Healing Through the Elements in Food

Most ancient cultures and spirituality believe that we all contain a life force— qi, prana, ki, mana, ch’ulel— that help link the physical with the spiritual world. The concept of using elements for healing and to balance the mind, body, and spirit has existed for thousands of years.

Most are probably familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine's five elements: earth, fire, water, wood, and metal.

The ancient Hindu Vedas describe that all matter is composed of five basic elements which are associated with the senses and include earth (pritvi), water (jala), fire (tejas), wind or air (vayu) and space (akasha).

In the same vein, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato stated all matter consists of earth, air, fire, water, and ether which are composed of five elemental solids: the cube, the octahedron, the tetrahedron, the icosahedron, and the dodecahedron— otherwise known as the Platonic solids. The concept of these elements persisted throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods in Europe.

Japanese tradition also includes the five classic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and void.

Mayan medicine: earth (solidity), fire (heat), water (fluidity), wind (motility), and space (Mother Sky).

Taking the elements a step further, Hippocrates claimed the human body was associated with the four humors: black bile (earth), yellow bile (fire), phlegm (water), and blood (air), which were important to keep in balance in order to maintain a person’s health.

Aristotle’s concept of the four elements regarding health and disease was, which many medical astrologers still use today as certain planets and signs are related to different elements:

• Fire: hot and dry

• Air: hot and wet

• Water: cold and wet

• Earth: cold and dry

Modern chemistry then discovered the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

And the list goes on and on…

The 12 Subtle elements

Energy healer Cyndi Dale has combined her knowledge from various ancient and modern cultures to develop her concept of the 12 subtle elements for physical and spiritual healing:

Water, fire, earth, air, metal, wood, stone, ether, light, sound, star, and presence (God)

These elements can be accessed through any of the chakras for rebalancing, physical healing, releasing or attracting certain energies, protection, transforming energy, protection, and connecting to Source. There is no one way to sense these elements. Depending on the type of elements you are perceiving, such as light or sound, for example, you will perceive each element differently. These elements can be particularly healing in the 1st and 10th chakras which have to do more with physical healing.

But how can we heal using subtle elements in a practical way that affects our physiology in a tangible not-so-airy-fairy way?

The first thing that came to mind was food, specifically whole foods.

I strongly we can eat certain foods in order to help get the elements we are missing.

Ex. Water: Certain foods, especially fruits, soups, and broths, are very high in water.

- Metal: If we need more of the element metal, we could eat foods that are high in iron, zinc, copper, etc

- Earth: I see mushrooms, nuts, legumes, and root vegetables being high in the earth element. I think the health of the soil also infuses more or less earth energy into a plant.

- Wood: I was thinking about foods high in wood and what came to me was the fiber cellulose found in certain plants, which is also found in tree bark. So I would say fiber in general and bamboo represent the wood element.

- Fire: Without proper digestive enzymes, we cannot digest and assimilate our food, which is very much like the transformative energy of the fire element. I also think spicy peppers and spices contain the fire element.

- Air: some plants are less dense than others and simply contain more air.

- Light: Plant foods contain phytochemicals that give plants their pigments which is a form of light.

- Sound: this one is tricky for me at first, but then I remembered that several experiments have shown that plants produce various sounds, and some have even gone so far as to create vegetable “instruments”. I first saw this at my daughter’s school’s open house where an orange was hooked up to an electrical machine that produced different tones. Plants also produce ultrasonic sounds when stressed. The sound food makes when you eat or cook it can also provide the body with certain tones that it needs.

- Stone: Sea salt and other minerals fall into this category.

- Star: All plants and animals need sunlight to survive, and the sun is our biggest star. I also know that many plants' growth is affected by the moon cycle. Although not technically a star, I do believe that planetary alignments could affect how plants grow.

- Ether: I think each plant, animal, and mineral have a consciousness, and the environment in which they grow/ are raised affects the health of that food source.

- Presence: This element is present when we bless our food, eat in good company, or express gratitude for the food we eat. I have also personally had some spiritual experiences while eating and sharing a meal with loved ones or have experienced the essence of a culture through its food.

How do you heal with food?

Do you crave certain foods? Could it be beyond a physiological need but rather an energetic deficiency?

Do you eat certain foods or food groups regularly? Too much?

Do you have an intuitive sense of which foods your body needs in sickness and in health?

Do you notice a difference between eating food that comes directly from a farm vs from a grocery store?