🌿 Folk Prescriptions

People’s tastes vary greatly—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty—each different. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that for good health, all types of flavors should be consumed in balanced proportions.
Sweet: Traditional Chinese medicine believes sweetness enters the spleen. Consuming sweet foods can nourish qi and blood, replenish energy, relieve fatigue, and harmonize the stomach and detoxify. However, patients with diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease should eat less.
Sour: Traditional Chinese medicine says “sour generates liver.” Sour-tasting foods enhance digestive function and protect the liver. Regular consumption not only aids digestion and kills pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract but also prevents colds, lowers blood pressure, and softens blood vessels. Tomatoes, hawthorns, oranges, and other sour foods are rich in vitamin C, helping prevent cancer, combat aging, and prevent arteriosclerosis.
Bitter: As the old saying goes, “Good medicine is bitter.” Traditional Chinese medicine believes “bitter generates heart” and “bitter enters the heart.” Bitter flavors help remove dampness and promote urination. For example, bitter melon, when eaten regularly, can treat edema.
Spicy: Traditional Chinese medicine believes spiciness enters the lung. It promotes sweating and regulates qi flow. Common spicy foods include onions, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and pepper—all rich in “capsaicin,” which protects blood vessels, regulates qi and blood, and unblocks meridians. Regular consumption can prevent colds caused by wind-cold. However, those with hemorrhoids, constipation, or neurasthenia should avoid spicy foods.
Salty: The foremost of the five tastes, endlessly enjoyable. Traditional Chinese medicine believes “salinity enters the kidney,” regulating cellular and blood osmotic pressure and maintaining normal metabolism. After vomiting, diarrhea, or heavy sweating, drinking a moderate amount of diluted salt water helps maintain normal metabolic balance.