Everyone has different body constitutions. Some may have cold body constitutions, while others may have hot body constitutions. The food that we consume is also similar.
In TCM, food can be categorised into cool, cold, neutral, warm and hot in nature. This is why some people may develop “heatiness” like sore throat and ulcers after eating durian, while others may not have similar symptoms even after consuming a lot of durians.
Therefore, eating the right food according to our body constitution can definitely bring us, many health benefits.
There is no actual formula for us to classify the food according to their natures. The only way to determine the nature of the food is through eating and observing the symptoms experienced. However, because everyone has a unique body constitution and adaptivity, not everyone will experience the same symptoms. And so the classification of food according to their natures serves only as a general guideline.
Below are some examples:
Hot food
- pepper,
- cinnamon,
- chillies,
- Chinese spirits (Shao jiu) etc.
Warm food
- Whole grains -- sorghum grains, glutinous rice, oats etc.
- Vegetables -- onion, garlic, bell pepper, pumpkin, chives, parsley, fennel etc.
- Fruits -- hawthorn, kumquat, lychee, cherry, papaya, red dates, longan, plum, pomegranate, rambutan etc.
- Meats and dairy -- mutton, beef, deer meat, chicken meat, pig’s liver, goose egg, goat’s milk etc.
- Seafood -- fish, lobster, crayfish, prawn, sea cucumber etc.
- Alcohol -- beer, rice wine, grape wine etc.
Neutral food
- Whole grains -- white rice, corn, red bean, black bean, hyacinth bean, black sesame, white sesame, peanut etc.
- Vegetables -- Chinese yam, sweet potato, potato, Goji berry, yam, long bean etc.
- Fruits -- grapes, olive, pineapple, passion fruit etc.
- Meats and dairy -- pork, pig’s kidney, goose meat, wild boar meat, chicken egg, pigeon egg, cow’s milk etc.
Cooling food
- Whole grains -- barley, green bean, wheat, buckwheat etc.
- Vegetables and fungi -- winter melon, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, carrot, brinjal, spinach, lotus, tofu, mushroom etc.
- Fruits -- pear, apple, strawberries (slightly cooling), monk fruit, orange, dragon fruit, coconut water etc.
- Meats and dairy: duck meat, duck egg, chicken egg white, abalone etc.
Cold food
- Tea -- Pu'er tea, honeysuckle tea, Ku'ding tea etc.
- Fruits -- persimmon, pomelo, banana, mulberry, watermelon, kiwi fruit, sugarcane etc.
- Vegetables -- bitter gourd, watercress, water spinach, cactus, aloe vera, bean sprout etc.
- Seafood -- kelp, seaweed, crabs, clam, octopus, conch etc.
- Meats and dairy -- pig’s brain, century egg etc.
If we have a hot body constitution, we should make adjustments to our diet by taking in more food
that is cool or cold in nature. If we have a cold body constitution, then we should eat more warm
or hot food to compensate for the lack of warmth in our bodies.
Nevertheless, that does not mean we should avoid all the foods that are similar in nature to our body constitutions. We just need to be mindful and eat with discretion.
