Nature of substance is very unique theory of traditional Chinese medicine while western medicine does not have such a concept. Instead, they focus mostly in-depth investigation of the composition of each substance. What does nature of essence means. How to distinguish between cold and warm essence?
Every substance has its own nature, not relatively due to it has medicinal composant, but because it has some effect on the human body . There are five nature (cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot) If it is hot foods, such as ginger, white pepper, star anise, etc., it generates heat , and these heat energy can help the food digestion and assist the body metabolism. It is helpful for person or patient who has cold body constitution to receive warm energy immediately Cold foods, such as cabbage, kelp, bitter gourd, pineapple, etc., consume body heat , and make body cooler. However, whether it is cold or warm food, during digestion human body will use up energy in any case . After food digestion in stomach and process goes to the spleen, it will also produce warm energy to the body. Therefore, it is not correct to think we can eat only warm food, especially for people who are healthy. .
How to distinguish nature of substance? it is rather difficult to use a table to show which is cold, and which is hot substances, but the main principle is that sweet and sour food belong to cold, salty is cool, bitter usually is cool (but ginseng is warm), spicy is hot , most of fruit is cold, so patients with severe illness should avoid it. water is cold, oil is cool, sea food is cold, tea is cool, vaccine is cold, alcohol is cold . when the cold food is stewed or cooked, the cold nature will become warmer, and thats why all foods must be cooked. Avoid eating raw food, and if you have to eat something cold, try to add some ginger or pepper to make the food warmer in nature.
Substance nature is a very important concept in Chinese medicine or in health care. It is also the biggest difference between Chinese and Western medicine in medical treatment. Just as some Chinese medicine practitioners now recommend eating uncooked foods to keep their nutrient from being damaged. Such doctos pretend to be chinese doctor but in fact they are practicing already western theory and it is very incorrect. Or, many chinese medicine books it often uses name called PH balance. These are the concepts that are quite different from traditional Chinese medicine . To sum up, to have good body constitution and be healthy, we need to pay attention to substance nature and avoid eating too much cold food.