Five Elements Diet
Eating according to the Five Elements is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Food and respiration are the most important sources of energy for human beings. To be able to use this food energy optimally depends on the one hand on the energy quality of the food itself and on the other hand on whether the organism has the ability to use it at all.
The Five-Elements Diet therefore addresses the following questions:
⇒ What energy does this food provide?
⇒ Which areas of the body or organs does it supply?
Each food has characteristic properties in terms of flavor and temperature behavior. Thus, each flavor is assigned to one of the five elements:
Sweet corresponds to the earth element, sour is associated with the wood element, bitter is related to fire, salty belongs to the water element, and spicy belongs to the metal element. In addition, a distinction is made between cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot foods, which can be consumed preferentially or only a little, depending on the life situation and symptoms.
The right diet is therefore based on the personal constitution with the current strengths and weaknesses. It is therefore highly individual – in contrast to many other nutritional strategies.
By proper nutrition, the Chinese also mean the attitude towards food and the right timing. The harmony, the balance, the joy of eating and the awareness of what one eats are also important considerations in the Five Elements Diet.