The Five Flavors and your Health

Hello, my friends,
Today's post has information from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) as it relates to foods, more specifically, flavors.
The five flavors of food include sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and salty.

Sweet foods, such as sugar and honey, will neutralize the toxic effects of other foods; however, they also affect the stomach and spleen, and they can cause digestive disturbances and lead to weight gain.

Sour foods,  such as pears and plums, can prevent diarrhea or excessive perspiration within the body, and they affect the gallbladder and liver.

Pungent foods, such as parsley and chives, affect the large intestine and lungs and promote the circulation of energy within the body.

Bitter foods, such as lettuce and hops are important for the small intestine and heart and are recommended to reduce body heat.

Salty foods, such as kelp and seaweed are know to affect the bladder and kidneys, and they can prevent hardening of glands and muscles and are used to treat conditions such as tuberculosis.

There are also 4 directions related to the energy of food as it affects the body.
Inward moving foods are typically good in the Winter and include kelp, hops, and lettuce.
Outward moving foods are great for the Summer and include dried ginger and cinnamon bark.
Downward moving foods are good for the Fall which include barley, eggplant, and cucumber.
Upward moving foods are usually eaten in the Spring and include cabbage, celery, sunflower seeds and sweet potato.

 All of this information is not exclusive, that is, don't feel that these are the only foods that you can eat during the seasons. What you can do, however, is include some of them in your diet to facilitate how your body uses its energy to improve your immune system and to help it run with less effort.

Happy Qi to all of you!

Tom