Last post we discussed some of the basic ways that yin and yang affect our lives. We learned that where we live matters in how we maintain balance. We learned that foods that we eat affect the balance of yin and yang in the body. We learned that exposure to sunlight and cold can affect the balance of the body. Today let's look at some foods that affect our balance.
First, let's assume that we live in a temperate zone as opposed to a tropical or arctic zone. In a temperate zone we experience a contrast of seasons to a much greater degree than in the other zones. Summer is the time when yang dominates as the weather becomes hot and dry. Winter is the time when yin dominates as the sun recedes toward the equator and becomes less intense because of its angle to the earth. Spring and Fall are transition seasons when the weather swings from yang to yin and back to yang again. Certain kinds of fruit and vegetables grow in this zone reflecting the balance of yin and yang that they are exposed to.
In a temperate zone where we have seasons, we need to adjust our diet to be in balance with each season. So in summer when yang dominates the environment, it is more appropriate to eat foods that have a yin effect to balance the yang environment. In the winter, when yin dominates the environment, it is more appropriate to eat more yang foods to balance the yin environment. So which foods are yin and which foods are yang?
Traditional cultures observed the relationship of many different foods to each other. They developed the ability to rank all foods as to which ones are more yin and which ones are more yang. They also observed that some foods were in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum. For example, one of the most yang foods is salt. Salt exhibits yang characteristics. It is hard, dense, compact, and intense. It is an extreme yang food when taken by itself. An extreme yin substance would be alcohol. It exhibits yin characteristics. It is wet, evaporates easily, and creates yin characteristics when introduced into the body. Fruit is more yin than vegetables. Beans are more yang than vegetables. Grains are in the middle of the spectrum but still more yang than beans. Fish is more yang than grain. Meat is more yang than fish. Salted or smoked meat is more yang than uncured meat. Salt and charred food is more yang than cured meat.
Each category of food has its own variety of yin and yang. For instance, if we look at grains, there are yin grains and yang grains. Buckwheat is a yang grain and was used historically to combat the harsh climate of Russia and Mongolia. Brown rice is in the middle of the grain spectrum. Corn is a yin grain which you can see by its size and lack of density compared to other grains. Millet is a grain which is small and compact which would make it more yang but it does not have the density of rice for instance because it is more hollow so it is actually more yin than rice. Even within varieties of grains there are variations of yin and yang. Brown rice, for example, comes in many varieties. Short grain brown rice is more yang so is more appropriate for northern temperate zone whereas long grain brown rice is appropriate for southern temperate zones. Medium grain brown rice is in the middle.
If our goal is to achieve and maintain balance in a temperate zone location, then we eat foods from the middle of the spectrum for the temperate zone. So a balanced diet in the temperate zone consists of whole grain in the center with vegetables, both cooked and raw, bean products, fruits, sea vegetables, and fish. This diet is then adjusted for local conditions and seasons. This means we eat foods that grow in our zone and are in season. We don't eat foods that grow in tropical zones because they are exposed to a very different balance of yin and yang than we are. We supplement this central diet with meat when we are doing hard physical labor and when we are enduring cold weather. Fermentation is a "cooking" process as it helps to break down the substance of the vegetables making them easier to digest. It is also a way of mellowing the harsh qualities of salt so they impact the body more gently. Soups are an effective way of introducing foods to the body in a gentle way which the body can readily process.
Next post we will talk more about how the body handles extreme yin and yang foods. Thanks for reading. Let me know if this is making sense to you in the comments.
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