Maintaining and restoring one’s health is always an interesting subject. That is why Tech and Lifestyle Journal was very delighted upon receiving the invitation from Sun Life Philippines’ Go Well community to the two-part webinar ‘The Healthy Balance: A Yin Yang of Digestion and Diet’ (the first part was facilitated on May 29, 2021).
Resource speaker Francisco V. Navarro, M.D., the Director of Training at the Ateneo Traditional Chinese Medicine did a brief and insightful introduction to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine for achieving overall well-being. He emphasized that health starts with food that nourishes the body.
“In traditional Chinese medicine, Yin and Yang is a philosophy of contrasts—fire versus water; hot versus cold,” said Navarro. “We have to find the balance within our lives and lifestyle. Using the same philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine helps us understand what health is—it is about staying in the dynamic balance of Yin and Yang.”
Yin and Yang of nutrition
In a nutshell, the food we take can be classified as belonging to either Yin or Yang food. Yin food items are those associated with water and are described to bring about a cooling effect to the body. This group includes fruits and vegetables.
On the other hand, Yang food group is associated with fire and is said to help the body produce heat. Beef, pork, chicken, as well as seafood, eggs, spices (garlic and ginger), nuts, flour, and wheat belong to this group. Other types of food that undergo the cooking process are also perceived to be converted into Yang. (Rice is considered a ‘neutral’ food as it is neither Yin or Yang but what goes along with it makes the meal more into Yin or Yang.)
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that to achieve a balance or equilibrium for our digestive system, we must have a balanced meal—with balanced amounts of Yin and Yang food. From that belief, adjusting the intake of Yin and Yang food could also be the key to addressing some health issues.
Why turn to traditional Chinese medicine?
“Traditional Chinese medicine answers health questions in a different way that modern science is not able to. It is an ancient system but is still very relevant today. It has answers to questions that modern or Western medicine has difficulty answering,” Navarro explained.
Navarro also underlines the greatest lesson of traditional Chinese medicine. “We have the power to maintain our health and prevent diseases. When we get sick, we still have that power to heal ourselves and bring ourselves back to health,” he emphasized.
Sun Life Philippines’ Go Well community is facilitating the second part of this informative workshop on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Dubbed as ‘The Healthy Balance: Yin Yang of Diet Workshop,’ the free event starts at 9:30 a.m. Register for free through this link: bit.ly/gowelldiet
The webinar will also be live-streamed via Sun Life Philippines’ FB page. Sun Life PH also invites everyone to sign up and become a member of the growing Go Well community. Check out its website.
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