Normally, people should eat a variety of foods in proper proportions to ensure balanced nutrition. A limited variety may lead to insufficient or excessive intake of certain nutrients and to imbalance of Qi, Blood, and Yin–Yang of internal organs. One quality of food intake is its cold or hot nature; another is the flavor.
| (1) | Extreme preference for too cold or too hot food causes problems. Extreme preference for: | |
| • | Cold, cool, or uncooked food may impair the Spleen and Stomach’s Yang-Qi, and Cold and Damp then develop inside the body to cause stomachache and diarrhea. | |
| • | Hot and dry food may accumulate Heat in the Stomach and Intestines, and cause abdominal fullness and pain, thirst, constipation, and hemorrhoids. | |
| (2) | Extreme preference for one of the Five Tastes causes problems. The Five Tastes are related to the five Zang organs. If there is an extreme preference for one taste, the five Zang will lose their balance. Sour stays in the Liver, Bitter in the Heart, Sweet in the Spleen, Spicy in the Lung, and Salty in the Kidney. | |
| (3) | Extreme preference for: | |
| • | Sour reinforces Liver-Qi, which then overpowers and slowly weakens Spleen-Qi. | |
| • | Salty reinforces Kidney-Qi, which then overpowers Heart-Qi, causing blood vessels to stagnate. | |
| • | Sweet reinforces Spleen-Qi, which then overpowers Kidney-Qi, and inhibits Kidney-essence from producing Marrow (resulting in osteodynia) and Blood (resulting in hair loss and early aging). | |
| • | Bitter reinforces Heart-Qi, which then overpowers Lung-Qi, restraining the Lung from transforming nutrients. The nutrients are deposited in the Middle Energizer instead of moisturizing the skin. | |
| • | Spicy reinforces Lung-Qi, which then overpowers Liver-Qi, preventing Liver Blood from nourishing the tendons. The tendons will become inflexible and feeble, and may spasm. | |