Are there any foods that can raise your level of chi?

[phantom]

I have heard of some foods depleting your chi, like ones that have a lot of processed sugar in them and yellow vegetables. Are there any that can actually increase your level of chi? Thanks in advance.

[spiraler]

i heard bitter foods are better for your kidneys, and kidneys play an important roll with that.

[The Willow Sword]

Cartain foods are considered to be Yang(warming) and Yin (cooling)

example Fruits such as apples, plums, melons are cooling to the system where as foods like chicken, white rice, broccoli, heat the system up.

since "chi" is essentially energy in the body,,whatever you consume will stimulate that energy and naturally anything that is high in protien and high in carb will heat the system up,,and anything that is watery and fiberous and that has a natural sugar content will cool the system down.


Peace,,TWS

[norther practitioner]

what about chis

:D :eek:

sorry, there are certain foods good for dispelling damp energy and such, but I'm not up on tcm and chi and such.

[JohnnyMnemonic]

There is a book called "Healing with whole foods" by a guy named Paul Pitchford.

The book has been around for years. It is a good book because it applies Chinese food theory to Western foods. All the books I read were all about the properties of Chinese food. If you don't eat chinese all the time, the theories are not much help.

The book is gigantic, about 2 inches thick. It will tell you just about everything you want to know about the chi in foods and when you should and should not eat them.

http://www.northatlanticbooks.com/products/1556434308.html

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

I have found that a tablespoon of wildflower pollen per day does more for me than just about anything else. it has 11 of the 12 essential amino acids for good health plus two more (in the average sample). its 20% protein by wieght. and it has what few vegetables have: variety of amino acids. the typical adult diet has only 7 amino acids. why do you feel old? because you don't have what it takes to be a 14 year old!

[threetimes]

qi defines a relationship... :)

ultimatly its healthy lifestyle all round that will boost 'qi (chi)'... Healthy eating habits are as important as anything.

The Paul Pitchford book referred to is a good book... It introduces some of the fundamantals of Chinese medecine then details a bunch of foods and their therapeutic values... Theres a bunch of recipes, along with some methods of fasting and cleansing.

Anyway, I recomend the Paul Pitchford book...

good eating habits along with some Qi Gong practice is a good place to look for increasing that 'qi' potential. good luck. :)

[Starchaser107]

this is very good for enhancing ones chi drink (http://www.nutrition.nestle.com/content.asp?THE_ID=401)

[frog]

Sorry guys but I have to disagree. Pitchford's book does not represent traditional Chinese dietary theory. It represents Pitchford's theories which I think can be categorised as 'new age.' A central aspect of his theory is 'food combining' which has nothing whatsoever to do with TCM. If you like it, that's cool, just don't confuse it with TCM. Much of his writing about food temperatures and effects completely disagree with TCM.

That said there are many different traditions of dietetics in China and many are completely opposed to each other. Some espouse fasting; some works say fasting destroys the qi. Some require vegetarianism, while most think vegetarianism is a bad idea.

There aren't many decent books about Chinese dietary theories in English. Chinese dietary Therapeutics by Ji Jinliu/Gordon Peck is really good and I think Bob Flaws has published some decent works.

As for building qi, most foods do this. Grains, starchy vegetables and meats are all a safe bet for building qi. However, a balanced diet and correct eating habits are important. Simply eating a diet high in meats and sweets coud lead to all sorts of problems including dampness, phlegm, food stagnation, internal heat or a combination of any and all of them.

[threetimes]

Hi Frog... In a way I agree with you disagreement...

however I do think Pitchfords book is a good book for those without acces to TCM... That being said I do agree with what you say. Pitchford does have contradictions in the book, but I still think its one of the better books availible in the west. It is one of the more acknowledged books on the topic, here in the west anyway.

[JohnnyMnemonic]

I am no expert in TCM so I can't say if Pritchford's book goes along exactly with TCM principles.

