Yin & Yang Foods

[Fa Xin]

Lately, the idea of balancing out the yin/yang properties of food have intrigued me.

 

Not knowing much about TCM, I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable people could share some insights and information regarding the yin/yang classification of foods and teas.

 

Also, some possible signs and markers of which "side" (yin/yang) you may be deficient in.

 

I think this is a great and basic way to start to enter the world of TCM, while also providing some basic health benefits.

[Fa Xin]

I'll start it off ... I drink a lot of Ginger tea, mainly for the digestive benefits.  This would be a yang tea.  I find I only "crave" it in the winter time or the cold season.

 

I'm a big fan of teas (herbal and otherwise)... Any suggestions for Yin tea blend?

[thelerner]

hmnn, in summer I drink hibiscus type tea/tissanes, things like Zinger brand.  They seem cooling, light and pleasant, so yin.  I'll often mix a bag or two of regular tea with them when I make a pitcher of iced tea. 

In winter my go to tea is gen mai, roasted green tea with puffed rice in it.  It's sweet, earthy and filling, warming and satisfying (cheap too), so in my book its yang and compliments the yin of winter. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by thelerner

[dawei]

Try Chamomile tea ... I was shown to mix in Lotus Root to balance it... but alone is good at night. 

[Superfaz29]

Everything changed once I began meditating. My personality, my habits and diet changed drastically. I can no longer eat pork for instance, not because I don't care for it, but because it gives me heartburn so intensely, I cannot function until I have a shot of apple cider vinegar. Artificial sweeteners, soda, high calorie desserts, pizza, and everything that is not simple or natural food has the same effect. Think it has a lot to do with pH levels in the body and it seems like whenever I intake naturally alkaline foods or that produce an alkaline reaction in the body has very energizing and rejuvenating effects on the body. Seems that from what I have researched pH levels in foods determines their yin/yang qualities.

 

A man by the name of Otto Warburg, won the Nobel prize in 1931 for discovering that keeping the body in an alkaline state gives cancer an environment that it cannot metastasize in. He actually cured various types of cancer by raising the alkalinity in patient's blood to a healthy alkaline level. 

 

Meditation and seeking enlightenment to return to the creator while here on Earth forces our bodies to eradicate all harmful intake and habits so that a yogi can enrich their bodily temples to live long enough to achieve higher levels of immortality. I stopped drinking alcohol 5 years ago, don't take any medications, try to eat as healthy as possible, and go to the gym 7 days a week. I have not been sick in as long and have no issues exposing myself to viral or bacterial infected friends or family since I know we can cure ourselves with a simple thought and faith in God.

[Fa Xin]

23 hours ago, Superfaz29 said:

Everything changed once I began meditating. My personality, my habits and diet changed drastically. I can no longer eat pork for instance, not because I don't care for it, but because it gives me heartburn so intensely, I cannot function until I have a shot of apple cider vinegar. Artificial sweeteners, soda, high calorie desserts, pizza, and everything that is not simple or natural food has the same effect. Think it has a lot to do with pH levels in the body and it seems like whenever I intake naturally alkaline foods or that produce an alkaline reaction in the body has very energizing and rejuvenating effects on the body. Seems that from what I have researched pH levels in foods determines their yin/yang qualities.

 

A man by the name of Otto Warburg, won the Nobel prize in 1931 for discovering that keeping the body in an alkaline state gives cancer an environment that it cannot metastasize in. He actually cured various types of cancer by raising the alkalinity in patient's blood to a healthy alkaline level. 

Very very interesting post, I never knew that about the Alkaline levels...

 

[Fa Xin]

On 4/13/2018 at 5:40 PM, dawei said:

Try Chamomile tea ... I was shown to mix in Lotus Root to balance it... but alone is good at night. 

 

Balance what exactly? The taste or the properties?

 

I've heard Chrysanthemum tea is very "yin" ... I enjoy it alot but always drink it sweet...

[Fa Xin]

On 4/13/2018 at 5:32 PM, thelerner said:

hmnn, in summer I drink hibiscus type tea/tissanes, things like Zinger brand.  They seem cooling, light and pleasant, so yin.  I'll often mix a bag or two of regular tea with them when I make a pitcher of iced tea. 

In winter my go to tea is gen mai, roasted green tea with puffed rice in it.  It's sweet, earthy and filling, warming and satisfying (cheap too), so in my book its yang and compliments the yin of winter. 

