This is a video about a scientific review done by Duke University in 2009. Scientific reviews take a lot of different studies on the same topic and systematically compare them, pulling the data together when possible to get larger sample sizes, and therefore a better understanding of the overall outcome. This review pulled together 31 different studies using acupuncture to treat various types of headaches. Watch here to learn more:
Reducing Dampness with Nutrition
Now that you know which foods will increase damp stagnation in your body, you may be wondering, "What are some foods I can eat that will get rid of some of this dampness my acupuncturist is always talking about?" Here we will give you some general suggestions and ways to think about balancing your diet to decrease damp stagnation in your body. As always, TCM looks at each person individually, so talking to a licensed acupuncturist about your specific constitution is an important part of this process, especially if you are having heat or inflammation symptoms.
There are a few different components to addressing damp stagnation in the body:
1) Support your body's natural ability to heal by supporting your digestive system.
Think of your digestive system as a fire that cooks your food to break it down into small bits your body can use. This image helps you understand why Chinese medicine says that warm, cooked foods are easier to digest and better for you. Cold foods or raw foods like salads strain your digestive fire because your body has to work that much harder to digest your food. Your acupuncturist may have told you to avoid ice water and cold drinks for the same reason. Warm water and tea are also much better to support your digestion than iced drinks or even cold water from the tap. Occasionally a cold drink is ok, especially when the weather is warmer, but not as a general rule.
Similarly, eating a big meal also taxes your digestive fire, so eating less at each meal - even if it means eating more frequently, like 5-6 small meals throughout the day - is much better for supporting digestion than a big meal that leaves you stuffed to the gills. If you're feeling sleepy after you eat, you probably ate too much!
Eating in a calm way and paying attention to your food also supports digestion. Eating on the run or while working will leave you less satisfied and in TCM theory, stress taxes your ability to digest your food, leaving more dampness hanging around!
warming and aromatic spices
As for foods that support digestion, aromatic,warming spices (but not chili-spicy) are good for promoting digestion. Spices such as caraway seed, fennel seed, mustard seed, saffron, and ginger and turmeric roots are all good for warming and aiding digestion gently. Yellow and orange foods (cooked) like carrots, squash, parsnips and yam all support digestion as well, according to TCM.
Another way you can aid your digestion is to soak, or even sprout, grains and legumes before cooking. If you're cooking rice or another whole grain, soaking it first changes its chemical composition slightly to make it easier to digest.
2) Clear the dampness.
So you've cut out the damp-producing sugar, fried foods, dairy, and processed-flour foods, and you're eating smaller amounts of warming, cooked foods and soaking your grains before eating them. Now what to do with that damp stagnation that just won't leave on its own? Like that last guest at the party who just doesn't know it's time to go, damp stagnation can really stick around. There are a few kinds of foods that can really help get rid of dampness
:Bitter foods: TCM considers bitter-tasting foods to have a draining property. Leafy green vegetables like kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens, parsley, and celery are good examples of bitter foods. Also, citrus peels are bitter, so oranges eaten with the white inner peel, or lemon/orange peel zest added to meat dishes can help reduce dampness. Turnips, radish, kohlrabi, asparagus, and broccoli are great as well.
Fiberous foods: Foods with high fiber content will also help to clear dampness from the body. A special bean for draining dampness is the Aduki bean (the red bean commonly used in desserts) which can easily be mixed in with a hot breakfast cereal of whole grains. Speaking of whole grains, another special food for draining dampness is Job's Tears. It is sometimes called Pearl Barley (not to be confused with pearled barley). If you can't find Job's tears, Quinoa and Amaranth are grains that also have a slightly draining property.
3) Move the Stagnation.You knew it was coming. There's only one way to really move stagnation. It is free of charge and requires no appointments. Exercise, even walking after dinner for 20 minutes each day, is an essential part of getting rid of damp stagnation. This is not about weight loss - exercise moves your blood and qi, which helps your body cleanse itself, stokes your digestive fire, and gives you more energy. There are a lot of ways to get more exercise (take the stairs, etc) that have been written about for eons and everybody has some kinds they prefer over others. Your exercise should get your heart rate up and be appropriate for your body's ability, but whatever type it is, exercise is a must.
Dampness? What IS that?
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Dampness is a term that many people who have gone to an acupuncturist have heard about. It is considered a pathogen in Chinese Medicine that enters the body and causes disease. Some general symptoms of dampness include: sluggish digestion, having a hard time waking up in the morning, foggy thinking, fatigue, and a heavy feeling in your head or limbs.
Dampness can be a facet of diseases ranging from diabetes to arthritis to asthma to basic poor digestion and bloating. Other diseases that may be partly due to damp stagnation include chronic yeast infections, chronic allergies, asthma, rhinitis, chronic inflammation, heart disease, and PCOS, to name a few.* Dampness is the hardest pathogen to eliminate from the body once it's there, and the main entry point for dampness is your mouth - that is, the foods you eat.
