5 A Day or 5 Times A Day?

5 A Day or 5 Times A Day?

The clock is changing back today but it has not happened in my body. Waking up at 6 am and could not go back to sleep again. I got this unexpected extra hour to write something.

When I give patients consultation at clinic, I like to ask them “how do you feel of your health”? Most the of time I got answers like “I am very healthy; I eat healthily and eat a lot of vegetables…”. It seems there is an equal sign between “eating a lot of vegetables” and “being healthy”. Interestingly when I ask more detailed questions such as “Do you have any discomfort after eating? or How is your bowel movement”, the answers are not always convincing: “oh, I feel bloated every time I eat”, “I have bowel movement 5 times a day, very loose”…

Is that what we call healthy?

5 a Day is based on the advice from WHO to lower the risk of serious health problems. There is no need to discuss the benefit of it. Many people feel that raw vegetables can offer even more benefit than cooked ones. There is no doubt that raw vegetables can reserve heat sensitive vitamins like vitamin C, and some research shows it is more beneficial for anti-cancer functions than cooked ones. We also have to admit though eating raw vegetables is not only a choice of health, but also becomes a fashion for some people. They are proud of “eating healthily”.

That is fair enough! There is only one more thing to make it all perfect: listening to your body! Every individual body is unique; therefore the standard of being healthy is different. I personally do not believe a healthy diet should make you feel bloated and give diarrhoea a few time a day. According to Chinese medicine theory, the “Spleen” is the system in charge of processing the food and drink and turning them into the energy the body needs in forms of Qi and Blood. It covers the function of our digestive system. The Spleen is also a vulnerable system and can be weak or weakens from your constitution, your life style, your diet, your emotions, or the performance of other systems of your body. If you have a weak Spleen, the food you choose will have to be warm, nourishing and easy to digest. You need to look after your Spleen to make it work better for you. Many people tend to listen to their doctors, listen to their friends, listens to what people say on the internet, but they do not listen to their own body.

Is that logical?