What is five-phase theory? The idea at the root of Chinese medicine

Five-phase theory is a concept you cannot do without in understanding Chinese medicine. Handed down from ancient China, it sorts everything in the natural world into five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and explains natural phenomena and the workings of the body through how those elements act on one another.

Chinese medicine applies this to the human body and uses its relationship with the five zang organs, Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney, in heading off and treating illness and in keeping well day to day.

How the five phases correspond to the five zang organs

The five zang organs are the Chinese medicine concept of the internal organs: Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney. They are less anatomical organs than a systemic way of seeing the body's functions, and each corresponds to one of the five phases: wood, fire, earth, metal and water.

None of them works alone; they act on one another and keep the whole body in balance.

Liver: the organ with the quality of wood

The Liver has the quality of wood and regulates the flow of qi. When it goes out of order it can show as irritability, quickness to anger, tired eyes and headaches.

In a world as full of stress as this one, caring for the Liver matters. I have been through a period when stress made my moods swing hard, and making a point of eating ingredients that settle the Liver brought my feelings back to an even keel.

Heart: the organ with the quality of fire

The Heart has the quality of fire and is the centre that governs the circulation of blood and mental activity. Insomnia, palpitations and anxiety can be tied to the Heart working less well.

Chinese medicine holds that the Heart houses the shen, and treats it as the seat of mental activity: consciousness, emotion and thought.

Spleen: the organ with the quality of earth

The Spleen has the quality of earth and handles digestion, absorption and the metabolism of fluids. When it goes out of order it readily shows as a poor appetite, tiredness, diarrhoea or constipation, and it is an organ under particular strain in how people live now.

A diet heavy in cold food and drink and in processed food weakens the Spleen.

Lung: the organ with the quality of metal

The Lung has the quality of metal and regulates breathing, the skin and the body's defences. Dryness, colds, allergies and rough skin are considered to come from the Lung going out of order.

Autumn in particular is the season when the Lung is most affected, and moistening ingredients and managing humidity help.

Kidney: the organ with the quality of water

The Kidney has the quality of water and bears on the storage of life energy, reproductive function, and the health of bones and hair. When it works less well, tiredness, back pain, ringing in the ears and forgetfulness appear.

Chinese medicine holds that the Kidney stores the qi you are born with, and because it declines with age, caring for it from a young age matters.

The generating and controlling cycles of the five phases

In five-phase theory the five elements stand in relationships of generating one another and of controlling one another.

The generating cycle

• Wood generates fire (wood burns and becomes fire)
• Fire generates earth (the ash left by burning becomes earth)
• Earth generates metal (minerals come from the earth)
• Metal generates water (droplets form on the surface of metal)
• Water generates wood (water grows plants)

The same applies to how the organs work together: trouble in the Kidney, water, can reach the Liver, wood.

The controlling cycle

• Wood controls earth (roots break up the soil)
• Earth controls water (it dams water, like an embankment)
• Water controls fire (water puts out fire)
• Fire controls metal (fire melts metal)
• Metal controls wood (a metal blade cuts wood)

When one function runs to excess it can hold another organ down, and that too can be where trouble starts.

Yakuzen ingredients for each phase

Yakuzen built on the five phases matches the five zang organs with a season, a flavour and a colour, and chooses ingredients to suit how you feel.

Organ	Element	Season	Flavour	Colour	Example ingredients
Liver	Wood	Spring	Sour	Green	Shungiku, komatsuna, spinach, umeboshi, bamboo shoot
Heart	Fire	Summer	Bitter	Red	Tomato, cherry, bitter melon, cucumber, watermelon
Spleen	Earth	The rainy season and the turn of the seasons	Sweet	Yellow	Kabocha squash, sweetcorn, rice, soybeans, honey
Lung	Metal	Autumn	Pungent	White	Daikon, turnip, spring onion, ginger, pear
Kidney	Water	Winter	Salty	Black	Black soybeans, black sesame, kombu, oyster, walnut

How to bring the five phases into life now

Choose ingredients for the season

Five-phase thinking holds that the seasons and the organs are closely related. Eating what is in season supports whichever organ is most easily weakened at that time.

I make a point of green vegetables that settle the Liver in spring, and bring in pear and white wood ear to moisten the Lung in autumn, choosing ingredients as the seasons turn.

Know your constitution and supply what it lacks

Each person has organs that weaken easily and a constitution that leans a certain way. Someone whose eyes tire easily and who is quick to anger may have a weakened Liver; someone who feels the cold needs to care for the Kidney.

Understanding how you tend to feel and how you tend to be, and bringing in ingredients that suit you, is the basis of yakuzen.

More practical still, joined with modern medicine

Integrative medicine, combining Chinese and Western medicine, has been drawing attention lately. Where Western medicine finds no cause, a Chinese medicine lens can reveal a balance that has slipped.

When tests show nothing but the body still feels heavy, looking again through five-phase theory can give you a thread to pull.

In summary: the wisdom of the five phases in daily life

Five-phase theory is the foundation of Chinese medicine, taking in the relationship between the natural world and the human body as a whole. Knowing how wood, fire, earth, metal and water relate to Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung and Kidney gives you a new way of facing your own body.

Bringing yakuzen thinking into everyday meals a little at a time makes care possible that suits the turn of the seasons and your own constitution. Even without special yakuzen dishes, simply making a point of seasonal ingredients should let you feel the change.

This article shares general knowledge. If you have concerns about how you feel, please see a doctor. Draw on the wisdom of both East and West and aim for a balanced, healthy life.