The Five Taste of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Ling Shu Chapter 56 is very interesting in explaining why we eat what we eat.

As I start to think about what I am going to make for dinner for my family, first I check with them to see what they ate for lunch. I like to know what they ate for lunch and what time they ate to help me understand what their body needs.  I wanted to balance their diets, and to make sure nobody ate for dinner what they ate for lunch. I also ask the question what sounds good to you?

As I prepare dinner I factor in thoughts such as, what was our day like. What will we be doing after dinner, what time of year, and must important what time of the month is it! There are many aspects to think about when we decide what to eat; the most important is HOW WILL IT TASTE.  

The Chinese have been using the taste of food to improve health for thousands of years. There are five tastes and the Traditional Chinese Medicine attribute taste to five of the fourteen meridians. The taste of our food plays a role in our health and body function. There is food that can restore our meridians when we have a specific TCM pattern, and there are different tastes can damage our meridian function when we have other patterns.

When certain meridians are weak, we may crave sweet taste to increase the Qi in that meridian, or if a meridian’s Qi is stagnating, we may crave spicy taste. When I have had a rough day, and I am crabby in the fall or winter, I will have curry and squash soup. Curry will move the crabby out, sweet squash will nourish my spirit, and the soup aspect is gentle on my digestion.

The Five tastes enter the body and follow the routes respectively to the five meridians. The stomach is the “Sea of Converging” the food enters the stomach and is refined into substances that enters into the five organs.  Each of the five tastes coordinates with a solid organ/meridian Qi.

Sour/Spicy enters the Liver first - Bitter enters the Heart 1st - Sweet enters the Spleen 1st - Acrid enters the Lung 1st - Salty enters the Kidney 1st

Ling Shu-

“When the cereal has entered into the stomach, its refined substances produced spread to the upper burner and middle burner from the stomach to irrigate and nourish the five viscera, and the other two branches are the two routes of the Ying-energy and the Wei-energy.”

This passage out of the Ling Shu to me is saying that the stomach digests the food we eat is spread throughout body to irrigate the bowels and bladder, which is than eliminated, also to nourish our organs with Blood and Qi. If we are eating the correct food with the correct tastes for our bodies’ constitution, we will be healthy, strong, happy and will not damage our bodies/meridians there for having health and wellness. If we are not listening to your bodies, we will eat foods that will cause damage to our organs/meridian, causing illness.

The Five Taste of the five Meridian and the functions of the Five Taste. 

Spleen Meridian- The taste is sweet. The taste of sweet foods have the functions of tonifies deficiency, moistening, moderates spasms and alleviates pain. What sweet can do for the spleens function is harmonize the middle burner, alleviate poisons and toxin, and harmonize formula, so when ingested the spleen meridian is able to transform and transport the foods into Qi. When our spleen meridian is weak, you may feel bloating, diarrhea, cold, fatigued, or may have been diagnosed with Hypothyroid. 

Liver Meridian the taste is sour/spicy. The taste of sour foods has the function of astringe (hold together) the qi and blood, and fluids during deficiency, and to generate fluids. The liver needs yin, blood and qi to free course qi in the body and to regulate menstrual cycle of the women. If liver is dry and qi and blood are not flowing, the body will have disease. If your liver meridian is weak, you may have irregular periods, fertility issues, irritable. 

Heart Meridian- The taste is bitter. The taste of bitter foods function is to drain excess, descend excess, to dry dampness to form yin. When heart fire is in excess, the body needs to drain and descend excess or the spirit is irritated. The heart is a yin organ, drying dampness to form yin will improve the heart function to control the heart yang, which will give us strong Qi. If you have insomnia, worry, palpitation with anxiety, dream allot during sleep your heart meridian is weak.

Kidney Meridian- the taste is salty. The taste of salty foods has the function of purging accumulation, and softens hardness. If there is excess water in the body do to deficiency of the Kidney meridian there will be edema, salty taste can strengthen kidney meridian. If you have weak of sore low back, sore knees, premature gray hair, fertility issues, ADD your kidney meridian may be weak. 

Lung Meridian- The taste is acrid. The taste of acrid foods has the function of opening, and moving. The lung qi moves water, and moves qi through the body. Acrid opens orifices and moves the qi through the body. If you have reoccurring colds, asthma, deep sorrow you are unable to let go, sweat without excursion your lung meridian may be weak.

Which meridian there can be excesses as well with different symptoms.

With the information from the Ling Shu, we can put together the cereal, fruit, vegetables and meat to help our patients, families and ourselves.

For more information about taste, food, or health contact us:

SuNu Wellness (12455 Ridgedale Dr) 

Minnetonka Mn 55305

952.314.7035