Food as Medicine

Recently my wife has been having some problems with her teeth.  The dentist, Dr. T, couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her teeth.  But he thought she might be having 熱氣 (re qi, literally “hot air”).  The concept of "qi" is quite unique to Chinese medicine and is really difficult to translate, even though the word is the same as the one for “air”, “vapour”, etc. He suggested she eat something 涼 （“cool”）, such as watermelon.

Initially we were sceptical, but saw no harm in trying.  And it worked.  So we have been eating and learning more about watermelons lately.  But we also have to be careful to not eat too much, otherwise we might become too “cool” - that might lead to other problems.  Our preferences so far are watermelons from Malaysia and Taiwan.  They are not cheap, at roughly 8 Hong Kong dollars a pound, but good quality. 

The concept of food as medicine is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture, even though I know very little of it.  For example, I just learned that tamarind can be good for upset stomach, constipation, and other ailments.  

I do know that crocodile meat is good for certain kinds of coughs, but not all kinds.  But I do not know which kinds.

The whole thing is very complicated.  But the general concept of “hot” and “cool” as applied to the body and the food you eat is evidently quite practically useful.  Our parents are much more knowledgeable about these things than we do.  It will be a pity if we do not carry it on.  Fortunately, at least one of our daughters seems quite interested in it, and probably knows more than we do already.