Eat food of different colours

Post 98 Chinese physicians and the colours of food

When my siblings and I were young, our parents consulted Chinese physicians to treat our minor illnesses. They had more confidence in Chinese medicines. As I grew older, I began to understand their preference for Chinese medicines over the western ones. The former treats patients to make them strong to fight the illness while the latter treats the symptoms.

The parts of the body and the different colourful food of nature are closely interrelated. For a healthy diet we were told to eat less “white” food like sugar, salt and rice but eat more “black” food like black beans and dates. We were also encouraged to take in more green vegetables and red food like tomatoes and carrots. The only supplement we took then was the cod-liver oil. It is interesting to note that the price has since gone up 10 times, and the bottle is smaller now.

It is of everybody’s concern nowadays that the quality and safety of food, beverages and milk sold in the market may have been compromised. We now have tainted dairy products, vegetables covered with pesticides, and meats contaminated with strains of drug-resistant bacteria just to name a few.

Besides, the unbalanced diet of the modern affluent society has caused more people to suffer from heart problems, diabetes and other diseases. Chinese physicians recommend that drinking green tea is good for health. The thousands of years of Chinese tea history can attest to that.

21 June 2011