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Back to read other back issues OR Return to About Chinese Medicine Home Page The About Chinese Medicine Quarterly Newsletter April 2009 - Allergies and Body Type Diet Editor’s Notes Welcome to the April 2009 edition of the About Chinese Medicine Quarterly. All of us have heard of the word allergy in modern medicine. But what does it mean? Some people cannot stand certain food. They are told by their doctors that they cannot stand such food because they are allergic to it. Chinese medicine deals with allergies by utilizing food cures. It is important to select food according to your body type so that a balance of yin yang can be created, aiding good health and warding off disease. What is body type? What kind of food should you eat? READ ON! Allergies There are four types of allergies. They are immediate, cytotoxic, immune complex and delayed. Immediate hypersensitivity is the most common allergy. Hypersensitivity onsets rapidly, with response initiated within minutes of allergen exposure. Hay fever or asthma can come from the respiratory system. Gastrointestinal tract problems can show up in an inflammation of the stomach and intestines. If shock is the key feature, it could come from systemic anaphylaxis and could involve the whole body. Typical allergens include chemicals, dyes, foods, bacteria, lints, drugs and pollens. Y-Scores Body types, diseases, moods and four seasons can be classified into yin and yang. Y-scores stand for the yin or yang scores of a given item. We say one thing is more yang or more yin than the other. For example, if the energy of a food is hot, it has a y-score of +8; and if the energy of another food is warm, it has a y-score of +4, which means that the first food is more yang than the second one. In similar theory, if the energy of one food is cool, it has a y-score of -4; and if the energy of another food is cold, it has a y-score of -8, which means the second food is more yin than the first one. Your Body Type Body types, like food, can also be classified into yin and yang and can be determined by the concept of y-scores. If your body type has a y-score of, say +8, it is wise for you to eat more food with a y-score of -8 to strike a balance. In other words, a yin person should eat yang food and a yang person should eat more yin food to create a balance between yin and yang in the body. How to determine whether your body is yin or yang? There are four basic factors that should be taken into consideration: hot/cold, dry/damp, dispositions and sex life. Hot/Cold Dichotomy If you normally have cold hands or cold feet, then your y-score is -8. If you normally have warm hands or warm feet, then your y-score is +8. If you generally prefer cold winder to hot summer, then your y-score is -4. If you generally prefer hot summer to cold winder, then your y-score is +4. If you cannot decide on the answer to any of the above questions, then your y-score is 0 (neutral). Let’s assume that your answers to the first and third questions are positive, then your y-score, the addition of -8 and -4 divided by 2, is -6. Dry/Damp Dichotomy The dry/damp dichotomy may be determined by your body weight, with each 5 overweight or underweight pounds to be counted as +1 or -1, making a maximum score of either +8 or -8. How it works: if you are 5 pounds overweight, your y-score is -1. If you are 5 pounds underweight, your y-score is +1. If your are 40 pounds (or more) overweight, your y-score is -8. As you can see, overweight is yin, underweight is yang. Dichotomy of Dispositions The dichotomy of excess and deficiency may be determined by the conditions of body energy. If you normally feel energetic, you y-score is +8. If you seldom feel tired, but once in a while, your y-score is +4. If you normally feel lazy but not tired, your y-score is -4. If you normally feel tired, your y-score is -8. If you do not know the answer, your y-score is 0. If both +8 and +4 are applicable to you, pick +8 as your y-score. If both -8 and -4 are applicable to you, pick -8 as your y-score. If more than two scores are applicable to you, then average them to get your y-score. Dichotomy of Sex Life The dichotomy of sex life is self-evident. If the enjoyment of sex is more than food, then the y-score is +4. If the enjoyment of food is more than sec, then the y-score is -4. In the case of two scores are equally applicable to you, then pick the higher score as your y-score. If you cannot decide on which category you belong to, your y-score is 0, which means neutral or indecisive. After you have arrived at a y-score in each of the above five dichotomies, add the five y-scores and then divide by 5 to arrive at your y-score – the y-score of your body type. Allergies and Body Types The concept of allergies in modern medicine may be explained better in terms of the interaction between food and body types. For example, an individual with a body type y-score of -8 may not tolerate food with a y-score of -8 because it will drive him towards the yin limit. Similarly, an individual with a y-score of +8 in body type may not tolerate food with a y-score of +8 because it will drive him towards the yang limit, especially when such food is consumed for a long period of time. For example, if your body type has a y-score of +8, it is better for you to eat more grapefruit, which has a y-score of -4 than cherry which has a y-score of +4. Eating cherry adds +4 to your body and makes a total y-score of +12. By eating grapefruit, -4 is added to your body, which makes a total of -4. Therefore, it is important to select good to your body type so that a balance between yin and yang may be created in the body to maintain good health and to prevent disease. Want to know the y-score of some foods? We will talk about it in the next issue. Back to read other back issues OR Return to About Chinese Medicine Home Page |
