About the basics of yakuzen

Understanding the basics of yakuzen starts with learning where food sits in Chinese medicine and the theory behind it. Yakuzen rests on the idea that food is medicine, and aims to maintain and improve health by choosing ingredients and crude drugs to suit constitution and season. Here we set out the important concepts and the history that make up its foundation.

What the natural world and the human body are made of

Underneath yakuzen lies the Chinese medicine idea that the natural world and the human body are closely bound up with one another. Qi, blood and fluids, the five phases of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and yin-yang theory in particular are elements you cannot do without in understanding yakuzen.

• Qi, blood and fluids: three elements, the energy that circulates through the body, the blood that carries nourishment, and the fluids that regulate the balance of water, support the health of the whole body.
• The five phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, water): the structure of the natural world and of the human body is explained through these five elements. They act on one another, and health is kept by holding them in balance.
• Yin-yang theory: everything is made up of two sides, yin and yang. Ingredients and constitutions hold this balance too, and settling it through food is what yakuzen aims at.

The history of Chinese-medicine yakuzen

The history of yakuzen goes back thousands of years in China. In ancient China the idea that food is medicine was widespread, and food played a large part in heading off and treating illness. Yakuzen combined ingredients and crude drugs skilfully, putting what they do to work to settle how people felt and to head off illness.

Over that long history, yakuzen developed not as nutrition science but as a way of eating that values the balance of the whole body. Today too, it is used by a great many people as dietary care grounded in the theory of Chinese medicine.

Yakuzen through the seasons

One important idea in yakuzen is adjusting how you eat to the season. Chinese medicine holds that nature's cycles and the state of the body are closely related, and recommends choosing ingredients to suit the changes each season brings.

• Spring: the season for clearing things out, when it matters to bring in ingredients that care for the Liver, such as green vegetables.
• Summer: eat ingredients that cool the body and head off the drain the heat puts on you, such as cucumber and tomato.
• Autumn: choose moistening ingredients that answer the dryness, such as pear and white wood ear.
• Winter: root vegetables and ginger, which warm the body and build resilience, work well.

Bringing in yakuzen matched to how the body changes through the seasons is how to stay well in harmony with nature.

In summary

Understanding the basics of yakuzen is the first step towards keeping and improving your health while holding the balance of the whole body. Working from the theory of Chinese medicine, valuing the relationship with the natural world, and choosing ingredients to suit your constitution and the season is how to stay well in body and mind. Yakuzen is a way of eating that fits easily into life today, and practising it day to day can do a great deal for your health.