Warm Foods Help You To Conceive

There are some things we don't have control over, but we do have control over what we eat. When you are nutritionally and energetically imbalanced, your body spends a lot of energy to get back on track. This takes away from the energy your internal organs need to conceive.  By eating nourishing foods you are helping your body function more efficiently.  In the winter, it is especially important to eat a diet that is at minimum 80% warm. This keeps the Qi (Life force) and blood coursing through your organs for proper function and optimal health.

So what is a warm food?

Generally speaking, in Chinese Medicine raw foods are colder and of course, I don't have to say anymore - ice water! Having effective preparation methods for food is most important to understand the warmth level. For example, if you are steaming or boiling food, this has a neutral effect; whereas stewing, stir-frying, and baking have a warming effect.  Fried, roasted, grilled, or BBQ-ed is a hot or heat effect on the body's organ system.  Depending upon your constitutional make up within the Chinese Medicine diagnostic patterns will determine what your body needs.

Another thing to consider is the way food grows which also has an effect on its temperature qualities. Fast-growing foods like lettuce and foods with a higher water content like cucumbers, melon, and watermelon are very cooling to the body. Plants that take longer to grow like root vegetables (ginger) are warmer. In addition, dried foods and adding spices to your foods also warm up the reaction in your body.

Most importantly, where you live and the climate that you are most exposed to will direct your Qi and have an effect on your constitutional make up.  So if you live in a damp cold climate, from a Chinese medicine perspective this will exacerbate any tendencies towards a more overall energetic coldness in the body.