JCM Review
In my early twenties I began to follow a macrobiotic diet and before too long I would find myself worrying whether that extra quarter of an apple I had eaten would disrupt my entire yin-yang harmony. This was not an uncommon kind of obsession among macrobiotics at the time, and if we look at the prevalence of compulsive dieting, bulimia, anorexia and the numerous, varied, conflicting and often strict systems of diet for health, we can say that there is something about food that easily leads to obsessive behaviour. Food intake is intimately tied up with self abuse, self reward, love, guilt, anger, control, simple greed and of course good honest pleasure.
The difficulties are compounded by availability. For most of human history, humans ate what was locally producable in each season. Choice was limited, and advising a person to regulate their diet would be relatively simple, for example varying the proportions of the few available seasonal foods, or adding one new food to the diet. Today, when we can choose between green beans from Egypt, artichokes from Cyprus, avocados from Israel, oranges from Spain and other fresh and dried foods from all over the world, the problems are entirely different. Furthermore, we live in a time of melting and mingling cultures. Whereas 50 years ago the average Briton anywhere in the "country" would be sitting down to a broadly similar meal, today we and our patients might be eating Chinese, French, Italian, Thai, Indian, Greek or Middle Eastern food at any one time.
Dietary books such as this one do not necessarily make the task of regulating diet any easier. Like Chinese herbal pharmacopoeias, they are essentially compilations and therefore include information on the use of a great variety of foods that would have been grown in every different region of China, with only some available in any one part. I have often reflected when trying to choose between a dozen herbs with similar effect that regional availability would have made an earlier doctor's task much easier and it is much the same with food. To add to these problems we have to take into account chemical contamination from pesticides and fertilisers, unnatural and immoral food rearing practices (such as feeding the diseased or unusable parts of one animal to another vegetarian animal), genetically engineered or irradiated foods, adulteration by additives, preservatives, flavourings etc.
Finally, it is important to recognise that what people eat may be relatively insignificant compared to how they eat, and whilst a potential obsessive may delight in being advised on food selection, their tendency to overeat, undereat, eat late, eat irregularly, eat dutifully, eat obsessively or eat angrily may outweigh any potential value.
This is perhaps an excessively bleak analysis of the difficulties faced by a practitioner who wishes to use food advice as part of their treatment options. It can be counterbalanced by the fact that modifying diet can be a powerful tool for changing the body condition, and can significantly empower patients by involving them in their treatment.
One thing is sure and that is that if a practitioner of Chinese medicine wishes to integrate dietary therapy into their practice they need detailed information on the Chinese medicine qualities of different foods. Chinese Dietary Therapy is the most complete textbook yet to appear in English. It covers all the basic principles and theories, and gives information on a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, nuts, animals, fish and seafood, condiments and drinks. Each individual food is described in terms of its properties (flavour, channels entered, actions) and its clinical application. For example pumpkin has a sweet flavour, a warm nature and a propensity for the Spleen and Stomach channels. It has the effects of reinforcing the middle jiao, replenishing qi, dissolving phlegm, promoting the discharge of pus and expelling roundworms. Its application includes boiling with beef for coughing of thick sputum from pulmonary abscess, and eating fresh (followed by a laxative) or eating pumpkin seeds, to expel roundworms. It is contraindicated for stuffiness in the chest due to damp or qi obstruction, and prolonged use will turn the skin yellow.
Around 50% of the foods covered are readily available in the UK, which is a higher proportion than in previous books on Chinese diet. The final portion of the book is devoted to the treatment of specific diseases. Here the administration of suggested therapies could be problematic. The mixture of herbs and foods given, and the preparation, would require a concerted effort on the part of both patient and practitioner. However, many are manageable if the practitioner keeps herbs in the clinic, and for all those Jewish mothers among us, the opportunities to expand way beyond chicken soup for our ailing families and friends will be hard to resist.
