Nutrition according to the 5 element system table. Five elements and products. Nourishes and moisturizes

In this article I want to talk about the Chinese nutrition system tested by me and my wife based on five elements - Chinese dietetics and, as an introduction, about the energy that surrounds us.
It all started with my interest in a healthy and happy lifestyle. My wife supports me in everything, so when I speak on my own behalf, I will mean both of us. I get the main information from the Internet, because she doesn’t like to read from the monitor screen.
I can’t say that I experience health problems, except in minor ways, like the vast majority of young people of my age (26 years old), but I have an interest in a healthy lifestyle for the comfortable continuation of this very life. For me, the word “energy” is not an empty word and I know that it exists in our lives, in everything it is, and we depend on the energy around us. Every person unconsciously feels good or bad energy in one place or another or from objects. You won’t deny that you have ever experienced a feeling of discomfort, anxiety, even fear or a desire to leave some place (everyone has their own examples), or vice versa - it happens when you come to visit someone, or sit in a restaurant - and you are so comfortable that you don’t want to leave, it’s somehow nice inside... This is the same energy that everyone can feel. I have always been interested in the question of managing this energy, how to find out exactly where it is, and use it for the benefit of yourself and your loved ones. At first I thought that knowledge and management of energy is the responsibility of shamans, fortune tellers, psychics and similar comrades who have such abilities from birth, but then I learned about the Chinese science of Feng Shui as the most advertised (unfortunately) science of energy management the surrounding world. Previously, my knowledge of Feng Shui was limited only to what most people now know - it’s such a funny thing that if you put mandarin ducks, hang a bell or a breeze, put a money tree in the desired sector of the apartment, then a lot of money will immediately fall on you and happiness! Of course, such an interpretation and knowledge in this area takes place everywhere, and of course this only causes a smile, only this is the so-called. pop feng shui, which has nothing in common with the real ancient Chinese science of harmonious exchange of energy between man and nature - Feng Shui.
By the will of fate, I saw a TV program where they showed a story about Feng Shui with the participation of a professional consultant of Chinese metaphysics of international level. We just recently bought an apartment (by the way, we chose it based on how we felt and we were not mistaken), so we wanted to arrange it in accordance with the rules of Feng Shui in order to enhance the favorable energy in the apartment and prevent bad energy. A year later (as it turned out, the crisis delayed our plans) we contacted this consultant on Chinese metaphysics and expressed our desire to bring the energy of our apartment into harmony with nature. I’d rather write about the results of this consultation in another article, but I gave such a long introduction to lead to the fact that, thanks to a consultation on Feng Shui, we made a friendly acquaintance with a good professional in Chinese metaphysics, through whom we learned about the existence of a huge knowledge-heritage Chinese, where F-Sh is just the tip of the iceberg.
So, I became interested in studying sections of Chinese metaphysics, from where I learned about the most powerful (from the point of view of the possibility of forecasting) and accurate Chinese astrology, predicting the future, unique knowledge about the directions of energy in space for the possibility of correcting life events, Chinese medicine and its section - Chinese dietetics .
Of course, many will think that I am talking nonsense and this is just another hobby, a toy that will lose relevance over time, a sect, another fairy tale for suckers like pop feng shui, only I have tested a lot of Chinese metaphysics on myself and still use it and I receive completely different benefits from this, which I had never even imagined before. From my own experience I felt the wisdom of the Chinese in their teachings, which came to us through several thousand years of practice and experience of billions of people. Patriots begin to talk about how the Chinese are nothing at all, yellow-skinned stupid people, what can they advise the Great Russian people? Only then for the New Year they run and buy pigs, tigers and other Chinese symbols of the year and other crap. I also love Russia (not to be confused with the state of the Russian Federation) and the Russian people and respect their traditions, but unfortunately, the rich, centuries-old experience of our great people could not be conveyed to us and there is simply nothing to study, so I am studying what they were able to convey to us.
Thus, I learned about the existence of Chinese dietetics - the science of nutrition according to the five element system. There is very little information on this teaching in Russian and the only source is books written with translation into Russian by only one author - Barbara Temeli. The first book of hers that I read was “Nutrition according to the Five Element System,” which is freely available online, but unfortunately is no longer on sale anywhere. This book tells you all about this system and gives some recipes at the end. I will not retell the contents; you can do this without any problems by reading the description of the book yourself. Let me just say that this book made me think about my health, gave me a direction in which to move, made me understand that our health (and as it later turned out, life) depends on what we eat. As a result, I understood how to make food energy-filled, at the same time tasty, relatively healthy, and what is best for a particular person to eat to improve health. A positive incentive for me was that the transition to this system did not require any special effort, did not require giving up any foods, it was even interesting - just change the principle of preparing foods and dishes that were familiar to me, and in the end get an energetically nourished , delicious food from which you will not only get taste pleasure, but will also benefit your body. In general, in life I love to cook and I am good at it, and this system has given me even greater opportunities to develop my abilities. First of all, I bought a lot of spices and completely avoided seasonings (spice mixtures), now I have 12 constantly used spices and still others that are rarely used. Thanks to spices, you can “go through energy stages” when preparing dishes with an initially small amount of ingredients (according to a traditional recipe), because by adding spices to a traditional recipe, you can get an energetically complete and healthy dish! If we talk about this system in a simplified way, the meaning is that, according to the theory of Chinese metaphysics, all spiritual, emotional, energetic and material
The phenomena of the universe can be classified according to the five elements.
In other words, this is a system of analogies in which everything material, every thing and
Each abstract concept finds its own place depending on
one's nature or qualities.The elements follow one after the other
others and enrich each other in a certain order, which is called the “cycle
nutrition."Every
process and every human life inevitably goes through the stages of the five elements in
according to the food cycle: wood, fire, earth, metal, water.

