Everyday there seems to be a new diet on the market promising healthy bodies through rapid weight loss in a short period of time. There are low fat diets, low carb diets, high protein diets, liquid diets, single food diets and fasting diets, just to name a few. With so much varying information out there, how do we know what's best?

Both Western and Eastern nutritional principles have tremendous strength and weakness. By understanding the strength and weakness of both systems a student of health can take the best from each and create a workable and effective context for health. From my studies of both systems, I see three levels of importance when evaluating nutrition, digestion and health. The three levels include:

1. Ingesting Quality Food (the emphasis of most Western nutrition)
2. Digesting and Assimilating (the mechanism of delivering nutrients from the digestive tract to the blood)
3. Delivery and Utilization (the nutrients are in the blood, are the proper co-factors present for utilization in the cells)

There are many examples that can be used to illustrate this principle. Soy products for example, have been very popular in the United States in the last few years. Soy is often touted as an excellent source of protein and many valuable minerals. Soy products meet the first criteria of the above principle. Chemical assays on soy products show an impressively wide array of minerals and amino acids. However, most of these minerals do not meet the second criteria as they are made almost entirely non-bioavailable, because of the high levels of phytic acid in soy products. These high levels of phytic acid block the uptake of the nutrients in the soy products, and can block the uptake of nutrients from other foods. This problem has been well recognized in China for hundreds of years. In Chinese nutritional theories, the use non-fermented soy foods are known to lead to nutritional deficiencies and can eventually lead to death.

If you are interested in learning more about Chinese Nutrition, the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences offers "Eastern and Western Nutrition" classes taught by John Nieters, L.Ac.

One of the strengths of the Western nutritional paradigm is the powerful tool of "scientific method." The utilization of scientific method can facilitate tremendous accuracy. The weakness of Western nutritional application is that often there is a reliance on "pseudo-science" rather than true adherence to the scientific method.

Many fad diets inspired by the discoveries of powerful scientific studies, actually make leaps or assumptions that are inconsistent with the studies on which they are supposedly based. Many of these fads, although not usually recognized as such, find their way into mainstream nutritional advice. These mythologies are often accepted as the truth, under the guise of science, and are frequently 100% incorrect.

Western nutrition frequently focuses on a reductionist and abstract views of "diet." Food charts, many outdated by decades, display the vitamin and mineral content of various foods. An attempt is made to identify vitamins and minerals that may be lacking in our diet and seeks to supplement our deficiencies. Very little clinical attention is paid to how our digestive system actually breaks down and converts food so that it is bioavailable and can create energy. Even less attention is given to recognizing that each individual is unique, and depending on his or her constitutional make-up and lifestyle, will do better or worse with certain types of foods.

The strength of Chinese nutritional theory, is that it has been virtually unchanged, as an effective, powerful, healing system for centuries. The observations of the ancient Taoist doctors were extremely profound and accurate. The weakness arises out of this static dynamic. Many of the foods recommended to treat particular conditions no longer exist. Foods have been hybridized, modified, grown with artificial techniques, in ways that enhanced appearance and ease of production, at the expense of nutritional value. Recent studies show that many current foods retain only a fraction of the nutritional value that we associate with them. In some cases modern foods will cause opposite effects from those expected by the ancient nutritional practitioners.

From the Eastern perspective, knowing how to eat is just as important as knowing what to eat. Having a consistent eating schedule everyday, sitting down in a relaxed environment and chewing your food well is imperative to proper digestion. Often, our digestive systems are weakened or out of balance due to poor eating habits, stress and overwork. In such cases, it is beneficial to take herbs that strengthen the digestive organs and aid digestion.

In Chinese Medicine, food is the first tool that is used for healing any diseases before any other modalities are considered. Nutritional therapy in Chinese Medicine is just as comprehensive and sophisticated as Chinese Herbal Medicine. Each food has its own energetic property and is classified for its thermal nature and flavor. Foods are differentiated according to cold (Yin) and hot (Yang), and the five flavors of sour, bitter, sweet/bland, pungent and salty. For example, sour foods such as lemon, rye and lettuce benefit the Wood Element and correct Liver imbalances. Salty foods like black beans and walnut benefit the Water Element and correct Kidney imbalances. A practitioner of Chinese Medicine understands which food will be appropriate for the particular organ pattern a person may be manifesting and prescribes what types of food to eat and how to prepare them.

Central to nutritional therapy in Chinese Medicine is the concept of "digestive fire." The digestive fire allows the Stomach and Spleen to "ripen" the food and transform food into Qi. The western culture favors foods that are uncooked or iced, such as ice cream, fruits and salads. According to Chinese Medicine, these food choices are inappropriate for many people. The cold temperature foods weaken the digestive fire and slow down digestion. Overtime, it can cause more serious problems such as intestinal dysbiosis and infertility. Foods that are cooked by steaming, stir-frying and cooked as soups are "pre-digested" and are appropriate for those with weak digestive system. Avoiding foods that are cold in thermal property is just as important as avoiding iced foods or foods taken straight from the refrigerator. Examples of "cold" foods are tomatoes, eggplant, wheat grass and bananas.