"Sweet, Sour, Bitter and Hot" in Huangdi Neijing
"Sweet, Sour, Bitter and Hot" in Huangdi Neijing
Too salty to be sad.
"If you eat more salt, your pulse will coagulate and cry and change color.". Too much salty food can lead to excessive kidney qi, restrain the heart qi, and damage the function of sadness. The heart is the leader of blood. If its function is not enough, it can make the blood coagulate and turn black. Therefore, people with palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain and other discomfort must eat less salt.
Xinduo injures the liver.
"If you eat more spices, your muscles will be sharp and your claws will wither". Excessive consumption of spicy food is likely to lead to the partial victory of lung qi and the destruction of liver, affecting the function of liver to store blood and main tendons, resulting in the decrease of elasticity of tendons and the influence of blood circulation. Therefore, those with liver deficiency symptoms such as dizziness, colorless complexion and blurred vision should eat less spicy food.
Gan Duo injures the kidney.
Too much sweet food will lead to temper preference, Keva kidney. As the kidney controls bone and stores essence, its beauty lies in the hair. Eating too much sweetness will make the hair lose luster and hair loss, causing bone injury and pain, leading to "eating too much sweetness will lead to bone pain and loss". Sweets should be properly controlled for people with kidney deficiency symptoms such as frequent waist and knee weakness, tinnitus, deafness, etc.
Suffering hurts the lungs.
Too much suffering may cause too much heart fire, and then restrain the lung qi. The lung dominates the skin. Too much bitter taste may cause the skin to lose its luster and the hair to fall off easily, resulting in the consequences of "eating more bitter, the skin will wither and the hair will be pulled out". People with lung qi deficiency, such as those who are prone to colds, coughs and expectoration, should properly control the intake of bitter food.
Too much acid hurts the spleen.
Acidity can nourish the liver, but too much sour food will lead to the partial victory of the liver qi, attack the spleen and stomach, and lead to the dysfunction of the spleen and stomach. The spleen is the main muscle, and its flower is on the lips, which causes what the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine says: "Eat more acid, while the flesh is wrinkled and the lips are uncovered.". Therefore, people with spleen deficiency symptoms such as poor digestive function and loose stool should pay attention to eating less sour food.
