Helping the Spleen (The Kidneys and Cold)

[Guest guest]

Chinese Traditional Medicine , Brigitte Breithut Stepak

<bbreithut> wrote:

>

> do you have any advice how to manage a spleen qi

> deficiency, I am getting herbs at the moment and

> acupuncture, but was wondering if there is anything I

> can do extra to improve the situation.

 

In order to get some ideas on how to help the Spleen, let's look at

some of the things that hurt it.

 

The Pernicious Evil that most hurts the Spleen is Dampness. This can

be Dampness from the environment that invades or Dampness that

arises in the Interior. As for environmental Dampness that can

invade, Giovanni Maciocia writes about Dampness, " This can invade

the body in different ways due to environmental circumstances or

life habits, such as living in a damp area or a damp house, living

in foggy mountain areas, wearning wet clothes after swimming or

exercising, sitting on damp surfaces, wading in water. " (The

Foundations of , p. 241.) If one's house is overly

damp, think about getting a dehumidifyer. (Just be careful not to

go too far in over-drying the house as Dryness also is a Pernicious

Evil.)

 

Make it a point to change out of damp clothes as soon as possible.

Towel dry wet hair as much as possible, and then dry it quickly with

a hair dryer. Don't wait for it to air-dry. Don't sit on damp

surfaces. Or cold surfaces. The Spleen is most vulnerable to

Dampness, but it's also very vulnerable to Cold. Cold Dampness is

particularly hard on the Spleen.

 

Maciocia also points out, " Women are particularly prone to exterior

Dampness especially at certain times of their life, i.e. during each

period and after childbirth. " (p. 241)

 

As for Dampness arising in the Interior, cut back on foods that are

Damp-engendering. Dairy and wheat are two of the worst offenders.

 

There are mental and emotional factors that weaken the Spleen. The

Spleen is particularly vulnerable to pensiveness. " The excessive use

of the mind in thinking, studying, concentrating and memorizing over

a long period of time tends to weaken the Spleen. This also

includes exessive pensiveness and constand 'brooding'. " (p. 241.) If

one is a student or has a job that involves a lot of mental work, it

is vitally important that one takes rests from the thinking. Get up

and walk around some, and have regular play times. Every so often,

take a vacation from worrying. If there's a problem in your life,

you don't want to go too far by going into denial, but you need to

give yourself permission to take regular vacations from thinking

about the problem. It's constantly brooding and obsessing about

something that does the damage. Meditation and visualization can be

very useful. Also, if one can train oneself to take

these " vacations " very often solutions will come to one as a result

of stepping back and not trying to force oneself to come up with a

solution.

 

Excessive work is damaging to the Spleen as is not getting enough

rest. Mononucleosis (aka glandular fever) is an illness that can

take hold of a person because of overwork and not getting enough

rest. The Spleen is weakened, and this illness especially affects

the spleen. Standing in one spot for too long can be damaging.

 

The Spleen is hurt by too much sweetness and by too little. TCM

recognizes that each Organ has an affinity for a certain taste

(flavor). The Kidneys have an affinity for salty, the Liver for

sour, the Heart for bitter, the Lungs for spicy, and the Spleen for

sweet. It doesn't happen much in Western countries, but sometimes

individuals need a formula that includes sugar - even processed

white sugar - as an ingredient. The problem in Western countries

usually is too many sweets. Especially when people with sedentary

jobs and lifestyles overindulge. People who do a lot of hard,

physical work not only can tolerate more sweets than those who are

sedentary, they need more sweets.

 

Eating too much or too little can be damaging to the Spleen. Fad

diets are particularly damaging. So is frequent dieting. Over-

dieting can actually make a person more prone to gaining weight

because it husts the Spleen and decreases Qi. (The Spleen plays a

major role in Qi acumulation in the body.) BTW, the Chinese idea of

a balanced meal is one that contains all 5 flavors - sweet, salty,

bitter, sour, and spicy in ratios that are correct for the

individual.

 

The way an individual eats also will impact the health of the

Spleen. Meals should be regular and eaten in a peaceful frame of

mind. Meals should be eaten sitting down, not standing up and

not " on the run " . Conversation at the dinner table should be

peaceful. No stressful topics. Eating too much late at night is

harmful. (Obviously, people who are hypoglycemic (as well as some

other people) will need a night time snack. The key is not eating

too much at this time.)