Yang or 'warming' foods are dry, sweet, spicy or pungent, usually grown closer to the soil, and in warm-toned colours like red, yellow, brown and orange. Examples include meat, potatoes, papaya, chillies, galangal and ginger.
For example, foods with high Yin content include sugar, tea, alcohol, coffee, milk, cream, yoghurt and most herbs and spices, while foods with a high Yang content include red meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish, eggs, hard cheeses and salt.
A person who is deficient in Yang energy may have cold hands and feet, and may feel lethargic. Quinoa, mustard greens, cherries, strawberries, shrimp, chicken, and lamb are good to tonify Yang. Cold and raw foods are especially important to avoid if you are Yang deficient.
In Traditional Chinese medicine chili peppers are considered Yang in nature because they are hot and stimulate heat within the body.
Yin foods include asparagus, cucumbers, tomatoes, bananas, watermelon, tropical fruits, raw fruits and vegetables, soy products, many types of seafood and pork. They are bitter, salty and light. They are also 'cooling' on the body.
In Chinese medicine, avocados are cool in nature and are especially important to nourish yin, building blood, moisten the intestines, and creating healthy cervical mucus while also supporting breast milk in nursing mothers.
Duck and beef, warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, alcohol, nuts such as almonds and peanuts, eggs and glutinous rice are considered yang foods. Yin foods are generally bitter, salty and sour, while yang foods are generally sweet and pungent.
The Yang Chickpea Curry: Chickpeas are a neutral food (perfect balance of yin and yang) BUT this chickpea curry has a based made in coconut milk which is high fat. We balance this energy out with yin spices like turmeric, coriander as well as high water foods like spinach and tomatoes.
Here are some examples of cooling (Yin) foods: Cooling meats: duck, pork, egg. Cooling grains: millet, barley,wheat. Cooling vegetables: celery, broccoli, spinach, napa cabbage.
At the extreme yin end of the spectrum are alcohol, sweets and oils. Too much of these will cause an imbalance in our bodies; we may become oversensitive to the cold for, example. Yang foods are warming and are things like root vegetables, onions and spices, cooked slowly like in stews or casseroles.
Milk, yoghurt, light cheeses and eggs are also seen as yin, alongside some seafood such as oysters, mussels and all shellfish. Salt, savoury condiments, soy sauce and nuoc mam fish sauce are also yin.
According to Chinese medicine, honey has a balanced character (neither Yin nor Yang) and acts according to the principles of the Earth element, entering the lung, spleen and large intestine channels.
Food recommended by Traditional Chinese Medicine:
Chia seeds and seeds in general have a downward movement in the body (think seeds planted into the earth) and can help bring all that anxious energy down to nourish the yin and calm the mind. Goji Berries: believed to nourish the blood and yin.
Yin deficiency can often be the result of prolonged stress levels and fatigue. A chronic disease, poor dietary habits, and sometimes genetics can also lead to a deficient yin. To keep bodily functions up and running, restoring yin balance becomes inevitable.
Foods to avoid
It is important to ensure that stimulating foods are not being consumed, as these will only further depleate yin. Caffeine, alcohol, sugar and strong heating/ pungent spices all belong in this category.
Yin/Cool: Millet, barley, wheat, buckwheat, eggplant, cucumber, celery, peppermint, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard leaf, spinach, amaranth, pea, mung bean, pear, cantaloupe, apple, pineapple, persimmon, coconut, strawberry, orange, tangerine, mango, papaya, green tea, tofu, mushrooms, egg white, sesame oil, ...
A few examples of yin foods include white sugar, white processed breads, pastas and pastries, soft cheeses, watermelon, apples and green beans. There is ample information on Chinese yin yang food therapy online; a simple search will produce numerous resources.
Proteins: aduki beans, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, fish and seafood (except shrimp and prawns), beef, duck, goose, pork, rabbit, chicken and duck eggs. Dairy: cow, sheep and goat dairy products (if tolerated), ghee. Yogurt is considered especially cooling and yin nourishing.
In traditional Chinese medicine, practiced for thousands of years, all things—both substances as well as processes—have yin and yang qualities. Yin is feminine, yang is masculine.
According to traditional Chinese Medicine, wild salmon is a wonderful source for nourishing the yin and blood. Yin is an element in the body which moistens and cools, it can occur as a substance such as tears or cervical fluid, or it can be insubstantial in the form of energy.
However, these terms are relative; "yangness" or "yinness" is only discussed in relation to other foods. Brown rice and other whole grains such as barley, millet, oats, quinoa, spelt, rye, and teff are considered by macrobiotics to be the foods in which yin and yang are closest to being in balance.
Berries, cantaloupe, celery, cilantro, cucumber, lettuce, mint, tomatoes, turnips and zucchini are among the yin, or cooling foods. Their cooling aromas and juices are hydrating on a hot summer day and help our bodies regulate temperatures.
Eating a whole egg in any kind of preparation is an important part of welcoming the new year and celebrating the Spring Festival—the rounding of the cruel curve of winter in Chinese culture.