TCM and raw foods

Hi,

I am considering a raw/mostly raw diet (fruits, vegetables, seeds/nuts, sprouts, grains) and am wondering if there are any TCM practitioners out there that can tell me TCM's view on that. Also, what is the 'ideal' diet according to TCM? How does TCM view eating alot of sprouted foods? And how does TCM view fasting?

thanks

Canada is a cold place , why make your body even colder? you need warming foods, cooked foods. if you get sick and eat a extreme yin diet, it wont help your body to recover. it can make your body more prone to the cold energy from the outside to get inside the joints and meridians of the body, thus lowerng your immune system based on weiqi, a field of chi that surrounds your body.

Thanks Ma. Would cooked grains and vegetables be enough or do ya need meat, too?

I mention more on the chi diet my doctor uses

View your digestive process like a campfire. Your Food is the firewood, the air you breath is the air feeding a fire, and the coals are your original jing fueling the fire. Now, what do you want to put on the fire to produce the flame you want? Do you want to put thick, wet (sugary, fatty food) or green wood (raw vegetables)on the fire. While you can do that, after a while it will damage and reduce the fire (depending on how strong the fire is in the beginning). Do you want to put gas on the fire? If you do it will just burn up quickly. You probably want some oak logs that are not so huge that they smoother the fire but not so small that they burn up quickly. Everyone's digestive process is different. See how you feel. I would say eat a varity of cooked foods. We eat Jasimine Rice, cooked vegetables (stir fry is ok with not too much oil), and some meat (no deep fry). Some Oolong tea after dinner, and some fresh fruit for dessert.

hope this helps

Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East
By Baird T. Spalding

wolveri- That was an excellent analogy.

chinese doctors do the same when they do a diagnosis of you. When they read your energy, they create some kind of image for the patient of the imbalance of the system and chi.

diet is the most essential in restoring the balance.

we have a rice cooker and use jasmine rice also, it makes a huge difference in productivity and energy. Our diet habits are the same.

when families eat different things like parents eat one thing and kids eat fast food, and grandparents eat another thing, it creates a chaotic energy in the house, thats why its best for everyone to sit at the table and have the same thing, that way they are all on the same energy level and no competition is generated.

Why do you guys eat jasmine rice instead of brown rice? I thought brown rice was supposed to be the healthiest. Do you buy jasmine rice at special Chinese markets? Woliveri, according to all the reading I've done fruit should always be eaten alone on an empty stomach 30 minutes before a meal or 3 hours afterwards because it digests very quickly and if eaten after meat, starch, vegetables it will have to sit 'in line' waiting and begin to ferment.

Yes, does anyone subscribe to the "food combining" diet theory where you shouldn't eat certain foods together, like meats and starches for example? Or not to drink liquids with solid foods...? That basically you should eat only "like" foods together for better digestion instead of mixing and matching different foods at the same time?

Brown Rice: Remember what I said above. If your system can handle it then fine. Personally I cannot eat too much because it is heavy and difficult to digest. The best way to eat brown rice in my opinion is to cook it with white rice in a Jook or Porridge and eat it for breakfast. This is popular in Chinese diets.

Fresh Fruit: Western dietary guidelines will do nothing but confuse you. Check out Chinese Medical Theory. Sweet (not too much) is good after a meal because it stimulates the digestive process.

hope this helps

Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East
By Baird T. Spalding