The Qi To Health

Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Believe Balancing The Body’s Yin And Yang Is Essential To Good Health. But Hat Are These Beneficial Life Forces And How Do You Untap Them?

- Elli Jacobs

Food as therapy in traditional Chinese medicine is not only about preventing and treating illness, but also about taking care of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. When it comes to healthy eating, the Chinese have their own version of what’s good for our bodies, with beliefs strongly rooted in the more than 2000-year-old philosophy of Taoism.

As one of the oldest forms of ancient medicine in the world to have made the connection between food, nutrition and medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) aims to maintain holistic balance through diet.

Standing the test of time, these ancient principles of nutritional therapy have made a return to popularity as conventional medicine begins to recognise that what we eat can be the main way to keep our health, prevent disease, heal from illness and slow down the ageing process.

“In ancient times, the Chinese used food as the primary source of good health by, first and foremost, preventing illness,” explains Dr Karolina Cass, Chinese medicine practitioner and founder of Sacred Point Acupuncture.

“Over time they observed how people’s bodies reacted to different food properties physically, and how they felt both emotionally and energetically after eating. From there, they translated their findings into medicinal terms, which informed the early knowledge of ‘food is medicine,’ brought into the present day to treat and heal illness,” adds Dr Cass.

With this in mind, we look at how we can apply this ancient awareness to our modern diets.

“According to TCM, food – both for people and nature – is composed of qi (pronounced chi), the essential life force energy that flows through every living thing and shapes our health,” explains Kim Gatenby, doctor of Chinese medicine and fertility expert.