Tonic foods / herbs

Check out this simple little paperback by Henry Lu,...I think you will find it useful.

http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-System-Food-Cures- Prevention/dp/0806963085

I would recomend this book by Bob Flaws. Gives a realy good and straight forward approach to understanding how Chinese Medicine views digestion. I use many of Bob's analogies with my clients on a daily basis. He also includes a list of foods and their energetics at the back of the book, as well as a CM energetic look at supplements.

Trevor

Hello,

I am so happy to read that you are interested in learning more bout TCM nutritional therapy. Nutrional therapy is amazingly effective. We eat food everyday, several times a day, and therefore the qi we derive from eating can easily cause imbalance or help to bring balance to the qi systems.

When it comes to using herbs in food reciepes, practitioners should still adhere to prescribing these herbs based on pattern discrimination. Just because they "taste better" does not mean they are safe for everyone. Gou Qi, though a popularly marketed "cure all" in health foods stores and online, is meant to nourish the Liver and Kidney and enters the Du meridian. Because of it's cloying nature, if improperly applied, can cause qi and blood stagnation. Da Zao is wonderful for clearing vacuity heat and engedering fluids. If the patient does not need these therapeutic actions to heal then they should be avoided.

The books that the other commentors recommended are great. I just wrote a book which includes an exhaustive list of foods classifieds by thier thermal nature and discusses food cures based on pattern dx. The book is Chinese Medicine & Healthy Weight Management an evidence-based integrated approach I also highly recommend that you take the CE class through Yo San University taught by Mao Shing Ni and Cathy McNease (They wrote the Tao of Healthy Eating) The Theory and Practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Salute!

Many thanks to all of you for all the comments.

Schulman -
I agree, I have Daverick's books, and they are both excellent. He really knows his stuff.

Juliette -
Thanks for your very useful comments. The distance learning course looks very good, I'll look at it in more detail. I understand your point about always working on the basis of pattern discrimination, and I realise that any herb (or food for that matter) can have negative or unwanted effects if wrongly prescribed, but what I'm especially interested in is using herbs and foods as tonics rather than medcines. From my visits to China I get the impression this is pretty much what the average Chinese do - eg taking 'black boned chicken soup' cooked with a selection of herbs as a strengthening tonic, especially for people in a debilitated state (eg after an illness)

For instance, I have a consitutional tendency to Yin deficiency - it's nothing that worries me unduly but I'm aware that it's there and can flare up if I'm overworked or something like that. Accordingly, I try to keep a slant towards Yin tonic foods in my general diet (including gou qi zi, actually.) I don't take large doses of any 1 food or herb, but rather try to go for what Daverick Leggett refers to as a 'dietary tilt' - leaning the diet generally in one direction by food selection. I have also found this approach can work well with patients, especially when combined with lifestyle advice and acupuncture / tui na. So far I have worked mainly with common Western foods in this area but would like to be able to incorporate some Chinese herbs - it seems like a good idea, as so much is known about their actions and effects. I'd appreciate it if you have any thoughts on this?

Cheers.

Hi there,

A herb that is used as a tonic food in china. (it is used to cook in soup) Is the herb Shan yao., Discoreae opositae, radix
It is the Chinese yam.

Description: Sweet, neutral
enters spleen, lung and kidney.

It tonifies the spleen and stomach, lung qi, yin and yang of the lungs and kidney.
It tonifies kidney and astringes.
This is a safe herb that should be used for deficiency situations.

Use with cautin while taking insuline or other antidiabetic medications(this herb may lower glucose levels)