Late Summer Digestion Reset

Late summer is the fifth season in TCM, when the summer days are still long, but the chill of fall is right around the corner. Associated with the Earth element, this between season is focused on emotional and physical grounding, nourishment, and balance. The spleen, which transforms food and drink into the Qi that fuels our bodies, and the stomach, which receives nourishment and begins the process of digestion, must be properly nourished in order to efficiently digest and for overall health and wellness to flourish. When the spleen and stomach are in balance, you will feel energized and focused. When imbalanced, symptoms of dampness like bloating, indigestion, inflammation, fatigue, and brain fog will overwhelm the mind and body. Symptoms of dampness occur from excessive consumption of processed sweets, alcohol, stress, little exercise, and prolonged exposure to a cold or wet environment. With a proper diet, exercise, herbs, and acupuncture, you can bring the spleen and stomach back into harmony so you can enjoy the last few warm days of summer in comfort and peace.

Ailments and Cures
Common ailments associated with an imbalanced spleen and stomach include bloating, acid reflux, belching, constipation, diarrhea, over thinking, worry, fatigue, brain fog, fluid retention, and congestion. To harmonize the spleen and stomach, you must support proper digestion through eating the right foods and herbs, exercising, and acupuncture.

Meals should be lightly cooked and eaten while warm, like steamed vegetables or brothy soups. Yellow foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, and butternut and acorn squash are plentiful this time of year, and are high in vitamin A which helps improve immune function. Other easy to digest foods include peaches, beets, parsnips, ginger, millet, rice, oats, barley, chickpeas, lentils, peas, pears, figs, dates, and green tea are all foods that are high in fiber and vitamins. The spleen can also cause sweet cravings, so it is important to eat full sweets like fruits and vegetables with a naturally sweet flavor instead of processed sweets like cookies and candy. It is best to avoid icy drinks, excess dairy, fried foods, and highly processed foods, all of which cause dampness by being hard to properly digest. Herbs like Liu Jun Zi Wan, Ping Wei Wan, and Shen Ling Bai Zhi Pian strengthens the spleen Qi, resolves dampness, tonifies the stomach and spleen, supports digestion, and relieves symptoms like diarrhea and fatigue.

Gentle exercise like walking, qigong, or yoga help move Qi, move stagnation, dispel dampness, strengthen the core, and boost energy levels. While at rest, nurture your mind through journaling, meditation, or making space for quiet moments with the intention of easing worry and restoring mindfulness.

Acupuncture is a gentle but effective treatment for expelling dampness. By stimulating spleen and stomach points, acupuncture can improve digestion, calm inflammation, and aid in nutrient absorption. Points on your head can relieve brain fog and fatigue, promoting clarity and restfulness. Heart and liver points can help alleviate emotional symptoms of dampness like worry and over thinking. An acupuncturist may also use your tongue to diagnose dampness. If your tongue is pale with a thick white or yellow coating, tooth marks along the edge, and swelling, it is likely you have an imbalance causing dampness. A healthy tongue will be light pink with a thin coating and no teeth marks.

This season between seasons is essentially a bridge between summer’s outward expansion of Yang energy and fall’s inward draw of Yin. The next season is associated with the Metal element, the lungs, and the large intestine. The strength of digestion that the Earth element, spleen, and stomach brings to the next season supports the lungs and liver. The more we nourish our bodies in late summer, the healthier we will feel moving into fall. A proper diet of easy to digest foods like squash, sweet fruits, and lightly cooked meals, gentle exercise like yoga, herbal supplements, and acupuncture are all accessible treatments for the sluggish symptoms of late summer. Grab a glass of room temperature water, a nice blank journal, and find a shady seat to prepare your body and mind for the season to come. The more rest and nourishment you get now will mean a healthier fall.

References

● https://cherryblossomhealingarts.com/tcm/the-fifth-season-in-tcm

● https://encircleacupuncture.com/blog/chinese-medicine-fifth-season

● https://www.mayway.com/blogs/articles/late-summer-the-earth-element

● https://forestparkwellness.com/acupuncture-can-help-regulate-your-body-boost-energy-and-tame-allergies/

● https://opencarecommunity.com/blog/dampness-in-the-body-tcm-explained

Why Breakfast?

Breakfast is a key start to every single day...  The word literally means “breaking the fast” after 8-12 hours without food or liquids. Breakfast is a regularly skipped meal with common excuses like, “I am not hungry, I am rushed, or I feel nauseated after breakfast.” While there can be many reasons for not wanting breakfast, it is common that digestion is sluggish, cold, or just not functioning properly. Americans are accustomed to fairly limited ideas of what breakfast consists of, and may be depriving themselves of vital nutrients, proteins, and proper warmth that aids the digestive process.  

TRY THIS: Have warm soup in the morning. A cup of organic broth will do. Soup is simple to make or reheat and stimulates digestion, igniting your "digestive fire" and prepares your digestive tract for later meals. Soup has a lot of proteins, minerals, and nutrients with a high water content that will help rehydrate your body after sleeping. When time is a factor, start waking up 5-10 minutes earlier to prevent eating on the go. Limit distractions while you eat. Start small and keep it simple. 

the B I G G E R WHY?

Digestion is strongest in the morning and weakest in the evening. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recognizes the rhythm of energy movement between organs and has identified 7-9am as the most active time for digestion (7-9pm being the least active). Modern studies have supported this finding by showing how the habit of eating breakfast contributes to more regulated weight, more stable blood sugar, and better energy levels through the day.  

Breakfast does not have to be massive in size. The stomach is not a very large organ, and the quality of food we eat is far more important than the quantity. Starting the day with a cup of broth-based soup that contains a variety of vegetables, meats, and seasonings will provide many essential nutrients needed for the body to function well. Incorporating seasonal foods (produce that is "in season") will enhance this quality. Adjusting the temperature and density of your breakfast by the seasons is also valuable. Cold winter days invite a mug of steaming hot soup, but mid-summer heat may require fresh, mildly warm, cooling foods or chilled soups.  

Digestion is a warm process that is easily influenced by the thermal properties of food, beverages, and environmental conditions. Healthy eating includes respecting this need for heat in the digestive process. Eating mostly warm, cooked foods supports this need for heat. If we are eating cold, raw foods in the cold winter months we are weakening this digestive fire and creating sluggish, weak, cold digestion.  Many people start the day with a smoothie- which is fine- if adding a warming property to the list of ingredients. Some warming elements to throw into a smoothie (if your body is not always feeling overheated or showing redness in the face) include: ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne. Eating raw (cold) foods can also be aided with the use of warming ingredients such as mustard, black pepper, horseradish, vinegar, and warming ginger or green tea after a meal.  

So... BREAKFAST. Stoke that digestive fire at the start of every day. Think quality over quantity- but always keep that stomach warm so you can get the most from the foods you eat all day.