CONCEPT OF HOT COLD THEORY

Anthropologist have frequently the hot-cold concept as important and universal in popular America
medical theory. In the hot-cold concept of humoral medicine, health is believed to be a balance
between hot and cold elements in body

Overview:
When the body’s equilibrium is upset by being too hot or too cold illness can occur. Balance can be
restored by treatment with foods, remedies, or medicines of the opposite valence. This relationship
between disease and treatment has sometimes complicated the delivery of western health care to Latin
patients.

The and folk and popular culture of Latin America, Asia and Africa use hot-cold concept of health care,
and these concept exist in the vestigial humoral traditions of European and north America cultures.
Although food, herbs, medicines and illnesses are most often thought of in hot-cold term, the
oppositions, social conditions, and so on, a great deal has been written about hot-cold concepts, but the
variability, flexibility and dynamism of thought and practice are still not well understood.

HOT FOOD:
Hot food: When it enters the body and interacts with vital faculties, it produces a temperament,
which is hot.
Examples are:
Nuts
Fish
Eggs
Garlic
Mangoes
Dates
Chicken
Brinjals
Beef
Grapes
Mutton
Lentils and
Ginger

COLD FOOD:
Cold food: It has opposite effect to hot food— cooling and sedating.
Examples are:
Oranges
Buttermilk
Cucumber
Carrot
Curd
Reddish
Melon
Guavas
Turnips

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Numerous studies of hot-cold categories have been made in Latin America. This ethnographic
work has been largely descriptive, or, when problem oriented, concerned with the way hot-cold
beliefs effect pro- grams to improve health care. But anthropologists have also speculated in a
functionalist manner on the reasons that humoral concepts are maintained.
*EXAMPLE* Mc- Cullough, for asserted that hot-cold reason- ing help the Maya adapt to heat
stesss in Yucatan, Besides criticism
functionalism, the ethnographic literature has been criticized for failure to account for the
ambiguity of usages, the coexisting categories of thought, and the ways that humoral thought is
maintained . Yet, many writers have been more careful than their critics allow, stressing the
lack of informant agreement in using hot-cold categories, and the flexibility in as- signing salient
features to foods and medicines. The point needs to be made that variability, disagree- ment
and inconsistency are not evidence that a system is moribund. On the contrary, intra- as well as
inter-cultural variations reveal substantial bodies of thought and practice. While humoral
traditions are attenuated in North America and Europe, in other parts of the world humoral
thinking incorporates new items of culture . For example, hot and cold properties are attributed
to canned foods, ice cream and coca-cola , or to Western pharmaceutical products , and
humoral beliefs and practice have been incorporated into the management of childbirth in
cosmopolitan medical settings.

Numerous studies of hot-cold categories have been made in Latin America. This ethnographic
work has been largely descriptive, or, when problem oriented, concerned with the way hot-cold
beliefs effect pro- grams to improve health care. But anthropologists have also speculated in a
functionalist manner on the reasons that humoral concepts are maintained.
*EXAMPLE* Mc- Cullough, for asserted that hot-cold reason- ing help the Maya adapt to heat
stesss in Yucatan, Besides criticism
functionalism, the ethnographic literature has been criticized for failure to account for the
ambiguity of usages, the coexisting categories of thought, and the ways that humoral thought is
maintained . Yet, many writers have been more careful than their critics allow, stressing the
lack of informant agreement in using hot-cold categories, and the flexibility in as- signing salient
features to foods and medicines. The point needs to be made that variability, disagree- ment
and inconsistency are not evidence that a system is moribund. On the contrary, intra- as well as
inter-cultural variations reveal substantial bodies of thought and practice. While humoral
traditions are attenuated in North America and Europe, in other parts of the world humoral
thinking incorporates new items of culture. For EXAMPLE hot and cold properties are attributed
to canned foods, ice cream and Coca-Cola , or to Western pharmaceutical products , and
humoral beliefs and practice have been incorporated into the management of childbirth in
cosmopolitan medical settings.

MISCONCEPTIONS:
Ayurveda says that every food, hot or cold, has an innate potency which plays an important role
in terms of its impact on the body. Hot foods include tomatoes, ginger, onions, mustard, pepper
and ghee. Hot foods help in improving digestion and circulation. Cold foods include melons,
coconut, asparagus, cauliflower, pumpkin and most sweet fruits. Cold foods are known to
provide nourishment and strength to the body. Hotness or coldness of the food is determined
by their impact on the body. According to Ayurveda, each body type, namely Vata, Kapha and
Pitta, will be affected in different ways by hot and cold foods. While preparing a meal, it is
important to maintain a balance between hot and cold foods. This has to be done by
considering your own body type, its requirements and seasonal changes.

