Nutrition
Food Therapy
Food therapy is an effective way to improve your health and maximize results from acupuncture and herbal treatment. In Chinese medicine foods are classified according to the body's response. When we treat patients with a condition, specific foods are suggested according to their health condition.
The earliest recorded writings on using food as prescribed medicine appears in the Chinese medical classic, Huang di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine) which dates to 500 BC. In this book, food is classified into four food groups, five tastes, and then by their temperature. This early organization of foods as medicine is continued today in the practice of food therapy. Then as now, we know that what we eat has a profound impact on how we feel. Finding ways to focus on seasonal foods, soups and teas offer an easy way of affecting our metabolism, lowering inflammation and pain, improving energy, and promoting health.
Thinking of adding herbs to your diet? Consider a consultation to talk with us about recipes that support your health, cooking techniques and getting your supplies. At MetroWestWhole Health we carry a number of organic, quality grains and herbs.
Many of us struggle with inflammation and uncontrolled inflammatory responses: seasonal allergies, intestinal complaints, muscle pain and injury, to name a few. Diet and lifestyle make a profound difference managing and resolving inflammatory conditions. For more information on dealing with these issues please call the office. Article on Magnesium and inflammation.
Why Porridge?
Warm and easy to digest, soups and porridges are wonderful foods to eat regularly. And if you're getting a cold, they're simply essential for a quick recovery! Rice porridge, is alternately known as congee in Hong Kong (or wherever the Brits asserted cultural influence in East Asia), or zhou in Mainland China (that's in Mandarin, the official language of China), or jook in southern China (as it's pronounced in Cantonese). This grain-based stew is the basis for many nutritious meals in Chinese diet therapy. Congee can be eaten as part of any meal or as a meal itself. Savory or slightly sweet, plain or dressed up, congee can satisfy and warm the body in any season. You may be interested to know that in China when soup is eaten with a meal, it is eaten at the end of the meal to aid digestion.
Basic Porridge Recipe
Congee is easy to cook and wonderfully satisfying anytime of year. Take a peek at the links below and let us know what you think.
Links to Other Congee Recipes
From Cooking Light
On the "appetite for China" blog
Congee & Other Homemade Chinese Soups
On the homemade Chinese soups web site
Award-winning cookbook author's congee recipe
Personal Views on Congee
Asian comfort food restaurant trend in San Francisco
Article from the San Francisco Chronicle, October 12, 2005
A traveler's research about Asia's ubiquitous rice porridge
Medical Perspectives on Congee
Wikipedia, an open online encyclopedia, provides definitions and links to relevant information
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89 Main Street, Suite 211 | Medway, MA 02053 | 508.533.0808 | info@metrowestwholehealth.com