Reviewed by Peter Deadman
Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Chinese medical terms xv
Introduction Chinese Dietary Therapy in a
Western practice - Gordon Peck 1
The concept of Qi 1
Food or medicine? 1
Hot and Cold 3
Macrobiotics 3
Five Elements - philosophy and pragmatism 4
Fasting, appetite and allergies 5
Food production in the West 6
Added value 7
Fresh or tainted? 7
Food and the seasons 8
Foods, fads and diets 8
Meat and vegetables 9
Cow's milk 9
Milk as medicine or disease factor
Overconsumption
Adulteration
Baby food
Dairy products and soya milk
PART ONE An introduction to Dietary Therapy in TCM 13
Chapter 1 The concept, origin and development of diet therapy in TCM 15
The concept of TCM Dietary Therapy 15
The origin and development of TCM Dietary Therapy 16
Chapter 2 General properties of food 19
The nature and taste of food 19
Channel propensities of food 20
Chapter 3 The application of foods 23
The combination of foods 23
Balanced diet 25
A balanced diet 25
An unbalanced diet 25
Appropriate use of food 26
The preparation of food 26
Cooked rice 27
Gruels 27
Soups 27
Cooked dishes 27
Decoctions 27
Drinks 27
Medicinal wines 28
Powders 28
Electuaries 28
Candied fruits 28
Sweets 28
Diet prohibitions 29
Diet prohibitions during illness 29
Diet prohibitions pregnancy and after childbirth 29
Chapter 4 The principles of Dietary Therapy in TCM 31
Holism in Dietary Therapy 31
The regulation of Yin and Yang 31
The co-ordination of the internal organs 32
Adapting to the climate 32
Regional variations 33
Adapting to individual needs 33
Administration of diets based on the differentiation of symptoms and signs 34 Different diets for the same illness 34
The same diet for different illnesses 35
Chapter 5 Principal methods of Dietary Therapy 37
Method of invigorating Qi and replenishing the Spleen 37
Invigorating the Lung Qi 37
Invigorating the Spleen Qi 37
Reinforcing the Spleen and removing Dampness 38
Reinforcing and lifting sinking Qi 38
Replenishing Qi and containing Blood 38
Method of enriching Blood and nourishing Yin 38
Promoting the production of Blood by means of replenishing Qi 38
Replenishing Blood and nourishing the Heart 39
Replenishing Blood and nourishing the Liver 39
Nourishing Yin and calming the Wind 39
Nourishing Yin and clearing Heat 39
Methods of tonifying the Kidney and replenishing the Essence 39
Tonifying and nourishing the Kidney Yin 39
Warming and reinforcing Kidney Qi 40
Tonifying the Essence and replenishing Marrow 40
Method of reinforcing the Stomach and promoting the production of Body Fluids 40 Reinforcing the Stomach and promoting the production of Body Fluids 40 Moistening Dryness and promoting the production of Body Fluids 40
Chapter 6 Dietetic hygiene 41
Moderation of meals 41
Clean and healthy food 41
PART TWO The properties and application of foods 43
Chapter 7 Water and land vegetables 45
Chinese chive 45
Chinese spring onion 46
Garlic 47
Onion 47
Chillies 48
Coriander 49
Mustard greens 49
Turnip 50
Carrot 50
Chinese cabbage (Chinese leaves) 51
Cabbage 51
Crown daisy chrysanthemum 52
Celery 52
Spinach 53
Cluster mallow 53
Related item - basella rubra (spinach)
Water spinach 54
Three-coloured amaranth 54
Related item - purslane
Houttuynia 55
Shepherd's purse 56
Brake 56
Day lily 57
Bamboo shoots 57
Wild rice shoots 57
Taro 58
Potato 58
Sweet potato 59
Lotus rhizome 59
Fennel shoots 60
Acanthaceous indigo 60
Chinese wolfberry shoots 61
Eggplant 61
Gourd 62
Wax gourd 62
Cucumber 63
Towel gourd 63
Balsam pears 64
Pumpkin 64
Fungi 65
Wood-ears 65
Tremella 65
Fragrant mushroom 66
Oyster mushroom 67
Mushroom 67
Hedgehog fungus 68
Seaweeds 68
Kelp 68
Laver 69
Agar 70
Gracilaria verrucosa 70
Chapter 8 Fruits - cultivated and wild 73
Pear 73
Orange 74
Kumquat 74
Tangerine 75
Cantonese orange 75
Grapefruit 76
Persimmon 76
Peaches 77
Plum 77
Apricot 77
Loquat 78
Apple 78
Banana 79
Pineapple 79
Arhat fruit 80
Pomegranate 80
Figs 81
Litchi (Iychee) 81
Grape 82
Cherry 82
Red bay berry 83
