The Five-Elements Wellness Plan A Chinese System for Perfect Health

by Temelie, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780806958675
• ISBN10: 0806958677
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Sterling

Summary

In traditional Chinese medicine, oranges are known to weaken your immune system, bananas cause fatigue, and yogurt doesn't help weight loss. The ancient Five Element Diet (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) describes the foods and preparation methods best suited to each element, the parts of your body most affected, and the healing forces unleashed with each dish. Your eating habits will change simply because you know more about the effects of foods on long life, love, sexual capacity, and prosperity.In traditional Chinese medicine, oranges are known to weaken your immune system, bananas cause fatigue, and yogurt doesn't help weight loss. The ancient Five Element Diet (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) describes the foods and preparation methods best suited to each element, the parts of your body most affected, and the healing forces unleashed with each dish. Your eating habits will change simply because you know more about the effects of foods on long life, love, sexual capacity, and prosperity.

Table of Contents

Preface	6	(3)
Introduction	9	(3)
Chinese Dietetics in the West	12	(4)
Traditional Chinese Medicine	16	(3)
The Chinese Philosophy of Long Life	19	(4)
What Is Illness?	23	(4)
The Yang of the Body	24	(1)
The Yin of the Body	25	(2)
How Does the Body Protect Itself from Illness?	27	(2)
How Does Illness Come About?	29	(11)
Balance	30	(1)
Yang-Root Weakness	30	(5)
Yin-Root Weakness	35	(5)
What Is the Role of a Diet Rich in Qi?	40	(9)
The Subtle Flow of Qi	43	(3)
Ingredients and Digestibility	46	(3)
The Thermal Effects of Foods	49	(3)
How Do the Different Thermal Effects of Foods Influence the Organism?	52	(16)
Hot Foods Protect Us from Coldness	52	(1)
Warm Foods Increase Activity	53	(1)
Neutral Foods Supply Qi	54	(8)
Refreshing Foods Increase the Buildup of Blood	62	(4)
Cold Foods Protect Us from Heat	66	(2)
The Correct Selection of Foods	68	(4)
Combining Foods according to Their Thermal Effects	72	(3)
Increasing the Yang or the Yin of Food	75	(13)
Increasing Yang	75	(8)
Increasing Yin	83	(5)
The Golden Mean	88	(3)
The Five Elements	91	(70)
Wood	96	(14)
Fire	110	(30)
Earth
Metal	140	(8)
Water	148	(13)
Love and Sexuality	161	(13)
Causes of Sexual Problems	164	(1)
When Kidney Fire Stops Burning	165	(3)
When the Fountain Runs Dry	168	(1)
Coldness of the Heart	169	(2)
Rigid Love	171	(3)
Effects of Processing, Freezing, and Microwaves	174	(11)
Typical Cases from My Practice	176	(4)
Scientific Findings regarding Use of the Microwave Oven	180	(5)
Specific Guidelines for Healthy Nutrition	185	(10)
Deficiency of Qi/Deficiency of Yang	185	(2)
Dampness with or without Being Overweight	187	(2)
Overweight Due to Dampness and Heat	189	(2)
Deficiency of Blood/Deficiency of Yin	191	(2)
Excess of Yang	193	(2)
Applying the Different Kinds of Taste	195	(6)
Cooking with the Five Different Tastes	196	(1)
Cooking according to the Season	197	(4)
The Little Dot on the ``i''	201	(5)
Cooking according to the Cycle of the Elements	201	(5)
Appendix A: Further Results of Microwave Research	206
Appendix B: Foods Listed according to the Five Elements
Bibliography
Index