Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Summary
On episode 305 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Ellen Goldsmith, a licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbal therapist, and co-founder of Pearl Natural Health, to talk about her book, Nutritional Healing with Chinese Medicine.
Ellen explains that Chinese medicine grew out of careful observation of nature, treating the body as a system in balance with the seasons rather than a collection of separate parts, and that everyone is born with a certain amount of qi, or vital energy, that can be nurtured or depleted by how you live and eat.
The conversation moves through seasonal eating, how food choices affect cholesterol, PMS, and menopause from a Chinese medicine perspective, and where to find quality herbs.
Links
- https://pearlnaturalhealth.com
- https://springwind.com
Key Takeaways
- Chinese medicine treats the body as connected to nature, not as separate mechanical parts. Ellen explains that ancient observers noticed the same conditions that happen outside, like heat, cold, damp, and wind, also happen inside the body, leading to a holistic system focused on balance rather than isolated symptoms.
- Everyone is born with qi and jing, but how you use it matters most. Qi is described as the potential behind your energy, and jing as your ancestral or genetic energy, and Ellen stresses that nurturing what you are born with counts for more than the starting amount itself.
- Seasonal eating goes deeper than just buying local produce. Ellen describes a fifth season, late summer, as a key pivot point, and recommends “transitional recipes” for the final stretch of each season to help the body ease into the next one.
- High cholesterol is treated as an excess, damp condition. Ellen points to refined carbohydrates, not just fat, as a major driver, and recommends bitter foods like dandelion greens, chicory, artichokes, and green tea along with mung beans and sea vegetables.
- PMS and painful periods are linked to liver qi congestion. Stress, fatty foods, and sugar and ice cream cravings can worsen symptoms, while dark leafy greens, sea vegetables, warm easy to digest foods, and calming herbs like rose petals and lavender can ease them.
- Menopause is described as a major depletion of yin. Night sweats, hot flashes, and disrupted sleep call for cooling, yin nourishing foods like nuts, seeds, and goji berries, while caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, and late night eating make symptoms worse.
- Chocolate cravings are partly a real magnesium deficiency. Ellen notes that dark leafy greens, sea vegetables, and nuts supply the same magnesium many people crave from chocolate, and that dark chocolate in moderation is fine while milk chocolate’s sugar content is the real problem.
- Sourcing matters when buying Chinese herbs. Ellen recommends organic, tested for heavy metals sources such as an acupuncturist, a Chinese herb store, or vetted suppliers like Spring Wind Herbs and Mountain Rose Herbs rather than generic store bought versions.
“What’s inherent in that freshness is qi. And that means that you are ingesting vital food that’s going to bring you vitality.”
Ellen Goldsmith