What Is a Taoist Diet?

To fully understand the Taoist diet, you need to first understand the Taoist beliefs. Taoism originated in the cultural core of East Asia and China and has its roots in 2000 years, although it only spread westward in modern times when people began to reject materialism for a deeper spiritual understanding.

Taoism is a humble person who emphasizes compassion, humility and simplicity - the latter emphasized through their minimal eating habits.

Although not known for violating their rules because of their careless views, Taoism focuses on human relations with nature and therefore does not believe in the rigid and orderly way of modern society, rather than following the natural flow of the Universe. The common Taoist terms Yin and Yang refer to the positive and negative energies of the Universe.

Five blind eyes.

Five deafen ear tones.

Five flavors of the tongue glow.

The amazing fast and hunting horses make wild and crazy minds.

The rare and expensive things make people lose their way.

That's why a wise person tends to the stomach, not the eyes,

always ignore it and choose this.

- Taoist Te Ching, Section 12

Historically, the Taoist diet is made up of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, with little meat and no grains - because they think during the process of digestion of demons such as beings will be released from damaged seeds and try to eat them from the inside out. In more contemporary times, the diet has changed mainly based on the acceptance of cereals, as well as the traditional fruits and vegetables.

The Taoist diet associates five basic flavors with natural elements: sweet (earth), salty (water), salty (wood), bitter (fire), spicy (metal). They believe that being greedy and putting one foot on top of another causes you not to kiss at all, so it's important to balance that feeling to achieve inner harmony.

Taoism is about nature, and man is part of nature. One of the most important beliefs is 'eat only food' - which means to prevent humans from getting used to substances that cannot be processed by the body and may contain imbalances, such as artificial additives, drugs and so on. Foods processed with foods that have little or no nutritional value, such as white flour, sugar and fast foods are also considered inedible. This is not something the body is designed to consume and does not grow from the earth, so it is not 'food'. naturally suitable for human use.

History

In much of classical Taoist literature, many references are made to those of the brave - or, rather, pre-historical ones. Some texts speak of those who are only breathing, and do not eat food at all. They lived when they were born and only received sustenance from the qi or yin yang of the Universe.

This practice, known as "Bigu" is sometimes used in some heretics and Taoist mythological ideas, but it is not something practical or even safe for modern people, living in ordinary society to try. Taoism believes that the human condition has changed and that the ancient state has since fallen, meaning that it is perfectly acceptable to eat food.

The earliest Taoists are believed to have lived on a diet that reflects this notion of wise and enlightened lords from pre-history - as well as before agricultural development. Thus in the earliest tradition, the grain was not used by the Taoists.

The reasons for this may be many - from health concerns, to respect for some myths, pre-agricultural past, and other social factors. The minimalist approach is often used to explain this, claiming that the Taoist lives on more than mere food and is unaware of its cosmic energy.

However, as mentioned earlier the reason given in many early texts for not eating cereals is to not raise "Three Worms".

-The 3 Worms

An early explanation, the myth for avoiding wheat is 3 worms.

These are the 3 evil worms that are said to live in the human gut responsible for decomposing your body after death.

Of course, since their goal is to eat your body, it is in your best interest to die as soon as possible.

Before death, 3 worms will live in a person's gut, consuming digestive anesthetics.

Therefore, because your intestines are digesting grains, 3 worms will eat the waste they produce. As they eat the grains, they grow stronger, and then they can feed all over your body, allowing you to die faster.

Since longevity for sustainable cultivation is one of the main goals of many Taoist practices, the object of nutrition is to "eliminate" the worm 3, by reducing your grain intake, or eliminating it completely.

From a modern perspective, it can be said that the early Taoists only recorded the connection between calorie intake, aging, or poor health.

Assuming that cells have a number of possible divisions during the life cycle, it is necessary to slow down the metabolic process to slow down the cell division process.

Another possibility mentioned earlier is that they were pre-agricultural in pre-agricultural times, where humans were not developed, nor were they involved in social activities and the increased cultural production of food production.

The Three Immortals told the Emperor:

"You reach the Tao by avoiding all the grains. You will no longer have to follow the rhythm of the moon and plant or harvest.

"Now, the ancient people of the ancient world, they reached old age because they kept going around and never ate any grains."

