Everyone has heard that old saying, “Feed a cold and starve a fever.” Or is it “Feed a fever and starve a cold”? If you adopt the Chinese health tradition, you’ll never wonder again.
The foods we consume provide our bodies with nutrients that turn into thermal energy. So when you have a cold, it makes perfect sense to eat lots of special foods that provide warming energy to replace deficient heat in your system. Likewise, when you feel like you’re burning up with a fever, eat cooling foods to extinguish that fire.
The Chinese practice is to provide our bodies with lots of cooling-energy liquids and foods to put out the fire—vegetables and fruits, plenty of water, teas and juices; rice or noodle soups that have plenty of clear broth. When fevered, our bodies almost always prefer yin or cooling-energy foods.
Just as health is beauty and beauty is health, the Tao of beauty acknowledges the ancient Chinese precept that food is medicine. However, we will not define the term “medicine” literally. We will look, instead, beyond the traditional Western interpretation of medicine as having curative or healing powers to a purely Oriental concept that foods, as healing remedies, affect the health and wellness, and consequently the beauty, of the body.
This in no way precludes seeking the advice and treatment of a physician when you are ill. The Tao of Beauty teaches you to read the signals your body gives you. Perpetually cold hands and feet may be indicative of excessive yin or cool energy and a lack of yang or warm energy in your body. This condition may be resolved by eating foods that provide the body with additional yang energy, such as ginger, Chinese red dates, or dang quai. In the case of a fever and sore throat, your body is in an excessively yang or hot-energy state. The systems of the body can be brought back into harmony by rebalancing your body with yin foods—honeydew and watermelon, tofu, spinach, and cooling mint or green teas.
Mint (Mentha spicata)
I wish to make this clear again: The theories expressed in this book are in no way substitutes for your physician’s care. However, with today’s acceptance of more holistic ways of thinking, we know that we are ultimately responsible for our own health, and we can control aspects of it through nutrition.
By understanding the energy in the foods we eat, and how this can affect our well-being, we can optimize our vitality and consequently our beauty.
Remember, the energy I’m talking about is not only the kind that comes from the calories in food. That’s a very Western concept. I’m talking about the chi, or life force, inherent in all things and how that energy affects the state of the body.
Everything in the world has yin and yang properties, but in this book I will concentrate on the yin (cold) and yang (hot) energy of foods. To avoid confusion we will use the terms hot, warm, neutral, cool, and cold when discussing the inherent energy in food—animal, vegetable, or mineral.
The energy quality refers to the basic properties of the food, not necessarily to the temperature at which the food is served. I think the best example is to compare mint, which is a yin or cold-energy food, and hot chili pepper, which is a yang or hot-energy food. The sensations inherent in these foods are easily felt. A cup of peppermint tea is classified as a cool-energy drink, even when it’s served steaming hot. This is because mint cools any tissue it touches. This “cool” designation refers only to the energy inherent in the plant, not its temperature. A peppermint candy stimulates the same tastebuds as the hot peppermint tea, registering the same cool sensation in your mouth. Whether the candy is frozen, or (as is frequently the case) melted in the bottom of your purse, the effect it has on your system is the same: cool.
Similarly, hot chili peppers bring their hot energy and the sensation of heat into the body no matter how they are prepared. When you eat them, you feel their heat. They rev up your circulation and are hot enough to open the pores of your skin. Hot peppers make you sweat. This is a very efficient internal “air-conditioning” system for the human body, which is why hot peppers are frequently found in tropical climates. Lassitude and lack of appetite are common reactions to searing temperatures. If the weather is too hot, you simply don’t want to eat. Mexican and Indian diets, for example, incorporate complex spice mixtures that not only cool the body but also stimulate the appetite. Spicy foods are commonly served with a neutral (or, as we say in our new vocabulary, balanced) grain such as rice.
