How to Eat Right For Your Body Type: According to Chinese Medicine | Dr. Alex Heyne

Everywhere where you go in our culture at this modern time in history, we are obsessed with diet and what you put in your body. And one thing that interests me about Americans versus cultures in other parts of the world is that Americans specifically seem to overemphasize diet in relation to longevity and good health as opposed to the quality of life and one's overall life. So in the spirit of American thinking, I thought today I would share the very essence of how I think and what I've seen clinically according to Chinese medicine you should eat according to your body type. Hey, I'm Dr. Alex Hang, doctor of Chinese medicine and licensed acupuncturist. So before we jump into this video on eating for your body type, there's two very important links right below this video. The first is if you'd like to become a patient of mine locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, you can contact my private practice and clinic right below this video and there's also a free download for daily rituals that can possibly help you add years to your life with Chinese medicine. So those are right below this video here. When we talk about eating right for your body type, which seems to be a very interesting trend in American culture and specifically in American diet culture, there's this idea of certain types of people should eat certain diets, which I agree with. And it's clear just clinically practicing medicine that there are some people who do well eating better things and they do well not eating certain things. But in Chinese medicine specifically, the very important aspect of diet and the way one lives is really constitution. So constitution is really just your genetics passed down over time. In the same way that some families have asthma and allergies and eczema and other families have, you know, anxiety or they have migraines, you tend to see certain traits and certain tendencies clinically passed down through families. And we call this constitution. It's where your body's weak, it's what it has a tendency to, and in particular, it's not only the tendency to be strong in some ways, it's the tendency to be susceptible or weak in other ways. Now, following in this line of thinking, there is a certain predictability to what diets certain body types do well on and which body types do poorly on what other diets. So let's talk about those now. And I want to specifically just talk about two constitutional types that I see the most often in my private practice. The first constitutional type is what I call the cold, damp, tie-in type. Now these people tend to have problems with the spleen, pancreas, as well as the lung. And let's break this down a little bit more, a little bit more systematically so you can see this general bucket that people fall into. Now in this kind of constitutional pattern, physically, people are usually thin, they're prone to anxiety, they tend to lose weight under stress, they tend to be light sleepers or fragmented sleepers when they're stressed out, and they're sensitive to coffee and stimulants. Now in terms of emotional or psychological traits, typically these people tend to be prone to what Chinese medicine calls upward surging, meaning they have sensitive nervous systems. They're sensitive to substances like caffeine, sensitive to uppers, sensitive to food, sensitive to people, sensitive to crowds, they're sensitive people in general. In terms of their physiological type, they're prone to issues due to cold, quote-unquote, as in under-functioning. Dampness in Chinese medicine meaning bloating, yeast, candina, sinus issues, stuffy noses, ear issues, and they are prone to catching colds. Now with this constitutional type, digestion is often one of the weaker points. It's a weak GI function kind of body type. In terms of dietetics, for this kind of person, remember this is very very general. It's not going to be super specific, you know, these two buckets, not everyone's going to fit into these, but a lot of people will fall on one side or the other of the spectrum and a lot of people will fall in between. So if you are more on this side of the spectrum, keep this dietary advice in mind. The first is, in terms of the dietary focus, focus on warming foods and spices that increase metabolism, like ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. In terms of warming food groups, think about, particularly with this constitution, the addition of meat seems to be pretty important. These people that run on the thinner side or run on the more anaemic side tend not to do well with the exclusion of meat, and I tend to see a lot of women who I don't think should be vegetarian or vegan seem to have a preference towards this kind of diet. I tend not to see that work out very well in the long term. Avoid what Chinese medicine considers cold and raw food groups. Raw anything. Definitely raw salads, kale, spinach, all this kind of stuff that's in the uncooked category. You could still eat them, just cook them. And definitely avoid things like excessive green smoothies and definitely avoid celery juice. I don't know why this is such a trend, probably due to the medical medium. I don't know anything about him, but for this constitutional type I will guarantee it will harm you for sure. Last thing, avoid dampness producing food products. So this usually falls into the category of oils, too much butter, too much fat, too much lard. Avoid things also. Dairy as a general category, not good for this constitutional type. And then beer. Beer is very dampness promoting. The second body type is the warm constitution or shaoyang. These people often have issues with the gallbladder, liver, and it's very different from the first pattern because in this pattern usually digestion is strong. It doesn't mean they won't have problems, but this pattern is usually they have problems due to excess. They have good appetites, they can eat a lot, and that's a piece of their problem, for example. Now in this constitutional pattern, physically there's a larger body type. People are usually stronger, have good digestion, thicker bones, and have a better sensation of heat. They don't run cold. They will often get facial acne, struggle with wanting to lose weight, are good sleepers, and they're not sensitive to coffee or stimulants. In terms of the emotional makeup, they're more prone to volatility. So in the women that I see with this body type, what they often say is, you know, on that first body type they never say they overheat, ever. It has to be 95 degrees in Texas for them to overheat. This body type very often will say, if I get too hot, I start screaming at people. I start yelling at people. I blow up, I blow my top. Very commonly hear that. You don't hear that very often in that colder, damper type. In terms of physiological problems, they're prone to issues due to stagnation. While they can also have bloating or indigestion or reflux, they often get acne or menstrual irregularities, fibrocystic breasts, or get excessively agitated when hot. Now for this constitutional pattern in terms of dietetics, here's what I recommend. For their general dietary focus, these people do much better on a more plant-based diet. They need more temperature neutral or cooling foods, primarily which means more vegetables or more salads. Now I don't really advocate eating an all raw or all vegetable diet, especially in terms of salads, but this body type can do much better and will do much better on that. In terms of cooling food groups, I recommend vegetables, whole grains, and a more plant-based diet for these people. And then avoid excessively warming foods like coffee, alcohol, and meat products. So these people already have what Chinese medicine considers more heat in their system. Often this overlaps with more androgens. So in terms of the women that I'm speaking of that have this body type, they often do have excess androgens and that's a piece of what's related to the acne in the face for some of them. So avoiding coffee, alcohol, and meat products, these people tend to do better on that. And they tend to, for both of these constitutions, they tend to look better when they eat this diet. One is a little bit thinner, one's a little bit bigger, and this will often even out the weight. So that is a very general approach to dietetics that I see for two common buckets in terms of body types according to Chinese medicine. Now I've also shot a couple other related videos on dietetics in terms of Chinese medicine's point of view. You can check those out right over here and I'll see you guys in the next video.