In summer, there is a lot of rain, and the “damp evil” is particularly strong.
The weather is humid and hot, and the body shows signs of dampness and heat. People are more likely to feel tired, have poor appetite, be irritable, and those who were already in poor health are more susceptible to the influence of the “damp evil.”
According to statistics, there are over 60 diseases related to dampness, such as obesity, edema, abdominal distension, eczema, dermatitis, urinary system infections, increased vaginal discharge and itching in women, etc.
More seriously: if the damp evil accumulates in the body for a long time, it can easily lead to nodules, tumors, and other diseases.
Where does the dampness come from?
1
External dampness from nature
External dampness, often due to humid weather, can lead to symptoms like heavy head, chest tightness, lower back pain, and joint pain.
2
Internal dampness in the body
Modern people who stay up late, drink alcohol, and love to eat greasy foods damage the spleen and stomach. The spleen governs transformation, and when the burden on the spleen increases, it cannot completely transform water dampness, leading to its accumulation in the body.
Seven major manifestations of dampness
1
Virtual obesity and edema
According to Chinese medicine, “thin people are often associated with internal heat, while obese people are often associated with phlegm and dampness.” People with a virtual obesity body type often have water dampness.
2
Often feel fatigued, not enough sleep
Even in the morning, still feeling tired, limbs heavy, especially the calves feel sore and heavy. People with heavy dampness also often feel chest tightness and need to take a long breath to feel comfortable.
3
Often have poor appetite
People with heavy dampness don’t feel hungry when it’s time to eat, and don’t feel like eating anything. Eating a little bit makes them feel bloated, and they often have a slight chest discomfort in daily life. It feels like the food they eat is pushing back up.
4
Soft, sticky stools
When there is heavy dampness in the body, stools are often difficult to form, even when formed, they are very soft and easily stick to the toilet, making it difficult to flush away. This symptom is often due to unhealthy eating habits.
5
Thick tongue coating and bad breath
If you wake up with a sticky mouth, a thick yellow tongue coating, and bad breath that even brushing your teeth can’t improve, then it may be due to heavy dampness.
6
Oily hair, dull complexion, prone to rashes
If your hair tends to be oily, your facial skin looks oily and dull, your eyelids swell in the morning, you have dark circles under your eyes, your complexion is dull or yellow, and you often have rashes and peeling on your hands and feet, it indicates that there is dampness in your body.
7
Stiff joints
When damp evil enters the joints, and there is cold in the body, it leads to the formation of cold and dampness in the joints, damaging joint health. Over time, this can lead to stiffness in the limbs, severely impacting normal life.
Red Bean Coix is not a cure-all
When it comes to dampness, many people think of “red bean and coix seed porridge.”
In fact, despite having red bean and coix seed porridge, many people find that the “damp evil” in their body not only does not decrease but may lead to discomfort. Why is this? Take a look and see if you’ve made these mistakes.
1
Mixing up red beans and adzuki beans
In Chinese medicine, red beans refer to adzuki beans, not the “red beans” commonly used for making sweet soup in daily life. Red beans nourish the heart, while adzuki beans dispel dampness. In terms of appearance, red beans are round, while adzuki beans are slender. Please pay attention when purchasing.
2
Only dispelling dampness, without invigorating the spleen
Dampness is a yin and heavy, turbid, sticky substance that arises from the metabolism and circulation of bodily fluids. Coix seed is good at dispelling dampness, but its cold nature is too heavy. Frequent consumption can harm the spleen. The main function of the spleen is to transform and transport dampness. If the spleen is damaged, dampness cannot be expelled, exacerbating the dampness. For those with spleen deficiency, dampness can worsen, leading to a cycle of spleen deficiency causing more dampness. Therefore, to dispel dampness, it is necessary to invigorate the spleen at the same time.
3
One remedy for all, not adapting
There is an old saying in traditional Chinese medicine: “External dampness leads to heavy head, knee swelling, and joint pain. Dampness due to dryness is treated with Atractylodes, and wind disease is treated with the same. Internal dampness causes body fatigue, fullness in the abdomen, vomiting, and diarrhea. Coughing with excess phlegm and saliva, coix seed and Poria decoction are used.” Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes differentiation in treatment, as each person’s type of internal dampness varies, such as cold dampness, summer dampness, damp-heat, rheumatism, etc.