Elemental nutrition cycle: wood feeds fire, heat of fire
awakens the earth to life, metal is extracted from the earth, metal minerals are made
life-giving water, water nourishes plants (trees)

Each product corresponds to an element and is also divided according to the type of thermal effect on the body - hot, warm, neutral, refreshing and cold.
To obtain an energetically complete, “correct” dish, it is necessary that all 5 elements, all 5 tastes are present in it, and that during preparation the cycle of 5 elements is completed (necessarily in the sequence as in the picture), then the tongue will feel the full variety of tastes and the body will receive the full energy from food, which does not happen during normal cooking. Such nutrition, ideally and by design, should be prescribed individually and by an experienced Chinese medicine doctor, depending on the characteristics of your body, in which case it will have a positive effect, but even if you follow the recommendations of the above book according to the general criteria and follow the principle of nutrition according to the seasons, then it will be much healthier and more effective than regular cooking. The most important thing in the general version is to listen to your body, how it feels better, what element it accepts better at the moment. For example, if a person has an excess of the fire element in the body, and he begins to eat generously of dishes prepared with an emphasis on the fire element and wash it down with red wine (fire), then the person will have an even greater excess of fire and this will not lead to good things, although the body he himself will tell by his own state of health that he does not like this food (heaviness in the stomach, lethargy after eating, cloudy consciousness). Saying this, I urge you not to immediately rush to try to cook according to this system without at least reading the specified book to the end.
Why don't I use seasonings? This becomes clear when you see a table of products based on 5 elements, where the spices contained in seasonings belong to different elements and, as a result, by adding seasoning to food you break the cycle of the five elements and the whole meaning of this system is lost. Also, various spices have healing properties and using them wisely, you can achieve better results in preparing healthy food.
I’ll tell you about my experience of eating according to the five element system. The first thing I noticed was that the food became tastier, the taste was fuller and more varied, each component was felt individually. You don’t feel any heaviness in your stomach after eating this way, which means it is digested better. Conscious cooking has become a more interesting activity for me; I cook food with love, which means it also receives additional energy from me. The first simple dish in which I clearly felt the difference between conventional cooking and cooking according to 5 elements was soft-boiled eggs. I just accidentally mixed up the sequence of adding ingredients one time and felt that it was no longer the same. You can easily see for yourself how this system works by conducting a similar experiment - I will give the recipe for these scrambled eggs at the end (may raw foodists forgive me). The ingredients are the same, but by breaking the cycle, we lose all the benefits of this system.
Next, we began to focus on the Earth element and made “earth” dishes, i.e. completing the cooking cycle with this element. The earth element has the characteristic of sweet taste. The wife could not live without sweets and always bought sweets every day, which negatively affected her figure. Forcibly giving up sweets is difficult and the body still does not get what it asks for, and this is not good. The problem is that we do not know how to correctly interpret the requests of our body (this is written in detail in the book). For example, in our case, the body asks for sweets, but it does not need sugar, chocolates or cakes, but rather it asks for sweet products of the Earth element - corn, wheat, dairy products, butter, etc. (everything is in the table). So we gave the body “earth” products as often as possible. As a result, the wife herself stopped eating sweets, without any volitional effort or torment! She just didn't want sweets! This is just one small miracle that can be obtained by being an amateur in this system (which I am), and by using this system intelligently under the guidance of a good nutritionist, you can achieve good results in improving your health.
Later, I learned about the existence of another book by this author - “Nutrition according to the five element system for mother and child.” There is an emphasis on nutrition during pregnancy and after childbirth. This book can be purchased online. Also, quite recently, the book “The Five Elements Cookbook” by the same author was published, which contains 200 recipes for Western cuisine adapted to the five element system, and a third of the book is devoted to a summary of the system and the features of cooking. After reading these books, you can get a fairly complete understanding of the system of five elements and learn how to apply it in your life, take the first, very simple step towards conscious nutrition and improving the quality of life, as I did not so long ago.
Also, I stopped using microwaves for cooking and heating food. The book contains a scientific basis for why this is harmful. I want to conduct my own experiment on the effects of microwaves on living organisms and I will post the results here (in fact, I don’t know what the results will be). I purchased an excellent device for heating food - an air fryer, because... It is inconvenient to heat in a frying pan. The grilled chicken it turns out is simply excellent, and you can cook a lot of other things there, and by the way, without oil, which is also another step towards a healthy diet.
I ask you not to judge strictly those people who are in the subject with regard to such a simplified presentation of the material, because I tried to convey to people in simple language an effective nutrition system.
I also want to note that this is not a diet or a means of instant weight loss, this is a nutritional system that you need to follow throughout your life, then you will benefit from it.
Next I will write a few simple recipes that I have made many times and that have been adapted to this system from ordinary recipes.
Scrambled eggs:
Heat the frying pan (fire element), pour in olive or any other oil to lubricate the frying pan (earth). Next, you need to get an egg mixture with the final element Earth: shake eggs (earth) in a glass, add spices from the Metal element (you can choose one or all, I usually add about 4 different ones) - ground pepper (whatever you like) , ground ginger, dill, coriander, marjoram, nutmeg, cardamom. After each element we mix everything. Next is the element Water - salt or I prefer soy sauce, mix. Next Tree - add parsley or vinegar as a last resort (sour taste). Next Fire - add turmeric (very useful, cleanses the body). Finally, I usually add saffron, but you can also add a drop of olive or sunflower oil, or for those who like it, milk (it will be more tender). So, we got the “earthen” mixture, pour it into the “earthen” frying pan and fry until done.
As a result, we get “earthen” scrambled eggs.
For myself, I usually use the following proportions of ingredients: 3 medium eggs, about a pinch of spices - two, soy sauce "by eye".
As you can see, you can always find from this set what you have in the kitchen (except that not everyone has turmeric, but I recommend buying it and adding it wherever you can). Try using the same ingredients, but not in order, compare.

Boiled shrimp:
We buy frozen boiled shrimp (others are simply not sold). You can defrost it, or you can throw it straight into the water. Any quantity, spices to taste, I usually buy 1.5-2 kg of shrimp for two people so that two people can eat with beer so that there is enough.
Shrimp are the element Water, and you need to add them to boiling water (element Fire), between them there is an intermediate element - Metal, so first we will go along the chain until the moment the shrimp are dumped.
So - there is boiling water in a pan. For the Earth, add saffron (it gives a pleasant taste) or if not, then olive oil or any other. Add the spices of the Metal element (a similar set is usually used in seasonings for shrimp, but the elements often interfere, so for our purposes using it is not an option): dried garlic, hot pepper (white, black, red, allspice, or a mixture of five peppers, and you can use just one), ground ginger, coriander, dried dill, marjoram, cardamom. Next, add salt (about a tablespoon per liter of water, but whoever likes salt) and then the shrimp. Next, add dry parsley or lemon juice, or vinegar (wood element). Next is turmeric, or if there is none, then add boiling water so as not to miss the fire element, this is usually if there is not enough water to go to the Earth, but if there is enough of everything, then we can stop at the Tree, because we have already completed the full cycle and then there will be "wooden" shrimp. But if you have tried it and something is missing from your taste (you want something saltier or spicier), then you need to go through the whole cycle again and finish on the desired element. You can go back one element, add it, and then again add the element you stopped at. For example, you forgot to add (or not enough) salt, and you are already on Fire, then you need to add earth, metal, and then only salt, and then if you need to continue to the selected element (for me it was usually earth). Don't forget to stir after each element.
And here is such an energetically full and tasty snack with live beer! Much healthier than bottled powdered beer with chips!

