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Food rules about Chinese herbs travel fast, but many have nothing to do with your bottle. Learn how to sort essential advice from optional tradition.

When the list of foods to avoid keeps growing

Around the Northern Beaches, conversations about herbal medicine often come with a side serve of food rules: no cold drinks, skip the prawns, avoid anything spicy. Each tip arrives with good intentions, yet by the time it reaches you it may have no connection to the product you have actually been given.

Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, sees herbal medicine patients at the Freshwater clinic, which many people from Balgowlah and Manly visit. Her herbal medicine is dispensed as granules in labelled bottles, and any food suggestions should relate to you and to that specific bottle rather than to a generic list.

What to bring to the discussion

• the bottle itself, or a clear photo of its label and written directions;
• food allergies or intolerances, including ones that seem minor;
• your usual meals and when you eat them;
• anything that makes regular, varied meals hard, such as shift work, appetite changes or a tight budget.

Sorting essential from optional

For each suggestion, it is reasonable to ask whether it matters for this plan, is only needed for a short while, or is a traditional preference you can take or leave. Traditional Chinese medicine has its own ideas about how foods and herbs interact, and Christine can explain those as traditional theory while being clear about what is required.

Be cautious about cutting out whole food groups without a clear purpose. A restrictive diet can create its own problems, especially for people who are pregnant, older, very active or managing another health condition. Any advice should sit comfortably with what your GP or dietitian has recommended.

Advice that survives a busy week

Good guidance is the kind you can manage on an ordinary Tuesday. If a food instruction feels unrealistic, or seems to clash with the timing on your bottle's directions, say so; there may be a simpler way. Many people find it helps to write the one or two points that genuinely matter on the back of their instruction sheet, then raise any grey areas at their next Freshwater appointment.