Nutritional Imbalance

Diagnosing Nutritional Imbalance At FLOW

Traditional Chinese Method (TCM)

CHINESE 5 ELEMENT NUTRITION

The Chinese five elements is a method of linking and understanding the interaction between organs, emotions and reflectors of imbalance that never ceases to amaze me. To understand how the theory relates to nutrition, one must first understand the basic categorizations of the five elements.

Essentially, there are five elements, or factors, which have an inter-relationship which must be kept in balance. The Five Elements are: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. The chart below describes some of the common categorizations which fall under each element:

CHINESE 5 ELEMENT TABLE METAL, WATER, WOOD

While the entire chart is helpful as a diagnostic and treatment tool, and it's correlations have a strong relationship with nutrition.

It is important to understand how the elements relate to one another. Take a person experiencing problems with asthma.

Asthma is a Metal (Lung) condition sometimes with an underlying psychological component of grief or sadness. From a TCM perspective, Asthma may present as a phlegm-damp condition.

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE DIAGNOSIS

For those new to TCM it is a given that diet and herbal strategies need to change according to the seasons. For example, I am very Cold. I require more warming foods and herbs in the winter than in the summer. It's so cold in the winter that I need extra to help me. But the same amount taken in the summer warms me too much.

I tend to have more trouble with certain foods in the spring than at other times of the year. I do have some food allergies. They're a lot milder than they used to be. But sometimes I do run into problems with certain foods. This is more likely to happen in the spring because Wind is the predominate atmospheric condition at this time of year, and Wind can worsen existing allergies and possibly can play a role in the tendency to develope new allergies. Foods that can be eaten okay with no noticeable effects at other times once again start to cause problems in the spring if I am not careful.

If an Organ gets too much or too little of what it needs, it can run into problems. For example, cut too far back on salt, and a person can run into some major problems like the loss of too much fluid through the urinary system. But load up on too much salt, and it can be damaging to the heart. Water (Kd) controls Fire (Ht). When a person consumes too much salt, water literally is in excess and the heart can be stressed as a result.

The chart below describes some of the common foods which serve to nourish their respective element:

COMMON FOODS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE ELEMENT

Using the above chart and our previous example of Phlegm-Damp type Asthma, the five element theory would suggest that we would want to eat foods which strengthen the Metal (Lung), Earth (Spleen) and Fire (Heart) Elements.

From my chart you would choose a majority of our foods from the Metal grouping and a selection from both the Earth and Fire categorizations until you start to see a change.

An example of food choices to support this Damp type Asthma would be:

• Brown Rice - increases and strengthens spleen
• Navy Beans - sweet flavor, benefits the lungs and spleen (both aspects of the metal element)
• Almonds - relieve stagnation of the lungs, transform phlegm
• Mustard Greens - influence lungs, clear chest congestion, improve energy circulation
• Onions - resolves phlegm and inflammations of the upper respiratory system
• Radish - transforms phlegm
• Pear - affects the lungs, eliminates phlegm
• Avoid - dairy (which may add mucus/phlegm), meat (which may weaken the spleen) and sweeteners (which may weaken the spleen and contribute to dampness)
• Temperature - Within each categorization foods have differing temperature qualities which, while generally good for that element, may not be used during certain seasons or conditions. For example, if you had a common cold (Metal, Lung) condition you would decrease your intake of some of the foods which are generally cooling within the Metal element such as the fruits.
• Season - The current season will also play a role in which foods you may choose to eat. In the summer (fire, hot) we require more cooling foods and in the winter (water, cold) we require more warming, deeply nourishing foods.

FOOD CHOICES THAT MAY BE HELPFUL USING TCM DIAGNOSIS

Within traditional chinese medical theory there are a number of factors which either cause a/or are the result of disease. The factors can be physical/climatic factors such as heat, cold, wind, dampness and dryness. These can be both internal and external such as a cold condition from using too much internal energy or a heat condition from an external source such as radiation. There are also emotional factors which tie into the five element theory above, such as anger effecting the functioning of the liver leading to headaches, for example, or excessive joy effecting the heart leading to insomnia.

From a practitioners perspective an eastern medicine diagnosis does not usually carry any association with the western medical diagnosis. For example, using eastern medical theory we might call a "headache" Qi or Blood stagnation. From a nutritional standpoint it is important to understand what each diagnosis means and how you might aid your healing by choosing appropriate foods.

The chart below describes the food choices which may be helpful for a particular TCM diagnosis. It should be mentioned that the Spleen is of the utmost importance in the majority of these disorders when looked at from a nutritional perspective. The Spleen is the foundation of digestion and consequently plays a primary role in the production of Qi and Blood in the body. Thus, food choices, cooking styles and eating habits which benefit the Spleen, benefit the person overall irregardless of their condition.

Dampness

• symptoms - poor appetite, chest/epigastric oppression, loose stools
• tongue - thick white or yellow coat
• pulse - slippery and slow or rapid

Dampness is also a Spleen related imbalance.
Generally it is the result of long-term qi deficiency but may also arise quickly from a diet that contains too many cold, raw foods, excessive dairy products or excessive amounts of greasy foods, animal products and/or alcohol.

Food choices similar to those above are helpful, adding foods which dry dampness such as rye, scallions and turnips and limiting the foods listed above which contribute to dampness.

Blood Deficiency

• Symptoms - fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, numbness, blurred vision
• Tongue - pale w/thin coat
• Pulse - thin

Blood deficiency is usually seen as a result of long-term qi deficiency. The Chinese term, Blood is used in a much broader way than the western idea of blood. However, blood deficiencies may still arise from traumas, child birth and menstrual issues such as heavy bleeding.

Generally foods which supplement the Spleen, as above, are considered good choices. Dark leafy greens, spinach, grapes, lotus root, cayenne pepper, and small amounts of meat products, especially liver, are beneficial additions to help the production and circulation of Blood.

Heat Condition

• Symptoms - sweating, sore throat, thirst, red face, headache, skin outbreaks, anxiety
• Tongue - red, dry, yellow coat
• Pulse - rapid, maybe floating and/or weary

Heat may show up in a variety of ways depending on the underlying condition. From a nutritional perspective it is most important to understand whether it is a "full-heat" syndrome or a "false-heat" syndrome. "Full-heat" is a pure excess condition which can be helped by consuming cool foods. "False-heat", however, indicates heat from an underlying deficiency which could be worsened by an excessive consumption of cool foods.

Fruits and raw vegetables, including salads, are generally cooling and beneficial for a heat condition. Limiting foods which create heat in the body such as dairy, meats and alcohol is also important.

Cold Condition

• Symptoms - fatigue, poor appetite, pain that improves with heat
• Tongue - white coat, possibly blue body
• Pulse - slow, maybe floating a/or tight

As with heat, cold may show up in a variety of conditions and appear as "full-cold" or a "false-cold" condition where a person has a heat condition but is experiencing a sensation of cold (chills with a fever, for example).

Warming and moving foods such as cayenne, cinnamon, ginger and onions are important for this condition. Limiting cooling foods especially raw foods and fruit juices is also important.

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