By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
People have feelings. So do animals, but in this issue, we are referring to people. We have these momentary reactions, called feelings, to stimuli. These feelings determine our mood. Good mood? Bad mood? These are momentary because in time, these feelings or emotions or mood will be gone. I am sure you have experienced being so happy with a person or with a barkada and then, later on, realize that you don’t feel that happy anymore with them, and try as you want, you cannot recapture that feeling.
In traditional Oriental medicine, there are seven emotional factors – joy, anger, melancholy, worry, grief, fear and fright. (Take note, there is no “love” here. Love is not a feeling.) These are normal emotional responses of our bodies to external stimuli and do not normally cause disease. Our body is able to cope, just like what it does with bad food. Pag pakunti kunti, kayang ihandle ng katawan natin. However, severe, continuous or abruptly occurring emotional stimuli can overwhelm the regulative and adaptability of our bodies and adversely affect our health. In other words, such emotions can stress us and will manifest physically as allergy or high blood pressure or even cancer. So it does not pay to be too angry or to be too fearful for long or, for that matter, too happy. Again, our standard here in emotions is the traditional “ili’. One doesn’t hear guffaws from the indigenous ato (dap-ay) or “tili” from the “olog” (ebgan). If one cares to listen, the elders advise against extreme emotions. How does one control emotions? Choosing our food carefully, as we have been discussing in this column, will prevent such deep swings of emotions.
If, however, you are emotionally upset or disturbed, choosing the right kind of food will greatly help put you back on the peaceful plane. The following is from the module on Natural Healing by foremost natural medicine practitioner in the Philippines, Dr. Susan Balingit (thank you, Doc Sue):
If you feel angry, restless, frustrated, resentful or impatient and you are craving for sour taste, your liver and gallbladder are probably weak or weakening. You can calm down yourself and become assertive, expressive and patient by choosing a meal with lots of sprouts in it.
– Light mushroom soup with chopped spring onions and a dash of calamansi/lemon. (You may also add lemon grass to enhance the soup’s flavor.)
– Sinigang vegetables and flavored with lemon grass (may add seafood)
– Paksiw na isda cooked with eggplant and ampalaya fruit.
– Sinaing na isda flavored by kamias.
– Pickled vegetables (like atchara) minus the sugar
If you are overly excited, tensed, restless and you want to shout, and you are craving for a bitter taste, your heart and small intestine are most likely in trouble. You can feel relaxed, playful, light and cheerful by putting more leafy vegetables in your meal.
– Green salad tossed in lemon, pepper and salt
– Munggo with lots of ampalaya or camote leaves (or any leafy vegetables)
– Sinigang na miso with plenty of mustasa leaves flavored with lemon grass
If you feel extra sensitive and you are having crying spells and you are craving for a sweet taste, your spleen, pancreas and stomach maybe distressed, You can be calm and become determined, focused and soothed by choosing dishes with more fruit vegetables in them.
– Squash soup
– Tomato soup
– Tinolang mushroom with plenty of sayote, green papaya or upo
– Eggplant salad (boiled or grilled)
– Ginataang or kinilaw na langka, puso ng saging, bunga ng papaya, kalabasa, etc.
If you are feeling blue (depressed), lethargic, nostalgic and indecisive, and you are craving for a pungent or spicy taste, your colon and lungs may not be functioning properly. Lift your sagging spirits or get energized by preparing a meal with lots of beans in it. You may have fish if you crave for a stronger flavor.
– Adobong beans
– Afritadang beans
– Menudong beans
– Veggie dinuguan
If you are feeling worried, overwhelmed, confused, scared or hesitant and you crave for salty flavor, your kidneys are likely to be overworking. Have a more confident, courageous and daring disposition by eating more root crops.
– Nilagang pula/puti/itim beans mixed with mushrooms, kamote, patatas, carrots, saba, green beans, cabbage or pechay.
– Pocherong beans ( just add tomatoes to nilagang beans)
– Boiled camote, cassava, gabi.
The above are suggested dishes. You substitute what is in your locality and experiment on new dishes and let your intuition guide you. Wasdin menlamlamnin!**
