Professional Documents
Culture Documents
balance
and
harmony
requires only following a
proper diet! One should
never take medications in
an uncontrolled manner.
The power of medications
is one- sided, and there are
cases in which they are
helpful."
Sun Si Miao.
" Recipes worth a thousand pieces of gold."
(Classical text of Chinese Nutrition Therapy)
Contents
About the author
Acknowledgements
How can healthy food bring you into balance?
Origin
Benefits
Introduction
Part 1. Western approach to Nutrition
Section 1. Diet
Section 2. Western Nutrition pyramid
Part 2. The most important Nutrients
Section 1. Sugar
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4
5
7
9
10
14
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26
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Acknowledgements
A heartfelt thank you to my parents, who gave me the freedom to
walk uncommon paths, and to my teachers, who showed me the
way. My gratitude goes to my patients, who time and time again
have proven to me how consistent integration of Chinese and
Macro-biotic nutrition into our daily diet helps overcome illnesses
and creates health.
I especially thank my friend Marc Antonsen and my daughter Nina
Ryckewaert, who have stood by me and supported me all the way.
A big thank you also goes out my friend Letia Ayres for providing
such valuable guidance and showing so much editorial patience,
and for offering many suggestions for improvements.
Origins
Inspiration for Food as Medicine has been developed from more
than 27 years of combined schooling and work experience by the
author, who has studied Western Medicine, Traditional Chinese
Medicine, Traditional Chinese and Macrobiotic Nutritional therapy,
Yoga and Ayurvedic Medicine.
A major complaint of people, who begin the study of diet, is the
proliferation of conflicting views in almost all sources of
information.
These books are written in part to resolve those conflicts by acting
as a guide for individual diagnosis and healing properties of
various foods. With knowledge of how foods act in the body and
ability to self-evaluate, the reader can learn which foods and diets
are best for his or her particular constitution and condition.
The other purpose of these books is to integrate the most
important food therapies from both east and west. In the west we
speak of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and other components of
food. But knowing only fats, proteins, vitamins and general
nutrition properties is not enough. Thousands of years ago, master
healers in China perceived a way to classify foods and diseases
according to simple, easily observed patterns. Various nutrition
therapies in the east focus on other dimensions: the warming and
cooling values of food, foods ability to moisten, strengthen overall
energy, calm the mind and more. Knowledge of these qualities is
indispensable for using food as medicine. This system can be
highly effective even if the medical name of the disease is not
known. For this reason, we have included the foundation of
traditional Chinese diagnosis and treatment, so that all
imbalances, regardless of the disease type, can be treated with
dietary measures.
Looking at personal diagnosis and individual properties of food,
one may conclude a universal diet does not exist, i.e. balance in
diet is unique for each person. To find balance, its helpful to know
not only one's own needs and properties of foods, but also the
correct preparation. It is necessary to exercise skill in eating by not
overeating, by choosing high-qualities foods, avoiding too many
food combinations, and by knowing a broad range of nutritious
All rights reserved Liana Nenacheva. Copyrights Living Wisdom Academy
Benefits
These books are for people who are interested in selfcare and want to change their lives; for people who
are ill and spend a lot of money on supplements and
doctors, for mothers, wives and managers. For people
who want to improve their health, balance energy and
life without spending a lot of money or time. For those
who enjoy learning, reading books, and people who
like to cook healthy foods
Eating right means more than what you should eat.
We are overwhelmed with dietary advice, (research
how many diets are out their at one time)
What is really healthy?
In one years course, I give 30yrs of experience in 3 x
different modalities. Financial benefits
Introduction
How can food bring you into balance? People must understand
that food can make us ill or it can make us healthy.
With small changes to our food habits, we can make huge
changes to our overall health and wellbeing.
I want to teach the real reason why eating sugar is bad, including
the western perspective too.
It is good to look at food not just as nutrition but also as energy,
how it can bring us into balance and how we can also have a
happy life. There is NO DIET, because life is a picnic and you
must enjoy it.
Learn how in every part of the world, there are healthy ingredients
that will support you. Learn to make healthy choices and healthy
combinations for yourself, your partner and your children.
Its not about diet, but also who you are. You will find information
provided to understand what your body is telling you. You will learn
ways to increase your self-awareness and body awareness.
I will talk about the best way to arrange your kitchen, create a
shopping list, tips for a mother, a wife, a single person etc. Once
implemented, these things are easy, dont take long and provide
you with life-long healthy eating strategies.
In book 1 and book 2 we will we talk about western approach to
nutrition and eastern approach to nutrition. All this gives you the
possibility to keep you and your family happy and healthy.
Book 1: Western approach to nutrition
Western approach to nutrition: diet, sugar, fat,
carbohydrates & proteins
How these food groups affect our health in both a positive
and negative way
How you eat fruit? Whole? Juiced? How many pieces a
day?
What are good proteins and what are bad proteins?
Good oils, bad oils
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What does diet mean, which diet is good, which diet is not
good?
Western nutrition pyramid
And much more
Book 2: Eastern approach to nutrition
Integrative nutrition pyramid. The important components of
this pyramid: love and self love, self care, self knowledge
and so on
Basic knowledge about the energy anatomy of our body,
five elements & the energy of emotions
Energy of food according the five elements
Macrobiotic nutrition pyramid
We will customise your meal plan
Best choice to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Some health tips
In book 3 and book 4 we will go deeper into western anatomy
and pathogenesis (the teaching about illnesses) and the energy
anatomy of our body. After studying this part of the Food as
medicine you will be able understand what is your energy type
and how your make-up can make you ill mentally, emotionally and
physically.
