Yin and Yang of a Balanced Diet

Balance is vital to good health, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers excellent examples of balanced health. The body must balance yin, the passive elements, with yang, the active elements, and chi, or body energy, must flow smoothly to all body parts. Within this system of balance lies the theory that every food has a particular property.

According to TCM, foods are either warm/hot, cool/cold, or plain. Cold foods can treat disorders associated with heat, such as fever and inflammation. Hot foods can treat cool disorders, such as colds and spleen problems. Plain foods are used as general tonics to treat both hot and cold problems.

Eating too much of one type of food can make us susceptible to the corresponding disorder. For example, too many hot/warm foods may make us prone to fever; too many cool/cold foods, and we may get colds more easily. A variety of foods must be eaten to balance yin and yang.