Chinese Medical Dietary Therapy (Shi Liao) & Living Raw Foods: is Raw Cold?

 I got into Chinese Medicine when i was seriously allergic to a long list of foods as well as hypersensitive to most foods on this planet - including rice. I had many different symptoms and every Chinese Medicine doctor would take my pulse and gasp "Spleen Qi Deficiency".  I have tried and tested many different approaches to dealing with Spleen Qi deficiency. Acupuncture +Chinese Herbs & Shi Liao Dietary therapy is amazing & for some years it really improved my starting position. After studying a Chinese Medicine degree and some years of practice, I heard about Raw Foods & then instinctively began combining Shi Liao's knowledge of food energetics with Living foods. The results really put the icing on the cake for healing & optimum nutrition for me - pun intended! I now see those results with my clients & hear similar stories from many others out there. Its an exciting time in nutritional medicine. 


The word for spleen in chinese med is Pi - which actually translates to refer to either Pancreas or Spleen. Spleen Qi deficiency can refer to pancreatic hypofunction which frequently means low digestive enzymes. One of the main problems with Spleen Qi deficiency is poor transformation & transportation of the nutritive substances in food. This means, you have poor breakdown & absorption of nutrients from whatever you are eating. The body requires enzymes to break food down into its molecular nutritive components. The pancreas & liver create enzymes, and foods in their natural state contain enzymes. You can deplete your body, especially your pancreas of enzymes. Over time, enzyme depletion leads to poor digestion, low energy and food stagnation. Food sensitivities and some allergies are extremely responsive to enzyme replenishment. Heating foods above 47ºC begins to destroy the inherent enzymes. There are many ways to combine raw living foods and prepare them which can make these foods thermally warm. This can include adding fresh ginger, spinach or spices, or occasionally using a dehydrator to warm foods. If you have a look at many Raw Food recipes, you will soon discover the artistry and advanced alchemy of food combining & preparation techniques make the Living Foods nutritional approach a wisdom far beyond eating uncooked things from the cold fridge. 


Living foods have their enzymes intact which makes them easier to digest. Living vegetables also contain solar photonic energy from the sun, in the process of photosynthesis. This "living light" energy is very abundant for human health & awareness.  Raw food is a composite of knowledge about living foods + alchemy of food combining. I feel that the Chinese advice about not eating raw cold foods is referring to literally eating cold, raw items in an otherwise mixed diet, which includes cooked items that inhibit the effects of a living foods diet. Eating cold, raw items in a mixed cooked diet seems to have a cold effect that is different to eating raw living foods in a primarily live food diet. I believe this is because of the combined relationship between the Liver, Gall Bladder, Pancreas & Spleen. The TCM pattern known as Wood Invading Earth is relevant to understanding how eating cold, raw food on a mixed cooked diet has a spleen invading effect. However, the benefits on the Liver & wood element once someone adopts a complete living foods diet with enough raw leafy greens leads to the Spleen + Pancreatic Qi increasing so much its amazing to experience the pure vitality and clear awareness. The Wood is no longer invading the Earth element and the nutritive & enzyme replenishing benefits of live food takes effect. A live food diet also resolves damp in many cases, because the greatest causes of damp are cooked fats & oils. A raw fat or oil is a different molecule to its cooked counterpart. Cooked fats are very hard work for the Liver, and as the Liver is also impacted by stress & negative emotions, its easily one of the most overworked organs in our modern society. 
You need to eat at least 70-80% living foods to experience this magnificent Qi boost with appropriate thermal combinations for your yin-yang constitution plus your climate. Eg including ginger is warming to the thermal quality of the dish. Chinese medical advice about cold foods is appropriate for a very cold climate if you do not know how to combine living foods for complete nutrition and thermal value. 


My personal nutritional approach is a combination of chinese medicine + living nutrition. It includes understanding organic local seasonal foods, appropriate time of year & day for eating particular foods, the thermal & energetic nature of foods + preference for living wholefoods & optimum nutrition.
A great way to experience the living food difference is to start including a Raw Green Smoothie in your diet everyday.  Increasing the amount of leafy greens you eat + not cooking your greens tends to have a very noticeable effect in an otherwise mixed diet. I find that other benefits come with eating 70-80% living foods each day, yet everyone can experience the pure power of raw leafy greens & living light by simply increasing your daily intake of this food group. I also noticed that at first I ate 100% raw vegan for 3months, because once I began to increase my live food intake, each time I ate something with no enzymes (even organic veg produce) my new abundant energy collapsed and I'd need a nap. After a few months of enzyme replenishment, I was able to eat nearly anything for the first time in years without the usual symptoms and fatigue. 
Green smoothies are the key to the introduction of living foods.  

Check out my website for some sample Green Smoothie Recipes:

www.acupuncturenaturalmedicine.com.au

Buddha's Greens: Celery & Apple Juice with blended Kale & Cherries


I love the book 'The Raw Food Solution' by Mizpah Matus. It's an excellent book if you would like to learn more about living foods. 
http://rawfoodsolution.com/the-raw-food-solution