Thanksgiving Food For Thought

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to think about food. Not that you aren't already eating, breathing, sleeping, sweating food through your pores this week. But when's the last time you REALLY thought about the food you're eating?

When it comes to eating, there are many different philosophies about the best way to combine foods. Here's an interesting take that comes from the acupuncture school of thought.

According to Chinese medicine, food has five flavors—sour, bitter, sweet, salty and spicy. Each flavor corresponds with the five elements—wood, fire, earth, water, metal. And they each have their own properties that create specific healing actions in the body. A balanced diet includes a combination of all five flavors. Too much of one flavor can cause an imbalance in the body.

Here's a breakdown on the philosophy behind each flavor:

BITTER/FIRE
Bitter corresponds to the heart and drains things downward. It has a cooling effect on the body. So it helps you sweat and disperse water retention. It also helps to calm down anger. So a bit of bitter gets rid of bitter feelings and water retention? Pretty cool. But before you make bitter your new best friend, you should know too much of it can cause a drying effect for your skin, hair, bones and lungs.

SOUR/WOOD:
Sour corresponds to the liver. It's a stagnation mover and blood activator. Sour helps to contract and gather energy and helps reduce leakage in the body. In other words, it holds things in like moisture. The right amount of sour can help reduce the effects of fatty foods. But too much sour can cause water retention.

SWEET/EARTH
Sweet corresponds to the spleen/stomach/digestive systems. It helps generate moisture and provides a calm, relaxing effect. It helps slow the progression and neutralizes the toxic effects of other foods. We need sweet because humans are glucose machines. But as Americans, the quality of sweets we often eat isn't good for us most of the time. Too much sweet causes weight gain, phlegm and congestion/sickness. 

SALTY/WATER
Salty corresponds to the kidneys. It helps soften hardness and pulls moisture from the body. It also clears out phlegm. As an example, if you've ever gargled with salt water, this is why it works to help you feel better and diminish swelling.

SPICY/METAL
Spicy corresponds to the lungs. It's a tonifying and moving food. It moves stagnation and promotes energy circulation. It also stimulates digestion and diminishes mucus production. It's good to eat spicy things along with dense food to balance it out. Most spices qualify as spicy even if they're not spicy-hot. Chili, ginger, basil, and most other spice fall into this category. For example, a tomato, mozzarella salad is balanced by the basil leaves. Hot-spicy foods can cool your body down by helping you sweat it out. Like Indian foods. But too much spicy can aggravate skin conditions like eczema, acne and dry skin. Too much can also exhaust your energy and blood.

You can have fun experimenting and combining these foods for therapeutic reasons. If you have abdominal bloating and phlegm, eat bitter and spicy foods and herbs. Radish seeds (spicy) are good if you've over-eaten. Bitter melon balances blood sugar. If you are dry, or have a dry cough and irritated lungs this season, eat nourishing and cooling foods like this pear and honey recipe (Courtesy of Bria Larson, MS, LAc):

QUICK PEAR SAUCE
Chop 1 large ripe pear, add 1 teaspoon of honey and simmer both in a 1/2 cup of water for 10-15 minutes until soft. Eat warm or room temp to nourish and moisten the lungs and throat. Serves one.

So as you eat your Thanksgiving dinner today, try to identify each of five flavors. And to get the most satisfaction and balance from your turkey dinner, try dividing your plate into four equal parts: Grain+carbs (stuffing, yams, potatoes, rolls), protein (turkey), leafy greens (brussels sprouts, kale), other veggies (green beans). If you stick to this, you will feel the most satisfied with your meal. But remember to stop when you're 80% full. Let's call it "leaving room for dessert."

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful to have you as our loyal readers. XO - Melissa + Dr. Kim

(Five foods information courtesy of this workshop: Balance Your Turkey, A Holistic Approach to Holiday Nutrition by Bria Larson, MA, LAc and Shanti Pappas, Certified Holistic Health Counselor.)