Why Eat Warm Foods? A Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective
Have you ever noticed that you feel better after a warm bowl of soup, a cup of tea, or a nourishing cooked meal? Or on the contrary feel tired and sluggish after a cold, raw meal?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the temperature and preparation of our food are considered important aspects of supporting digestion and overall balance. While modern nutrition often focuses on calories, macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals, TCM also considers how foods affect the body’s internal environment.
Why Does TCM Prefer Warm, Cooked Foods?
According to TCM, digestion is closely associated with the Spleen and Stomach, which work together to transform food and drink into Qi and Blood that nourish the body.
The digestive system is traditionally thought to function best with a moderate amount of warmth. Regularly consuming large amounts of very cold or raw foods is thought to place additional demands on the digestive system, particularly in someone who already has signs of digestive weakness.
This doesn’t mean that raw foods are “bad.” Rather, TCM considers that different people may respond differently to different foods.
For someone with a strong digestive system, a varied diet that includes raw foods may be perfectly comfortable. For someone experiencing bloating, loose stools, fatigue after eating, or a tendency to feel cold, emphasizing warm and cooked foods may be more supportive.
What Does “Warm Food” Actually Mean?
In TCM, “warm” can refer to more than simply the temperature of food.
There are two concepts to consider:
1. Temperature
Warm meals such as soups, stews, cooked vegetables, oatmeal, rice, and gently cooked proteins are generally considered easier on digestion than large quantities of icy or chilled foods and beverages.
2. Thermal nature
TCM also classifies foods according to their energetic properties. Some foods are considered warming, while others are cooling, regardless of whether they are physically served hot. Some examples of energetically warm foods are: cloves, rosemary, squash, dates, walnuts, salmon, beef, butter.
This is one reason TCM food therapy is individualized. Someone who tends to feel cold may benefit from more warming foods, while someone experiencing significant signs of Heat may need a different approach.
Signs You May Benefit From More Warm, Cooked Foods
From a TCM perspective, some common signs of weaker digestive Qi include:
* Bloating or fullness after eating
* Loose stools
* Fatigue, particularly after meals
* Poor appetite
* Feeling cold, especially in the hands and feet
* A tendency to crave warm drinks
* Feeling better with warmth
* A pale or swollen tongue, sometimes with scalloped edges
These symptoms can be associated with what TCM describes as Spleen Qi deficiency. In these situations, shifting some meals toward warm, cooked foods can be a simple way to support digestion.
Simple Ways to Add More Warm Foods
You don’t need to completely change your diet. Try incorporating a few simple changes:
Start the Day With Something Warm
Instead of beginning the day with a cold smoothie or iced drink, consider:
* Warm oatmeal with cooked fruit
* Eggs with sautéed vegetables
* Congee
* Warm whole-grain porridge
* A cup of warm water or tea
Choose Cooked Vegetables
Steaming, roasting, sautéing, and lightly cooking vegetables can make them particularly appealing during colder months or for people with sensitive digestion.
You can still enjoy salads and raw vegetables — simply notice how your body responds to them.
Make Soup and Stew Part of Your Routine
Soups and stews are classic examples of foods that TCM considers supportive of digestion. They provide warmth, moisture, and nourishment in an easily digestible form.
Try vegetable soup, chicken soup, lentil soup, or a nourishing stew with root vegetables.
Reduce Iced Drinks
If you frequently drink iced water or beverages, experiment with room-temperature or warm drinks instead. This can be especially appealing if you already tend to feel cold or experience digestive discomfort.
What About Smoothies and Salads?
You don’t necessarily have to give them up.
TCM isn’t about creating a rigid list of “good” and “bad” foods. Instead, it encourages us to consider individual constitution, season, digestion, and current symptoms.
For example, a large cold smoothie first thing in the morning may feel great for one person but leave another person feeling bloated or chilled.
Eating With the Seasons
TCM also emphasizes adapting our food choices to the season.
