Although the Ch'ang Ming diet is an integral part of Taoism, you don't need to be a Taoist to benefit from it, everyone can benefit from healthier living, its common sense.

Anyone can achieve physical and spiritual balance through the journey known as "K'ai Men". This involves exercise ( T'ai Chi ), a dietary system ( The Chinese Art of Ch'ang Ming ) and controlled breathing and Chinese Yoga ( K'ai Men ).
Combined they form the path of "K'ai Men".

These very basic dietary guidelines are an interpretation of both the Ch'ang Ming diet, and my own opinions.

The journey begins with you and your body. How many people are content with their body, not many, this discontent can manifest itself in many ways, physically, mentally and spiritually and we don't usually recognise it.

There are two things we need to do in order to feel content with our bodies.

Firstly we need to learn how to treat them better. If we look after our bodies they will respond and look after us.
We all get confused by the overwhelming and contradicting advice on diets.
This is because we get confused about the word "diet", the very word puts fear into many peoples minds.

The Ch'ang Ming system is a way of learning to understand your body and is based on the first meaning of the word "Diet", 1, "The kinds of food that a person or animal habitually eats".
Unlike the myriad of confusing diets we are led to believe are the answer to our prayers "Diet" 2, "A special course of food to which a person is restricted".

The Ch'ang Ming System will help you to balance your body and return to your natural shape.

Secondly we need to change the way we see ourselves, we can all be affected by advertising or peer pressure and a lack of confidence makes us feel vulnerable.

Picture your life and how you respond to the people in it, then picture it without any one else in it, if you stood alone would you be content with your body, if the answer is yes, then its time to change how you react to how you think other people see you.

If the answer is no then try the Ch'ang Ming diet, learn to look after your body then ask the question again another time until you no longer need to.

The diet side of "the art of Ch'ang Ming" is only a small part of the Ch'ang Ming system, if you would like to follow these guidelines, you should look into the Ch'ang Ming approach in full, you can start this on the "Taoist links" page.