(Episode 33) Welcoming Food with Andrew Sterman (Part 1 of 2)
Once you’ve listened, let us know in the comments below—which insight most provoked your interest from our conversation?
About Andrew Sterman
Andrew Sterman is the author of Welcoming Food: Diet as Medicine for Home Cooks and Other Healers (Classical Wellness Press, 2020). Book 1 explains Food Energetics and Healing from a Chinese medicine perspective, and book 2 is Recipes and Kitchen Practice, with each recipe decoded for energetics and strategy. Based in New York City, Andrew works with clients in person and over video in the areas of dietary therapy, medical Qi Gong and meditation, and writes a regular column for the Golden Flower Chinese Herbs newsletter. His inviting and intimate style of online teachings have a growing international popularity, drawing together home cooking, dietary therapy, healing through Qi Gong, meditation, and the idea that complex teachings can be made simple and put to use by everyone.
Andrew first entered Chinese Medicine through Qi Gong and Tai chi in 1988. He began studying the healing potential of food at the same time by enrolling at the Natural Gourmet Cookery School. Seeking to deepen his understanding of food energetics, Andrew began formal study of Chinese herbal medicine, diagnostics, medical theory, and dietary therapy with Master Jeffrey Yuen in 2001.
Andrew’s parallel career as a professional musician enables him to travel extensively and learn from chefs of many cultures, further inspiring him to discover unique ways to incorporate food and healing into daily cooking routines.
At home, Andrew cooks for his wife, author and acupuncturist Ann Cecil-Sterman, and their two children.
Chinese Medicine and Dietetics
Andrew Sterman found music at an early age, which has since remained an important part of his life as he continues to practice music professionally, but considers music a form of healing art as well—most recently helping artists navigate their health issues through Chinese Medicine.
In addition to training extensively in music, Andrew Sterman has been cultivating resources offered by Chinese Medicine in his formal studies and relaying them to his clients and also integrating them into his books by offering simple and manageable ways to incorporate healthy habits using Chinese Medicine.
As a student of the 88th generation Daoist Master Dr. Jeffrey Yuen, Andrew Sterman looks for ways to extend the teachings of Dr. Yuen to his clients in an accessible way without belittling the vast and complex teachings of Chinese Medicine, especially regarding nutrition.
As an author whose work focuses on Food Energetics, Andrew Sterman says there is an overwhelming amount of force keeping us from changing our dietary practices for the better, often finding ourselves stuck in the same place without a clear understanding of how to move forward.
Sterman’s approach with clients struggling with health issues or those looking to embrace healthy eating includes keeping goals realistic in order to achieve progress, and encouraging clients to get creative when finding places to meditate or taking it slow when reducing sugar in their diet.
Since everything around us is constantly changing, Sterman emphasizes that we should embrace conscious evolution, where we take part in changes happening to us and those around us.
With diet being an important aspect of our health, a change in diet and healthy lifestyle may feel uncomfortable at first but it has a beautiful way of transforming how we think about nourishment and health.
Andrew Sterman also notices that he often introduces his clients to more food rather than placing restrictions on what they can eat. The misconception that healthy food is not tasty or very restrictive can also keep us from building a better relationship with food which often has the power to transform our health.
Even those following a healthy diet and lifestyle can find themselves suffering from debilitating health conditions and Andrew Sterman often finds that a shift in perspective often helps ease or eliminate the suffering altogether. For example, Sterman encourages those consuming a lot of raw foods like salads and smoothies to instead cook and consume warm foods.
With balanced meals that incorporate western nutrient content while protecting digestion, Andrew Sterman has successfully helped clients struggling to conceive to those suffering from fatigue and digestive issues.
Since food and diet are very personal, people can’t follow a single diet or regimen all the time. As we change, so should our diet. Although working with professionals specializing in nutrition from a Chinese Medicine perspective is ideal, a simple change you can start making today is avoiding cold foods and nourishing your body with warm soups and stews instead.
Stay tuned for the second part of our interview with Andrew Sterman where we continue discussing self-healing with Chinese Medicine dietetics.
Once you’ve listened, let us know in the comments below—which insight most provoked your interest from our conversation?
References:
Andrew Sterman’s website: https://www.andrewsterman.com/
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