Modern practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine are trained to understand the significance and role of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals in the formulation of a proper diet, but their approach to nutritional counseling also includes such holistic factors as the balance of food proportions, its seasonality, method of cultivation, taste, temperature and even its colour.
In traditional Chinese medicine, food is considered medicine and medicine food.
This ancient wisdom is not without its contemporary scientific validation. According to a 2011 Norwegian study of the links between gene expression and dietary intake,
“It seems clear that the composition and quantity of our diets can be key in influencing the symptoms of chronic disease. It is important to distinguish between diet quality and quantity, both clearly have very specific effects…
Genes that are involved in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and some forms of cancer respond to diet…”
The importance of diet in the prevention and treatment of illness, a concept which has been at the heart of TCM for millennia, is of more relevance today than ever.
In the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study, the largest international and systematic scientific effort in history to quantify levels and trends of health loss due to diseases, injuries, and risk factors, the following three items where identified as accounting for the most disease burden in Canada:
- Dietary risks
- Tobacco smoking
- High body-mass
At Healing Arts, due to our additional background in nutrition and weight-loss science, we are able to offer a rare crossover of nutritional counseling that involves a more extensive than usual integration of both modern nutritional insight and important holistic elements of nutrition as expounded within the tradition of Asian medicine.
According to your individual needs, our counseling can be customized towards the pursuit of various goals such as symptom management, disease prevention, weight-control, or the enhancement of general wellness and will often be combined with other forms of TCM based therapy for maximum effect.
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Sources:
“Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study.” Institute for Health metrics and Evaluation. 2010. Web. 11/24/2015
“Feed your Genes.” Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 2011. Web. 11/24/2015
