Nutritional advice is based on the five elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine, whereby the taste of food is connected with its nutritional value or toxicity.

This entails adjusting nutrition or regimes as a function of the vital organs affected, which may be causing excesses or deficiencies.

An unbalanced diet thus creates disharmony, which may express itself through all kinds of symptoms.

To increase general harmony, the different food groups must be balanced according to the yin-yang principles.

Each group has its own properties based on knowledge of the five elements:

1. Wood corresponds to acidic foodstuffs, which have a shrinking effect. A diet with too many acids will overburden the spleen, produce too much mucus, and could even damage the muscles. It can be balanced with metallic foods (metal element).

2. Fire corresponds to bitter foods. These cause dehydration. Too much bitter food dries up the spleen’s energy, blocks the stomach and shrinks the skin. It can be balanced with salty foods (water element).

3. Earth corresponds to sweet foods, which have a harmonizing and slowing effect. Eating too much sweet food causes painful joints, tired kidneys, excess heart energy and hair loss. It can be balanced with acid foods (wood element).

4. Metal corresponds to spicy and very tasty foods. It has a spreading effect. Too much metal causes knotted muscles, tachycardia, and brittle nails. It can be balanced with bitter foods (fire element).

5. Water corresponds to salty foods, and has a softening effect. A diet with too much salt damages muscles and tissue, reduces major bone strength and can cause depression. It can be balanced with sweet foods (earth element).

We usually give personal nutritional advice in combination with prescriptions for Chinese herbs in powder or capsule form. Separate nutrition advice takes approximately 60 minutes, but if it is combined with other treatment, you should allow an extra 30 minutes.