TCM and women's health: Talk with TCM nutritionist Sandra Langschwert
Period pains, migraines, hormonal imbalance - many women are familiar with this. Often complaints are simply accepted or inadequately treated. TCM nutritionist and mentor for women's health Sandra Langschwert knows how a diet according to traditional Chinese medicine can help and gives us tips for everyday life.
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What is TCM?
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The woman from the perspective of TCM
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Nutrition according to the five elements of TCM
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Expert interview with Sandra Langschwert
According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), nutrition has a great influence on the body and its health. It is crucial to establish the balance between yin and yang. With a balanced body centre, the self-healing powers are activated and complaints and diseases are healed. Conversely, an imbalance in the body can cause complaints and diseases.
What is TCM?
The roots of traditional Chinese medicine reach far back into the origins of Chinese history. As a complement to Western medicine or as an alternative healing method, TCM is also becoming increasingly important in Europe. In Chinese understanding, life care (Yang Sheng) is directly related to the goal of health into old age. The main focus is on the realisation that all physical and bodily processes in the human being influence each other. TCM acts in a holistic and natural way.
Yin and Yang are the elemental forces of life. They are inseparable, interconnected opposites that complement each other and cannot exist without the other. If the harmony of Yin and Yang is disturbed, the life energy, the Qi, cannot flow properly. Qi is also called the "source of life" or "inner power". When its flow is disturbed, it leads to discomfort and illness.
The well-known symbol for Yin and Yang is the black and white Taijitu. The dark area stands for yin, and the light area for yang. Both carry a core of the opposite pole. The Yin side includes, among other things, the feminine, the earth, the night or rest and relaxation. The opposite side is the yang side with the masculine, the sky, the day or the activity. From the TCM point of view, diseases arise from disharmonies of the yin and yang aspects. For example, sleep disorders are due to a yin deficiency, which is eliminated by restoring balance.
The woman from the perspective of TCM
According to the Chinese conception, Qi begins to blossom in girls at the age of seven. The onset of the period at about 14 years of age is called the "dew of heaven". In TCM, regular and painless menstruation is taken for granted. If women experience pain during this period, this in turn has to do with disharmony between Yin and Yang.
At age 21, a woman's kidney essence is at its highest. The kidney has an essential role in TCM. It stores the life essence and is called the "root of life". The energy of the Kidney is the basis for everything substantial (such as bones, hair, growth, and reproduction), everything functional (such as organ functions, will to live, and processes in the body) and the Qi in the body.
"Qi forms the human body just as water becomes ice. Just as water becomes to become ice, qi also clenches to form the human body." - Wang Chong (Chinese physician, 27-97 AD)
From the mid-30s, the kidney energy decreases again. It determines age-typical phenomena such as the greying of the hair, menopause and the accompanying hormonal changes or loss of libido. The decrease in kidney energy is a natural process. However, how quickly energy is depleted can be influenced by lifestyle and diet. In younger years, Kidney energy shows through vitality, sexual desire, fertility and creativity. The fire is lit and we are bursting with energy.
A weakened kidney can show itself through the absence of menstruation, sexual inactivity or infertility. Constant cold feet and hands are also a sign. With the onset of menopause, the loss of Qi, blood and body fluids should be prevented. It helps the woman to age in a healthy and vital way. Menopause is also affectionately called "second spring".
In the Chinese view, all body parts and organ functions are divided into Yin and Yang. Each organ has its working and resting times. This natural rhythm is represented in the organ clock. During menstruation and menopause, the kidneys, spleen, stomach, heart and liver are particularly involved. Menstrual cramps can be the result of an imbalance of these organs. If yin and yang are not in harmony, hormonal imbalances can be the result. Hormonal imbalances have physical and psychological effects. They particularly affect women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menstrual disorders, menstrual cramps, sexual dysfunction or menopausal syndrome.
Nutrition according to the five elements of TCM
In TCM, the five tastes are classified according to the five elements. These are then each assigned to certain organs that influence the body in a certain way:
- Sour: Wood - liver and gall bladder
- Bitter: Fire - heart and small intestine
- Sweet: Earth - spleen/pancreas and stomach
- Spicy: Metal - Lung and large intestine
- Salty: Water - Kidney and Bladder
Each food is broken down in its taste, effect, thermal (cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot) and organ reference. Cooling foods should be supplemented with warming ingredients so as not to create unwanted colds or heat in the body. The diet is adapted to seasonal changes. It is important to create a balanced proportion of all five tastes and to cook in the cycle of the five elements. In TCM, only natural, fresh and unprocessed foods are used. Likewise, microwaves, ready-made products and co. are banned from the kitchen.
Sandra Langschwert is an expert in this field. She is a TCM nutritionist and women's health mentor.
She talks to us about the influence of traditional Chinese medicine on our hormones and our bodies.
