Meditation gathers in energy with a minimum of outflow of energy. Meditation is the most direct route to making contact with the Vital Force, the Qi, that which is the only thing that heals us and keeps us alive. The connection with and the accumulation of and nurturing of this energy is the only thing that allows us to heal ourselves and others. In dietetics, it is important to know whether a food is building or cleansing. The protein foods would be more building, whereas the fruits would be more cleansing.
Grains are rather neutral, so they act as a good base from which to start.
Cooking basically adds Qi to your food. Raw foods have reached such acclaim in the United States because the traditional American diet has been so binding and constricting that the raw foods open one up. However, once opened up, to continue this type of diet will become depleting. Herbs generally come after dietetics, which is a necessary foundation for any herbal work. With poor dietetics, herbs will not have optimum effect, or only will give temporary relief.