Traditional Chinese Medicine theory on digestive health differs considerably from a Western Medicine perspective. In Chinese Medicine, we focus on the broader nature of foods and the way they interact with our digestive system. Food recommendations are seasonal, as the changes in external environment also has an effect on your digestion and the rest of your body.
The Concept of “Dampness”
All this summer rain and humid weather impacts your body in a number of ways. Maybe you’ve noticed you always get headaches or body pains when it’s damp out, or you feel heavy, sluggish, and tired in the humid weather. Maybe you find it harder to get out of bed, or you lose your appetite.
In Chinese Medicine, these transient symptoms you experience aren’t just tied to changes in barometric pressure. It relates to the dampness and humidity in the environment that surrounds you.
There’s a massive Chinese Medicine concept called “Dampness” that can exist both inside and outside of your body. This is just a tiny introduction!
One literal way to look at internal Dampness is to view it as a byproduct of inefficient digestion that accumulates in your body. Symbolically, when your digestion is poor, it runs “dirty”, like a fire that generates smoke when the wood (its fuel) has excessive moisture, or when you throw certain objects in it. Your digestive system does this too! (Metaphorically, of course.) This metaphorical smoke or steam drifts throughout your body, rising up to your head and causing headaches, foggy thinking, and dizziness; swirling and accumulating in corners and junctions like your knees and other joints, causing achey pain or heaviness; and sinking down to your feet and ankles, causing swelling.
Factors that influence the accumulation of Dampness in your body:
- dietary choices that affect your digestion (frequently eating dairy, sugar, greasy foods, excessive starch, and cold foods or drinks like smoothies or ice cream)
- a sedentary lifestyle
- frequently smoking/consuming weed
- drinking alcohol (especially cold beer and cider)
- your constitution/genetics (affecting some > others)
- your external environment (like a damp basement apartment, or generally here, where we basically live in a swamp!)
Rain, humidity, and other forms of moisture in the external environment can make symptoms of dampness flare up or worsen if they’re already there. If your digestive system is struggling to keep up with your lifestyle and food choices, you might experience a large range of symptoms.
Symptoms of Poor Digestive Health
- chronic fatigue
- brain fog
- feeling heavy or sluggish
- post-nasal drip
- nausea, dizziness, not feeling hungry for breakfast in the morning (aka loss of appetite)
- aches and pains or arthritis that are worse in the morning or with rainy or damp weather
- headaches with rain or damp weather that might feel like a band around your head
- a swollen tongue that appears “furry”, or has a thick or pasty coating
- pustules or “whiteheads” and other skin conditions (more on that later!)
- formation of lipomas and cysts, including Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
You might even notice dampness leaving your body as:
- loose stools or diarrhea, or sticky stools (that stick to the toilet bowl, or are difficult to wipe)
- cloudy or foamy urine
- excessive vaginal discharge
These are all signs it’s time to tend to your “digestive fire”! This pattern and these symptoms are incredibly common, so you’re in good company if you experience any of the above.
Your Digestive Fire: a Metaphor for Digestive Health
It’s helpful to think of your digestion as a little fire you need to tend to. You’ve got to keep your digestive fire burning strong in order to support your body’s processes.
Let’s take a look at the metaphorical fire that I compared your digestion to a moment ago. Let’s introduce Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle as your digestive organs, or your “digestive fire”. He hates dampness! He hates being cold and wet! It prevents him from burning big and bright and powering Howl’s Moving Castle so it can move from destination to destination. Similarly, you need a healthy digestive fire to support your body through your daily life. If you haven’t watched Howl’s Moving Castle by Studio Ghibli, I recommend it for your next rainy night in! I posted a reel on Peony Tree Medicine’s Instagram page to illustrate this concept, so hop over and check it out if you feel inclined to do so.
Either way, throwing damp and cold materials into your metaphorical fire will ultimately shrink it or put it out, like damp logs and wet earth.
So, maybe you’ve noticed some of the symptoms of Dampness in yourself. In order to transform existing Dampness and prevent more from accumulating, you can make some simple changes. I recommend starting with whatever change is easiest! You don’t have to do everything all at once- especially at first.
What can you do to improve your digestive health?
Here are some tips to keep your digestive fire burning strong:
1. Eat warm, home-cooked meals on a regular schedule.
Help fuel it right with warm, cooked foods at regular intervals. It’s great to incorporate a large variety of vegetables of all colours. Some foods that can help rid your body of dampness include: asparagus, celery, radicchio and bitter greens, nappa cabbage, and leeks. Support your digestive system with plenty of root vegetables and yellow foods for your starches, such as squashes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Foods that are cooked are much easier for you body to digest.
2. Generally or temporarily reduce or avoid dampening and cold foods that are hard on your digestive system.
This includes: dairy products, excessive sugar, breads, greasy or oily foods, sticky foods like peanut butter and bananas, and cold foods or drinks like smoothies, beer and cider, raw salads, charcuterie boards (cheese, crackers, and cold cuts!), ice water, and ice cream. Instead of raw or cold food, try something cooked and warm. It’s much easier for your digestive system to transform cooked food into usable energy and accessible nutrients. This can be life-changing. If you’ve been thinking salads and smoothies are the best foods for you, but now you’re often tired, bloated after eating, and your stools are on the looser side- try making this change!
3. Don’t skip breakfast, and focus on meals rather than snacks.
It’s the most important meal of the day, when your digestive fire and metabolism are at their strongest. In Chinese Medicine, it’s important to eat a large breakfast and continue to eat at regular intervals. For example, 3 meals spaced out throughout your day. If you’re an intermittent faster and you’re attached to the concept, that’s okay! But don’t skip breakfast. I recommend eating an early dinner instead, and then fasting until breakfast time. Your digestive system is strongest in the morning.
4. Get acupuncture!
Acupuncture will bolster your digestion, especially when paired with a Far Infrared Heat lamp. Acupuncture helps engage your parasympathetic nervous system (to help you “rest and digest”), improves blood circulation to your digestive organs, and corrects systemic imbalances that are contributing to a weak digestive system. If your digestive symptoms only show up when you’re stressed or nervous (for example, abdominal discomfort or loose stools when you’re anxious and anticipating something), this is another great time to get acupuncture. Book an appointment at Peony Tree Medicine!
5. Get moving!
A sedentary lifestyle leads to blockages that contribute to accumulation of Dampness. Help keep your digestive system working with regular cardiovascular exercise. It isn’t punishment, and it doesn’t have to be an intense workout! Break a light sweat doing something you enjoy like jogging, dancing, or jumping around to your favourite songs. Meet yourself where you’re at and start slow.
A note for the Smoothie Lovers!
If you can’t imagine taking a break from drinking smoothies, but you’re noticing symptoms of weak digestion or dampness, there are a few things you can do to warm them up instead!
- Make your smoothie with fresh foods instead of frozen, and skip the ice.
- Add a chunk of fresh ginger to your smoothie! Ginger is warming and helps to boost your digestive fire in order to transform and eliminate the Dampness that’s accumulated. You could also have warming ginger tea between meals.
- If smoothies bring you a lot of joy, turn your attention to your other meals. How can you tweak your other meals to better support your digestion?
Most importantly, this advice is not All Or Nothing! Small little adjustments here and there really make a difference over time, and the changes to your eating habits don’t have to be permanent. Sometimes your digestive system just needs a little break.
Don’t beat yourself up, you’re doing great. Chinese Medicine and food therapy is here to support you and reframe your relationship with food and health. This is not A Diet.
Improving your gut health is liking keeping a fire burning.
