Digest Number 640

October 4, 2002

Dear Victoria,

I'm glad your doctor was wrong about the chronic mono! I've never heard of that. Between that and your headaches, no fun, huh!

Of all the things I've taken, prescription and otherwise, the first thing I found that worked as good as anything was calcium. Doesn't take away the problem but took the edge off the pain as well as the other stuff. Anyway, now I'm cautiously adding magnesium (to bowel level tolerance) to keep things in balance. I've had to take a lot of calcium and often wondered if any large amount was toxic. I e-mailed the coral calcium website and he said it wasn't toxic. The Okinawans have very high levels of calcium in their water etc? Just wondering how much cal-mag you take or took when you had worse pain?

Did it work? Something did out of all that I was doing at the time, including the very high dosages of vitamins, minerals, and other supplements. (I didn't know about TCM at the time.) After being told by my doctor I probably would never have another negative mono-spot test and would always have mono, I eventually went into remission. It took a while for this to happen, but it did happen. My energy and ability levels went up. (It was during this time in my life that I was beginning to realize that sometimes a lot of "little" things do add up in healing.)

Take Care,

Sharon

New DSL Internet Access from SBC

October 4, 2002

Dear Mbanu,

Thanks for the great information you've given on Chinese Dietary Therapy! I am very interested in this.

Please have patience with me on this question. I'm confused on the percentages - are they based on calories or volume. I.E. If you have 35% grain and 35% veg (equal amounts), does that mean, say (for example) 1 Cup of each or say based on a 1000 calorie/day diet (for example-I know it's low) -w ould it mean 350 calories of grain and 350 of vegetables. If that is so, it would br hard to eat 350 calories of veg, unless you eat things like potatoes or high calories vegetables, not just things like brocolli, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Another question, is it okay to eat refined grains (at least some of the time). I like whole wheat bread, but don't like brown rice, but like white rice and pasta. However, my favorite is wheat.

Also, if the 15% meat/dairy is by calorie (based on a 1000/day calorie) you would only have 150calories in meat/dairy. That is only like 1 slice or cheese and 1 oz of chicken?

Also, where do fat/oil come in? What do you put on your wheat/rice/veg?

I'm just trying to learn, I realize it is different for everyone. My diet is not very good, I pretty much eat a lot, because I physically feel better when I eat, especially chocolate.

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I would say maybe 35% grains 35% vegetables 15% meat (including dairy) and 15% fruit might be an appropriate base, but this is simply my own opinion. In general fruits and vegetables tend to Cool, while meats and grains tend to Warm. Meats and Fruits have more marked Warming and Cooling properties than Grains and Vegetables, which are closer to Neutral in nature. Why then is a diet of primarily Grains and Vegetables recommended, instead of a balanced diet of Fruit and Meat? The body tends to do best in a state of balance. Swinging wildly back and forth from Hot to Cold natured foods tends to be somewhat stressful on the body. I believe that such a "Hot/Cold" diet can increase the supply of ready and available energy, but it will be more damaging in its long term effects. Take Care, Sharon

New DSL Internet Access from SBC

October 4, 2002

> I'm confused on the percentages - are they based on calories or

> volume. I.E. If you have 35% grain and 35% veg (equal amounts),

> does that mean, say (for example) 1 Cup of each or say based on a

> 1000 calorie/day diet (for example-I know it's low) -w ould it mean

> 350 calories of grain and 350 of vegetables. If that is so, it

> would br hard to eat 350 calories of veg, unless you eat things

> like potatoes or high calories vegetables, not just things like

> brocolli, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

I was talking about volume. I suppose that if one wanted to try to

modify one's diet by caloric intake, perhaps more calories would be

best in colder months, however I am most likely incorrect about this.

Unless one is extremely knowlegable about both Western and Eastern

ideas of nutrition (which I am not), it is difficult to combine

concepts such as caloric intake within the Chinese framework without

misunderstanding.

For an example, Japanese Macrobiotics attempted to combine Western

nutritional ideas within an Eastern framework. Although they were

successful in some areas, both systems are quite complex and in many

points the end result was both confusing and unuseful. One instance

which has become somewhat popularized is the idea that more alkaline

foods are " Yang " . Not only does this have very little meaning, it

appears to be wrong as well.

> Another question, is it okay to eat refined grains (at least some

> of the time). I like whole wheat bread, but don't like brown rice,

> but like white rice and pasta. However, my favorite is wheat.

Certainly. Although certain types or combinations of foods may be

unhelpful with your personal constitution, the only foods or drinks

that I know of that are forbidden in Chinese Dietetics are poisonous.

It is important to remember freshness, however; many types of refined

grain products are also heavily processed in other ways as well.

For example, with white bread, fresh baked bread made with unbleached

unbrominated white flour would perhaps be more helpful than white

bread which had been processed for long shelf life.

Foods which have been processed heavily tend to present a few

problems. Since much of the natural flavor of foods is lost through

heavy processing, unusually strong artificial flavors are often used

to balance this out. This can often make a food much stronger in

Flavor than it's original nature.