I liked it because it was approachable. As I said before, most other books deal only with chinese foods. Being able to read about potatoes or broccoli meant something to me. Heck. I wouldn't know if he made a mistake according to TCM or not. Reading the book still gave me ideas and made me interested in learning some more. It game me more reason to believe all the other ideas from Asian cultures that seem weird.

If you don't mind reading on the computer, I bet you could search for chinese food theory and get some hits on the internet. Save yourself some money buying a book.

[monkeyfoot]

Ive just been in china and i picked up some tea that is good for your chi (also got some nice tea made from a plant in guillin). Teas are generally good all round for health.

i would stay away from really spicy foods - so i heard. I think I read something that spicy foods make you pass more gas and taoists believed that it holds vital energy. But then again they believed that if you eat enough gold you could live longer......

craig

[Mikkyou]

Craig are you saying gas or a f.a.r.t. is vital energy

[threetimes]

anything tha wants to come out of the body should be expelled... it is evil... gui xie. :)

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

being that chi has its center very near to the pathway of gas as it leaves; and that breath is the source of all chi; and the (b)vileness of its nature; especially that a clear, odorless breath should escape as *a staining wind*; that bad gas causes pain near to your center under your diaphram; that bad gas can seem to start its eminance from this place where your large intestine starts and rumbles its way past your crutch: i can understand why an analmyst might think a f.a.r.t. is vital force -or even a spirit- escaping. :cool:

[threetimes]

:)

I got a smelly ghost lingering aorund my house.

[monkeyfoot]

yea it does seem a strange concept but this is more of the religious taoism rather than the whole lao tsu philosophy. You would be suprised to what extremes the religious taoists actually went to for there search for immortality.

craig

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

:)

I got a smelly ghost lingering aorund my house.

could you please inform us through the gradual enlightenment method on the nature of your spirit's being and reality? it's characteristics? it's root mean square velocity as it moved passed your rectum and into the native air? it's personal essance?
and what makes it immortal, if indeed it is?

[Qigongjohn]

Greetings,
For my first post. I have been interested in foods that would be usefull
and complementary to internal martial arts.The best book so far that I have come
across (recomended by my acupuncturist) is "Recipes for Self Healing" by Daverick
Legget,this book explains The perspectives on nourishment- The sources of nourishment- Meridians and Organs- The substances- Yin and Yang- The Climates-
invasion and Defences. It then gives many recipies, to balance and heal. The book is avaliable from Amazon,etc. Hope this is of some help. Regards John Codd(Qigongjohn)

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

a story and a lesson:

this week i had to harvest my bee hives because the worms succeeded in killing off my two hives. (kind of moth larva that looks like bee larva but eats bee larvae.)

i had two hives: american honey bees and african bees. both hives were wiped out and i only recovered about 2 gallons from each hive. a hive box can contain up to ten gallons.

because its so hot where i live the honey is stored with a little more water in it than elsewhere in the country which makes it nice for sweetening tea and cornbread. instead of heating it like i normally do to pastuerize it i left it raw and only filtered it to get the wax and propolis out. due to the kind of digestive acids used by the moth larvae some wax was so small as to be unremoveable.

i have not been able to find any information on what protiens/carbs are used in the formation of bees wax but my chi levels are just through the roof. i suddenly have flexibility that i never had in the past. any of you health nuts know anything about this kind of affect? is it a result of the moth larvae's mouth or back end? has the powder moth paid me a visit?

[GeneChing]

Virgin boy eggs. Follow the link for a vid.


Urine-soaked eggs a spring taste treat in China city (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/us-china-urine-eggs-idUSBRE82S0EE20120329)
By Royston Chan
DONGYANG, China | Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:40am EDT

(Reuters) - It's the end of a school day in the eastern Chinese city of Dongyang, and eager parents collect their children after a hectic day of primary school.

But that's just the start of busy times for dozens of egg vendors across the city, deep in coastal Zhejiang province, who ready themselves to cook up a unique springtime snack favored by local residents.

