Our balanced regime for food

There is always a balance and a precarious interdependence between the Yin and the Yang.

For example

Masculine Feminine
Day Night
Up Down
Hot Cold

There is always a bit of Yin in Yang and Yang in Yin, which explains the symbol:

Here are a few definitions:

YIN	YANG
Night	Day
Darkness	Light
Cold	Heat
Winter	Summer
Water	Fire
Moon	Sun
Feminine	Masculine
Presence	Absence
Concrete	Virtual
Earth	Sky
Emptiness	Fulfillment
Rest	Movement
Deficient	Excess
Calming	Exciting

Each of these relationship changes just as the natural light during the course of a day.

The 5 levels of Yin and Yang

Different levels of Yin and Yang have been defined:

Ultra Yin

Yin

Neutral

Yang

Ultra Yang

The great Oriental doctors have linked the seasons and natural elements to correspond to these 5 levels. For each season and element, they have laid out a multitude of information to explain, as carefully as possible, to what each corresponds: Colors, planets, musical notes, organs, meridians, psychological profiles, qualities, defects, predispositions to disease… etc. There’s no limit …

General Classifications (some examples)

Classification	Winter	Fall	Indian Summer	Spring	Summer
Elements	Water	Metal	Soil	Wood	Fire
Organs	Kidney Bladder	Lung Large intestine	Spleen Lungs Stomach	Liver Gallbladder	Heart Small intestine
Colors	Black	White	Yellow	Green	Red
Flavors	Salty	Spicy	Sweet/Sugary	Sour	Bitter

This is the classic classification by element, which the Chinese have ordered, and could be made complete with planets, musical sounds, semiprecious stones, etc.
Here, the flavor is the one that reinforces the element.

Yin and Yang in food: Oriental energy nutrition

Classification	Ultra Yin	Yin	Neutral	Yang	Ultra Yang
Flavor	Bitter	Salty Sour	Sweet	Sugary	Spice
Cooking Method	Roast Fry Gratiner	Grill Sauté Braise	Steam Boil In a Papillotte	Simmer Blanch Poach	Raw Fermented
Effects	Internalize	Descend	Neutral	Ascend	Externalize

This table describes the flavors’ effects on the body.

This classification applies to food through:

• Flavors (spicy, sour, salty, bitter)
• State (cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot)
• The effect of food on the movements of energy (externalizing, internalizing, descending …)
• The effect of food on organs (liver, lungs, the spleen …)
• The seasonal characteristics of food
• Method of cooking (grill, boil, blanchir …)

 

This concept constitutes a major difference between Western food and Oriental energetic nutrition.

The latter does not only care about the chemical or biological analysis of each food.

It’s based on the observation and study of the role and effects of each food (or food group) on humans, including:

• Physical balance
• Physiology
• The psychic state
• The energetic state

This is a comprehensive and holistic vision: food is not only to feed the body but to maintain it in all its components.

Classification applied to some foods

 

Classification	Ultra Yin	Yin	Neutral	Yang	Ultra Yang
Nature	Cold	Cool	Neutral	Warm	Hot
Animal Product	Crab Sea Urchin Snail	Egg White Oyster Caviar Yogurt Mussels Shellfish Low-Fat Cheese ( Ex: Goat Cheese)	Duck Carp Quail Cow Milk Honey Perch Lemon Sole Angler Fish Coley Sea Bream	Mackerel Sardine Herring Anchovies Butter Beef Salmon Shrimp Tuna Sheep Chicken Turkey Crème Fraîche Rich Cheeses (Ex: Burrata) Lobster Jumbo Shrimp	Cold Meats Big Gme Sheep Veal
Vegetables & Grains	Seaweed Asparagus Celery Sorrel Soybean Sprouts Bamboo Shoots Rhubarde Tomatoes Chinese Cabbage Pumpkin Cucumber Endive Turnip Jerusalem Artichoke	Eggplant Wheat Kohlrabi Tofu Spinach Cucumber Radish Barley Red Bean Lettuce Corn Buckwheat Millet White Rice	Aguki Peanut Oats Carrot Rye Peas Brown Rice Potatoes Sesame Fava Bean Sunflower Seed Green Bean Cabbage	Garlic Caper Fennel Pumpkin Onion Barley Millet Lentils Oyster Mushrooms Leeks Pumpkin Hazelnuts Wallnuts Glutinous Rice Wholegrain Pasta	Green Bell Pepper Red Bell Pepper
Spices and condiments	Soy Sauce Salt Tea Sugar Cane Chamomile Passion Flower Jasmine Lime Tree	Sesame Oil Mint Oregano Chamomile Cider Sea Salt Green Tea Lemongrass Vervain Nuoc-Nam	Oils Orange Blossom Licorice Honey Saffron White Sugar Chervil Turmeric	Anis Basil Coffee Red Wine Dill Cinnamon Scallions Cardamom Cilantro Ginger Cloves Thyme Soybean Oil Parsley Brown Sugar Nutmeg Vinegar Beer Rosemary	Strong Alcohol Garlic Dry Ginger Chili Pepper Pepper Nutmeg Cocoa Chocolate White Wine Refined Sugar Sourdaux
Fruits & Citrus	Pineapple Lemon Banana Blackberry Blackcurrant Blueberry Watermelon Grapefruit	Mango Melon Orange Pear Apple Plum Fig Strawberry	Grapefruit Pomegranate Papaya Plum	Apricot Strawberry Cerise Lychee Chestnut Wallnut Peach Pistachio	n/a

