Yin and Yang
According to ancient philosophy, everything in this Universe is composed of Yin and Yang, Shiva and Shakti, Masculine and Feminine energy. Yin is the same as Shakti and Feminine energy, which is a cooler intuitive and contracting energy. While Yang is the same as Shiva and Masculine energy, which is hotter, more rational, and expansive energy. Humans, animals, plants, and even the unanimated, all is a manifestation of these two forces. When they are balanced, then the system is in harmony, and there is health, abundance, and well being, but when these energies are unbalanced, sickness starts to manifest, and the entire systems start to collapse.
Food and breath are the two primary sources of energy to our body, mind, and spirit. And these are the two ways in which we bring balance or unbalance to our body, mind, and spirit.
Chinese Food Medicine
In the Chinese tradition, food is not only for preventing illness or keeping once’s self-health, but also to balance the body, mind, and spirit. There is a saying that what makes us sick is not the disease itself, but the unbalanced energy in our body and spirit.
For example, right now, there are thousands, if not millions of bacteria on the air, or even inside our body, but we are not sick. We only get sick the moment our body gets weak, or our system is in disharmony with too much Yin or Yang energy. A lot of times, we think we get a cold because the bacteria attacked us, but the reality is that the bacteria have always been here, and now because our body is weak and unbalanced energetically – we get sick. How could doctors work for months without getting sick? Hospitals are the places with the most significant concentration of harmful bacteria, but doctors, nurses, and those who work there rarely get sick. That’s why the ancients used food medicine because its through food that we bring balance or unbalance to our systems. Even though today’s technology helps us understand how each kind of food can affect us, ancient cultures have already been doing this in a different way for more than thousands of years.
Masters have been eating and testing out each aspect of the food on their own bodies. Those who practice Yoga, Tai Chi, and different forms of meditation, and those who are deeply connected to Nature, Chi, and Prana are more sensitive to the energetic nature of different food. So we could say that in some aspect, a highly energy sensible person could tell how food affects one body just by eating it for a week if not a day, compared to months of costly experiments and analysis.
Yin and Yang types of food
Through the food we eat, we balance the Yin and Yang aspects of our Body. This means that the same foods, even though energetic, are not the best for everyone, depending on how your current energy state is. If you have more Yin or Yang energy in your body, different types of foods would be best so that your body, mind, and spirit come to harmony.
Yin refers to the cold aspect of food, the more gentle, soft, and expansive, while the Yang refers to the hotter aspect, the more dry and contracting. An easy way to identify if a food is Yin or Yang is observing its growth process. Earth is considered to be filled with Yin energy and the Sky with Yang energy. Because all energy is seeking balance, Yin always attracts Yang, and Yang always attracts Yin energy.
Therefore all food that is closer to Earth, such as ginger, pepper, onion, and most roots are Yang energy. These are foods that make you more energetic and are usually hot. With the same logic, all foods that are closer to Heaven, such as fruits and leaves, have more Yin energy.
But we cannot determine if a food has more Yin or Yang energy just through its proximity to Sky or Earth. It’s flavor, which station it is grown, where it is grown, and many other variables also impact on the energetic aspect of the food. For this reason, we have found a list that can help you identify which are the ones with more Yin and Yang aspects.
Acid and Alkaline types of Food.
Herman Aihara – pioneer in macrobiotic health programs, was the first to separate foods in two classess – Acid and Alkaline, which is also the name of his famous book. This is what he wrote:
If you don’t believe in Herman Aihara’s words, then look at the facts – his longevity. Herman Aihara lived to almost 100 years, dying at the age of 99.
The pH level (acid-alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids, especially our blood, affects every cell in our body. Extended over-acidic conditions can bring a lot of harm to our body functions. The blood’s pH level is one of the most important since our blood carries all the nutrition and energy. There are scientific studies showing that when sick, our blood pH level is always a little more acidic.
The optimal pH of the blood is around 7.4, which is slightly alkaline. Below this range, the body is no longer optimal, and the metabolism is out of balance. The scale that is used for measuring the pH level ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being the neutral point. Below 7 is acidic; above 7 is alkaline. Overall an acidic system will promote oxidation and with this, decay.
Excess acidity will cause:
● A weakening of the skin, hair, nails, teeth, bones
● Deterioration of the digestive tract, leaky gut syndrome
● Candida
● Allergies
● Excitability of the nervous system, sciatica
● A tendency to depressive illness, anxiety, panic disorders
● Muscular spasms and cramps
● Susceptibility to infections (bacterial, viral, etc.)
● Chronic fatigue
● Blockage of certain minerals which become unavailable
● Increased risk of cancerous cells development
Alkaline Diet Benefits
Simple changes in the diet, promoting more alkaline foods can result in:
● weight loss,
● increased stamina and strength,
● a stronger immune system and
● a greater sense of well-being.
Here is a chart of Acidic and Alkaline foods:
Indian Food Medicine
Besides the Chinese food medicine and scientific research on food, the Indians also have their own ancient knowledge and wisdom on food medicine.
In Ayurveda – an ancient Indian system of medicine, food is classified by these main attributes:
The Three Gunas are qualities in food (and all material things for that matter) that affect the mind and body. The Three Gunas are: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Similar to Chinese Food Medicine, Indian Food medicine focus on bringing balance to one’s body.
Tamas is the “relaxing” cooler aspect of energy.
Tamas is comparable to the feminine Yin energy in Chinese medicine. Tamasic foods demand a lot of energy to digest and have a grounding effect but usually raise inertia and can dull the mind. The mind in the Tamasic state exhibits the most negative traits: depressed, lethargic, hateful, or even murderous, suicidal, and thieving.
Rajas are the “passionate” and hotter aspect of energy. Rajas can be comparable to the masculine Yang energy in traditional Chinese medicine. Rajasic foods commonly come to play with hard labor as they support physical endurance and a resolute state of mind.
Ayurveda is always striving to boost Sattva, which is the more balanced aspect of energy.
Sattva are the foods that have a balanced state of energy. Sattvic foods are, nourishing, soothing, and promote a quiet, steady mind and also help to sharpen your intellect and sense of empathy. Sattvic foods are completely vegetarian and do not include foods derived from animals harmed in any way. It is of great importance that foods are grown organically and do not contain, artificial flavors, preservatives, or additives.
You can learn more about Ayurveda HERE.
The cooking of food plays a vital part in defining which Guna it supports. Fresh vegetarian food is normally Sattvic and converts to Rajasic by frying, over-cooking, or adding chiles, and Tamasic by cooking in advance or keeping it for too long. A potato, for example, is usually a Sattvic food when baked or cooked freshly. But when we add some spices like chili or pepper, it becomes Rajasic. Also, frozen potatoes or old potatoes usually becomes more Tamasic even though the nutrients are conservative. Freezing conserves the nutrients, but they cannot conserve the energetic aspect of food.
In our modern society, we rely most on mass-produced frozen and fast foods. Our eating habits have changed to overall balanced to a very unbalanced and unhealthy diet. You can tell by whenever you eat fresh food, it feels so much more tasteful and fulfilling.
Conclusion
So whichever ancient food medicine you follow, the main idea in all of them is that food is the source of our energy. Food is the the true cause of health or sickness. Different from today’s medical system where they try to cure the effect of an unbalanced body, ancients knew that the cause of every disease is what we eat every day. So before trying to use pills or other solutions that focus on treating the effects, why not try to first address the cause with a change in diet for 30-40 days?
– Written by Danilo Kim from Holo Vibes