When friends and family members all around are having babies, couples with an unfulfilled desire for children have a hard time. Expectations and pressures are great; the feeling of having failed in something intended by nature burdens them. A wish that of itself is nothing but pure love of life becomes an act of planning and precautionary measures.

It is easy to say that things happen more easily when they are carried out straight from the gut, rather than when desired and controlled by the mind. The contraceptive pill may have turned all of biology upside down, but it has proven to be of great help in terms of family planning and compatibility with a professional life. Furthermore, we live in a world that is more and more shaped by life on the outside, in which the perfectly organized person has become the trendsetter, dominating the inner world of the self. Reflecting back onto ourselves and our way of life becomes necessary.

To understand eating as cultivation of life, to rethink and change our personal dietary habits means to throw an anchor into the fast-flowing river of life and to take time off for mental and physical “nurturing.” In addition to providing joy in life, pleasure, leisure, and satiation, as well as the material substances for blood and the fluids, food also supplies our bodies with qi and with the fire that mobilizes precious essences and warms the kidneys, which gives us vital warmth and the strength to conceive. In many meditation practices and health-related exercises in Asia, mentally focusing on the area of the lower abdomen, the lower dan tian, serves to strengthen kidney energy and essence (jing). This is where the transformation both of food and of vital energy takes place, this is where all power gathers and from where it is distributed—a place of quiet.

Our culture-specific knowledge of food and eating has developed from an originally holistic understanding, such as we find in Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), Paracelsus (1493–1541), or later, Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), to an isolating, analytical way of thinking and acting. In high-tech laboratories, biochemists create new, clever convenience foods and assemble nutrients, flavorings, and preservatives in an attempt to imitate nature and match consumer preferences.

When we turn to the public for answers to the question of what a healthy diet is, we find great confusion. We are eating products whose origin, history, and manufacturing conditions we know little about. They are foreign to us, even though we consume them. Our need and ability to prepare meals is decreasing. A majority of our food is already prepared; it must merely be heated up or can even be eaten immediately. As a result, important everyday practices are becoming obsolete. Eating is no longer the comprehensive process of shopping, preparing, consuming, and digesting; rather, eating is focused more and more on nothing but the intake of food. Eating thus is slipping out of our consciousness, becoming something that we determine or own only partially. Reflecting back for a moment, we know that there can be no true knowledge of proper eating without the ability to prepare our own meals. Only that knowledge allows us to confidently deal with potential risks, helps in the evaluation of dishes and products, and at the same time opens our eyes to the pleasures of eating—to the fulfillment found in a successful meal that concretely connects the needs of body and soul.

The energetic effect of food on the organism lies at the center of Chinese dietetics, from the Greek diaita (“cultivation of life”). We absorb qi from food and thereby directly supply the body. Hence, food is gentle medicine by means of which our life force is strengthened to the point where the organism can maintain its equilibrium or be lead back to it.

Human qi is supplied by three sources:

• the inborn potential, kidney jing
  
• respiration
  
• food

The kidney as the reservoir of jing (essence) directs the harmonious course of the biological vital processes in all stages of life. Birth, childhood, adolescence, and old age are all directed by jing, the source of life in our deepest origin. At the same time, jing is a substance or energy that we inherit from our parents. A precious limited “bundle” that must be protected because once squandered it is difficult to renew. Healthy kidney jing is not only decisive for our constitution, but is also connected directly to our ability to have children. The spleen has the function of absorbing qi from food and from spiritual and emotional dimensions and of transforming this into the body’s own essences. The essences gathered by the spleen supplement the jing of the kidney and prevent excessive losses. Attention to diet can protect jing from rapid consumption and replenish it on a daily basis.

In addition, qi is absorbed via the lung from the cosmos and universe, to accumulate in the chest space and mix with the other forms of qi. It stands for rhythmics in the body and is responsible for respiration and all other rhythmic movements in the body. Hence, a fine interplay exists between the different forms of qi that move, warm, transform, hold, and protect the body. It is therefore important to always keep in mind that deep breathing and movement in fresh air have a great influence on our qi.

Across generations, people in ancient China were conscious of preserving their energy reserves. To strive for harmony and be attentive to maintaining health—this allowed them to come closer to their goal of longevity. It meant that they had to guard their jing, to cultivate it, and use it sensibly. What a contrast to Western cultures, where we have adopted an exhausting and hedonistic philosophy of life for many centuries. Herein, thoughts of how long we may live play no role. To scale down the pace of life, to rest— this does not fit into a script of life with success at all costs. Nevertheless, men and women must pay with their jing and qi when years go by that exhaust the energy reserves. Creating balance in life helps to preserve jing. To live with constant stimulations and challenges requires nothing less than to periodically turn inwards, calm the spirit, and create a quiet environment. Meditation, tai chi, qi gong, and a balanced diet high in nutrition create this balance.

Jing is consumed naturally by life in and of itself in different ways. There are tragic events, accidents, life crises, and also in women every pregnancy, all of which wear greatly on our vital reserves. In addition, though, influences that appear unspectacular from the outside also affect jing and the constitution.

