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Tako kot v številnih drugih evropskih državah je tudi v Sloveniji priljubljena kultura pitja kave. Kava ni le pijača, temveč je obred vsakdanjega življenja in socialnih stikov. Za mnoge pa je kava tudi rešiteljica energijskega življenja pri delu ali študiju. Veliko pacientov pride k meni po nasvet o zdravju in vprašanje o kavi je eno od najpogosteje zastavljenih. Zato se danes pogovorimo o kavi in kitajski medicini.
Kako lahko teorijo TKM uporabimo pri kavi?
Kava, ki jo običajno imenujemo kavna zrna, je dejansko narejena iz semen. Kavno zrno je seme rastline kavovec in je peška v rdečem oz. vijoličnem sadežu, ki ga pogosto imenujemo kavna češnja. Kavovec uspeva na določenem območju v tropih, imenovanem kavni pas. Odvisno od vrste kavovca, ta rastlina uspeva pri temperaturi od 15 do 30 stopinj Celzija in letni količini padavin od 150 do 300 cm. Plodove obirajo ročno in iz njih s posebnih postopkom pridobijo zelena kavna zrna. Kava se praži na različne načine, nato se zdrobi v prah, ki se na koncu skuha ali popari v kavo, ki jo pijemo iz naših skodelic.
Kava je prišla na Kitajsko šele v 19. stoletju. Zatorej starodavni medicinski zapisi o kavi ne obstajajo. V Kitajski Medici (1989) je zapisano, da je kava grenka in trpka, nevtralne narave, deluje energijsko poživljajoče, diuretično in spodbuja želodec. Vendar so učinki kave po mnenju TKM na splošno zelo zmedeni in neenotni. Vrsta kavovca, praženje in način priprave, vse to lahko vpliva na okus ter naravo kave. Če je na primer kavno zrno močno praženo, je po naravi toplo, medtem ko ima manj pražena kava bolj kiselkast okus, zato je njen učinek močnejše čiščenje in spodbujanje želodca.
Zagotovo pa lahko rečemo, da so po teoriji TKM živila za človeško telo najprimernejša, če so lokalna in sezonska. Če torej sodimo po viru, je kava v Evropi tujerodna snov, ki lahko poruši notranje ravnovesje.
Kako nam kava “priskrbi” energijo?
Pomemben podatek za razumevanje narave kave je dejstvo, da gre za seme. Semena rastejo navzgor in s seboj prinašajo globlje hranilne snovi, črpajo hranilne snovi iz globoke ravni in jih sproščajo. Samo kavno zrno hrani majhen del energije, včasih sladkor ali mleko, ki ju dodamo, prineseta nekaj več energije. Vendar pa učinek kave, ki povečuje energijo, večinoma deluje tako, da sprošča našo shranjeno energijo jing. Je stimulans za dvigovanje in zviševanje energije qi, zlasti qi jeter. Jetrni qi aktivira ledvično esenco (jing) in se dvigne visoko do srca in možganov, kar vpliva na koncentracijo in krepitev uma.
Katere so slabosti in tveganja pitja kave?
Kar se dvigne, se mora tudi spustiti. Kava ima močno jang naravo, ki dviguje, spodbuja in greje. Za njeno uravnoteženje potrebujemo energijo jin, ki jo umirja, spušča navzdol in hladi. Ironično je, da je energija, ki v našem telesu deluje pomirjevalno, tudi naša ledvična esenca. To so energije za shranjevanje in dolgoročno regeneracijo z omejeno količino. Torej, več kot je uporabljamo, hitreje se porabi. Predstavljajte si ledvično esenco kot prihranke za prihodnost ali podzemno vodo ali celo surovo nafto. Ko se enkrat izčrpajo, jih ni tako lahko ponovno napolniti. To pojasnjuje, zakaj se nekateri ljudje po pitju kave ponoči počutijo tesnobni, potni, nemirni, živčni in težko zaspijo. Nekateri morda tudi menijo, da jih kava vse manj spodbuja kot prej, zato posežejo po vedno več kave ali celo energijskih pijačah.
Tisti, ki preskočijo obrok in pijejo kavo, da bi preživeli dan, namesto da bi uporabljali primarni vir energije iz hrane, s kavo pridobivajo rezervno energijo. S porabo prihodnjih virov pa tvegamo izgorelost, zgodnjo degeneracijo, večje možnosti za razvoj alergij (tudi pri potomcih), močnejše simptome menopavze itd.
Kava je droga
Kljub temu, da je kava v različnih znanstvenih študijah dokazano koristna pri ohranjanju duševnih sposobnosti ali daje prijeten aromatičen vonj in okus, je treba biti z njo previden zaradi negativnih učinkov in tveganj.
