"This small, concise book on Chinese dietary therapy has been written specifically for lay readers. It is meant to replace two earlier book I have written on Chinese dietary therapy, Prince Wen Hui's Cook, and Arisal of the Clear."--Preface.

Achieve vibrant health by combining ancient Taoist principles, modern alternative health practices, and acid-alkaline balance • Offers complete guidelines on what to eat for different yin-yang constitutions, specific health problems and organ systems, and energetic conditions • Provides detailed information on fasting, detoxification, and food combining for acid-alkaline and yin-yang balance • Includes illustrated guides to several self-diagnostic methods from the East, allowing you to interpret your body’s signs before disease manifests The human body, like all phenomena in nature, possesses the inherent power of self-regeneration when the conditions of true health are adopted. In Cosmic Nutrition, Taoist Master Mantak Chia and senior Universal Tao teacher William Wei reveal the secret to true health and longevity: keeping all four bodies--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual--vibrant and balanced. They show you how to work with the four bodies through simple, step-by-step nutritional and energetic practices for everyday life. Combining the ancient Taoist principles of yin and yang energy with acid-alkaline balance and metabolic body types, the authors offer complete guidelines on what to eat for different yin-yang constitutions, specific health problems and organ systems, and energetic conditions. They provide an easy-to-follow food combining method for acid-alkaline and yin-yang balance, recipes for healing meals, detailed information on fasting and detoxification, and illustrated guides to several self-diagnostic methods from the East that allow you to interpret your body’s signs before disease manifests. Dispelling the myth of germs as the cause of disease, they reveal the cancerous dangers of too much protein or pharmaceutical drugs. They also examine the life-force-increasing and youth-renewing benefits of powerful “superfoods” such as sprouts and specific vitamins and minerals. Exploring emotional and mental balance, the authors explain the psychological aspects of yin and yang and offer simple practices to release fear and worries, promote inner calm, and build a positive attitude. Balancing body, mind, and blood chemistry, this book lays out the Universal Tao’s holistic path to a long and happy life.

Americans are bombarded with so many rationales and diets that many among us reflect a confusion of choices that has little to do with the actual experience of food effects on our bodies. We can become so busy gathering knowledge that we have no energy or motivation to see the relationship between our food choices and our general well being. This book neither promotes nor pans any existing diets. Instead, readers will find it useful as a guide to help decide which foods and manners of eating are best for them. The Tao of Eating reflects a way of living in harmony with all that we call life; it does not describe the process. Rather, it mirrors the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching: that living is deepened and informed by our turning inward and tapping into stillness as a source of clarity. The chapters are intended to be used as daily readings (or occasional readings.) They are not meant to be read all at once but, rather, assimilated and integrated over time and in harmony with the reader's needs. The content was derived through comparison of 14 translations of the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu, and through the use of supportive Taoist literature, all of which is listed in the bibliography. Since I do not read Chinese, and because each translator views the Tao from an individual's perspective, I used these several translations to gain a sense of the original content of each chapter. The Tao is notably paradoxical; it speaks through the metaphor of water, which, while soft and apparently passive, can effortlessly wear away or break stone. Water enters a stagnant pool as readily as it does a flowing stream. Guided by Tao, no challenge is too great; all chaos can be transformed and harmonized. This approach applies to eating as well, and it serves to simplify and clarify the complexities and confusion inherent in America's foods and diets.

Explains how to use your Taoist astrology birth chart as a personal nutritional guide for health, longevity, and organ energy balance • Explores how to help balance your birth chi through your eating habits as well as explaining how foods address your five-element energetic profile • Provides detailed food lists based on ancient Taoist wisdom that reveal their effect on the Yin, Yang, and five-element energies • Shows how your five-element energies outline your life and influence success in relationships and at work We are each born with a unique combination of heavenly and earthly energies defined by the five elements and dictated by the universe at the moment you take your first breath. This “birth chi” can be calculated using the year, month, day, and time of your birth, and it reveals your personal profile of health and emotional strengths and weaknesses as well as the energy cycles you will encounter throughout your life. In this Inner Alchemy astrology nutrition guide, Master Mantak Chia and Christine Harkness-Giles explore how to strengthen your birth chi through your eating habits, revealing which foods will address imbalances in your five-element organ energy profile. The authors explain which organs are connected with each element--fire, earth, metal, water, and wood--and provide detailed food lists based on ancient Taoist wisdom that reveal the energetic temperature, flavor, and organ related to many common foods and superfoods. They emphasize the importance of local, seasonal, and fresh foods and of yin-yang balance for health. The authors illustrate the five elements’ characteristics through sample profiles for celebrities such as Paul McCartney and Meryl Streep, along with Taoist nutritional recommendations based on their charts. The authors also explore how your Inner Alchemy astrology profile determines your life and relationships and explain how Inner Alchemy practices and five-element nutrition can improve all aspects of your life. By eating in line with your personal five-element energetic profile, as part of ancient Inner Alchemy techniques, you can improve health and longevity and strengthen connections with your loved ones and the energies of the cosmos.

The Tao of Nutrition provides information on making every meal therapeutic, teaching you how to make appropriate food choices for your ailments, your constitution, and the season of the year. This ancient knowledge from China provides guidance for the seasoned practitioner, as well as the new student of healthy living. By balancing your energies, the body heals itself. Balance is the key to health.

"Written by a Westerner for the Western mind, here is the first book to explore in light of modern science the balanced and comprehensive system of health care used by Chinese physicians, martial artists, and meditators for over 5,000 years. Drawing on original Chinese sources and years of personal experience, the author introduces the philosophy of Tai and gives detailed, practical information ..."--Back cover.