by Dr. Josh Axe
Your guide to eating right for your element
See how the five-elements philosophy can give you insight into your strengths and weaknesses? I find it fascinating—and extraordinarily helpful in terms of self-awareness. But the paradigm also provides health guidance, particularly personalized food suggestions that are tailor-made for your body. In fact, if your diet is out of balance with your ancient element, your food choices may actually be undermining your health.
To be clear, the five elements approach isn’t a full-fledged diet in itself. (In chapter 4 you’ll find a more comprehensive, general guide to the ancient diet—and, as I mentioned, chapters 11 and 12 contain diet information for treating specific health conditions.) But if you understand this approach, you can tilt your everyday choices toward the foods that help provide balance for people dominant in your element.
Each of the elements corresponds with a taste—sour, salty, bitter, pungent, or sweet—and according to TCM, it’s the taste and temperature of a food that determines its action in the body. (Remember: In this context, temperature doesn’t refer to whether a given dish is served hot or cold; it is a measure of the food’s effect on the body after digestion.) Likewise, each element corresponds to an organ in the body and a season of the year, and during each element’s season, it’s particularly important to nourish the corresponding organ.
While it’s beneficial to understand your dominant element, you need to have a grasp of all of them, since they all exist within you to some degree and, depending on the season and your personal health goals, you may want to strengthen a certain element, even if it’s not one of your dominant elements. Just as all your organs matter to your overall health, so do all the elements. Moreover, the five elements interact and flow into one another, much as the seasons flow from one to the next—they’re sometimes referred to as the five phases or five movements to capture this idea—so supporting one bolsters the others. In the five elements paradigm, wood gives birth to fire, fire to earth, earth to metal, metal to water, and water to wood. Inside your body, their interactions can serve to promote or restrain one another, thereby bolstering health or disease. The goal: creating balance and harmony among the five elements.
Here are the essential things to know about each of the five elements and diet.
Wood
Organs: Liver and gallbladder. The liver stores blood, aids the heart in moving blood, is responsible for keeping your energy flowing, and has an effect on your tendons and joints. The gallbladder stores bile and helps balance your emotions. Emotions like frustration, depression, and anger often correspond to liver problems, and indecisiveness and uncertainty can be linked to a deficiency in the gallbladder.
Health problems associated with the wood element: Orthopedic and muscle issues, because wood is related to sinew; vision problems, because wood is related to the eye; tooth and jaw problems (like temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ); premenstrual syndrome; migraines; and addiction.
Flavor: Sour. Adding tart foods to your diet will strengthen your wood element. Here are some good options: green apples, lemons, limes, grapefruit, pomegranates, kiwis, sauerkraut, and apple cider vinegar. Regardless of your element, sour foods are often used to treat illnesses associated with leaking, like sweating, bleeding, and diarrhea, and they benefit digestive absorption. Remember, with sour foods a little goes a long way. A single serving of sauerkraut and a quarter lemon in your water is about all the liver can handle—although in the spring it can take a little more and in the fall a little less.
Color: Green. Eating green foods nourishes the wood element, so make sure you get plenty of leafy greens, broccoli, avocados, asparagus, spirulina, parsley, basil, and mung beans, all of which help support the liver, gallbladder, muscles, and joints.
Season: Spring. This is the season to take special care of your liver and gallbladder—to do a fast or cleanse—and to eat light foods, like fresh greens, fruit, and pungent herbs and spices like cilantro, parsley, peppermint, fennel, rosemary, sage, and turmeric, which are attuned to the energetic growth of the season. Avoid foods that stress the liver, including fried foods, dairy, sugar, and large amounts of fat and alcohol. This is also the time of year for personal growth. Spend time visualizing things you want to achieve, setting goals, and creating a plan for a healthy and successful future.
WOOD ELEMENT
HEALTHY CHARACTERISTICS
Clear goals and vision
Strategic planners
Good decision makers
Encouraging
SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCE
Tendency to overwork
Addictive personality traits
PMS or headaches
Trouble digesting fats
SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER HEALTH
Use herbs like bupleurum, milk thistle, and vitex for women.
Use oils of CBD, lavender, and chamomile to relax.
Schedule time to relax and not work.
Take a walk outside in nature among the trees and do yoga.
Avoid sugar, spicy foods, and fatty foods.
Fire
Organs: Heart and mind and small intestine. The heart is the home of your spirit, according to TCM, and it oversees the blood, but it is also intimately linked with your mind and sympathetic nervous system. In acupuncture, the heart meridian affects both the brain and the heart. Symptoms of a heart-mind imbalance include difficulty concentrating, stumbling over your words when you speak, depression, memory lapses, and poor circulation. The small intestine absorbs fluids and separates the nutrients in our food from the waste. It sorts the pure from the impure physically—and also helps separate and get rid of emotional toxins, while hanging onto nourishing emotions.
Health problems associated with fire element: Insomnia, high blood pressure, chest pain and other heart-related issues, headaches, and depression.
