TCM: Cooling and Heaty Foods

Since I was down with a cold for the last four days (including today), I decided to search the Internet on the kinds of foods I should eat or avoid in order to get better. Here’s some info I found which may be useful to anyone interested in what we can eat to balance the cold and hot energy effects of foods in our bodies. :)

An excerpt from benefits-of-honey.com:

“The heatiness (yang) and cooling (yin) effect of foods refer to their capacity to generate sensations – either hot or cold energy in our body… For example, tea is a cooling food; this means that it generates cold energy in our body… Hence, if you eat predominantly yin foods, your body will be capable of producing only cold energy, in contrast, eating predominantly yang foods produces hot energy. If a person suffers from cold rheumatism, eating foods with a warm or hot energy would be helpful. If a person’s acne condition deteriorates due to consumption of fried foods, it is beneficial to eat cooling foods to counter heatiness and relieve the symptoms…”

Effects of Yin & Yang Foods

Excessive heaty (yang) foods cause:
> Fever
> Constipation
> Sore throat
> Cough
> Nose bleed
> Pimple outbreak
> Rashes
> Ulcers
> Indigestion

Excessive cooling (yin) foods cause:
> Weakness
> Lethargy
> Frailness
> Restlessness

General Characteristics of Yin & Yang Foods

Heaty/yang foods:
• grow under the hot sun
• are sweet (like chocolate)
• are fatty
• are rich in sodium
• are hard, dry or spicy
• are difficult to digest

Cold/yin foods:
• grow in little sunshine
• are salty
• are lean
• are rich in potassium (like bananas)
• are soft and wet
• are easy to digest

Types of Yin & Yang Foods

Heaty (yang) foods are warming, stimulating and energetic:
> Herbs & Spices : Cinnamon bark, cinnamon twig, cloves, nutmeg, leaf mustard, sweet basil, chives, rosemary, spearmint, tobacco, ginger, garlic, pepper, Chinese and Korean ginseng.
> Fruits : Coconuts, guavas, longans, raspberries, jackfruits, durians, apricots, blackberries, blackcurrants, mangoes, peaches, cherries, mandarin oranges, grapes, grapefruit peel, dates.
> Vegetables : Red and green peppers, coriander (Chinese parsley), green onions, shallots, spring onions, leeks.
> Seeds & Nuts : Apricot seeds, chestnuts, walnuts, dillseeds, oats, wheatgerm, peanuts.
> Meats & Seafood : Chicken, eel, mutton, ham, shrimp.
> Others : Brown sugar, vinegar, soybean oil, cheese (strongly yang), egg yolk, coffee, chocolate, prawn crackers, cookies.

Cooling (yin) foods are calming and nourishing:
> Herbs & Spices : Marjoram herb, peppermint, turmeric, American ginseng.
> Fruits : Bananas, grapefruit, persimmons, starfruit, watermelons, pears, strawberries, tangerines, pineapples, pumpkins, mangosteens.
> Vegetables : Bamboo shoots, sugar cane, bitter gourd, lettuces, seaweed, lotus roots, cucumbers, radishes, broccoli, cauliflowers, zuccini, tomatoes, celery, eggplant (brinjal), potatos,  spinach, watercress.
> Seeds & Nuts : Barley, corn, water chestnuts.
> Meats & Seafood : Clams, crabs, oysters, pork.
> Others : Salt, bean curd, egg white, chrysanthemum tea, luo han guo, sugarcane, yogurt, alcohol (strongly yin).

Neutral (balanced yin and yang) foods:
> Herbs & Spices : Sage herb, rosemary, thyme.
> Fruits : Papayas, pumpkins, dates, apricots, figs, olives, raspberries, raisins, plums, apples, lemons.
> Vegetables : Beetroots, carrots, celery, string beans, radish leaves, brussels sprouts, snow peas, taro (yam), sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage.
> Seeds & Nuts : Corn, kidney beans, black beans, yellow soybeans, red beans, lotus fruit and seeds, sunflower seeds, brown rice, sweet rice.
> Meats & Seafood : Beef, pork, turkey, duck, carp fish, cuttlefish, oysters, abalones.
> Others : Honey, black fungus, white fungus, milk.

The methods used to prepare foods also affect the heatiness and coolness of the foods. For example, beef is considered as neutral, but if you have it deep fried or grilled, it would be considered as heaty. Methods that make food heaty may include deep frying, grilling or baking, whereas methods that do not make food heaty may include boiling, steaming or stewing. (This is what I think, haven’t found any evidence on whether it’s true.)

Now I’m a little confused because one website may have a food type in the “yang” list but another website may have it in the “yin” list or the neutral list, or a food type may appear in both the “yin” and neutral lists. So if you see a food type that is misplaced in any of the 3 lists above, feel free to comment and let me know!~ ^.^

Also, the characteristics of yin & yang food types are general characteristics and may not apply to every food type in the lists. For example, the list of “yang” food characteristics include sweet foods, and “yin” food characteristics include salty foods, however, cheese is a strongly “yang” food although it is salty.

It’s going to be difficult trying to remember which food is “yin” and which is “yang”, but I guess the best is to remember what foods are neutral, for a healthy balanced diet! :)

Cheers,
Nat ^.^

Information sources/ References:
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/yin.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/yang.html
http://www.prntrkmt.org/gender/neutral.html
http://www.expatsingapore.com/forum/index.php?topic=4167.0