Chocolate and TCM

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 03/20/2002 6:13:45 AM Pacific Standard Time,

vsaurer writes:

 

<< Chocolate by itself is warm and supplements the ming men, or fire of life.

>>

 

Thus ... if someone craves chocolate ... wouldn't this suggest a possible

Yang Deficiency? Can chocolate made with oils that are not hydrogenated and

sugars that are not refined be helpful in small amounts?

 

I am Deficient on all counts ... Yang and Blood Deficiency predominates over

Yin. I gave up sugar years ago when I had chronic fatigue syndrome and after

I got used to it ... I never really craved sugar again. Yet ... the one

thing I never stopped missing was chocolate! I started eating some again ...

I find I like the semi-sweet .... dark ... and our health food store carries

a brand that is made with a natural sugar (forget off the top of my head

which) and safflower oil I think.

 

Confessions ... I started with a little .... now I find I am eating more.

Ruh Roh.

 

Lynn

[Guest guest]

I found the following in Bob Flaw's Tao of Healthy Eating:

 

" Chocolate, which is extremely bitter, is rarely eaten alone. It is

usually eaten in combination with sugar and tropical, hydrogenated

oils [as in milk choclate]. Chocolate by itself is warm and

supplements the ming men, or fire of life. When eaten with oils and

sugars which are extremely dampening, chocolate tends to foster damp

heat within the body. This is especially the case with children

whose digestion is not capable of transporting and transforming so

much dampness and sweets. "

 

Chocolate, then, can't be good for someone with spleen qi

deficiency.

 

Valerie

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Valerie. I have some additional comments about hydrogenated and

partially hydrogenated oils.

 

For those new to TCM, dairy is a particularly Damp-creating food. Often

people with Dampness problems have to cut out all milk and milk products.

This includes cheese, butter, and yogurt as well as milk. If the Dampness

problems are particularly severe, the person may have to cut out anything

with milk in it - biscuits, cream soups, etc. Even prepared dishes with

very little milk in them.

 

Agribusiness loves hydrogenated and partically hydrogenated oils because

they prolong shelf-life, but they are very hard on the body. Some writers

have referred to them as " funny fats " and " fake fats " . Dr. Mercola's

website has some articles about the dangers of hydrogenated oils.

 

Victoria

 

> " Chocolate, which is extremely bitter, is rarely eaten alone. It is

>usually eaten in combination with sugar and tropical, hydrogenated

>oils [as in milk choclate]. Chocolate by itself is warm and

>supplements the ming men, or fire of life. When eaten with oils and

>sugars which are extremely dampening, chocolate tends to foster damp

>heat within the body. This is especially the case with children

>whose digestion is not capable of transporting and transforming so

>much dampness and sweets. "

>

>Chocolate, then, can't be good for someone with spleen qi

>deficiency.

 

 

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[Guest guest]

><< Chocolate by itself is warm and supplements the ming men, or fire of

>life.

 

I thought I remembered something about chocolate being Yang tonic, but

because I could not find the source and document it, I didn't mention it.

 

>Thus ... if someone craves chocolate ... wouldn't this suggest a possible

>Yang Deficiency?

 

Not necessarily (chocolate has a lot of different properties), but in some

cases it might. Every time when I was going into a major flare-up of CFIDS,

I started craving chocolate. Yang Deficiency was by far my number one

problem. Even today if I'm unusually active, I'll start craving it.

 

>Can chocolate made with oils that are not hydrogenated and

>sugars that are not refined be helpful in small amounts?

 

I think it could be. Leave out the milk and oils, and it might be medicinal.

But something would have to be found to sweeten it some. The stuff is so

bitter.

 

Note to those new to TCM: Chocolate is not found in the Chinese Materia

Medica because it's from the " New World " . There are a number of herbs

native to the Americas that are not found in Europe or Asia in any form.

There are people working on figuring out their TCM properties, but it is

going to time. When I run across information on an American herb which I

think may have application in TCM and needs to be looked at more closely, I

post the information on here. One of these is ocotillo, native to the

deserts of the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico. It may be particularly

suited for Dampness problems in the Lower Burner.

 

BTW, the Chinese import a lot of American ginseng. It has some properties

not found in Asian ginsengs.

 

Readers also may want to check the website and books of herbalist Michael

Moore of Bisbee, AZ. Moore looks at native American herbs from the

standpoint of energetics.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

a brand that is made with a natural sugar

 

Hi Lynn,

 

You may have Yang xu, (I'm assuming you're speaking

of KID Yang and not SP Yang) but sweet and sweet cravings

are associated with the Spleen. Look towards your

SP. SP transforms damp. If you want to help your

SP you might want to curb your growing habit. ;-)

Taking sweetness at medicinal levels is something

different.

 

 

" Heart-Blood XU is nearly always rooted in a deficiency of the

Spleen, since it is Spleen-Qi that generates blood. "

The Practice of - Maciocia

Chapter 12 Tiredness

 

" LIVER-BLOOD DEFICIENCY --This is a very freguent cause of tiredness

 

in women. It often derives from a deficiency of Spleen-Qi unable to

make blood "

The Practice of - Maciocia

Chapter 12 Tiredness

 

Also, " ..chronic deficiency of KID Yang nearly always

" includes "

deficiency of Spleen Yang, too. "

The Practice of - Maciocia

Chapter 12 Tiredness

 

Here's something else: " The sense of taste naturally depends on the

 

Heart and Mind as the tongue is an offshoot of the Heart. "

" To sum up, all senstions of sight, hearing, smell, taste and

touch depend on the Mind is much the sameway as they depend

on the brain in Western medicine. "

The Practice of - Maciocia

Chapter 9 Mental-Emotional Problems

"

You might want to read previous e-mail info on blood glucose and then

 

the link on the adrenals(that sit on top of the Kidneys)....especially if

you are returning to

exhausted states....your Yang and Blood Xu.

 

LOL,

Kit

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 03/20/2002 10:02:55 AM Pacific Standard Time,

kitcurtin writes:

 

<< You may have Yang xu, (I'm assuming you're speaking

of KID Yang and not SP Yang) but sweet and sweet cravings

are associated with the Spleen. Look towards your

SP. SP transforms damp. If you want to help your

SP you might want to curb your growing habit. ;-)

Taking sweetness at medicinal levels is something

different.

>>

 

Thank you Kit ... you are right I must agree. I would have to say I am

probably both Kidney and Spleen Yang Deficient. I have a terrrible time with

sweet herbs creating congestion and stagnation symptoms ... therefore I

would indeed work against myself eating chocolate. Oh poo. It's so

dee-licious.

 

Lynn

[Guest guest]

i have a question,

 

i suppose i have a damp problem, since my tongue has scallops on the

sides. it is wet and large. anyway, why does eating romaine lettuce

really make a difference the next day as far as reducing the size and

scallops of my tongue??

 

thanks,

 

paul.

 

Judy Fitzgerald wrote:

 

> Thanks, Valerie. I have some additional comments about hydrogenated and

> partially hydrogenated oils.

>

> For those new to TCM, dairy is a particularly Damp-creating food. Often

> people with Dampness problems have to cut out all milk and milk products.

> This includes cheese, butter, and yogurt as well as milk. If the Dampness

> problems are particularly severe, the person may have to cut out anything

> with milk in it - biscuits, cream soups, etc. Even prepared dishes with

> very little milk in them.