Food, Glorious Food!
By Michelle Wood
Welcome to the Food As Medicine issue of Yang Sheng Magazine! The days are still warm and sunny, but getting shorter as we move toward autumn. Now is the time to start thinking of boosting your immune systems so you’re ready when the colder weather comes and are able to remain healthy when exposed to some of the winter colds and flu that come around. Prepare today for a healthy tomorrow!
This issue begins with “To Eat or Not? How Daoists Classify Food” with quotes from Daoist classic writings and how various classes of foods support qi flow and health. “Five Element Medicinal Food That Doesn’t Taste Like Medicine” by Raven Cohan brings a very fun and alternative way to regard healthy food choices through meditation (it’s not what you think!) using color, emotions, season, and animals! As always, Seasonal Harmony with Ellasara Kling supplies us with lists of foods and delicious recipes offering heath and wellness as well as being in harmony with Nature and the season. In particular, the recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Bengali Spices sounds absolutely fantastic!
“On Eating” and “Tasting For Tea,” Solala Towler shares two stories from the Daoist philosophy that definitely offer “food for thought!” Our Dancing Doc asks “What Are YOU Hungry for – Carbs; Protein, Fat or Something ELSE? The Science and Art of Nourishment” as she shares an alternative view for some of the things that nourish you. In “Mood, Food and Move—Three Secret Part IIII,” by Shiuan Gee, she talks about homeostasis through balance of health and energy in all parts of our body and body systems by paying attention to qi and blood, cold and hot, acid and base. “OUR GREATEST POTENTIAL” by Marcy Tavernier Lundquist talks about your relationship to food, and invites you to consider what your food cravings might be trying to tell you!
Cindy Cicero offers a great two-part audio seminar with Dr. Thomas Earnest, D.O.M., Professor of Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition Specialist speaking on “The Chi Energy & Nutrition Basic” who points out the importance of observing and honoring your unique nutritional needs.
Our Feature Article this month is “Nurturing your mind, body, spirit with Cosmic Energy” by Lucia Lu shows how deep relaxation [like meditation] changes our bodies on a genetic level, and in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more ”disease-fighting genes” were active, compared to those who practiced no form of relaxation.
“Perseverance in Taiji” by Eric Borreson specifically addresses learning taiji, but as he points out, these lessons can be applied to many facets and faces of life and lifestyle. In Scientific Qi Exploration, Marty Eisen Ph.D. gives part 2 on the Extraordinary Meridians this month, how they function alone and in conjunction with the familiar Meridians most acupuncturists use, and Research Update reports on nutrition and dietary therapies as applied to both disease reduction and reversal in conditions such as depression, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, as well as prevention of illness.
Many Blessings,
Michelle