 

I enjoy Genmai cha ... usually I roll with Gunpowder Green, but it's a nice change for sure.

I've always thought Green Tea was Yin ... However, Rice is said to be yang ... so that's a cool way of balancing the drink out...

[dawei]

1 hour ago, Fa Xin said:

 

Balance what exactly? The taste or the properties?

 

I've heard Chrysanthemum tea is very "yin" ... I enjoy it alot but always drink it sweet...

 

Now to try and explain my memory... I think Chry was meant to balance the lotus root... which the latter has many properties which can be looked up.    I agree CHry is very yin...  but try not to sweeten it

 

[Fa Xin]

3 hours ago, dawei said:

...  but try not to sweeten it

 

Your no fun ... 😛

[Try]

which chry has better properties? I tried brewing full bloomed and it's like drinking dirt.

The bud ones are nicer in taste and have a slight sweet taste as it is.

[Kara_mia]

On 4/13/2018 at 1:49 PM, Fa Xin said:

I'll start it off ... I drink a lot of Ginger tea, mainly for the digestive benefits.  This would be a yang tea.  I find I only "crave" it in the winter time or the cold season.

 

I'm a big fan of teas (herbal and otherwise)... Any suggestions for Yin tea blend?

Ginger tea is a yang tea indeed. And it should mostly be drank in the winter time or cold seasons, so you "craving" for it in those seasons is very reasonable. As for yin tea - all green tea is yin. Also rooibos tea is yin.

As a rule of thumb, everything that makes you feel warm and energized is yang, and anything that makes you feel chilled, calm are yin. Milk for example is yin.

[Fa Xin]

3 minutes ago, Kara_mia said:

Ginger tea is a yang tea indeed. And it should mostly be drank in the winter time or cold seasons, so you "craving" for it in those seasons is very reasonable. As for yin tea - all green tea is yin. Also rooibos tea is yin.

As a rule of thumb, everything that makes you feel warm and energized is yang, and anything that makes you feel chilled, calm are yin. Milk for example is yin.

Solid post, and just the type of info I was hoping for. Thanks. 

 

Suffice it to say, that someone who feels cold a lot, or tired... could do well to drink something like ginger tea? Or other yang things?

[Kara_mia]

11 minutes ago, Fa Xin said:

Solid post, and just the type of info I was hoping for. Thanks. 

 

Suffice it to say, that someone who feels cold a lot, or tired... could do well to drink something like ginger tea? Or other yang things?

It depends... For example, ginger tea is great to warm up but it is also quite depleting. I mean, when you got cold, drinking ginger infusion would help you to recover quick but at the expense of spending your inner energy. When you feel tired it is wrong to drink something like ginger tea - this actually against yin and yang. If a person feels tired, it means a cycle/rhythm changed, from wakeful working state to resting state. The best thing in this case would be to have rest - either to walk alone in nature, or have some good food and nice tea, no reading, no Internet, no forums

If you feel cold a lot or tired often, that means lack of energy due to wrong day regimen and tension. Ginger tea could be an option if you got cold because of the weather or was caught by a rain but it should not be overused.

[Fa Xin]

10 minutes ago, Kara_mia said:

It depends... For example, ginger tea is great to warm up but it is also quite depleting. I mean, when you got cold, drinking ginger infusion would help you to recover quick but at the expense of spending your inner energy. When you feel tired it is wrong to drink something like ginger tea - this actually against yin and yang. If a person feels tired, it means a cycle/rhythm changed, from wakeful working state to resting state. The best thing in this case would be to have rest - either to walk alone in nature, or have some good food and nice tea, no reading, no Internet, no forums

If you feel cold a lot or tired often, that means lack of energy due to wrong day regimen and tension. Ginger tea could be an option if you got cold because of the weather or was caught by a rain but it should not be overused.

 

Ok, thanks for your suggestion. It was more a hypothetical scenario, but you raise good points. 

[thelerner]

What's the word on Mint teas?  Similar to ginger?

They tend to be a goto tea when I'm feeling cold and damp. 

 

[Aetherous]

Fresh albizzia flower (he huan hua) tea. It's comforting and relaxing...I guess I'd say it promotes peace in a subtle way. I felt that it made the renmai vibrate...but maybe that was just a one-off experience. Only problem - it requires living where those trees grow. I don't think the dried version of he huan hua is nearly as good for drinking as a tea.