As I mentioned in Chapter 1, our bodies, like our surroundings, are affected by climate. Our organs function best at the right balance of hot and cold energy, internally as well as externally. If we have a condition that indicates an excess of hot energy, such as a sore throat or acne-blemished skin, we need to consume more cool-energy foods to calm and cool the excess hot energy in our body. Or if we have cold-energy symptoms such as cold hands and feet, a runny nose, or pale, lifeless skin, we want to turn up the heat (or turn down the air conditioner), even though everyone else in the room is comfortable. We can resolve this by warming our bodies from the inside, heating up our organs with warm- and hot-energy foods and herbs. By bringing our body’s internal energy to a warmer temperature, we can dispel the inner chill.
The following chart summarizes the basic properties of yin and yang energy:
| YIN | YANG |
| Cooling | Warming |
| Relaxing | Stimulating |
| Deficiency | Excess |
For example, eating cold-energy foods helps reduce excess heat in the body. This is helpful for people who have frequent sore throats, acne, and even constipation—conditions that are caused by excess hot energy. Typical cold or cool energy foods are:
• Celery. Drink celery juice or eat celery to clear internal hot energy. According to an ancient herbal medicine book, this is especially good for reducing excess heat in the liver and gallbladder and such symptoms as jaundice, PMS, anger, and dryness in the eyes.
• Coconut Juice. Coconut juice, especially from green coconuts picked before sunrise, helps cure acne and other skin rashes caused by excess heat in the lungs. It also relieves dry coughs.
• Cucumber/Cucumber Juice. Fresh cucumber and juice help cure common acne, caused by excess heat in the lungs and stomach as well as the spleen and large intestine. Cucumber helps detoxify the body by promoting urination.
• Watermelon. This summer gift from nature helps clear hot energy from the kidneys and bladder by promoting urination. This relieves edema and quenches thirst, helping to lower blood pressure and ease heat rash.
Foods that have hot or warming energy dispel cold energy throughout the body, stimulating circulation of both bodily fluids and chi. In general, hot energy foods help promote digestion and warm cold feet and hands, bringing color to pale skin and lips. A word of caution: Hot energy foods should be avoided by anyone with eye disease, inflammations, cough, or any other hot-energy symptoms. Typical hot energy foods are:
• Cinnamon. Heat a stick of cinnamon with a bit of sugar in apple juice or water, and sweeten with brown sugar. This popular winter drink is often served at ski resorts. Cinnamon promotes circulation through fingers and toes, warming limbs and easing rheumatic pain. It’s also good for relieving heavy menstrual flow.
• Ginger. Used as a medicinal herb as well as a food herb by Chinese herbalists, ginger disperses cold throughout the body, relieves nausea, and stops motion sickness. It is also used to stop diarrhea, relieve asthma, and stop coughing.
• Black or White Pepper. Used to stimulate blood pressure and pulse, pepper is quick to warm the internal energy of the stomach and large intestines. It also stimulates the pulse and increases blood pressure.
The typical Chinese diet is very simple compared to the Western diet. It contains substantially more grains and pulses (dried beans and bean products like tofu)—40 to 60 percent in total. A traditional Western diet is hard-pressed to include 30 percent. The Chinese diet also includes 20 to 30 percent fruits and vegetables, with only 10 to 15 percent meat, poultry, seafood, fats, and dairy products. As you may have noticed from eating in Chinese restaurants, the Chinese eat little, if any, milk or cheese. We do enjoy eggs; however, we use them sparingly—one or two eggs stirred into a pot of soup large enough to feed the whole family.
Because it is neither too hot nor too cold, rice is considered to be the most nourishing grain. It is known to remove dampness, which is formed when body fluids fail to flow properly. Symptoms of this condition include fluid retention or bloating in the limbs and abdomen, heavy limbs, lethargy, poor concentration, and loss of focus. While other grains such as wheat, barley, oats, and rye are nutritious, they are considered damp forming. Consequently they are used less frequently, generally in noodles, porridges, soups, or stews.
Pulses—lentils, kidney beans, adzuki beans, chickpeas, green mung beans, soybeans and soy products such as tofu and tempeh—are considered cold or neutral foods. Because of this, they are most often balanced with warming foods such as ginger and garlic to assist the body in achieving optimum health.
Cooked vegetables and fruits cause less strain on the digestive system than raw vegetables and fruits. If you need to restore well-being to your body, eat these foods cooked. Raw foods facilitate elimination of body wastes and toxins, but can be irritating to the digestive system.