Kavo jaz preprosto raje smatram kot priboljšek in ne kot nujo. Za tiste, za katere pravimo, da ne morejo delovati ali preživeti dneva brez pitja kave, je to opozorilni znak, da telo ne sledi njihovim dnevnim potrebam po energiji. Vem, da takojšnja ukinitev kave ni mogoča, to je treba storiti postopoma, tako da ponovno vzpostavite stabilen energijski vnos, učinkovito funkcijo absorpcije energije, reden, podporen način prehranjevalnih navad, le tako boste imeli osnovo, da lahko zmanjšate ali ukinete kavo.
Kaj storiti, če ste zasvojeni s kavo ali odvisni od nje
Z zelišči TKM in akupunkturo lahko obnovimo primarni vir energije ter si pomagamo z alternativnim povečanjem energije v prehodnem obdobju. Veliko zelišč TKM, kot sta ginseng in črni sezam, ponuja tako energijsko kot regenerativno moč. Pred uživanjem kakršnihkoli zeliščnih dodatkov, se pa prosim posvetujte z usposobljenim zeliščarjem.
Coffee In The View of Chinese Medicine
As of many other European countries, coffee culture is popular in Slovenia. Coffee is not simply a drink, it is a ritual of daily life and social interaction. And for many, coffee is an energy life saver for their work or studies. Many patients come to me for health advice and the quesiton about coffee is one most asked. So today let’s talk about coffee and Chinese medicine.
How TCM theory can be applied to coffee?
Commonly referred as coffee beans, coffee are actually made from the seeds. The coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Coffee plants grow within a defined area in the Tropics termed the coffee belt. Depending on the sepices of plant, coffee grows in temperature ranging from 15-30 degree celsius and annual rainfall of 150-300cm. The fruit is harvested by hand and processed to collect the green coffee bean. Form here, the coffee bean is roasted in different way then grindeed into power and finally cooked or steamed to become the coffee in our cups.
Coffee was only brought to China in the 19th century. The ancient medica text about coffee is non-existent. According to the Chinese Medica (1989), coffee is bitter and astringent, neutral in nature, with energy-lifing, diuretics and stomach-stimulating effect. However, the effects of coffee by the TCM view is in general very confusing and ununified. The species, roasting and preparation method can affect the taste and nature of coffee. For example, if the coffee bean is heavily roasted, it would be warm in nature while the less roasted coffee also taste more acidic thus a stronger cleansing and stomach stimulating effect.
What we can tell for sure is that, in the TCM theory, food are the most suitable for human body when they are local and seasonal. So judging by the source, coffee is indeed a foregin substance in Europe that could disturb the internal balance.
How does coffee “provide” energy?
An important clue to understand the nature of coffee is the fact that it is a seed. Seeds grow upward and bring the deeper nutrition up with it, it extracts nutrition from the deep level and releases it. The Coffee bean itself store a small part of energy, sometimes the sugar or milk we add bring a bit more energy. However, the energy boosting effect from coffee mostly works by releasing our stored energy, the Jing. It is a stimulant to raise and elevate the Qi energy, particular the Liver Qi. The Liver Qi activates the Kidney Essence (Jing) and goes high and up to our Heart and Brain thus the concentration and mind boosting effect.
What are the downsides and risks of drinking coffee?
What goes up must come down. Coffee has strong Yang nature, uprising, stimulating and warming. We need the Yin energy to balance it, for calming, down moving and cooling. Ironically, the calming energy in our body is also our Kidney Essence. These are the energy for storage and long term regeneration with limited quantity. So the more we use, the faster it is used up. Imagine the Kidney Essence as the savings for the future, or underground water, or even crude oil. Once they are depleted, it is not so easy to recharge. This explains why some people feel anxious, sweating, fidgety, wired and hard to fall asleep at night after drinking coffee. People might also find coffee less and less stimulating as they used to so they go for more coffee or even energy drinks.
For people who skip meal and drink coffee to make it through the day, instead of using our primary energy source from food, coffee is a way of using back-up energy. And by spending future resourcing, it risks burnout, early degeneration, a higher chance for developing allergies (also for future offspring), stronger menopause symptoms and so on.
Coffee is a drug
Despite the fact that coffee has shown in various scientific studies to be beneficial in maintaining mental faculties or gives a plasant aromatic smell and tastes, it should be taken with cautions because of the downside and risks.
For coffee, very simple, I would take it as a treat rather than necessity. For those we say that they cannot function or make it through the day without drink coffee, it is a warning sign that the body is not keeping with your daily energy needs. I know that cutting off coffee immediately is not possible, one should only do it gradually by rebuilding stable energy intake, an efficient energy absorption function, a regular, supportive way of eating habit, then you will have the foundation to be able to reduce or cut off coffee.
What to do if one is coffee addicted or coffee dependent
With the TCM herbs and acupuncture, we can rebuild our primary energy source and help with an alternative energy boosting during the transitional period. There are a lot of TCM herbs like Ginseng and black sesame offers both energy and regenerative power. Before consuming any herbal supplements, please consult with a professional herbalist.
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