Chinese medicine is based on using specifically tailored treatments to focus on countering or balancing a patient's constitution and the symptoms of their disease or disorder. It isn't just masking symptoms. Nor is it trying to match a pill to a patient's symptoms. Its about treating, what the Chinese call, the root and the branch of the disease. Treatments will include dietary recommendations that enhance the other treatment strategies that are being used to restore a patient's health and wellness. This has always made perfect sense to me. Unlike most patients who first begin using Chinese medicine to address their health concerns, I know what my underlying constitution is and what treatment options are best suited for me. That includes diet or food choices.
One of the things I do with every patient is educate him or her in a similar fashion so that, when they are not in my office, they will have the necessary tools to make good food choices for themselves. I do this so that they're not working against my treatments. It's important to me that I am doing everything I can to empower patients with good information so that their treatments are as robust as possible. I think most of the time patients, in traditional medical practices, are not getting any good resources and are, rather, receiving poor or no information.
Each season of the year has environmental attributes that play a factor in what food choices are best suited for an individual. What this means is we can't eat the same foods all year long. If we don't adjust our diets then we're setting ourselves up for a breakdown of our health and wellness.
Getting back to my personal story, I tend to have a constitution that is aggravated by the heat of the summer months. To counter the heats affect on my body I need to eat foods that have a cooling nature. So, here is a typical summer breakfast. Lots of fruit, a little protein, a little Mrs. Dash or mild salsa on the eggs and a couple of cups of green tea to wash it all down. Yummy!
