Healthy eating is not just about eating more vegetables. Tibetan doctor Phuntsog Wangmo talks about the important nuances of good digestion.

5 rules of healthy eating from a Tibetan doctor

Phuntsog Wangmo is a doctor with 20 years of experience, director of the School of Tibetan Medicine in the USA and a leading lecturer at the School of Tibetan Medicine in Russia. She is happy to share her knowledge about healthy eating and the right combination of products.

Healthy Eating Element #1: Food Quality

Nowadays, products often contain, as we say, chemistry. For example, antibiotics in the body of animals whose meat we eat, as a result of biochemical reactions, can reduce the “fire” of digestive processes and ultimately have a devastating effect on the human immune system. For nitrates and phosphates, the same situation is typical: when they enter the body with plant products, they gradually accumulate and eventually worsen immunity, lead to indigestion, constipation, fullness and other problems.

Today, we are increasingly hearing calls to return to nature – people are aware of natural products and are trying to purchase them. The best choice is vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, spices, they contain all five primary elements.

“The first rule of life is respect for all people. The second is modesty. The third is honesty. Always keep promises, be laconic. Then the people around you will also respect you.”

Meat in Tibetan medicine is a very important part of the diet. It contains protein, which is very important for the body. Recently, substitutes for dietary supplements have appeared, which include amino acids, vitamins and trace elements. However, in Tibetan medicine it is believed that it is preferable to get all this from natural products, including meat. For example, if there is not enough calcium in the body, a Tibetan doctor will recommend you a thick meat broth.

It is important to make it a rule to never eat spoiled and unripe vegetables and fruits, as well as burnt, undercooked and undercooked food, not to mention dishes that have stood in the refrigerator for a while. All food is good in a freshly prepared state.

Healthy Eating Element #2: How We Eat

Our stomach has four pockets. Ideally, two of them are filled with food, one is filled with liquid, and the fourth serves for mixing and digestion. If we adhere to these proportions, then we feel normal. For example, you can not eat one solid food – at least half of the total mass that enters the stomach should be liquid.

Everyone knows the saying that you should get up from the table with a slight feeling of hunger. From the point of view of Tibetan medicine, this means that a quarter of the stomach must be left empty in order to give room for energy to manage digestion.

The strength of the digestive fire also depends on the individual characteristics of a person – age, nationality, physical activity. To some, a bowl of soup will seem like a heavy meal, and someone will eat a beef steak and digest it quickly.

Healthy Eating Element #3: Food Combination

Some foods are best not eaten together. Eggs and fish, brown sugar and lentils, eggs with any dairy products, and the well-known combination of fish and milk – all these "duets" form a poison.

Between meals must pass at least four hours. During this time, even incompatible products have time to digest. “Throwing into the furnace” something else, we deceive our body: it begins to process new food, leaving the old one. This is how indigestion happens, in Tibetan mashupa.

If during these four hours you really want to have a snack, wash down the feeling of hunger with liquid, but try to do without solid food.

Healthy Eating Element #4: When to Take

The body lives in obedience to its biological rhythms, and it is necessary to listen to it – to observe the diet, rest and physical activity. For breakfast, it is good to eat cereals, cereals, wholemeal bread, for lunch – a meat dish, and for dinner – something light. After a meal, there is nothing better than a short walk.

Healthy Eating Element #5: Seasonal Eating

In winter, as you know, we are not drawn to ice cream, but we want hot food and drink. In the warm season – on the contrary. In Africa, for example, bananas, coconuts and other fruits with a “cold” nature grow – they refresh and invigorate in the heat. In conditions of cold and high humidity of the Russian climate, it is better to give preference to warm drinks.

As you already know, Tibetan medicine is based on the ancient theory of the five elements. It is no coincidence that we remembered coconut with its cold taste. Knowing how to keep the balance in the body through proper nutrition is based on six tastes. Knowing the nature of taste, and, consequently, its basic elements, will help you choose and combine products correctly, depending on the state of the body and the season.

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Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author. In case of health problems, do not self-medicate, consult a doctor.