IMPORTANT NOTE: The information on these pages is intended to supplement the care of a skilled physician, and should not be used as a replacement for medical care. Some of the medical conditions discussed here are serious. Be sure to consult with a qualified physician if you feel you have a serious condition or are in need of medical care.

The Energetics of Food - Introduction

Your body knows what foods it needs and directs you in food choices, food preparation and when to eat. Instinctual, intuitive, knowing are you, wanting to comfort yourself with food.

Food is life: plant, animal, mineral, water. Each is imbued with its unique life force energy, gathered as it formed, from the land, the cosmos, the soil, water—its environment. Digestion may begin with the thought of food, the sight of food, the smell of food or the taste of food. At this point, the alchemy commences; you begin to nourish yourself, sustain and maintain yourself.

With the swallowing of that first mouthful of food or liquid, your body feels the essence of the food’s life force energetically in its meridian system, affecting organs and tissues directly. Some people are physically aware of this, others are not. Yet everyone, if they make their own food choice, feels a sense of satisfaction as they eagerly chew their food or drink their nourishment.

The energetics of foods is felt in the body perhaps as warmth, comfort, satisfaction, coolness, spiciness or discontent. It is a combination of the type of food eaten and mixture of feelings as to who you are, right here and now, what you need and the digestive capability of your body to breakdown, assimilate (absorb), store and evacuate foodstuffs.

Diet changes according to the environment you live in (winterish or tropical), the available harvest, the seasons, the time of day (meal) or how hungry you are and how close food is at hand, prepared.

Your body knows what foods it needs and directs you in food choices, food preparation and when to eat. Instinctual, intuitive, knowing are you, wanting to comfort yourself with food. By simply eating foods that grow during particular times of the year, you are helping your body meet and adjust to seasonal changes.

I began feeling energetic pathways opening and being nourished as my tissues and organs became calm or energized or began detoxifying when studying cooking with Chinese herbs and the energetics of foods with Nam Singh, master chef and Daoist priest, in San Francisco. From then on, I selected particular foods and Chinese herbs to augment my health needs recording the ingredients of the dishes I made. Preparing foods to support the body’s immune system and organs, blood quality and energy, I now teach cooking classes of my own. (See Classes)

Non-sprayed, non-sulfured Chinese Herbs can be purchased in one pound units from Asia Natural Products of San Francisco, California, U.S.A (See Guide to Chinese Herbs for more information)

Bon appetit!

- Stephanie Wilger, C.N.C.