Taste Contraindications

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The following is taken from Giovanni Maciocia, The Foundations of

, p. 33:

 

" The sour taste goes to the nerves and can upset the Liver, so it

should be used sparingly if a person suffers from chronic pain. "

 

Even though the Liver needs a certain amount of sourness, an excess

over a period of time can result in Liver Qi Stagnation. One of the

symptoms of Qi Stagnation is pain.

 

" The bitter taste goes to the bones, and an excess of it should be

avoided in bone diseases. "

 

Even though the bones are part of the Kidney System, an excess of

bitter can result in increased bone problems. In 5 Element Theory,

Water (the Kidneys) and Fire (the Heart) have a " Victor-Vanquished "

relationship. They are part of the " Control cycle " . Water controls

Fire. When Water is in excess, Fire is over-controlled.

Water " overacts " on Fire. But sometimes the pattern gets reversed.

This is called " insulting " . In this particular case, Fire Insults

Water. Water is failing to control Fire properly. Fire Insults

Water corresponds to " Kidney and Heart Not Harmonized. In other

words, Deficient Kidney Yin is resulting in Deficiency Heat in the

Heart. (Yin cools, calms, and moistens.)

 

Water over-acting on Fire doesn't correspond to an Organ imbalance

pattern because the Kidneys cannot be in Excess, only in Deficiency.

But, in terms of coming up with treatment strategies for certain

imbalances, remembering that Water Controls Fire can result in

treatment being fine-tuned and thus being more effective.

 

5 Element Theory will become clearer in the post dealing with taste

and the 5 Elements.

 

" The sweet taste goes to the muscles and an excess of it can cause

weakness of the muscles. "

 

This is why people with hypoglycemia frequently report having

stronger muscles and being more energetic once they are off sweets

for a while. Even though hypoglycemia is low blood sugar, the person

tends to reach for something sweet in order to relieve the symptoms

of hypoglycemia. A huge amount of insulin is then released (in

reactive hypoglycemia), and the blood sugar drops quicker than it

should. (Certain Kidney imbalances frequently are present as well as

Spleen-Pancreas imbalance in cases of hypoglycemia.)

 

" The pungent taste scatters Qi and should be avoided in Qi

deficiency. "

 

" The salty taste can dry the Blood, and should be avoided in Blood

Deficiency. "

 

Victoria