Chinese Dietary Therapy in Lewes
Practical, individual food guidance based on the principles of Chinese medicine.
Chinese dietary therapy looks at food as part of the wider picture of your health. Rather than following a standard diet or imposing a list of foods to avoid, I consider your digestion, energy, appetite, sleep and other symptoms alongside your usual eating habits.
I currently incorporate dietary guidance into acupuncture treatment where appropriate. Standalone Chinese Dietary Therapy consultations are being developed and will be available soon.
Join the Chinese Dietetics Waiting List
Standalone Chinese Dietary Therapy consultations are not yet available to book.
If you’d like to know when they launch, join the waiting list and I’ll let you know when appointments become available.
If you’d like support now, dietary guidance can be incorporated into acupuncture treatment where appropriate.
What Is Chinese Dietary Therapy?
Chinese dietary therapy applies the principles of Chinese medicine to everyday food and eating habits.
Foods are traditionally understood not simply in terms of nutrients, but also according to qualities such as whether they are warming or cooling, drying or moistening, and how they are understood to affect digestion and the wider Chinese medical pattern.
I use these principles alongside a Chinese medical assessment to make dietary suggestions appropriate to the individual.
The aim isn’t to give you a rigid diet. It is to identify realistic changes that fit your constitution, symptoms and everyday life.
Why Diet Matters in Chinese Medicine
Diet has traditionally formed an important part of maintaining health within Chinese medicine.
What suits one person does not necessarily suit another. The same is true at different stages of life or during different periods of health.
For example, I may consider:
- digestion and bowel function
- appetite and eating patterns
- energy and fatigue
- sleep
- temperature and whether you tend to feel hot or cold
- menstrual and hormonal patterns
- recovery following illness
- your current symptoms and general health
Rather than starting with a predetermined diet, I use this information to understand your individual presentation and decide what dietary changes may be appropriate.
Dietary Guidance as Part of Acupuncture
What I Offer Now
I already incorporate dietary guidance into acupuncture treatment when I think it is relevant.
This doesn’t mean everyone who comes for acupuncture receives dietary advice. Where food or eating habits appear relevant to your presentation, we can discuss practical changes that may complement your treatment.
These might involve the types of food you eat, how food is prepared, meal timing or eating habits.
I keep recommendations practical and proportionate. The intention is to give you manageable changes rather than an unnecessarily restrictive diet.
Standalone Chinese Dietary Therapy
A More Detailed Consultation Is Coming Soon
I am developing a standalone Chinese Dietary Therapy service for people who want to explore diet in considerably greater detail.
The consultation will use Chinese medical assessment together with a detailed look at your current diet, symptoms and lifestyle.
It is intended to provide enough time to understand what you currently eat, how you respond to it and where useful changes can realistically be made.
Your Chinese Dietary Therapy Consultation
The planned consultation will include:
- a detailed discussion of your health and current symptoms
- Chinese medical assessment
- your usual eating habits
- review of a three-day diet diary
- identification of your Chinese medical dietary pattern
- practical, individual dietary recommendations
- guidance that takes account of your lifestyle and preferences
Rather than simply giving you a generic food list, I will use the consultation to develop recommendations specifically around your presentation.
The Three-Day Diet Diary
Before a standalone consultation, you’ll complete a simple three-day record of what you eat and drink.
We’ll use this alongside information about your digestion, appetite, energy and other symptoms to look for patterns and identify areas worth exploring.
You won’t need to eat differently for the diary. The point is to understand what you normally do, so that any subsequent recommendations are practical and relevant to you.
Chinese Dietary Therapy and Acupuncture
Chinese dietary therapy can stand alone, but it can also complement acupuncture treatment.
Both use the same underlying Chinese medical assessment, although they approach treatment differently. Acupuncture uses carefully selected acupuncture points, while dietary therapy looks at how food choices and eating habits can be adapted according to your individual presentation.
You don’t need to receive acupuncture in order to have a standalone dietary consultation once the service launches.