Watermelon 83
Sugar cane 84
Water chestnut 84
Kiwi fruit 85
Tomato 85
Japanese raisin tree fruit 86
Tamarind 86
Lemon 87
Rosehip 87
Chinese olive 88
Mume plum 88
Chapter 9 Cereals, pulses and nuts 91
Wheat 91
Barley 92
Buckwheat 92
Glutinous rice 92
Nonglutinous rice 93
Millet 93
Sorghum 94
Maize 94
Black soya bean 95
Soya bean 95
Red bean (kidney bean) 96
Mung bean 96
Cow pea 97
Pea 97
Broad bean (fava bean) 97
Sword bean 98
Sesame 98
Pine nut 99
Chestnut 99
Lotus seed 100
Ginkgo nut 100
Peanuts 101
Sweet almond (sweet apricot kernel) 101
Torreya nut 102
Chapter 10 Fowls and animals 103
Chicken 103
Related items - Liver, chicken eggs
Black-boned chicken 104
Quail 105
Related item - quail eggs
Duck 105
Related item - duck eggs
Goose 106
Pigeon 106
Related item - pigeon eggs
Pork 107
Related items - spinal cord, lung, heart, liver, spleen, tripe, intestines, kidney, bladder, trotters
Mutton and goat 109
Related items - liver, kidney, milk
Beef 110
Related items - ox tripe, ox liver, calf's brain, cow's milk Rabbit 111 Frog's meat 111
Chapter 11
Fish, turtle, clam and crab 113
Carp 113
Silver carp 114
Related items - variegated carp, gran carp, black carp
Crucian carp 114
Yellow croaker 115
Butterfish 115
Perch 116
Mandarin fish 116
Whitebait 116
Longtailed anchovy 117
Snakeheaded mullet 117
Eel 117
Finless eel 118
Loach 118
Huso sturgeon 119
Catfish 119
Hairtail 119
Shark 120
Related items - shark's fin, liver
Cuttlefish 120
Sea cucumber 121
Freshwater shrimp 121
Related item - prawn
Softshelled turtle 122
Crab 122
Oyster 123
Clam 123
Mussel 123
River snail 124
Chapter 12 Condiments and miscellaneous 125
Brown sugar 125
White sugar 126
Maltose (including malt extract) 126
Vinegar 127
Soy paste (miso) 128
Related item - soy sauce
Table salt 128
Liquor 129
Ginger 130
Cinnamon 130
Pepper 131
Jasmine 131
Rose 132
Seville orange flower 132
Gardenia flower 133
Tea 133
PART THREE Diet recipes and diet prohibitions for common illnesses 135
Chapter 13 Internal illnesses 137
The common cold 137
Epidemic febrile diseases 139
Damp-Heat syndrome 141
Cough 143
Difficult breathing 144
Pulmonary abscess 146
Pulmonary tuberculosis 147
Coughing up blood 148
Aphonia 149
Palpitation 150
Cardiac pain (angina) 152
Insomnia 153
Excessive sweating 154
Indigestion 155
Vomiting 156
Hiccups 158
Difficulty in swallowing 160
Retention of Damp in the Stomach and Spleen 160
Epigastric pain 162
Abdominal pain 163
Diarrhea 165
Dysentery 166
Constipation 167
Vomiting blood 169
Bloody stools 169
Jaundice 170
Hypochondriac pain 171
Vertigo 172
Wind-stroke 174
Headache 175
Painful urination syndrome (Lin Zheng) 177
Blood in the urine (hematuria) 178
Urinary retention 179
Edema 181
Enuresis 182
Seminal emission 183
Impotence 184
Deficiency syndrome 185
Diabetes 188
Bi syndrome 189
Atrophy syndrome (Wei Zheng) 191
Depression 192
Goiter 193
Chapter 14 Gynecological diseases 195
Dysmenorrhea 195
Amenorrhea 197
Abnormal uterine bleeding (Beng-lou) 198
Leukorrhea 199
Prolapse of the uterus 200
Morning sickness 201
Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy and threatened miscarriage 202
Dizziness after childbirth 203
Insufficient milk production (hypogalactia) 204
Hysteria 204
Chapter 15 Pediatric diseases 207
Measles 207
Smallpox 209
Infantile convulsion 209
Whooping cough (pertussis)
Infantile malnutrition 211
The five types of retardation 213
Chapter 16 External diseases and traumas 215
Sores, carbuncles and furuncles 215
Yin carbuncles 216
Acute mastitis 217
Intestinal abscess 218
Scrofula 219
Erysipelas 220
Scabies and ringworm 221
Abnormal hair loss (alopecia areata) 221
Eczema 222
Prickly heat 222
Impetigo 223
Burns and scalds 223
Hemorrhoids 224
Injuries 225
Fracture 225
Chapter 17 Complaints of the eye, ear, nose and throat 227
Night blindness 227
Conjunctivitis 228
Sore throat 229
Mouth ulcers 230
Bleeding gums 231
Sinusitus 231
Glossary of herbs 233
Bibliography abbreviations 239
Indexes 243
General index 245
Foods index 249
Symptoms index 251
VAT Exempt