Earth Element Dietary Guidelines
Earth Element Dietary Guidelines Earth Element dietary guidelines A short and unrecognized season, the Earth element rules the last month of summer and beginning of autumn. Or otherwise known as, Indian Summer. It is the middle of the Chinese year and is the point of transition from Yang to Yin. To attune to the season, choose foods that are harmonizing and represent the center. Mildly sweet foods, yellow or gold foods.Spleen/Pancreas and Stomach are in charge of digestion and distribution of food and nutrients. Spleen Qi deficiency Warming foods or at least neutral in nature. Food that is cold in temperature extinguish the ‘digestive fire’. The best Spleen/Pancreas tonic is well cooked rice, AKA congee. Also oats, spelt, sweet rice and mochi. Other foods are winter squash, carrot, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, garbanzo beans, black beans, peas, sweet potato, yam, pumpkin, onion, leek, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, garlic, nutmeg. Small amounts of sweeteners like rice syrup, barley malt, molasses, cherry and date. If your Spleen Qi deficiency is severe, use a small amount of animal products in your congee, madkeral, tuna, turkey, lamb. Butter is the only recommended dairy product. Chew food well. Small frequent meals are ideal and food should be cooked (steamed, stir fry, etc) Dampness No raw cold, sweet or mucus forming food (this means not only dairy, but anything that is creamy, example, soy milk, yogurt, frozen yogurt). Limited use of meats, eggs, dairy and fats. Things that contribute to dampness: Food that is highly refined or highly processed, Too many ingredients in a meal, Late night eating, Overeating Foods that dry damp: Rye, amaranth, corn, aduki beans, celery, lettuce, pumpkin, scallion, alfalfa, turnip, kohlrabi, white pepper, raw honey, all bitter herbs; chaparral, chamomile, pau d’arco and wild blue green algae. Raw goat’s milk is one product that will usually not promote dampness. Much Love, Christina “Mei Wen” Martin, L.Ac., Dipl.AC, MTOM, FABORM. christina@berkeley-acupuncture.com Christina Martin is the founder of Tao to Wellness. She is an Acupuncturist, Chinese Herbalist and Teacher and has been in practice for fifteen years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is California state licensed and a nationally certified Diplomat of Acupuncture. Christina entered Acupuncture school without ever having an Acupuncture treatment. She simply felt it was her calling.
Are you a Wood element personality type?
Are you a Wood element personality type? In Chinese medicine, there are five different elements; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each element possesses certain properties which can coincide or align with a different personality type. Of course, we just aren’t just one type, most of us posses two, one being a little more dominate then the other. For example, you could be a Wood element with Fire element tendencies. Sometimes people can be three, but never four or all five. So, are you a Wood element? The Wood element possesses an energy that expands quickly, but can also build up under pressure. Wood element personalities tend to be ambitious and are explorers. They feel most content when they are traveling in some way. Whether it is traipsing around the globe or on an introspective journey of the inner self, that’s where the Wood personality is at their happiest. Wood element types can speedily assess most situations and spring into action. At their peak they can rush from one task to the next hardly taking a breath. Onlookers often feel exhausted just watching them in action. Wood element personality types can become extremely frustrated by a lack of action or banal tasks or challenges. When they become frustrated by not being able to progress their plans their energy becomes blocked leading to feelings of anger and negative emotions. Unless the Wood type can find a means of venting this frustration it can lead to headaches and emotional disorders. Physical activity can help to unblock the energy channels and reset things quickly. They frequently eat while doing other things and they tend to use stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol and even drugs to keep active or relax. In full flow, Wood element personalities can be inspirational to those around them. They can motivate co-workers and partners with their all-action approach and good sense of humor.
