Spleen and Lung Qi 101 – Eating for a healthy Gut and immunity in Chinese medicine

Eating for a healthy Gut and Immunity in Chinese medicine:

Spleen and Lung Qi 101

While we’re transitioning from the late summer to fall (Earth to Metal Phases according to the TCM – Traditional Chinese Medical language), there are a few things to consider.

Earth/Spleen is the mother element of Metal/Lungs (see the star diagram), so before the ‘child’ element gets sniffles, let’s take care of the mother.

In this article, we look at the Spleen system in Chinese medicine and five great ways to promote digestion and improve immunity according to Chinese medical wisdom.

• The Food choices
• The way we eat
• The way we cook
• Other lifestyle choices
• Noticing our habits

In biomedicine, the Spleen is largely undervalued as an organ responsible for the lymphatic system drainage. It pumps and collects all the interstitial fluid via lymph nodes and empties it into the GI tract. Not very exciting at all..

How does TCM view the Spleen?

• Responsible for the transformation & transportation of fluids
• Controls the muscles and the four limbs
• Controls mental faculties
• Responsible for falling asleep
• Affected by worry and overthinking

The most common symptoms of Spleen weakness include fatigue/malaise, shortness of breath, poor appetite or strong appetite, weight gain, sweet cravings, abdominal bloating, soft bowel movements, or constipation.

Because the Spleen is involved with making Blood, women tend to be more susceptible to developing Spleen weakness. Each month, during the blood loss, the Spleen system is forced to work harder, and without proper TLC practices (i.e. acupuncture, yoga, and proper nutrition) will become deficient.

For more in-depth functions please visit Fall 2023 newsletter.

5 Ways to Promote the Health of your Digestion and improve Immunity

1. The food Choices

Spleen and Lung functions are especially affected (both positively and negatively) by diet.
Food can be a great healing tool but also a dangerous culprit.

To support the Spleen, increase the following:

• Choosing the correct type of foods to eat to keep the Spleen “warm” (for the Spleen warm is health-promoting) and Lungs dry (both are affected by Dampness).
• Use a rice cooker and learn to make congee (recipe below). Rice is a low-inflammatory food for the gut; white rice is easier than brown if your gut function is not strong. Basmati rice is ideal when extra mucus is present.

Spleen CPR – Ginger congee (single serving)

1. Wash and drain ½ cup of rice,
2. In a medium pot, pour 6 cups of filtered water. Add rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Periodically check and stir the congee. It’s important to stir from the bottom to prevent sticking.
3. Clean ½ inch of ginger and slice thin.
4. After 20 minutes add the ginger to the pot. Stir and simmer for another 15-20 minutes or so until rice is of oatmeal consistency. Finally, stir in the white pepper and salt to taste.
5. When ready, turn the heat off and add ½ a teaspoon of Ghee.

• Add some mild spices to your meals, spices warm the digestion/spleen and make a lot of difficult-to-digest foods easier on the gut. Traditionally all cultures used the aid of spices in cooking for the digestibility of food. Good Spleen supporting spices include – turmeric, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, chili, paprika, basil, oregano, star anise, cumin, coriander, mixed spice, clove, mustard, sage, nutmeg, fennel. If you tend to run hot (you can chat to your Chinese medicine practitioners about the symptoms of body Heat) or find tolerating spicy food difficult, trust this and only take the spices that are milder from the list to add to meals as digestive aids.
• Adding ginger to black tea, or making homemade turmeric latte or spiced chai are all great for the Spleen Qi.

Here are some foods that support the Spleen and can be incorporated alongside your general diet.

Carrot, pumpkin, squash, almond, cherry, liver, chickpea, coconut, date, eel, egg, fig, ginseng, grapes, lentils, licorice, mackerel, millet, buckwheat, oats, millet, potato, quinoa, rice, sage, sardine, sweet potato, shiitake mushroom, trout, yam, leek, onion, pine nut, cabbage, fennel, bone broths, sesame seeds, walnuts, raw honey, ginger.

