Healthful Eating Habits: You are how you eat

Everywhere we look, there’s advice for a new diet. It’s hard to know what's best. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective, the reason there is conflicting research on the efficacy of various diets is that we are all unique individuals with our own unique needs. TCM does not ascribe to a one-size-fits-all approach. However, there are healthy eating habits that are helpful for just about everyone.

How, Not What

When you come in for a TCM assessment and treatment, I will make dietary recommendations specific to your symptoms, root cause, and diagnosis. But it's sometimes easier to start with how you eat, instead of keeping track of what you eat. You may have food preferences you’re not ready to give up, or aversions to some recommended foods. This can cause stress, worry, or even resentment which we do not want to cultivate. By first making a few changes in habits of eating, you can begin to see improvements and this might be the motivation needed to make bigger changes. 

Earth Element and Digestion

In TCM the Earth element, which centres around the Spleen and Stomach, is most closely related to digestion. Due to their interconnectedness, other elements are important too, but supporting your inner Earth is a great place to start. Warmth, routine, groundedness, and calm are key to the flourishing of your Earth element. 

When the Earth element is telling you it needs support, various digestive and non-digestive symptoms will present themselves. These can include:

• Weight gain or loss

• Foggy thinking or poor memory

• Loose or hard stools

• Overthinking and worry

• Excessive or lack of appetite

• Indigestion and pain

• Fatigue or heaviness

• Bloating, gas, and reflux

Time to Make Changes

Some individuals have weak digestion all their lives. Others never experienced any issues, but discover that with age their digestive power isn’t what it used to be. According to TCM, some weakening of digestion is a normal physiological change as we grow older. However, the digestive fire can be preserved and even strengthened by our life choices.

TCM recommends changing your eating throughout the life cycle. From a purely biological perspective, we don’t feed a 6 month old and a 16 year old the same kind or amount of food. So it would follow that what and how you ate at 16 should not be the same as when you are 36, 56, 76, or 96. Healthy eating habits become more and more important with time. 

Adaptation is not just a good idea, it is a superpower for health and longevity. 

How to Eat

All about timing: Stomach energy is at its height between 7am-9am; this is the best time for breakfast. Even if you’re not feeling hungry, having something small teaches your system to accept food. Digestion is weakest in the evening, so stop eating around 7pm. Eat more at breakfast and lunch, have a light dinner, and eat at regular, predictable times. If you fast intermittently, stop eating earlier so that by 7am-9am you have been fasted for your desired number of hours. 

Warm it up: Digestive fire is needed, so avoid cold and raw foods. While a frozen fruit smoothie packed with superfoods sounds healthy, it restricts blood flow and interferes with digestion. Avoid large portions of raw fruits and vegetables, ice cream, and icy drinks especially in cold weather and in the morning. But if you must, have a warm drink like ginger tea or soup before cold/raw foods.

Avoid extremes: Just like you should avoid cold/raw foods, avoid overly spicy, overly salty, overly sour, and overly dry foods. The Earth element prefers moderation in both flavours and quantity. If overeating is an issue, reduce your portions by 10%. A small reduction is hard to notice and easier to accept. 

Chew, chew, chew…and then chew some more: Biologically, mechanical and chemical digestion start in the mouth. Breaking food into small pieces supports the rest of the digestive system, enzymes begin to break down carbohydrates, and properly tasting your food sends neurological signals to the brain about what other hormones, enzymes, and chemicals need to be released. Ideally, you should chew your food until it is liquified and that could mean up to 50 times! But any increase in chewing is a step forward. You should even “chew” liquids like soup by swishing them around in your mouth before swallowing. 

Cultivate peace and calm: Listen to soothing music or even eat outside when the weather is nice. Remove distractions like work emails or social media posts. If you have young children, try to feed them first and then sit down to eat when they are occupied, asleep, or at school.

Slow it down: Eating on the go is often many people’s norm. But this does not match Earth energy. Carve out 5-10min even on a busy day to eat with focus and attention. This also helps you chew more & your digestive organs will thank you. 

Eat with joy: While difficult for many of us, don’t let emotions dictate eating habits. Don’t eat when angry, sad, or worried. Because emotions are something the mind needs to process (digest), eating food at the same time puts a heavy burden on your system. Go for a walk or do something active instead. Similarly, enjoy your food! Instead of eating a cookie with guilt, make every bite an act of meditation. Smell the aromas, feel the textures, savour the flavours. 

In summary:

• Start eating early and end early too

• Eat with regularity

• Avoid cold and raw foods

• Pair warm food with cold (ex. miso soup and wasabi with sushi)

• Avoid extreme flavours and quantities

• Chew a lot more than you think is enough

• Eat in a quiet, calm, and relaxed state

• Intentionally slow down and focus

  
  

Note: These are general recommendations and may not be appropriate for everyone. A TCM assessment with a licensed practitioner is recommended for suggestions best suited to you as an individual.

Learn More:

1. The Tao of Healthy Eating, by Bob Flaws