Digestion According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

The relationship between food and well being according to the world's oldest form of medicine

During a traditional Chinese medicine consultation, the doctor may ask to see your tongue to check its color, coating, and whether it is swollen. These qualities can indicate different potential conditions. Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock

What foods should I eat? For my patients, both with and without digestive health issues, this is a common question. My answer is not that simple. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) principles have me change my recommendations from person to person, as well as from season to season. There is no perfect diet for everyone because we are not all the same and our different external environments also affect our bodies.

TCM is the second largest, and the oldest, continuously practiced professional medicine in the world, used by one-third of the global population. Before we can discuss TCM treatments for digestive health, we need to understand the basics of digestion from a TCM perspective.

Tongue/Mouth

Digestion starts in the mouth. When you go for a TCM consultation, don’t be surprised when you are asked to stick out your tongue. The tongue is the only internal organ that we, as TCM doctors, can ask to see. Unfortunately, we can’t ask you to pull out your liver or stomach.