The "Hot" or "Cold" nature of foods

[bbdave]

So I've come across this problem while on the Wai diet. I personally have been on this diet (~90%) for 10 months now. My wife has joined me for most of that time, but is now back to eating cooked foods. The reason for this is because her body was too cold most of the time due to the nature of the Wai diet, and its also winter here and very cold (at least for her, since she lived in a tropical climate most of her life and recently moved here).
Now, according to traditional chinese medicine, and possibly other asian medicines, foods have a temperature scale in regards to how they affect our body. For example, durian is "hot" and coconut is "cold." I have personally felt the effects of this; on a hot day (95F) I have drank the juice from a whole coconut, and in ~10 minutes, my body went from sweating to feeling unnaturally cool. I have not felt much of the effects of eating “hot” foods, but my friends in Taiwan have told me that they get blisters or nose-bleeds if they eat too much longans or lychees, which are “hot” fruits.
Back to my wife’s situation. She stayed on the Wai diet (~80-90%) for about 6 months (May to October), then she started getting stomach pains. She went to see a friend, who is a chiropractor with background in homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine. He used kinesiology to assess the condition of our body and concluded that her ovaries were in a “very cold” state. So she went back to cooking most foods and eating only fruits that are either “hot,” “warm,” or “neutral.” This helped and her abdominal pains went away.
I tried to find more info on the web that explains this hot/cold reasoning, but I couldn’t find much in English. Here is just a site to give you more information about it: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... ntent;col1
But this does not explain the phenomenon. I will try to learn more about it in the months to come and incorporate it into my understanding of the Wai diet.
My main problem, of course, is that my wife and I live in a colder climate. If we lived in a much warmer environment, the “colder” foods will not affect her as much.

Here is a list I usually follow for the fruit temperatures (my wife found this list on a few Chinese sites):
HOT: Durian
WARM: Mango, Peach, Cherry, Plum, Lychee, Longan, Kumquat
NEUTRAL: Lemon, Pomegranate, Avocado, Pineapple, Grape, Orange, Papaya
COOL: Apple, Starfruit, Grapefruit, Strawberry
COLD: Tomato, Watermelon, Banana, Kiwi, Tangerine, Coconut Juice

Note: Egg yolks are warm/hot. I'm not sure about nuts, evoo, and fish.

I was wondering if anyone here had any thoughts and/or experiences concerning this hot/cold view of food.

PS. There is not much scientific information to back this up, since its from Traditional Chinese Medicine and the whole “chi” energy philosophy, which I do believe to a certain extent. I know this forum is about analyzing research and establishing facts, but this problem is the biggest obstacle for my wife at the moment, so I wanted to see if I can get some feedback here.

[bbdave]

Ok, I just did some more searching and found a few good sites:

1. http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietary ... _Foods.htm

2. http://acupuncture.rhizome.net.nz/Defic ... icine.aspx

3. http://www.comoxvalleyacupuncture.com/recommend.html

4. http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/chinese_food.asp

There is a ton of information on these sites and I will try to include what I think is relevant to me.

From site 3, I saw some of the symptoms that my wife was having when the weather was getting colder this winter, while she was on the Wai diet.
# sensation of coldness
# cold hands and feet
# low libido
# low back pain or weakness
# pre menstrual lower back pain

From site 1, it is stated that cooking foods will alter the nature of the food (temperature-wise):
Most cool to Most warm
Raw, fresh ---> Raw, dried ---> Steamed---> Sautéed---> Baked

Also from site 1:
Most cool to Most warm
Fruit-->Vegetables-->Roots, Tubers-->Grains-->Seeds-->Nuts-->Dairy, seafood, meat

Site 2 has similar info as site 1.
Site 4 is a basic summary of TCM in relation to food (for anyone interested in the topic)

I mainly want to find a hot/cold balance and to keep it as close to 100% Wai as possible. It seems eating more meat/fish/egg yolks in the winter is the solution.

[RRM]

From another thread

I've been reading that Ginkgo biloba, coconut oil, and red wine will warm you up. I have raynaud's in my hands, and play the piano; obviously I know wine isn't the healthiest thing in the world, but would the Ginkgo biloba or coconut oil be inadvisable for any reason?

I was thinking I might have a shot of red wine in desperate situations. I do really like red, and wai says it's not as harmful as other forms of alcohol. Although I have noticed, especially since eating wai, I've had a low alcohol tolerance.

I hope this is the right forum. Thanks.