Basins and buckets of boys' urine are collected from primary school toilets. It is the key ingredient in "virgin boy eggs", a local tradition of soaking and cooking eggs in the urine of young boys, preferably below the age of 10.

There is no good explanation for why it has to be boys' urine, just that it has been so for centuries.

The scent of these eggs being cooked in pots of urine is unmistakable as people pass the many street vendors in Dongyang who sell it, claiming it has remarkable health properties.

"If you eat this, you will not get heat stroke. These eggs cooked in urine are fragrant," said Ge Yaohua, 51, who owns one of the more popular "virgin boy eggs" stalls.

"They are good for your health. Our family has them for every meal. In Dongyang, every family likes eating them."

It takes nearly an entire day to make these unique eggs, starting off by soaking and then boiling raw eggs in a pot of urine. After that, the shells of the hard-boiled eggs are cracked and they continue to simmer in urine for hours.

Vendors have to keep pouring urine into the pot and controlling the fire to keep the eggs from being overheated and overcooked.

Ge said he has been making the snack, popular due to its fresh and salty taste, for more than 20 years. Each egg goes for 1.50 yuan ($0.24), a little more than twice the price of the regular eggs he also sells.

Many Dongyang residents, young and old, said they believed in the tradition passed on by their ancestors that the eggs decrease body heat, promote better blood circulation and just generally reinvigorate the body.

"By eating these eggs, we will not have any pain in our waists, legs and joints. Also, you will have more energy when you work," said Li Yangzhen, 59, who bought 20 eggs from Ge.

The eggs are not bought only at street stalls. Local residents are also known to personally collect boys' urine from nearby schools to cook the delicacy in their homes.

The popularity of the treat has led the local government to list the "virgin boy eggs" as an intangible cultural heritage.

But not everyone is a fan. Chinese medical experts gave mixed reviews about the health benefits of the practice, with some warning about sanitary issues surrounding the use of urine to cook the eggs.

Some Dongyang residents also said they hated the eggs.

"We have this tradition in Dongyang that these eggs are good for our health and that it would help prevent things like getting a cold," said Wang Junxing, 38. "I don't believe in all this, so I do not eat them."

[Blacktiger]

Oh nice :)

[mawali]

There are no foods that raise chi but as someone stated, there are foods that are 'warming' and those that are "cooling". Additionally, the nutritional quality of foods have decreased to the extent that they come in cans and that is what many people consume. Too much fast foods, too much fat so better to increase types of foods that can be prepared in the home therefore more nutritional content to provide energy.

[xinyidizi]

There are no foods that raise chi but as someone stated, there are foods that are 'warming' and those that are "cooling".


Normal vegetables may not be very powerful but there so many herbs that can also be used in Chinese recipes for strengthening qi such as ginseng， shanyao, huangqi, ...

[xinyidizi]

Virgin boy eggs. Follow the link for a vid.

I don't think so. It can 滋阴降火(nourish yin and reduce fire) and I haven't seen anything about it in the classics regarding strengthening qi. However as it is cold people who have spleen qi deficiency or any kind of yang deficiency should avoid it.

[David Jamieson]

eat whole foods.
don't eat processed foods.
don't eat white sugar or white flour and don't consume dairy products.

Keep plate rations to 1/3 -1/3-1/3
protein/carbs (complex preferably)/fats (clear preferably)
Drink a lot of water.
Don't drink pop. get your sweets in fruit form.
Be a teetotaler and if you want to drink alcohol, be moderate.

This will provide you with all the source energy you need.

diminished qi is caused by putting garbage into your body and forcing your body to deal with the garbage you've shoved in it.

you can do that when you're young, but only for so long.

This is more or less the natural diet of an average human being that has access to diversity in foods.

Chi building is done by living. It reduces as we approach death and then is lost from the corpse and redistributed as physics dictates energy not be lost when matter changes.