ONCE & FOR ALL RAW LIVE FOODS DO NOT DAMAGE THE SPLEEN

[Guest guest]

ONCE & FOR ALL RAW LIVE FOODS DO NOT DAMAGE THE SPLEEN

 

I have heard many of my students, friends, family and patients come

back to me in a frenzy with information from some 'would be'

Traditional Chinese medical doctor, that the sole, 100%, consumption

of Live Raw foods can severely weaken the spleen. They say that the

spleen needs foods that are warm to assist it's process of digestion.

As a traditional chinese medical doctor and Ayurvedic specialist here

is what people need to know.

 

In the context of a Cold Damp climate, excessive consumption of

greasy, fried or cold foods (from the fridge!) impairs Spleen

(digestive) function and leads to the formation of Internal Dampness -

a thin watery internal mucous and ultimately Phlegm inhibiting

digestive function and impairing the transmission of essential life

energy or Qi /Chi throughout the entire body. Normally it is advised

that all foods should be at room temperature or warmer. Dairy foods

such as milk, cheese, butter, chocolate and ice cream are primary

causes of Damp conditions.

Chinese dietary advice will therefore encourage the elimination of

Damp causing foods with an increased intake of " Drying " foods to

counteract long standing consumption of such Damp foods. Dry foods

include; rye, celery, lettuce, scallion, alfalfa, turnips, white

pepper, raw honey and corn.

The intake of highly sweet and other Damp forming foods needs to

eliminated or at the very least limited; these include red meats,

eggs, hydrogenated margarines, roasted nuts and roasted seeds.

However it is particularly the over consumption of dairy, eggs and

red meat that causes the thickest Damp formations. Other contributors

to Dampness include:

• food that is refined or highly processed (e.g. sugar)

• late night eating (all meals should where possible be taken before

6pm)

• overeating

 

It is said in Chinese medicine that: too much raw or chilled food or

fluid will also weaken the Spleen. The digestive process needs

warmth. This is expressed in oriental medicine as the digestive fire.

Prolonged or excessive use of chilled or raw food will eventually

severely weaken the digestive fire, leading to collapse of the Spleen

function.This is misunderstood by those trying to justify a cooked

vegetarian diet.

 

What must be understood is the term raw foods in TCM does not have

the same meaning that we use for Raw Foods.TCM teaches to choose

foods with strong life-force and the foods that have the strongest

life-force are live foods! Duh! It is imperative to include as much

locally grown and organic food in our diets as possible. In both

cases the life force is more strongly preserved. For the same reason

it is helpful to eat plenty of fresh food. The life force in food is

also significantly damaged by microwave cooking, excessive processing

and chemical preservation, and killed by irradiation.

The Temperatures of Food The single most important category in

oriental medicine is the energetic temperature of a food. According

to oriental medicine a food may be either hot, warm, neutral, cool or

cold. Oats,pumpkin and onions, for example, are warming; barley,

apples and lettuce are cooling. This is not a measure of how hot or

cold a food is to the taste. The temperature of a food is a measure

of its effect on the body after digestion. Simply, does it warm us up

or cool us down?

 

Cooling foods tend to direct energy inwards and downwards, cooling

the upper and outer parts of the body first. Warming foods move

energy upwards and outwards from the core,warming us from the inside

out. Very hot foods such as chilli peppers heat us up intensely then

cool us down through sweating. Warmer foods speed us up, cooler foods

slow us down.

 

• Plants which take longer to grow (e.g. root vegetables,

ginger) tend to be warmer than fast-growing foods (e.g. lettuce,

courgette).

• Foods with a high water content tend to be more cooling (e.g.

melon, cucumber, marrow).

• Dried foods tend to be more warming than their fresh

counterparts.

• Chemically fertilised foods which are forced to grow quickly

tend to be cooler than their naturally grown counterparts.

• Some chemicals added to foods may produce heat reactions as

may artificially ripened foods.

(The Journal of , November 1997)

 

To wrap this up it is not warm foods in temperature that the body

needs, it's warm foods in temperament. Raw Live foods when digested

according to the natural cycles of time and seasons will benefit an

individual more readily than any other type of so called food. The

true insight on the body's reaction to food is: The body natually

wants all live foods. All Live foods have their own digestive enzymes

present. Cooked foods have little or no digestive enzymes present and

therefore when ingested the body produces digestive enzymes in order

to make the dead food ingested live. Your body brings your food back

to life in order to harmonize it with the nature of the body. When

your body has to constantly produce digestive enzymes in huge

quantities the organs that produce these enzymes become weakened and

eventually illness follows. I have developed a Raw Foods eating chart

based on eating with the cycles, TCM and Ayurvedic science. If you

would like a copy please go to my site at www.houseofngolo.com.

 

Amensa Shep Teker

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for this post! I have an acupuncturist friend who was having an issue with the whole temperature thing. I love the point that it's the life force energy of the food that is the key - it's temperament not so much the literal temperature.