Photo: Sandra Langschwert © TVKFotografie
In which areas can a TCM diet help?
Traditional Chinese medicine is a healing science that is thousands of years old and focuses on health prevention. Therefore, it is important for me to say at this point that it is primarily about maintaining balance in the body and on the 3 levels - body, mind and soul - so that no illnesses (imbalances) arise in the first place.
Changes in eating habits that are based on the concept of TCM nutrition have a particularly "fast" effect when it comes to digestive complaints (bloated belly, flatulence, constipation, diarrhoea, heartburn, ...).
In addition, I personally and some of my clients have had very good experiences with TCM nutrition when it comes to complaints in the female cycle and women's health. This includes menstrual pain, PMS symptoms, migraines, endometriosis, and perimenopause.
Since we also work holistically in TCM nutrition and it is not only about nourishing the body (with food), but also the mind, the approach of TCM nutrition can also help with exhaustion, burnout, sleep disorders and concentration problems.
In short, there is actually no area (in life) where TCM (nutrition) cannot support.
How is our diet related to our hormonal balance?
"You are what you eat." This phrase may be a bit hackneyed, but it still fits. No matter what we eat, its components of it end up in our cells. Hormones are produced in many different places in the body. In glands in the brain, the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, the ovaries and also in the intestines.
Nutrition can be like medicine, but it can also cause stress. And depending on this, the very sensitive hormone system of our body reacts to it. If I nourish my body in an individually appropriate way, it can gain energy from the food and the hormone production runs relaxed and as it should. If I stress my body with food (e.g. too much sugar, coffee, convenience products or poor-quality food), this has a negative effect on our hormone balance.
How can hormonal balance be positively influenced by a TCM diet?
By focusing on having a "strong centre". The so-called centre in TCM refers to our digestion in the broadest sense. It already starts in the mouth with chewing. Sufficiently good chewing so that the ingested food arrives in the stomach as a soup that is warm to the body is a tip that can be easily implemented in everyday life, but for many, it is a great deal of work.
We also nourish the centre by eating hot, cooked food three times a day and with a balanced diet that contains few convenience products and highly processed foods. Also important: go with nature and choose seasonal foods.
No less important for a strong centre is mental work. After all, constant brooding and worrying weaken our centre just as much as a diet that is unsuitable for us.
What influence does the cycle have on our everyday life?
Everything in our lives is influenced by the cycle and the hormonal system.
Appetite, eating behaviour, sleep, energy, mood, creativity, sexual desire, productivity, need for exercise and rest, ability to concentrate, immune system, metabolic processes, etc.
Depending on the cycle phase, the mix of hormones in our body is different. There are 4 phases in total: menstruation or period (bleeding), follicular phase (the time between bleeding and ovulation), ovulation (ovulation) and luteal phase (the time between ovulation and menstruation). Why? Because there are other goals of Mother Nature during the cycle.
Example: In the follicular phase - the time before ovulation - the next egg matures and we are nice and slow in our search for a partner to reproduce and preserve our species (this is Mother Nature's only goal). In this phase, the oestrogens dominate in our body and we feel more attractive, communicative and solution-oriented. The second half of the cycle is about waiting to see if a fertilised egg implants and we become pregnant. Now progesterone dominates and we feel the need to withdraw. Our nest-building instinct becomes active.
How can I use my cycle for myself?
By knowing about the physical processes, which hormones are present when and which emotions we (can) feel when. This makes it possible to plan and use everyday life differently, both professionally and privately.
In the first half of the cycle, it is particularly easy to make plans, deal with finances or conduct staff meetings or give presentations. We are also more active in sports and can do longer training sessions.
In the second half of the cycle, we often need it more quietly. On the other hand, we are more creative and more artistic and it can happen that we get into a flow and can pour our thoughts into texts or cook ourselves something good. Sometimes family celebrations or a night at the cinema with our best friend don't feel so appropriate, because we tend to long for retreat and order within our own four walls.
How can I easily integrate a TCM diet into everyday life?
3 tips that are very easy to integrate into everyday life:
1. Eat breakfast - preferably warm and cooked between 7:00 am and 11:00 am - the classic porridge (whether sweet or spicy) nourishes our centre. However, soup is just as possible, as is the custom in many Asian countries.
2. As few ready-made products as possible. This includes frozen food as well as microwave meals or packet soup.
3. Drink water. Sounds banal, but for many, it is actually a challenge. No juices or soft drinks, and not too much coffee either. This helps our body to flush out what we don't need every day.
What other possibilities are there in TCM, apart from nutrition?
Traditional Chinese medicine is based on 5 pillars:
1. Acupuncture
2. Movement therapies with a focus on the breath such as Qi Gong
3. Massage techniques such as Tuina or Shiatsu
4. Herbal therapy
5. TCM nutrition according to the 5 elements
It is important to take care of body, mind and soul equally because only by balancing all things are we healthy.