This article will discuss the types of food you should eat and the types of food you should avoid as well as the benefit of Chinese nutritional therapy.

1. Avoid processed food – the first food you should avoid is prepackaged foods and over processed foods. Usually, the nutritional content of these foods is already lost and there are a lot of chemicals or artificial additives in these foods. They are not really good for our body. Instead, we should eat food that still contains its original nutritional content, and foods that are minimally processed and cooked.

• Avoid too much seasoning or sauce – the second food to avoid foods that contain too much seasoning when they are cooked or foods with too much sauce and hot and spicy foods. This is because most sauce usually contains corn syrup or artificial preservative or coloring, which is not really good for our body. If we can minimize over seasoning are foods, it will benefit our health significantly.

• Foods that are cooked in high temperature – the third tip is to avoid deep-fried foods, foods cooked in too much oil, cooked in high temperature or foods cooked for too long. These cooking methods deplete the nutritional content of the food, making it unhealthy for us.

• Watch the dairy product (egg, milk, cheese or bean) – the fourth tip is to be careful about dairy products like egg, milk or beans. Not everybody can tolerate dairy products and many people are actually allergic to them. These foods contain good nutritional content and they can be beneficial for kids. You can experiment and see if your health will improve if you don’t eat those products for two weeks or a month. If you don’t feel better, then maybe your body cannot process those foods. Some people can benefit from dairy products, but others may not be able to. Use your judgment and try to avoid them for a period of time and see if not eating these products will be good for your health.

• Eat your meat in right portions – in Chinese medicine, eating meat is good and we don’t really recommend you becoming a vegetarian. I know there is some controversy in this because in these present times, most people just have too much meat, greasy foods or fatty foods. From a Chinese medicine point of view, a little bit of high quality protein is good. Beef, pork and lamb are good sources of protein. We need to eat a variety of foods and consume a balanced diet. A little bit of everything is good for your body.

• Less white rice and noodles – for Asian peoples, white rice and noodles are main dishes. They have to eat it for every meal. However, too much of it is not good because they are considered refined carbohydrates. So, instead of white rice, we can add a variety of rice in their raw form, that’s not as processed as white rice. You can also mix white rice with different grains and soak it a little bit to make it softer and taste better.

• Avoid stimulants (coffee, tea, soda or energy drink) – it is okay to drink a little bit of these products sometimes. However, many people become addicted to it, especially coffee and tea. These drinks also burden the body and are not really natural. Instead of them, we should drink more room temperature water – not too cold, not too hot or drinks without coffee.

• Avoid naturally “cold” food – a lot of people have body types that are actually on the cold side. Cold food includes cucumber, turnip, melons, salads, ice cream, ice tea, etc. Large quantities of leafy green vegetables are considered cold too. If you have problems such as allergy, edema or digestion issues, you have to be very careful eating cold foods. If you stop eating cold foods, you’ll probably feel better soon.

• Know your body type and the best foods for your health – are you a “hot” person or a “cold” person? Are you allergic or more sensitive to certain foods? You can always adjust what you’re eating with Chinese nutritional therapy or with herbal medicine. In Chinese medicine, people can be divided into five types via the five element theory. This is one way to categorize what type of element your body fits into, what you should eat and what lifestyle you should lead. In general, you should eat a variety of foods. Everything should be balanced and you don’t just eat a certain food group over and over or totally take out a certain food group from your diet. Portioning your foods is also important. You don’t want to overeat or eat very little food. It’s all about balance.

1. Lifestyle changes – this is a topic not really directly related to food, but it’s very important in Chinese medicine. Keep a regular eating and sleeping schedule, find your own rhythm and then stick with it. This will help you sleep well and eat well. Don’t overwork or overthink. That’s the secret to staying healthy in Chinese medicine.