opposite happens when people tend to have large meals at week-ends.
Nature of Food
The nature of food eaten is of paramount importance in Stomach disorders. Foods are classified
according to their nature (hot, warm, cold, cool or neutral) and their taste (sour, bitter, sweet,
pungent or salty). The subject of foods and their action in health and disease is a vast one and
beyond the scope of this book. With regard to Stomach disorders, four broad categories of foods
can be identified.
(i) Cold foods: these are raw vegetables, salads, fruit, cold drinks and ice-cream. An
excessive consumption of these foods will tend to create Cold in the Spleen and
Stomach and ensuing epigastric pain.(ii) Hot-spicy foods: these include curries, spices, lamb, beef and alcohol. An
excessive consumption of these foods produces Stomach-Heat which may
manifest with a burning epigastric pain, thirst and a yellow tongue coating.(iii) Sugar and sweets: an excessive consumption of these may tend to produce both
Dampness and Heat in the Stomach.(iv) Greasy foods, fried foods and dairy foods: an excessive consumption of these
leads to the formation of Phlegm or Dampness in the Stomach.Chinese dietary principles are very old and do not take into account the great changes that have
occurred in the growing and production of food in the past few decades. Modern food is subject
to considerable chemical manipulation and a great many of the food additives can obviously be a
cause of stomach problems and indeed of many other disorders. For example, the correlation
between artificial colourings and hyperactivity in children is well documented.
Modern food contains not only additives (such as flavourings, colourings, preservatives and
emulsifiers) but also traces of drugs such as antibiotics and hormones found in milk and meat.
Moreover, food and water are often contaminated with the residues of chemical pesticides and
fertilizers. All these can obviously be causes of stomach disorders but a complete discussion of
their role is beyond the scope of this book.
Conditions of Eating
Chinese medicine and culture place as much emphasis on the conditions of eating as on the
nature of the foods eaten. The Stomach is the main Yang organ and all Yang organs fill and
empty in a rhythmical fashion. The "Simple Questions" in chapter 11 says: "... the 6 Yang organs
transform and digest and do not store ... after food enters the mouth, the stomach is full and the
intestines empty; when the food goes down, the intestines are full and the stomach empty."2(372)