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Ker je danes na voljo veliko teorij zdrave prehrane, je težko vedeti, kaj je dejansko dobro za naše telo. Tu je pogled na hrano, popolnoma drugačen in kot tak je uveljavljen že tisoče let.
Tekom življenja v svetu z neštetimi teorijami zdrave prehrane je težko zanesljivo vedeti, kaj je res dobro za naše telo. Maslo je slabo, maslo je dobro; nizkokalorična kokakola je dobra, nizkokalorična kokakola je slaba; surova hrana je slaba, surova hrana je dobra.
Naš pogled na to, kaj je zdrava hrana, se ves čas spreminja. To je odvisno od najnovejših ugotovitev kliničnih raziskav. Vemo vse o maščobah, ogljikovih hidratih, beljakovinah, mineralih in vitaminih. Vendar ne glede na to, kako napreduje naše znanje o hrani, vedno obstajajo študije, ki uvajajo nekaj novega in ovržejo določene prehranske teorije. Kaj v resnici potrebuje naše telo? Izgleda, da je to vprašanje, na katerega nikoli ne bomo mogli najti odgovora.
Kitajci imajo svoj odgovor na zdravo prehrano s koncepti, ki so močno povezani s tradicionalno kitajsko medicino. Verjetno so najbolj trdni podporniki reka "Si tisto, kar ješ," ne glede na to, ali res ta nasvet upoštevajo.
Posvetovala sem se s kitajskim zdravnikom v Hongkongu, Chan-om Kei-fat-om, in Guo-om Qiming-om, zdravnikom iz Pekinga, ki ima trgovino v Kölnu, in ju prosila, da opišeta, v kolikšni meri so hrana in zdravila povezana in v kolikšni meri so ti koncepti primerni za uporabo zunaj Kitajske.
Štirje značaji hrane
Znotraj tradicionalne kitajske medicine so živila razdeljena na pet vrst, ki jih imenujemo "siqi": mrzla, hladna, neutralna, topla in vroča. Značaj živil ni odvisen od njihove dejanske temperature, temveč od tega, kakšne učinke imajo na človeško telo po zaužitju. Ko človek neprestano uživa eno vrsto hrane, to v telesu ustvari neravnovesje, kar vpliva na imunski sistem. Tako je eden od ključnih dejavnikov kitajske medicine ohranjanje našega telesa "nevtralnega".
Hrana, ki je topla in vroča, prinaša toploto v naša telesa - npr. govedina, kava, ingver, pekoči čiliji in ocvrta hrana - medtem ko mrzla in hladna hrana hladi naša telesa - pomislite na solato, sir, zeleni čaj in pivo. Med nevtralna živila spada hrana, kot so olje, riž, svinjina in večina vrst rib. Oseba, ki ima v telesu preveč toplote, se običajno počuti vroče, se ves čas znoji, je čemerna, ima otekel jezik ali bi lahko bila zaprta. Ljudje, ki imajo v telesu preveč mraza, so videti bledi, imajo hladne roke in stopala, lahko se počutijo šibke ali imajo slabo prekrvavitev. Ko se to zgodi, nam telo sporoča, da naj prenehamo jesti tovrstno hrano.
Ena rešitev ni primerna za vse
Tako kot imamo vsi različne osebnosti, imamo tudi vsi različne telesne konstitucije (tizhi). Tako kot ne morete komunicirati z vsemi ljudmi na enak način, tudi svojega telesa ne moremo hraniti z isto hrano na enak način.
Vsaka vrsta hrane, odvisno od njenih lastnosti, lahko stanje izboljša ali poslabša. "Ni snovi, ki bi bila dobra za vsakogar. Mnogi menijo, da je ingver zdrav, toda če ste že tako precej suha oseba in imate v telesu veliko toplote, velja, da več ingverjevega čaja popijete, bolj sušni postanete, " tako pravi Guo.
Jejte sezonsko
Sezona in letni čas v letu sta še en dejavnik pri izbiri hrane. Na primer, pomlad je na Kitajskem pogosto mokra in lepljiva, kar pomeni, da potrebujemo živila, ki lahko odstranijo vlago v našem telesu, kot so koruza, beli fižol in čebula. Poletje je vroče, zato potrebujemo hrano, ki nas hladi, npr. lubenica in kumare. Jesen je suha, kar pomeni, da za naše "vlaženje" potrebujemo hrano, npr. snežni grah in med. Zima je hladna, zato potrebujemo hrano, ki greje telo, npr. govedino ali kozice.
V globaliziranem svetu lahko zlahka kupimo hrano, ki ni sezonska. Toda TKM meni, da to morda ni najboljši način prehranjevanja, saj nam sezonska hrana nudi hranila, ki jih v tisti sezoni potrebujemo. Na splošno, podoben koncept obstaja tudi v zahodnem svetu.
Pomembno je tudi podnebje
Klima v kraju lahko vpliva tudi na našo izbiro hrane. Npr., Guo je za provinco Sečuan na Kitajskem rekel: "(Sečuan) je provinca, v kateri je podnebje zelo mokro in hladno. Tako ljudje v Sečuanu radi jedo pekočo hrano, saj se zaradi pikantne hrane znojimo in tako odstranjujemo vlago iz našega telesa. " Dodal je še, da če bodo ljudje iz območij zmernega podnebja pojedli preveč pikantne hrane, bo telo prevroče, kar ni ravno zdravo.
