My Impressions: 養生食療寶典

I’m into acupuncture.  My godfather’s brother is into acupuncture (licensed and practiced in Taiwan).  Dude found a set of acupuncture books written by Dr. Wei Chieh Young here:

http://www.drweichiehyoung.com/shop/8gq4f8elutzp7eyhzm7zy5hzw0idlb

I was asked to buy a set for them, and I thought why not buy a set for myself?

Their books are very expensive, listed on their shop here: http://www.drweichiehyoung.com/shop/

I started with the thinnest, least technical, and cheapest book: 養生食療寶典

The concept of this book is to focus on what we ingest – to view dietary habits as a way to control and maintain our body.  I agree with this concept whole heartedly and believe we are to a large degree what we eat.  By the different types of food we consume, our body will be affected in different ways.  It seems reasonable that we can consume foods specific to our sickness and try to remedy them.

However, in execution, I do not think the book delivered.

Doesn’t matter what you were trying to cure: headache, stomach ache, fever, cold, and pains in whatever area…  It seemed it was the same information repeated over and over again.  All these tips, I would consider as “common sense” in Chinese culture.  Turn to any page in the book, and it follows the same outline:

• Don’t eat too oily or too greasy
• Don’t consume too much caffeine
• Don’t consume too much alcohol
• Don’t drink too much concentrated tea
• Don’t drink cold beverages
• Eat meat in moderation
• Don’t binge on anything, eat everything in moderation
• Eat a well-balanced diet

Is common sense common?  Is common sense right?  Who cares?  Literally, I felt like I was reading the same page 90 times with a different title until the end of the book. 

In addition…  All these concepts have been passed on for generations.  In Asian culture, nobody seems to contest them, or challenge them.  We just accept it as normal wisdom and find fault in ourselves when we don’t follow and have problems with our body. 

Maybe there is truth to this common knowledge, maybe there is not, but there is no new information.  No new research.  Given the doctor’s credibility and access, I would’ve liked to see data on putting this list of common sense (or other diets) to the test. 

On an individual level, my friends and I are constantly testing with our own bodies, trying to be on the front line of diet and health.  E.g. Warrior’s diet of one meal a day, eliminating carbs, vegans, removing sugar, blah blah blah.  I “hopefully wished” to see “some” innovation in this book. 

If I wanted to read the same remedy for every kind of perceived illness, I could’ve photocopied my bullet point outline above, 90 times.

So, if you want to know what diet cures what sickness in this book, just copy my outline above, and apply it when your body is not in its happy mood. 

You’re welcome.  I just saved you 12 bucks and 2 hours of reading. 

Hopefully the more expensive acupuncture books in the set won’t be such a letdown.