Diet
Today, when one thinks of treatments used in Tibetan medicine, they may picture massage, acupuncture or complex herbal medicines. In truth, the prominent treatment used in Tibetan medicine is changing the diet of the sufferer. Other treatments are used to supplement diet changes, or are applied when a change in diet is not enough to cure the disease or condition.
Tibetan physicians have carefully studied the effects of different types of foods on the mind and body for centuries and used these findings to help treat patients. An emphasis is made on balancing the stomach. The recommended diet involves keeping the stomach balanced with 50% solids, 25% fluids, and 25% space, or air. The space is considered necessary to mix the solid and liquid food consumed. In practical terms, this means that one should eat until nearly full, instead of eating until he or she feels "stuffed."
Other basic advice for maintaining good health and vitality mirror much of the prominent dietary advice made by Western physicians. Such recommendations include eating a nutritionally balanced diet including healthy amounts of carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, and moderate amounts of meat. Tibetan medicine also recommends eating a low-fat, low-sugar and low-sodium diet. one difference between Tibetan diet advice and the diet advice seen in the West is that Tibetan doctors advise drinking plenty of boiling water, as opposed to cold, bottled water.
When a patient is suffering from some sort of illness or condition, that person is analyzed by a Tibetan doctor who determines which of the three humors (wind, bile and phlegm) is out of balance. Then, the Tibetan doctor makes a diet recommendation based on the humor that is imbalanced. These diet alterations are much more likely to be effective if the patient has already been maintaining a healthy and balanced diet.
