Q. Many people recommend Subway sandwiches for dieting. From a Korean Medicine practitioner's perspective, which menus would be best?

I have actually tried relying solely on Subway for diet management in the past. While it felt light and healthy at first, I eventually started feeling lightheaded and uneasy. Based on my experience, this diet has distinct pros and cons. The primary advantage is the sufficient intake of fresh dietary fiber. Choosing bread with fewer refined carbohydrates combined with proteins like chicken breast provides an excellent nutritional balance, which is often difficult for busy professionals to find when eating out. However, there are precautions. Raw vegetables possess 'cold' properties. Specifically, patients with Spleen Deficiency (Bi-heo, 脾虛)—where the Spleen's function is weakened and digestive power is low—may experience mild abdominal pain or diarrhea when consuming large amounts of cold foods. Additionally, hidden sugars in sauces can sometimes undermine your dietary efforts. Ultimately, there is no single 'perfect menu.' For those who typically suffer from indigestion, I recommend minimizing sauces or pairing the meal with ingredients that have 'warm' properties. For Dam-eum (痰飮)—the accumulation of metabolic waste and phlegm in the body—to be effectively discharged, your digestive organs must first be comfortable and functioning well. Recommended menus vary significantly depending on whether your body constitution is naturally cold or hot. If you would like to design a diet tailored to your exact physiological state, I suggest visiting our clinic for a formal constitutional diagnosis.