Acupuncture is one of the most popular and effective contemporary healing techniques, practised in almost every country on the globe
Dietary Therapy
Dietary Therapy
This form of therapy is a highly sophisticated and ancient specialism in TCM terms and quite unlike any western, contemporary approximation. It involves careful monitoring of food and drink intake in order to eliminate disease and speed recovery.
The TCM practitioner can advise a patient regarding the type of food eaten, the time and manner in which it is eaten, or the manner in which it is prepared, in order to promote cure and enhance health.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ dietary advice in TCM, instead the advice is carefully put together based on a full TCM diagnosis, and on the client’s lifestyle and inherited constitution.
General Dietary Guidelines
These pertain to the quality of the Qi (‘energy’) of the food that is consumed, and to the time and manner in which the food is eaten.
In summary, food ought to be fresh and clean, and eaten with plenty of time, calmly without quarrels or upsets.
Individually Tailored Dietary Advice
The foods which will improve one person, will make another one worse depending on their individual condition.
Therefore foods to exclude or include and increase need to be carefully selected according to a thorough TCM diagnosis.
Seasonal and Lifestyle Considerations
TCM provides specific advice for the different seasons. What is needed in the midst of the winter will be inappropriate in the heat of the summer.
Diet also needs to be adjusted to the age of the person, and to the level and type of activity they engage in.
To be skilled at nurturing life is to treat disease before it arises. First, modify the patient’s diet and lifestyle and only then, if these do not effect a cure, treat with medicinals and acupuncture.
Doctors should first understand the cause of disease, then treat it with diet. Medicine should only be used if diet fails.
Sun Si-Miao, Master Physician ca. 600AD
