Internal moisture and phlegm
Dampness and phlegm are buildups that occur in the body that can make us feel ‘phlegm’ or just heavy and tired. When our diet is out of sync with our body, our mind is working overtime, or when the weather is very humid, we tend to get stuck with dampness and phlegm.
Humidity it is generally considered a thicker/heavier viscosity than phlegm, however it may be less evident in physical signs. Dampness is felt in the heaviness of the body and the confusion of thought, and can be seen on the coating of the tongue.
Phlegm it is thinner and manifests itself in a runny nose or type of wet cough.
Symptoms of dampness and phlegm
cloudy head
Bad memory
Difficulty waking up in the morning
Low energy, especially after eating
loose stools
bad focus
leucorrhoea
Wet-pustular skin conditions
Signs of moisture and phlegm
swollen tongue with teeth marks
white coating on the tongue
Runny nose, especially after greasy/dairy meals
slippery pulse
One of the signs of moisture is a thick coating of the tongue and swelling of the body of the tongue. Sometimes the coating on the tongue is very thick and white, especially in people who consume a lot of dairy, such as yogurt and milk. These people often scrape off the coating on their tongue as well as it is so thick! This does not address the root of the moisture problem, it just eliminates one of the indicators.
Dampness and phlegm accumulate for different reasons. Initially we can divide the causes into 2 categories: internal and external routes.
Internally moisture/phlegm can accumulate due to:
1. Overthinking/stress leading to a deficiency of spleen qi (digestive energy) which cannot cope with all the wet food being eaten, leading to slow digestion.
2. Poor diet. Too many dairy, greasy, oily, greasy, sweet, cold, raw, nature-rich foods.
Externally moisture/phlegm can accumulate due to:
1. Humid environment. Tropical climate. The air conditioning blaring on a hot day for long periods of time.
2. The two weeks between each change of season, and especially the end of summer, which is considered the ‘late summer’ or ‘wet’ time of the year when we expect moisture to build up.
Chinese medicine is based on the theory of the 5 elements. Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.
Each element is related to a season, organ, emotion and function, etc. Moisture is most closely related to earth. The earth element is related to the end of summer and the organs of the spleen and stomach.
The job of the spleen and stomach is to convert food and water into energy and the rest into waste. However, sometimes when this system is depleted and unable to convert things properly, due to a rich diet for example, there is excess waste that cannot be removed efficiently called moisture. Chinese medicine also states that when moisture overflows from the earth element, it is contained in the metal element; this being the lungs and the large intestine. This may explain why we sometimes eat greasy fish and chips or a milk shake and get a runny nose, cough, or diarrhea.
Moisture is heavy and likes to drain down and out. Sometimes it can’t do this because it crashes and becomes gluggy. There are a few ways that we get rid of moisture. First we want to reduce the foods that add to the problem. So we want to use herbs and acupuncture to open the pores in the skin to disperse through sweat, purge through feces, or drain through urine. Then we will strengthen digestion through a bland diet, exercise, herbs, and acupuncture.
Matter and energy
A good way to explain Chinese medicine and what we call ‘digestive fire’ is through basic physics principles.
Matter and energy. The two fundamental aspects of nature are fire and water. We can refer to these 2 elements as matter (water) and energy (fire). Everything is a form of matter and energy, with matter being a more condensed form with less vibration and energy as a more dispersed and insubstantial form that has highly vibrational electrons and protons.
That being said, the two are interchangeable; life and nature are always in motion and changing. We are made of matter and we are moved by passion, emotion, will and love, in this case we can say that this is the ‘energy’ or fire that is life. Therefore, we are made of matter, powered by energy. But what feeds this energy? Food, air and water. So we have life, or this ‘inner fire’, and we want to add fuel or wood. What kind of wood would we add to a campfire?
What overwhelms the digestive fire?
When we want to make a good fire, we need good, light and dry wood; like firewood We notice that when we put green sticks on the fire, it smokes and puts out the fire. Similarly, if we put a large wet log on the fire, we are likely to put it out completely.
The spleen and stomach like light, dry food. Therefore, heavy, oily, greasy, raw and dense foods are not the kind of things that strengthen an already weak digestion. It is like throwing a large, wet, heavy log into a small fire. Goodbye fire!
We need to start with grains and easily digestible foods that are well cooked and not overly processed. This is our firewood.
Foods to reduce humidity and return the digestive fire
Cooked whole grains: rice, oats, barley, rye, millet, quinoa, pearl barley, buckwheat, amaranth, corn
Vegetables: beans (if you can tolerate gas), celery, squash, turnips, alfalfa, leafy greens
Meat/Protein: Small amounts well done (even simmered/stewed) are good and moist to drain. Beef, Lamb, Chicken.
Spices/Herbs: Ginger is excellent for warming up the digestive fire, especially in congee. Cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, paprika, cumin and pepper warm up the digestion.
Foods to avoid that increase humidity and reduce digestive fire
Basically too much raw, cold, sweet, oily or mucus-forming food.
Too many raw fruits, vegetables, sprouts, juices, cold food from the fridge, salad, excess sushi.
eat late at night
Eat excessively
not chewing properly
Processed foods such as cakes, pork, duck, salads, wheatgrass, avocados, bananas, tofu, soy milk (soy is 50% fats and oils), eggs, chocolate, ice cream, milkshakes, ice water, girls, dairy.
A raw food or salad diet sounds great and clean, but it may not be beneficial for everyone. A very hot, red-faced and strongly built person will benefit a lot, however, a skinny, pale and tired person will get worse. This is all due to his condition, digestive fire and diet.
Further improve digestion and reduce excess weight.
When the digestive fire is reduced and we put more of the wrong foods, we get a leftover residue. This is what we call moisture. This moisture is energy that has become more substantial, matter. This excess matter can be deposited as fat or become more solid matter, such as cysts.
The way to reduce this from happening is:
Reduce foods that accumulate moisture
Restoring the digestive fire
Stay active and exercise every day.
Clearing your mind with meditation and relaxation breathing
Chris Eddy Dr. of Chinese Medicine
