Q. Tuna Ssamjang diets are trending lately. What is the perspective of Traditional Korean Medicine on this kind of meal plan?

I have personally experienced the dizzying fatigue that comes from blindly following trending diets. Speaking from experience, single-food diets often provide a quick initial spark but inevitably lead to a weight-loss plateau. From a TKM perspective, I recommend the following approach: First, assess your digestive function. Those with 'Bi-heo' (脾虛), or a deficiency in Spleen function, can quickly exhaust their gastrointestinal tract with sudden high-protein, high-sodium diets. You must first determine if your digestive capacity can handle this specific regimen. Second, focus on eliminating waste. If there is an accumulation of 'Dameum' (痰飮)—unnecessary fluids and metabolic waste in the body—your response to any diet will be sluggish. A process to promote circulation and clear these wastes is necessary. Third, improve blood flow. The presence of 'Eo-hyeol' (瘀血), or blood stasis, slows down metabolism and hinders weight loss. Combining the diet with prescriptions that improve circulation will maximize metabolic efficiency. Finally, fine-tune the diet to suit your specific constitution. A diet that acts as a tonic for one person may be detrimental to another. Success lies in the details, such as adjusting the salinity of the Ssamjang or selecting specific accompanying vegetables. The core issue is not 'what you eat,' but 'how well your body burns it.' Rather than straining your system with a rigorous diet, I recommend focusing on fixing your body's internal 'engine' first.