In the West, we think we know all about vitamins, minerals, fats and carbohydrates—so why aren’t we healthy? One way back to nutritional wellness can be found in the East Asian tradition, which has been taking care of wellbeing through food for thousands of years. Therefore, we turned to complementary wellness expert Mika Ono, author of Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East, for her Eastern healthy eating tips.
1. Balance Is Beautiful: According to Ono, ‘In the West, we can be found casually eliminating whole food groups, say fats or carbohydrates, or trying to exist on a single type of food (the grapefruit diet, anyone?). That’s an anathema in the East, where we’re advised to pursue balance in our bodies and in our minds by eating a variety of foods to maintain health. No single ingredient or kind of ingredient is vilified or consumed to excess. As one Chinese proverb says, “Sour, sweet, bitter, pungent: all must be tasted.” Food is also used to bring balance between the individual and his or her natural cycles and parts of the environment. Particular foods are thought to counteract an individual’s personal tendency toward, say, restlessness or fatigue, and different choices are recommended for different seasons.
2. Take Your Temperature: ‘Are you the kind of person who runs cold?’ asks Ono. ‘Or do you tend to feel hot? What is the weather like outside? According to the East Asian tradition, the answers to these questions can help guide your healthiest food choices. In the interest of balance, traditional Chinese medicine advises people who tend to run cold to gravitate towards “warm” foods and spices. This refers not only to the food’s physical temperature, but also to its effects on the body (think of breaking a sweat when you eat a curry). On the warmer end of the spectrum are foods and herbs such as ginger, chili peppers, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, green onions, and walnuts. Warm foods are also especially appropriate in the winter or an unusually cold day. Similarly, people who tend to run hot or who are in a hot environment are advised to consume more cool foods (think of the tingly cool sensation you experience when consuming a mint beverage). In addition to mint, cool foods and herbs include citrus, tofu, milk, lettuce, celery, cucumber and tomato.’
3. Colour Counts: Ono notes, ‘In the world of natural foods, traditional Chinese medicine teaches us to try to consume foods of various colours—purple eggplant, red tomatoes, green spinach, black sea vegetables, white garlic and yellow squash, for example—to fortify different parts of our bodies and to balance each other’s beneficial properties. By paying attention to this rainbow of hues, Chinese food therapy transforms what we in the West often lump into a few categories, say “fruits” and “vegetables,” into patterns more complex and inviting. Interestingly, scientific studies have related phytochemicals in coloured plant foods to their healthful effects. For example, red tomatoes, peppers and watermelon contain lycopene (linked to cancer prevention); orange and yellow fruits such as squash, carrots and apricots possess beta carotene (which may reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease); and white garlic and onions contain a number of sulphides (which may possess anti-bacterial, anti-cancer and immune enhancing qualities).’
4. Raw Might Not Be Better: ‘In our society where over-processed foodstuff is encountered at every turn, members of the raw food movement need to be applauded for getting back to basics,’ says Ono. ‘However, assuming that you are selecting natural, mostly organic foods to begin with, traditional Chinese medicine would recommend a different approach in the kitchen. According to this tradition, cold, raw food such as salads are particularly hard on the digestion and should be eaten in moderation.’
