Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, doctor of natural
medicine and founder of DrAxe.com.
In this video I'm going to talk to you about
TCM Diet, also known as the Traditional Chinese
Medicine Diet, and ways that Chinese medicine
can help you transform your health.
Within Chinese medicine there's something
called The Five Elements.
The Five Elements, this also stems from something
called Five Elements Acupuncture, but I'll
tell you, by learning these principles it's
going to help you really know your own body.
I think this is what everybody wants.
Everybody wants to know a custom and personalized
plan for them, and so I'm going to teach you
in this video what type you might be so you
know the exact steps you need to take to heal
your body completely using TCM, that's Traditional
Chinese Medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used
over 4000 years and I believe today it's the
most accurate way of diagnosing and treating
illness, much more accurate than our conventional
medical Western system today.
There are Five Elements of Chinese Medicine
that relate to the earth, and the way our
organ system works, our five organ systems.
Let's talk about the first element.
That's the Wood Element in Chinese Medicine.
That has to do with springtime, also that's
related to green foods.
If you are struggling with a liver issue or
a gallbladder issue to where you don't digest
fats properly, or you have any type of liver
condition, elevated liver enzymes, or you've
ever been exposed to toxins, then that means
you want to follow the Wood Element Diet.
Now, also people can be Wood Elements, and
that's me, for instance.
Wood Element people are typically very wiry,
they're typically . . . you can see their
veins, they typically would look like sometimes
rock climbers-ish, but again they're a little
bit more lean and wiry.
When you hear the Wood Element, think tree
roots.
So think roots and how they're built.
That's a Wood Element and those people tend
to be more susceptible to liver and gallbladder
issues and not digesting fats properly.
And the emotion that they experience is frustration
and sometimes anger.
So think angry drunk.
If you have an angry drunk what does that
affect?
It affects their liver and vice versa.
Somebody has liver problems they can burst
out in anger.
So again, that's the Wood Element in Chinese
Medicine.
If you are having liver issues or gallbladder
issues at all, gallstones, gallbladder removed,
any sort of anger frustration issues, you
want to start nourishing those organs.
And this is the big difference in Chinese
Medicine.
In Western Medicine today we try and treat
a disease, treat an illness; in Chinese Medicine
they look to nourish an organ to help the
body heal.
And the foods that are most nourishing and
healing to the liver and gallbladder are going
to be foods that are sour.
So think sauerkraut, also things like a green
apple, also foods that are slightly bitter.
Foods that are mostly sour and slightly bitter
are the most nourishing, and foods that are
very green.
Wood Element, think trees, think green, think
grass, so vegetables like fresh salad and
spinach, veggies juices, herbs like milk thistle
and dandelion.
Also bluporum is another one in Chinese Medicine,
and then green apples, but think green foods,
fresh foods, living foods, those are going
to be the best for healing the liver and the
gallbladder in foods that are sour.
The next element in Chinese Medicine is going
to be your Earth Element, and the Earth Element
is going to be for people that tend to be
a little bit more round.
Sometimes people that tend to be a little
more jolly.
Sometimes they'll get some redness in their
cheeks.
The Earth Element tends to be people that
emotionally struggle with worry, and it also
from a seasonal standpoint has to do with
the fall harvest.
People that are the Earth Element tend to
struggle with candida.
So if you're a person that you know you're
a chronic worrier or if you've ever struggled
with candida, the Chinese Medicine or TCM
Diet can help you.
Specifically, you want to do foods that nourish
the spleen and so that's connected to the
spleen and stomach.
Those foods are going to be warming vegetables
that are just mildly sweet like pumpkin, sweet
potato, butternut squash, spaghetti squash,
even corn, those foods that are lightly sweet
and nourish those organs.
Now on the flip end, obviously you have the
candida or you're an Earth Element person,
you don't want to get too much sweet so it's
all about balance.
If you get too much sweet it totally burns
out your spleen and your stomach, versus lightly
sweet, you have a little bit of pumpkin or
a little bit of butternut squash, things that
are just mildly sweet, those are nourishing
to those organs if you're consuming just one
to two servings a day.
So a person that's that type of body type,
you want to do let's say a diet that's high
in things like bone broth and organic meat
and also some good starchy vegetables.
Think as a meal, Shepherd's Pie.
That's a great example of a diet that an Earth
Element person would benefit from.
The number three Element we're going to focus
on now is the Metal Element.
The Metal Element are typically people that
have big, strong, bold features.
If you think of a big muscular linebacker,
somebody that's sort of chiseled and built
like stone, that's a Metal Element in Chinese
Medicine.
That's their typical build, and those people
tend to struggle emotionally with grief and
sadness, sometimes depression, those would
be those negative emotions they experience
that can affect specifically the lung and
the colons.
The Metal Element has to do with your immune
system.
If you've ever struggled with any type of
immune system issue or immune weakness, you
want to consume foods that support, whether
that's autoimmune disease or food sensitivity
or food allergies, any of those issues are
signs that you should be really supporting
that immune system.
White foods really support the immune system
and the lungs.
So think horseradish, think white potatoes,
think garlic and onions and cauliflower.
All of those foods are very nourishing to
a Metal Element.
So again, getting a lot of those immune foods
like garlic and onions, cauliflower, those
things are very nourishing, and then also
probiotic-rich foods like yogurt and kefir
are great for those, and raw cheeses, like
a raw sheep's cheese, those are really nourishing
to the Metal Element.
The number four Element we've got to take
care of is going to be your Water Element.
The Water Element is really related to the
health of your kidneys and your adrenal glands,
which can sometimes even go and affect the
thyroid, but the adrenal glands and kidneys
specifically.
So if you ever struggle with any type of infection,
any type of fatigue or low energy levels or
adrenal fatigue issues or chronic fatigue,
those are warning signs that you need to nourish
those organs.
Also, any hormone imbalance.
If you're a person that struggles with early
menopause or PCOS or any hormonal issue, you
want to follow those and support the Water
Element in Chinese Medicine.
The Water Element tends to struggle with fear.
They become fearful, and if you think about
this that's tied to an organ.
If you get extremely fearful people can actually
urinate themselves because that affects the
kidneys.
Well, think about doing that in a light way
day after day, you lightly affect the kidneys
and the adrenal glands.
You wear those organs out in that way.
So the way you want to support those organs
is doing dark colored nutrient-dense foods.
Think berries like blueberries and blackberries,
cranberries, also think beets and spinach
and seaweed, very dark antioxidant rich foods.
The fifth Element in Chinese Medicine is the
Fire Element, and that emotion tends to be
somebody that's very fiery or passionate,
think the summer months.
The best foods for that are spicy foods, and
that's going to be things like cayenne pepper,
it's going to be Mexican food, it's going
to be corn tortillas, it's going to be hot
sauce.
So again, foods that are very warming and
hot to the body, those are going to be the
best; salsa, even guacamole, those things
are great for a Fire Element and that's typically
Fire Element is acid reflux.
If you have acid reflux or a heart issue,
such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure
or circulatory issues, you're going to want
to follow the Chinese Medicine tips and diet
to help heal the Fire Element.
So guys, I could go on and on and on about
this.
If you want to learn more about Chinese Medicine
visit my website, DrAxe.com that's D-R-A-X-E.com
or just search Dr. Axe Chinese Medicine or
Dr. Axe TCM Diet, but I'm telling you Chinese
Medicine is incredible, it's rich, it's one
of the top things you can follow to heal your
body naturally.
If you want to learn more, again visit my
website, subscribe here to the YouTube channel.
I hope you've enjoyed this video on the TCM
Diet, also known as the Traditional Chinese
Medicine Diet.
