | ||||
| bananas, melon, grapefruit, mulberry, pear, watermelon | apple, apricot, fig, lemon, orange, peach, plum, strawberry | date, mango, olive, papaya | cherries, coconut, dried papaya, grape, hawthorn, lychee, pineapple, raspberry, mandarin | |
| grains | ||||
| millet, pearl barley, white rice, wheat | buckwheat, brown rice, corn flour, rice bran, rye | oats, wheat bran, wheat germ | ||
| seeds and legumes | ||||
| pumpkin seeds | mung beans, soy beans, winter melon seeds | almond, black sesame, hazelnut, peanut, peas, sunflower seeds | black beans, brown sesame, chestnut, lentils, pine nut, walnut | |
| animal products | ||||
| pork | chicken eggs, clams, crabs | sea fish, gelatin, dairy products, oysters | beef, chicken, freshwater fish, shrimp, turkey | mutton |
| herbs | ||||
| American ginseng, coriander, mint | licorice root | anise, basil, cardamom, citrus peel, cloves, coriander seeds, dill, fresh ginger, oriental ginseng | black pepper, cinnamon tree bark, dried ginger | |
| other | ||||
| s alt, vitamin C, white sugar | tea | barley m alt, honey | raw sugar, coffee, molasses, rice vinegar, wine | |
According to the Chinese dietary guidelines, the menu should consist of 40% lightly cooked and hot vegetables and fruits, 40% grain products and 20% meat, dairy products, fat and sugar. Meals should be composed on the basis of the energetic distribution of products, so that hot Yang and cold Yin products remain in balance. An excess of hot products (e.g. butter, smoked fish, onions, peppercorns, coffee, chillies) or cold products (e.g. ice cream, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, yoghurts, bananas, tofu) consequently leads to energy imbalance and he alth problems. The food you eat should be warm, because the body does not need to spend additional energy heating them before digesting them. Thanks to this, the internal organs do not cool down and are not deprived of life-giving energy.
According to Chinese medicine, the diet should also be adapted to the season. In winter, you should eat mainly warming and warming as well as neutral products, and in summer warm, neutral and from time to time.by the time cooling off. In the cooler months, choose warm meals, mainly cooked, with the addition of warming spices such as ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla, chili, turmeric. In summer, two meals eaten during the day should also be cooked.
Warming spices recommended in the fall-winter season
| ginger | Its sharp taste and lemon scent does not suit everyone, but it is worth getting to know it. It speeds up blood circulation, making us warmer, and effectively protects against infections. It is widely used, it goes well with sweet and spicy dishes, soups, roasted pork, rice and desserts, among others. We can add chopped fresh ginger to tea instead of lemon or to boiled water with a little honey. Such a mixture has a warming effect on the body and supports its immunity. |
| carnations | They are perfect as an addition to coffee, tea, some soups and with meat dishes. Ground cloves enhance the taste of gingerbread and cakes. They effectively fight free radicals and cleanse the body of toxins. Thanks to their bactericidal properties, they strengthen the immune system and fight infections. |
| cinnamon | It inhibits the growth of bacteria, has an antiseptic, i.e. disinfecting effect. A drink with a pinch of cinnamon is effective against, for example, throat infections. It is an excellent source of manganese, iron and calcium. It perfectly emphasizes the taste of desserts, e.g. apple pie. It can be added to coffee or tea, and also to meat dishes. |
| cardamom | Has a camphor smell and distinct flavor. It has an anti-inflammatory effect on the respiratory system and can inhibit the development of colds if used at the first symptoms. It stimulates the appetite and soothes the nervous system. When added to tea or coffee, it not only improves their taste, but also neutralizes toxic ingredients. |
| nutmeg | Has a bitter-sweet aroma. It improves circulation and has a positive effect on digestive processes. It goes well with meat dishes, pumpkin, Béchamel sauce and some seafood. |
| vanilla | Perfectly flavors desserts, goes well with fruit and cheese. It is a good stimulant and warming up the body. In addition, it has a soothing effect on the nervous system. |
| chili | This spicy spice, thanks to capsaicin, has a beneficial effect on the immune system. It cleans the respiratory tract and warms up. Goes well with bean, lentil, poultry,meats as well as chocolate. |
| turmeric | Its slightly spicy taste and spicy aroma are associated primarily with Indian cuisine. It gives the dishes a golden color. Turmeric is perfect for lentil and bean dishes. It has a warming effect, thanks to which it stimulates the digestive processes. |
Warming up diet in practice
The division into five food groups is not scientifically substantiated and should not be taken literally. This can lead to certain extremes, such as excluding raw vegetables from your diet, where eating them has only he alth benefits, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It is difficult to find an obese person with numerous diseases who would eat, for example, the Mediterranean or vegetarian diet. Of course, it is worth following some recommendations regarding the seasonality, in summer eat more cool products and hot in winter, but the daily diet should not be planned based on the division of products according to their Chi energy.
When it comes to meals eaten in winter, the recommendations of Chinese medicine go hand in hand with observation and logical thinking. In the autumn and winter season, the body needs more energy to maintain proper body temperature, so it is advisable to eat meals served warm. The body does not use energy to heat food in the stomach, and a warm dish increases body temperature and postprandial thermogenesis, and thus speeds up metabolism.
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Worth knowingExcess cooling products and obesity
According to the followers of Chinese medicine, the excess of cooling and cooling products in the diet leads to the formation of TAN mucus, which is responsible for obesity and numerous diseases. TAN mucus builds up in internal organs, causing e.g. gallstones and in connective tissue, causing cellulite. According to this theory, obesity and poor he alth are caused by excessive consumption of raw vegetables and fruits, milk and eggs, mineral water or cold foods.
There is no scientific evidence supporting this theory. The only thing you can agree with is that obesity is caused by eating too much sugar, which is classified as a cooling product. The supporters of Chinese medicine are convinced that obesity comes from long-term cooling of the body and the presence of TAN mucus, but not scientists who research the causes of obesity and deal with its treatment and prevention.