To understand the concept of dampness, think of a musty, moldy basement. Think of cholesterol-lined arteries. Think of your sinuses when they're clogged. Gross! But we need these images because damp-producing foods taste sooo goooood. The Typical American Diet is replete with these damp-producing types of foods:
Sugar - damp itself, and also feeds dampness-producing yeast and bacteria
Alcohol - don't those symptoms listed above sound a bit like a hangover?
Dairy - damp/phlegm-producing goodness
Fried foods - and too many unhealthy fats in general
Processed wheat flour products - remember elementary school science, when you made paste out of flour and water? Now think of your intestines.
Changing your diet to consume less damp-producing foods is a great step towards health. We are not suggesting that you never ever eat any of these foods, but if you have a condition with a lot of dampness, it's a good idea to limit your intake and give your body a chance to heal. We also recommend limiting your intake of nut butters and sticking to unsaturated-fat oils for cooking during that time. Some people's bodies handle dampness better than others. Depending on your body, if you're eating enough vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruits, and getting regular exercise, a little damp once in a while isn't the end of the world.
We're not all about denial here in the land of TCM - There are many foods that you CAN eat to treat dampness.* Sticking to a high fiber diet is a good way to start. For more information, see our article on ways to reduce dampness with nutrition.
*As always with TCM, every body is different and requires different foods for balance. Consult with a Chinese Medicine practitioner about diagnosis and food choices specific to your needs.
Bu Tong Zi Tong: How TCM treats functional pain
Western Medicine has brought us many great things, however, there are a few things that it still doesn't handle very well. One of these things is functional pain, or pain without a clear cause. An article in the New York Times (11/22/10) highlights WM's lack of understanding of functional abdominal/stomach pain. Many people suffer from stomach pain, but diagnostic tests show nothing physically wrong with the patient. Patients often hear that it's "all in their head" and tire of having to go from diagnostic test to diagnostic test with no results. Many MDs recognize that TCM is useful in the arena of functional pain and are referring their patients to acupuncturists for treatment.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a different system of diagnosis from WM, which is one of the reasons that it's so well-known for treating pain. At the heart of TCM's pain-treating philosophy is the Mandarin phrase, Bu Tong Zi Tong. Bu Tong Zi Tong literally means, "No movement [there] is pain", or stagnation of any kind will result in pain.
Stagnation is a common concept in Chinese medicine and is applied to many ailments, but it can arise from many different causes. For instance, too little exercise causes stagnation, resulting in various ailments from back pain to hypertension. On the other hand, too much exercise can exhaust your yin and qi and cause stagnation, even if temporarily, (think lactic acid build-up in the muscles, or sports injuries that take a long time to heal). Emotional stress can also cause stagnation, and is often one underlying cause of those previously mentioned stomach pains.
The key to treatment in TCM is figuring out what cause is underlying the stagnation. Our ability to do that lies in the patient interview, our understanding of the yin-yang relationship, and qi flow in the body. Chinese medicine asks a lot of questions that don't seem at all related to the pain, differentiates based on a range of a person's symptoms, both physical and emotional, and uses the location of the pain as a guide for treatment. Acupuncture is used to open the meridians and get qi flowing on the surface of the body, and herbs may be used to move qi and blood on an internal level. (The exact mechanism of how acupuncture works is still basically unknown in a western medical sense, and will be the topic of future posts!) Dietary recommendations are often given as well.
WM is just getting on board with a more holistic approach. By looking at the whole patient and understanding the patterns of qi flow in the body, Chinese medicine has been treating acute, chronic, and functional pain for thousands of years.
Prevention tip:
Moderate exercise is the best way to avoid stagnation before it starts to cause you pain. Even if you're not ready to go jogging or get on a bike, taking a walk after meals, and exercises like Yoga and Tai Chi are things that most people can do on a regular basis. Also, strong emotions can cause stagnation, so finding appropriate ways to observe your emotions and let them pass by can help avoid stagnation on a deeper level in the body.
Welcome to Integrating Health!
Integrating Health is here to help you understand:
* How Traditional Chinese Medicine can help you address various health needs. (TCM includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, and massage)
* How to understand TCM in a modern context, including how TCM's approach to health overlaps with and differs from Western Medicine.
* How to make healthy lifestyle choices that can prevent or correct imbalances in the body.
Being healthy is a result of choices we make in our lives everyday. I hope you find this blog to be a useful tool in the quest for health and longevity. Integrating Health is not written by an MD and is not dispensing medical advice. Feel free to subscribe or to contact me with any questions!