Way back in the Chou dynasty, China had food officials responsible for the health of the common people. In the Tang dynasty, the famous physician Sun Sze-miao said: "Whenever a physician seeks to heal, he should start by adjusting the diet, and only if dietary means fail should he prescribe drugs." Using foodstuffs to treat illness has two advantages: they are easy to come by and do not have drugs' side effects. So why not give it a try?
The idea of "rarity value" is not really one which can generally be applied to our everyday food and drink. Food therapy specialist Chuang An-hsiu, eldest daughter of physician Chuang Shu-chi, advises us to follow the old culinary adage of eating plenty of whatever is in season. If we eat a variety of foods while they are at their freshest, then after digestion the nutrients will be stored in our bodies, and at times of the year when seasonal illnesses may strike they can help improve our resistance and so prevent us from falling ill. Foods in season are cheap and nutritious, and their curative effects are at their most powerful. With these three advantages rolled into one, why not give them a try?
For instance, spring onions eaten in the first month of the lunar year can help restore body functions. Chinese chives in the second lunar month can boost strength and promote blood circulation. Wax gourd in the heat of summer acts as a diuretic to help the body rid itself of waste substances, while lotus root in autumn can protect the respiratory system, and people who are prone to tonsillitis should eat plenty of it.
One of the maxims of Chinese dietetics is that foods have their benefits but also their disadvantages. This means that for a person of one body type to eat a certain food may be good for their health, but for a person of another body type to eat the same food may not only be of no benefit, but may even be positively harmful. But when foods are in season they can be eaten in plenty by people of any body type.
Everyone knows that we have to eat correctly to stay healthy, but apart from eating three meals a day at regular times and with regular portions, and ensuring that we get a proper balance of all kinds of nutrients, we should also correctly distinguish the beneficial or harmful nature of different foods: that is to say, we should eat foods which are appropriate to our own body type.
We can broadly divide people into three body types: those with a prouding upper abdomen, those with a protruding lower abdomen and those with a hunched back. Of course, there are also those with a completely normal physique, who can eat anything and do not need any particular dietary guidance. The other three types need to know which foods are beneficial for their own body type, and avoid those foods which may be harmful to their health. The appropriate seasoning also varies according to body type, and should be given careful attention too.
Body type with protruding upper abdomen Body type with protruding lower abdomen Body type with hunched back.
Beneficial foods for each body typeProtruding upper abdomen Vegetables
Chinese radish, Chinese white cabbage, leaf mustard, tomatoes, asparagus, cucumber, fresh soya beans, wood ears fungus, bamboo shoots, Amorphophallus rivieri, great burdock, bean sprouts, aubergine, dark long beans, wax gourd (winter melon), seaweed.
Meat and fish
Lean meat (e.g. fillet or leg), chicken gizzards, pork tripe, the white meat of fish, cuttlefish, octopus, clams, Corbicula leana (a bivalve).
Staple foods
Steamed rice gruel, buckwheat noodles, French bread.
Protruding lower abdomen Vegetables etc.
Carrots, cabbage, Chinese chives, garlic, onions, raw ginger, round chilli peppers, long red chilli peppers, purple perilla, shitake mushrooms, black soya beans, Japanese horseradish (wasabi), black sesame seeds.
Meat and fish
Spotted mackerel, eel, Channa asiatica, prime fillet, deboned fish, pig kidneys, pig liver, chicken with its skin, ox tongue, pork rib, oysters, Corbicula leana.
Staple foods
Fried glutinous rice, mushy noodles, sliced bread.
Hunched back Vegetables
Cauliflower, dark long beans, tomatoes, cabbage, asparagus, Chinese white cabbage, Chinese radish, leaf mustard, lotus root, Amorphophallus rivieri, wood ears fungus, maize, mung beans, chrysanthemum flowers, kelp, day lily flowers.
Meat and fish
Shellfish, abalone, clams, white-fleshed fish, dark-fleshed fish, jellyfish, tripe, prime fillet, oxtail, ox tongue.
Staple foods
Italian pasta or fried rice with shellfish or mushrooms added, mantou (steamed bread).
Harmful foods for each body typeProtruding upper abdomen Vegetables
Spring onions, round chilli peppers, pointed chilli peppers, carrots, purple perilla, Chinese chives, garlic, shitake mushrooms.
Meat and fish
Spotted mackerel, fatty parts of fish, eel, fatty meat, deboned fish, sea urchin, fish roes, pig liver, and any very fatty foods.
Staple foods
Pancakes, glutinous rice with adzuki beans, sliced bread.
Protruding lower abdomen Vegetables
Chinese white cabbage, bamboo shoots, great burdock, mustard leaf, raw Chinese radish, raw vegetables, lemons, tomatoes, Amorphophallus rivieri, beancurd, seaweed.
Meat and fish
Dishes made with raw cuttlefish, octopus or shellfish.
Staple foods
Buckwheat noodles.
Hunched back Vegetables
Spring onions, purple perilla, round chilli peppers, pointed chilli peppers.
Meat and fish
There are no meats or fish which you need specially avoid.
Staple foods
None to specially avoid.
Seasonings for each body typeProtruding upper abdomen
People with a protruding upper abdomen should basically eat savory foods plus moderate amounts of sour-flavored foods, in order to adjust their body type.
Vinegar breaks down fat in the body, so when you feel a spare tire forming around your stomach and waist, it is a good idea to eat plenty of food seasoned with vinegar. Lemon is good for this too, as it has the same effect.
Protruding lower abdomen
People with a protruding lower abdomen can eat sweet or savory foods, but unlike those with a protruding upper abdomen they should avoid sour foods. Although both types have protruding abdomens, in people with a protruding lower abdomen the abdominal wall is often lax or may even be swollen due to poor metabolism. If people of this type consume vinegar it will cause their internal organs to sag even more and their abdominal wall to become even laxer so that their lower abdomen will protrude more and more.
If people of this body type add some wine to their food, it is very effective in promoting metabolism and stimulating the function of the internal organs, assisting digestion and the absorption of nutrients from food, and promoting a slim figure.
Hunched back
People with a hunched posture can eat savory, sweet or sour foods, but should be careful to avoid eating foods with a mixture of sweet and savory flavoring. Thus when cooking, if you add soya sauce, do not add sugar.
Sugar and salt each have their own effects on the body, and if eaten together will act in opposition to each other. It is not hard to discover that most people with a hunched posture have oversensitive nerves. If they eat foods with mixed sweet and savory flavors, this will irritate the internal organs, throwing their function into disorder. In this situation the foods eaten cannot be properly digested and absorbed, and the person's body type will develop towards one with a protruding lower or upper abdomen.
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Body type with protruding upper abdomen
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Body type with protruding lower abdomen
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Body type with hunched back
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