Meats, seafood, and the few dairy products found in a Chinese diet are considered highly nutritious. Because these animal foods have a potent concentration of nutrients, they should be eaten only in small amounts. A two-pound whole chicken will feed an entire Chinese family of six, whereas this little bird would barely make a meal for three in the West. This is because a Western meal most commonly includes a large serving of meat, a fresh salad, and some bread and butter or other form of processed grain.
The danger inherent in eating a meat-based diet, with more potatoes and processed grains and only a few cooked vegetables, is that your body is very likely to produce excess heat energy. This can result in irritability, aggression, inflammation, and weight gain.
Vegetarianism—the elimination of all animal foods and animal products from the diet is popular, especially with the monks. It is not generally recommended by Chinese tradition. Even a little bit of meat can be vital to your health, as the protein in meat helps form blood by nourishing the bone marrow. Blood deficiency, which is very different from anemia or a low red blood cell count, can lead to low energy, insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, brittle nails, thinning hair, menstrual cramps, and pale skin.
Following traditional Chinese nutritional principles, food choices are based on the energy needs of the body.
Since ancient scholars developed the concept that all organs of the body are interrelated, Chinese health practitioners have studied how body functions can be restored to balance, and consequently health, by nutritional means. Ineffective treatments and formulas have been filtered out, leaving only those proven by time.
Drawing on centuries-old wisdom, passed on to me by my mother and other family members who have made this their life’s work, I will introduce you to an amazing array of natural whole foods and herbs. You may be surprised to find that many are native to the western hemisphere and Western culture. Others are traditional Chinese plants that are generally available in the Asian markets that are flourishing in most large cities, large health food stores, and by mail order (see Resources, this page). These foods and herbs will quickly become your primary means of providing your body with the nutrients necessary for health, wellness, and optimal beauty. In the Chinese tradition, herbs, especially, are essential to maintaining and restoring physical harmony while integrating chi throughout the body.
The food chart on this page will give you an idea of the type of energy in foods that are commonly eaten in the West. This knowledge will make it possible for you to create a personal “diet” that is in keeping with The Tao of Beauty regimen.
Remember: Everyone is different. What is good for your friend is not necessarily good for you. If you scored a primarily yin or (cold) profile, focus on eating foods from the yang foods list to generate inner heat. This does not mean that you can’t eat foods from the yin list. You can eat anything … in moderation.
Hot or cold energy can be neutralized by mixing them together, or intensified by adding spices, wine, or vinegar. Adding ginger or wine to any dish increases the hot energy. How food is cooked will change this energy as well. Stir-frying and deep-frying bring hot energy to a dish, whereas steaming has cooling properties.
If you scored primarily yin, you will want to design a diet that is high in yang energy to heat your inner chi. Drink ginger tea … stir-fry food with garlic and onions. Those of you who fit the primarily yang profile will want to increase your consumption of cool-energy foods to turn down that heat. Drink lots of apple or celery juice … eat plenty of melons. You’ll also want to eat chicken or pork, which are neutral-energy foods, instead of beef, turkey, or lamb, which are warmer to enjoy the rewards of bringing your body into balance. Foods with balanced yin/yang (neutral) energy fit easily into the food plans for all profiles and enable you to serve a variety of foods suitable for everyone at your table.
This chart is merely a starting point, designed to give you an idea of the chi in many common foods. As you become more in tune with your body, you will begin to identify the conditions of excess yin or yang energy, as well as a yin/yang or balanced state, and you will gravitate toward the foods that will restore balance in the flow of chi.
Whenever preparing, heating, or storing foods or topical products, it is recommended that you use glass, crockery, or enamel bowls, pots, and pans. To prevent interaction of the food with the metal, make sure that there are no cracks or chips in the enamel. This is important because the essential oils in many foods and herbs react adversely to metal. In a bath or topical preparation, this can merely render the special properties of the herbs useless or, at worst, irritate the skin. In a tea or food dish, this will nullify the effects of the ingredients and make the dish too bitter to consume. You could even become slightly ill.
For rapid stir-frying or cooking at lower temperatures, heavy stainless steel or some other nonreactive metal cookware can be used without risk.