[Mr. PC]

Also, I imagine coffee would possibly make a person warm (although I've recently quit coffee altogether), because it speeds up the metabolism.

I'd prefer not to speed up my metabolism since I'm so thin, but at the same time if it makes me warm. . . Is it true that faster metabolisms create more warmth? I've noticed that sugar will keep me warm, which I assume is simply about the high energy level. Would avoiding foods that slow the metabolism be a good idea? (Sedative foods like wheat, I'm also assuming would slow the metabolism).

[RRM]

I'd prefer not to speed up my metabolism since I'm so thin, but at the same time if it makes me warm. . . Is it true that faster metabolisms create more warmth?

The more energy is utilized, the more warmth is generated, indeed.
You are not speeding up 'your metabolism' (in the sense of it being slow or fast)
you are just using more energy.
That way you are keeping your blood energy levels up,
which does not result in weight loss at all,
it actually prevents weight loss (prevents the turnover of protein into energy)

[Mr. PC]

" Ginkgo biloba is reported to may cause haemorrhage when taken with other antiplatelet agents.
Ginkgo biloba also contains quercetin, and bilobalide, ginkgolides, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, rutin hydrate, quercetin-3-beta-D-glucoside and quercitrin hydrate. "

found on http://www.youngerthanyourage.com/13/plants.htm

I'm going to assume that it does this because it's blood-thinning, which is why it makes you warmer?

What would the side effects of this be if not take with other anti-platelet agents?

Also I was reading here http://www.grafxlut.com/majicom/nr/arti ... ottery.pdf that supplements(like Ginkgo) can have amounts of ingredients different than shown on the label, because the measurements are taken by average amounts of active agents in the ingredients used, whereas the potency can vary significantly.

Still I'm considering taking Ginkgo, although maybe in small amounts to be safe considering this last fact (reported by a man named Wai, any relation? ). Unless there are other side effects. Most of what I read will only state it's possitive effects and it's hard to find out how it accomplished these effects.

[RRM]

I'm going to assume that it does this because it's blood-thinning, which is why it makes you warmer?

No, as you quoted, it contains various active ingredients, causing a variety
of effects, including pro-oxidative, blood-thinning and (apparently) warming up.

What would the side effects of this be if not take with other anti-platelet agents?

As i said, various.
Quercetine and some other compounds also have mutagenic properties.

Still I'm considering taking Ginkgo

Why would you consider taking a drug that you dont know what all the effects are?
And even if it has mutagenic properties?

[Mr. PC]

Ya, you're right. I'm just desperate to be able to play piano again, and hands being too cold to move quickly is a big factor. But no, I won't take Ginkgo.

Coconut oil hasn't worked for me either, in case anyone's interested.

[RRM]

hands being too cold to move quickly is a big factor

How about doing some intense physical activities to increase your body temp before your practice?
Or a sauna?
Gloves?

[Mr. PC]

I actually wear mittens when I am not using my fingers, and I have fingerless gloves for all other times, which I keep on under the mittens so they stay warm. I keep them on while playing piano.

By the way, I'm constantly under pressure to stop wearing the gloves, some even accuse them of being the reason my hands are cold (because they need to be toughened against the environment). Is there any information to disprove them? (I'm really sick of people criticizing me for every little thing I do that isn't exactly what everyone else is doing. And everyone else praising those things as being quirky or eccentric. Why do things like these matter at all to people?! I wear gloves/I carry a carton of OJ with me/I'm thin for my height/I like kids more than I like adults/I sing to myself/I don't dress exactly as everyone else does!) oops, another rant. Sorry.

Anyways are there any exercises you'd recommend for this? (to increase heat in the hands). I've tried this approach before, but I think now that my hands are in a better state, things that didn't work a year ago may work now.

Thanks

[RRM]

I'm really sick of people criticizing me for every little thing I do that isn't exactly what everyone else is doing. And everyone else praising those things as being quirky or eccentric. Why do things like these matter at all to people?! I wear gloves/I carry a carton of OJ with me/I'm thin for my height/I like kids more than I like adults/I sing to myself/I don't dress exactly as everyone else does!

Its you alone who can make you happy.
And eventually you die on your own...
What matters is the love you have been able to share.
So, dont let people bother you with such opinions.
Just look at them, and smile...

Anyways are there any exercises you'd recommend for this? (to increase heat in the hands).

Im pretty sure you already know those techniques...
http://www.ehow.com/video_2375019_piano ... ssons.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Czerny,-Finge ... &id=188324