Nourish qi
Warm meals, broths, congee, root vegetables and mild herbs support energy and digestion.
食療 · Shí liáo · TCM Food
Food as daily medicine
TCM Food connects Chinese dietary therapy, herbal knowledge and seasonal cooking. Not as a diet, but as a practical way to support qi, blood, yin, yang and digestion every day.
Chinese dietary therapy
Eating according to energy, taste, temperature and season
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, food is assessed by its action: warming or cooling, nourishing or draining, building or moving. Every ingredient influences the body, the organs and the balance between yin and yang.
Strengthen blood
Dark leafy greens, dates, goji, black sesame and slow-cooked dishes nourish deeper recovery.
Moisten yin
Pear, lotus root, sesame, tofu, mung beans and gentle soups support fluids, calm and cooling.
Warm yang
Ginger, cinnamon, spring onion, stews and warming broths help with cold, sluggishness and fatigue.
Food therapy
The kitchen as an extension of the treatment room
Shí liáo is an independent discipline within Traditional Chinese Medicine. Food is used according to energetic principles, classical sources and clinical applicability.
What is Shí liáo?
Food as medicine, recipes as therapy
In Western medicine, food and medication are often treated separately. In TCM, they are closely connected. Shí liáo focuses on restoring balance through daily food before complaints become chronic.
Shí liáo is not general nutrition, but a clinically applicable field within medicine. Its approach is rooted in classical sources and translates food into prevention, recovery and daily support.
Thermal actionwarm, cool or neutral
Taste directionsour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty
Organ systemspleen, stomach, lung, liver, kidney
Preparationsoup, congee, tea, broth
Wu Xing · 五行
The five elements in the kitchen
Each element nourishes a specific organ system and has its own season, taste and colour.
Classical sources
The classical foundations of Shí liáo
TCM dietary therapy is not a modern interpretation of old habits. It is systematically recorded in classical works that still guide serious application today.
Huangdi Neijing
The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor describes food as a therapeutic tool and connects the five tastes with organ systems, qi, blood, body fluids and meridians.
Shíliáo Benca
This classical work on therapeutic food describes everyday ingredients, their thermal nature, taste, organ-directed action and use in imbalance.
Daily applicability
The strength of Shí liáo lies in practical food: grains, vegetables, fruit, soup, tea, herbs and simple preparations with clear energetic action.
Four basic principles
How food works therapeutically within TCM
Shí liáo assesses food not only by nutritional value, but also by energetic direction and clinical applicability.
Thermal action
Food can be warming, cooling or neutral and is matched to internal cold, heat or deficiency.
Taste direction
Sour, bitter, sweet, pungent and salty each have their own action on meridians and organ systems.
Organ-directed
Ingredients can target the lung, spleen, liver, heart, kidney or stomach and provide focused support.
Direction of action
Food can be used as ascending, descending, inward-drawing or outward-leading.
季節 · Seasons
Eating with the rhythm of nature
Each season calls for its own approach in the kitchen. Choose foods that match the energy of that moment.
Recipes
Recipes with function, taste and direction
Each recipe is viewed through TCM: which organs are supported, what temperature the dish has, which taste dominates and which season it suits.
Autumn · Lung
Pear congee with white sesame
A gentle, moistening meal for dry throat, dry skin and support of lung energy.
View recipe →
Winter · Kidney
Ginger broth with black beans
Warming, nourishing and suitable for cold, fatigue and the need for deep rebuilding.
View recipe →
Spring · Liver
Green vegetable dish with goji
Supports smooth liver qi with light green vegetables, fresh flavours and gentle preparation.
View recipe →
Herbs & ingredients
From ginger to goji, from lotus to astragalus
TCM Food uses familiar kitchen ingredients and classical Chinese foods: ginger, spring onion, mung beans, lotus root, Chinese dates, goji berries, chrysanthemum, black sesame, shiitake, reishi, astragalus and rice congee.
The focus is on safe, practical and nourishing use in everyday dishes. Medicinal herbs are clearly distinguished from ordinary foods.
Gingerwarms the middle burner
Gojinourishes liver and kidney
Lotus rootrefreshes and harmonises
Congeestrengthens spleen and stomach
Pearmoistens the lung
Black sesamenourishes yin and essence
For whom?
For therapists, educators and advanced users
TCM Food is intended for everyone who wants to approach nutrition more seriously: from TCM professionals and teachers to integrative health professionals and advanced interested readers.
Knowledge base
Evidence-informed, structured and practical
The knowledge base brings together classical sources, clinical cases, foods, herbal nutrition and modern safety.
Classical sources
Based on TCM sources such as the Huangdi Neijing, Shíliáo Benca and classical dietary therapy.
Ingredients & actions
Overviews of thermal nature, taste, organ action, season and preparation.
Safety
Attention to interactions, medication use, dosage and the distinction between food and medicinal herbs.
Specialization
TCM dietary therapy as an independent discipline
Shí liáo deserves a serious place alongside acupuncture, herbal medicine and tuina. This website supports therapists, educators and interested readers with clear explanations, practical examples and in-depth content.
For therapistsclinical depth
For teachersteaching structure
For studentsbasics and depth
For visitorspractical application