The Spleen and damp-forming foods.

It is important to include the five elements in TCM at all times- the wood, fire, earth, metal and water elements of nature. Each element corresponds to a specific emotion and specific organ of the body. Today I will talk about the earth element in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The earth element is the spleen. The spleen is associated with feelings of worry, over-thinking and over-analysing. It is also affiliated with the stomach. When the spleen is working properly and nourished properly, our qi (or energy in Chinese medicine) is flowing properly and the body is functioning properly.
When the  spleen is deficient  (Xu in Chinese medicine), our spleen qi (energy) becomes stagnated. This means the spleen could be damp. Our mind becomes unfocussed and we may not think clearly. This means that our qi becomes blocked or may flow the wrong way. We have to bring it back into balance again so that the spleen will work properly once again.
The stomach is our organ in the body in charge of the digestive system. When the digestive system is not working properly it is out of tune and therefore balance with the body. If there is damp in our spleen then there will most likely be damp in the stomach also (and vice-versa). So it is vital to look after the well-being of one of these organs so that the other organ will be in harmony with the body also!
Damp-Forming foods include:
Dairy.
Wheat.
Fried-foods.
Bananas.
I will do a full-article/blog on damp foods in my next post as they form an important part of the Irish diet. For more details, contact Hilary on 087 9191364.