CHINESE DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS part 1

CHINESE DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS
The Chinese Theory of Overweight

It is a fact that Chinese emigrants do not become overweight as easily as their children born in the west. This phenomenon is obvious in Hawaii where there are as many overweight Orientals as Caucasians, Which allows us to reason that obesity has no racial discrimination. In other words, anyone, Orientals or Caucasian, born in the west has an equal opportunity to become overweight.  I have not met any Orientals immigrant who gained more than ten pounds after coming to the West.  I have seen many immigrants gain eight pounds during the first year after their arrival, But their weight normally declined again within a year to maintain more or less the same as their in the Orient.  A dramatic change in their diets caused the initial weight gain.  Undoubtedly, some people have a greater tendency to become overweight due to hereditary factors.  The crucial factors, however, are not hereditary, but the environmental ones that may be altered and influenced.

We have a natural tendency to think that the more our body is nourished, the better.  This is a crucial error we make in nutrition and human health.  It is not always true that the more our body is nourished, the better; we must add another condition to make it a true statement:  The more our body is nourished, the better, provided the body is well balanced. A strong, imbalanced body is just as bad as a weak, balanced body.

A Well-Balanced Body

A well balanced body means that the body is equally in shape in all respects.  For example, a person with a strong stomach but a weak heart, or a strong heart but a weak liver, or who is strong and energetic but who suddenly dies of a heart attack is not well-balanced.

According to the Chinese theory of internal organs, when the stomach and the spleen are overnourished, it weakens the kidneys and bladder; when the kidneys and bladder are overnourished, it weakens the lungs and large intestine.  Under normal circumstances, we eat what we like most, and the mouth is the final judge of our preferences, and so, we eat according to our own taste dictated by the tongue or the mouth.  Ideally, all our internal organs should have equal representation in the mouth to guarantee fairness in the selection of foods.  But it does not function that way.  Since there is no equal representation, we eat just to please the mouth and the stomach.  Small wonder we eat only for enjoyment and put on weight.

Sweet foods are pleasing to the mouth, so we eat them most frequently and in large quantities; bitter foods are good for the heart, but we seldom eat them, because they are not pleasing to the mouth; pungent foods are good for the lungs, but we don’t eat them as often as sweet foods; salty foods are good for the kidneys and gall bladder; sour foods are good for the liver and gall bladder. In short, we eat only to please the mouth and the stomach, which means to enjoy taste and to gain weight as a result.  

Chinese Diet for Weight Loss

 Next Chapter:  Enjoying Meals and Staying Slim