Boiled chicken:
The chicken turns out amazing, the broth can also be drunk separately later - very healthy and full of energy, it can also be used as a base for soup. The longer you cook, the more energy the chicken becomes saturated with. The Chinese give women this broth after childbirth (I don’t know about the spices), boiled for several days, to replenish lost energy.
So, take water boiling in a saucepan (Fire), add saffron or oil (Earth). Add cardamom, fresh ginger slices, ground pepper. We interfere. Add salt. Next, add the chicken (I usually used kits for chicken kebab, there are thighs and drumsticks, I like it better, but if I continued cooking, I would buy homemade chicken, otherwise it’s not clear what they stuff broiler chicken with). We add turmeric if we want to continue the cycle, or we stop at Wood. The concentration of spices should not be too strong - the chicken will give its own taste anyway. Ginger is very useful, especially fresh - I add about 50-80 grams of it to the pan.

Here are some simple recipes. I hope someone will be interested in this system and my review will be useful for preliminary acquaintance.

What does the Book of Changes tell us about nutrition?

Nutrition involves thoughtful, active actions.
You can't feed vice.

My article is for those who cook and want to do it for the benefit of themselves and their loved ones.

Have you noticed that the topic of nutrition is very relevant?

Some cook and eat, others are busy regulating weight, others make money from hobbies, both the first and the second. Everything is in order.

We are cleverly sold products that are useful from the point of view of marketers, diets, health and nutrition systems, fitness...

Fast life and constant stress force people to choose a food option that saves time: convenience foods (including frozen), sausages, canned food, confectionery with a high sugar content, margarines/spreads, sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, dressings) ...

Globalization has led to the fact that only price makes products seasonal. Vegetables, herbs, and fruits are on the shelves all year round. They give us the illusion that we have the opportunity to eat “healthy garden vegetables and fruits” all year round.

Our body gives clues, but the rhythm of life atrophies our ability to listen to the signals of our body. And what does the body have to do with it, you object? Authoritative and significant sources explained to us how “correct”! Our body simply has not yet understood and appreciated its “happiness”.

I also had to wade through the tricks of marketers, my own carelessness and amazing “deafness” to the signals of my own body.

I learned about this food system according to the Wu Xing cycle 8 years ago from Barbara Temeli’s book “Five Element Nutrition.” An excellent book, with a slight bias towards traditional Chinese medicine and the idea repeated several times that the author does not aim to teach how to make a diagnosis and prescribe the individual usefulness of elements. The principle seemed interesting. A little effort, creative “processing” of familiar recipes, and the cooking process was mastered. It became a habit and enriched the food with new spices. Somehow before this, turmeric, paprika, ginger (fresh and dry), dried tomatoes and sweet peppers were not found in my kitchen. We have always loved to cook, so this was no problem. Over time, I learned to read Bazi cards, which allowed me to answer the question of which organs I need to support and what to weaken.

What is the essence of the 5 element nutrition system:

Food should be easily digestible.

Ease of absorption is provided by heat treatment, i.e. boiled (stewed, baked) and only to a small extent dishes made from raw foods and fresh fruits.
Intensive, strong frying of food and smoking are not prohibited, but carry too much fire energy. Which begs the question - do you need that much heat on an ongoing basis?
Fresh vegetables/fruits require additional heat to be processed by the body and have a refreshing effect, which also may not be necessary on an ongoing basis.
Extremely cold food and drinks are considered simply harmful. They should be avoided.
In this system, it is considered correct to drink moderately hot water, in the amount that is required individually for you. Tea, coffee, cocoa should not be the main source of liquid.
In nutrition, it should be taken into account that men need more refreshing and cooling foods, and women need warm ones. But in general, it is favorable to stick to the neutral middle.

Listen to your body’s signals related to food intake and the consequences it causes.

It is useful to monitor heaviness, drowsiness, fatigue, and intestinal disorders. Fix your attention on what caused these states. Actually, this is useful for any power system.

Consider seasonal aspects in nutrition. Food products that the body needs at one time or another of the year grow in the area where a person lives.

in spring(starting from the first days of February) you need to give preference to products related to the wood element: green and leafy vegetables, salads, fresh herbs and fruits, wheat, a small amount of lactic acid products and poultry.
Summer from the first days of May, the warmest time of the year. Refreshing vegetables, mushrooms, leafy salads, fruits, tofu and less meat. Salads are best made from lightly boiled vegetables. Hot teas and drinks. All this will help you endure the heat easier.
in autumn(from the first days of August) there is a tendency towards dryness. Rice, radish, radishes and white vegetables (cauliflower, kohlrabi). You can use hot spices (garlic, onion, fresh ginger), lamb. You can increase the protein content by introducing meat, fish, eggs, legumes and nuts into your diet.
in winter(from the first days of November) it is favorable to choose foods, spices and herbs that have a warm and hot effect. Remember balance and balance out your meals with refreshing vegetables and salads. It is good to eat seaweed and nuts (especially walnuts) during this period.

The order in which ingredients are added to a dish during cooking is key.

This is where the Wu Xing generation cycle is used. You can cook your usual dishes, but a little differently. The whole point is to send all the ingredients into the pan in accordance with the generation (nutrition) cycle. Below is an infographic that shows which element certain products, seasonings and spices belong to.

This is how B. Temeli describes the cooking process:

A heated pan is fire element. By adding fat to it, you end up in element earth. Raw onions are element metal. If you fry the onion, it will lose its pungency and acquire a sweet taste, that is, it will go back to earth element, and then you will have to add some spicy ingredient so as not to miss the metal element.

Cold water refers to element water. That is, if you put a pot of cold water on the fire, the first ingredient should belong to the element water or wood. If you are waiting for the water to heat up, or adding hot water to the dish, then proceed to fire element and the next product must be related to the element fire or earth.

The organs that receive the most qi areuhelement on which we end. If we want to strengthen the kidneys, then we repeat the sequence until we find ourselves in the water element, and here we add the last ingredient. It could be as simple as a pinch of salt. If we want to strengthen the spleen, then, accordingly, it is best to complete the cooking process in the earth element. How many times the cycle is repeated most likely does not matter much.

If you are not sure which element a particular spice belongs to, chew a little and determine the predominant taste. Glue colored circles onto the spice jars according to the colors of the elements - this helps a lot.

This system is biased against microwaves and frozen foods. Foods cooked or heated in a microwave are considered to contain no energy. And frozen foods are useless at best.

Classification of products (without taking into account the temperature component).

Human organs also belong to different elements.

