As part of this way of thinking, Chinese people strive to maintain a balance within the individual between the forces of yin and yang (the dual principles of male and female, or positive and negative), which have influenced the concepts of hot and cold in Chinese food and medicine.
由於中國人注重內在和外在的「個體均衡」，因此也力求「陰陽」兩種力量的均衡，這影響到中醫中藥「冷、熱」的觀念。例如黃蓮性屬大寒，可以解毒、去火氣；冬天吃薑母鴨以進補，這都以「陰陽調和」為出發點。