herbs- lecture 1 dk 1

What is Chinese Food Therapy?

A branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that uses food to support health, help prevent illness, and complement the management of disease.

What roles does Chinese Food Therapy play in TCM?

preventive care, rehabilitation, healthy aging, and supporting the management of disease.

What is the basic hierarchy presented between lifestyle, food therapy, and herbs?

Healthy lifestyle = foundation → Chinese Food Therapy = daily support & correction → Chinese herbs = targeted, intentional intervention.

What is the general role of Chinese Food Therapy compared with Chinese herbs?

Food therapy provides daily support and correction, while herbs provide a more targeted, intentional intervention.

What does 药食同源 (Yao Shi Tong Yuan) mean?

Some foods and medicinal herbs share healing properties and exist along a spectrum rather than being completely separate.

What determines whether an ingredient functions more as a food or a medicine?

The ingredient, dosage, preparation, and purpose.

In general, how are food and herbs used differently?

Food nourishes and maintains health; medicine treats and more intentionally addresses specific health patterns.

Are all foods medicines or all herbs foods?

No. Not every food is medicine and not every herb is food, but some ingredients can function as both.

What are three examples of ingredients that can function as both food and medicine?

Ginger, cinnamon, and goji berries (Gou Qi Zi).

How is ginger used in both food therapy and herbology?

it is a kitchen staple and a classic warming herb.

How is cinnamon used in both food therapy and herbology?

It is an everyday spice and also a warming medicinal bark.

How are goji berries (Gou Qi Zi) used as both food and medicine?

They may be added to soup, tea, and porridge and are also used in herbal formulas.

What are the three main lenses TCM uses to understand a food's “personality”?

Four Energies (Si Qi), Five Flavors (Wu Wei), and Channel Tropism (Gui Jing).

What do the Four Energies (Si Qi) describe?

Whether a food is hot, warm, neutral, cool, or cold, based on the body's response after digestion.

What do the Five Flavors (Wu Wei) describe?

Sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty, with each flavor having its own therapeutic actions.

What is Channel Tropism (Gui Jing)?

Which organ system/ZangFu a food tends to affect most strongly.