Anybody who has worked with me knows that healing the gut is a big part of East Asian Medicine (EAM). In order for the body and mind to function properly, we have to receive and assimilate the proper nutrients. When the gastrointestinal tract is not performing optimally, we develop something known as gut dysbiosis. In my practice, almost every patient I treat has some degree of gut dysbiosis and this is why dietary therapy is part of the service that I provide.
The foods we eat are either feeding disease or starving it. And in East Asian Medicine, dietary therapy plays a vital role in how a person stays healthy. When a patient asks “What foods should I eat?”, it’s not a standard answer. That’s because each patient is unique and has their own set of circumstances as to why they are seeking treatment. We also have to take into account the time of year and the foods that are available. East Asian Medicine dietary therapy is an art form and something that requires a connected understanding of the digestive system, as viewed through the EAM lens.
Digestion starts in the mouth. This is why inspecting your tongue is something that is crucial when you work with me. The tongue is the only internal organ that we can visually observe and it gives us an awful lot of information. Observation of the color of the tongue, the coating of the tongue (color, thickness, etc.) and the shape and size of the tongue all reveal clues as to what is occurring in the body. For example, you have a swollen tongue with a thick coating on it, then perhaps some of the symptoms that you suffer from may include bloating and gassiness. In this case, I frequently advise patients to give up dairy for 30 days and avoid greasy fried foods that create excess phlegm and biofilms in the system. If your tongue is red, dry and thin, your symptoms may include heartburn, constipation or hemorrhoids, so I would advise you to avoid spicy foods.
As we follow the food out of the mouth, down the esophagus and into the stomach, we come to the next stop on this journey. EAM views the stomach as a cooking pot. When food reaches the “pot”, it is partly broken down by the “cooking” process. This is really not that far from the actual action of stomach acid continuing the digestive process that began in the mouth. Since a pot requires fire or heat to cook food, it is recommended that you avoid excess cold and raw foods, including ice, ice cream, and sushi (although remember that sushi is traditionally eaten with the warming foods ginger and wasabi). Instead, the emphasis is on lightly steamed vegetables, and during colder seasons, more soups and stews, for easier digestion.
If you do not have enough digestive fire, your metabolism may be too slow and symptoms may include bloating, undigested food in the stools and pain that is improved by warmth. If you have too much digestive fire, you may suffer from heartburn, an insatiable appetite or constipation. Because foods can have an innate warmth or coolness, you may want to eat foods appropriate to your constitution, as well as to the weather. For example, spicy foods are obviously heating, but too many or foods that are too hot can cause digestive irritation. More suitable warming foods include ginger, cinnamon, fennel, winter squash, sweet potato, kale, oats and quinoa. If you have a tendency toward heat signs and symptoms (not necessarily just feeling hot), you should consider cooling foods like peppermint, dandelion greens, cilantro, apples, watermelons, citrus fruits, tofu, millet, barley, amaranth, lettuce and cucumbers.
The next stop on our digestive journey is off the beaten path a little. The spleen and pancreas together are known as the spleen system in EAM. So, if you suffer from bloating, soft stools, diarrhea, undigested food in your stools, fatigue and / or a poor appetite, you are probably dealing with spleen energy (qi) deficiency. One of the spleen’s jobs is to transform food and fluid into useful nutrients and to transport those nutrients to where they are needed in the body. Try including foods like squash, carrots, yams, well-cooked rice, ginger and small amounts of honey or molasses in your diet, while limiting or excluding dairy, red meat, fried or heavy foods and too much sugar.
The liver is another helper when it comes to digestion. The liver is involved in helping to cleanse the blood and detoxify the body. It also secretes bile which is stored in the gallbladder. Bile is required for the proper digestion of fats. So poor quality fat, intoxicants, chemicals and denatured foods all cause problems for the liver. In addition, the liver soothes and smoothes the functions of the whole body, including the emotions. A person whose liver system is not functioning properly will likely have emotional struggles such as irritability, frustration, aggression, impatience, stubbornness and anger. Dandelion roots or greens, milk thistle, artichoke and chlorophyll-rich foods such as spirulina, wheatgrass and chlorella may be helpful. Because stress can particularly aggravate problems with this system, it is also important to find ways to relax and manage stress.
The last stop on the digestive journey is the intestines and colon. The jobs of the small and large intestines are to absorb nutrients and eliminate digestive waste. In order for this to happen properly, the intestines must have healthy cells lining the walls and the muscles must be able to contract rhythmically (peristalsis) to move matter along. Sufficient fiber and water must be consumed to ensure proper elimination. If you do suffer from constipation, then avoid alcohol, yeasted breads and refined white foods such as white bread, white pasta, white sugar and white rice. General foods to implement for chronic diarrhea are rice or barley broth, leeks, eggplant, sunflower seeds, yams, and beans.
The journey of food from the mouth to the colon should be one that is easy and causes very little disruption. But as we have seen, there are many areas that can cause bumps in the road. The issues mentioned are not the only possible culprits, but they are some of the most commonly seen issues. And while many of the EAM terms for how the digestive system works are different from conventional allopathic medicine, the basic principles are similar. Eat healthy, whole foods, limit junk foods, chew your food well, eat regular meals, manage your stress and enjoy!