Chinese Medicine Food Energetics

One of the most fundamental concepts of Chinese dietary therapy is that of “food energetics.” This term refers to the nature and flavour of foods, drinks, and herbal medicines and how they affect the body.

Let’s take a closer look at what this means and why it is important to understand the energetics of the food we eat.

Nature

The term “nature” in this sense refers to the innate temperature of foods (not the temperature at which they are served). It is a direct translation of the Chinese word xing (性), meaning “nature,” “character,” or “disposition.”

Foods can be classified as hot, warm, neutral, cool, or cold in nature. Unsurprisingly, hot foods are effective at heating the body while cold foods are effective at cooling it down. Warm and cool foods have similar but less pronounced effects, while neutral foods are more balanced.

It is relatively straightforward to determine the nature of food, as we typically feel either warming or cooling effects fairly quickly after consumption. Some of the most obvious examples are spices like chilli, cinnamon, and ginger, which are hot, and watery fruits and vegetables like cucumber, melon, and citrus fruit, which are cold.

A person may be encouraged to eat more warming or cooling foods, depending on whether their constitution is more yin or yang. This can help to maintain harmony within the body and promote good health. However, it is important to keep this in balance and not solely consume foods that are either hot or cold, as this can also lead to issues down the line.

Flavour

The flavour of food is also fairly easy to understand, although the effect of different flavours on the body is perhaps less obvious.

In Chinese medicine, there are five flavours: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent. Each of these is said to have a particular affinity with one of the zang organs, the Spleen, Liver, Kidney, Heart, and Lung, respectively.

Moreover, each of the five flavours has additional effects on the body. For example, sweet foods are said to be nourishing and harmonising. Sour foods are astringent and help to retain moisture in the body. Salty foods soften and dissolve masses. Bitter foods drain downwards and have a diuretic, detoxifying effect. Finally, pungent foods move energy upwards and outwards to improve circulation.

It is important to eat a balance of all five flavours, although sometimes it might be helpful to increase the consumption of one or two and reduce the consumption of others. For example, in yang deficiency, a person might be encouraged to eat more sweet and pungent foods. However, pungent foods would be less appropriate for someone with yin deficiency, who should focus more on sweet, sour, and salty flavours.

Route

The final element to consider is a food’s route in the body, that is, which organs it enters and, therefore, affects most significantly. This can be harder to determine and may require some knowledge of Chinese medicine to understand.

A couple of ways to predict a food’s route include its colour and its shape. Each zang organ has an associated colour, and foods of that colour often have a direct effect. For example, yellow and orange squashes and root vegetables are said to nourish the Spleen. Green leafy vegetables are said to benefit the Liver. Dark-coloured foods are said to support the Kidney. Red foods are said to nourish the Heart. Finally, white foods are said to benefit the Lung.

Some foods also have a shape reminiscent of the organ it primarily affects. For example, cherries enter the Heart, while black beans and kidney beans enter the Kidney.

However, these methods are not completely reliable. Therefore, it is a good idea to eat a wide range of different coloured and shaped foods to ensure all of our organs are nourished. This is in line with western nutrition, which recommends we eat a variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables to ensure we benefit from their numerous natural pigments, which have many health-promoting effects.

One of the best ways for anyone to ensure health is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of variety. However, understanding the energetics of food as well as your own constitution means you can tailor your diet to your individual needs. For personalised guidance, book a consultation today.

References

• Leggett D (2005) Helping Ourselves (second edition) - Meridian Press, Totnes

• Legget D (2025) Qi Nutrition Online Course