Temperament in the kitchen
In traditional Western medicine, and in many traditional cultures today, food and plant substances were categorized by their qualities of hot / cold and wet / dry. This allowed for plants, herbs, foods, and their derivatives (like essential oils) to be used as medicine for people, based on the person’s temperament or the type of illness from which the person suffered.
Some examples
Here’s an everyday example: when someone has the flu, they usually eat warming foods, like broth, tea with honey, or chicken noodle soup. They don’t usually eat something cool like cucumbers or melon.
Here’s an example from literature: in The Taming of the Shrew, one of the main characters is sassy and spicy Katherine, a choleric woman who is ill-tempered. She is hungry, but all the options for food are “Too choleric”, like beef and mustard. She isn’t allowed to eat these foods because they are hot and dry and will throw her temperament out of balance.
What this means for you
If you know your temperament, you know what kinds of foods will make you feel good. My friend, Izzy, is a water person. She usually likes cool and wet foods, but makes an effort to eat some spicy or dry foods every day - like nuts, jerky, or spicy chips. This gives her more energy and motivation to get stuff done. It sounds a little odd, but it works.
Curious about what works for you? Get a temperament report to find out all the details!