In a person’s Bazi map you can see which organs need to be “supported” and which ones need to be “unloaded”. Especially if the balance, which is very important for health, is severely disturbed. Few consultants undertake health consultations, since this requires a medical education. Of course, it’s great to get to a good doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, who will make a diagnosis, prescribe nutrition accordingly, and apply treatment methods traditional to their medicine. But this is less accessible than ordering a Bazi analysis and identifying the disturbed balance in a person’s chart in order to be able to support them at the nutritional level. After all, everyone eats and this food system, especially if it adheres to neutrality, certainly cannot do any harm.

For example, in this map a person has a strong bias towards metal. There are several options for leveling this imbalance. Weaken the energy of metal by strengthening water, supporting wood and fire. This is a woman. Loves fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, beans, tea, coffee, fresh herbs, parsley. She is indifferent to sweets; she can eat candy with a pickled cucumber. I would advise her to focus on the water. But now she has a 10-year period when part of the metal went into fusion and water was born, so it is enough to support wood and fire.

Do you think the principles outlined here are very different from the diets that our doctors prescribe?
Nope. The first 2 principles are used as fundamental ones.

Be healthy, take care of yourself and your loved ones!

Oksana Skiba,
Feng Shui consultant, Bazi, Qi Men Dong Jia

Nutrition according to the five element system

(With) Earnwulf

Collected from various sources, comprehended, verified, adjusted
Many thanks to all the authors whose materials were used! Nutrition according to the five element system

The Ba Zi map is compiled with the aim of obtaining information about the character, aspirations of a person, his destiny, as well as the influence of incoming strokes of luck on it. The energies of the beats, interacting with the card, can enhance the good that is inherent in it by fate at birth or turn good into bad. The interaction of energies leads to events in a person’s life. If good energies come, then everything is fine with the person and vice versa.
Knowing the elements that are useful and not useful to him, a person can correct his destiny by making the right decisions, changing behavior within the limits of his capabilities, choosing the right profession, hobby, the right housing and place of residence.

Good luck in a person’s life is brought by harmony, the balance of the five elements - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. And everything that surrounds us, material and immaterial, can be expressed through the properties of these elements. Thus, knowing which elements in the map, taking into account the beats, are imbalanced, a person can attract these elements into his life on a conscious level.
If luck is bad, then it will not be possible to make it completely good. It is only possible to prevent its deterioration by using correction methods. If your luck is good, then it can be strengthened even more.
One of the methods for correcting Ba Zi is nutrition based on the five elements. By eating the right foods, you can strengthen weak elements, and avoid foods that will weaken those elements. Which will have a particularly good effect on health, since an imbalance of elements in Ba Zi, first of all, affects the body and leads to diseases of those internal organs whose energy is not balanced.

WARNING!
This article is for informational purposes only. It is necessary to approach nutrition issues with special caution, because... food can be both medicine and poison for different people. In addition, if, on the recommendation of a doctor, you are currently following a therapeutic diet due to illness, you will be able to use the methods outlined in the article only after recovery.
For everyone who can and is ready to use nutrition according to the 5 Elements, I especially want to note the following. If you want to strengthen, for example, the element of Money or Resources by eating food products that correspond to this element in your chart, first find out how harmful such a “mono-diet” will be for you personally and whether you will deprive yourself of products that are useful for you personally, “ reducing” the consumption of “unhealthy elements” to almost zero. Everything should be rational and moderate, then you will benefit and not harm your health.

Correspondence of tastes of elements according to Wu Xing:
Wood - sour;
Fire is bitter;
Earth is sweet;
Metal - sharp;
Water is salty.

Correspondence of human body organs to elements according to Wu Xing:

Sometimes a person’s preferences in eating certain foods change. This may be due to the arrival of a new tact or year. The body itself tries to regulate the flow of qi and balance it. For example, a person of a weak Wood, with the advent of unhelpful power - Metal, especially in the absence of Water, may begin to drink. Alcohol is Fire, and Fire corresponds to the bitter taste. According to the Wu Xing cycle, Fire controls Metal. The desire to drink alcohol appears to “relieve stress” (this is not good, there are other options to add Fire, more on that below).

In addition, seasonality greatly influences nutrition.
In China there are five seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn and off-season. Each season consists of three months and corresponds to a certain element that is in its prime.
Water thrives in winter.
Spring is the blossoming time of the Tree.
Fire thrives in summer.
In autumn - Metal.
At the end of each season (the last 18 days) comes the off-season - the period when the Earth is in its prime.

In each season, the activity of the organs is different.
In winter, the kidneys and genitourinary system are active and the main taste during this period is considered to be salty.
In spring, the liver and gall bladder are active, the main taste is sour.
In summer, the heart and small intestine are active, the main taste is bitter.
Autumn - lungs, large intestine. The load on these organs is compensated for by foods with a pungent taste.
In the off-season, the stomach, pancreas and spleen are active. The taste is sweet.
All organs in the body support each other. And this interaction is also based on the principle of generation of U-Xing according to the system of five elements.
So the kidneys activate the work of the liver, the liver, being a hematopoietic organ, stimulates the work of the heart, the work of the stomach, pancreas and spleen depends on the heart, which, in turn, make the lungs work more actively, and the lungs influence the activity of the kidneys.
Tastes can also enhance or suppress each other. In addition to the main taste that dominates a certain season, there is a complementary taste. It also has a beneficial effect on the body, but not as strong as the main one. There is a neutral taste and finally a negative taste.

Nutrition according to the five element system is a natural and harmonious path to health.
One of the aspects of the energy of food products is their connection with the Five Elements, which determines their “natural affinity” (gui jing) with certain organs of the physiological-energetic system. Among the many properties and phenomena associated with the Five Energies, the most directly related to food products are the Five Tastes, and Taoist alchemy classifies foods based on them. For example, if you have a weak liver, a Chinese doctor may suggest that you eat more Wood energy found in acidic foods; if the liver is overactive or inflamed, he will advise you to abstain from sour foods. In this regard, it is interesting to note that people who consume huge amounts of Earth's energy in the form of sugar and sweets very often suffer from chronic stomach diseases - high acidity, peptic ulcers, indigestion - and this may well be a consequence of overload of the energy system of the Earth's organ (i.e. the stomach ) excess energy from sweets.

Food is not just meant to please the palate or please the eye. Your well-being, the clarity of your thinking, your adaptability to external and internal conditions - all this is most directly related to this or that energy that you release in your body due to your addiction to this or that food.
Food is energy; like any energy flow, it goes through a cycle of transformation, or transfiguration. Everything we eat grows from the soil, or is nourished by what it provides, the food is filled with the energy of the Earth. Everything that the earth gives is filled with Water. In addition, all processes of transportation and delivery of products to your home are associated with the energy of Water. Food is charged with Metal energy during the culinary preparation process (cutting, beating, straining, mixing, etc.). During the cooking process, Fire transforms food, charging it with new, stronger, active vital energy. Wood energy is the energy of growth and development, which literally fills you with vitality while eating. All of these five elements should be presented in harmonious balance in the energy center of your home - in the kitchen and in culinary dishes. After all, if you cook food under conditions of energy imbalance or without taking into account it and your “elemental” qualities, it will turn out to be of poor energy quality.

