Spice It Up! Using The Hot Pungents

You’ve just had a bite of a hot curry.

The rush of heat is immediate.

Another bite and your pores open and you start to sweat. The food is delicious, another bite and your tongue is cooked - there will be no tasting subtle light flavors for a time.

Now your eyeballs are sweating.

This is the energetic action of hot pungents. Yang is ascending - fast.

The pungent (spicy or aromatic) flavor is a huge category that ranges in temperature from cold to hot.  With good reason – pungents are powerful movers – literally.  Their scent, temperature and flavor ‘disperse and create flow’  stimulating our body to promote circulation, break up stagnation, and relieve congestion in the Lung and Colon. They invigorate and ‘spice up’ or lives and personalities.

The trick with pungents and spices are to use them, but don’t abuse them. Get a bit of spice into your system every day.  That can be a little peppermint tea, or adding Herbs de Provence to your saute or soup, or a pinch of cinnamon to your oatmeal.  If you run cold, use moderate amounts of warming spices, if you run hot, use more from the cooling category. Read more on that here.

Back to the hot pungents

Hot pungents warm the cold, tonify and ascend the Yang, open the pores, move Qi, Blood and Fluids. They directly affect the Lungs, Colon and Stomach, Spleen Yang and Kidney Yang. In excess they will exhaust the Qi, and damage the Blood and Fluids.

Hot pungents build or ascend the Yang

Ginger is a hot spice. Small or moderate amounts of ginger used regularly warm the core, tonify digestion and help create strength.

Large amounts of ginger ascend the Yang in the body fast.

This diaphoretic action opens the pores and encourages sweating. We use this technique when you are at the start of a cold or flu to ‘burn’ it out. During the Summer or during hot weather, we use hot pungents to open the pores and aid sweating to help the body harmonize with extreme heat. Basically, we force the energy at the center up and out of the body.  *Do not use these method of treatment if you have lost a lot of Blood, are very Yin deficient (dehydrated) or have a very weak immune or digestive system.

Hot pungents

• Black pepper

• Cinnamon

• Curry

• Horseradish

• Hot peppers - Cayenne, chili, ghost peppers, pepper x…take a look at the Scoville Heat Units Scale.

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Korean Ginseng

• Lamb

• Liquor/Spirits - A ginger infused vodka would be hot!

• Sassafras (file) - How about some gumbo?

• Trout

• Wasabi

It’s personal

People’s preference and sensitivity to hot spices varies greatly. A chai may be ‘really spicy’ for one person and weak to another. Use some wisdom - small amounts may be enough to warm up and add enthusiasm while others may regularly enjoy spicy foods without injury to their body. This might mean you have that spicy BBQ but have a cooling natured drink with it. Skip the ginger, go to the mint or hibiscus - get it?

When to cool it

Hot pungents are strong and move Yang upward quickly. Excess use will deplete the overall core temperature after blazing through the system like a wild fire. It will exhaust the Yin and cause dryness, especially of the Lungs, Colon and Stomach.

Use with caution or avoid if you have patterns of Heat or Yin deficiency in your body. Here’s a hint - you feel hot, are dehydrated and your tongue may be red.

• Heat anywhere in the body - Heat patterns will have a sensation of heat, lack of fluids, discharge and urination will be scant and have dark color.

  • Heat in the digestive system - GERD, IBS, acid reflux, ulcers, bleeding gums, and bad breath. Explosive, hot and foul smelling diarrhea, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids. Ouch.

  • Inflammatory conditions - arthritis that is worse with heat, bladder infections, sinusitis, rhinitis, infections, high pitched tinnitus -itis patterns.

  • Anger, frustration, prone to outbursts.

  • High blood pressure

• Wasting and thirsting syndromes - huh? These are any conditions that have hot flashes, night sweats, or tidal fevers as a part of their pattern.

  • Bronchitis, tuberculosis

  • Diabetes

  • Menopause

  • Post viral syndromes - some long Covid, Mono, Epstein-Barr, etc.

• Bleeding - hot spices can make Blood flow faster and become reckless. Avoid them if you have heavy menstrual bleeding, are trying to stop any bleeding condition like nose bleeds or injury.

Want to learn more about food energetics? Get my chart and check out my Intro To Food Energetics & The Five Flavors Course on my learning platform aprilcrowell.thinkific.com

18 x 24 inch poster–A guide to understanding the energetic temperature of foods according to the traditions of Chinese Medicine.The poster is available as a download for $22 or

Get the pre-printed poster for $29 (doesn’t include shipping and handling). Get the poster

Cheers!

April