Warming foods like ginger, cinnamon, lamb, and cooked grains help strengthen digestion and build Blood and Yang Qi — the body’s warming, activating energy. In Chinese medicine, the digestive system (the Spleen and Stomach) is often described as a “cooking pot” that transforms food into usable Qi and Blood. When we eat too many cold or raw foods, this inner fire weakens, leading to bloating, fatigue, and poor nutrient absorption.
By choosing gently warming foods — soups, stews, porridge, roasted vegetables, and spices like cinnamon or ginger — we support the digestive fire (Spleen Yang) so the body can efficiently extract nourishment. Over time, this helps to build Blood, boost energy, and maintain a sense of inner warmth and vitality.
These foods are especially important for people who often feel cold, tired, crave sweets, or experience sluggish digestion — signs that the body may need more warmth and Qi support.
Cooling foods like cucumber, leafy greens, matcha, and green juices help to clear heat, reduce inflammation, and calm an overactive system. They’re wonderful for people who tend to run hot, feel irritable, or experience symptoms such as redness, thirst, or inflammation in the skin and joints.
However, from a Chinese medicine perspective, it’s all about balance. Too many cooling foods can weaken digestion by dampening the body’s “digestive fire” — the warm energy (Spleen and Stomach Yang) that transforms food into usable Qi and Blood. This is why some people, even while eating a very “clean” or plant-based diet, may start to feel cold, bloated, or fatigued over time.
Many vegetarians and vegans, for example, become Yang deficient not because plant foods are unhealthy, but because most vegetables are naturally cooling in nature. While this cooling quality can be beneficial for clearing internal heat or inflammation, it can also reduce the warm, metabolic energy that keeps us grounded, energised, and vital.
If you eat a mostly plant-based diet, you can balance this by including warming cooking methods (like roasting, stewing, or stir-frying), adding warming herbs and spices (such as ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, or cumin), and ensuring you get enough protein and healthy fats to sustain your Qi. Note: Greens are particularly important for building blood, especially Spinach —I absolutely adore Green soups, and Green curries like Palak paneer.
Sweet flavours (like root veggies and rice) nourish and harmonise the spleen; bitter flavours (like leafy greens) drain excess heat; sour tones the Liver; salty softens and moistens; and pungent helps move Qi and blood (ie. turmeric).
As a general guide:
From a TCM perspective, a warm protein-rich breakfast strengthens the Spleen and sets up stable energy and blood sugar balance for the day. I usually prescribe a rice or oat porridge with nut butter for breaky, with stewed pear or apple — or sometimes even roasted vegetables and dinner type foods!
Please no caffeine on an empty stomach! Eat breakfast before your coffee or matcha, and ideally within 90 minutes of waking. This is critical to balance your hormones for the rest of the day — and to let your nervous system know that you are safe and grounded.
Limit coffee/matcha to one cup per day - excess caffeine can deplete your kidney/adrenal stores.
Reduce alcohol to no more than two standard drinks per week (or eliminate it if possible).
Avoid icy smoothies / ice cream / cold water / very cold food as we want to keep the digestive fire strong. Spleen deficiency is so common these days.
Don’t be afraid of natural sugar— there’s no need to be worried about fruit!
Try to go for a short walk after each meal, even if it’s just around the block. There is a Chinese proverb that says we should take 100 steps after each meal & I personally find this helps a lot with digestion.
Diet & Nutrition advice I try to tell all my patients
Chinese medicine sees food as the first line of healing. Before herbs or acupuncture, the foundation of health begins in the kitchen. Each meal is an opportunity to fuel your cells, nourish your microbiome, support your digestion, and restore balance in your body.
In TCM, food has energetic qualities that go beyond calories and nutrients. Each food has a temperature (warming, cooling, neutral), a flavour (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, pungent), and an organ affinity — meaning it influences specific systems in the body.
The goal is balance, not restriction — eating in tune with the seasons and your constitution.
In winter, focus on warm, cooked meals like soups and slow cooked stews.
In summer, enjoy lighter, more cooling foods, but avoid too many raw or cold items.
In spring, include greens and sprouts to support Liver function.
In autumn, nourish the Lungs with pears, white mushrooms, and root veggies.
