The effects of food temperature

In a climate like ours, where we experience dramatic shifts in temperature depending on the season, it is natural that we must eat differently depending the season. Among all animals, only humans heat their food. But then, humans do a lot of things that no other species does. All human societies use fire for meal preparation which makes cooking a universal custom.

The temperature of the food we eat affects the energy field of the food and thus how it affects us. Life needs warmth to unfold. Heat raises energy, and our inner heat feeds our energy. We keep these energies going by burning up foods during digestion and metabolism. Hot foods will support our metabolic activities especially when the weather is cold and we need to counterbalance its effects. By raising the energy level of foods, we raise our own.

In a cool environment, life slows down. The leftovers in the fridge don’t grow mold as easily as it would if left out at room temperature. It follows that cold slows down our metabolism, as well as counteracting our bodies’ inner heat.

Many people like ice-cold drinks. Beyond combating the outside temperature, the body also must be holding a lot of heat to crave such extreme cold. The food we eat may be creating an excess of internal heat. One possibility is exercising which builds up a lot of internal heat. Barring that scenario, sedentary Canadians may be consuming too many calories (calories are a measurement of heat). Considering that carbohydrates and protein provide 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram, it is likely that fat might be the source of excessive inner heat. When you consider that we are artificially warmed by heated buildings in cold seasons, we have little use for that extra heat.

When people eat less fat and more vegetables, cold fare may not only be unnecessary, it could even have a negative effect. Food and drinks consumed straight out of the refrigerator have a very low energy field. They tend to lower energy levels, sometimes to the point of sleepiness. The presence of sugar can intensify that effect. Sugar is a partial food whose energy field has been disrupted by processing.

The energy of foods can, of course, be raised by heating, stirring, tossing, adding strong flavourings, such as garlic, lemon, onions, herbs, spices, or by any other active motions of preparation. I do not include microwaving as this disrupts the energy fields significantly. Better to heat foods over the stove or in the oven instead.

Do you start your day with a cup of hot tea or coffee? Very likely that hot beverage gives you more of a boost than the same one drink at room temperature. On consecutive days, try eating two different kinds of lunch and observe how energetic you feel in the afternoon. On the first day eat only leftovers straight out of the fridge; on the second day cook up a hot meal from scratch. Notice the difference in how you feel in the hours afterward. As the sensation of body temperature is highly subjective, you have to explore your own reactions to what you eat.

It’s a good idea to learn to use foods and cooking methods to regulate temperature and to counterbalance the weather of the season. In addition to the temperature of the food, there are other elements to consider: the intrinsic subtle “hot” or “cold” energy ascribed to it by Asian culture; the temperature of the environment; and the law of the pendulum, which turns everything into its opposite. In a future post, I will discuss more about specific warming and cooling foods.