What is a Taoist diet?
To truly understand the Taoist diet, you must first understand a little about Taoist beliefs. Taoism stems from the core of Chinese and East Asian culture and has roots as deep as 2,000 years, though it has only spread west in more modern times as people begin to reject materialism for deeper spiritual understanding. .
Taoists are humble, egoless people who emphasize compassion, humility, and restraint, the latter of which is emphasized through their minimalist eating habits.
Although they are not known for breaking the rules due to their loving and non-active views, Taoism focuses on the human connection to nature and therefore does not believe in the rigid and orderly ways of modern society, preferring Follow the natural flow of the Universe. The common Taoist term Yin and Yang refers to the positive and negative energies of the Universe.
The blind eyes of five colors.
The five tones deafen the ears.
The five flavors blur the tongues.
Fast horses and awesome hunts drive minds wild and crazy.
Rare and expensive things make people lose themselves.
That is why a wise man attends to the belly, not to the eye,
always ignore that and choose this.
– Tao Te Ching, Part 12
Historically, the Taoist diet has consisted primarily of fresh fruits and vegetables, with little meat and no grains, as they believed that during the digestive process, demon-like creatures would be released from the rotten grain and attempt to eat it from the inside out. During more contemporary times, the diet has changed to be based primarily on the acceptance of whole grains, as well as the fresh fruits and vegetables of tradition.
The Taoist diet associates the five basic tastes with an element of nature: sweet (earth), salty (water), sour (wood), bitter (fire), spicy (metal). They believe that getting greedy and putting one flavor on a pedestal over another makes you taste nothing, so it’s important to balance the flavors to achieve inner harmony.
Taoism is about the natural and humans being a part of nature. One of the most important beliefs is to ‘eat only food’, that is, to avoid unnatural man-made substances that cannot be processed by the body and may contain unbalanced flavors, such as artificial additives, medicines, etc. Heavily processed foods that contain little to no nutritional value, such as white flour, sugar, and fast food, are also considered inedible. These are not things the body is designed to consume and do not grow out of the ground, so they are not really natural ‘food’ fit for human consumption.
Historical
In much of the classical Taoist literature, there is much mention of the wise men of old, or people who existed in prehistoric times. Several of the texts talk about them existing only on the breath and consuming no food at all. They lived as they were born and only drew sustenance from the qi or Yin Yang of the Universe.
This practice, known as “Bigu”, is sometimes employed within some of the Taoist hermit mythological traditions and ideas, but it is not something that is practical or even safe for modern people, living in a normal society, to attempt. . Taoists believe that the human state has been altered and that the ancient state has since fallen, which means that it is perfectly acceptable to eat food.
It is believed that the early Taoists had a diet that reflected this notion of sagacious and enlightened masters before history, and also before the development of agriculture. Thus, in the oldest traditions, Taoists were not supposed to eat grains.
The reasons for this could be many, from health problems to a reverence for some mythological, pre-agricultural past and even other social factors. The minimalist approach is often used to explain it, stating that Taoists live on more than food and unconsciously draw energy from the cosmic.
However, as mentioned above, the reason given in many of the early texts for not eating grain is so as not to awaken the “Three Worms.”
-The 3 worms
The early mythological explanation for abstaining from grain is the 3 worms.
These are literally 3 demonic worms that were said to live in the intestines of humans that were responsible for the decomposition of their body after death.
Of course, since their goal is to devour your body, it’s in their best interest that you die as quickly as possible.
Before death, the 3 worms would live in a person’s intestines, feeding on the rotting creep that is being digested.
Therefore, as their intestines digested the grain, the 3 worms would eat the waste that was produced. As they fed on the grains, they would get stronger and could then feed on the rest of your body, causing you to die faster.
Since longevity for continued cultivation is one of the primary goals of many Taoist practices, the goal of the diet was to “starve” the 3 worms by reducing grain intake or eliminating grains altogether.
From a modern perspective, it could be that the early Taoists simply noted a correlation between caloric intake and aging or poor health.
Assuming that a cell has a finite number of possible divisions during its life cycle, it would be necessary to drastically slow down the metabolic process in order to slow down the process of cell division.
Another possibility mentioned above is simply reverence for a pre-civilized, pre-agricultural period in time, where men did not farm, nor participate in the social activities and games of a food-surplus-producing culture.
The Third Immortal King said to the Emperor:
“You attain the Tao by avoiding all grains. Never again will you have to keep up with the moon and plant or harvest.
