Know China Learn Chinese: A colorful diet

Our American expat Erik has found a way to deal with shàng huǒ in last episode Erik is on fire, so he started to be interested in traditional Chinese medicine, which can help him to be more healthy.

This time, Erik talks about the conventional Chinese wisdom that holds certain colors of vegetables are good for certain organs.

Traditional Chinese medicine would explain which veggies are doing what for which organs. This harks to an idea called wǔ zàng liù fǔ, or the "five viscera and six bowels".

Zàng refers to organs that concentrate cool yin energy - the heart, liver and lungs.

Now, another idea here is that if you crave certain foods, that's because the organs they nourish are telling you that you need them.

That said, while Western medicine doesn't necessarily trace the exact same connections between what's on your plate and specific organs in your body, most modern health authorities agree that the more your plate resembles a rainbow, the better.