Food Energetics: Are You a Hot Dog?

Has anyone else heard of the Chinese Dietary Theory?

Ma and I had never heard of this but then Daddy-dog was reading, of all things, a Primal Pet Foods brochure (that he grabbed while Ma was buying my latest supply of Formulas) and he asked Ma "What are these circles with H, N, W, C in them?  It says H = Hot Protein, N = Neutral, etc...What does that mean?"

Ma's response?  "What the heck are you talking about?" as she grabbed the brochure away from Daddy-dog.  Sure enough, there were the little circles with letters in them.  So Ma went to the Primal Pet Foods website where she found in the sidebar this information:

Food Energetics

According to Chinese theory, foods play an important role in well-being. Below are protein temperatures indicating general heating/cooling properties of common foods.

Neutral Foods can be used in combination with other foods to decrease the harshness of a very cold or very hot diet.  Cooling Foods are foods that allow the body to cool.  Warming Foods are foods that allow the body to develop and maintain warmth.  Hot Foods are the most heat generating foods that allow the body to develop and maintain warmth.

Nature of Foods

Chinese dietary theory came into being more than 2,000 years ago.  Back then, no one was counting calories or researching fats/carbohydrates or talking about vitamins and minerals.  So people used a more qualitative approach, one of them being the 'nature' of the food and how it affected the body.

"The nature of a food represents the thermal effect generated in the body after ingesting it. This is the feeling of warmth or coolness experienced during or after digestion, which is independent from the temperature at which it is consumed." (Medicinal Properties of Foods According to Chinese Dietary Theory, Philippe Sionneau, translation by Janel Sharma)

Chinese dietary theory takes the yin and yang of foods into account - basically that all natural phenomena have opposites that complement each other.  According to the theory, a diet that is a balance of yin and yang foods will help prevent illness and other problems within one's body.

So, if someone shows signs of heat in the body - fever, excessive thirst, inflammatory conditions, skin irritation -  they should increase their consumption of foods with cool or cold natures (yin) thus cooling the heat from within.  If someone shows signs of cold in the body - sensitivity to cold, slow digestion, fatigue -  they should increase their consumption of foods with warm or hot natures (yang).  (Medicinal Properties of Foods According to Chinese Dietary Theory, Philippe Sionneau, translation by Janel Sharma)

Yin and Yang Foods

Foods with a higher water content are considered "cool" or yin in nature.  Yin foods cool down the body and slow bodily functions which make them more suitable in warm weather (probably why people eat foods like watermelon in the summer).

Foods with a higher energy content are considered "warm", "hot" or yang in nature.  Yang foods warm the body, stimulate vital functions and increase metabolism.  Yang foods are more suitable in cold weather.

Here is a small chart I created with some common foods and their yin or yang nature:

Dogs Can Be Hot or Cold Too! 

Ma found a short article by Chris Bessent, DVM called The Energetics of Pet Food which explains:

"A dog that is hot will typically demonstrate it through a variety of signs. A hot dog will seek cool places, will often be hot to the touch, and may pant at inappropriate times (like at night time or while at rest).  A dog that is hot may also have red eyes or red skin and may be very restless. Dogs that are affected by allergies or that are very high-arousal are characteristically very hot in nature.    

A 'cold dog' may show signs like general weakness, fatigue, exercise intolerance, poor appetite, shortness of breath, slow moving, and a preference to lay around. They may also seek out warm places, have fecal or urinary incontinence, stiffness that gets worse with rest, joint pain that gets worse in the cold weather, or have coldness of their ears, back, and limbs." 

Ha!  I always knew I was a "Hot" Dog (thanks to my incessant allergies)!  So now, Ma is looking at the yin and yang nature of the foods I am eating while watching me to see if they are making any kind of difference in my health - am I scratching/itching less, etc (as if she doesn't have enough to do already - BOL).

What are your thoughts on the Chinese Dietary Theory?  

Are you a "cold" or "hot" dog?  Are you eating foods that are best for your nature?  Would you want to hear more about the yin and yang of foods that we eat?