THANKS.

Nancy

 

 

 

 

www.healthylivingstrategies.net

 

 

On Behalf Of AmensaFriday, April 06, 2007 9:59 AM Subject: ONCE & FOR ALL RAW LIVE FOODS DO NOT DAMAGE THE SPLEEN

 

ONCE & FOR ALL RAW LIVE FOODS DO NOT DAMAGE THE SPLEENI have heard many of my students, friends, family and patients comeback to me in a frenzy with information from some 'would be'Traditional Chinese medical doctor, that the sole, 100%, consumptionof Live Raw foods can severely weaken the spleen. They say that thespleen needs foods that are warm to assist it's process of digestion.As a traditional chinese medical doctor and Ayurvedic specialist hereis what people need to know.In the context of a Cold Damp climate, excessive consumption ofgreasy, fried or cold foods (from the fridge!) impairs Spleen(digestive) function and leads to the formation of Internal Dampness -a thin watery internal mucous and ultimately Phlegm inhibitingdigestive function and impairing the transmission of essential lifeenergy or Qi /Chi throughout the entire body. Normally it is advisedthat all foods should be at room temperature or warmer. Dairy foodssuch as milk, cheese, butter, chocolate and ice cream are primarycauses of Damp conditions.Chinese dietary advice will therefore encourage the elimination ofDamp causing foods with an increased intake of "Drying" foods tocounteract long standing consumption of such Damp foods. Dry foodsinclude; rye, celery, lettuce, scallion, alfalfa, turnips, whitepepper, raw honey and corn.The intake of highly sweet and other Damp forming foods needs toeliminated or at the very least limited; these include red meats,eggs, hydrogenated margarines, roasted nuts and roasted seeds.However it is particularly the over consumption of dairy, eggs andred meat that causes the thickest Damp formations. Other contributorsto Dampness include:• food that is refined or highly processed (e.g. sugar)• late night eating (all meals should where possible be taken before6pm)• overeatingIt is said in Chinese medicine that: too much raw or chilled food orfluid will also weaken the Spleen. The digestive process needswarmth. This is expressed in oriental medicine as the digestive fire.Prolonged or excessive use of chilled or raw food will eventuallyseverely weaken the digestive fire, leading to collapse of the Spleenfunction.This is misunderstood by those trying to justify a cookedvegetarian diet.What must be understood is the term raw foods in TCM does not havethe same meaning that we use for Raw Foods.TCM teaches to choosefoods with strong life-force and the foods that have the strongestlife-force are live foods! Duh! It is imperative to include as muchlocally grown and organic food in our diets as possible. In bothcases the life force is more strongly preserved. For the same reasonit is helpful to eat plenty of fresh food. The life force in food isalso significantly damaged by microwave cooking, excessive processingand chemical preservation, and killed by irradiation.The Temperatures of Food The single most important category inoriental medicine is the energetic temperature of a food. Accordingto oriental medicine a food may be either hot, warm, neutral, cool orcold. Oats,pumpkin and onions, for example, are warming; barley,apples and lettuce are cooling. This is not a measure of how hot orcold a food is to the taste. The temperature of a food is a measureof its effect on the body after digestion. Simply, does it warm us upor cool us down?Cooling foods tend to direct energy inwards and downwards, coolingthe upper and outer parts of the body first. Warming foods moveenergy upwards and outwards from the core,warming us from the insideout. Very hot foods such as chilli peppers heat us up intensely thencool us down through sweating. Warmer foods speed us up, cooler foodsslow us down.• Plants which take longer to grow (e.g. root vegetables,ginger) tend to be warmer than fast-growing foods (e.g. lettuce,courgette).• Foods with a high water content tend to be more cooling (e.g.melon, cucumber, marrow).• Dried foods tend to be more warming than their freshcounterparts.• Chemically fertilised foods which are forced to grow quicklytend to be cooler than their naturally grown counterparts.• Some chemicals added to foods may produce heat reactions asmay artificially ripened foods.(The Journal of , November 1997)To wrap this up it is not warm foods in temperature that the bodyneeds, it's warm foods in temperament. Raw Live foods when digestedaccording to the natural cycles of time and seasons will benefit anindividual more readily than any other type of so called food. Thetrue insight on the body's reaction to food is: The body natuallywants all live foods. All Live foods have their own digestive enzymespresent. Cooked foods have little or no digestive enzymes present andtherefore when ingested the body produces digestive enzymes in orderto make the dead food ingested live. Your body brings your food backto life in order to harmonize it with the nature of the body. Whenyour body has to constantly produce digestive enzymes in hugequantities the organs that produce these enzymes become weakened andeventually illness follows. I have developed a Raw Foods eating chartbased on eating with the cycles, TCM and Ayurvedic science. If youwould like a copy please go to my site at www.houseofngolo.com.Amensa Shep Teker