A single red bean and coix seed porridge cannot dispel dampness from everyone’s body. Blindly consuming red bean and coix seed porridge sometimes not only fails to dispel dampness but may worsen dampness. Therefore, to dispel dampness, first explore the type of dampness that is present in your body!
Three methods to dispel dampness
1
Spleen-invigorating and dampness-dispelling dietary therapy
Simply relying on red beans and coix seeds is not enough to dispel dampness. To effectively dispel dampness, these ingredients should be used cleverly in cooking. For those with spleen deficiency and heavy dampness, ingredients like Chinese yam, Poria, fried hyacinth beans, dried tangerine peel, etc., which invigorate the spleen, can be added to regular soup dishes. For those with spleen qi deficiency, add Astragalus and Codonopsis. Aromatic herbs like Amomum can invigorate the spleen and enhance its digestive functions.
Here are three recommended dietary therapy recipes to help invigorate the spleen and dispel dampness:
(1) Coix Seed and Coix Seed Eight Treasures Porridge
Ingredients: 10g coix seeds, 5 red dates, 10g white hyacinth beans, 10g lotus seeds, 10g walnut kernels, 10g longan flesh, 100g glutinous rice, and some red sugar.
Method: Wash the ingredients, put them in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, simmer over low heat until it thickens into porridge, then add red sugar to taste.
Effects: It promotes spleen function, stimulates appetite, nourishes qi, and blood. Suitable for those with spleen deficiency constitution or weakened spleen and stomach, poor appetite, and insomnia.
(2) Coix Seed, Adzuki Bean, and Crucian Carp Soup
Ingredients: 30g coix seeds, 30g adzuki beans, 5g dried tangerine peel, 3 slices of ginger, and 1 crucian carp (about 400g).
Method: Scale and gut the crucian carp, wash it, fry it in a pan and set it aside. Wash the coix seeds, adzuki beans, dried tangerine peel, and ginger, put them in a clay pot with the crucian carp, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, simmer for 1-1.5 hours, add a splash of cooking wine, boil for a moment, then it’s ready to eat.
Effects: It invigorates the spleen, dispels dampness, and reduces swelling. Suitable for those with spleen deficiency edema or lower leg edema.
(3) Coix Seed, Winter Melon, and Pork Soup
Ingredients: 10g coix seeds, 10g hyacinth beans, 5g dried tangerine peel, 500g winter melon (with skin), 400g pork, and some ginger.
Method: Wash the pork and cut it into pieces; blanch to remove blood; set aside. Wash the coix seeds, hyacinth beans, dried tangerine peel, winter melon (with skin), slice the ginger. Put all the ingredients in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, simmer for 1.5 hours, add some salt to taste, and it’s ready to eat.
Effects: It has the effect of invigorating the spleen and dispelling dampness, suitable for summer health care in a damp environment.
2
Acupuncture and cupping therapy to dispel dampness
At home, you can press on or visit a licensed traditional Chinese medicine clinic to stimulate acupuncture points like Chengshan, ST36, SP6, and SP9 for spleen invigoration and dampness expulsion.
Chengshan: In the middle of the back of the calf;
ST36: Three inches below the outer knee, one inch lateral to the anterior crest of the tibia;
SP6: Three inches above the inner ankle bone (four horizontal finger breadths);
SP9: At the small head of the fibula depression.
3
Practice traditional exercises
Exercise has a good effect on invigorating the spleen and dispelling dampness, but for those who exercise at night, it is not recommended to engage in strenuous activities that cause profuse sweating, as this can damage the heart yang. Eight-section Brocade, yoga, tai chi, and radio exercises are good options.
In daily life, it is also important to protect against dampness. For example, after sweating from exercise in summer, avoid immediately exposing yourself to draft or air conditioning as this can lead to the combined harm of internal dampness with cold and wind evils. It is recommended to consume fewer or no cold drinks, fried foods. For those with spleen deficiency, it is best to drink warm water.
