Chinese Dietary Therapy in Clinical Practice

Chinese dietary therapy (CDT), although fundamental to the practice of Chinese medicine, is frequently inadequately addressed in Western schools of Chinese medicine and tends to remain marginal to the clinical practice of acupuncture, tuina, qigong and even herbal medicine. Most practitioners lack sufficient knowledge and confidence when giving dietary guidance and cautiously offer only general and oversimplified advice. Without the necessary theoretical foundation and understanding it can be difficult to transfer CDT’s simple yet effective therapeutic model into clinical practice. In this article the author outlines one such clinical approach to CDT, illustrated with a case example from his own clinic.