Can Food be Medicine? Can Food restore balance and make us feel better?

Absolutely !

As I started to pay more attention to both comfort and discomfort in my body i started to look at what I had just eaten. Before long, I noticed a strong correlation between my diet and my bodys’ response to my diet.

And then there were the seasonal patterns. What does cold weather do to my body and what do I crave in the late Fall and Winter as it gets colder? Bye-bye to juices and smoothies and in come the hearty warming soups.

These realizations led me to Traditional Chinese Medicine Food Therapy.

Food Therapy is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that uses diet to help balance the body’s energy, enhance healing, and maintain overall health. For dogs and cats, this approach focuses on tailoring foods to their specific needs based on TCM principles, such as Yin-Yang balance, the Five Elements theory, and individual constitution or health conditions.

Phoenix Rising Integrative Veterinary Care has been offering TCM Food Therapy for dogs and cats since July 2023.

Core Principles of TCM Food Therapy:

1. Yin-Yang Balance:
   • Yin foods: Cooling foods that help address heat conditions (e.g., inflammation, fever).
     Examples: Watermelon, cucumber, turkey.
   • Yang foods: Warming foods that are good for cold conditions (e.g., lethargy, joint stiffness).
     Examples: Lamb, ginger, chicken.
2. Five Elements Theory:
   • Foods are associated with the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, each corresponding to specific organs and emotions.
     Example: Liver (Wood) benefits from sour foods, while the Kidney (Water) benefits from salty foods.
3. Food Energetics:
   • Foods are categorized as warming, cooling, neutral, or balanced based on their energetic effects.
4. Seasonal Adjustments:
   • We also djust diets seasonally to match the body’s needs and environmental changes. For example, warming foods in winter and cooling foods in summer.
5. Individual Constitution:
   • Every animal has a unique constitution (e.g., hot, cold, damp, dry), which determines

TCM Ingredients for Dogs and Cats

Here are some examples of TCM-friendly ingredients based on their energetics:

1. Warming Foods :
   • Chicken, lamb, venison, ginger, sweet potatoes, and oats.
     Use for pets with cold signs: sluggishness, arthritis, or shivering.
2. Cooling Foods :
   • Turkey, duck, cod, cucumber, spinach, and apples.
     Use for pets with hot signs: panting, red skin, or restlessness.
3. Neutral Foods:
   • Beef, pork, rice, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes.
     Ideal for pets with a balanced constitution or for everyday maintenance.
4. Moistening Foods :
   • Pears, honey, flaxseed, and pork.
     Beneficial for dry skin, constipation, or respiratory dryness.
5. Drying Foods :
   • Barley, pumpkin, parsley, and celery.
     Help with issues like diarrhea, bloating, or damp skin conditions.

Benefits of TCM Food Therapy:

• We tailor the diet to individual pet needs.
• We aim to support healing from chronic or acute conditions.
• Through food therapy we try to enhance vitality and long-term health.
• It complements other holistic or conventional treatments.

Precautions:

• We always first encourage clients to contact a Board -certified nutritionist through their family veterinarians for a Complete and Balanced diet.
• We first offer a consult to determine the Constitution and the TCM pattern we are treating and then create the diets
• We aim to also make the diet is as Complete and Balanced as possible and this may require extra supplementation of vitamins and minerals, omega 3 oils etc