I also prefer my white chrysanthemum tea with the fresh flower, rather than dried...and never the yellow kind for making tea. You can also chew on the fresh white flower petals, which are gently sweet, and you'll feel it affecting the eyes and making them tingle. I think this benefits our vision, both physically and metaphorically.

Lately I tried reishi prepared in a certain way. I've heard that if you steam it fully then dry it 9 times before using it, it really allows the true "spiritual" effects to come out. Well, I am pretty lazy and only steamed and dried it once...but I think it was much less bitter due to the steaming, and also had an effect on the mind that was stronger. Or maybe that was just me on that day...but I got some pretty strong visions before going to bed. After the steamings, it's beneficial to let it soak in cold water for a good amount of time (like 2 to 24 hours) then low boil/simmer for at least 2 hours. I plan to try the actual 9x steaming, and compare its effects and taste to unprepared, cooked for the same amount of time.

 

...

 

I think an important (essential!) aspect of drinking various tisanes for longevity purposes is the setting and atmosphere. For instance, you can't expect to drink reishi and become integrated/getting insights/feeling connected to the universe, if you're drinking it on the city bus on the way back to work after lunch break. That's too chaotic.

It should be during a time when you've accomplished all of your daily tasks and have nothing more to do except chill, in the evening with the windows open, curled up so that you're gently warm, with the lights low or looking up at the stars, or something...that's much more conducive to experiencing it and actually getting some benefit.

I had a good experience when I shared the fresh albizzia flower tea with some friends, as we sat under a covering while it poured rain outside, listening to it and smelling the freshness of the rain. So that's another example of how setting can make the experience life altering.

 

...

 

Regarding what foods are yin vs yang...perhaps the easiest way is to classify based on the temperature of the item. For instance, hot pepper is obviously "hot" or yang. Aloe is cooling, so it's yin. Interesting about those two, hot peppers tend to be dry and are drying...aloe tends to be moistening...we can also say yang vs yin for those qualities.

Other aspects of the food to consider: what is its flavor? This is usually categorized based on five elements, rather than yin vs yang. Sweet/bland/moistening is earth, etc. There are differing ideas about how to classify the flavors, some saying that wood element is acrid, others saying that it's sour, etc...so this requires some deeper study and reflection.

Sometimes "flavor" isn't what it tastes like, but merely represents the action it has on the body. So that's another thing to consider...what is this thing known to do for people? For instance, pregnant women use ginger to quell nausea and even vomiting, and others use it to help promote digestion during meals.

Then there is the doctrine of signatures, where we see that ginger root is a yellow color, so we can surmise that it impacts the earth element...the stomach (which deals with nausea, digestion, etc). We could also look at the plant itself, and see that it may have a warming effect based on the color.



(^ that's a ginger plant! How beautiful!)

All things are made up of all of the five elements and yin and yang, more or less. When it's "less", meaning that it's more predominant in some aspects, then it becomes something kind of imbalancing to use as a food item and is more like a medicine. Ginger is a bit imbalancing due to being warming and spicy, but it's not too bad. Not like sichuan pepper, which isn't harmonious due to being quite hot and spicy.

When it's "more", meaning that the five elements and yin and yang are more in harmony, then it's good for using as food or drink, and is good for longevity.

...

As for what a person knows they need, in terms of yin or yang, etc... diagnosis is very complicated, and there can be seemingly conflicting signs and symptoms. For instance, you can feel hot but actually be cold and in need of warming things.

So I think what's most important is:

 

1) Intuition rather than partial knowledge. What seems most harmonious for you to consume? What feels right? Are you guided toward eating something in particular...maybe you need it?

 

Rather than, "I've heard _____ does _____, so I'm going to have a bunch of it because I know what I'm doing!" or "____ is unhealthy because ____, so I'm going to never have any of it!"

 

2) Results matter. Your experience determines what's beneficial for you or not. Does it make you feel healthier, make any negative symptoms go away, etc? Then you know that you need that thing for your yin yang balance.

These two ideas of intuition and experience supercede the various theories out there.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Aetherous

[Kara_mia]

On 15.04.2018 at 10:18 PM, thelerner said:

What's the word on Mint teas?  Similar to ginger?

They tend to be a goto tea when I'm feeling cold and damp. 

 

 

Mint tea belongs to lighter teas. It refreshes a lot, and has a direct effect on lungs. Lungs, in accordance with wu xing sequence, belong to Metal. Metal in terms of Qi characteristics, makes Qi to move, therefore when you drink mint tea you feel relief and refrehment - it makes Qi to move facter and eases blockages.