During colder weather, we naturally tend to gravitate toward soups, stews, roasted vegetables, warming grains, and cooked meals. These foods can feel grounding and nourishing.
“How does this food make me feel?” Ask yourself:
Do you feel energized after eating it, or sluggish? Comfortable, or bloated? Warm, or chilled? Satisfied, or still craving food?
TCM uses these observations, along with symptoms, tongue and pulse findings, constitution, and lifestyle, to develop a more individualized understanding of what may support you.
For one week, experiment with adding one warm, cooked meal each day — perhaps breakfast or dinner — and notice how your digestion and energy respond.
Small changes can sometimes be easier to maintain than a complete dietary overhaul.
At Touchstone Health, acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can be used alongside healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits to support your individual wellness goals.
Perimenopause: She’s More Than Simply an HRT Deficiency
Perimenopause is a time of hormonal transition in a woman’s life that often occurs in the 8-10 years before menopause (which is defined as one year after a woman’s final menstrual period). It is known as a time of “hormone chaos”, because hormones can fluctuate wildly during this time, often resulting in intense and disturbing symptoms.
Many women come to me and blame changing hormones in perimenopause alone for the symptoms they’ve been experiencing. However, it is important to note that estrogen and progesterone are not the only hormones that are in flux!
In perimenopause, we often see dysfunction in many other hormones, which can include insulin, cortisol. DHEA, testosterone, and thyroid hormones. There is an entire symphony of hormones in the background that have an impact on a woman’s ovarian function, and therefore, her estrogen and progesterone levels and their functionality.
If it was as simple as prescribing HRT alone (progesterone ± estrogen), then every woman in perimenopause would have complete relief in her symptoms. I’ve now been in practice for 13 years, and I know that it is never that simple!
It is essential that we build a woman’s health foundations, even if HRT is part of the plan. Individualized nutrition and lifestyle recommendations, targeted nutrient supplementation, and any indicated adjunctive therapies are the core of any treatment plan for a woman in perimenopause.
These foundational recommendations help to regulate the symphony of hormones (ie insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormones) that impact female sex hormones and perimenopausal symptoms. We will often see significant improvement in the intensity and frequency of symptoms when we work on the foundations, even if HRT is being used.
I will never recommend HRT alone, because perimenopausal health is affected by an entire symphony of hormones. I will always address a woman’s nutrition and lifestyle, because they are truly the backbone of health in perimenopause and beyond!
Waking Up at 3 am : A Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective
by Anna Totzke, Registered Acupuncturist
Many people tell us they have no trouble falling asleep—but almost every night they wake up around 3 a.m. and struggle to get back to sleep.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. While there can be many medical and lifestyle reasons for waking during the night, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers another way of understanding these sleep disruptions.
The TCM Body Clock
According to TCM, each organ system has a two-hour period during the night and day when its energy, or Qi, is most active.
The hours between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. are associated with the Liver, while 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. are associated with the Lungs.
Waking consistently during these times may provide clues about underlying patterns of imbalance.
Waking Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
From a TCM perspective, this time is connected with the Liver.
The Liver helps maintain the smooth flow of Qi and Blood throughout the body. When Liver Qi becomes stagnant—often due to ongoing stress, frustration, or emotional tension—it can interfere with restful sleep.
Common signs that may accompany waking during this time include:
- Feeling stressed or overwhelmed
- Neck and shoulder tension
- Frequent headaches or migraines
- Irritability
- PMS or hormonal fluctuations
- Grinding your teeth during sleep
Waking Between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
This time corresponds to the Lung system.
The Lungs govern breathing and are associated with both physical and emotional well-being. Waking during these hours may occur alongside:
- A lingering cough or congestion
- Seasonal allergies
- Shallow breathing
- Grief or sadness
- Feeling tired despite getting enough hours of sleep
Not everyone waking at this time has a Lung imbalance, but it is one piece of information that is taken into consideration practitioner considers during an assessment.