Decrease…

• Reduce or illuminate the main spleen-damaging foods:
  Salads, bread, pasta, milk, cheese, sugary foods, ice cream, greasy/fatty foods, processed food, alcohol and iced smoothies
  An easy substitute for pasta is thick rice pasta or noodles.
• Avoid green tea (or add ginger since it’s cooling), iced drinks, beer, and fermented drinks such as kefir and sour milk products.
• Don’t eat fruit at night (most are acidic). Fruit is best eaten in the season or during the day. Fruit is also cooling for digestion; hence, eating too much gives the symptoms of a weak spleen, such as an upset stomach. Berries are okay. Dried dates and raisins are ok, also in moderation. The citrus and melons are the most cooling, and bananas are the “damp” forming, so if used, allow plenty of time for those foods to digest (i.e. eat during the day).

2. The way we eat

• Eat regular meals. If intermittent fasting is your thing, it is better to fast in the afternoon (after lunch) and start eating again in the morning, when the Spleen is the strongest.
• For people not fasting, eating more food toward the beginning of the day than at the end can improve Spleen function for the same reasons while completely avoiding eating after 7 pm is ideal.
• Eating in a relaxed environment and making some time after eating to stay in ‘rest and digest’ to adequately support digestion (15 mins).
• Eating food slowly and chewing well. The saying here is to “Eat your drinks and drink your food”. In addition, bringing mindfulness to eating promotes satiation and digestive stimulation.
• Eat to 80%, that is stop eating just before you start to feel noticeably full. And if you can’t do this, definitely try and not to eat after you feel full.
• Avoid drinking water with the meal and avoid drinking chilled or cold drinks in general. All liquids must be consumed before your meals.

3. The way we cook

• Cooking food is very important in Chinese medicine for promoting health within the Spleen.
• Avoid raw foods (As I keep reminding all patients: Only eat Raw Foods during the months without R in them).
• Regular cooking of slow cooks, soups, or broths.
• Increasing steaming/boiling, light stir-frying, and baking in winter, while avoiding deep frying or shallow frying.

4. Other lifestyle choices

• The Spleen can be negatively affected by prolonged study, intense thinking as well as worry or anxiety, while meditation and deep relaxation, qi gong, tai qi, and yoga are useful to improve spleen function. A good friend and the owner of Dew Yoga – Jen Irwin, offers a host of restorative, yin, and gentle classes for all Spleen Deficient yogis. Check their schedule and try a class.
• Taking regular light exercise, acupuncture, and naps (15-21 min)
• Cultivating daily gratitude practice

5. Noticing our habits

• Avoid grocery shopping when hungry. This is the time we have the most control over what we eat because it’s the time we choose what’s available to us later on at home when we feel hungry. If you have trouble making time to shop properly, look into your priorities or use online shopping.
• Learn 3-5 recipes that you can cook well (that you actually like eating), that support your spleen. Then when you are in a rush or have little time and energy you have good go-to’s.
• Identify what meals you have trouble with. Whatever that meal or snack time is, give some careful consideration to how you might deal with the problem.
• If it’s a poor appetite at breakfast you can take a walk around the block before eating to increase cortisol and drop blood sugars so that your appetite improves, or eat the evening meal, the day before, much earlier so you wake with some hunger.
• At lunch, if you know you’re going to grab something on the go research five food places that offer healthy Spleen-supportive options (again, that you actually like!) to drop into or order from.
• For dinner, If you are busy or too tired in the evening to cook, get handy with slow cooks and soups. They are easy to prepare and extremely supportive to the Spleen; all the goodness Is readily available with very little strain on digestion. Also, these meals generally are made with a lot of veggies, which we know are the most supportive foods for a healthy micro-biome. You may also like to meal prep on the weekend.

• It has been found that if you eat breakfast you can eat more during the day and weigh less than someone who skips breakfast and eats fewer calories during the day.

• Ensure you eat enough! Calories-in vs. calories-out is a somewhat outdated understanding of weight management. We now understand gut hormones and enzymes, women’s hormones, microbiome health, inflammation, stress hormones, blood sugar levels, sleep quality, and nutrient levels are involved in the metabolic functions of our bodies. In the end, It’s NOT what you eat. It’s what you ABSORB.

From the view of 5 Elements, Spleen belongs to Earth Element, which is the Mother Element to Metal (Lungs). It also creates dampness and mucus when weak. Lungs, however, store phlegm that can become turbid. This is one of the views of TCM defense mechanism weaknesses that translate into colds or upper respiratory ailments. As the air cools and we enter the Metal Phase, the immune system must be regularly maintained to avoid the side effects of the ‘flu’ season. To keep the Lungs and Spleen strong book your well-check and well-kept visit today.