Glass and/or enamel cookware, from saucepans to soup pots, can be purchased in any store for very little money.
I’m sure you already have most of what you’ll need to prepare the recipes I’m offering in the chapters ahead. The only additional items you may want are assorted bottles to store my luscious bath salts and topical treatments.
You’ll need:
2- or 3-cup glass measuring cup
8- to 12-ounce glass bottles with cork stoppers or tightly fitting lids
Blender or food processor
Bowls (glass or enamel), assorted sizes
Cheesecloth or sieve, for straining
Cutlery (sharp paring knife, butcher knife, and cleaver)
Glass or enamel saucepans, with lids
Mortar and pestle (optional, can be improvised)
Strainer (fine mesh)
Tea kettle (enamel)
Teapot (glass, pottery, ceramic, or earthenware)
Waterproof labels (to mark bottles of topical products)
Wok or large saucepan (stainless steel, not aluminum)
Wok utensils (spatula, strainer, cooking chopsticks)
Wooden spoons
The recipes I will share with you require little equipment and very little cooking skill. Before we get started, I’ll give you some pointers to make preparation of these recipes even more of a snap.
Before you decide this is too complicated, let me assure you that most herbs can be purchased ready to use. How you use herbs will be determined first by the form of the herb:
• Leafy herbs, used fresh or dried, may be stirred into foods with little if any special preparation. Herb leaves should be muddled, or slightly crushed, before using: press them with the back of a wooden spoon against the sides of your bowl or cooking vessel. This releases the aromatic, flavorful oils into the recipe.
• For teas and many topical applications, you must prepare an infusion by pouring boiling water into a prewarmed glass or earthenware teapot or covered enamel or glass saucepan and adding the herbs. Cover and steep for at least twenty minutes to extract the energy of the herbs. Strain before using.
• Roots, stems, bark, and hard seeds require special handling. One technique is to make a decoction. Start by mashing the bark, chips, roots, or hard seeds with a mortar and pestle to soften the outer surface. Then put an ounce or more of the plant material into a glass or enamel pot with a lid. (Remember: the cookware should be nonreactive to the active properties in these ingredients.) Pour two or more cups of water, as specified by the recipe, over the herbs. Cover the pot and bring to a rolling boil. Stir once. Replace the lid and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for an additional thirty minutes before using, for maximum benefits.
• Pulpy, fleshy roots and tubers, such as ginseng and dang quai must be steamed to release their inherent properties. To do this, put enough water in a saucepan to touch the bottom of the steamer when placed over the pan. Place the tuber or root into the steamer. Cover the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the tuber or root is limp, approximately ten minutes, depending on thickness. Remove from the steamer and process according to the recipe directions.
Dang quai
Unlike traditionally structured Western-style beauty routines, The Tao of Beauty offers a regimen that fits your body’s specific needs. You will begin by using cleansing tonics designed to remove waste and toxins from your body. The detoxification, digestion, and regeneration routines that I learned from my mother and other wise teachers are introduced in Chapter 4 and will start you on the path to natural health and beauty.
In the same way that you identified your primary energy profile by taking the Beauty-Wellness Test in Chapter 2, you will learn to identify what type of energy your body needs to restore its systems to balance. The recipes in this book will provide you with the kind of energy you specifically need. Note that I’ve indicated in the recipe titles which type of energy the recipe generates, yin, yang, or yin/yang (balanced). A recipe that is composed primarily of ingredients with cold or cooling energy will provide the body with calming yin chi, while a recipe that is made of fiery hot and warm-energy ingredients increases the yang chi in the body. Remember that how you prepare a food can alter its energy. An egg, for example, has neutral energy when boiled or poached, that is, when cooked without oil or butter. Once you scramble or fry an egg, it assumes yang properties. Another example: A raw peanut is neutral, but once turned into peanut butter it becomes yang in energy. In the same way, foods in combination can generate different energies than foods do separately. You need to bear all this in mind as you design a regimen that works for you.
Foods should be eaten in balanced proportions. Nothing—including steak and sugar—is bad for you, as long as it’s eaten in moderation.