By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
There are “hot or warming or yang” foods and there are “cold or cooling or yin” foods – not their temperature per se but by their effect on the body. You see, food is not just about calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Foods have energies that cannot be measured by western gadgets but are definitely present and have an effect on the body. Eating warming foods makes the body warm and eating cooling foods makes the body cold. For example, you eat cucumber and you can feel your body cool. Eat ginger and you will feel your body warm up. Eating one kind of food all the time will create an imbalance in the body and result to illness or discomfort. On the other hand, eating the right food will make one feel better and get well.
We, Christians, love to say, “God is good.” Well, God is really good, as manifested in how he designed the Universe. So we better believe what we profess. In the design of nature, the plants that God gave us in these highlands where the air is cooler are designed to keep us warm. These are wombok, squash, green onions, garlic, etc. The plants that he gave in the lowlands are designed to keep them cool – talong, okra, soybeans, lowland squash, etc. So when in the lowlands, we should not be looking for chopsuey because then we feel even warmer after eating this. We should eat what thrives best in the lowlands. And when we are up in these mountains, we don’t eat pinakbet because that will make us even feel colder. What actually happens, nowadays, however, is there is no harmony in our food. We just eat what like and anyway, there are thick jackets to keep us warm and air-conditioning to keep us cool. But then, this imbalance
can impact on our over-all health and wellbeing.
Furthermore, the foods in season are what are best to eat for the season. Why? Because it’s the order of nature. That is how God so loves us- He gives us food in due season. The Chinese have long since studied and deeply reflected on the effect of food on our bodies and they know that what is in season is best for us. Our own Igorot ancestors also know this- they are keenly observant- observing the different seasons year in year out, watching the different plants grow and observing their effects as they ate them. Thus you will notice that the foods we have in summer keep us cool – watermelons, cucumbers, mangoes. Now, the challenge is that we created artificial chemicals that will produce fruits out of season. Kids nowadays perhaps don’t know which is in season or not.
Examples of cooling or yin foods are melons, cucumber, berries, lettuce, soybeans, mungo, tofu, celery, mint and seeds.
Examples of warming or yang foods are coconut, onions, squash, garlic, ginger, turmeric, glutinous rice, meat and seafood.
There are neutral foods also like papaya, lemon, camote, rice, corn, peanuts, kidney beans . You will notice that these are available most times of the year and are okay to eat in any condition.
To get the best energy out of our food and maintain our health and strength, let us eat locally produced foods, in season as much as possible and in moderation. When we encounter health challenges, we try to minimize or avoid those foods that we have eating out of sync with the universe and go back to eating in harmony with nature. A JOYOUS NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!
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“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.” Psalm 145:15
