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Acupuncture & Natural Health Solutions Newsletter
Providing Natural Health Care for the Entire Family
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Issue #2016-11a
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What is Dampness
and
How can Acupuncture help?
Dampness is an insidious beast. It works its way in, silent and sneaky. Before you know it, you're filled with it, and you can barely get out of your own way.
Damp is a term acupuncturists use when the fluids of the body aren't being processed correctly, leading to a buildup that can settle in and make itself at home in almost any area of the body. This, in turn, can lead to a wide array of mental and physical issues.
If dampness invades the entire physical body, it can cause weight gain, sluggishness and a lack of motivation. Think of how you feel on a foggy, rainy day. Now imagine that fogginess and sogginess being inside of you.
You would feel heavy, bloated and slow. You would be more comfortable just sitting around, rather than engaging in movement. Your thoughts might be a bit confused, rather than clear and concise. This is what happens when there is an infestation of dampness.
If the dampness attacks specific areas, it leads to heaviness and dullness in whatever part of the body it festers in. If it settles into the head, it can cause a dull headache that feels as if a band is squeezing the head. This type of headache generally tends to either be stimulated or worsened by damp weather. Dampness in the head can also cause sinus pain or a stuffy nose.
From an emotional standpoint, dampness can muddle the thinking, making it hard to think clearly. In the extreme, it can lead to mental impairment.
If dampness attacks the digestive system, it can cause vomiting of fluids, diarrhea or abdominal pain. With internal issues, damp usually transforms into damp-heat. Damp-heat of the intestines causes bloody, painful diarrhea.
Damp-heat in the lower burner of the body can bring on sores, painful and burning urination or a host of other issues. If it is hot and oozy, think damp-heat.
Pain caused by dampness is heavy, usually severe, and stays fixed in one place. Arthritis can fall into this category: the pain is concentrated in one place, the afflicted area is stiff and hard to move, and damp weather usually makes it feel worse.
The true evil of dampness is that it is a self-propelling cycle. It weighs you down and resists change. That person who feels sluggish and weighed down could dissipate some of their dampness by moving, but the sluggishness makes the person want to sit still.
That lack of movement creates more dampness...and so it continues. Fortunately, acupuncture and herbs are wonderful options for getting rid of this dampness.
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What is Dampness?
Dampness is an abnormal processing of fluids and energy in the body, that impedes healthy energy flow and physiological function. Dampness is an energetic accumulation that is thick, heavy, slow, sluggish and turbid.
Common symptoms of dampness include sinus and nasal congestion, digestive upset such as loose stools or bloating, foggy-headedness, pain that is worse in damp or rainy weather, a heavy sensation in the body or any excessive fluid in the body.
Lifestyle Instructions
* Avoid damp or wet environments for prolonged periods of time, such as basements and standing out in the rain.
* When your clothes get wet, change as quickly as possible.
* Avoid sitting on damp ground or wading in cold water.
* Exercise! The body's energy needs to move in order to
break up stuck dampness, so maintaining a regular
exercise regimen is key.
Dietary Instructions
* Avoid dairy and refined sugar, as these foods directly contribute to dampness in the body.
* Avoid cold and raw foods, which are harder for the digestive system to absorb. When the digestive energy is back logged, dampness can develop.
* Avoid greasy, fried and fatty foods, as they directly lead to dampness accumulation, and further damage the Spleen.
* Eat warm, cooked meals whenever possible. Warm and cooked foods are nourishing to the spleen energy, which needs to be running optimally to avoid dampness from developing.
* Include foods that directly have an action of removing dampness accumulation in the body, such as barley, rye, alfalfa sprout, pumpkin, radish, turnip, scallion, papaya, lemon, aduki beans, green tea and jasmine tea.
* Include pungent and spicy foods, which help to cut through
the dampness and revitalize the digestive energy:
anise, cardamom, fennel, garlic, horseradish, marjoram,
nettle, parsley and white pepper.
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Recipe Corner
Creamless Soup
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Onion or leak, chopped
- 1 potato, chopped
- Diluted Chicken broth with water, or can broth.
- Optional vegetables: carrots, winter squash or pumpkin, zucchini or spinach
PREPARATION:
- Simmer 1 chopped Onion or leek, 1 chopped potato, salt to taste
- Add pepper to flavor and just enough broth to cover.
- When you add your own chicken broth, it may overwhelm the potato flavor, so you might want to dilute it with water or use canned broth.
- When vegetables are tender, cool slightly.
- Mash, blend, or process until mixture is smooth, adding more broth until soup is the consistency of thick cream
- For optional vegetables:
- Carrots (season with ginger or nutmeg).
- Winter squash or pumpkin (season with cinnamon and cloves).
- Zucchini (season with basil, thyme, or oregano)
- Spinach (season with nutmeg).
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The information contained within the
newsletter is only used to educate and inform. This newsletter is
not a substitute for the advice of a licensed and registered health
care provider. Seek prompt attention for emergencies. Consult
a health care provider for specific health concerns, and before
starting a diet, cleanse or exercise routine.
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