Each product belongs to one of the five elements, and if you lack, for example, Fire, then it can be added to the body with any “fiery” food product. Each of the elements has its own type of energy and affects our body. Earth creates rotational, circular energy, it nourishes the fat layer (this, as you understand, in no way means that they should be excluded from your “losing weight” menu!), Fire is directed upward, it is responsible for blood and skin, Water tends downward, nourishing the lower part of the body, Metal - inward, therefore filling the internal organs with energy, and Wood - outward in a spiral, nourishing the upper part of the body.
The harmonious combination of elements requires that no movement exceed its optimal level.
If one element becomes dominant, the body begins to work incorrectly. The belonging of a product to one or another primary element can be determined by its color, smell and taste.

Tree Products
Color and taste: green or sour foods: broccoli, sorrel, cucumber, lemon, lime, vinegar.
Meat: poultry.
Grain: wheat.
Fruit: peach.
Vegetables: all green vegetables.

Fire Products
Color and taste: red or spicy foods - beets, red peppers, tomatoes, radishes, horseradish, turnips, shrimp and other crustaceans, red wine.
Meat: lamb, lamb.
Grain: glutinous millet.
Fruit: plum.
Vegetables: all red vegetables.

Products of the Earth
Color and taste: yellow (brown, orange) or sweet foods - curry, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkin, peanuts, orange peel, egg yolks, honey, sugar, orange juice and orangeade.
Meat: beef.
Grain: millet.
Fruit: apricot.
Vegetables: sweet onions.

Metal Products
Color and taste: White or spicy foods - white rice, soybeans, bean curd, white fish, egg whites, milk, cream, yogurt, cabbage, ginger, allspice, mustard seed.
Meat: horse meat.
Grain: rice
Nuts: chestnut.
Vegetables: onions.

Water Products
Color and taste: black (dark) or salty foods - black beans, dark soy sauce, black pepper, black olives, dark dried and fresh mushrooms, fish sauce, salt.
Meat: pork.
Grain: beans or peas.
Fruit: date.
Vegetables: leeks.

But not only products “belong” to one or another element. People, as part of the universal energy flow, having been born at a certain point in time, also have the advantageous qualities of one or another energy element. And this fact should also be taken into account in order to eat harmoniously.

Only a specialist can create the ideal menu selection for each specific person, based on his Ba Zi card. If you are not going to comprehend Chinese philosophy and art so deeply, and from now on and forever live only by its Chinese rules, you can successfully practice the “European” version. Most often this is even preferable, since it is more in tune with our non-Chinese nature and food. Nutrition according to the system of five elements is a flexible teaching, since it “knows” harmony and endlessly changing energy. It only gives direction, guidelines, recommends and advises. By loving himself and the world around him and developing his intuition, any European can choose a “spontaneously” - harmonious diet, based on belonging to one of the primary elements, and the most favorable products listed below.

Tree people have a thin body and strong bones. To live a full life, they need to move a lot. This means that they need to eat a fairly “energetic” diet, but light enough so that the blood does not become thick and they do not “harden” (this is the reason why they may have problems with joint mobility).
Preferred foods for Tree people

Dairy products: avoid all.
Vegetable oils: avoid all.
Fruits and berries: dried fruits, apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries.
Vegetables: eat all vegetables raw - cabbage, potatoes, peas, lettuce, spinach, parsley, celery, beans and olives.
Nuts: avoid.
Spices: ginger, saffron in minimal quantities.
Animal products: low-fat beef, pork, rabbit.
Soups: pea soup.
Sweetening products: avoid.

Fire people have a strong body and active blood circulation. “Fire” people must take a lot of energy because they give a lot of it.
Preferred foods for Fire people
Cereals: wheat, sprouted wheat, oats, barley, white rice.
Dairy products: milk, butter, ghee.
Vegetable oils: olive and sunflower.
Fruits: sweet fruits, soaked dried fruits and compote, melon, watermelon.
Vegetables: pumpkin, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, beans, parsley - roots and greens.
Spices: coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, dill.
Animal food: chickens, turkey, egg whites. Use when cooled.
Sweetening products: everything except honey and black molasses.

People of the Earth have a dense physique, rounded shapes. They are characterized by sustainable energy. But this stability very easily makes the body obese and inactive. For normal metabolism they need to include fluids, otherwise the body will suffer.
Preferred foods for people of Earth
Cereals: corn, millet, rye, dark rice.
Dairy products: fermented milk products, cheese, buttermilk, sour cream.
Vegetable oils: almond, sesame, corn and olive oil.
Fruits and berries: grapefruit, sour oranges, quince, sea buckthorn, lemons, cotoneaster and others with a sour taste.
Vegetables: radishes, tomatoes, beets, onions, garlic (fried onions have the opposite properties).
Spices: ginger, cumin, cloves, salt, celery and mustard seeds, black pepper, red pepper.
Nuts: cashews, peanuts.
Animal foods: beef, egg yolk, butter and red meat, lamb, fish, seafood.
Soups: nettle soup, radish soup.
Sweetening products: honey, black molasses.

Metal people are fragile and often have reduced energy exchange. They need supportive nutrition that provides more active, yang energy.
Preferred Foods for Metal People
Cereals: rice, wheat, sprouted wheat prepared as bread or soup, flax grains.
Dairy products: all dairy products.
Vegetable oils: all types.
Fruits: all sweet fruits, melon, watermelon.
Vegetables (subject to mild heat treatment - stewing): beets, carrots, asparagus, new potatoes, cucumbers, stewed onions, dandelion, lettuce.
Nuts: all types.
Spices: onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cumin, salt, cloves, mustard seeds.
Food of animal origin: goose, duck, fish, crayfish, horse meat, chicken, lamb, eggs, seafood.
Soups: sprouted wheat soup, nettle soup, garlic soup, meat broth (in rare cases).
Sweetening products: honey, black molasses, cane sugar, natural syrups and preserves.

Water people are dense and “raw”. Water people's own energy is weaker and leaves the body easily. They need more liquid food than other elements. Salt retains water in the body. But if there is a lot of salt, then the water will go into excess, and swelling will immediately begin.
Preferred Foods for Water People
Cereals: barley, corn, millet, buckwheat, rye, oats.
Dairy products: low fat milk, fresh butter, cheese whey.
Vegetable oils: olive oil.
Fruits and berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries, grapes, persimmons, quince, sea buckthorn; all dried fruits.
Vegetables: radishes, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, eggplants, green vegetables, lettuce, pumpkin, celery, spinach, parsley, beans, peas.
Spices: all spices except salt.
Animal food: chicken, lamb, eggs, sausage (all types of meat and sausage must be low-fat).
Sweetening products: honey.

