5 Chinese Herbs That Help Digestion
Your digestion is your second brain. If your digestion isn’t working then the rest of your body will slowly start to fall apart. Your sleep will become poor, you will lack energy, your bowel movements will change, you might get ulcers in your mouth and on your tongue, your skin will be affected and much more.
The most important organs that we look at in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are the Liver, Spleen and Stomach. The Liver can affect your digestion because stress affects the Liver and the Liver will affect either the Spleen or the Stomach. If the Liver affects the Spleen you may see symptoms such as irritability, abdominal distension and pain, you may be hungry but get full only after a few bites of food or thirsty but have no desire to drink, there may be alternating constipation and diarrhea, and a lot of gas, just to name a few. If the Liver affects the Stomach you will see more upper digestive issues such as acid reflux, hiccups, belching, nausea, vomiting, you may retain food in your stomach for a longer period of time and have distension in you upper abdomen and more.
Have you ever experienced hunger so strong that no matter how much you eat, its still not enough? We may diagnosis this as “Stomach Fire” this means that there is so much heat in your stomach that it just burns up all the food and you have to eat more and more and more! You don’t get the nutrients from the food either and you may also have other signs and symptoms such as: foul breath, bleeding gums, mental restlessness, acid reflux and an intense thirst for cold drinks.
Other organs may be involved and certainly other patterns can cause digestive issues as well.
Here are just a few herbs that could help people suffering from digestive issues. Often these herbs are used in combination with other Chinese herbs for best results. Some of the herbs are easy to get and others, only your TCM practitioner can get for you. Please consult your TCM practitioner before taking any of the following herbs.
Geng Mi
Simply put, this is rice! Rice is very soothing to the digestive system, it is also sweet in flavor (not sugar sweet but carrots or broccoli sweet), and sweet is tonifying and strengthening. It is helpful in treating thirst, diarrhea and fatigue, which is why it is included in one of the most popular dishes in Asian cultures, Congee, a type of rice porridge. You can make different types of congee depending on what ails you by adding different herbs, vegetables or meats.
Ji Nei Jin
Also known as “chicken inner golden”, Ji Nei Jin is a form of chicken gizzards. They will promote digestion, but are especially good for moving stagnate food. When you eat too much and you just feel that the food is sitting in your belly not moving, this herb is good to add into your formula. It will also help with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, moving undigested foods, and severe indigestion.
Shan Zha
This is one of my favorite herbs and you can buy it and drink it as a tea after every meal. Shan Zha is a hawthorn berry, and is sweet and sour in taste and is one of the strongest food stagnation herbs around. It is particularly good if you are having problems digesting meats and fats. The other benefit Shan Zha is well known for is it’s cardiovascular effects. Drinking it as a tea may help, but you would have to take the tea in large quantities and for a very long period of time because its not concentrated enough.
Mai Ya
This is barley and it also is good for food stagnation, but mostly is used to facilitate digestion of starches and carbohydrates. A good idea could be to cook with barley instead of rice or pastas. One thing to note is that if you are breast-feeding, large amounts of barley could inhibit lactation, but small doses will promote lactation.
Chen Pi
This is actually the peel of an orange or a tangerine and can help regulate your whole digestive system. This herb is good for your Spleen and Stomach issues such as: nausea, vomiting, belching, abdominal fullness, and distension or pain. It is also bitter, which means it can drain dampness. Dampness in your digestive system can affect you appetite, cause you to have loose stool, always be tired, and have a thick, greasy tongue coating.
FYI: You should never brush your tongue when you go see an acupuncturist because that tongue coat tells us a lot about what is going on in your body!
REFERENCES:
John K. Chen and Tina T. Chen, (2004), Chinese Medical Herbology & Pharmacology, Art of Medicine Press Inc.
Dan Bensky and Steve Clavey, (1993), Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Eastland Pr; Revised edition
Kee C. Huang, (1998), The Pharmacology of Chinese Herbs, Second Edition, CRC Press; 2 edition
Chongyun Liu and Angela Tseng, (2004), Chinese Herbal Medicine: Modern Applications of Traditional Formulas, CRC Press; 1 edition
Giovanni Maciocia CAc(Nanjing), (2005), The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists. Second Edition, Churchill Livingstone; 2 edition
Giovanni Maciocia CAc(Nanjing), (2004), Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide. Second edition, Churchill Livingstone; 2 edition