The stampede breakfast I attended last Sunday reminded me, with a wee bit of nostalgia,  that it has been two years since I attended (and worked) my last Stampede function in Calgary. While Jordan and my sons are there slaving away over hot griddles, pancake syrup causing them to stick to anything they touch or step on, suffering itchiness in unmentionable places from heaving around one too many hay bales, I was enjoying on this delightfully fresh and sunny morning, Vancouver Island in the backgrown, a Gabriola version of Stampede. (Sorry, Wanda, real cowboys don’t do whipped cream!)

While some of you may find this selfish, believe me, Jordan knows that when times get hot and sticky, it is best for everyone involved to keep me far, far away. I don’t handle yang very well!

It brought to mind the column I wrote then, in my last weeks of Calgary life, and with a few changes to help it make more sense, seeing as I am here now and not there, I felt like running with again.

It is finally “Hot’nuff for ya?” in Calgary, which has coincided nicely with Stampede. After spending 355 days complaining about how cold (and wet) it has been, Calgary is suffering from severe meltdown. Stampede is a time of excess in Calgary: too many pancakes and sausage; too much partying; too little sleep; too little rain; and too much heat. Now would seem to be an appropriate time to put a little balance into both lives and diet.

The Chinese have respected the importance of yin and yang since the time of Confucius, and they have made it part of their lifestyle in every aspect including cooking. In general, yin things are considered to be dark, cold, contracting, and female. (I don’t like the sound of that!) Yang is characterized by heat, light, and expansion. This is considered the male side of our nature.

Yin foods generally are cool and bland, including items such as tofu, soybean products, sprouts, boiled foods, over-processed and white foods, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, and potatoes. (I also don’t like the sound of that!)

Yang foods are spicy-hot and rich. You just know that all of your favourite things are going to fall into this category: beef, poultry, eggs, garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes, shellfish, vinegar, hard cheeses, and all fried and broiled foods.

That isn’t to say that one or the other group of foods is better for you. For your body to perform efficiently there needs to be a harmony or balance between these two food groups.

Yin foods have a cooling and slowing effect upon us and over-consumption can lead to loss of energy, weakness, and degenerative diseases. Yang foods are heating foods which will animate the body, but an over-consumption of these foods can lead to tension, hyperactivity, and rigidity.

Some students of the yin/yang philosophy have created another category of “neutral” or “balanced” foods. This group includes dried beans, seeds, nuts, and cereal grains.

There is some discrepancy and disagreement as to where caffeine and alcohol should be included. Because the initial effect of these stimulants is a burst of energy, they could be yang, but because they eventually abate and lead to a slowing (or comatose?) period, they might also be yin. Don’t try to fool yourself; this doesn’t mean they are balanced!

The Chinese diet is based largely on the principles of yin and yang, while our western diet is considered one-sided in the yang direction. While the Chinese eat their beef in vegetable stir fries which perfectly balances yin and yang, North Americans are continually being accused of eating too much meat and fried foods with not enough vegetables. (Although I do believe that we are starting to smarten up in this respect, certainly most people living on the Gulf Islands seem to have seen the light.)

The Chinese believe that with the two powers balanced not only our body and mind, but our life will be in harmony. They relate accidents and tragedies such as floods, car crashes, and accidental deaths all to imbalance of yin and yang. When someone has a cold which is considered a yin condition, a herbalist would recommend yang foods and for yang conditions such as sore throats, he would recommend yin foods.

I tried to relate our typical Stampede fare to this principle, and boy, are we in trouble. While the flour in the pancakes and syrup might offer us some yin, the eggs, sausages, fajitas and burgers, beer, more beer, and very noticeable absence of anything even remotely looking like a salad, puts us into serious yang-dom!  (Beans may be in the “balanced” category, and I suppose that by frying the yin potatoes, you are making balanced home fries?) Add into this mix the extremely hot temperatures and the litres of coffee and alcohol consumed, and we find ourselves with a mess of cranky and irritable people.

Yup, Stampede should definitely be declared a life-threatening condition. But by the time this article comes out, Jordan should be re-harmonizing his body and soul on beautiful Gabriola Island. Yahoo!