Since the nutrition program according to the five elements system is the art of regulating the movement of energy, then food should also be harmonious. And harmony, as we have already said, comes from the balance of two opposites that form the vital energy of qi - yin and yang. All products, to one degree or another, are carriers of one of these two energies, as well as primary elements. Dishes in which both energies, as well as the primary elements, are balanced are considered neutral.

Yang food is hot, fatty, fried, spicy, dry, and also of animal origin. Yang dishes are strength, masculinity, activity, they create internal warmth and stimulate blood circulation. For example, red meat and red wine have strong yang properties. Yang foods also include vegetables and fruits that ripen on the surface of the earth. Yin foods are cool, moist, soft, liquid, dark in color, and of plant origin.
Yin dishes are feminine, supple, still, they calm and relax, and help relieve tension. Juices, milk, eggs and bean curd have yin properties. Root vegetables are also yin foods. And if both the above-ground and underground parts of a plant are edible, then what is underground is yin, and what is ripened under the sun is yang. Rice, although producing fruit on the surface, also has an equal amount of yin and yang because its grains are enclosed in a hard shell. But not everything is so simple. The process of boiling in water or steaming, for example, adds yin energy to products, while frying and roasting over fire adds yang energy. Therefore, energetically neutral, balanced fish in itself when fried or baked is usually considered yang, but when boiled it is considered yin. Hot soup, due to its liquid content, is classified as a Yin dish. Crab and chicken meat, for example, are considered Yin foods, but duck and shrimp are considered Yang foods.
Yang (warm-hot): red meat, alcohol, coffee, chocolate, broccoli, ginger, butter, shrimp, walnuts, hot peppers.
Neutral: pork, milk, sweet potatoes, peanuts, noodles, rice, dates, carrots, honey, most spices.
Yin (cool cold): crabs, chicken, seaweed, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, water or broth, mango, ice cream, bean curd, green tea.

By following such a nutrition program, foods and meals can and should be varied depending on your condition and energy needs. For example, a harmonious, balanced dish may consist of fried meat (yang), vegetable salad (yin) and neutral rice on the side. But sometimes it is necessary to compensate for an energy state that is disturbed in one direction or another: to stock up on strength in advance or restore it, or, conversely, relax. In the first case, of course, active Yang dishes and products are suitable, in the second, of course, Yin ones.

In general, as you already understand, in this nutritional system there are no strict limits and strict dietary requirements or prohibitions, as is usually the case for a diet. It all depends on your well-being, intuition and desire. Creativity and harmony, energy and joy should become indispensable guests at your table.

In addition, each season, each time of year has its own energy background, its own “elemental” qualities, we will talk about this below.

FIVE TASTES AND FIVE THERMAL PROPERTIES OF PRODUCTS
In the study of nutrition, an important role is played by the varieties of taste: sour (Wood), bitter (Fire), sweet (Earth), pungent (Metal) and salty (Water), and the correspondence of each of the body organs to one of the five elements makes it possible to judge how this or that taste affects the organs.

Traditional Chinese nutritional science divides foods according to their thermal properties into: hot, warm, neutral, refreshing and cold.

1. Hot foods protect against cold - they have a warming effect on the body and strengthen Yang. Their main task is to prevent Yang deficiency, and therefore the state of Cold. As long as there is enough heat in the organs, they are able to perform their work and the flow of Qi continuously. Hot foods should be consumed mainly in the cold season, when you need to protect the body from natural cold or from an existing cold. With excessive consumption of hot foods, there is a danger of drying out body juices and causing Yin deficiency.
2. Warm foods enhance activity. Properties characteristic of hot foods are also inherent in warm foods in a less pronounced form (green and onions, fresh ginger, coriander, marjoram, coffee, red wine). In cool weather and with the onset of cold weather, the consumption of these products should also be increased.
3. Neutral products are a source of Qi. Neutral foods, especially those with a sweet or mild taste, including grains, starchy vegetables, beef and legumes, replenish Qi deficiency and balance organ activity. Cooked grains as a staple food will help you prevent or reduce the deficiency of Qi or body juices for a long time. Therefore, the main part of the diet should consist of neutral foods.
4. Refreshing foods help replenish the blood. The body produces blood and juices from refreshing foods. In order for the process of their production to proceed normally, the organs responsible for this - the spleen and kidneys - need a sufficient amount of Qi.
5. Cold foods protect against heat. Many southern fruits and herbal teas, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, yoghurts, seaweed, mineral water and salt have cooling properties. A small amount of “cold” foods in the diet prevents the formation of excess heat and excess Yang in the body. First of all, in summer, as well as in hot countries, products with cold properties compensate for the bioclimatic heat.

GOLDEN MEAN
The main part of the dishes should be neutral foods, as well as refreshing and warm vegetables. Cold and hot foods should always be used sparingly and in small quantities.

CORRECT RATIO OF FOODS: 70% cooked grains, 15% cooked vegetables, 5% raw plant foods, 5% meat or fish, 5% dairy products and other foods.

Everyone should eat what they like. When the body finally gets what it really needs, the ravenous appetite and strong cravings for sweets, coffee and alcohol gradually disappear.

The following general rules will guide you:
Use gentle and neutral cooking methods as often as possible: simmer in a small amount of water over low heat, rather than frying heavily in fat, because the latter makes digestion difficult. If you finely chop the vegetables, quickly simmer them, and at the end add a small amount of high-quality oil - olive, sesame, pumpkin or walnut oil, then this dish is much easier to digest than if you first fry the vegetables in oil.
During the hot season, reduce the use of cooking methods (grilling, smoking, deep-frying, frying, baking, long cooking in liquid, using hot and warming seasonings, and cooking with the addition of alcohol). Use less spicy and hot spices and more fresh herbs. Enjoy the perfect taste of vegetables and salads grown in natural conditions.
For vegetarians, it is important to get enough qi and yang from food at any time of the year. So here’s my advice: cook it yourself! If you already suffer from excess cold, in winter you need to eat almost exclusively cooked food. In addition, it is useful to bake dishes in the oven more often and regularly use spices and herbs with warm and hot properties. Drink warming teas, such as cinnamon or cumin tea, or hot water. Cold water, especially mineral water, which contains salts, has a cooling effect.
Those who eat a lot of meat need to balance their diet by including refreshing vegetables, leafy salads, mushrooms, fruits and grains.
There is a way of cooking that helps harmonize the whole body. Combine foods and seasonings with different thermal properties. Using hot seasonings, add refreshing fruits or vegetables. If you want to serve a salad as a main course, let it be preceded by a warming soup. If you're making a warming roast, top it with sprouts. It is important that the dish “comes into balance” so that its warm and refreshing properties are balanced. It would be a mistake to use a lot of hot seasonings every day, even if you are a vegetarian and always feel cold. As a result, individual organs will overheat and begin to dominate others, which will lead to an imbalance in the body. It's best to use small amounts of warming seasonings every day over a long period. This way, thermal energy will accumulate gradually, and the whole body will be able to tune in to it. The majority of your diet can consist of neutral foods, including whole grains and vegetables of your choice, because they themselves have a harmonizing effect on the body. As you become more familiar with the energy effects of food, you will first of all notice one thing: You will begin to listen to yourself and ask, what do I really need? No tables or systems can tell you with such accuracy as your own body what is really useful for you. If you are cold in winter and, nevertheless, force yourself to drink orange juice for breakfast because it contains a lot of vitamin C, then no one is to blame, it is only your choice.

