What's the scientific basis for the Chinese system of heaty and cooling foods? It sounded silly at first, but the more I reflect on my own experience the more sense it starts to make. A few observations:
>when I eat meat, my body temperature rises
>eating certain "heaty" foods such as hot pepper can give me rashes, pimples, diarrhea
>too much "cooling" food gives me clammy skin and an anemic feeling; "heaty" food reverses this
>the same assumptions are implicit in Western medicine when we speak e.g. of "inflammation", which literally means heaty
Of course, traditional Chinese medicine is a 4000 year old science with many branches and many details. But if we focus our discussion on the heaty-cooling issue, it hits the nail on the head. What do you think is the scientific mechanism of the heaty-cooling effect? Has this been properly studied?
>when I eat meat, my body temperature rises
>eating certain "heaty" foods such as hot pepper can give me rashes, pimples, diarrhea
>too much "cooling" food gives me clammy skin and an anemic feeling; "heaty" food reverses this
>the same assumptions are implicit in Western medicine when we speak e.g. of "inflammation", which literally means heaty
Of course, traditional Chinese medicine is a 4000 year old science with many branches and many details. But if we focus our discussion on the heaty-cooling issue, it hits the nail on the head. What do you think is the scientific mechanism of the heaty-cooling effect? Has this been properly studied?
