I am convinced that the future of medicine is a fusion of what science achievements with what humanity has always known. I am talking about this primal knowledge present in many folk medicines.

For those who do not know me well yet, I will say that I am a huge fan of TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine. If necessary, I do not avoid antibiotics. But if you can help yourself otherwise, why not. That is why my family we are not afraid of acupuncture needles, cupping cups, moxa, and herbs with strange-sounding names.

Concept of nutrition

For me, a diet in line with: the seasons, and condition of the body, is the foundation of the healing process or health optimization. If someone goes to a good TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner, in addition to therapy or herbs, he gets tips on changing the diet and lifestyle. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), every food and drink has healing and energy properties.

What is a remedy for one, maybe a poison for another person? We all have a completely different energy relationship between our organs, the state of blood, and life energy qi.
The classic Chinese texts underline that a person that consumes alcohol must take into consideration a few factors: the type of alcohol and adapt it to the quality of the food he eats, his age, individual digestive power, current health or disease status, and the time of the year, and even the time of day.

Heat vs Cold

In TCM every ailment, medicinal herb, or food has a temperature and is associated with an element of water, fire, wood, metal, or air. Alcohol is linked with the fire element. Thus both are connected with heat. The goal of anyone who cares about their qi life energy and health is to achieve balance in the body.

All hangover symptoms are considered as hot in the temperature symptoms, while a common cold or flu that depletes qi has „cold temperature” symptoms. This includes pain, a runny nose, and a scratchy throat. With this in mind and the thought of balancing, it makes sense to cure for example a seasonal cold, with wine. But alcohol may be too hot to cure these ailments, especially in large amounts. When you bring so much „fire” into your body, the next day you may have a headache – which is hot – insomnia, red, swollen eyes, some people sweat a lot. In Chinese medicine, this is explained by the fact that the body tries to get rid of this excess of heat instead of „burning” qi with alcohol,

What about the alcohol?

According to TCM, excessive alcohol consumption is quite harmful, but we already know it. Thus, an excess of wine or alcohol in general increases humidity (weight gain and fluid retention) and increases heat (inflammation). Both moisture and heat accumulate and as a result damage digestion, sleep, and mood and can exacerbate skin problems like acne.

Excess heat is also associated with irritation, aggression, and nervousness, and these emotions accumulate in the liver. For example, alcohol abuse causes a hot liver or stagnation of that organ qi. Therefore, it makes sense that if you are someone who already has excessive body heat (feels always warm, eats a lot of spicy food, has red skin or eyes, sweats easily should probably avoid red wine. If that person has to drink a glass of wine, a white wine that is cool is recommended and therefore not recommended during the winter.

So drink or not?

The key to enjoying wine in moderation. Some Chinese remedies are recommended to be taken with wine instead of water because the wine transports them precisely where it is needed. There are many therapeutic indications for wine consumption: it removes energy stagnation in the meridians, harmonizes qi energy and blood, is a tonic for Yang energy, pushes cold out of the body, it is light, especially older wine, because young wine is considered heavy and distracting energy, but wine from older vintages increases the digestive fire (called Agni in Ayurveda), stimulates digestion, especially with a heavy meal, and improves blood circulation.

Another reason why you should reach for red wine is your menstrual cramps. The body’s goal is for the uterus to completely shed and self-exfoliate its lining with minimal contraction, so severe contractions and clots are, according to TCM, a sign of blood stagnation, and one glass of red wine a day while contractions persist may be beneficial. The goal is to gently facilitate circulation, but not enough to increase bleeding.

How does all this relate to rosé wine? Unfortunately, the Chinese texts do not specify this color and style of wine. But it is, in my opinion, quite neutral, because it is made of red varieties which theoretically give the wine that “heat”, and yet is vinified like white, and in a sense will have its cooling properties that balance each other. It is such wine of the Golden mean, for those who should not drink red because they have a lot of heat anyway, but also for those who have lots of “cool energy” …

Zapraszam Cię na warsztaty winiarskie w Polsce oraz w podróż do Chile.

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