Best regards, Earnwulf

Nutrition according to the five element system

“Nutrition according to the five element system is a natural and harmonious path to health. Unlike any new-fangled diet, it does not promise you instant results and does not require radical and health-threatening steps; however, by applying these principles in practice, you will gradually notice that you become sick less often and recover easier, that your sleep and weight are normalized, your sex life brings more and more pleasure, your children begin to study better, and you are increasingly lucky in life! » - this is how Barbara Temeli’s book “Nutrition according to the Five Elements System” begins, in which she systematized the thousand-year-old secrets of traditional Chinese medicine, which form a reliable basis for a nutritional system that has been proven for centuries, and is as relevant for modern people as for the ancient long-lived sages.

The nutrition program for weight loss is presented in a very interesting way. in the system of five elements. Losing weight is possible by restoring harmony in the body by consuming exactly those foods that balance the yin-yang in your body. Nutrition according to the five element system is a natural and harmonious path to health.

One of the aspects of the energy of food products is their connection with the Five Elemental Energies, which determines their “natural affinity” (gui jing) with certain organs of the physiological-energetic system. Among the many properties and phenomena associated with the Five Energies, the most directly related to food products are the Five Tastes, and Taoist alchemy classifies foods based on them. For example, if you have a weak liver, a Chinese doctor may suggest that you eat more Wood energy found in acidic foods; if the liver is overactive or inflamed, he will advise you to abstain from sour foods. In this regard, it is interesting to note that people who consume huge amounts of Earth's energy in the form of sugar and sweets very often suffer from chronic stomach diseases - high acidity, peptic ulcers, indigestion - and this may well be a consequence of an overload of the energy system of the Earth's organ (i.e. stomach) excess energy from sweets.

As you can see, food is not just meant to please the palate or please the eye. Yours your well-being, the clarity of your thinking, your adaptability to external and internal conditions - all this is most directly related to this or that energy that you release in your body due to your addiction to this or that food.

Don't forget that your mouth is your mouth, your stomach is your stomach, and your life is, after all, your life. All that is required of you is to learn how to combine foods correctly during each meal and, using the Tao of Diet, “eat” your way to health and happiness.

Food is energy, it, like any energy flow, goes through a cycle of transformation, or transfiguration. Everything we eat grows from the soil or is nourished by what it provides; the food is filled with the energy of the Earth. Everything that the earth gives is filled with Water. In addition, all processes of transportation and delivery of products to your home are associated with the energy of Water. Food is charged with Metal energy during the culinary preparation process (cutting, beating, straining, mixing, etc.). During the cooking process, Fire transforms food, charging it with new, stronger, active vital energy. Wood energy is the energy of growth and development, which literally fills you with vitality while eating. All these five elements should be presented in harmonious balance in the energy center of your home - in the kitchen and in culinary dishes. After all, if you cook food in conditions of energy imbalance or without taking into account it and your “spontaneous” qualities, it will turn out to be of poor energy quality.

Each product belongs to one of the five elements, and if you lack, for example, Fire, then it can be added to the body with any “fiery” food product. Each of the elements has its own type of energy and affects our body. Earth creates rotational, circular energy, it nourishes the fat layer (this, as you understand, in no way means that they should be excluded from your “losing weight” menu!), Fire is directed upward, it is responsible for blood and skin, Water tends downward, nourishing the lower part of the body, Metal - inward, therefore filling the internal organs with energy, and Wood - outward in a spiral, nourishing the upper part of the body.

The harmonious combination of elements requires that no movement exceed its optimal level.

If one element becomes dominant, the body begins to work incorrectly. The belonging of a product to one or another primary element can be determined by its color, smell and taste.

Tree Products

Color and taste: green or sour foods: broccoli, sorrel, cucumber, lemon, lime, vinegar.

Meat: Domestic bird.

Corn: wheat.

Fruits: peach.

Vegetables: all green vegetables.

Fire Products

Color and taste: red or spicy foods - beets, red peppers, tomatoes, radishes, horseradish, turnips, shrimp and other crustaceans, red wine.

Meat: mutton, lamb.

Corn: sticky millet.

Fruits: plum.

Vegetables: all red vegetables.

Products of the Earth

Color and taste: yellow (brown, orange) and sweet foods - curry, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkin, peanuts, orange peel, egg yolks, honey, sugar, orange juice and orangeade.

Meat: beef.

Corn: millet.

Fruits: apricot.

Vegetables: sweet onion

Metal Products

Color and taste: white or spicy foods - white rice, soybeans, bean curd, white fish, egg whites, milk, cream, yogurt, cabbage, ginger, allspice, mustard seed.

Meat: horsemeat.

Corn: rice.

Nuts: chestnut.

Vegetables: onion.

Water Products

Color and taste: black (dark) or salty foods - black beans, dark soy sauce, black pepper, black olives, dark dried and fresh mushrooms, fish sauce, salt.

Meat: pork.

Corn: beans or peas.

Fruits: date fruit.

Vegetables: leek.

But not only products “belong” to one or another element. People, as part of the universal energy flow, having been born at a certain point in time, also have the advantageous qualities of one or another energy element. And this “fact” should also be taken into account in order to eat harmoniously and... lose weight.

The ideal selection of menu for each specific person can only be compiled by a specialist, based on his natal chart (we can consider it the Chinese analogue of the personal horoscopes that are well known to us). If you are not going to comprehend Chinese philosophy and art so deeply, and from now on and forever live only by its Chinese rules, you can successfully practice the “European” version. Most often this is even preferable, since it is more in tune with our non-Chinese nature and food. Nutrition according to the system of five elements is a flexible teaching, since it “knows” harmony and endlessly changing energy. It only gives direction, guidelines, recommends and advises. Loving himself and the world around him and developing his intuition, any European can choose a “spontaneously” - harmonious diet, based on belonging to one of the primary elements, and the most favorable products listed below.

