Chinese medicine’s health “encyclopedia,” the Neijing Suwen, translated as ”The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor,” says that the corresponding relationship among all the “fives” (seasons, elements, organs, flavors, moods, colors) gives clear guidance in how to maintain harmony of body, mind and spirit during the natural cycles of each energetic season.

The color is black for the energetic season of Winter which we have recently entered (Nov. 8 to Jan. 17).

So how do we harmonize with Winter with the color black? One way is through the food we consume during this time.

Believe it not, the Neijing Suwen prescribes the consumption of black foods. In Chinese medicine, black foods are the best for Winter, green foods for Spring, red foods for Summer, yellow foods for late Summer and white foods for Autumn.

Black foods tend to be rich in inorganic salt and melanin. Inorganic salt can help promote fluid metabolism and it is a detoxifier. Melanin can help restrict nitrosamine (a carcinogenic compound) and thus prevent cancer.

FYI!: foods containing nitrosamines include cured meats, primarily cooked bacon, beer, some cheeses, nonfat dry milk and occasionally fish.

We’ve included an interesting list of black foods in the next column along with just a smattering of their bountiful health benefits. One thing you’ll notice is a common thread running through these foods: antioxidants! Black, deep purple, nearly black foods contain lots of them!

Black foods tend to be overlooked in our diets and are just as nutritious as eating green foods which are already commonly accepted as ultra healthy.

Black foods abound in natural plant pigments called anthocyanins (derived from Greek meaning “flower” and “blue”). This is what makes cherries red, blueberries blue, and blackberries black. Actually, most black foods are blue-black or almost black. The darker the pigment of the food, the more anthocyanins are present. Anthocyanins belong to the flavonoid class of molecules and are essentially, antioxidants. The seed coat of black soybeans contains the highest recorded amount of anthocyanins.

During energetic Winter, balance your black food intake with yellow-orange vegetables, tubers and gourds. Put the emphasis on eating warming foods. Warming foods tend to be yang, promoting circulation and metabolism and placing an upward, outward influence on the body.

Now’s the perfect time for stews and soups. Many of the following ingredients can be incorporated into your one-pot meals, especially black garlic, black lentils or beans, eggplant and black polished rice. Have fun! Yum!

Some health benefits of anthocyanin in black or nearly black foods:

• Combatting and prevention of cancer
• Anti-aging effect
• Reduced risk of hardening of the arteries
• A more efficient fat burning metabolism
• Decreased cholesterol and improved blood circulation

14 Nutritious Black Foods That Satisfy and Contribute to Preventive Health:

1. Black sea salt (also known as Kala Namak): high sulphur content is very good for your skin
2. Black pepper: stimulates food digesting enzymes
3. Black tea: loaded with antioxidants
4. Black polished rice or Forbidden rice: loads of vitamin E for immune system
5. Black soybeans (also known as kuromame): enormous anthocyanin content; see health benefits of anthocyanins below
6. Black lentils: loaded with iron
7. Blackberries: may help reduce cognitive decline in older age and fiber rich
8. Black beans: full of bioflavonoids that protect against cancer
9. Black sesame: enhances bone health and helps you sleep better
10. Black fungus (also known as wood ear),: rich in iron and vitamin K, regular consumption can help prevent atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.
11. Black garlic: contains twice the antioxidant levels as fresh garlic; it is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves, a process which appears to double its antioxidant content
12. Eggplant: packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
13. Kelp: a major source of iodine, kelp helps regulate the thyroid gland
14. Black mission figs: anti-cancer, fiber-rich, antibacterial

13 Possibilities of a "Water Element Imbalance," according to Chinese Medicine

During Winter, it is important that we conserve our energy as a seed does in nature, that we rest and preserve the essence of life, preparing for the rebirth of Spring.

Water, the element associated with the energetic season of Winter in traditional Chinese medicine, is the source of life.

It flows, hydrates and purifies. It’s a vehicle carrying nourishment to living things–plants, animals, humans. It can be hard or soft, gentle or powerful, flowing or standing still and stagnating.

In its natural environment it seeks always to flow downwards and fill every space it contacts, but in our body the water circulates in spite of the lack of a designated pump such as the heart for blood circulation. The proof that there is such water circulation is the fact that without it our body shape would be totally different with all the bulk in our legs.

