eating for healing
Eating for healing is opening you to an entirely new relationship with food. Often when we eat we do so out of habit, to soothe emotions or stress, or according to beliefs about what is “good” or “bad.” When you connect to food is it at the level of your mind, your body, or your Spirit? With awareness and practice, you can elevate eating to the level of your intuitive Spirit!
LEVEL 1: YOUR STOMACH, THE RECEIVER
The Stomach must process EVERYTHING: food, information, emotions, and your ongoing physical/emotional issues. You want to provide the best conditions to allow your Stomach to do what it does best: receive, digest, and process.
WARM! The Stomach lives at our core temp and loves to be warm. When we repeatedly take in cold temperature drinks and foods we shock the Stomach energy and it has to work to recover. Switching to room temperature or warm drinks is an easy way to help support your Stomach. Check out Healing Tea recipes!
NO RAW VEGGIES! When the Stomach receives raw vegetables including leafy greens (even if they are juiced), it must use its precious energy to “cook" them so they can be absorbed. Cooking your veggies even for a short time: blanche, boil, steam, bake, saute, whatever will take the “cold edge” off and make them easier to process. Fruit has a warm essence and does not have to be cooked.
Listen to your Stomach. Identify the physical signals of being hungry and being full. Try to eat to 75% full so you do not overfill the Stomach and waste energy.
Eat the largest meal earlier in the day and try to not eat after 8 PM. At night our energy needs to turn in to restore deep function. If you have eaten late, your Stomach will be stuck working the night shift and may even keep you up with insomnia!
LEVEL 2: CRAVINGS, YOUR BODY’S WISDOM (REALLY!)
Every organ system is associated with a taste or flavor. When you crave certain foods it is a sign that the organ is asking for energetic attention. When you understand this message, you can make healing snack choices and explore other ways to support your energy through Dragon’s Way Qigong.
Stomach/Spleen: Sweet
Lung/Large Intestine: Spicy
Kidney/Bladder: Salty
Liver/Gallbladder: Sour
Heart/Small Intestine: Bitter
LEVEL 3: HEALING FOODS ACCORDING TO DRAGON’S WAY QIGONG AND FIVE ELEMENT THEORY
When I speak of healing foods, I am not referring to carbohydrates, fats, proteins, or nutrients. I am referring to the energy or essence of the foods.
Learn more about the specific organs through Organ Function, Emotion, & Spirit: Five Element Consciousness, the Dragon’s Way Qigong book, and tcmworld.org: In general choosing from this list will help you with picking the highest energy foods. This list is not limited! The more you practice the more you will discover for yourself!
Specific foods by organ system:
Kidney/Bladder Foods: cauliflower, fennel, walnuts, black sesame seeds, bee pollen, cinnamon, bone soup, pine nuts, black beans, sesame oil, walnut oil, seafood (especially shellfish such as shrimp/squid/lobster/clams), goji berry, daikon radish, Chinese pearl barley: black, salty foods
Liver/Gall Bladder Foods: eggplant, lemon, bamboo shoots, vinegar, bee pollen, lotus, broccoli rabe, garlic, safflower oil, dandelion greens, ginger, scallions, green pepper, fennel, mung beans, strawberries, mint, goji berry, green apples: green, sour foods
Stomach/Spleen Foods: ginger, tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions, celery, zucchini, Chinese red dates, watermelon, red grapefruit, bamboo shoots, fennel, lotus seed, bee pollen, cinnamon, peanuts, Chinese pearl barley, yellow mung beans, beets, red apples, hawthorn berry, papaya, soy bean curd, sweet potato, butternut squash, Chinese pumpkin (aka butter cup squash): yellow/orange, sweet foods
Heart/Small Intestine Foods: plum tomatoes, Chinese pearl barley, goji berries, bee pollen, broccoli, broccoli rabe, escarole, licorice, watermelon, beets, red apples, red grapes, plum tomatoes: red, bitter foods
Lung/Large Intestine Foods: mushrooms, pears, almonds, honey, ginger, lily bulb, white sesame seeds, mint, chili, chestnuts, scallions, bamboo shoot, daikon radish: white, spicy foods
Click here for links to purchase my favorite foods / teas / spices / oils on Amazon!
LEVEL 4: HEALING RECIPES
Chinese Healing Super Foods: Get to know the three most powerful healing foods in Chinese Medicine: Chinese Pearl Barley, Mung Beans, and Daikon Radish
Check out the database of healing recipes at TCM World. The site is easy to use and the recipes are easy to follow / delicious!
Check out my own adventures in healing recipes by following this link: Indy Healing Center: Healing Recipes. What we drink also is a healing opportunity. Check out recipes for Healing Teas.
Eating for Healing does not have to be scary or hard! Have fun with this practice : ) Watch this demo video NOW.
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