Flavor: Bitter. The bitter flavor enters the heart and small intestine and causes the energy of the body to drop. Bitterness reduces excess, which is why it helps balance out the intense energy of the fire element. Bitter foods include artichokes, arugula, coffee, cacao, romaine lettuce, asparagus, celery, rye, and many herbs and spices, including cinnamon, dandelion, dill, and turmeric. No matter your dominant element, bitter foods are helpful for reducing fevers or drying up dampness—if you have a cold or allergies, for instance.
Color: Red. Rosy-toned foods are good for your heart, small intestine, and brain, so be sure your diet includes some of these foods: beets, goji berries, tomatoes, strawberries, red beans, red bell peppers, and grass-fed beef.
Season: Summer. Your diet should be as light and bright as the season, with vividly colored, lightly cooked fruits and vegetables. Although it’s tempting to increase your consumption of icy beverages and frozen treats like ice cream, don’t overdo it; when you have too much cold food in this steamy season you can weaken your digestive organs. Try to stick with cooling foods like salads and watery fruits (like watermelon, cucumber, lemons, and limes). Avoid heavy foods like eggs, meat, nuts, and grains, which will drain your energy and drag you down. This is the time of year to get outside and do some cardio, go swimming, and spend time in your community building friendships.
FIRE ELEMENT
HEALTHY CHARACTERISTICS
Passionate
Energetic
Social
Joyful
SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCE
Anxiety
Heart problems
Trouble sleeping
Overly dramatic
SUGGESTIONS FOR BALANCE
Use herbs for heart and nervous system, including hawthorn, red sage, and CBD.
Eat red foods, like beets and bison, and green leafy vegetables.
Take a walk outside in the sunshine.
Schedule some adventure in your life.
Earth
Organs: Spleen, pancreas, and stomach. Your spleen is responsible for recycling old red blood cells and fighting some bacteria, and your pancreas and stomach are i
ntegral parts of the digestive process, including the distribution of nutrients from food. Signs of spleen or pancreas imbalance include fatigue and feelings of physical and emotional stuck-ness, which can include symptoms like bloating, loose stools, and lack of appetite.
Health problems associated with earth element: Gastrointestinal problems, like irritable bowel and leaky gut syndrome; and hormonal issues, like adrenal fatigue.
Flavor: Sweet. This is the most ubiquitous flavor. Nearly every food has at least a little sweetness to it. Foods that are considered “full sweet” include meat, beans, nuts, starchy veggies, and dairy. Most fruits and sweeteners, like honey and maple syrup, fall into the category of “empty sweets,” but that doesn’t mean they’re all “empty calories”: empty sweets are cleansing and cooling and are unhealthy only in excess. Added sugar and artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, can damage the kidney, bones, and even spleen, the very organ the sweet flavor is meant to support, so do your best to avoid them.
Color: Orange and yellow. These colors are good for your digestive system and spleen, so be sure to eat things like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, corn, butternut squash, yellow and orange bell peppers, oats, egg yolks, pineapple, walnuts, and honey.
Season: Late summer/early fall. Often overlooked, late summer has an essence all its own. In TCM, it marks the seasonal transition from yang to yin, between the outward growth seasons of spring and summer and the inward, more withdrawn seasons of fall and winter. This is a time for finding inner harmony, so it’s a good time to take up meditation and prayer, if you haven’t already. It’s also a good idea to eat foods that harmonize your system, like corn, cabbage, chickpeas, squash, potatoes, rice, apricots, and cantaloupe.
EARTH ELEMENT
HEALTHY CHARACTERISTICS
Nurturing and caring
Loyal friends
Brings peace and harmony
Fun and happy
SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCE
Excessive/unnecessary worrying
Lack of identity, direction, and clarity in life
Overcommitting and feeling overwhelmed
Digestive problems including bloating, gas, or upset stomach
Cravings for sweets
SUGGESTIONS FOR BALANCE
Use herbs for digestion, including astragalus, licorice, cinnamon, and turmeric.
Eat warming, bland foods, like soup, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and beef.
Spend time connecting with friends who are a positive influence.
Work on creating boundaries and practice saying no.
Metal
Organs: Lungs and large intestine. Your lungs are the main organ involved in breathing, but they also regulate water metabolism and help take in qi from the air, mix it with qi acquired from food, and distribute this vital energy throughout the body. Meanwhile, the large intestine absorbs water and excretes waste. An imbalance in the lungs can manifest as sadness.
Health problems associated with metal element: Lung problems, like asthma; skin issues, like acne; and gastrointestinal problems.
Flavor: Pungent. This flavor disperses stagnation and stuck, phlegmy energy in the lungs and large intestine. It stimulates circulation of both energy and blood and aids digestion. Hot chiles are good for protecting the lungs, as are miso, garlic, turnips, ginger, horseradish, and radishes.
Color: White and pale yellow. High-fiber foods in these categories, like oats, grains, and fruit pulp, are important for cleansing the lungs and colon. Other good whitish foods include pears, apples, cauliflower, chicken bone broth, rice, onions, and almonds.
