Taoist diet

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While there are many different historical and modern schools of Taoism, with different teachings on the subject, it is safe to say that many Taoists regard their diet as extremely important to their physical, mental and spiritual health in one way or another, especially where the amount of qi in the food is concerned.

History

Early Taoist diets were very different from present-day ones. While present-day Taoist diets call for eating lots of grains, ancient diets called for the eating of no grains at all. This was because early Taoists believed the rotting of the grains in the intestines attracted demonic creatures known as the 'three worms.' These demons loved eating decaying matter in the intestines in the hope that they could kill the person and devour his corpse.^[1] Some Taoists advocated eliminating many foods from their diet. This position might have resulted from a mythological vision of an early "golden age" where humanity did not need to eat at all. An early Taoist text, the Taipingjing, suggests that early people who were living completely "as they are" (ziran) would not need food, but instead would live only by absorbing the cosmic qi of Yin and Yang. This ancient state has since fallen away, however, which is why the Celestial Master of the Taipingjing says that food is now one of two absolute essentials for human existence.^[2]

Present day

Basic Guidelines

Increase intake of the following

• Vegetables (ideally organic and seasonal, stir fried or steamed, not boiled or eaten raw)
• Fruit (in moderation; not tropical; ideally dried or baked, and only what is in season)
• Seeds and nuts (roasted)
• Herbs (although herbal usage is normally carefully prescribed)
• Chinese and herbal tea

Decrease intake of the following

• Refined products (such as white sugar, flour, and bread)
• Artificial additives/preservatives of any kind
• Rock salt
• Deep fried foods
• Alcohol, tobacco, caffeine
• Meats
• Certain vegetables such as spinach, potatoes, rhubarb

Everyday Meals

For regular eating Taoists believe in eating a frugal diet that is based primarily on cereals. Meals are served in order of seniority, with the elders being served first, and the youngest last. Every three, five, ten or fifteen days, some families will also observe a periodic vegetarian feast.^[3]

Festivals

The regular diet is enhanced by the frequency of festivals which take place at least every ten to fifteen days. Each festival was associated with a certain kind of food. For example, the New Year’s festival’s special food is rice cake. During the Dragon Boat festival, it is steamed dumplings and glutinous rice packed in bamboo leaves, and during the Mid-Autumn Festival the special food is mooncakes. These festivals also give Taoists the opportunity to eat far more than their diet usually proscribes. Rich food such as meat and wine is also a part of these festivals.^[3]

Herbs

Some Taoists practice herbalism in their diets. Taoists believe that using different herbs in their food can help increase the positive energy in their bodies, and that by mixing two herbs with opposite effects they can decrease the negative energy and increase the positive energy (see Yin and Yang).

Here is an article on Daoist diet from the perspective of the Three Worms and the energized fasting practice known as bigu or abstention from grains or cereals.

http://sites.google.com/site/delawareteasociety/yoked-to-earth-a-treatise-on-corpse-demons-and-bigu

References

• Kohn, Livia. The Taoist Experience: An Anthology. Albany: SUNY, 1993.
• Saso, Michael R., A Taoist Cookbook: With Meditations Taken from the Laozi Daode Jing. Tuttle, 1994. (ISBN 0-8048-3037-1)
• Schipper, Kristofer. The Taoist Body. Berkeley: University of California, 1993.
• Symonds, Mike. Tai Chi Diet: Food for Life. Life Force Publishing, 2007. (ISBN 0-9542932-8-2)
• Soo, Chee The Tao of Long Life. Seahorse Books, 2006.
• Welch, Holmes and Anna Seidel, eds.Facets of Taoism: Essays in Chinese Religion. New Haven: Yale University, 1979.

Notes

1. ^ Kohn (1993), p. 149.
2. ^ Barbara Hendrischke, University of California Press, Scripture on Great Peace, sect 44
3. ^ ^{a b} Schipper (1993), p. 31.

• Daniel P. Reid - 2001 - The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way - ISBN 978-0-7434-0907-0