 

The vitality of food

Ideally, we should consume foods that have the maximum of Yin.

In fact, if foods are altered too much, devitalized too much, it is from our own reserves that we will have to draw energy, and in the long run it will weaken us.

The vitality of food essentially depends on the method of cultivation. The more natural the cultivation is, the higher the level of Yin.

The flow of energy in the human body

 

Important points for an ideal meal

The environment

• The climate: season, temperature
• The setting:
  * Ambiance / color / facilities
  * Try to eliminate stress, stimulations, noises
  with, for example, soft background music
• Product’s appearance and presentation

Harmonize your choice of food

• Promotes neutral types of foods
• Take into account the seasons, for example:
  * Winter: neutral, warm foods
  * Summer: neutral, fresh foods
• Show interest in food specifics (vitality, flavor, consistency, preparation)

Find balance while preparing meals

• No “too much“: too sweet, too sour, too salty …
• No “not enough”: dishes will become tasteless without a little pleasure

Find a balance in the stomach

Optimize your stomach’s activity without spending too much energy, the ideal schema is:

• 50% solid food
• 25% liquid foods
• 25% empty (so the stomach is not completely saturated)

Respect the nutrition pyramid

The bottom of the pyramid shows the preferred food families, then those that are tolerated in the middle, and at the top, those that are to be consumed occasionally.

GAIA THERAPEAT Nutritional Charter

We’ve come to see that food through traditional Chinese medicine includes:

• A concern for the vitality of food
• The importance of food’s nature
• A respect for the seasons
• Implications of flavors
• The importance of food processing, according to the method of cooking

In order to respect the rules detailed above and maintain food hygiene, GAIA THERAPEAT commits to:

Avoid imbalances

• Excess “cold” foods (consumed too cold, or of a “”cool/cold”” nature)
• Excess animal or vegetal saturated fats
• Excess meat consumption
• Excess of devitalized foods
• Excess of refined products (those devoid of nutrients)
• Addition of new substances (preservatives, additives, dyes …)
• Imbalance of flavor due to being “too much” or “not enough” (sweet, sour, salty …)

Respect the basic rules

• Eat more fruits and vegetables, cooked and varied
• Consume more leguminous grains
• such as: rice, millet, quinoa, polenta, barley, lentils, beans, soybeans, etc…
• and avoid: wheat, rye, spelt, and oats
• Minimize cold meats
• Moderate consumption of meat, fish, and eggs
• Avoid quick-burning sugars as much as possible (white sugar containing products)
• Avoid sweet, sour, and alcoholic drinks including soda and cola
• Reduce the vinegars, capers, and pickles
• Reduce raw food raw and “cold nature”
• Avoid frying
• Avoid refined vegetable oils and animal fats
• Reduce dairy to a minimum
• Hot drink after a meal but not in excess

Objective of GAIA THERAPEAT

According to Oriental nutrition standards, the foundation of a good balance and good health is through a trio of organs: Spleen. Pancreas. Stomach.

Our recipes are based on these standards. Their composition has been adapted to 8 Universes thanks to a precise selection of foods, without forgetting taste and creativity.

 

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Olivier BOYER, holistic therapist

From a young age, Olivier Boyer has been passionate about sports. When it came time to choose his course of study, he naturally turned to physical therapy. He uncovered knowledge of the physical body and its functions: how to rebuild the damaged, injured or suffering. He discovered massage, as well as oils and their virtues.

After a few years, he began to notice the limitations of physical appearance in therapy and decided to educate himself on the importance of mindset, spirituality, and energy. He discovered biokinergie, Chinese traditional medicine, Doctor Bach’s floral elixirs, colortherapie, Auriculotherapy, meditation, visualization, nutrition, Ayurveda, and the chakras.

It has been over thirty years since he began this journey into an exciting world without limits.
And so it’s with much joy and pleasure that he has put forth his knowledge to create and develop GAIA THERAPEAT.