Dietary Recommendations for Cold Invasion
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is believed that Cold can invade and block the body's channels, resulting in constriction, tension, and pain in the affected areas. To resolve this imbalance, the channels need to be warmed and the Cold expelled. In TCM, digestion is metaphorically compared to a pot of soup sitting on a fire, where the body's metabolic "fire" cooks ingested food and extracts nourishment. Therefore, warming foods are essential for this condition and foods that are considered cold are avoided.
To alleviate Cold accumulation, it is recommended to consume cooked foods in smaller, more frequent meals, and to sit down and chew thoroughly while eating. The majority of the diet should consist of easily digested complex carbohydrates like grains and starchy root vegetables, while other cooked vegetables can comprise 30-40% of the diet, and proteins should only make up 10-20%. Warming spices like cinnamon and ginger are recommended, and cold-natured foods such as raw vegetables or iced drinks should be avoided.
The following is a list of recommended foods to add to meals according to the above guidelines. It's important not to limit your diet to only these foods, but to use it as a guide while following the recommended ratios of carbohydrates, vegetables, and proteins.
Recommended foods for Cold Invasion:
To alleviate Cold accumulation, it is recommended to consume cooked foods in smaller, more frequent meals, and to sit down and chew thoroughly while eating. The majority of the diet should consist of easily digested complex carbohydrates like grains and starchy root vegetables, while other cooked vegetables can comprise 30-40% of the diet, and proteins should only make up 10-20%. Warming spices like cinnamon and ginger are recommended, and cold-natured foods such as raw vegetables or iced drinks should be avoided.
The following is a list of recommended foods to add to meals according to the above guidelines. It's important not to limit your diet to only these foods, but to use it as a guide while following the recommended ratios of carbohydrates, vegetables, and proteins.
Recommended foods for Cold Invasion:
- Cooked grains, rice, oats, barley, etc
- Soups, baked or roasted foods,
- Onions, leeks, garlic, chives, spring onions,
- Baked vegetables in general
- Lamb, beef, chicken, duck
- Mackerel, anchovy, prawns, mantis shrimp
- Ginger, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, rosemary, turmeric, star anise, nutmeg
- Citrus, vinegar, high doses of vitamin C
- Wheatgrass, raw fruits, raw vegetables, sprouts, salads, tomatoes, spinach, chard,
- Seaweeds
- Soybeans, tofu, soy milk, dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.)
- Nut butters, and other oily foods
- Refined sugars, chocolate,
- Cold foods like ice cream or smoothies, iced drinks including ice water
Printable version of the Cold Invasion Diet |
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