"The Plan" By Lyn-Genet Recitas

An American friend recently introduced a book to me that is gaining popularity in the US called, The Plan. It describes in detail that certain healthy foods we eat regularly do, in fact, cause us to gain weight. The author uses concepts that are regularly used in Chinese discussions of health and makes them accessible to a Western audience. “Inflammatory foods” cause “inflammation”, which produce negative effects on your body and can effect weight gain and loss.

All of this talk of inflammation reminded me of a poster I saw in a Chinese medical hospital room years ago. It basically outlines both appropriate and inappropriate combinations of food. This Chinese-medicine concept seems to be the foundation of the theories in The Plan book.  It seems this ancient concept, which can help us better understand how our bodies work, has worked its way to the discussion table of American households.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

The most important aspect of Xiangsheng Xiangke is to balance the “5 phases” or elements. In ancient Chinese practice, the five phases are focused more on changing states and their interaction with one another. These are represented as metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. (金、木、水、火、土). The idea that the different foods you eat combine in positive or negative ways is a biproduct of this system. [This system is also called Wu Xing and plays an important role in Taoism-religion, Tai Chi-martial arts, and Feng Shui].

This rabbit hole goes pretty deep, so I’d like to just focus on how food is represented in the 5 Phases and how it can be used for the benefit of your health.

The food we eat can either have a relationship that “generates/creates” or “overcomes/destructs” depending on the food it is paired with. Here are analogous descriptions about how these phases interact with each other *:

Wood feeds Fire
Fire creates Earth (ash)
Earth bears Metal
Metal carries Water (as in a bucket or tap, or water condenses on metal)
Water nourishes Wood

Overcoming/Destructing

By understanding the relationship that is created by pairing certain phases, or elements, together we can see how reactive certain foods are. As far as I can tell, this is directly related to the concepts found in Xiangsheng Xiangke. Let’s take a look at an example of each:

+ In this example, we see mushrooms and toufu are compatible foods which can be eaten together. Traditional Chinese Medicine suggests that mushrooms and toufu can ‘reduce internal heat’ as well as increase levels of Qi, reduce phlegm, improve circulation and the immune system.

“Internal Heat” is refered to as 上火 (Shang Huo) in Chinese. I wrote about this phenomenon a few years ago in an article called “The Two Kinds of Chee”

- Based on the principles of Xiangke, these two foods should not be consumed together because they produce ‘arsenious acid’ when combined and cause harm. You should use them cautiously.

Now, all of this might seem strange to the common person who hears reports about the bad effects of Soy, but eats shrimp with cocktail sauce at special gatherings. Don’t worry – You are doing nothing wrong. The mystery of food is that it combines and reacts in different ways. We can’t constantly be aware of the effects of EVERY healthy thing we eat. That would just be overdoing it. But you could learn more about traditions and how humans have eaten for thousands of years. Before TV and the Internet started telling us what to eat.

For the next few weeks I’m going to disect the poster that you see above. I’ll translate the Chinese and relate what it says to things in our common Western diet. There might be a few hidden gems in there for you!

One Plant: All (leaf) tea comes from the same species of plant. Just like apples all come from apple trees… Varieties exist among all species and those varieties include:  Green, Oolong, Black, White, Yellow,and Pu’er. Processing and growing techniques are other ways that teas get their distinctive colors, flavors, and characteristics. For specifics on processing, check out the image on the right. The following disambiguations are listed from lighter to darker tea varieties.

Green Tea Leaves

Green Tea- A highly popular tea variety in Asia and is produced mainly in China. It contains caffeine and often more so than coffee. Drinking green tea is associated with reduced heart disease and reduces cardiovascular risk factors. It also has some affect on reducing blood pressure, body fat, and cholesterol, but it certainly isn’t a magic bullet if you have these conditions. In 2009, it was cited that women who add more mushrooms to their diet and drink green tea regularly can seriously reduce occurrences of breast cancer[*]. It may also play a role in eye diseases, including glaucoma.
I find that green tea is the most delicious tea option; especially the special sub-variety called “Long Tan” (Henan Province) which can cost around $50/100g. The most famous brand of Green Tea is “Long Jing” (Zhejiang Province).

Oolong Tea

White Tea- This tea is allowed to wilt while being just slightly oxidized. It is made from younger leaves (and buds) than other teas, but contains about the same caffeine. Health benefits of White tea are similar to those previously mentioned, but perhaps due to lack of processing, contains more anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities than green tea.[*]

Yellow Tea- A less common tea which is only different based on the slower drying method employed to produce it.

Oolong Tea- Between Green and Black tea is Oolong tea which is only slightly oxidized (fermentation stops when leaves slightly change color). This is commonly found in Chinese Restaurants (especially those of Southern China, Cantonese style). I would say that “Tie Guan Yin” is perhaps the most famous sub-variety consumed in China. Many Oolong sub-varities can be found growing in Wuyi Cliff (Mtns.) in Fujian province, although other tea varieties are grown at Wuyi Mountain. Health benefits are practically the same as standard green teas, but the caffeine is slightly less.

Black Tea

Black Tea- Or “Crimson Tea” is more oxidized than Green, Oolong, and White tea. It’s production is led by companies like Lipton and Twinings, and is more popular in Western countries. As with less oxidized varieties, Black tea  has similar health benefits. I find that the flavor of this tea causes me to add sugar and other flavorings. To do so makes the tea no better for you than drinking coffee in the morning. It has probably remained popular in the West due to its longer shelf life.

Pu-er Tea Brick

Pu’er Tea- The best known post-fermented tea is Pu’er [pronounced "Pooh-R], which is even darker than Black tea. I find it to be the coffee of Tea, based purely on its color after steeping. It has become classified by a system similar to wine, which uses regions and year of production to judge quality. This tea is highly popular in Guangdong province after meals, but it is famously grown in Yunnan province. It is commonly said to help with digestion and weight loss. It isn’t a weight loss plan by itself, however, it aides cholesterol reduction and can speeds up metabolism. Recent studies tell about its “antimutagenic and antimicrobial” abilities.[*]

Remember: I’ve sourced some of the claims above, but a lot of medicinal food properties were provided by word of mouth. As a form of Chinese medicine for over 4000 years, (leaf) Tea is a long-standing pillar in the Asian lifestyle, which shouldn’t take a scientist to convince you of its very real benefits to your health.

Tea is a stimulant and if taken in the evening it is almost certain to keep you up at night. Eating and drinking healthy shouldn’t cause insomnia, so don’t watch your evening program with tea or coffee… try warm water instead.

More recently I’ve been creating my own stomach-soothing beverage. I buy fresh turmeric root at Whole Foods and wash it off really well. Then steep the root for a few minutes before filling the cup completely with hot water. To learn more about healthy, natural teas just visit this article: Learn to Brew 5 Fresh and Healthy Teas at Home

You should be putting sugar in delicious Asian meals instead. Not only are the above two choices full of useless sugar, they are often served cold. Your body doesn’t deserve to be treated this way, so you should ask for water instead (no ice). Ya, you might get some strange looks the first couple times, but I promise they will understand someday.

My sainted grandfather used to say that “cold water isn’t good for yer gizzards.” After I realized that gizzards are not a some kind of lizard that lives in my body, I started to take his suggestions seriously. Really, your body is usually at a high-90s (30s ‘C) temperature. Shocking your body with iced beverages is unhealthy, although it won’t kill you (right away).

Drink warm water when you wake up and drink warm water when you have meals. If you plan a soup with your meal, then don’t worry about drinking the water.