Learn
The Food Temperature Chart
In Chinese medicine, every food has a temperature. Learn which foods cool you, which warm you, and which keep you balanced.
Chinese medicine looks at food by its effect on the body, not only its calories. A food's “temperature” is not how hot it is on the plate. It describes whether the food tends to cool you, warm you or keep you balanced.
This chart is part of the nutrition teaching at All-Natural Healing. Dr. House uses it, along with the Meridian Clock and the No Mucus-Forming list, to help each patient eat for their own body type.
| Category | Cold | Cool | Neutral | Warm | Hot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegetables | Chinese cabbage, mung bean sprouts, seaweed, water chestnuts | Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bamboo shoots, beet, bok choy, broccoli, burdock root, button mushroom, cabbage, carrot, celery, corn, cucumber, daikon, radish, dandelion, greens, eggplant, endive, lettuce, soy bean sprout, spinach, summer squash, turnip, melon, watercress, squash, zucchini | Chard, lettuce, shiitake, mushroom, sweet potato, taro, root, yam | Bell pepper, Chinese chive, Ganoderma mushroom, green bean, onion, parsley, parsnip | Garlic, scallion |
| Fruits | Cantaloupe, grapefruit, mulberry, pear, pear apples, watermelon | Apple, apricot, avocado, blueberries, fig, lemon, orange, peach, kiwi, strawberries, tomato, mandarin orange, mango, Hami melon, honeydew, cantaloupe | Chinese date, mango, olive, papaya, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, crabapple | Cherry, prune, coconut, dried papaya, grape, hawthorn berry, lychee, pineapple, raspberry, tangerine, cardamom | |
| Grains | Millet, pearl barley, white rice, wheat | Whole wheat, soybeans | Buckwheat, brown rice, corn meal, rye | Oats, sweet rice, wheat bran, wheat germ | |
| Seeds & Beans | Mung bean, soy bean, winter melon seed, Brazil nuts, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds | Almonds, Azuki bean, black sesame seeds, kidney, pinto and navy beans, Louis seed, peanuts, peas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cashews, pumpkin seeds | Black bean, brown sesame seeds, chestnut, lentils, pine nuts, walnut, pistachios, hazel nuts | ||
| Meats | Pork | Chicken, egg, clam, crab | Fish (salt water), gelatin, dairy products, oysters | Beef, chicken, fish (fresh water), shrimp, turkey | Lamb |
| Herbs | Bamboo shavings, cassia seeds, Chinese cucumber, chrysanthemum, goldenseal root, honeysuckle flower, lily bulb, motherwort leaf, mulberry leaf, oyster shell, reed root | American ginseng, cilantro, corn silk, kudzu, mint leaf | Chinese yam, licorice root, lyceum berries, poria mushroom | Anise seed, basil, cardamom seed, carb pod, citrus peel, coriander seed, dang gui, fennel seed, fresh ginger, Oriental seasoning | Black pepper, cinnamon bark, dry ginger |
| Miscellaneous | Salt, Vitamin C, white sugar | Tea | Barley malt, rice malt, honey, black fungus, white fungus | Brown sugar, coffee, molasses, rice vinegar, wine |
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart.
How to Use It
- Foods in the middle, the neutral column, suit almost everyone.
- People who run hot, with warm skin, flushing or irritability, often favor more cool and cold foods.
- People who run cold, with cold hands and feet or a sluggish digestion, often favor more warm foods.
- Dr. House can tell you which side fits you at your consultation.
Pair this chart with Dr. House's teaching on mucus-forming foods and the nutrition counseling program.
This chart is for education and is not medical advice. Food choices should take your health conditions, allergies and medications into account. Talk to your doctor before making major changes to your diet.
Learn to Eat for Your Body Type
Your first consultation with Dr. House is free.