Tree People have a thin body, strong bones. To live a full life, they need to move a lot. This means that they need to eat a fairly “energetic” diet, but light enough so that the blood does not become thick and they do not “harden” (this is the reason why they may have problems with joint mobility).

Preferred foods for Tree people

Cereals:

Dairy products: avoid everyone.

Vegetable oils: avoid everyone.

Fruits and berries: dried fruits, apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries.

Vegetables: Eat all vegetables raw - cabbage, potatoes, peas, lettuce, spinach, parsley, celery, beans and olives.

Nuts: avoid.

Spices: ginger, saffron in minimal quantities.

Animal products: low-fat beef, pork, rabbit.

Soups: pea soup.

Sweetening products: avoid.

Fire People have a strong body and active blood circulation. “Fire” people must take a lot of energy because they give a lot of it.

Preferred foods for Fire people

Cereals: wheat, wheat germ, oats, barley, white rice.

Dairy products: milk, butter, ghee.

Vegetable oils: olive and sunflower.

Fruits: sweet fruits, soaked dried fruits and compote, melon, watermelon.

Vegetables: pumpkin, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, beans, parsley - roots and greens.

Spices: coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, dill.

Animal food: chicken, turkey, egg whites. Use when cooled.

Sweetening products: everything except honey and black molasses.

People of the Earth They have a dense build and rounded shape. They are characterized by sustainable energy. But this stability very easily makes the body obese and inactive. For normal metabolism they need to include fluids, otherwise the body will suffer.

Preferred foods for people of Earth

Cereals: corn, millet, rye, dark rice.

Dairy products: fermented milk products, cheese, buttermilk, sour cream.

Vegetable oils: almond, sesame, corn and olive oil.

Fruits and berries: grapefruit, sour oranges, quince, sea buckthorn, lemons, cotoneaster and others with a sour taste.

Vegetables: radishes, tomatoes, beets, onions, garlic (fried onions have the opposite properties).

Spices: ginger, cumin, cloves, salt, celery and mustard seeds, black pepper, red pepper.

Nuts: cashews, peanuts.

Animal food: beef, egg yolk, butter and red meat, lamb, fish, seafood.

Soups: nettle soup, radish soup.

Sweetening products: honey, black molasses.

Metal People fragile and often have reduced energy exchange. They need supportive nutrition that provides more active, yang energy.

Preferred Foods for Metal People

Cereals: rice, wheat, sprouted wheat prepared as bread or soup, flax grains.

Dairy products: all dairy products.

Vegetable oils: all types.

Fruits: all sweet fruits, melon, watermelon.

Vegetables(subject to mild heat treatment - stewing): beets, carrots, asparagus, new potatoes, cucumbers, stewed onions, dandelion, lettuce.

Nuts: all types.

Spices: onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cumin, salt, cloves, mustard seeds.

Food of animal origin: goose, duck, fish, crayfish, horse meat, chicken, lamb, eggs, seafood.

Soups: sprouted wheat soup, nettle soup, garlic soup, meat broth (in rare cases).

Sweetening products: honey, black molasses, cane sugar, natural syrups and preserves.

Water People dense and “raw”. Water people's own energy is weaker and leaves the body easily. They need more liquid food than other elements. Salt retains water in the body. But if there is a lot of salt, then the water will go into excess, and swelling will immediately begin.

Preferred Foods for Water People

Cereals: barley, corn, millet, buckwheat, rye, oats.

Dairy products: low fat milk, fresh butter, cheese whey.

Vegetable oils: olive oil.

Fruits and berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, cranberries, grapes, persimmons, quince, sea buckthorn; all dried fruits.

Vegetables: radishes, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, eggplants, green vegetables, lettuce, pumpkin, celery, spinach, parsley, beans, peas.

Spices: all spices except salt.

Animal food: chicken, lamb, eggs, sausage (all types of meat and sausage must be low-fat).

Sweetening products: honey.

Since the nutrition program according to the five elements system is the art of regulating the movement of energy, then food should also be harmonious. And harmony, as we have already said, comes from the balance of two opposites that form the vital energy of qi - yin and yang. All products, to one degree or another, are carriers of one of these two energies, as well as the primary elements. Dishes in which both energies, as well as the primary elements, are balanced are considered neutral.

Yang food is hot, fatty, fried, spicy, dry, and also of animal origin. Yang dishes are strength, masculinity, activity, they create internal warmth and stimulate blood circulation. For example, red meat and red wine have strong yang properties. Yang foods also include vegetables and fruits that ripen on the surface of the earth. Yin foods are cool, raw, soft, liquid, dark in color, and of plant origin. Yin dishes are feminine, supple, still, they calm and relax, and help relieve tension. Juices, milk, eggs and bean curd have yin properties. Root vegetables are also yin foods. And if both the above-ground and underground parts of a plant are edible, then what is underground is yin, and what is ripened under the sun is yang. Rice, although producing fruit on the surface, also has an equal amount of yin and yang because its grains are enclosed in a hard shell. But not everything is so simple. The process of boiling in water or steaming, for example, adds Yin energy to products, while frying and roasting over fire adds Yang energy. That's why energetically neutral, Equilibrium fish in itself when fried or baked is usually considered yang, but when boiled it is considered yin. Hot soup, due to its liquid content, is classified as a Yin dish. Crab and chicken meat, for example, are considered Yin foods, but duck and shrimp are considered Yang foods.

Yang (warm-hot): red meat, alcohol, coffee, chocolate, broccoli, ginger, creamy butter, shrimp, walnuts, hot pepper.

Neutral: pork, milk, sweet potatoes, peanuts, noodles, rice, dates, carrots, honey, most spices.

Yin (cool cold): crabs, chickens, seaweed, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, spinach, water or broth, mango, ice cream, bean curd, green tea.

By following such a nutrition program, foods and meals can and should be varied depending on your condition and energy needs. For example, a harmonious, balanced dish may consist of fried meat (yang), vegetable salad (yin) and neutral rice on the side. But sometimes it is necessary to compensate for an energy state that is disturbed in one direction or another: stock up on strength in advance or restore it, or, on the contrary, relax. In the first case, of course, active Yang dishes and products are suitable, in the second, of course, Yin ones.

In addition, each season, each time of year has its own energy background, its own “spontaneous” qualities, but we will talk about this separately.

In general, as you already understand, in this nutritional system there are no strict limits and strict dietary requirements or prohibitions, as is usually the case for a diet. It all depends on your well-being, intuition and desire. Creativity and harmony, energy and joy should become indispensable guests at your table. And no more “rations”, “calorie counters” and die-hard soulless diets!