How to lift up your qi: The Chinese Way

Blog Post 4

April 20, 2015

Mark Markosyan

       Balance. The basic, fundamental principle of Chinese culture is the attitude of balance in all perspectives, including cooking. We have heard of Yin and Yang, the good mixed with bad and the bad mixed with good, but most people do not realize all parts of Chinese culture revolves around this. Your qi, the spiritual balance, is disrupted with environmental and physical injuries and stresses. That is why the Chinese started to make a whole new branch of their cuisine, for the reason of medicinal food to give people insight on what to eat for different health conditions and different environmental conditions. Ancient Chinese medical books list hundreds of plants, animals, and chemical ingredients and tell their specific effects on the human body. These books give ideas about the physical principals involved in human health, and they describe how herbs or special foods help people. For example, in the autumn it is recommended to eat Butternut Squash. In the autumn, life naturally ebbs away, and it is thought that the qi returns to the earth. In the human body, the qi goes inwards into the body’s core. Eating the vegetables and fruits that are available at these times helps your body to transition and stay healthy. Also, Chinese cuisine not only gives you recipes to eat healthy, but also how to eat healthy. There are steps and etiquette for a healthy way to feed your qi. Here are some principals for eating well according to Chinese traditional medicine. Avoid overly processed food and eat naturally. Eat seasonal vegetables and fruits.

Always make sure the vegetables are cooked. Sit down to eat at a quiet place and Chew the food well by eating slowly. The Chinese are very serious about their foods, which makes the cuisine that much more exciting!

Sources

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/medicinal-cuisine.htm