A Journey Into Chinese Medicine Nutrition
From 2014 to 2016, I studied Chinese Medicine Nutrition in Hamburg, Germany under Barbara Temelie, a teacher whose work has shaped how many people understand the relationship between food, energy, and wellbeing. Those two years changed the way I see nourishment.
They gave me a language for things I had always felt intuitively: that food is more than nutrients, that meals carry emotion, and that balance matters more than perfection.
What I Learned
My training introduced me to a way of thinking about food that is both ancient and deeply human. I learned to look at ingredients not only for their vitamins or macros, but for their energetic qualities—how they warm, cool, ground, or uplift the body.
Some of the core ideas that shaped me include:
The energetic nature of food
Every ingredient has a "temperature" and a direction. Some foods anchor you; others brighten or disperse. Understanding this helped me see meals as something dynamic, not static.
The Five Elements
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water—each connected to flavours, organs, emotions, and seasons. I learned how to create harmony through thoughtful combinations.
Seasonal eating as a form of care
Spring calls for foods that awaken. Summer asks for cooling and hydration. Autumn wants grounding. Winter needs warmth and depth. This rhythm made immediate sense to me.
Digestive vitality
In Chinese Medicine, how we digest is as important as what we digest. I learned cooking methods and pairings that support ease, warmth, and comfort.
Food as relationship
Food responds to the person, the moment, the climate, and the emotional landscape. It's never one-size-fits-all.
These teachings didn't replace what I knew about Western nutrition—they expanded it. They gave me a more complete, compassionate way of understanding how people nourish themselves.
How This Shapes the Way I Think About Nutrition
My studies didn't give me a rigid set of rules. They gave me a way of paying attention. Today, when I think about nutrition, I'm not just thinking about nutrients or trends—I'm thinking about how food feels, how it supports the body through the seasons, and how it meets people where they are.
I've learned to value balance over perfection. A nourishing meal can be simple or elaborate, comforting or bright, indulgent or light. What matters is the harmony between those qualities and how they land in the body.
I've also come to see seasonality as a form of intelligence. Living in northern Alberta, the shifts in weather are real and immediate. Our bodies respond to those shifts, and our food can respond too—warming us, cooling us, grounding us, or lifting us depending on what the season asks for.
Most importantly, my training taught me that nutrition is personal. It's shaped by culture, memory, emotion, and daily life. There is no single "right" way to eat. There are only ways that support you, comfort you, and help you feel more like yourself.
This perspective continues to guide how I think about food at Gems Café & Bistro: with curiosity, with care, and with a deep respect for the many ways nourishment can look and feel.
A More Inclusive Way of Seeing Food
What I learned in Hamburg continues to influence how I think about ingredients, hospitality, and the quiet power of a well-made meal. It helps me bring a perspective to Gems Café & Bistro that is:
- warm rather than clinical
- seasonal rather than static
- balanced rather than restrictive
- rooted in care rather than trends
Chinese Medicine Nutrition didn't give me a set of rules—it gave me a way of listening. To the seasons. To the body. To the emotional life that sits behind every plate.
And that perspective is woven into the heart of our journey here at Gems.