All diseases are caused by phlegm
In life, many minor or serious illnesses have the shadow of “phlegm” behind their causes. For example, obesity, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease (chest paralysis), lung nodules, thyroid nodules, breast nodules and other chronic diseases. Chinese medicine believes that the pathogenesis of it is closely related to “phlegm dampness”. So what exactly is phlegm? What are the characteristics of people with phlegm-dampness or how to regulate phlegm-dampness? Let me make it clear to you today.
What is phlegm-dampness?
Traditional Chinese medicine says that the spleen and stomach are the source of phlegm. When the spleen and stomach are abnormally transported and transformed, the water and grain essence cannot be transported and transformed in time, and the excess stays in the body and accumulates into phlegm for a long time. The spleen governs the promotion of the clear, and transfers the subtle substances to the lungs. Even if the spleen is deficient and produces phlegm, the phlegm will also be lost to the lungs along with the subtle substances. This is why the lungs are said to be the source of phlegm storage.
The lungs store too much phlegm, so we will cough and spit to relieve the problem of excessive phlegm in the body, but this cannot be solved at all . The phlegm that has not been coughed up gathers with the water-dampness that has not yet condensed into phlegm, thus forming phlegm-dampness. Phlegm-damp runs everywhere in the body, and wherever it goes, it can be said that there must be discomfort.
People with phlegm-dampness generally have the following manifestations
1. Obesity and phlegm-dampness, this is the most typical symptom of people with phlegm-dampness constitution. Such people have a plump and floppy abdomen, and their hands and feet look puffy.
2. The facial skin is prone to oil, the complexion is pale yellow or dull, and the eye blisters are edema.
3. The tongue body is fat, the coating is smooth, the coating is white or sweet, and there are often tooth marks on the edge of the tongue.
4. I don’t have much energy, I cry when I’m tired, and I can sleep very well. The whole body feels like a wrap.
5. The mouth is sticky, the color of the lips is dull, and I rarely feel thirsty, do not want to drink water, and sweat a little when I move.
6. The stool is frequent and unformed, especially in the morning, urination is frequent, and the urine is clear and long.
7. I feel chest tightness from time to time, sometimes joint pain, skin numbness and so on.
If there are more than 3 of the above 7 manifestations, most likely there is a problem of phlegm-dampness. Phlegm-dampness is not honest in the body, it will be transported to the whole body along with the subtle substances. Therefore, phlegm-dampness will also affect the health of the whole body.
There is phlegm and dampness in the body, what effect does it have on the body?
If the phlegm is in the heart and brain, symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, and palpitation will appear.
If phlegm is in the blood vessels, then there will be symptoms such as thick blood, high blood lipids, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and easy spots.
If the phlegm is in the lungs, then there will be coughing, expectoration, excessive phlegm, and the disease will last for a long time.
Phlegm in the spleen and stomach, then there will be digestive system diseases, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, stomach pain, stomach distention and other symptoms.
If the phlegm is in the kidneys, symptoms such as edema, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees will easily occur.
Why is there phlegm dampness in the body? How are we going to adjust?
There are many factors for phlegm in the body, including external factors and internal factors. External factors refer to the invasion caused by the external dampness due to the long-term humid environment. Intrinsic factors mostly refer to our eating habits.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the spleen and stomach are the source of dampness and phlegm. If you don’t pay attention to your diet, and usually like to eat some cold and greasy food, it is very likely to cause a weak spleen and stomach, which will lead to the loss of healthy movement of the spleen. Improper transport and transformation, water-dampness cannot be transported and transformed well, so that the water-dampness stagnates in the body, and over time accumulates to form phlegm.
Therefore, in terms of regulating phlegm-dampness, many methods are to strengthen the spleen first and then dispel dampness. For example, “Erchen Decoction”, the first recipe for removing phlegm and dampness through the ages, has a very good effect on improving phlegm-dampness constitution. Let you stay away from the three highs, get rid of greasy, and remove phlegm and dampness from head to toe.
Erchen Decoction—dampness and phlegm, regulating Qi and harmonizing
Erchen Decoction is from “Taiping Huimin and Medicine Bureau” “Prescription” is a basic prescription for removing phlegm-dampness.
In this recipe, Panxia is used as the main force. Taking advantage of its warm nature, it warms the phlegm. At the same time, it also has the effect of lowering qi, using qi to push phlegm and dampness out.
Chenpi also has the effect of drying dampness and resolving phlegm, but in this recipe, it is more effective in strengthening the spleen and stomach. We often say that removing phlegm-dampness should start from the source, and the spleen and stomach are the source of phlegm, so tangerine peel is here to strengthen the spleen and stomach.
Poria also has a strong effect of removing dampness and diuretic water. Wait for Pinellia and tangerine peel to dissolve the “phlegm knot” After opening, it becomes “dampness and turbidity”, and at this time, the function of tuckahoe comes into play. Through the action of diuresis, the remaining wet turbidity is excreted from the body.
Licorice is sweet and has the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach. At the same time, licorice can reconcile the medicinal properties of various medicines.
It seems that the combination of four herbs can not only dry dampness and resolve phlegm, but also regulate Qi and neutralize it.
It should be noted that this is a basic prescription, and Chinese medicine treatment focuses on syndrome differentiation and treatment. Different conditions have different addition and subtraction methods, so it is best to need a doctor’s dialectical before taking it.