Nutrition after the five elements

Case study
Ilka-Kristina Müller

Alternative Practitioner

The TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) is closely with the culture and philosophy of China connected and forms a part of the life all daily of the Chinese population. The TCM looks on over 3,000 years an old history back.

Basic columns (TCM) are the Akupuncture, the herb medicine and the nutrition. In the Chinese medicine beside herbs also materials of mineral and animal origin are used for the treatment of chronic or heavy illnesses. These substances can work very intensively and help also, where the self healing forces of the body are not sufficient alone any longer.

However not only the therapy, but also the prevention of diseases in the eastern world take themselves a large value, in practicing measures - e.g. Taiji, Qi gong, etc.. -, Feng Shui, in addition, the nutrition reflects.

According to the theory of the Chinese medicine humans in harmony with the cosmos live. Many fundamental principles of the eastern medicine are based on observations of humans and nature and on it, how the energies in humans and its relationship with the cosmos behave.

The basis forms the life energy, the so-called Qi.

This harmony between humans and cosmos is held by the opposite forces by Yin (e.g. peace) and Yang (e.g. activity) in an equilibrium. The system of Yin and Yang is many different theories of the TCM superordinately.

This harmonious equilibrium is however durably disturbed - for example by wrong nutrition, unsatisfactory movement, by mental loads, psychological exhaustions or by jerky residential surroundings and/or an incompatible climate - can it to the development of diseases come.

With one of the large treasures of the TCM - the nutrition after the five elements - I would like particularly to enter here.

The so-called theory of the five transformation phases (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) are a grundpfeiler of Chinese nature philosophy and a development process in the experience medicine, which still still persists. The Chinese thought already early over the connections in nature and transferred this knowledge to humans, because humans are a part of nature. They assigned and in relationship set to each other the nature phenomena to the transformation phases wood, fire, earth, metal and water. They stand for the function circles of the organs liver/gallenblase, heart/small intestine, spleen/stomach, lung/large intestine and kidney/blister as well as different emotions, different parts of the body, seasons, tastes and much different one.

The nourishing science in our western world refers predominantly to the contents materials of the food. The necessity for the consideration of mineral materials, trace elements, vitaminen, fats, proteins, calories and other one is not to be pointed from the hand to, yet there are other not measurable components of our food, which these only "the life" give. Our nutrition should reduce thus not to bare food intake, but serve as means for the life, thus food,!

In the five-element nutrition the energetic effect of the food on bodies, spirit and soul stands in the foreground. The Chinese nourishing teachings regard thereby the food as a whole, i.e. a taste does not only leave itself to each food, but functionally a certain energy (Yin/Yang), thermionics (from cold to hot), color and direction of action (off and ascending energy) to assign. It concerns here thus not the quantity, but the quality of the food.

The allocation to the transformation phases:

Taste:

To the wood the sour taste, to the fire the bitter, belongs to the earth the sweet, to the metal the sharp and to the water the salty.

The thermal characteristics:

Here between hot, warmly, neutral, erfrischend and coldly one differentiates.

To the breakfast a yogurt with bananas, in addition black dte with lemon - those are all food, which works after Chinese aspect cooling or even coldly. Who freezes easily and is unpowered in the morning, should fall back to other food. Ideal a warm breakfast would out be millet with geduensteten plums and zimt, e.g. cooked, in this case.
If you rather take a cold court to itself, a Vollkornmuesli would be as still as possible good, with Nuessen - walnuesse are to prefer here - and milk. In addition one after Chinese view warming coffee and already are feel better you.

Here I still another few typical "western error" would like to mention: an aspirin with lemon works refreshingly and astringent - the exciters, which should actually leave the body, are so specially for a long time held in it. The apparent improvement does not have large existence!
Try it here with a cup of Fencheltee with ginger disks. The pores open and with the sweat the cold outward "are floated"!

