The Lung Loves Pungent

Pungent foods have an affinity for the Chinese (TCM) organ, the Lung. 

Why are pungent foods paired with the lung? 

Hmm, well, maybe because these are the types of foods that you want to eat a lot of (garlic, ginger, onions) during colds and flus (i.e. sicknesses that affect the lung)... Maybe because these foods can sometimes make you cough, therefore they interact with the lung by stimulating cough receptors... Maybe because these foods are a bit spicy, causing vasodilation, opening up the lungs and sinuses...

Or, maybe because the TCM theory just says so :P  Sometimes it is best to not pick-apart every aspect of TCM and just go with it!

Wasabi and ginger: two pungent foods.

Examples of pungent foods (all of the foods that have a little 'bite'): 

Garlic, clove, black pepper, ginger, mustard, horseradish, wasabi, raw onions, etc.