How Does Chinese Medicine Support Your Digestive Health?
Chinese Medicine believes digestion plays an integral role in every aspect of our well being. When our digestive function is not optimal it can result in all manner of health complaints. Let’s take a look at how Chinese Medicine can support your digestive health.
When we talk about digestion from a Chinese Medicine perspective we are primarily talking about the Spleen and Stomach Qi (energy). Together they relate to the Earth energetic in five element theory and are the center through which transformations, both physical and emotional, occur.
Clinically diagnosed conditions such as reflux, constipation, leaky gut syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), crohn’s or coeliac disease will all have some element of Spleen disharmony in Chinese Medicine. Additionally many other seemingly unrelated conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema, anxiety or insomnia are likely to have Spleen deficiency as a compounding factor, if not a root cause.
Energetically the Stomach is likened to a pot which receives and churns food and fluids. The Spleen is responsible for distilling the purest parts of our food to create Qi and Blood.
The Spleen is supported by our Kidney Yang Qi, which provides the digestive fire required for the distilling process, and the Liver and Gallbladder, which ensure smooth flow through the digestive tract.
The Stomach sends down the impure parts of our food to be refined and eliminated by the Large and Small intestines, while the Spleen sends the refined Qi and Blood to the Lung and Heart for dissemination throughout the body. When we think about digestive function in this holistic way it is easy to see how it can affect all aspects of our health.
Clinically we use both herbal medicine and acupuncture to support and correct digestive function. However there is a lot you can do with simple lifestyle and dietary changes to ease any symptoms you may be experiencing.
There is a proverb in Chinese Medicine that states:
“he that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician”.
This shows just how highly diet is regarded in Chinese Medicine as a way of healing the body.
As we are all unique there is no one recommended ‘healthy diet’ in Chinese diet therapy. What’s right for you depends on your constitution, lifestyle and the environment you are living in. It changes from season to season and is affected by your emotional state. For example if you are living a simple life in a warm environment, doing gentle exercise with little stress your dietary requirements will be very different to your life in the middle of a extremely cold winter as a working parent who has a busy stressful life. This is where listening to your body becomes important.
HEALTHY EATING HABITS
In saying this there are some eating habits that will universally support the Spleen and Stomach Qi and protect the digestive fire. These include:
Eat a wide variety of real, whole foods. Avoid processed foods and choose locally produced, organic produce where possible.
Eat mostly warm or room-temperature foods. Cold foods require more digestive fire to be processed adequately.
Avoid too much raw, or overly rich foods that can be difficult for the Spleen to break down. If you feel bloated after eating a salad, swap it out for some steamed greens and see how you feel.
Eat with the seasons. Roasted root vegetables and hearty stews warm and nourish during winter; small amounts of bitter greens help detox during spring; ripe, fresh fruits and veggies are easy on the system in summer while light broths and chicken soups both support the immune system and balance the dryness of autumn.
Make sure you are eating regularly through the day – skipping meals or pushing through will deplete the Spleen Qi and cause the body to dip into the reserve Kidney Qi (adrenals) for energy.
Eat breakfast between 7am and 9am and dinner no later than 7.30pm
Be careful not to flood the system with too many cold liquids – don’t drink instead of eat if you are hungry.
Always eat in a quiet, relaxed environment and take the time to chew your food to optimise digestion. This may mean carving out the time for a lunch break at work and leaving your desk to find a more supportive environment for digestion.
Make sure you have some protein and carbohydrates in each meal to maintain steady blood sugar levels throughout the day.
FOODS TO SUPPORT DIGESTIVE FUNCTION
When we think about what to eat, we think about the flavours and thermal properties of specific foods and how they impact the body more than the fat, protein, carbohydrate and mineral make up. For example carrots are sweet and neutral and nourish the Spleen, while pear is sweet and cooling and moisten the Lung and Large Intestine.
SPLEEN QI FOODS
When we have poor digestive function with symptoms such as bloating, indigestion, nausea, irregular bowel movements or abdominal pains, foods that strengthen the Spleen Qi are a good place to start. These include:
A gentle, warm breakfast such as porridge (oat or rice), scrambled eggs or omelette
Miso soup with tofu or pho
Roasted root vegetables
Adzuki and kidney beans
Barley, bulgur wheat, quinoa and rice
Chicken, turkey, and white fish
Soups, stews and bone broths
Blanched and/or steamed vegetables
Stewed fruits
Fermented foods
Activated or sprouted foods
Rice or oat milk in place of dairy
Rye, spelt, sprouted and organic sourdough bread
Cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, ginger, licorice root and black pepper
When our Spleen Qi is unable to distill food effectively it often leads to Dampness. Damp is an energetic that often presents with fatigue and heaviness in the limbs and head, a thick greasy coat on the tongue and oily skin and hair. It can weaken the digestive fire causing a vicious circle of poor digestive function or prevent the Liver and Gallbladder Qi from circulating, leading to stagnation and heat accumulating.
WEAK DIGESTIVE FIRE with DAMP COLD
If your digestive fire is not strong it is likely you will have an aversion to cold, your lower abdomen and glute muscles will feel cold to touch, any abdominal pain or bloating will feel better for warmth and you will experience frequent loose watery stools with undigested food.
Foods that can support your digestive fire include:
Bone broth
Beetroot, sweet potato, leek
Shiitaki mushroom, chestnuts, walnuts
Basmati rice, black rice, wild rice, barley, quinoa
Mustard leaves
Chicken, beef, lamb, game meats
Black beans, kidney beans
Miso
Jasmine Tea, chai
Molasses, barley malt, dates
Warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, fennel, star anise, nutmeg