Tired of being tired?

By: Ricardo Dacosta
aka: Raghavendra Giri

The Chinese symbol for Qi

The Chinese symbol for Qi is formed by two elements. One element means "air," "breath," "steam" representing the Yang aspect; the other element means "uncooked rice," "uncooked grains" representing the Yin aspect.

In Chinese medicine it is understood that 95% of our Qi comes from the foods we eat and the air we breath, therefore it is very important to eat good quality foods and exercise proper breathing.

This character also illustrates the process of transformation of Qi. If we take the first element by itself it would be just "steam" and the second element by itself would be "uncooked rice"; but when we combined the two together we have a delicious and nourishing bowl of "steam rice" (brown rice I hope!) Same happens within our bodies, in order for us to transform the foods (the yin aspect) we eat into Qi, the quality of the Spleen/ Stomach Qi (the yang aspect) must be strong.

The concept of Qi in Chinese medicine

In its simplest sense our Qi is our available energy. We need energy for all body’s activity; for movement, for digestion, for warding off illness, to get through the day. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the body is seen as a network of energy channels, which are called meridians. Each meridian is link to a particular organ and each organ to a particular physical and psychological function. In a healthy person this life force or Qi, travels freely along these channels, which manifests as a feeling of vitality and wellbeing, both physically and psychologically. Disease and all it's symptoms are seen in TCM as a manifestation of a disharmony in the flow of Qi within the channels.

Where do we get our Qi from?

We, as humans, received our Qi from two different sources: Pre-Natal Qi and Post-Natal Qi. Pre-Natal Qi, referred as Congenital Constitution (Jing) is our inherited essence from our parents and unfortunately there is not much that we can do to it. The good thing is that it represents about 5% of our total Qi. Post-Natal Qi, represents the other 95%, which is divided into Food Essence (Gu Qi) 75% and Air Essence (Zong Qi) 20%. The fact that 95% of our Qi comes from sources of which we have almost 100% control of, makes you and me almost 100% responsible for our own health. I know this can be a difficult point to accept, especially in our society, where most people’s health depend on doctors, pharmaceutical drugs and health insurance, which “fortunately” none of them are free.

Qi Disharmonies

Qi disharmonies can be manifested in three different forms. It can either be: Deficient, Stagnant or Rebellious

1. When the Qi is Deficient, it manifests the following symptoms: General physical weakness, pale complexion, chronic fatigue, loss of appetite, mild sweating, lowered resistance, shortness of breath and quiet voice.
2. When the Qi is Stagnant, it manifest the following symptoms: Feeling of pressure, tightness, or oppression, strong dull pressing pain. Often pain increases with pressure, sometimes with varying intensity and localization of pain.
3. When the Qi is Rebelliuos, it manifest the following symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, hickups, cough, asthma, food reflux.

Qi also controls the production and distribution of Blood in our body. We need Qi to break down the foods we eat and to transform such into energy and Blood and we need Qi to distribute energy and Blood to all different parts. If the Qi becomes stagnant the Blood becomes stagnant too and so menstrual problems like PMS maniffest as well as firmly localized pain and lips turned purple. If the Qi becomes deficient, the Blood becomes deficient too and lack of menstruation and/or a short of cycle manifest as well as poor memory, dizziness and/or vertigo, pale and brittle nails, pale lips, insomnia and disturbed vision.

Strengthening the Qi

Since 75% of our Qi comes from the food we eat, one must make sure to choose only foods with the highest Qi; local, seasonal and organically grown and consume them according to our own condition and constitution. Eating junk foods or processed foods, whose essential energy has been taken away, will lead us to a weakening of our own energy and therefore we become more susceptible to all forms of diseases.

The dietary treatment for Qi Deficiency involves foods that are either warming or at least neutral in thermal nature (e-mail me if you would like to receive a chart with the "Energetic properties of foods )

Foods with Cooling properties weaken the digestion. Likewise, food that is Cold in temperature extinguishes the “Digestive Fire”

To support and increase or Qi we need to eat foods which release energy steadily into our system over a long period of time. This quality is partly describe in the West as complex carbohydrates which provide a sustained source of energy. Certain animal products, are also recommended. Such foods are basically Sweet and/or Pungent; well-cooked rice is one of the best gradually acting spleen tonics; oats, spelt, sweet rice and pounded sweet rice (mochi) are also excellent. Other beneficial foods are:

• The carbohydrate-rich vegetables: winter squash, carrots, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, garbanzo beans, black beans, peas, sweet potatoes, yam, pumpkin.
• The pungent vegetables and spices: onion, leeks, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, garlic, nutmeg.
• Small amount of certain sweeteners and cooked fruits: rice syrup, barley malt syrup, molasses, cherry and dates.
• Small amounts of animal protein prepared in soups or congees may be helpful: mackerel, tuna, halibut, anchovy, beef, beef liver or kidney, chicken, turkey, lamb.
• Butter is the only dairy product recommended for this condition.
• Food must be chewed well (at least 30 times per bite) and taken in easily digested form. Small, frequent meals are necessary at the beginning of the healing process, and all food should be at least moderately well-cooked. A weak Spleen indicates neglect or ignorance of the Earth Element at the level of food; properly preparing food with nurturing care imparts healing essence!

There are a few herbal formulas that has been used for the past 1500 years to tonify the Qi and Blood. If you are interested in such formulas, I can prepared them for you for a $25 fee

Qi Tonic Recipe

Mash sweet potatoes with butter & ginger

Get a bunch of sweet potatoes (3-4), organic if possible, wash them and peel them. Cut them in chunks and either steam them or boil them until they are soft. Transfer them into bowl. Add a chunk of butter, how much? it's up to you, and let it melt. Grab a mash potato tool or a fork and mash them until you get a good consistency. Get a piece of ginger, about 2-3 inches long and grate it using the finest grater. Now squeeze the ginger juice into the bowl with the sweet potatoes, mix them again and voila! Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Butter, one of the easiest and most beneficial Qi Tonic recipe!

If you have taken a cooking class with me you know it would be almost impossible for me to give you exact meassurements for a recipe. How come? I have trained myself for the past 10 years to cook without a formula or recipe. Why? In order for you to focus or concentrate on one thing, you have to be unconcious or unaware about what else is happening around you, right? which is necesarry in some cases, like If you are driving, you cannot be paying attention to how cute that guy or girl is on the other side of the road, because otherwise you may crash! Cooking can be a form of meditation. Meditation means to be aware, to be concious of everything that is happening.

I encorage you to experiment this in the kitchen and please share your experience with me

Next time you cook, connect all your senses with the food. It's ok to have a recipe as guidelines, but forget about the meassurements, simply have an idea of what it is you are going to cook. Then as you are cooking, ask the dish "How much of this or that" Allow yourself to really connect. Forget about tasting too! Instead use your hands by touching, your nose by smelling and your eyes by viewing. If suddently you hear or feel like adding something that is not in the recipe, please do, it's your dish!

Would you like to add a comment? Email us at: ricardo@integralnutrition.com

Copyright notice : None parts of this essay can be reproduce without permission from the author

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