To truly understand the Taoist diet, you must first understand a little about Taoist beliefs. Taoism comes from the core of Chinese and East Asian culture and has roots as deep as 2000 years, though it has only spread to the West in more modern times as people begin to reject materialism for a 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 non-active and supportive views, Taoism focuses on human connection with 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 the five colors.
The five tones deafen the ears.
The five flavors blur the tongues.
Fast horses and breathtaking hunts drive minds wild and wild.
Weird and expensive things get people lost.
That is why a wise man tends to the belly, not to the eye,
always ignore that and choose this.
– Tao Te Ching, Part 12
Historically, the Taoist diet has consisted mainly of fresh fruits and vegetables, with little meat and no grain, as they thought during the digestive process, the demon-like creatures would be freed from the rotten grain and would try to eat them 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 the tradition.
The Taoist diet relates the five basic flavors to an element of nature: sweet (earth), salty (water), sour (wood), bitter (fire), spicy (metal). They believe that getting greedy and putting one flavor on one pedestal over another causes it to be untested at all, so it is important to balance flavors to achieve inner harmony.
Taoism has to do with the natural and humans are part of nature. One of the most important beliefs is to “ eat only food ”, that is, to avoid unnatural artificial substances that the body cannot process and that may contain unbalanced flavors, such as artificial additives, medications, etc. Highly processed foods that contain little or 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 in the ground, so they are not really natural ‘foods’ fit for human consumption.
Historical
In much of classical Taoist literature, much mention is made of the shrewd men of old, or people who existed in prehistoric times. Several of the texts speak that they exist only with their breath and that they do not consume food at all. They lived as they were born and only gained sustenance from the qi or Yin Yang of the Universe.
This practice, known as “Bigu”, is sometimes used within some of the Taoist hermit traditions and mythological ideas, but it is not something that is practical or even safe for modern people, who live in normal society, to try. Taoists believe that the human state has been altered and 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 shrewd and enlightened teachers from before history, and also before the development of agriculture. Thus, in the oldest traditions, the Taoists were not to consume cereals.
The reasons for this could be many, from health problems to a reverence for some mythological past, pre-agricultural and even other social factors. The minimalist approach is often used to explain it, stating that Taoists live on more than just food and subconsciously derive energy from the cosmic.
However, as mentioned above, the reason provided in many of the early texts for not eating grains is so as not to wake up the “Three Worms”.
-The 3 worms
The first mythological explanation for cereal withdrawal is the 3 worms.
These are literally 3 demonic worms that were said to live in the intestines of humans and that were responsible for the decomposition of their body after death.
Of course, since their goal is to devour your body, it is best for them that you die as quickly as possible.
Before death, the 3 worms would live in a person’s intestines, feeding on the rotten biological matter that is digested.
Therefore, as your intestines digested the grain, the 3 worms would eat the waste that was produced. As they fed on the grains, they grew stronger and could then feed off the rest of his body, causing him to die more quickly.
Since longevity for continuous cultivation is one of the main goals of many Taoist practices, the goal of the diet was to “starve” all 3 worms by reducing the intake of grains or eliminating them altogether.
From a modern perspective, it could be that the early Daoist simply noticed 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 to slow down the cell division process.
Another possibility mentioned above is simply reverence for a pre-civilized, pre-agricultural period in time, where men neither cultivated nor participated in the social activities and games of a surplus food-producing culture.
The Third Immortal King said to the Emperor:
“You get 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 the mysterious antiquity, they reached old age because they remained at leisure and never ate grains.”
As the Dayou zhang (Verse of the great existence) says:
The five grains are life-cutting chisels,
Make all five organs stink and shorten the wingspan.
Once it entered our stomach,
There is no more chance of living long.
Fight to completely avoid all death
Keep your intestines free of droppings! “
While many ancient Taoists practiced abstaining from grain, this is not entirely true. There are many accounts of Taoists who ate, or literally asked 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 on being PRIMARILY grain-based, rather than practicing total grain abstention. Although there are some radical people who claim to never eat, they are often ridiculed by the media and later found to be “starved” for attention rather than being a true old-style Taoist.
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 (especially root vegetables), and very little meat.
It is important that vegetables are eaten in the proper seasons and are steamed or sautéed. Boiling removes the natural goodness. Fruits tend to be dried or baked and eating tropical fruits is frowned upon for throwing all five flavors out of balance due to their strong, often citrusy flavors. It is also important that they are seasonal and do not have any human intervention.
In general, all red and blue meats should be avoided, including pork, rabbit, snails, and the like. Poultry and game birds can be eaten, as well as fish. However, fish and other shellfish should only be consumed once a week due to its high amount of Yin. Some fish like salmon, shark, swordfish, and mackerel, which are high in Yin content, should be avoided entirely.
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, onions, etc.) and stay away from as many preservatives as possible.
Differences Between Taoist and Modern Western Diets
In the West, lifestyle and eating habits have contributed to the dramatic increase in problems such as heart disease, obesity, stress, cancer, arthritis, etc.
The emphasis has shifted from initial prevention (eating naturally and healthily) towards medications and surgery. However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Why try to fight a disease once it has taken root, when with a few simple guidelines we can avoid it in the first place?
Taoists believe that natural health is the most important thing, not doctors and medicines, and this can best be achieved by eating natural foods. Remember that the body regenerates itself, the skin tissue and organs take 2-3 years, even the bones are replaced after seven years, and everything is built from what goes into the mouth.
Nature can do its job, but only if it is given the right tools. Ideally, natural foods have been grown organically 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 think are perfectly healthy, are considered almost toxic to strict Taoists. Instead, rice and soy milk are used as a substitute and skimmed milk is generally accepted.
The “Ground Up” approach
Qigong: refers to the set of Taoist exercises that are used to maintain and move with the qi (energy of 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, upward. Similarly, the concept of “rooting” is the basis of tai chi and many of the Chinese and Taoist martial arts, so historically, and within the Taoist context of power, it was thought from scratch as the best way to obtain energy. vital. of the food.
As with Taoist Qigong, the Taoist diet also generally emphasizes a “ground” approach to consuming vegetables. That is, plants should be consumed in a high percentage of the total diet, especially those that are below the ground (tubers) as opposed to those that are higher, for example, an apple.
The main reason for this was that ground-bound vegetables have more energy and the ability to deliver more qi to the body. Yams, all kinds of tubers, potatoes, carrots, turnips, to name a few, were thought to provide good energy from the earth, helping the spleen (immune system) to become stronger and making the jing qi more “rooted”. .
After the ground-bound plants, there were vegetables like cabbages, bok choy, spinach, etc., which were often pickled or kept for the winter.
Then came the taller crops: peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, etc., which were used to provide good energy, but in smaller proportions.
