Week 2: Energetics of Food Flashcards

1
Q

What is the single most important category in oriental medicine in regard to food?

A

The temperature of a food

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2
Q

What are the qualities of HOT food in TCM?

A
  • Speed up qi
  • Increase yang
  • Activate, warm, disperse
  • Move upward and outward
  • Eliminate external and internal cold
  • (Zang Fu) Warm the bowels and viscera
  • Enhance defense qi
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3
Q

What are examples of hot foods?

A

Ginger, cinnamon, lamb, chilli

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4
Q

What happens if you have an excess of HOT foods?

A

Excess creates heat (yang repletion), injures yin and dries out BF

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5
Q

What is the action of WARM food?

A
  • Strengthen yang and qi
  • Warm the body, bowels and viscera
  • Warm and strengthen middle jiao
  • Treatment of cold symptoms
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6
Q

What are some examples of warm foods?

A

Fennel, chicken, beef, oats

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7
Q

What happens with excess warm?

A

Yang repletion

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8
Q

What is the action of NEUTRAL foods?

A
  • Build up qi and BF
  • Stabilize and harmonize the body
  • Treatment of qi vacuity
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9
Q

What are examples of neutral foods?

A

Honey, rice, potatoes

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10
Q

What is the action of COOL foods?

A
  • Supplement body fluids (jin ye) and blood (due)
  • Slow down qi
  • Clear heat
  • Treatment of heat symptoms
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11
Q

What are some examples of cool food?

A

Yogurt, soy milk, wheat

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12
Q

What are the actions of COLD foods?

A
  • Create cold
  • Cool internal heat
  • Calm shen
  • Treatment of heat symptoms
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13
Q

What are examples of cold food?

A

Watermelon, dandelion, orange

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14
Q

What happens with excess cold?

A

Damages qi and yang, thoroughly cools down the body.

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15
Q

Plants that take longer to grow (eg. root vegetables, ginger) tend to be _______ than fast growing foods (e.g. lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes)

A

warmer

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16
Q

Foods that contain high water content tend to be more ______ e.g.. melon, cucumber, squash

A

cooling

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17
Q

Dried foods tend to be more _______ than their fresh counterparts

A

warming

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18
Q

Some chemicals added to foods may produce ____ _______ as may artificially ripened foods

A

heat reactions

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19
Q

Foods with blue, green or purple colours are usually more _____ than red, orange or yellow

A

cooling

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20
Q

What are cooling cooking methods?

A

Blanching
Steaming
Boiling in plentiful water
Salting (pickling in brine)

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21
Q

What are warming cooking methods?

A
Grilling
Frying
Roasting
Smoking
Searing
Baking
Long simmering in liquid
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22
Q

Longer and slower methods will produce more _______ effects than quicker methods

A

warming

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23
Q

Does microwaving add any heat to food?

A

No, but it does alter the molecular structure and cause abnormal changes in human immune systems.

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24
Q

What is Wu Wei?

A

Five flavours

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25
Q

What is the function of the sweet flavour?

A
  • Harmonizes all other flavours and forms the centre of the diet
  • Mildly stimulates circulation of qi and blood
  • Treats deficiency (tonifying and strengthening)
  • Moistens and benefits dryness
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26
Q

What occurs with excess sweet?

A
  • Leads to formation of phlegm and heat.

- Refined sugar will weaken the blood and excess sweet should be avoided with damp conditions.

27
Q

What are examples of the sweet flavour?

A

Pumpkin, rice, beef (most meat), legumes, nuts, dairy and starchy vegetables.

28
Q

Talk about the generating cycle with excess sweet

A
  • Affects lung, cough
  • Adds flesh
  • Creates flesh
  • Weakens connective tissue
29
Q

Talk about the Controlling cycle for sweet (earth).

A
Earth overacts on Water
Weakens kidney (bone and teeth disorders)
30
Q

What are functions of the pungent flavour?

A
  • Stimulate digestion
  • Hot pungents open pores through perspiration
  • EPF’s are expelled
  • Loosen emotional stagnation in chest
  • Breaks up phlegm
  • Circulation of qi and blood
  • Disperses stagnation
31
Q

Excess pungent?

A
  • Dry skin and constipation, skin linked to lung and LI

- Exhaust qi and blood

32
Q

Talk about generating cycle for metal

A

Lung to kidney, metal to water

  • Overconsumption will affect kidney yin which will overheat
  • Exaggerated sexual desire and compulsions
33
Q

Controlling cycle for metal?

A
  • Damage LV/GB

- LV yang rising and irritability

34
Q

Insulting phase for metal

A
  • Heart and fire network affected, sleep disorders, hyperactivity and restlessness
  • Ask person what time they finish eating and what they eat before bed
35
Q

Functions of salty flavour?