Ayurveda says that every food, hot or cold, has an innate potency which plays an important role
in terms of its impact on the body. Hot foods include tomatoes, ginger, onions, mustard, pepper
and ghee. Hot foods help in improving digestion and circulation. Cold foods include melons,
coconut, asparagus, cauliflower, pumpkin and most sweet fruits. Cold foods are known to
provide nourishment and strength to the body. Hotness or coldness of the food is determined
by their impact on the body. According to Ayurveda, each body type, namely Vata, Kapha and
Pitta, will be affected in different ways by hot and cold foods. While preparing a meal, it is
important to maintain a balance between hot and cold foods. This has to be done by
considering your own body type, its requirements and seasonal changes.

A common misconception between hot and cold foods is that while a food which is cooked hot is
considered to be hot and refrigerated food is considered to be cold. But the potency of food has no
relation with the prevailing temperature of the food. Ice cream, for instance, will induce heat in the
body, despite being cold in temperature.

DIFFERENT CUSINE AROUND THE WORLD:

Description: A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques
and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. A cuisine is
primarily influenced by the ingredients that are available locally or through trade. Religious
food laws, such as Hindu, Sikh, Islamic and Jewish dietary laws, can also exercise a strong
influence on cuisine. Regional food preparation traditions, customs and ingredients often
combine to create dishes unique to a particular region. List of historical cuisines: Following is
the list of cuisine from recent and ancient history by continents:

AMEICAN CUISINE:
American cuisine reflects the history of the United States, blending the culinary contributions of
various groups of people from around the world, including indigenous American Indians,
African Americans, Asians, Europeans, Pacific Islanders, and South Americans. Early Native
Americans utilized a number of cooking methods in early American cuisine that have been
blended with early European cooking methods to form the basis of what is now American
cuisine. The European settlement of the Americas introduced a number of ingredients, spices,
herbs, and cooking styles to the continent. The various styles of cuisine continued expanding
well into the 19th and 20th centuries, proportional to the influx of immigrants from many
different nations; this influx nurtured a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the
country.

Cooking Methods:

Early American Indians used a number of cooking methods in early American Cuisine that have
been blended with early European cooking methods to form the basis of American Cuisine.
Common cooking methods are:
* Baking.
* Boiling.
* Frying.
* Microwaving.
* Roasting.
* Smoking.
* Drying.
* Grinding

Common Ingredients of this cuisine are:

* Corn
* Rice
* Beans
* Chiles
* Tomatoes
* Queso Fresco
* Chicken
* Beef
* Chocolate
* Avocados
* Limes
* Cabbage

BRITISH CUISINE:
British cuisine is the heritage of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United
Kingdom. Although Britain has a rich indigenous culinary tradition its colonial history has
profoundly enriched its native cooking traditions. British cuisine absorbed the cultural
influences of its post-colonial territories – in particular those of South Asia.

Cooking methods:
* Sautéing
* Stir-frying
* Searing
* Braising
* Stewing
* Steaming
* Baking
* Roasting
* Grilling
* Broiling

Common Ingredients of Cuisine:

Meat
Mint sauce
Parsley
Cabbage
Mustard
Veal
Marjoram
Spice

CHINESE CUISIE:
Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture, which includes cuisine
originating from the diverse regions of China, as well as from Chinese people in other
parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country,
Chinese cuisine has influenced many other cuisines in Asia, with modifications made to
cater to local palates. Chinese food staples such as rice, soy sauce, noodles, tea, and
tofu, and utensils such as chopsticks and the wok, can now be found worldwide.
Cooking methods:
1. Stir-Frying
2. Deep-Frying
3. Steaming
4. Red Stewing
5. Boiling
6. Roasting
7. Braising

Main Ingredients:

* Soy Sauce
* Shaoxing wine
* Chinkiang vinegar
* Oyster sauce
* Dried shiitake mushrooms
* Sichuan peppercorn.
* Doubanjiang
* Star anise
* Dried chilly pepper
* Sichuan peppercorn
* Five spice powder
* Peanut oil
* Toaster sesame oil
* Dried lilly flowers
* Deep fried tofu