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Q. Do you recommend meal replacements like soy milk for dieting? How should I use it?
A.
To conclude, soy milk itself is good, but 'who' and 'when' matters. Rather than blindly replacing meals, first assess your digestive state. Those with weak digestion may experience more bloating from cold soy milk. In Korean medicine, dietary guidance focuses not on simply cutting calories, but on boosting energy while eliminating waste.
📝 Detailed Answer
I once suffered from dizziness by following trendy diet plans, even as a trained Korean medicine doctor—so I know the struggle. From a Traditional Korean Medicine perspective, remember three points when choosing meal replacements:
1. **Check your digestive state**: Those with Spleen Deficiency (脾虛, biheo) may not properly absorb soy protein, leading to gas and bloating. Warming the soy milk is recommended.
2. **Assess Phlegm-Fluid (痰飮, dameum)**: If excess moisture and waste have accumulated in the body, sweetened soy milk can increase internal dampness, making the body feel heavy. Unsweetened products are preferable.
3. **Consider Blood Stasis (瘀血, eohyeol) and circulation**: Simply fasting or replacing meals can stagnate blood flow, lowering basal metabolic rate.
At our clinic (Baekrokdam), we guide patients as follows:
- First, evaluate current digestive capacity.
- For those with Spleen Deficiency, combine warm-natured herbs to aid digestion.
- Use herbal medicine to clear Phlegm-Fluid and open the body’s pathways before introducing meal replacements.
- Finally, plan a gradual 'soft landing' back to regular meals.
Rather than unconditional recommendation, adjusting to your body’s energy is the fastest way to reduce yo-yo dieting.
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Expert Verified
Dr. Yeonseung Choe
Chief Director
Last reviewed 2026.05.12