A
  • Moisture balance
  • Stimulate digestion
  • Moisten, soften, detoxify
  • Inward and downward,
  • Centre and root movement
36
Q

Excess salty?

A
  • Hardens muscles and damages bone
  • Damages fluids and blood leading to hypertension
  • Inhibits heart and spirit
  • Decreased mental abilities and rigid thinking
37
Q

Is fish salty or sweet?

A

Both but more sweet

38
Q

Functions of sour flavour?

A
  • Contraction and absorption
  • Astringent and gathering effect
  • Leaking and sagging conditions (sweating, diarrhea, hemorrhage)
  • Counteracts fatty foods to prevent stagnation
  • Smooth flow of qi and blood
39
Q

Excess sour?

A

Over-contraction and over-retention of moisture

40
Q

For a heated up liver and gallbladder what would you recommend?

A

Soothe with sour cooling foods like raspberry and lemon

41
Q

Generating cycle for wood (sour)

A

From LV to HT

  • Good for distracted, unfocused minds
  • Contraindicated with acute external weather conditions as cold will move inward
42
Q

Controlling cycle for wood

A
  • Cannot really have too much sour in terms of LV and SP
  • May cause over contraction but also blood activators
  • Mix vinegar and honey to neutralize
43
Q

Functions of bitter flavour?

A
  • Drains and dries, moves downward
  • Improve appetite, stimulate digestion
  • Draw out dampness and heat
  • Reduce excess conditions
  • Acts mostly on heart but also benefits lung
44
Q

Excess bitter? Contraindications?

A
  • Deplete qi and moisture

- Contraindicated with cold or deficient conditions

45
Q

Generating cycle for fire (bitter)

A
  • Appropriate amount will supplement spleen, pancreas, stomach
  • Spleen qi tonic
  • Preferably during moist, cool weather
46
Q

Controlling cycle for fire (bitter)

A
  • Too much will dehydrate and damage fluids
  • Poor circulation and blood deficiency
  • Dry skin and blood
47
Q

Insulting cycle for bitter

A

Bitter spreads to bones, robbing body of calcium

48
Q
Sourness enters \_\_\_\_\_
Bitterness enters \_\_\_\_\_\_
Sweetness enters \_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Acridity enters \_\_\_
Saltiness enters \_\_\_\_\_
A
sinews
blood
flesh
qi
bones
49
Q

What is the doctrine of signatures?

A

Signatures may refer to colour, texture, form or the environment that the plant may grow in. TCM also recognizes flavour.

50
Q

Daikon

A
  • pungent
  • moisten lung
  • cut mucous
  • help prevent viral infection
51
Q

Willow

A
  • Aspirin/ASA
  • Cold/damp environment
  • Worsens arthritic pain
52
Q

Watercress

A
  • Thrives in watery environment
  • Diuretic
  • Signature/form
53
Q

Walnut

A
  • resembles a brain

- omega 3 fatty acids

54
Q

Cauliflower

A
  • white, lung
  • branched,like lungs
  • treats lung yin deficiency
  • treats mucoid conditions in LI
  • brassica genus, cruciferous to treat colon, prostate, breast cancer
55
Q

Chickpeas

A
  • Contains more iron than any other legume

- Signature is form as it looks like a heart

56
Q

Eggplant

A
  • purple, black
  • eggs, ovaries, gynecology
  • essence kidneys
  • eat sparingly by pregnant women
  • signature looks like a uterus, treats congealed blood
57
Q

Kale

A
  • green good for LV/GB
  • Liver qi
  • high source of chlorophyll, rejuvenates, quells inflammation, detoxifies, renews
58
Q

Kidney beans

A
  • signature is form and colour
  • dark, black
  • looks like kidney
  • water energy
  • nourish yin fluids, used in treating edema and swelling
59
Q

Beet

A
  • red
  • looks like a heart
  • strengthen heart
  • sedate the spirit
  • improve circulation
  • purify the blood
60
Q

Avocado

A
  • uterus
  • builds blood
  • nourishes yin
  • rich in copper, aids in RBC formation
61
Q

Celery

A
  • form, looks like a bone
  • high in silicon
  • renew joints, bones, arteries, connective tissues
62
Q

Pineapple

A
  • yellow, sweet
  • habitat, grow in tropical climates
  • help to treat summer heat, sunstroke
  • increases digestion and destroys worms
63
Q

Apple

A
  • cut it in half it looks like a star

- universal symbol for spirit, sustenance, life, secret knowledge, hidden mysteries