In Chinese Dietary Therapy, Liu Jilin had something to say about

artificial flavors in particular on the adding of extra sweeteners

and salt to foods:

" Many people in the West have poor dietary habits (irregular meals,

unbalanced diets, eating without resting afterwards, etc.) and as a

result their Spleen Qi easily becomes deficient. In this situation

the desire for sweet foods, which would nourish the Spleen is

increased and if strongly sweet food is available the person is

usually drawn to it. Unfortunately the excess of strong sweet flavor

does nothing to nourish the Spleen, instead it damages it, and the

continued craving creates a vicious circle. If the person works hard

and continues to push themselves their Kidney Qi could become

depleted and a craving for salt will develop. A small amount of salty

food will stimulate the Kidneys and give a temporary increase in

energy, but once again an excess will do nothing to actually nourish

the Kidneys and the outcome is an exhausted and undernourished body.

Nourishing the Spleen Qi by using small regular meals, including

mildly sweet food such as root vegetables, and avoiding very strong

flavors will usually help to bring a person back to balance. "

If one is attempting to balance one's diet by Flavor, this can also

be frustrating, because the processing and artificial flavors will

many times change the energetics of the food to something quite

different than the properties listed for it in a materia medica.

There is another problem which Bob Flaws talks about in his course on

Chinese Dietary Therapy, which I am less familiar with. Supposedly

heavily processed foods seem to be more difficult to digest, while at

the same time being less nourishing than less processed foods. A diet

rich in processed foods will often give rise to problems with Phlegm

and Dampness.

A Dr. McCollum made a quote which I often find helpful in this case,

even though it is not Chinese in origin. He said, " Eat nothing unless

it will spoil or rot but eat it before it does. "

In general, refined grains are considered to be more easily

digestible but less nourishing than whole grains.

> Also, where do fat/oil come in? What do you put on your

> wheat/rice/veg?

Whatever you'd like. Moderation in the use of condiments, and

avoiding excessively strong flavors is usually a good rule of thumb.

If one wishes to make things more complex, one may want to remember

that condiments can change the energetic nature of a meal. As

examples, frying one's food will tend to add a Warming dynamic to the

existing properties of a food. Eating one's vegetables with melted

butter will tend to add a Dampening dynamic to them. Most fats and

oils tend to have a Dampening nature. As an example, here is the

listing for Peanut Oil from the materia medica portion of Chinese

Medicated Diet:

" Peanut Oil

NATURE, FLAVOR AND CHANNEL TROPISM Sweet in flavor and neutral,

acting on the

channels of the spleen, lung and large intestine.

EFFICIENCIES AND INDICATIONS Tonifying the spleen, moistening the

lung and loosing the

bowel to expel parasites. When eaten cooked, it can moisten the

intestines and expel intestinal

parasites, and therefore is used to treat ascaris intestinal

obstruction. "

Mbanu

October 7, 2002

Dear Victoria:

In regards to your message on dehydration, I have a few questions. I feel like I have both damp and dry conditons. I feel like I have swollen lymph glands on each side on the front of my throat, but then it feels very dry and I have to be careful not to eat too many hot oily stuff like soybean oil. I also thought it was the neck muscle spasms coming around to my throat. Not fun - went to ER room a few times for it. My question is this: when I press into my cheek or part of my face with my finger, when I release it, the skin still stays indented and GRADUALLY comes out. Also, when I pinch some flesh on the top of my hand and let it go, it like never returns to the original position until I finally stop waiting and move my skin around = then it's ok. Are these signs of dampness or dehydration????

Also, a few weeks ago when I had an MRI, then wanted to inject some solution into my vein to get a contrast in the front throat area (they did the front along with the back neck area). Anyway, they tried all over my arms, even tried warming them, but couldn't get a vein to work, so othey gave up on that one. My last BP was 126/80. As far as the heaviness feeling. I have more heaviness in my head area and my feet and legs feel more light, not stable. Yet I have dry skin and throat, mouth, eyes etc.

Thanks for all your information.

Take Care,

Sharon

> What are the signs of dehydration.Nausea, fatigue, a "wired" feeling in the head (this one is hard to explain), joints feel "rusty", skin starts to look wrinkled, hard to find a vein to draw blood, weird feelings. The nurse took my blood pressure standing up and sitting down, and said I was dehydrated.The joints feeling "rusty". That's the best I can explain it. Think of a lever that has rusted and how hard it is to move. You have to apply extra effort and pressure and strength to get it to move. That's how movement is for me when I'm dehydrated. It's like movement takes extra effort.> How do you know if you are dehydrated or too damp???Complicating things, it's possible to have both Dryness and Dampness problems at the same time. Feelings of heaviness is one of the prime indicators of Dampness. In my case the lower part of my body has Dampness problems; the upper part of my body and my blood has the Dryness problems.I still don't know exactly what is happening from a TCM standpoint. That's why I bough Clavey's Fluid Physiology and Pathology in Traditional and am studying it.I want to understand exactly what's happening and how I got this way. I know the Kidney Yang Deficiency and the Spleen Deficiency problems played roles in it.Victoria

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