In the classical Chinese nourishing teachings meat is quite permitted, with certain diagnostic samples is even important it, should be however not excessively enjoyed.
A problem in the western kitchen is however the salt! Meat is anyway already somewhat salty - it becomes then additional with the preparation and too much gesalzen, leads to drainage of the body juices and internal strain.

After a rich meal the bitter taste is relaxing from Chinese aspect. Because inward and energizes digesting pulls the juices. Also this realization can be found in our Essgewohnheiten again: (more bitterly) a Espresso after the meal lets each Voellegefuehl disappear fast.

The energetic effect direction:

It indicates the direction, in which the Qi of the food affects itself moved and which body region it.

The four effect directions are:

ascending, dropping, to the surface bringing and inward going .

The ascending effect direction raises the Yang and affects the upper body half. It is represented by the sweet and sharp taste in connection with neutral and warm temperature behavior.

A dropping effect means a movement of the energy downward. These are frequently intensively bitterly or tasting salty meals. A cold temperature behavior supports this still.

upward - one gets hot cheeks or a hot head,

downward - e.g. warm feet,

inward - internal warmth and/or heat and

outward - when eating sharp courts one can reconstruct with sweats immediately, what is meant with the energy direction "outward"),

The effect direction, which brings the energy to the surface, accompanies usually with the tastes sweetly and sharply. It works upward and outside, opens the surface, supports a sweating and drives outside ill-making factors out.

The effect going inward is downward and inward arranged. It retains the Qi and the body fluids in the inside. In addition, it is associated with the sour taste, accompanies with the bitter and salty taste .

With a healthy nutrition after the five elements also the respective season plays a role apart from the individual constitution of humans. The energetic effect direction, the taste and the thermal characteristics of our food correspond with the seasons.

If we want to nourish ourselves in conformity with the seasons, we must use the food, which grows in our environment. They give us the correct energy at the right time.

Generally we should eat erfrischende food in spring and in the summer more, in the autumn and winter rather warm meals. Beyond that each humans should arrange its food plan depending upon well-being: Someone the much freezes, often cold hands and feet and a rather slow-acting digesting has, should strengthened thermally warm to take long cooked courts to itself because the organism does not have obviously enough energy to keep sufficiently warm around the body and the bodily functions to manage. Fresh salad, fruit or also milk products would strengthen and to deposits and Schleimbildung in the body would lead cold weather, because it would not have sufficient energy in this case, in order to bring and process these food on koerpertemperatur. Humans, who have to fight rather with hot flushes and nocturnal sweats or to dry skin and mucous membranes to be inclined, you should nourish yourselves rather of erfrischenden and moistening food.

This nourishing form differs from our western parliamentary allowance in such a way that the possibility exists, to arrange one completely individually on the patient cut nutrition. Not each humans stand e.g. an adequate nutrition, although this is publicised with us as the "healthy nutrition" for everyone.

To consider it is that each humans are singular. Therefore the Chinese food cannot be used so easily with patients from the western hemisphere, because the Europeans adapted to you the available the nutrition. Here the Therapeut will naturally adapt then its treatment after the 5 - elements - nutrition to regional products, in order to obtain optimum treatment success.

The Therapist arranges all findings according to thorough diagnostics according to the Chinese criteria into 5 - elements - the system and can so an ideal up the individual patient co-ordinated nourishing form recommend. By the complex system of the TCM therefore a support is necessary in nourishing questions by the Therapeuten. The therapist opens with the five-element nutrition a broad spectrum of the therapy possibilities. Not only to the weight reduction, but also with a multiplicity this therapy can help chronic illnesses - e.g. with sleep disturbances, rheumatism tables illnesses, hyperactivity, stomach intestine problems, tiredness, allergies, etc. - supporting.

My remarks can give only a small idea of the Chinese medicine here.

The nutrition after the five elements is nearly singular in their varieties and can be combined outstanding also with other therapy form e.g. Akupuncture, Bahc flowers, Homeopathy, etc. and supplemented by these.