The nature of foods refer to their capacity to generate sensations, by imparting either Hot or Cool energy in the human body. As an example, eating food with a hot energy will make us experience hot sensations in the body and foods with a Cold energy, cold sensations. In daily life, each of us knows that eating ice makes us feel cold and drink hot water makes us feel warm. This is because ice has a Cold energy and hot water, a Hot energy. But ice or hot water produce only temporary effect. To produce long lasting effects, herbs are used as substitutes for foods that provide only temporary relief. In other words, to produce Cold or Hot sensations, herbs are more effective than foods, and foods are more effective than ice or hot water.[4] It will be noticed that the first letter of each of these labels is capitalised. This is to avoid confusion with an actual physical temperature of the food.
The five energies of foods are Cold, Hot, Warm and Cold do not refer to the present state of foods. For example, tea has a cold energy, so even though may may drink hot tea, you are actually drinking a Cold beverage. Shortly after the tea enters your body, its heat (a temporary phenomenon) will be lost and as it begins to generate Cold energy, your body begins to cool off. Another example, red pepper has a Hot energy. Even though you may eat cold red pepper from the refrigerator, you still consume a Hot food. Shortly after it enters your body, its temporary coldness is lots, and your body begins to feel Hot.
The energies of foods, therefore is what the foods do in our bodies- whether they generate Hot or Cold, Warm or Cool, or Neutral sensations. Hot is opposed to Cold; Warm is opposed to Cool; Neutral is somewhere inbetween Warm and Cool. Cold and Cool food differ from each other as do Warm and Hot foods only in degree. Bamboo shoots have a Cold energy, black pepper a Hot energy; cucumber has a Cool energy, chicken a Warm, and corn a Neutral energy.[4]
It is important for us to know the energies of foods, because different energy act upon the human body in different ways. This has important effects on good health. As an example, when a person suffers from Cold rheumatism and the pain is particularly severe on cold winter days, then it is good for them to eat goods with a Warm or Hot energy, which should considerably relieve the pain. Or if you suffer from skin eruptions that worsen when exposed to heat, it is good to eat foods with a Cold or Cool energy to relieve your symptoms.
While the energies of foods play an important role in Chinese diet, the Chinese also classify the human body into Cold and Hot types. One person may have a Hot physical constitution, another a Cold one. The person with a Hot physical constitution should consume more foods with a Cold or Cool energy; the person with a Cold physical constitution, more foods with a Hot or Warm energy. Such a diet is always related to each individual's physcial constitution an may differ from one person to another. This is known as functional medicine as the treatment takes into account the conditions or functions already occuring in the body.
Cold and Cool herbs treat conditions of overactivity, inflammation and fever, while Warm and Hot herbs treat conditions of underactivity, low circulation and coolness. Neutral herbs generally have other effects and do not belong on this scale, and so are given the Neutral label.[1] For instance the tonification herb- Ginseng has a Neutral nature.
There are quite a few herbs which only show small amounts of energy on this scale, and therefore the categories slightly Warming- between Neutral and Warm and slightly Cooling, between Neutral and Cool have been introduced.
