How's your Digestive Fire?

a more traditional approach to digestion

Start looking at the energetics, taste, and temperature of your food

“I eat very healthy. I eat fruits in the morning with yogurt and then salad for lunch and dinner with some protein.

How often do I hear this in my clinic from my very well meaning health conscious patients. Being able to keep our meals green by eating salads seems such a proud achievement, we feel as if we have made a healthy food choice. But have we really?" -Dr. Tirtha Mendake

cold vs. warm

Stomach and spleen according to Chinese Medicine are warm organs. Similar to the fire that cooks our food, the digestive fire transforms and digests food and water. So how are salads for our health? Our modern view of food is to see it as carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fats, vitamins etc. but traditional view of food is more wholesome. It  takes into account the energetics, temperature,  taste and after taste of the food. Raw and uncooked foods like salads or uncooked vegetables are seen as cold foods. In small amounts they are fine. But when consumed regularly in substantial amounts they drain the stomach of its natural warmth that is much needed for its optimal function. 

warm foods & weight loss

A weak stomach qi  (energy) or a weakly burning digestive fire makes the stomach function sluggish and impedes its flow.  Symptoms like poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, bloating, and constipation can very often be traced back to a diet full of cold foods. These foods can also cause accumulation of cold, mucus and dampness in the body, so if you’re trying to lose weight by eating salads think again, because warm energies that often are astringent (tightening) in function do not fare well when constantly antagonized by cold foods.

These words are from our favorite SF Acupuncturist and December expert, Dr. Tirtha Mendake. Grab your ticket for Wednesday, 12/4 at 7pm to learn more about having a more traditional approach to health.