TCM Nutrition - Five Element Theory TCM Theory

The eastern medical theory of the five elements provides a framework which aids one in
making food choices that will be most beneficial to a person at a given time. To understand
how the theory relates to nutrition, one must first understand the basic categorizations of the
five elements.

Essentially, there are five elements, or factors, which have an inter-relationship which must be
kept in balance. The Five Elements are: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. The chart below
describes some of the common categorizations which fall under each element:

FIRE EARTH METAL WATER WOOD

HT &
Yin Organs SP LU KD LV
PC
SI &
Yang Organs ST LI UB GB
TH
Sense Organs Tongue Mouth Nose Ears Eyes
Colors red yellow white blue/black green
Sounds Laughing Singing Crying Groaning Shouting
Emotions Joy Worry or Pensiveness Grief or Sadness Fear Anger
Seasons Summer Late Summer Autumn Winter Spring
Environment Heat Dampness Dryness Cold Wind
Tastes Bitter Sweet Pungent Salty Sour

While the entire chart is helpful as a diagnostic and treatment tool, it is the "tastes", "seasons"
and "environment" correlations which have the strongest relationship with nutrition. Before
discussing how food fits into the theory, it is important to understand how the elements relate
to one another.

There are two main relationships which you must be familiar with to understand the
application of the five element theory. First is the Mother-Son relationship (also known as the
sheng, generation, production or creation cycle) and the Grandparent-Grandchild relationship
(also known as the ke, ko or control cycle).

These are presented below:

The Generating Cycle shows that Fire, for example, helps support Earth and the Control
Cycle shows that Fire controls the growth of Metal. To understand how this might be applied,
take a person experiencing problems with asthma. Asthma is a Metal (Lung) condition
sometimes with an underlying psychological component of grief or sadness. From a TCM
perspective, Asthma may present as a phlegm-damp condition. Following the five element
theory, then, we see that the Earth (Spleen) may be weak (phlegm-damp coming from poor
digestion, etc.) and not supporting Metal (Lung) resulting in an Asthmatic condition.

Above is just an example to show how the theory is applied, we will continue with this
example as we incorporate food into the five element theory. The chart below describes some
of the common foods which serve to nourish their respective element:

FIRE EARTH METAL WATER WOOD

(bitter) (sweet) (pungent) (salty) (sour)
Oats
Amaranth Millet
Grains Rice Buckwheat Wheat
Corn Barley
Rye
Aduki
Green Lentil
Garbanzo Navy Black
Legumes Red Lentil Mung
Peas Soy Kidney
Lima
Pinto
 Sunflower Pine Nut Black Sesame Brazil
Nuts/Seeds Almonds
Pistachio Pumpkin Walnut Cashew
Asparagus
Beet Cabbage
Broccoli Green Bell Pepper
Dandelion Root Carrot Kale
Celery Green Pea
Okra Parsnip Mushrooms
Vegetables Cucumber Lettuce
Red Bell Pepper Rutabaga Seaweeds
Mustard Green String Bean
Scallion Spinach Water chestnut
Onion Zucchini
Tomato Squash
Radish
Avocado
Fig Mulberry
Apricot Grape
Cherry Orange Pomegranate
Fruits Banana Lemon
Persimmon Papaya Raspberry
Pear Lime
Pineapple Watermelon
Plum
Strawberry
Chocolate
Cautions Meat Eggs Cheese Soft Dairy
Sugar

Using the above chart and our previous example of Phlegm-Damp type Asthma, the five
element theory would suggest that we would want to eat foods which strengthen the Metal
(Lung), Earth (Spleen) and Fire (Heart) Elements. From the chart we would choose a majority
of our foods from the Metal grouping and an ample selection from both the Earth and Fire
categorizations until our condition changes. An example of food choices, with functions from
Paul Pitchford's "Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition", would
be:

 Brown Rice - increases qi, strengthens spleen

 Navy Beans - sweet flavor, benefits the lungs and spleen (both aspects of the metal
element)
 Almonds - relieve stagnant qi of the lungs, transform phlegm
 Mustard Greens - influence lungs, clear chest congestion, improve energy circulation
 Onions - resolves phlegm and inflammations of the upper respiratory system
 Radish - transforms phlegm
 Pear - affects the lungs, eliminates phlegm
 Avoid - dairy (which may add mucus/phlegm), meat (which may weaken the spleen)
and sweeteners (which may weaken the spleen and contribute to dampness)

In general and lacking the in-depth discussion from Paul Pitchford's text and others, for
example, it is most important to eat foods which follow the basic tastes which correspond to
the element that you are trying to strengthen and avoid foods which weaken it. In this case
you would want to eat foods which fall into the pungent, sweet and bitter categories and avoid
foods which aggravate these elements - sugar, meat and eggs.

While the information presented here is intended to provide you with the basic theory, it is
important to note that there are different food groupings which come not only from differing
opinions but also complexities within the theory that leave a particular food open to
interpretation. Other factors which influence the grouping of a food and your food choices
are:

 Therapeutic Actions:
  Bitter (Fire) foods are generally cooling (yin) and encourage contraction and the
descending of energy
 Sweet (Earth) foods are generally strengthening (yang) and encourage energy to
expand upward and outward
 Pungent (Metal) foods are generally warming (yang) and encourage energy to expand
and move outward
 Salty (Water) foods are generally cooling (yin) and encourage energy to move in and
down
 Sour (Wood) foods are generally cooling (yin) and encourage energy to contract and
collect
 Temperature - Within each categorization foods have differing temperature qualities
which, while generally good for that element, may not be used during certain seasons
or conditions. For example, if you had a common cold (Metal, Lung) condition you
would decrease your intake of some of the foods which are generally cooling within
the Metal element such as the fruits.
 Season - The current season will also play a role in which foods you may choose to
eat. In the summer (fire, hot) we require more cooling foods and in the winter (water,
cold) we require more warming, deeply nourishing foods.

These factors along with the categorizations are worked into a persons diagnosis and general
constitution to establish food groupings which overall help to strengthen the individual. The
rest of an individuals preferences such as eating organically grown foods or not, choosing to
eat animal foods or not, etc. can then be factored in to decide your final food choices.