The healing power of nutrition

Nutrition according to TCM

The Traditional Chinese Medicine has a special perspective on nutrition. "It's like looking at people through two lenses: One represents Western medicine, the other is the lens of Chinese dietetics," says Dr. Patricia Krinninger , nutritionist and lecturer at the SMS (Societas Medicinae Sinensis).

"Western nutritional medicine is characterized by its focus on quantitative aspects such as calories or nutrients. This allows, among other things, targeted therapy of metabolic disorders, food intolerances, as well as the prevention of malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies," says Krinninger.

"In contrast, Chinese dietetics offers a more comprehensive view of the disease process and enables individual dietary recommendations based on a detailed diagnosis according to the principles of Chinese medicine."

The therapeutic value is apparent from one of the earliest specialized texts, written around 650 AD, which states: Only when nutritional therapy does not bring healing, should medicines or herbs be used. "Food is considered a gentle remedy used for the treatment and prevention of diseases," says the nutritionist.

In Chinese dietetics, foods are described according to their effects using the same classification system as medicines. Their temperature behavior provides insight into their energetic dynamics and how strongly they move physiological processes - for example, chilies cause acceleration, watermelons cause deceleration.

The taste - from salty to spicy - indicates the layer in which the food is effective: For instance, spring onions have an elevating effect, spinach has a lowering effect, cinnamon affects the surface, and tomatoes affect the depths. The range of applications includes infections, digestion, women's health, and longevity.

Some recommendations can also be easily implemented in everyday life, in terms of prevention, says Dr. Krinninger. Dishes should be "clear" and "pure," with their temperature behavior and taste being more "balanced" and "neutral."

Clear and pure means: fresh, unburdened, and of high quality, and as gently prepared as possible by steaming, boiling, or cooking. Balanced and neutral means: not too hot or spicy, not too cold or salty. Also not recommended are Western winter vitamin classics like orange juice or berries - they tend to have a cooling effect.

Because these grow in hot countries or in the summer, they regulate the temperature downward. This is counterproductive in winter or during colds, unless you need a fever reducer.

The rules of Ayurvedic nutrition

Also in the natural healing system Ayurveda the dietary teaching (Ahara) plays a central role. An Ayurvedic principle states that those who eat correctly need no medicine; and for those who eat incorrectly, medicine cannot help.

The teaching follows the fundamental assumption that everything, from stone to human, is determined in its "being" by the organizing structural forces of the three doshas: Vata (principle of movement), Pitta (principle of metabolism), and Kapha (principle of structure).

"Thus, every food also carries a specific dosha information within it, which can positively or negatively affect the body's own doshas by being lowered or increased," explains Maria Hebel, Ayurvedic physician at the 5-star Health & Detox Resort Ayurveda Parkschlösschen .

In addition to a diet appropriate for one's dosha, digestive power, known as "Agni," also plays a role in maintaining health. "If Agni is too weak and metabolism is impaired, it leads to slagging and acidification of the organism. Toxins and metabolic residues (Ama) accumulate in the body and can be triggers for various diseases," says Hebel.

The goal is therefore also to strengthen the Agni. This is achieved by eating foods suitable for one's dosha, but also by the targeted use of spices such as ginger, coriander, and cumin to eliminate metabolic residues. If digestion needs more push, it helps to drink plenty of hot water throughout the day and grate about two centimeters of fresh ginger into two to three cups.

© Polina Tankilevitch

Unfortunately, chocolate only provides a short-term dopamine high.

Eating like in Grandma’s times

The healing power of food is also known in the European cultural area. You don't have to go back to antiquity with its theory of bodily fluids or to medieval monastery kitchens. Often childhood memories are enough.

Who doesn't know the rule of eating breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, and dinner like a pauper? This can prevent feelings of fullness and sleep problems. Or: Well chewed, is half digested. Choosing foods seasonally, regionally, or according to their thermal effect was something our grandmothers also did: In winter, there were warming stews or hearty casseroles, in summer light and cooling dishes like quark, fruit, or salad.

"Avoid foods that claim to be healthy!"

"Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food," urged food activist Michael Pollan in his book "Food Rules. An Eater’s Manual" . He recommends evaluating products in the supermarket with the "grandma look": Do the ingredients belong more in a chemistry lab than in a kitchen? With this, according to Pollack, many products don't even end up in the shopping cart.

And he goes even further: "Avoid foods that claim to be healthy! The healthiest foods in the supermarket, the fresh produce, do not boast about being healthy. Therefore, do not conclude from the silence of sweet potatoes that they have nothing important to contribute to our health."

New publications from the globally conducted PURE study by cardiologists Salim Yusuf and Andrew Mente provide interesting aspects. PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological Study) was launched in 2006 to find out which dietary pattern and foods have a positive influence on overall mortality and specifically mortality from cardiovascular diseases have.

Here, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish, and unprocessed dairy products were clearly identified as protective foods. Further analysis also showed that mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases do not change when unprocessed red meat or whole grains are added or omitted. This means in reverse: Avoiding meat does not lead to a better preventive effect.

How emotions influence eating

Food keeps body and soul together - also a grandma's wisdom. And it is also true that food significantly contributes to mental health contributes. “The foundation is laid in infancy that food and emotions are connected,” confirms Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gisch from the Institute of Nutritional Science at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen. “Food also has an emotion-regulating function. High-calorie foods, like drugs, stimulate the production of substances like dopamine – the neurotransmitter that makes you happy.”

No wonder you can become addicted to it. “Chocolate provides a short-term dopamine high, but in the long term, I need more and more of it to satisfy myself,” says the nutritional psychologist. The positive feeling created by food can quickly turn: you eat too much and just feel full and uncomfortable.

“Emotional eating should not be labeled as ‘when I feel bad, then I eat.’ Because we also eat when we feel good,” explains Prof. Gisch. It has a lot to do with pampering. Which brings us back to the proverbial grandma. Because her ham noodles or vanilla pudding were not just meals, but soul food – food for the soul. This goes along with the feeling of being cared for and protected. So food can also have something healing on a mental level.

Soul food: Nutrition that makes you happy

The term “soul food” originally comes from the American South and is shaped by the traditional cuisine of African Americans, which emerged during the time of slavery due to a lack of food. At that time, due to oppression and poverty, people had to be content with simple foods – with beans, rice, and corn.

To do this, they prepared meat that was shunned by the wealthier: chicken wings, ribs, offal, pig's feet. These dishes are still an important part of Southern cuisine today, but in modern parlance, the term soul food is more equated with comfort food: foods that are good for the soul, that evoke pleasant memories of special moments when you felt happy, and that make you feel warm at heart.

Sascha Stemberg explains why certain foods make you full and happy. The star chef focuses on soul food with a Rhineland heart in his restaurant "Haus Stemberg" in Velbert, North Rhine-Westphalia. "For me, soul food is food that everyone understands and that kisses the soul."

He says the decisive factor is the good feelings associated with the dishes. It's not just about satisfying physical needs, but also emotional ones. Stemberg regularly takes his guests on a culinary journey back to childhood. "Familiar tastes, memories of home, special moments from the past help to lift the mood or comfort," explains Stemberg. "It tastes just like it used to," he often hears from his happy regulars.

Unfortunately, these dishes in particular, often combinations of fatty, salty, or sugary foods, are high in calories and unhealthy. "It's like everything in life, the dosage is important," says Stemberg. "If I eat fries with mayo once a week and it reminds me of my favorite vacation in Holland, it's perfectly fine."

Nutrition: New Approaches

British genetics professor Tim Spector gives in his new book "Food for Life" Provides impulses for the meal plan of the future and deals with nutrition myths and trends. Examples: Anything that claims to be 'superfood' is probably a scam.

And: The idea that coffee is unhealthy can be safely forgotten – a recently published study from the UK Biobank found reduced mortality among coffee drinkers, and two cups of coffee provide more fiber than a banana.

On the topic of gluten-free diets: These often negatively impact the gut flora so they should be avoided if you do not suffer from celiac disease . Particularly important to the professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London is the topic of gut health.

Greatest enemies of a healthy gut? Highly processed, refined foods. What Spector also found is that the ideal diet is different for every person. There is no diet that works the same for everyone. And miracle cures for "detoxifying" the body belong to the realm of fairy tales for him.