The Importance of a Healthy Relationship with Food

Humans need relationships to live — quite literally. This includes a healthy relationship with food.

Referring to our connection with food as a relationship can seem strange if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. Many people don’t think they have an affinity with food, but it may be more important than you realise. 

Why? Food encompasses many aspects of our lives, including our moods and overall well-being. It brings us together in social settings and can be tied to memories and emotions. This connection also means making a conscious effort to eat a variety of food that is fresh and nutritious. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) also believes in this concept. Let’s explore the importance of having a positive relationship with food and learn some tips to start your journey. 

Why is a Healthy Relationship with Food Important?

Proper nutrition and eating habits are an integral part of TCM. As with all its aspects, the TCM diet is holistic in its approach. It means more than simply making the right food choices as it considers your ability to digest and assimilate foods too.

Eu Yan Sang TCM Physician Kwek Le Yin reveals there are three reasons why it’s important to have a healthy relationship with food in TCM. 

1. It affects the body both physically and mentally 

The food we eat daily affects our physical and mental health. A healthy diet contributes to a sound body and mind. On the contrary, not paying attention to what you eat can lead to obesity and cause fatigue.

2. It balances the body 

TCM views food and medicine as originating from the same source – a concept called yao shi tong yuan (药食同源). Like medicine, food is believed to have healing properties, albeit in a much lower concentration than herbs. As a result, it takes longer for food to bring the body back to equilibrium.

At the same time, medicine can also put your body in an imbalanced state if not consumed in moderation (overdosage). It’s why it’s crucial to maintain a healthy relationship with food. 

3. It improves overall wellbeing 

TCM believes a healthy relationship with food can nourish your Spleen and stomach. It can improve the organs’ physiological functions to transform food into nutrients, which is transported along with water to other parts of the body.

Physician Kwek explains an unhealthy relationship with food can result in metabolic disorders, as well as bloating, fatigue, and watery stools due to a weakened Spleen. 

TCM Views on Food

In TCM, the saying “You are what you eat”, rings even truer. What you eat directly affects your body. Physician Kwek explains that TCM believes food, like herbs, has different natures based on their effects on your body. 

According to TCM, food can be classified into five natures: 

• Cold 
  Green beans, bitter gourd, lotus root, konjac, water spinach (kang kong), winter melon, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, Chinese radish, celery, water celery, lettuce, pear, bananas, sugarcane, mulberries, watermelon, pomelo, crab, clam, kombu, and seaweed.  

• Cool 
  Wheat, barley, red beans, tofu, winter melon, cucumber, tomato, eggplant, chinese radish, celery, water celery, water spinach, lettuce, apple, lemon, strawberries, mango, coconut, pork, duck eggs, milk, Chinese green tea, and Chinese white tea.  
• Neutral 
  Rice, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, soybeans, black beans, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, Chinese cabbage (大白菜), kale, orange, grapes, pineapples, mushrooms, black fungus, white fungus, bird’s nest, pig trotters, chicken eggs, quail eggs, and oysters.  
• Warm
  Glutinous rice, Chinese chives, coriander, onions, spring onions, peach, cherry, pomegranate, lychee, chicken, beef, pig’s stomach, prawn, Chinese Red tea. 
• Hot 
  Lamb, chili, durian, pepper, and dried ginger.

As mentioned in the ancient Chinese medical text Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, Cold symptoms should be treated by Heat while Cold should remedy Hot symptoms to achieve a balanced state. 

Heaty symptoms include sore throat, cough with yellow phlegm, ulcers, increased appetite and thirst, and a warm feeling. Meanwhile, Cold symptoms include cough with watery phlegm and feeling cold easily.

To know which kind of food to eat and avoid, see this table below: 

Body Constitution	Food to Eat	Food to Avoid
Yang  Yin Deficiency  Damp-Heat	Cold  Cool  Neutral	Warm  Heat
Yin  Yang Deficiency  Qi Deficiency	Warm  Hot  Neutral	Cold   Cool

How to Build Your Relationship with Food

According to TCM philosophy, one of the golden rules of health is never to take the extreme route. A balanced diet, where food is consumed in appropriate combinations based on their natures and flavours, supplements the essence that the human body needs. 

Physician Kwek suggests incorporating the following principles into your everyday life to create a healthy relationship with food. 

1. Eat at regular hours 
2. Eat moderately; no more food once you feel like you are 70% full 
3. It’s better to eat more often in smaller portions  
4. Only consume properly cleaned food 
5. Limit your intake of processed, oily food, and junk food 

How do you maintain a balance? The general rule is to bring your body back to equilibrium and listen to what your body says. “By paying more attention to how your body feels, it can provide a direction on what to eat and avoid,” Physician Kwek notes. 

Your food choices and the relationship you nurture or abuse will affect your body, mind, and emotions. For these reasons, paying attention to your connection with food is imperative. A great relationship with nutritious food can develop, just like your relationship with people, by constant tending to and frequent check-ins.

Have a tip about building a healthy relationship with food? Share your experience by leaving a comment below.