A Guide to How Certain Foods Align with Chinese Medicine Diagnosis Patterns

Welcome to part three in the Chinese Medicine dietary therapy series! In parts one and two I wrote about the basics of food properties from a Chinese Medicine perspective, as well as foods to incorporate and how to prepare them during each season. If you haven’t read either of those, I would recommend reading them.

Part three is going to discuss how to eat for general patterns. Some people might have a really straightforward pattern, such as Blood deficiency. However, most of us have a more complex pattern that involves multiple organs, excesses, deficiencies, dampness, dryness, and/or stagnations. It’s important to know the full picture of your pattern so that you can eat in a way that creates balance and harmony in your body.

Let’s dive in!

Yin Deficiency

Symptoms of a Yin deficiency may include hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, feeling of heat in the afternoon or evening, dry skin, dry mouth, dry stools (are you seeing the pattern of dry everything?). Yin nourishing foods tend to be cooling and sweet for this reason.

Yang Deficiency

Symptoms of Yang deficiency may include feeling cold, frequent, pale urination, loose stools, weak knees and low back, and an absence of thirst or a desire for warm beverages. Yang nourishing foods tend to be warming and pungent.

Qi Deficiency

Symptoms of a Qi deficiency may include pale face, shortness of breath, fatigue, poor appetite, and loose stools. Qi nourishing foods are often sweet and warm.

Blood Deficiency

Symptoms of a Blood deficiency may include pale face and lips, blurry vision or floaters, dry hair, fatigue, poor memory, insomnia, tendon spasms, dizziness, and light periods. TCM believes that red foods help to build the blood as well as dark leafy greens and chlorophyll rich foods.

Dampness/Phelgm

Symptoms of dampness or phlegm may include obesity, heavy sensation, foggy brain, expectoration of mucus, nausea, sticky stools, and a lack of a desire to drink. The modern American diet is pretty heavy with damp forming foods. This includes dairy products, sugar, alcohol, greasy or fried foods and bread. It is best to avoid these foods or really limit your intake if you are experiencing dampness or phlegm.

Qi Stagnation

Symptoms of Qi stagnation include irritability, bloating, depression, frequent sighing, mood swings, irregular menstrual cycles, and waking in the night usually between 1 and 3am. If you are experiencing Qi stagnation, one of the best things you can do is move your body! Get that Qi flowing. Sour foods are also beneficial, like a squeeze of lemon in your water. Foods that contain natural digestive enzymes like papaya, sauerkraut, and pineapple are also helpful. Use herbs that are moving such as basil, garlic, turmeric, star anise, and cayenne.

Blood Stagnation

Symptoms include dark complexion, fixed, stabbing pain, dark blood or blood clots, painful periods, and mental restlessness. This is a common pattern for menstruating women. It is best to avoid cold or raw foods and beverages and opt for warming foods. Some foods that help move Blood include turmeric, pepper, onion, vinegar, eggplant, parsley, scallion, and peaches.

General Eating Habits

Here are a few tips for creating good eating habits.

• Eat in a relaxed and peaceful environment - over-stimulation can drain the Spleen Qi which is what helps us digest our foods properly.

• Don’t rush meals. Take the time to sit down and chew your food thoroughly. This will allow your body more time to digest.

• Avoid conflict or over-stimulation, such as watching television. Let meal time be meal time and save the rest for later.

• Avoid late night meals if possible.

• Avoid overeating. 

Final Words

I will often offer dietary advice to patients who are open to suggestions, however, I don’t expect anyone to make wild changes to their diet overnight. We are creatures of habit and some things take a little more time to change than others. So we take baby steps making little changes here and there until you are where you want to be. 

As you navigate your health journey, I’d like to remind you to celebrate your wins and be compassionate with yourself. We are all human and striving for 100% perfection is a ridiculous pursuit. Personally, I aim for about 95% ideal nutrition for my body with the other 5% being those times that I really, truly need a brownie so I don’t have a complete meltdown. This works well for me and I don’t feel like I am depriving myself of anything. If you need help finding the correct balance for you, let me know! I would love to work with you.