Common Dietary Guidelines
Classical Chinese Dietary Therapy is an exacting science, and a consultation is necessary in order to properly diagnose and prescribe. These guidelines serve as the most basic of reminders for patients.
• Non-Glutinous Grains
• The Allergies and Exhaustion THREE
• The Intestinal, Heart and Head FIVE
• The Skin Conditions FOUR
• Calcium
The Eight Common Non-Glutinous Grains:
Corn Millet Buckwheat Long grain rice
Amaranth Teff Quinoa Sorghum
These grains and their flours can be found IN BULK at Integral Yoga on 13th Street in Manhattan. That means you pack as much as you want into bags and the prices are quite low. Most local health food stores and an increasing number of supermarkets are stocking them, too. Ask your local store to get them in.
These can be prepared alone or in combination as
- porridges for breakfast
- as a grain to serve with any meal
- as a base for summer salads served at room temperature
The above grains can also be used as flours for
- pancakes
- pie crusts
- muffins, scones
- gluten-free breads
The Allergies and Exhaustion THREE
These three food types are absolute contraindications in cases of exhaustion, prolonged fatigue, allergies (acute and chronic), post-nasal drip, and excess mucus production from the nose, eyes, lungs, vagina, or in the urine (cloudy urine) or stool.
The Intestinal, Heart and Head FIVE
- Coffee
- Garlic
- Onion
- Chili and other hot spices
- Chocolate
These foods are absolutely contraindicated in a wide variety of complaints; all heart conditions including high blood pressure; all gastrointestinal conditions from gastric reflux and stomach ulcers to Crohns disease, and all conditions of recurring headaches and migraines.
The Skin Conditions FOUR
- Chicken
- Crab
- Lobster
- Shrimp and Prawns
These foods are absolutely contraindicated in all skin conditions.
Calcium Concerns
The most common question I am asked about a dairy free diet is "What do I do about calcium, then?" If you take dairy out of your diet and are worried about calcium, be reminded that dairy foods over time deplete calcium levels. The human body does not assimilate cow's milk well at all. There are countless resources available if you're interested in reading about this, ranging from pop websites to sites which analyze the landmark Harvard "nurses study" which proved what the Chinese have known for thousands of years.
Obtaining Usable Calcium
Usable calcium is found in high levels in
- Dark green leafy vegetables
- Sesame seeds (do not eat these if you have diverticulosis)
- Sardines (eat the bones), oysters
- Beans
Gentle, daily, weight-bearing exercise is the best thing you can do to maintain or strengthen bones.
Supplements, Vitamins and Acupuncture
Vitamins and Enzymes
A Classical Acupuncturist seeks to restore the energetic flow of the gastrointestinal tract so that it can resume its function of breaking down food and absorbing nutrients. Supplementation with vitamins and enzymes has minimal effect in a weak digestive tract because a compromised tract has a limited ability to absorb nutrients regardless of the source. The result of much vitamin supplementation is the production of very expensive urine. Each individual vitamin has an optimal situation for absorption. Some should be taken on an empty stomach, some on a full one; some should be taken with fat, some with carbohydrates; some should be taken in the morning, some at night, and some vitamins inhibit others. Taking a vitamin pill with everything lumped in together is imprecise and ineffective. In some cases the body's own function is undermined, for example; taking CoQ10 for long periods causes the body to reduce its production of CoQ10, creating a cyclical reliance.
Vitamins are helpful when the diet is lacking, but it makes sense only to take the vitamin or mineral that's missing. Taking excess supplementation requires the body to work hard to detoxify itself further weakening digestion. Where indicated, vitamin therapies are best done for ten days followed by a three week break.
A course of acupuncture can assist enormously in rectifying lost digestive function by reminding the body of its correct energetic flow and restoring the communication of energy between organs, resulting in a finely tuned and vibrant digestive capacity. Acupuncture can restore long lost organ and hormonal function.
Common Supplements:
Reflux Aids (Rolaids, Tums, etc.)
These are among the most damaging of the self-medications. A stomach in reflux is sending a clear message; your body doesn't like the food you are eating, or your body doesn't like the amount of food you are eating, or your body is reacting against your environment: you may be under too much emotional, work, or toxic stress.
The five most common causes of reflux observed are: coffee, chilies, garlic, onion and chocolate. These are closely followed by stress. Reflux medications taken habitually cause very serious health problems due to the cue given the stomach to produce more, not less acid. This creates cyclical dependence. These calcium-based medications cool the stomach down and slow digestion, creating "damp" sluggish conditions in the tract. This dampness, or incompletely digested food, ends up in the bloodstream and leads to arteriosclerosis.
Garlic
This is one of the most misunderstood of the modern dietary supplements. Garlic is an extremely hot herb, not a supplement, and not really a food. Garlic will over time create an enormous amount of heat in the stomach and intestinal tract in general and will erode the stomach lining over time. Garlic has a reputation for blood purifying, and indeed that is one of its functions in Chinese herbal medicine, but the herb is used strictly for short periods of time only. Long term use of garlic will heat the blood and cause high blood pressure, headaches, and various other conditions of "excess heat".
Echinacea
This herb is for early onset signs only; for when you think you might be coming down with a cold. It is designed to open the protective qi of the body and allow the cold to exit. Taken after the first day or two of a cold, the herb will drive the cold in further because the protective qi is left open and becomes depleted, allowing the cold free reign. Echinacea is not for cold prevention.
Cranberry Extract
This is an extremely strong, cold herb. If this has been prescribed, it should only be taken for very short durations. It is far preferable to use unsweetened cranberry juice. A urinary tract infection, like all conditions, should be treated at the root of its cause. Causes can vary widely and are very successfully treated with acupuncture.
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