People concerned about health often come across the saying that certain foods are "fa wu" (trigger foods), and that people with certain illnesses should not eat them. However, it may not be clear to everyone why these foods are called "fa wu," and which illnesses they conflict with.
The so-called "fa" can be understood as foods that "induce, trigger, or exacerbate" certain illnesses. "Fa wu" are mostly foods with a fishy or gamey taste, such as beef and mutton; or pungent and heaty foods, such as fish; or "generative" foods, such as chives, bamboo shoots, as well as seafood like shrimp and crab, and fermented bean curd. "Fa wu" can trigger allergic diseases, eruptive diseases, skin diseases, certain mental illnesses, sores, and ulcers. However, different types of illnesses require different dietary restrictions.
For skin itching, eat less chives
"Generative fa wu" refers to foods with generative properties, such as chives, spring bamboo shoots, toon, mushrooms, and cilantro. These can easily trigger skin sores, itching, and rashes, so people with such conditions should eat them in moderation.
If you have liver fire, don't eat rooster
"Wind-agitating and Yang-raising fa wu" refers to foods that can stir up liver wind and raise Qi and Yang. These are mostly heaty and Yang foods, such as pig's head meat, rooster, and goose. People with hypertension, liver Yang rising, headwind pain, and epilepsy should avoid them.
If you are prone to allergies, eat less seafood
"Wind-natured fa wu" refers to foods with a wind-nature that moves about but does not raise Yang, such as seafood like fish, shrimp, and crab. This type of "fa wu" can trigger and worsen allergic conditions like urticaria and allergic asthma. Additionally, due to their purine content, gout patients should also avoid them.
For stroke, avoid heaty fish
"Fire-moving and blood-agitating fa wu" refers to Yang and heaty foods, such as dog meat, venison, alcohol, pepper, garlic, and heaty fish such as eel, loach, grass carp, bighead carp, and silver carp. Because they help fire and move blood, patients with skin sores, eye diseases, and stroke must not consume them.
For respiratory diseases, avoid mutton
"Dampness-assisting and phlegm-generating fa wu" refers to meats with a fishy or gamey taste, such as mutton and beef. Patients with respiratory diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infections, should not eat them in large quantities.
For oral ulcers, eat less mushrooms and fermented bean curd
"Aromatic fa wu" have a fragrant aroma, such as mushrooms and cilantro, and fermented foods like fermented bean curd. Because their nature is mobile and wandering, they can easily trigger skin diseases, ulcers, and mouth sores, so they should also be avoided.
While "fa wu" can indeed trigger illnesses, they do not necessarily do so. The key lies in food pairing. For example, phlegm-generating "fa wu," such as beef and mutton, when paired with radish, which promotes dampness resolution and phlegm reduction, may not trigger an illness. For fire-moving and blood-agitating "fa wu," such as dog meat and eel, pairing them with cooling foods like tofu, crown daisy, or Chinese cabbage can restrain their heaty nature, allowing people with heat-related illnesses to consume them.