Diet taboos for people with damp-heat constitution

Foods that are rich in sugar, spicy foods, and tropical fruits with high sugar content will most likely lead to acne breakouts, bitter mouth and bad breath, sticky stools, and heaviness. In severe cases, it can also induce folliculitis, gout, gynecological inflammation, and other problems.

The 98-year-old girl who came to me for treatment last week is a typical example. She has a thick yellow tongue coating and a T-zone that is so oily that she can make an omelette. She clearly said that she has avoided spicy food, but she still gets big red and swollen pimples every now and then. After questioning, I found out that she has at least one cup of full-sugar bubble milk tea every day, and she has to take a mango pancake with her as a late-night snack after get off work. This is not a taboo. She is clearly "feeding" the heat and humidity in her body every day. It would be strange not to get pimples.

Many people think that people with damp-heat constitution should not touch spicy food at all. In fact, there are different opinions on this matter in the traditional Chinese medicine circle. The old TCM doctors I know who teach febrile diseases really require patients with damp-heat to completely avoid warm and dry things such as ginger, pepper, and white wine. They are afraid that they will increase the heat and damage the yin, which will aggravate the internal heat. ； However, doctors of the Fuyang School would ask patients whose dampness outweighs their heat to take a thin slice of ginger in the morning, using the dryness of ginger to first dissolve the dampness in the body, which is much more effective than drinking bitter and cold herbal tea. In the final analysis, it depends on the situation: if you always feel heavy in the body, bloated in the stomach, and have thick and greasy tongue coating but rarely have a bitter taste in the mouth, then it means that you are more wet. Occasionally eating spicy food or ginger is not a big problem. ； If you have dry mouth and bitter taste every day, a red tongue, dry and sticky stools, and painful red and swollen pimples every now and then, it means that the heat is severe, and you really need to avoid touching warm and dry things.

Oh, by the way, there is another misunderstanding that most people will avoid: if you feel hot and humid, you are suffering from internal heat, so you need to drink ice to cool down. This really shuts down the dampness and heat into the body. Not long ago, there was a young man who worked in Internet operations. He drank ice-cold Coke every day after get off work in the summer. He only got two acne occasionally. After drinking it for half a month, his face became clogged and his mouth closed. Even if it is something like iced mung bean soup that sounds very "clearing fire", people with damp and hot constitutions should drink less. Room temperature is enough.

There are also baked and fried foods that many people ignore. Don’t think that only sweet ones can aggravate the heat and humidity. Salty croissants with a lot of butter, cheese bread, fried chicken, and French fries are all rich and delicious. I once had a patient who was a designer who ate croissants for breakfast for three months. Not only did his physical examination result in high blood lipids, he also tended to have yellow sweat in his armpits. After wearing his shirt twice, the armpit area became so yellow that it couldn’t be washed off. This is a typical symptom of excessive dampness and heat spilling out.

Nowadays, many health-preserving accounts say that people with damp and hot constitutions cannot eat meat. This is too extreme. Unless it is an acute attack of particularly severe heat, such as gout or folliculitis, it is really necessary to stay light for a few days. It is perfectly fine to eat lean pork, duck, freshwater fish and other cold meats. On the contrary, many people who are completely vegetarians have insufficient qi and blood, weak spleen and stomach transportation and transformation capabilities, and the dampness cannot be discharged. I have seen several girls who have been vegetarians all year round. The dampness and heat are worse than those who often eat meat. This is because the spleen and stomach have no energy to move, and the dampness is blocked inside and cannot be dissipated.

In fact, there is no need to become an ascetic with taboos. What should you do if you are really craving for hot pot? My general advice to patients is to choose oil instead of butter for the bottom of the pot, and don’t add sesame sauce, chives and other thick ingredients to the ingredients. Just use some light soy sauce, vinegar, and a small amount of millet to make it spicy. Rinse more green leafy vegetables, winter melon, and white radish, which can help clear away moisture. Don’t drink iced drinks after eating. Make a cup of corn silk water or white chrysanthemum tea to drink. Basically, there won’t be much reaction. If you hold it back, you will easily eat haphazardly, which is not worth the gain.

Finally, to be honest, your physique changes dynamically. If you stay up late and exercise less recently, you should avoid eating more foods if you are suffering from dampness and heat.； As long as you have a regular schedule during this period and exercise every day to eliminate sweat, it's not a big deal to eat crayfish or drink half a glass of fruit wine occasionally. After all, a good mood while eating is sometimes more important than strict dietary taboos, right?