Water circulation is the function of the aspect of vital energy called Water. Proper distribution comes from movement and good breathing. Deep breathing throughout the day activates the largest muscle in the body, the diaphragm, which provides a powerful pumping action ensuring water circulation throughout the body.

In very cold climates, the Winter tendency to hibernate and reduce physical activity must be overcome to ensure enough physical movement and deep breathing necessary for proper water circulation and to avoid water retention, particularly in the legs.

When we’re born, our bodies are about 80% water. As we grow older, we progressively lose water from evaporation that has not been properly replaced. A healthy adult body is comprised of about 75% water. Elderly people might even get to a low of 60%. Further dehydration can become a cause of death.

“The more buff you are (muscle tissue stores more water) the wetter you are. Because women generally have more fat cells, they tend to be a bit drier. Fat cells aren’t as moist. The water that lubricates your joints flushes your waste, assists seminal reproduction, and absorbs shocks to your bones—as you age, the moisturizer in you slowly dwindles.” –Robert Krulwich, Krulwich Wonders on NPR

The importance of proper hydration cannot be underestimated. The medical community is increasingly realizing that most adults are more or less in a severe state of dehydration.

Unfortunately, our drinking water quality is not always satisfactory. Drinking an ample amount of good water is necessary but not fully sufficient. Minerals and electrolytes are necessary. In this regard, fluid from fruits and vegetables is highly desirable. Conversely, too much dry food ( an example would be crackers) contributes to inner dryness.

It is recommended to drink a cup of water per waking hour at regular intervals during the day. It is also good to have water available if and when we wake up during the night. Drinking sodas or coffee is not a substitute for our very necessary water intake quota. In fact, any diuretic such as coffee will eliminate fluid from our body requiring a double dose of hydration to compensate.

Although occasional flushing of toxins from active perspiration is desirable, the rest of the time, limiting natural evaporation–loss of water from our body–is necessary. Application of a good hydrating cream on the face or hydrating body lotion after a bath or shower will also assist to reduce the rate of evaporation through the day.

During the Winter energetic season, signs that we are not in balance with the energetic flow of the season and its element, Water, include the following:

• Joint weakness, joint swelling, rheumatism, arthritis, tooth decay, osteoporosis (bones and bone marrow are the tissues associated with Winter in TCM). All bones draw nourishment from the energy of kidney and bladder. The cells that carry nourishment, strength and renewal throughout the body are regenerated in the bone marrow.
• Thirst and dryness (water is the element associated with Winter according to TCM).
• Frequency or infrequency of urination (the Winter associated orifices are the genitals, urethra, and anus; kidney is Winter’s organ and bladder Winter’s viscera).
• Excess or deficiency of perspiration, putrid body odor (when the water element is not flowing adequately even to the point of stagnation in the body).
• Reduced metabolism; dehydration compromises metabolism.
• High or low blood pressure (salty is the taste of the Winter season). Too much salt in the system causes fluid retention and is therefore not recommended for high blood pressure patients. Too much salty food is bad for the blood.
• Sexual weakness, infertility, sterility (the genitals are one of the orifices associated with Winter in TCM). Healthy reproduction, the functioning of the testes and ovaries, and the flow of energy necessary to perform the sexual act all depend on Water element balance. The environment essential for the development of the embryo is water.
• Depression, inhibited or blocked emotions, apathy, lack of will power or determination (will power is the spiritual resource associated with Winter in TCM). The kidney (Winter’s organ) stores Jing, the life force or impetus. Without good Jing, one can have difficulty coping with even the simplest of tasks.
• Fear, aloofness, shyness, phobias, an inability to face risk (fear is Winter’s associated emotion). A feeling of foreboding or anxiety may arise. An inability to let go of anxieties or falling into despair is a sign of Water imbalance. “Extreme fear can damage the kidneys, but it can be counteracted by contemplation.” –Neijing Suwen
• Vertigo, dizziness, loss of balance (ears are the sense organ for Winter in TCM).
• Balding (hair is the external physical manifestation of Winter). Strong healthy hair reflects good Jing or life force.
• Constant complaints (moaning and groaning are known as the sound associated with TCM’s Winter energetic season).
• Shaking as a release of withheld tension (accumulation and storage are associated with the Winter element in TCM).