Spanning many traditional medicinal systems, the ancient concept of the 5 flavors and their effect on the body is all about maintaining harmony within the body. These flavors: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy, are considered for their therapeutic use in treating various organ systems, as well as treating their specific organs according to the Five Elements. It is believed that a craving for a particular flavor can indicate a deficiency in the corresponding organ. Eating foods in a particular flavor can help balance a deficient organ, and the craving for the associated flavor may dissipate once balance is restored. Though Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) also teaches the importance of eating seasonally, top priority is balancing the individual’s needs, which may include eating foods that are out of season.
Sweet: Earth, spleen, pancreas, stomach, yang, fire, warming.
The spleen is an important organ for digestion and absorption of nutrients from food. When the spleen is weak, deficient, or imbalanced, one may experience symptoms like low energy, stomach abdominal bloating after eating, irregular bowel movements, weight gain, heavy and puffy arms and legs, poor quality of sleep or insomnia, underactive thyroid, chronic fatigue syndrome, and oedema. Those with a spleen deficiency may crave sweets because sweet flavors tonify, harmonize, moisten, and contain fire, which warms the spleen and unblocks stagnant Qi. Children especially crave sweet flavors because their spleen is still developing, and sweet flavor foods protect them while they are strengthening their digestive system. To balance spleen Qi, eat whole, natural foods like whole grains, cabbage, fruits, carrots, parsnips, chestnuts, millet, rice, licorice, astragalus, dates, and sweet potatoes. Avoid processed, simple sweets, since sweet flavor foods should be gentle and nourishing.
Sour: Wood, liver, gallbladder, yin, cooling, moves energy up and out.
The liver dominates emotions, and is stagnant when one is easily angered, irritated, or emotional. Other symptoms, exacerbated by liver Qi causing blood to rise to the head, include headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure, or red eyes or face. The liver deficient body may also experience insomnia, bloating, constipation, depression, premenstrual tension, or hyperthyroidism. Sour foods like tomato, orange, kiwi fruit, vinegar, lemon, lime, pickles, sauerkraut, sour apple, sour plum, rose hip, and hawthorn berry counteract the effects of rich and greasy foods, breaking down fats and protein to facilitate efficient and proper digestion.
Bitter: Fire, heart, small intestine, yin, cooling, contraction, descending energy.
Bitter flavor in Chinese medicine is associated with fire and clearing heat from the body, especially the heart. Excessive heat shows itself through ulcers in the mouth, red face, heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, dark or yellow urine, red or burning tongue, or a bitter taste in the mouth. This flavor helps reduce inflammation, infections, constipation, and overly moist or damp individuals. Because excess heat is often caused by the gallbladder or liver, foods of this flavor clear stagnancy and cools liver heat. Eat foods like alfalfa, bitter melon, romaine lettuce, rye, bitter gourd, pomelo, mustard leaf, dandelion, parsley leaves, collard greens, arugula, kale, celery, corn, burdock root, or sesame seeds to stimulate the small intestine and heart, and dispel damp related conditions like candida, parasites, mucus, swelling, skin eruptions, abscesses, growths, cysts, and obesity. Obese and lethargic, as well as overheated and aggressive individuals benefit the most from the bitter flavor.
Salty: Water, kidneys, bladder, yin, cooling, moves energy downward and inward.
Kidneys store our body’s original essence, which is inherited by our parents and determines our innate strength or weakness. Salty flavor purges, softens lumps, lymph nodes, or stiffness, detoxes the body, improves digestion, and guides Qi to the kidneys. The salty flavor increases yang, balancing the yin nature of the water element. Symptoms of kidney deficiency or imbalance include low energy, lower back, knee, ankle, or heel pain, tired legs, poor memory, frequent urination (especially at night), early graying of hair, early menopause, impotence, developmental problems for children like delayed speech or walking, or the sensation of tasting salt. Salty foods include animal products, prawns, sea cucumber, lamb, pickles, soy sauce, miso, oyster, black beans, walnuts, chestnuts, and goji berries.
Pungent/Spicy/Acrid: Metal, lungs, large intestine, yang, warming.
Pungent flavors disperse and move blood around the body and guide Qi to the lungs. Because of the aromatic nature of spicy flavors, they are used to dispel nasal congestion, clearing mucus from the sinuses. Since the lungs are the body’s first defense against outside pathogens, the lungs can become impaired and cause symptoms like sneezing, runny or congested nose, coughing, headaches, body aches, fever, or sore throat. Those who benefit the most from the pungent flavor are those who are sluggish, dull, lethargic, or excessively heavy. Eat foods like onions, scallions, radishes, ginger, wasabi, dry mustard, garlic, horseradish, black pepper, mint, cayenne, elderflower, spearmint, rosemary, and chamomile. Incorporate with caution, as an excess of spicy foods can irritate the intestines.
Paying attention to what your body is telling you through symptoms and cravings can reveal ailments in the body, and suggest treatment through food. Using the five flavors, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent, help your body work efficiently, clear stagnation, guide Qi, and return to harmony.
References:
https://fiveflavorsherbs.com/blog/the-five-flavors-in-traditional-chinese-medicine/
https://renewacupunctureclinic.com.au/five-flavours-food-according-traditional-chinese-medicine/#:~:text=The%20Chinese%20categorise%20the%20taste,disease%20and%20recover%20from%20illness.
https://www.sitcm.edu.au/blog/how-the-5-flavours-of-tcm-whole-foods-influence-better-health/#:~:text=Natural%2C%20sweet%20foods%20nourish%20the,parsnips%2C%20chestnuts%20and%20sweet%20potatoes.
Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford