Sugar is everywhere in the American diet -- and it has insidious effects on the body.

According to the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an excess of sugar leads to a hot, damp condition in the body, which results in a disruption in the flow of vital energy, or qi. A sugar-rich diet can lead to diabetes (an excess of blood sugar) or hypoglycemia (a lack of it).

"When Americans feel hot, they drink a 20-ounce Slurpee," says herbalist Andrew Gaeddert, author of Digestive Health Now!. "This makes them feel (temporarily) cooler, but the overall effect makes the situation worse."

A better choice for refreshment, says Gaeddert, would be fruits like melon, which have a cooling, moistening effect without depleting the system.

Gaeddert is one of a growing number of healers who aim to change Americans' perceptions about the value of food, not only as fuel but as medicine to prevent the major degenerative illnesses that plague us. Traditional Chinese food therapy offers dietary wisdom that is thousands of years old and practiced by over a billion Chinese.

Seasonal Patterns of Eating

In Chinese medicine, the body is seen as a microcosm of the natural world, waxing and waning with the movements of the seasons. The Chinese dietary tradition focuses on eating foods that harmonize with the season one is in.

"Nature provides the foods that keep our bodies in balance at certain times of the year," says Elson Haas, M.D., author of Staying Healthy with the Seasons.

Autumn, for example, is a good time for loading up on warmer, heavier foods in preparation for the winter.

Beneficial warming foods include whole grains, cooked squashes and other root vegetables, nuts and seeds, and perhaps small amounts of lean meat.

"When it's cool out, we need to add more fuel to the furnace," says Haas.

In winter, the focus is on storing up energy, rest and meditation. Strengthening, warming foods like soups and congees (porridge) are eaten, along with immune-enhancing Chinese herbs like astragalus (pron. a-strà-ga-lus).

In the spring, the cycle begins anew. Warming and building foods are replaced by cleansing and revitalizing foods like leafy greens and sprouts to help harmonize the body with this season of rejuvenation and growth. As summer begins, the diet might consist of melons and citrus fruits, leafy greens and cool liquids.

Every Body is Unique

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), each food has an affiliated energy and flavor, from hot to cold, from dry to damp, from salty to sweet, from sour to bitter. Such contrasts stem from the Chinese conception of health, which strives for a balance in the forces of yin, or passive force, and yang, or active force, in the body.

While Western medicine views illness as a biochemical dysfunction with the body's organs, Chinese medicine sees it as a bioelectrical disturbance in the flow of an energetic force called "qi" (pronounced "chee") through the body's "meridians", or channels. A blockage in any of these meridians can lead to an imbalance between the yin and yang, as well as dysfunction in the organ systems.

Chinese medicine views each individual as having their own particular constitution; thus, seasonal eating may not be right for everyone. Even in autumn, those with an excess of heat, or yang, might do best with a diet of cooling foods like dark green leafy vegetables and fruits. At the height of summer, a person who works in front of the office air conditioner all day might need soup rather than salad to heal a cold or deficient condition.

The first consideration is to have (a TCM practitioner) look at your constitution and symptoms, then if you're in perfect health, you can try the seasonal eating, says Gaeddert.

A typical Chinese consultation might involve gauging a patient's temperament, then doing a non-invasive physical diagnosis of the tongue, the pulses (in Chinese medicine there are not one but twelve) and facial complexion. The doctor might use acupuncture to stimulate and balance any diseased organ networks, prescribe beneficial Chinese herbs and offer a list of foods for the patient to eat. Chinese medicine is often used as a safe complementary therapy to Western drugs like insulin for diabetes.

Diet and treatment should suit the diagnosis. In diabetes, for example, most people have a deficiency of yin, says Gaeddert. "There is not enough fluid in the body. One would use herbs and food with a moistening and cooling capability [no matter what the season]."

Rethinking the American Diet

Emphasizing the uniqueness of each individual in developing a healing dietary regimen is at odds with the one-size-fits-all approach adopted by The US Food and Drug Administration. The USDA food pyramid stresses consuming 6-11 servings of grains like rice, bread and pasta, 3-5 servings of vegetables, 2-4 servings of fruit and 2-3 servings of meat and milk products per day to receive the "recommended daily allowances" of nutrients. However, according to TCM, not everyone needs - or should have - these quantities.

Milk, for example, is widely viewed by Americans as the best source of calcium and a key to building strong bones and teeth. However, many individuals, including children, are actually allergic to milk and suffer colds, earaches and digestive problems as a result of excess milk intake.

"Milk tends to be very dampening," says Gaeddert. "Almost all people of Asian descent are allergic to milk. Many of us in holistic health say milk can be drunk until adulthood. But for a child who has excessive ear infections and allergies it might be important to take them off milk sooner than that."

Excessive meat intake is also seen as leading to imbalances and disease. In China, meat is seen as a luxury item, and no more than 3-4 ounces per day is eaten, usually as a topping for a grain or vegetable dish.

Meat does have a therapeutic role to play for the injured and weak, says Gaeddert — it can help build their strength. "Generally, in a Chinese diet, the more cold, tired and deficient someone is, the more they might need to eat small amounts of lean meat once or twice a day," says Gaeddert.

Gaeddert also cautions those considering becoming a vegetarian to think carefully about their reasons for doing so. Some vegetarians are deficient in Vitamin B-12, which can lead to weakness, fatigue, and in severe cases irreversible nerve damage.

"If you're doing it for a religious or moral reason, it's important to get regular checkups and evaluate your nutritional status," he says. Tonic Chinese herbs and some foods, like soy milk, can help provide the nutrients missing in a meatless diet.

Further Readings on Nutrition and Chinese Medicine:

Healing Digestive Disorders by Andrew Gaeddert
Staying Healthy with the Seasons by Elson Haas, MD
Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
The Self-Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner