Does this sound like you (or the aspirational you)?  You start your day by grabbing a chilled vegetable juice from the fridge, eat a raw salad bowl for lunch, and perhaps sushi for dinner (and maybe sneak a sorbet for an evening snack)....Sounds reasonably healthy, right?  Maybe not, but not for the reasons you might think.

According to Chinese dietary therapy and the traditions of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which have evolved over 2,500 years, regularly choosing “cold” or “raw” foods may not support digestive balance for some individuals. TCM practitioners, including many modern acupuncturists, suggest that such food choices might contribute to feelings of low energy, increased appetite, or restlessness. While not all individuals may experience these effects, TCM emphasizes warming, cooked foods to support overall well-being.

We’re excited to announce the launch of the Middle Burner Diet by DAO Labs.

What is the reason most of us ditch diets as quickly as we start them?  It's usually a combination of unsustainable restrictions, poor digestion, and over-complexity.  In contrast, this diet is simple and intuitive - once you start practicing, it will become second nature.  From a Chinese medicine perspective, it's essentially:

• Eating foods that are properly cooked
• Cooking and combining foods intentionally to maintain the right temperature within your body
• Choosing foods that are not too "damp"

Don't worry - we'll explain what all of this means and break down these seemingly confusing terms in this article!

Many people who make these simple changes report feeling improvements in areas like energy, digestion, sleep, mood, and overall well-being. While individual experiences may vary, these adjustments are often associated with better balance and vitality.

One caveat: Chinese dietary therapy is complicated, complex.  We acknowledge this, but winnow it down for the purposes of simplicity (while not sacrificing authenticity).  In the below article, we'll break down the overarching theory and suggest ways to incorporate these practices into your daily routine.

Chinese Dietary Therapy - An Overview

Chinese dietary theory is an ancient “food as medicine” methodology (and a component within Chinese medicine) that focuses, in large part, on protecting one’s stomach and spleen (the latter being an organ which, in the West, we typically ignore, except when it involves diseases such as cancer).  Doctors of Chinese Medicine recommend eating to “one’s constitution” (this is a very important concept within Chinese medicine - very simplistically, think of this as your “uniqueness” - a combination of your structural, physical and psychological characteristics that make you, “you”) and adjusting one’s ingredients selection based on the time of year.  A key component that runs throughout these recommendations is ensuring that one’s “middle burner” (your spleen and stomach - we go into more detail about this down below) maintains a proper temperature, which we regulate through the foods we consume. This is a critical distinction when comparing a Western diet to those in the East, leading to vastly different digestive health outcomes.  

Skip the raw and cold, and focus on foods that have been lightly cooked or that are “warming” (think slightly spicier, like ginger). You’ll keep the “temperature” of your stomach and spleen appropriately moderated, therefore providing better energy and superior overall health - a key principle within Chinese medicine theory.  

Raw & Cold Makes Your Body Work Harder

Simplistically, when we focus on foods that are cold and raw, Chinese dietary theory believes that we’re forcing our bodies to work harder to digest and process these perceived “healthier foods”, therefore working against the benefits that eating raw foods are meant to provide.  

The alternative to this is to skip the raw and cold and focus on foods that have been lightly cooked or that are “warming” (think slightly spicier, like ginger).  You’ll keep the “temperature” of your stomach and spleen appropriately moderated, therefore providing better energy and superior overall health - a key principle within Chinese medicine theory.  

As DAO Labs continues our journey of making Chinese medicine more approachable in the West, we’re turning our focus to our dietary health (after all, “let food be thy medicine”), raising awareness on this key aspect of your stomach and spleen health by keeping your “middle burner” warm.   

We’re not saying cold-pressed juices are inherently bad (though it’s worth keeping an eye on the sugar content!), but some Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspectives suggest that certain preparation methods may not support everyone’s digestive comfort. The good news? With a few simple changes in how you choose and prepare your food, you can begin exploring this time-honored food-as-medicine approach. Many people report feeling more balanced and energized as a result.

Don’t Eat Foods that Are Overly “Damp”- Say What?

Much like ensuring that your food is prepared at the appropriate temperature to aid the digestive process, it’s important to ensure that the foods you’re consuming are not too “damp” - another very key concept within Chinese dietary therapy, and one that once understood and embraced, can have an incredible impact on one’s overall health.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine, eating too many "damp" foods is often compared to rain: while gentle rain is soothing and nourishing, problems can arise when the water collects and becomes stagnant. Similarly, excess internal dampness is believed to slow the body’s natural flow, leading to a sense of heaviness or imbalance—what some might describe as internal "gunk."

In Chinese dietary therapy, we want to eat foods that reduce the accumulation of dampness, allowing the healthy aspects of food and liquids to flow freely through your body.  In the Middle Burner Diet by DAO Labs, we focus on selecting ingredients that reduce the incidence of dampness, which typically can be accomplished with a few simple tweaks to your foods’ temperature (as outlined above) as well as other simple dietary pivots.

The results of this to your overall health, mental clarity, and energy level can be profound.

What is The Middle Burner?

The “Middle Burner” refers to Chinese dietary therapy and how you must protect the spleen and stomach by keeping the stomach at 100 degrees, which means we should consume less cold and raw food and consume more foods that are slightly cooked.  While our bodies are able to extract more nutrients from slightly cooked foods rather than raw foods, this also refers to the energetics of food or its post-digestion temperature.  

Eating too many cooling foods such as lettuce, celery, cucumber, mango, watermelon, or tomato can chill or damage the middle burner or spleen-stomach relationship -  if these foods are consumed raw or chilled, this further worsens their cooling effect and further amplifies the imbalance of digestion and energy.

In TCM, dampness is believed to affect the spleen, especially for those with a "damp" or weakened constitution. Since the stomach takes in food and the spleen is said to turn that food into energy (Qi) and blood, diet plays a key role. Eating foods that don't align with this system’s balance may mean the spleen doesn’t get the ideal “raw materials,” possibly contributing to Qi or blood deficiency as described in TCM theory.

Eastern theory recommends balancing our bodies and our minds by eating a variety of foods to maintain health.  No single ingredients or groups of ingredients are vilified or consumed to excess.

Chinese Dietary Therapy & The Significance of “The Five Flavors”

In addition to the importance of balance through the temperature of our foods, a final key concept that’s important to address is the concept, within Chinese dietary theory, that matches flavors with “The Five Elements” (the Five Element Theory is an important concept within Chinese medicine which is worthy of further exploration - but again, beyond the scope of this article).  In essence, we are to balance our food between sweet, salty, bitter, pungent and sour without overeating from any one category. Each of these flavor profiles is associated with a key organ that is part of our broader digestive system.

The key, not surprisingly, is to maintain the balance of the flavors, and in turn bring balance and harmony to the organs themselves - as in Chinese medicine theory, imbalance can ultimately lead to disease.  The organs and associated flavors are:

To be sure, we have not stumbled upon anything new.  As stated over 2,000 years ago by Nei Jing in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic:

If there is heat, cool it

If there is cold, warm it

If there is dryness, moisten it

If there is dampness, dry it

If there is vacuity, supplement it

And if there is excess, drain it

The Middle Burner Diet by DAO Labs

Embracing the core principles of Chinese dietary therapy, we recommend a way of eating that supports the health of the spleen and stomach—central organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This approach focuses on balancing food temperature, ingredients, and portion sizes to address what TCM calls “spleen vacuity and damp encumbrance.” Many acupuncturists, doctors of Chinese medicine, and practitioners report that these dietary shifts can support digestion, boost energy, and promote a sense of overall well-being.

Want to join us on our journey to better digestive health?  Sign up to receive a free 4-day meal plan and shopping list from award-winning Chef and DAO Co-Founder, Travis Metzger, and join us in our Facebook group.

Care Consideration: Just a reminder that the above information is not a substitute for medical care and is not a substitute for medical advice or recommendations from a healthcare provider. This information is not intended to treat, mitigate, or cure any disease.  That said, we encourage you to connect with an Acupuncturist in your community to learn more about this and other Traditional Chinese Medicine options.  If you’ve got questions about Chinese herbal medicine or getting started with an Acupuncturist, feel free to connect with us at hello@mydaolabs.com.

Dining with Culinary Artist Travis Metzger is an unforgettable experience. You can taste the passion, creativity and culinary expertise in each of Travis’s one-of-kind recipes. Most would agree that Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs in their original form taste less than delectable, but Travis has proven that TCM for today can taste great with DAO Labs. Travis develops unique flavors for each DAO formula to complement the proprietary blend of herbs and their health benefits. After extensive training at the New England Culinary Institute, Travis ran some of the finest restaurants across the country before starting his own in Minneapolis. To survive the stresses and physical challenges of the kitchen heat, Travis focused on combining natural ingredients for healthy AND delicious eating and juicing.