Back to our Fat Future

Follow along with a little back story, before I get to my point. Ancient Chinese acupuncturists developed a theory of healthy eating based on five flavors, salty, sour, bitter, sweet, pungent. They believed these five flavors, found in foods created the right balance of energy to lead a long, healthy life.

When I was earning my Master's Degree at the Tai Sophia Institute (http://www.tai.edu), we had many discussions about the flavors, and would always get hung up on "pungent." What exactly does that mean? This is what the dictionary says: pungent |ˈpənjənt| adjective --having a sharply strong taste or smell : the pungent smell of frying onions.

In class, we left the discussion with the understanding that pungent meant spicy. I'd love to say that I wasn't satisfied with the answer and spent the next 20 years researching what the Chinese meant by pungent, but that would be a lie. Truth is, back then I didn't much concern myself with nutrition. As the saying goes, "That was then, tjis is now."

That's the back story, the point is there is a developing base of research showing that fats are critical to our immune system. The interesting thing is, the ancient Chinese say that the "pungent" flavor strengthens "wei qi" which is the protective energy of the body, guarding us from pathogens during the day, and nourishing our internal organs at night.

Take for example, this article from U.S. News and World Report. THURSDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Virgin coconut oil, added to antibiotic therapy, may help relieve the symptoms of community-acquired pneumonia in kids faster than antibiotic therapy alone, a new study finds. Children who received coconut oil therapy along with antibiotics had fewer crackles (a wheezing sound in the lungs), a shorter time with an elevated respiratory rate and fever, better oxygen saturation in the blood, and shorter hospital stays, according to the study.

I wouldn't be surprised if lard or tallow accomplished the same thing if researchers would have the courage, and funding, to do such a study. The same cannot be said of polyunsaturated fats however. Those are the supposedly superior vegetable oils. Excess consumption of polyunsaturated oils has been shown to contribute to a large number of disease conditions including increased cancer and heart disease; immune system dysfunction; damage to the liver, reproductive organs and lungs; digestive disorders; depressed learning ability; impaired growth; and weight gain.

So to tie this up in a nice little bow, I believe the translation from the ancient acupuncture texts has been influenced by the low fat folks. I believe pungent is the taste of fat in foods and is an essential component of any healthy diet.