Iskanje zlate sredine
Navsezadnje, kaj se smatra za zdravo, česa se bi bilo potrebno izogibati? V tradicionalni kitajski medicini je vsako živilo hranljivo in dokler zdrav človek ne zaužije preveč določene hrane, ni nič nezdravo. Kitajski filozofi nam pravijo, naj vedno uporabljamo "zlato sredino"; nikoli ne pretiravajmo. V tradicionalni kitajski medicini je tudi pomembno, da ne zaužijete prevelikih količin hrane (le do sedemdeset odstotkov vaših zmogljivosti) in da uživamo hrano zmerne temperature, da se izognete preobremenjevanju prebavnih organov. Na koncu gre za ravnovesje. V kitajščini obstaja pregovor: "Pet zrn zagotavlja hranljivost. Pet zelenjavnih živil zagotavlja sitost. Pet domačih živali nudi obogatitev. Pet sadežev nudi podporo." To pomeni uravnotežena prehrana, kjer se živila uživajo v ustreznih kombinacijah glede na njihov značaj in okus, in tako dopolnjuje bistvo, ki ga človeško telo potrebuje. Avtor Hang-Shuen Lee, za DW.com https://p.dw.com/p/1G7iJ
prevod: Tajda Kolenc
vir fotografij: internet
Healthy eating in traditional Chinese medicine
With so many healthy diet theories flying around these days, it can be hard to know what is actually good for our bodies. Here's a completely different view of food, one that's been established for thousands of years.
Living in a world with countless healthy diet theories flying around, it's sometimes hard to know what is really good for our bodies. Butter is bad, butter is good; diet coke is good, diet coke is bad; raw food is bad, raw food is good.
Our views on healthy food change all the time, often depending on the newest clinical research findings. We know all about fat, carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and vitamins, but no matter how advanced our knowledge on food is, there are always studies that introduce something new and diet theories that get debunked. What do our bodies really need? That's a question to which we could never seem to find an answer.
The Chinese have their own answer to healthy eating, with concepts strongly related to traditional Chinese medicine. They are probably the most hard-core supporters of the saying “You are what you eat,” regardless of whether they really follow that advice.
I asked a Chinese Medical Practitioner in Hong Kong, Chan Kei-fat, and Guo Qiming, a practitioner from Beijing with a shop in Cologne, to describe to what extent food and medicine are related, and to what extent are these concepts applicable to places outside China.
The four natures of food
In traditional Chinese medicine, food is divided into five natures, called "siqi": cold, cool, neutral, warm and hot. The nature of food is not determined by their actual temperature, but rather by what effects they have on a person's body after consumption. When a person continually eats one type of food, it creates an imbalance in their body and affects their immune system. Thus, one of the keys in Chinese medicine is to keep our body "neutral."
Foods that are warm and hot bring heat to our bodies -- e.g. beef, coffee, ginger, hot chilies and fried foods -- while cold and cool foods cool down our bodies-- think of salad, cheese, green tea, and beer. Neutral foods are foods like oil, rice, pork and most kinds of fish.
A person who has too much heat in their body usually feels hot, sweats all the time, is grumpy, has a swollen tongue, or could be constipated. People who have too much cold in their bodies appear pale, have cold hands and feet, might feel weak, or have bad blood circulation. When this happens, we are advised to stop eating that kind of food.
One size does not fit all
Just like we all have different personalities, we also all have different body constitutions (tizhi). And just like you cannot communicate with all people in the same way, we also cannot feed our bodies with the same food in the same way.
Each type of food, depending on its nature, might better or worsen the situation. "There is no substance which is good for anybody. Many consider ginger to be healthy, but when you are already a very dry person and you have so much heat in your body, the more ginger tea you drink, the drier you get," says Guo.
Eat according to season
The season and time of year is another factor when it comes to food choices. For instance, spring is often wet and sticky in China, which means we need food that can take away the dampness in our body, such as corn, white beans and onion.
Summer is hot, so we need food to cool us down, such as watermelon and cucumber. Autumn is dry, which means we need food to "lubricate" us, such as snow peas and honey. Winter is cold, so we need food which warms up the body, such as beef or shrimps.
In the globalized world, one can easily buy foods that are not in season. But TCM suggests that it might not be the best way to feed ourselves, since seasonal foods bring us the nutrition that we need in that particular season. A similar concept also exists generally in the western world.
Climate also matters
The climate of a place can also affect our food choices. For example, Guo said, the Sichuan province in China: "(Sichuan) is a province where the climate is very wet and cold. So, Sichuan people love to eat spicy food since spicy food makes us sweat and thus removes the dampness in our body." He added that if people from temperate areas eat too much spicy food, the body will be too hot, which is not very healthy.
Finding the golden mean
At the end of the day, what is considered to be healthy, what should be avoided? In traditional Chinese medicine, every food is nutritious, and as long as a healthy person doesn't eat too much of any food, nothing is unhealthy. Chinese philosophers tell us always to take the "golden means"; never take extremes. In traditional Chinese medicine, it's also important not to eat too much (only up to seventy percent of your capacity), and have food that is in a moderate temperature, so as to avoid overstraining the digestive organs.
This also applies to food. After all, it's all about balance.
There's a saying in Chinese: "The five grains provide nourishment. The five vegetables provide the filling. The five domestic animals provide enrichment. The five fruits provide support." It means a balanced diet, where foods are consumed in appropriate combinations according to their natures and flavors, serves to supplement the essence that the human body needs.
Author Hang-Shuen Lee for DW.com
https://p.dw.com/p/1G7iJ