Balancing the four basic elements of the body and soul with Thai indigenous vegetables

Thai ancestors have intellectually applied the knowledge of Thai Traditional Medicine into daily life by consuming different kinds of indigenous vegetables and fruits to balance the four basic elements or ?Tart? of the body and soul all year round. According to the Thai Traditional Medicine, the balance of the four basic elements of the body and soul will keep a person healthy. One way to keep this balance is to take the food, vegetables or fruits that are compatible with the basic elements, especially the dominant element or ?Tart Chao Reun?.

To know which kinds of vegetables or fruits match which basic elements is to check their taste. Those with astringents, sweet, creamy or salty taste are good for ?Tart Din? or earth persons, while vegetables or fruits with sour taste are suitable for ?Tart Nam? or water persons. Spicy food is compatible with ?Tart Lom? or wind persons, while food having bitter, cool or bland taste is good for persons with ?Tart Fai? or fire as the dominant basic element of the body and soul.

Young leaves or the tips of different plants make up of most of Thai indigenous vegetables. Thai people especially those living in the rural areas where there are many kinds of indigenous vegetables available usually have vegetables in almost every meal with different kinds of chilli dips called ?Narm Prik?. Different regions of the country have different kinds of ?Narm Prik?, but some basic ingredients of ?Narm Prik? are similar, e.g. chilli, lime, garlic, fish or shrimp paste, and fish sauce.

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