Q. I'm planning to eat things like stir-fried tofu for my diet; how does a Korean medicine clinic approach this?

Many people struggle with fatigue or dizziness when blindly following trending diets because the core of weight loss is not just 'what you eat,' but how efficiently your body 'burns' that fuel. In Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), we approach dieting through the following sequence: 1. Assessing Digestive Function: We first check for Spleen Deficiency (脾虛). If your digestive power is weak, even healthy foods like tofu can transform into Phlegm-Fluid (痰飮)—accumulated metabolic waste—which can actually make your body feel heavier and more sluggish. 2. Monitoring Body Temperature and Metabolism: Tofu generally has a neutral property. However, consuming it cold or in excess can lower your internal core temperature. When metabolism drops, the body tends to settle into a constitution that is resistant to weight loss. 3. Resolving Blood Stasis (瘀血): When blood circulation is blocked and Blood Stasis accumulates, edema persists regardless of how strictly you manage your diet. In such cases, we provide prescriptions to clear the circulatory pathways first. 4. Recommending Customized Preparation: For those with weak digestion, we recommend stir-frying tofu with ginger or garlic, which have warm properties to aid digestion. Ultimately, the answer lies in your unique bodily state. A diet that works for others may be counterproductive for you. We invite you to visit the clinic for a professional metabolic diagnosis so we can find the most efficient eating plan tailored specifically to your body.