Book 3: Western approach to the digestive system
We will learn about: western anatomy, the digestion system
overall, how we digest our food and how we make problems
for the digestion system both anatomically and physically
We will discuss the difference between what is digestion
and what is absorption? Most people believe that digestion
is important; actually its absorption that is most important
We will talk about leaking gut syndrome. This is the biggest
problem of our modern time. This make as tired and ill. This
syndrome is responsible for most food intolerances,
allergies, asthma, low immunity, adrenal fatigue,
malabsorption, avitamonosis (vitamins and trace mineral
deficiency) and so on
The liver and gall bladder as anatomical and energetic
systems, play one of the most important roles in our
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Part 1
WESTERN APPROACH TO
NUTRITION
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You are probably aware of the food pyramid that tells us what
we should eat. Actually, there are many different types of food
pyramids on the market at any give time; for example, the Paleo
diet, micro-biotic diet and the raw-food diet. They all have different
approaches and different ratios of food in the respective food
groups.
Our society is bombarded with the latest designer diet every day.
There are so many ways to approach the topic of healthy eating:
All rights reserved Liana Nenacheva. Copyrights Living Wisdom Academy
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Diet
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wrong if I just eat just one small piece of chocolate, just one! Yes,
just one. Then it becomes 2, then 3 pieces. We give up. We feel
guilty. Then we eat even more bad food than before we started
the diet. Its the normal reaction of emotional eating. Naturally, we
start to gain more weight.
All of us know this situation: This is the typical western diet cycle.
Many of us, who have tried one or more western diets, have had
this kind of experience.
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assumptions:
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what you may be missing and would like to indulge in. It's about
healing, and the need to do that in a focused and disciplined way,
is what enables you to see your body's honest reaction.
Remember! The most important quality that you can bring to
your eating is to be present with what you are doing. Taste
your food, use your senses and awaken to the miracle of
transforming your health.
All rights reserved Liana Nenacheva. Copyrights Living Wisdom Academy
29
Western Nutrition
Pyramid
30
You are probably aware of the food pyramid that tells us what we
should eat. You can find these posters everywhere, even in
Doctors offices. They tend to look like the pyramid below.
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Most food pyramids you see circulating around, are very old now.
You may be asking the question; why do we still use these
pyramids? Let me share with you a couple of reasons why.
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Part 2
The most important
Nutrients
Macronutrients
Micronutrients
Minerals
Vitamins
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There are five main groups of nutrients, which can be divided into
two groups
1. The macro- nutrients
2. The micronutrients
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Sugar
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Lets see how sugar affects our body. Excessive intake of sugar
causes
Activation of Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF)
which
leads to excessive growths and formation of body
tissues aging, cancer
Agglutination of the protein molecules (sticking of the
molecules): problem with skin, kidney, blood vessels,
atherosclerosis, brain, immune system (asthma, allergy,
rheumatism), gastro-intestinal tract, nerves (nerve pain,
slow impulses between synapses), problems with vision,
problems with erections, problems with intestinal nerves
Increases in heart and vessel problems
Suppression of immune system
Increased acidity of blood and body increased
Osteoporosis: sucks calcium from the bones
Activation of fat production cholesterol
heart and
vessel problems
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What is Sugar?
Sugars
are
simple
carbohydrates
made
out
of
single
units
called
monosaccharides.
Glucose,
the
bodys
main
fuel,
is
a
monosaccharide.
Other
monosaccharides
include
fructose,
found
in
fruit,
vegetables
and
honey,
and
galactose
a
component
of
the
sugar
present
in
milk.
Disaccharides include
Sucrose table sugar, made from one molecule of glucose
and one of fructose
Lactose found in milk and made from one molecule of
glucose and one of galactose
Maltose (malt sugar) found in cereals; made up of two
paired glucose molecules
The sugar in whole-foods is balanced with proper minerals. The
energy obtained from breaking down and assimilating these
sugars is of a constant and enduring nature.
All rights reserved Liana Nenacheva. Copyrights Living Wisdom Academy
43
The refining process of sugar disperses the life force and the
natural balance is upset. Refined sugar passes quickly in the
bloodstream in large amounts, giving the stomach and pancreas a
shock. This causes blood-sugar imbalance and further cravings for
sugar.
Refined sugar delivers high energy and enables us to keep
working, but unfortunately, it is addictive and contributes greatly to
disease and imbalances and cravings for sugar.
Lets compare the Western point of view and knowledge of
Traditional Chinese Medicine to the workings of sugar.
According TCM
1. Enter
the
Spleen-pancreas
exegetical system
Harmonizing
3. Remove coldness
Carbohydrates
and
promotes warmth.
sugar
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body functions
5. Moistening
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Fruit creates indigestion, bloating and gas. Fruit often ferments the
rest of the meals contents because it digests quickly, while other
more complex sugars are still being broken down. We make a
wine in our digestive tract. You need a minimum of a two hour
pause between any intake of fruits and your meal. I suggest you
eat fruit as healthy snack at 10.00 am and 4.00 pm.
Honey
Some people are aware that white sugar is bad so they are
replacing it with equally large amounts of honey.
For people who use a whole-food diet, a small amount of honey is
OK.
Heat produced honey, should be not used by people with
copious amounts of mucus. Raw, completely unprocessed,
unheated honey is preferable. The more medicinal qualities of
honey will be discussed in level II.
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