Natural Health System
and Taoist Principles
Healthy eating
In eating there is one basic principle: observe how the foods affect your body and well being, use intuition and avoid foods which clearly makes you feel worse. Eat more foods which makes you feel better ( of course do not eat too much unhealthy foods. )
Correct eating is not a diet, which tortures you or which tastes bad. Eating too little is as bad as eating too much. If eating too much, weakness occurs due to over-whelmed stomach. If eating too little, deficiency occurs because the body can not survive without proper nourishment. Of course, the more stronger you become energywise and the more you benefit from your practice and diet, the less you need food.
Yet another aspect of eating is the individual needs of each person. Some people benefit from one diet, for other the same diet may cause health problems. That's why own observation and research is needed to find out the best foods for each person. Also, your current health status greatly affect on what kind of foods you can tolerate. For example, if you have a very powerful digestive system, you may find that milk products and dairy in general does not cause any problems. But when under the influence of energy weakness and stagnation, dairy products can be very toxic since they easily create phlegm and dampness in your body. Accumulated phlegm causes many common health problems and various symptoms like attention disorders and breathing problems. Clean and simple diet will produce a clear mind.
Prefer slightly warm drinks over cold ones, since cold fluids often cool down the digestive fire causing lack of appetite and stagnation. Too hot fluids are not good either.
Allow yourself to be led by your stomach, thoughts will easily block it from working smoothly causing lack of appetite. Thinking tasty foods will activate the spleen and pancreas to produce digestive fluids. Learn also to connect your smile with your stomach.
Please read the Chang Ming - taoist long life diet:Here are some general guidelines over healthy eating, which may or may not be useful:
• Anything too much is against the nature.
• Prefer always organic foods and avoid industrial foods. Avoid also artificial substances and chemicals.
• Avoid excessive sweet foods and sugar which depletes your digestive strength and creates easily dampness.
• Eat and drink only when hungry and thirsty.
• Excessive dairy foods and meat can be too harsh to your stomach and spleen. You know that foods are too hard to digest if your body produces phlegm out of them.
• If you suffer from stomach dryness ( crack in the middle of your tongue, dry stools, breathing problems ) avoid bread, especially rye bread altogether.
• Cook the foods ( vegetables, meat, fish ). Raw foods can be too harsh to your digestive system.
• Too cold or raw foods can deplete the warm energy from your stomach.
• Drinking only warm drinks will deplete the yin ( cooling ) energy. Drinking too much hot coffee, tea or warm drinks can hurt the spleen's ability to transform and transport foods and fluids causing phlegm accumulation to the stomach. Drinking room temperature fluids is recommended.
• Spleen and stomach are the most important organs regarding the digestive process. Anger and depression are not good for the stomach.
• Eating what should not be eaten - foods which are out of season or bad for you as an individual
• Immoderate eating - consumption in excess of one's needs
• Eating contrary to custom - eating at odd hours and eating a variety of foods which are new to your body without adjusting
• Failure to discharge the old before the arrival of the new - eating before you have finished digesting the previous meal, eating when you are not hungry
• Intentional retention of digested foods - basically this means suppressing natural processes such as belching, vomiting and gas as well as urination and bowel movements
• Sit down to regular meals every day
• Eat slowly and chew your food well
• Stop eating at least four hours before bedtime. The food may otherwise stay in your stomach and cause nightmares and other problems. The recharging which should happen at night isn't effective if you have a full stomach.
• Different foods have different properties. Here is a good list of the food properties: