Hi Andrew, what is your opinion on Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford? I always thought it was so great and then an acupuncturist told me it wasn't all that but I never really knew why. Also, if you have heard of the book Healing Ourselves by Noburo Muramoto. I always loved this book but some of the info he gives seems to be exactly opposite as TCM (he is Japanese American, I believe). For example, he says the heart is the most Yang organ in the body. But it always seemed so great but if the info is exactly opposite...????...but maybe that right there is part of Yin and Yang theory....??? BTW, I would love any student's opinions on these also if you want to post in the student forum, also about movies! :) Thank you! Jessa

Andrew said: Hi Jessa: Pitchford's book is nice but it is not classical TCM dietary theory. He mixes Western nutrition with TCM theory. It is nice in that it helps apply Eastern diet theory to a Western diet. However, there are more traditional books out there. I wrote about it briefly in a different 'ask the professor' posting. Take a look at my answer to Zaki M. and you will find a short list of TCM dietary references. Unfortunately I cannot comment about Muramoto's book because I have never looked at it. and I never practiced Macrobiotics. Macrobiotics is based upon the same principles of TCM. However, the practical expression of the theory is not the same. You will notice the same to be true about varying styles of Asian medicine. They may say conflicting things but they are all correct! The difference is that each system may look at things from different sides of the same coin, so to speak. I wonder if he meant that the heart is the most yang of all of the yin organs. I would agree with that statement simply because it moves non-stop and yang is energy!

Hi Andrew. I'm very interested also in learning more about TCM dietary theory. I looked for the post you mentioned to Zaki M with a list of references however I can't find this post. Can you re-post your list of TCM dietary references. Thank you!

Here is a copy of the original post on TCM dietary references: Hi Zaki, I have several recommendations for you because it depends on what you are looking for. Some of these you can look at the first several pages on amazon and other sites. 1. (Comprehensive, Textbook-like, Western diet friendly). Chinese Nutrition Therapy, Joerg Kastner: https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Nutrition-Therapy-Traditional-Complementary-ebook/dp/B005VHBPRE 2. (Textbook-ish, good theory, Western diet friendly) Nourishing Life the Yang Sheng Way, Deirdre Courtney: https://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Life-Yang-Sheng-Way/dp/1848193378/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3SDBX67SUNFHF&dchild=1&keywords=chinese+nutrition+therapy&qid=1609438178&s=books&sprefix=chinese+nut%2Cstripbooks%2C158&sr=1-6 3. (Focus on medicinal congee/porridge recipes, not Western diet friendly, traditional Chinese herbal recipes) The Book of Jook, Bob Flaws: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Jook-Medicinal-Porridges-Alternative/dp/0936185600/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ZV64UN67JN4I&dchild=1&keywords=the+book+of+jook&qid=1609438610&sprefix=the+book+of+jook%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1 4. (Some theory, not Western diet friendly, traditional Chinese medicine cooking) Prince Wen Hui's Cook, Bob Flaws. https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Wen-Huis-Cook-Paradigm/dp/0912111054 5. (East-meets-West type book- Chinese diet theory meets Western nutrition and dietetics) Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Whole-Foods-Traditions-Nutrition/dp/1556434308/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=paul+pritchard+healing+with+whole+foods&qid=1609438973&s=books&sr=1-3