In the pursuit of thinness, women have for years been consuming tropical fruits or juice for breakfast, eating raw foods and salads, yogurt or soft cheese, and drinking mineral water to fight hunger—with the firm belief that this was healthy. There is hardly a woman who has not tried any diets, and many have experienced long periods of time with exhausting attempts to lose weight. Excessive fasting with a one-sided diet of cold foods harms the metabolism and the enrichment of kidney jing by the transformation process in the spleen. The function of the spleen in turn depends on the necessary heat supplied by our diet. The weight gain that tends to occur after diets results from this weakening of the digestive fire and of spleen qi.

In order to fulfill their wish for children, parents must have qi and jing, which can be strengthened in a period of preparation for a potential pregnancy. A conscious lifestyle with a strengthening diet supports a positive end result. In the event of a pregnancy, the child profits. When parents are able to give their child strong qi and jing at the beginning of life, the child will start and live his or her life with strength and good jing. Parental jing as well as the nutrition received during pregnancy, after birth, and in childhood shape constitution and health in adulthood—an eternal cycle!

To supplement jing by means of healthy eating, we need foods that are able to support the growth and development of body and soul. At the same time, we need foods that direct their energy straight to the kidneys, to thereby support it in its function of storing essence. In Chinese dietetics, black soybeans, cooked with a small amount of seaweed and some sea salt, are a traditional recipe for this purpose. Because jing is closely related to blood, some of the fortifying foods listed below are not only jing tonics but also excellent foods for strengthening blood, such as meat and seaweed.

In order to transform food into substances produced by the body and to mobilize essence or jing, we require warmth. Processes of transformation all the way to the blood are based on a strong digestive fire in the spleen and stomach, the organs of the center, which in turn warm the ministerial fire in the kidney. Hence, even the best jing tonics can only develop their effect fully when our diet is strengthening the qi of the center, as a result of which targeted supplements can then be digested and assimilated effectively.

Nature has provided us with certain substances that accelerate the development of life in the animal and plant realms and can therefore strengthen our energies, including the jing, on a variety of levels:

• Royal jelly, the food of the queen bee, is produced from the pollen and secretions of the worker bees. It provides the queen with valuable energy—and jing-strengthening food for astonishingly rapid growth, fertility, and a long life. Not as strong as royal jelly but still a powerful support for jing is pollen, the food of young bees. It contains almost all nutrients required by humans as well.
  
• Chicken or duck eggs are jing on their own, extremely concentrated in their protein content, and probably one of the most common and simplest supplements.
  
• Similarly useful and strengthening are fish eggs (roe). Caviar is valuable not only because of its price and rarity; rather, it is an excellent jing tonic. Oysters are jing food as well; they are considered an aphrodisiac and influence the cells that produce the sperm.
  
• Milk is regarded as transformed blood and in the form of breast milk contains everything that the baby needs to grow. In Chinese dietetics, untreated cow’s, goat’s, and mare’s milk complement the diet to supplement in states of insufficiency or weakness—of course, always whilst taking the condition of the digestive fire into account: milk is recommended in patterns with yin and blood vacuity, but not in phlegmdampness patterns.
  
• Seeds and nuts, such as sesame and almonds, contain not only the fertilized germ cells, but also the nutrients for a new potential plant. For this reason, they are an appropriate source for strengthening jing.
  
• In addition, oats, ghee (clarified butter), artichoke leaves, and nettles also have a special effect on jing.
  
• Good jing-strengthening soups are cooked fresh from marrow bones, eaten for several days, and after a break for a few more days.
  
  
  

  Note: it is important to know that to build strength, time is the key factor that brings success. All tonics only make sense when taken consistently over a longer period of time!

  
  
• Even small amounts of meat, fish, and internal organs like liver and kidney, when pure in quality, are already sufficient to have their nutrients and energetic potential transformed into blood and tissue.

Microalgae like spirulina and chlorella are very ancient plants that are priceless in their significance for humans. Due to their high content of chlorophyll, protein, and nucleic acids, they can support the production of blood and renew cell structures. While both of them strengthen the body in general, spirulina, which is colder by nature than chlorella, is stronger at nourishing blood, fluids, and yin. Both are indicated in states of cold and phlegm-dampness in the lower burner. Start with low dosages because their cold quality and cleansing effect can potentially cause problems. Spirulina in powder form is mixed into juice or grain water. It is more digestible and absorbable in this form. The powder dissolves more easily with a dash of lemon juice and also becomes more palatable. Chlorella is taken in tablet form.

The quality of qi, blood, and tissue is determined by the substances that we provide for the body. Toxins and artificial substances in our food and environment affect the jing that is necessary for strong and healthy gametes. The quality of the woman’s ovum and the man’s sperm can be influenced positively by the purity of food. To eat food that is fresh but not organically produced is therefore not enough. Biologically speaking, organic production means that plants were able to grow or animals were raised without being exposed to chemical fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, or hormones. Shopping at natural food stores or organic vegetable stands at the market furthermore motivates us to buy vegetables in season, which at the same time strengthens the body in any given season. Nature must be prepared well before it is able to produce the body’s own substances—qi and blood, but also warmth. The following cooking methods support the process of transformation. As yin-increasing methods of preparation, use the following:

• cooking vegetables in their own juices
  
• steaming
  
• blanching
  
• boiling in water

As yang-increasing methods of preparation, use the following:

• grilling
  
• roasting
  
• baking
  
• prolonged braising

Food is processed to increase its digestibility. Ways to prepare food before cooking it are:

• cutting
  
• grating
  
• chopping
  
• slicing
  
• pureeing
  
• marinating

By contrast, the following are methods that add important enzymes to food without heating it:

• sprouting
  
• lactic acid fermentation
  
• any other fermentation

Assuming that a person is healthy, the distribution of food groups can look like this:

• 30% cooked grains (e. g., rice, millet, polenta, spelt or wheat grits, quinoa, bulgur, rye, rolled oats)
  
• 35% vegetables and fruit in cooked form, as well as seaweed, lettuce, and sprouts from seeds
  
• 10% legumes (e. g., lentils, peas, beans, sprouts, miso, tofu, and other soy products)
  
• 10% meat, fish, broths, eggs, and milk products
  
• 15% raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fats

The particular thermal nature of individual foods determines the selection and balance in the composition of any diet. In this context, we differentiate between:

• hot
  
• warm
  
• neutral
  
• cool
  
• cold

In patients with insufficiency of blood and fluids, we emphasize cool foods. If we are more concerned with boosting active energies and warmth, on the other hand, neutral and warm foods are stressed. Cool foods harmonize and build qi, warm foods strengthen qi as well as yang.

We can witness a rapid therapeutic effect in foods with a cold or hot nature. Thus, cold foods can quickly lower yang in internal heat, while hot foods heat up the body and expel cold in cases of yang vacuity and internal cold.

The thermal nature of foods is also related to the channels; in this context:

• Hot and warm foods influence more the yang aspects, that is, kidney, liver, heart, and spleen yang.
  
• Neutral to warm foods have a very strong effect on the center.
  
• Cool to cold foods effect the yin aspects, such as lung, kidney, liver, and stomach yin.

In addition to the thermal nature, the flavor and its effect are also significant for classifying a certain food. Through the nourishing aspect and its energetic potential, each of the five flavors develops a typical effect in correspondence to the associated phase. The energy movements show the effect of a particular food:

• Sourness draws energy inward and downward and can thereby preserve the fluids. A strategy that must be used with care in liver qi stagnation!
  
• Bitterness directs energy downward, drains, and can dry dampness. It is important that we distinguish natural bitter compounds, as they are present in plants, from artificial ones. In patients with insufficiency of fluids, for example, coffee, cocoa, coffee substitute, black tea, and red wine are counterproductive.
  
• Sweetness spreads in all directions; it is the most important flavor for boosting qi, it provides fluids, and it balances. In accumulations of dampness and phlegm, though, all sweet fruits and sweeteners must be given up.
  
• Acridity directs energy outward, enlivens blood, and resolves stagnation. Nevertheless, inherent in this dynamic force is the danger that too much acridity disperses qi and yin and causes dryness.
  
• Saltiness descends, moistens dryness, and softens solidifications.

Yang has the following functions:

• moving
  
• nourishing
  
• warming and activating (the processes in the body)
  
• protecting (the body)
  
• holding (the organs in their place in the body)

In dietetics, strengthening the spleen is obviously of primary importance, so that it can fulfill its function of transforming food and drink into blood, fluids, and qi. Otherwise, the kidney is unable to store enough postnatal jing and fails to receive the necessary warmth that in turn warms the spleen in its activity.

Icecream and cold drinks, raw foods, tropical fruits, dairy products, and frozen foods should be avoided. Stay away from denatured sweeteners like refined sugar, but also avoid excessive consumption of wholesome sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, or whole cane sugar, which are extreme representatives of the sweet flavor; in small amounts they have a strengthening effect on spleen qi, but too much leads to dampness and phlegm.

The best way of boosting the spleen and kidney is with broths that have been cooked for a long time. But beware in cases of vacuity or repletion heat in the liver and heart or in pronounced liver qi stagnation! In such cases, we can balance the warm nature of broths with a shorter cooking time and cooling types of vegetables and grains as added ingredients.

Postnatal kidney yang depends on food energy, which is produced in the center burner. To boost yang and qi, we recommend the following:

• warm, cooked dishes, a substantial warm breakfast (e. g., broth, rice congee, legumes, vegetables with toasted grains)
  
• depending on the severity of the yang vacuity, use more warming foods and spices
  
• two to three hot meals per day
  
• periodic proteins in the form of lean meat and fish
  
• easily digestible grains, simply prepared meals (only two to three ingredients per dish)
  
• yang-increasing cooking methods

• baking in the oven
  
• boiling with red wine or sake
  
• cooking vegetables in their own juices: the vegetables can still be slightly crunchy inside
  
• blanching of sprouts and lettuces