Five Elements: the colourful wheel and orchestra of the body
By: Alfie Chung
Tags: Wellness, Chinese Culture, Chinese Medicine, Covid Diaries, Wellbeing

Five Elements: the colourful wheel and orchestra of the body

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If you have read our previous stories (read it here if you haven’t), you will know we’re all about cutting the cost of medication whilst becoming even healthier. If you think that’s a good idea, welcome to our journey of exploring the Five Elements theory!

The Five Elements, which look like a colourful wheel, orchestrates our body systems and provides us with cues to direct our lifestyle and diet changes. If used right, we can enhance our health without spending an extra dime! Don’t worry if you’re not a Feng Shui expert, the Five Elements we’re talking about today does not have much to do with it.

W hat are the Five Elements?

The Five Elements is a materialist philosophical theory created by ancient Chinese thinkers, that contributes an important part of Chinese civilization. It is widely used in philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and divination and has a long history. Along with the theory of Qi, the thinkers believe that everything in the world is composed of five types of substances, known as elements. They are metal, wood, water, fire and earth which have a mutual growth-and-restraint relationship. The theory suggests that the development and changes in nature are the results of the continuous interaction of these five substances.

As our bodies are physical and natural, many situations can be explained using the theory and our health are affected by the balance of the five elements too.

The theory is applied to the field of medicine to observe the human body in terms of different systems. It explains the unity of the body and external environment, strengthening the holistic concept of TCM, and further systematized the methodology adopted by TCM. As a result, the theory has played a vital role in forming the unique theoretical system of TCM.

Elements and their corresponding systems

Before diving deeper into the elements, we have to mention that they are an abstract idea, not physical objects. It will help us a lot in understanding the theory further.

According to the TCM theory, the concept of the five elements and five colours is closely related to our health. The five elements ‘wood, fire, earth, metal, water’ represented by the five colours ‘green, red, yellow, white, black’, correspond with the five organs: ‘liver, heart, spleen, lung, kidney’. Knowing them we can easily find out ways to improve a particular system’s health.

1) Wood

Through observation of nature, the ancient Chinese defined that anything in nature that is growing, expanding and resilient belongs to the element of wood. Therefore, wood represents plants, spring and the colour green.

Season of wood: Spring

Colour of wood: green

Organs corresponding to wood: Liver, gallbladder, eyes

Recommended foods: various leafy vegetables such as cabbage and spinach, green tea

For us living a modern lifestyle, the first organ to take care of is our liver. Staying up late and those gatherings with excessive alcohol will disturb the normal functioning of the liver. As the five elements originally grow in the following direction; wood→fire→earth→metal→water (liver→heart→spleen→lung→kidney), an unhealthy liver will affect organs later along with the order as well.

To enhance your liver health, try eating more green foods belonging to the element wood. They correspond to the liver and gallbladder of the human body and contain large amounts of chlorophyll, vitamins and cellulose, which can help the organs to expel toxins from the body. Also, as spring is the season of ‘wood’, it is best to keep our liver healthier in spring.

2) Fire

Like the sun and bonfires, things that are warm, rising and bright correspond with the element of fire. Imagine colour red, the warm Southern weather and hot summers — that’s what ‘fire’ feels like and represents.

Season of fire: summer

Organs corresponding to fire: heart, small intestine, tongue

Colour of fire: red

Recommended foods: tomatoes, carrots, red beans, Chinese red dates (you can choose normal dates if you can’t find red dates, but red dates have power in replenishing blood)

It is easy to get restless and lose your temper under rising temperatures. While these emotions speed up our heartbeat, our heart’s burden will be increased. Therefore, the most important thing in summer is to nourish the heart. Therefore, we can follow the principle of the five elements for our meals. Red foods correspond to the heart, which is responsible for blood circulation, and are especially beneficial for people with poor blood circulation and cold limbs, known as the cold body type.

3) Earth

‘Earth’ in Chinese means soil — easy to remember, right? Therefore, things in nature that encounter cycles of growing and degenerating belongs to the element of earth. It is also known as the element that is bearing and accepting, where everything on earth belongs to.

Season of earth: late summer

Organs corresponding to earth: stomach and spleen (digestive system)

Colour of earth: yellow

Recommended foods: oranges, pumpkin, corn, soybeans, sweet potatoes, yams

Rainy late summer is the wettest period of the year. Excessive moisture absorbed by the body could damage the balance of the digestive system and affects appetite. It explains why we always have a low appetite in summers.

The spleen and stomach play the role of the ‘nutrient supplier’ in the body. If they are well regulated, our Qi and blood will be running well and smooth. To enhance your health of both organs, consider eating more foods in colour yellow to complement them.

4) Metal

Metal represents the changes in nature, so does the season autumn in between hot summers and cold winters. In colour white, the element of metal also symbolises things that are cleansing, purifying and converging.

Season of metal: autumn

Organs corresponding to metal: lungs, large intestine, nose

Colour of metal: white

Recommended foods: Pears, white radish, yam, almond, lily, white fungus (and white chocolate doesn’t count!!!)

We should pay extra attention to our lung health when the dry autumn comes, in which the most common symptom is coughing. Foods of metal are mostly white and correspond to the lungs. Having a cool property, they invigorate the lungs and promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, strengthen metabolism and make the skin full of elasticity and lustre.

5) Water

The last element in the cycle water has the properties of cold, moisturizing and running downstream, as they’re all the nature of water. Water is linked to kidney health as it eliminates substances by excretion. Imagine it with a cool river or splashing fall, the cold northern weather, or even the way you go to the toilet!

Season of water: winter

Organs corresponding to water: kidney, bladder, ear

Colour of water: black

Recommended foods: black beans, black sesame, blueberries, black dates

These foods correspond to the kidneys and bones. Regular consumption can accelerate metabolism which is closely related to the kidneys, bladder, and bones. So that excess water will not accumulate in the body and cause oedema, which is good for weight loss.

Tips to stick around

If you wish to implement the Five Elements Theory into your lifestyle, start by being selective and mindful while you go grocery shopping: opt for fresh produce over frozen ones, choose colourful vegetables and fruits and bookmark this article for your convenience. We are now developing an app to make these tips easy and accessible for all — email us at alfiechungdesign@gmail.com to be a seed member, join health challenges and demo sessions!

If you are not sure about what foods to eat or avoid for your body type or during quarantine, contact a professional or email us for a modernised TCM Food Therapy chat!

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Stay well and see you in 2021!