“Now, the people of mysterious ancient times, they reached old age because they remained in idleness and never ate grain.”
As the Dayou zhang (Verse of the Great Existence) says:
The five grains are chisels that cut life,
Making the five organs stink and shorten our spans.
Once entered our stomach,
There is no more chance to live long.
Strive to completely avoid all death.
Keep your intestines free of excrement!”
While many ancient Taoists practiced abstaining from grains, this is not entirely true. There are many accounts of Taoists eating or literally asking for rice.
It may be that abstaining from grains was more of a purification process, or a kind of fasting, leading to important rituals, ceremonies, or rites, such as taking prolonged medications, fasting, taking elixirs, etc.
Modern
In more recent times, the typical diet has radically changed to focus MAINLY on grains, rather than practicing total grain abstinence. Although there are some radical people who claim they never eat, they are often ridiculed by the media and later found to be “starving” for attention rather than true ancient Taoist style.
The modern Taoist diet essentially follows the basic theory of yin-yang and the 5 elements, and relies heavily on unprocessed whole grains, fresh vegetables (particularly root vegetables), and very little meat.
It is important that vegetables are eaten at the proper seasons and steamed or sautéed. Boiling brings out the natural goodness. Fruits tend to be dried or baked and eating tropical fruits is frowned upon because it unbalances the five flavors due to its strong, often citrus flavors. It is also important that they are seasonal and free from any human intervention.
In general, all red and blue meats should be avoided, including pork, rabbit, snails, and the like. Poultry and game birds are fine to eat, as is fish. However, fish and other shellfish should only be eaten once a week due to their high amount of Yin. Some fish such as salmon, shark, swordfish, and mackerel, which are very Yin, should be completely avoided.
The consumption of alcohol, caffeine, and chewing/smoking tobacco is frowned upon due to its refined nature.
The modern Taoist relies on moderation in his eating habits and should try to avoid consuming anything too spicy (garlic, ginger, onion, etc.) and stay away from as many preservatives as possible.
Differences Between Taoist and Modern Western Diets
In the West, lifestyle and dietary habits have contributed to the dramatic increase in problems such as heart disease, obesity, stress, cancer, arthritis, etc.
The emphasis has shifted away from initial prevention (eating naturally and healthy) towards drugs and surgery. However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Why try to fight a disease once it has taken hold, when with a few simple guidelines we can prevent it in the first place?
Taoists believe that what is of primary importance is natural health, not doctors and medicines, and this can best be achieved by eating natural foods. Remember that the body regenerates itself, skin tissue and organs take about 2-3 years, even bones are replaced after seven years, and everything is built from what goes into the mouth.
Nature can do its job, but only if given the right tools. Ideally, natural foods have been organically grown without the use of artificial fertilizers, chemicals, or pesticides.
The modern Taoist diet, in contrast to the modern Western diet, is:
low in fat
high energy
Enriched with vitamins and minerals
Easy for the body to digest.
unrefined and processed
This means that everyday Western items like bread and milk, which we believe to be perfectly healthy, are considered almost toxic to strict Taoists. Instead, rice and soy milk is used as a substitute, and skimmed milk is generally accepted.
The “from scratch” approach
Qigong: refers to the set of Taoist exercises used to maintain and move with qi (energy from the universe). Methods include meditation and focused physical movements. This helps maintain physical and mental health.
Generally, in many types of Taoist Qigong, energy is drawn from the ground upwards. Similarly, the concept of “rooting” is the foundation of tai chi and many Chinese and Taoist martial arts, so historically, and within the context of Taoist power, bottom-up was thought to be the best approach. way to get vital energy. of the food
As with Taoist Qigong, the Taoist diet generally emphasizes a “from scratch” approach to vegetable consumption. That is, plants must be consumed in a high percentage of the total diet, especially those below the ground (root vegetables) as opposed to those higher up, for example, an apple.
The main reason for this was that earth-bound vegetables have more energy and the ability to deliver more qi to the body. Yams, all kinds of root crops, potatoes, carrots, turnips to name a few, were thought to provide good earth energy, helping the spleen (immune system) to become stronger and making the jing qi more “grounded” .
After the soil-bound plants, there were vegetables such as collards, bok choy, spinach, etc., which were often pickled or preserved for the winter.
Then came the taller crops: peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, etc., which were used to provide good energy, but in smaller proportions.