Chinese way of ‘Healing with foods’ revealed at Midland Library

Find out what a master of traditional Chinese medicine says about the effects of food on health at his Midland Library lecture …

-1 Dr. Guohui Liu introduces his lecture, “Healing with Foods”, at Midland Library.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
An instructor at outer East Portland’s Oriental College of Medicine since 1995, Dr. Guohui Liu, M.Med; L.Ac., came to Midland Library on February 28, and presented a lecture he calls “Healing with Foods”.

“I was trained in China,” Liu began, “and earned my Masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1985.”

Liu began by telling the class members, “Factors affecting disease include invasion of pathogens, improper foods intakes, overstrain, and prolonged imbalanced emotions.”

Next in importance, and one of the best ways to stay healthy, Liu explained, is “proper intake of food.”

The first governmental official to guide people in food intake was assigned in the Zhou dynasty, in 1060 B.C. “Taking foods and having sexual activity are basic desires for human beings. If one does not eat foods for a half day, energy would be weak. The reason for a normal person to die due to not taking foods for seven days is ‘exhaustion of essence, qi and, body fluid’. The most important thing to keep the body healthy is to pay attention to food intake.”

-2 Dr. Liu helps class members understand the many and varied qualities of foods that can lead to improved health.

Going into more detail during his class than we can convey in this article, Liu talked about four general principles for proper food intake:

Time
Temperature
Quality
Quantity

“It is important to eat the current foods, each in their seasons,” Liu also stated. He showed a chart of “element types” including grains, fruits, animals, and vegetables.

Because he said it would be inappropriate to diagnose and suggest specific treatment during the class, Liu concluded his talk by outlining the “causes and qualities” of diseases, telling how a balanced diet can help the ill find new pathways to health.

Liu said he plans to give this lecture again at Midland Library. Check our Community Calendar to discover many free, informative events taking place each month in East Portland!

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