It’s About the Whole Picture
In TCM, we don’t diagnose based on one symptom alone.
Your acupuncturist will also ask about:
- Your energy levels
- Digestion
- Stress
- Menstrual or hormonal health
- Temperature preferences (feeling hot or cold)
- Bowel movements
- Tongue appearance and pulse quality
All of these help identify the underlying pattern contributing to your sleep difficulties.
How Can Acupuncture Help?
Acupuncture aims to restore balance within the body rather than simply treating the symptom of waking during the night.
Depending on your individual pattern, treatment may help:
- Calm the nervous system
- Reduce stress and muscle tension
- Promote the smooth flow of Qi
- Support healthy sleep cycles
- Address underlying imbalances affecting sleep
Many patients notice they begin sleeping more deeply and wake less frequently as treatment progresses.
Simple Tips to Support Better Sleep
Along with acupuncture, these habits may help improve sleep quality:
- Keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up time.
- Reduce screen time for at least one hour before bed.
- Limit caffeine later in the day.
- Avoid heavy meals or alcohol close to bedtime.
- Practice deep breathing, gentle stretching, or meditation before sleep.
- Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
Here are 5 key ways Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT) helps with headaches:
- Reduces muscle tension and myofascial restrictions in the neck, head, and shoulders
Gentle techniques like myofascial release, soft tissue massage, and muscle energy target hypertonic muscles and fascial layers that contribute to tension buildup and referred pain. Sustained gentle pressure or light stretching releases trigger points, spasms, and adhesions, lowering the mechanical strain that triggers or worsens headaches.
- Restores mobility and alignment in the cervical spine, cranium, and related structures. Articulation, gentle joint mobilization, cranial osteopathy, and balanced ligamentous tension gradually free restrictions in the upper cervical vertebrae, occiput, temporomandibular joint, or cranial sutures. This improves biomechanical function, reduces nerve irritation or compression and eases stiffness without force.
- Manages pain pathways through techniques such as counterstrain, myofascial release, and gentle soft tissue work to influence the innate mechanisms of healing, protection and repair of the body.
- Improves circulation, lymphatic/venous drainage, and reduces inflammation. Rhythmic soft tissue techniques, venous sinus drainage (e.g., gentle cranial holds), and myofascial approaches enhance blood flow, lymphatic return.
- Enhances autonomic nervous system balance and holistic regulation. Gentle OMT shifts toward parasympathetic dominance (rest-and-digest state), reducing sympathetic overactivity that amplifies stress, vascular changes, or tension in headache-prone individuals. By addressing interconnected restrictions (e.g., thoracic or pelvic influences on posture and cranial base), it promotes overall relaxation, better sleep, and resilience against triggers.
PCOS is now named PMOS: Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. Here’s why I’m Thrilled About it!
by Melanie Reidl, Naturopathic Doctor
PCOS officially got a new name this month and I’m thrilled about it! It changed because the old name never reflected the full picture of this condition.
A May 2026 paper published in The Lancet announced that PCOS will now be called PMOS: Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome. For decades, the name Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome made the condition sound like it was strictly an ovary issue.
In addition to reproductive and endocrine (hormone) health challenges, women with PMOS often deal with health challenges beyond their ovaries. They can also struggle with their metabolic, cardiovascular, dermatological, and psychological health.
Common conditions associated with PMOS include:
~Weight gain
~Anxiety
~Depression
~Acne
~Fatty liver disease
~Cardiovascular risk
~Metabolic dysfunction
~Insulin resistance
~Inflammation
~Infertility
The Lancet paper points out that the old name obscured the condition’s broader endocrine and metabolic features and contributed to delayed diagnosis, fragmented care, stigma, and confusion.
With a new name that conveys its multi-system impact, this is one step in the right direction for greater awareness, diagnosis, and comprehensive medical care for women with PMOS.
The name PMOS finally reflects the comprehensive, evidenced-based, compassionate care I provide for this group of women. <3
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