As Dayou zhang says (Verse of Existence):

Five cereals is a chunk of life cutting away,

Make five organs bend and shorten our pace.

After entering our stomach,

There is no longer a chance to live long.

To try to avoid all deaths

Keep your intestines free from impurities! "

Although many ancient Taoists practiced abstention from grain, this is not true. There are many accounts of Taoist eating, or literally begging for rice.

It may be that the ban on cereals is more than the process of purification, or some kind of fast, leading to important ceremonies, ceremonies, such as taking long, fast, taking elixir, and so on.

Modern

In more recent times, the typical diet has radically changed to focus on being grain-based, rather than adopting a total ban on cereals. Although some radicals claimed to have never eaten, they were often ridiculed by the media and later found to be "starving" for attention instead of becoming true ancient Taoism.

The modern Taoist diet basically follows the basic yin-5 and 5 elements of the theory, and relies heavily on unprocessed details, fresh vegetables (especially root vegetables) and very little meat.

It is important that the vegetables are eaten in season and either steamed or stir-fried. Boiling takes on the natural good. Fruits tend to be dried or burned and eating tropical fruits is frustrated when they are unbalanced by the five flavors caused by their strong, usually citrus taste. It is also important that they are seasonal, and independent of any man who intervenes.

In general, all red and blue meat, including pork, rabbits, snails and so on, should be avoided. Birds and games are OK to eat, as are fish. However, fish and other seafood can only be eaten once a week due to high Yin. Some fish, such as salmon, shark, squirrel and mackerel, are very Yin to be avoided.

Consuming alcohol, caffeine and chewing / smoking tobacco is contagious due to its delicate nature.

Modern Taoists rely on simplicity in their eating habits, and should strive to avoid eating anything that is too spicy (garlic, ginger, onions, etc.) and keep away from as many preservatives as possible.

The Difference Between Taoist and Modern Western Diets

In the west, lifestyle and dietary habits have contributed to the dramatic rise in issues such as heart disease, obesity, stress, cancer, arthritis and more.

The emphasis has shifted from early prevention (by eating naturally and healthyly) to drugs and surgery. An ounce of prevention is worth the heavy lifting however. Why try to fight disease as soon as it is rooted, when with simple guidelines we can avoid it in the first place?

Taoists believe that the main concern is natural health, not doctors and medicine, and this can be achieved through eating natural foods. Keep in mind that the body will regenerate, the skin tissue and organs take about 2-3 years, even the bones are replaced after seven years, and they are all made from what goes into your mouth.

Nature can do its job but only with the right tools. It is advisable that natural foods are grown organically without the use of artificial fertilizers, chemicals or pesticides.

The Taoist Modern Diet, in contrast to the modern Western diet:

Low fat

High energy

Vitamins and minerals are enriched

Easy to digest by the body

Not deleted and processed

This means that everyday goods such as bread and milk, which we think are healthy, are considered almost toxic to strict Taoism. Instead, rice and soy milk are used as a substitute milk and a widely accepted scheme.

"Ground Up" approach

Qigong: refers to the Taoist training set used to maintain and move with qi (the energy of the universe). Methods include meditation and focused physical movement. It helps maintain physical and mental health.

Generally, in many Taoist Qigong types, energy is taken from the earth, upwards. Likewise, the concept of "rooting" is the basis of tai chi and much of Chinese martial arts and Taoism, as well as in history, and in the context of Taoist power, from the ground up is considered the best way to gain vital energy from food.

Like the Taoist Qigong, the Tao diet also emphasizes a "based" approach to the use of vegetables. That is, the plant should be consumed in a high percentage of food, especially in the ground (root vegetables) compared to the higher ones, e.g. an apple.

The main reason for this is that vegetable bound earth has more energy and the ability to provide more qi to the body. Yams, of all kinds of root crops, potatoes, carrots, carrots to name a few, are considered good energy contributors, which help the spleen (immune system) become stronger, and make jing qi more "rooted".

After the plants are attached to the earth, vegetables such as cabbage, bok choy, spinach, etc., are often clipped or preserved for winter use.

Next came higher crops - peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, etc., used to deliver good energy, but in smaller proportions.

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