Recipes
TCM Food Therapy Spotlight: Watermelon (Xi Gua)
Xi gua, or watermelon as we call it, is a beloved refreshment for summertime, but did you know that it is used as food therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine? TCM views food from a standpoint of energetics, or how the food affects the body and its processes. Watermelon is cold in energetic temperature, sweet in flavor and it enters the Stomach, Heart, and Urinary Bladder channels (there are 12 main channels that run throughout the entire body). According to Five Element Theory, the flavor of sweet is harmonizing, tonifying, moistening, contains Fire, and directs Qi to the Spleen. It is especially good at clearing heat, resolving water accumulation, and is used to treat overexposure to the sun, kidney infection, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
