Food Flavours and Organ Affinities Flashcards
Constitutions: Dry
Dry constitutions:
• Character: quick, light and adaptable nature.
• Risks: dry skin, stiff joints , dry mucosa, gas, bloating, constipation , tremors , weight loss, anxiety, especially in dry / windy climates and seasons.
• Diet: reduce light food, legumes, starchy grains, excess spices astringent herbs such as green tea.
Increase fluids, soups, stews, smoothies , mild aromatic spices, okra, chia, linseeds, liquorice.
• Dry types need to learn to feel secure and content in themselves.
Recommend breathing exercises and more social interaction.
Organ Affinity: Bitter
Heart
Organ Affinity: Sweet
Spleen*
*In Chinese medicine, the digestive system
Organ Affinity: Sour
Liver
Organ Affinity: Salty
Kidneys**
**includes adrenals
Bitter
- Bitter has affinity with the heart.
- Drains and dries dampness and clears heat as it travels downward. Includes spinach, rocket, kale, radicchio, radishes, cabbage, lemon, citrus peel, bitter herbs such as gentian.
- Stimulates appetite, digestive juices , clears cholesterol, candida, inflammation and infection.
- Clears heat from the lungs and liver, and bitterness from the heart.
- Excess bitter depletes Qi (energy) and can be dehydrating, so avoid in those who are weak or deficient.
Sweet
- Sweet has affinity with the digestive system.
- Most common flavour, found in most foods to some degree. Supports and strengthens digestion, providing nourishment. Has a centring action.
- Distinguish naturally sweet foods (whole grains, legumes, root vegetables) from ‘empty’ refined sugar (no nutritional value and lead to candida, weight gain, diabetes, cardiovascular disease).
- Sugar cravings indicate digestive weakness; giving in to them further compromises digestion. Substitute sugar with naturally sweet fruit and veg, raw honey, stevia, molasses.
Sour
- Sour has affinity with the liver.
- Consolidating or astringent action, counteracts leakage of blood or fluids and helps store blood, therefore, sour is a good companion to blood building foods. Include naturally fermented pickles, apple cider vinegar, miso, rye sourdough, citrus.
- In moderate quantities, sour moves energy, but excess can cause over contraction and stasis.
- Cooling for internal heat, also helps digest fatty foods and increases absorption by stimulating gallbladder and pancreas secretions.
Pungent
- Pungent has affinity with the lungs.
- Pungent, spicy or aromatic flavours (e.g. ginger, black pepper, mustard, cayenne, horseradish, onion promote circulation and move energy upwards and outwards.
- Disperses mucus from the lungs and induces a sweat, thus supporting immunity.
- Spicy foods eventually cool the body via sweating. In excess, they over stimulate and exhaust energy and can be dehydrating.
Salty
• Salty has affinity with the kidneys (and adrenals).
• Moves inward and downward from the exterior, drawing the action of food towards the centre and root of the body.
• The kidneys filter water, control blood pressure and regulate red blood cell synthesis. A little salt benefits the kidneys and helps adrenal fatigue ( e. sea / rock salt, not refined table salt).
• Salty pickled vegetables are good during winter, as they increase storage capacity and bring heat deeper and lower.
• Salt moistens dryness and increases water retention therefore, avoid in damp states, hypertension or oedema.
Excess salt can weaken the bladder, kidneys and heart.
Organ Affinities
- Foods have affinity with different organs due to their flavour, colour or appearance
- The link between appearance and effects is known as the ‘doctrine of signatures’, whereby plants and foods carry ‘signs’ of their properties.
- Kidney beans have affinity with the kidneys , due to their ‘kidney’ shape and colour. Kidneys / adrenals are essential in supporting life, and beans / seeds contain the essence of the plant and are deeply nutritious, life supporting foods.
- Fruit in general support the lungs because they grow in the canopy of trees, and trees are the same shape as lungs.
Organ Affinities: Digestive
• Sweet foods (not empty sugars); i.e. whole grain rice, oat, millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, sweet potato, squash, root veg, liquorice tea.
• Wet cooked foods (boiled, steamed, braised) are easy to digest and warm digestion i.e. soup,
stew, porridge, dahl, (especially if mildly spiced).
• Round shaped foods i.e. beetroot, celeriac, yam, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts have affinity with the abdomen.
• Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cumin, caraway, cardamom are warming and support healthy digestion (digestive ‘fire’)
Organ Affinities: Lungs
• Pungent or spicy foods i.e. black pepper, ginger, chilli, spring onions, garlic help the mucus and induce a sweat. Use in moderation as excess
consumption causes heat / dryness.
• Roasted almonds, pine nuts and thyme support lung function.
• Yoghurt, honey, rye sourdough bread and fruit moisten the lungs. Broccoli and cauliflower support the lungs (they look like lungs) and help expel mucus.
Organ Affinities: Kidneys/Adrenals
- Dishes cooked with bone, cartilage and marrow (e.g. bone broths) are deeply nourishing and help recovery from adrenal fatigue and chronic illness.
- Cold pressed oils support hormonal health (which relies on the adrenals).
- Kidney beans, black beans, (black) sesame and chia seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, nut milks, fish, shellfish, seaweed, miso,mushrooms, rock and sea salt, all support the kidneys.
Organ Affinities: Liver
- Dark leaves and vegetables help build the blood , while their bitter taste helps clear heat i.e. spinach, sorrel, rocket, kale, chard, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, celery, parsley, asparagus, broccoli, coriander, bay leaf , basil, sage, rosemary.
- Red coloured foods build the blood i.e. raisins, red dates, red grapes, berries, rosehips, beetroot. So, too, do beans, lentils and vegetable juices.