Season: Autumn. This is the time for moving inward, both emotionally and physically—to find shelter at home and store up food and energy for the coming chill. In autumn, nature is in the process of contracting as well, as grass and leaves turn from a moist, vivid green to a desiccated brown. It’s a time to eat sour foods and heartier flavors—things like sauerkraut, leeks, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, sourdough bread, and olives—and focus more on cooking, which engages the sense of smell and is intimately linked to the lungs. This is a time of year to prepare your body for healing. If you have past hurts, devote some time and energy to addressing them. Forgive others and spend time meditating on gratitude and focusing on serving and loving yourself, your family, and your friends.
METAL ELEMENT
HEALTHY CHARACTERISTICS
Very disciplined
Organized and structured
Good problem solvers
Seek justice for oppressed
SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCE
Stricken with grief or depression
Overly critical or judgmental
Prone to problems of colon, lungs, and skin
Excessive sweating
SUGGESTIONS FOR BALANCE
Take herbs for immunity, including ginger, echinacea, and garlic.
Take probiotics.
Avoid mucus-producing foods, like dairy and wheat.
Do deep breathing exercise like qi gong and diaphragmatic breaths during exercise.
Water
Organs: Kidneys, adrenal glands, and bladder. Kidneys are where the body stores jing, the “kidney essence” (in the Western world this equates to your DNA and longevity). Jing is one of Chinese medicine’s Three Treasures. The other two are qi and shen, which is related to your spirit in terms of knowing your purpose in life. The kidneys and bladder are both part of the urinary tract. Your kidneys filter blood, removing waste and extra water to make urine, which your bladder helps excrete. Your adrenals are responsible for hormonal balance and your body’s fight-or-flight response. An imbalance in this system may show up in your emotional life as fear.
Health problems associated with water element: Urinary and prostate problems, kidney and bladder infections, and diseases or issues related to the sex organs.
Flavor: Salty. Foods high in sodium, like sea salt, soy sauce, miso, and seaweeds, help store heat deep in the body, but use them in moderation. An excess of salty foods weakens the kidneys, adrenals, and bladder, and can negatively affect the heart as well. Although the water element is primarily associated with salt, it also responds well to bitter foods, like endive, asparagus, quinoa, celery, and watercress.
Color: Black and dark blue. Foods in these colors nourish your kidneys, adrenals, and bladder, so water types should consume plenty of black beans, blueberries, blackberries, black rice, eggplant, black sesame seeds, black or dark purple grapes, raisins, and black tea.
Season: Winter. This is the time to seek inner warmth, to rest, and to preserve your physical energy. Kidneys and adrenals are the organs most affected by winter, but you can support them by eating steamed greens, which strengthen the kidneys, and hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts, which cater to our need for sustenance and warmth at this time of year. This is a contemplative season, so it’s a good time for meditation or prayer, as well as deep breathing exercises and reading to gain knowledge.
WATER ELEMENT
HEALTHY CHARACTERISTICS
Gives wisdom and sound advice
Courageous
Determined
Sense of purpose
SYMPTOMS OF IMBALANCE
Withdrawing and avoiding others
Fear and anxiety
Fertility or libido problems
SUGGESTIONS FOR BALANCE
Balance taking time for yourself and socializing.
Meditate, read, and pray.
Avoid stress and relieve stress with exercises like yoga or swimming.
Strengthen adrenals and reproductive organs with adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms.
By now, you should have a sense of how the five elements paradigm can help you understand your health, just as it allowed ancient physicians to understand the source of their patients’ ailments and treat them accordingly. The approach can be as useful today as it was back then. It can offer insight into your own behavior, and if you apply the five elements to friends and loved ones, it can even allow you to see them and their beha
vior from a new, more empathetic perspective.
The five elements system can also guide you toward the foods that may be particularly supportive for you. But your body isn’t static. It’s constantly changing, so your nutritional needs vary, too. As a result, you’ll find additional diet advice in upcoming chapters. By utilizing a combination of these strategies, you can make the wisest and most beneficial food choices for your individual needs in any given moment. Here’s how to prioritize these highly effective ancient approaches:
Priority #1: Eat to cure the root cause of illness. For instance, if your body is damp internally and the dampness is causing candida and digestive issues, you need to consume foods and herbs that are drying, like celery, pumpkin, cardamom, and thyme. In chapters 11 and 12, you’ll find dietary information that will help you address these underlying patterns of imbalance as well as specific illnesses, so you can restore the healthy harmony of your system.
Priority #2: Eat seasonally. Consuming foods in season helps your body adapt to changing weather conditions, as you’ll learn in chapter 4. Spring, for instance, is windy, and it’s the season when your liver is particularly active, so it’s the right time to eat more sour and green foods.
Priority #3: Eat for your element. The diet guidance you’ve just read in this chapter is based on your element and its inherent strengths and weaknesses. If you’re an earth element, for instance, and you’re caught in a cycle of excessive worry, you’ll want to consume herbs like astragalus and cinnamon to counteract the cortisol and keep your digestive system healthy.
I have personally found the five elements framework—including the nutritional support—to be meaningful, applicable, and beneficial. I rely on it daily to stay emotionally and physically healthy. I hope it enriches and enhances your life as well.