SPLEEN/PANCREAS/SELF-ESTEEM/HEART/LATE SUMMER

True to medicinal food advice, eating in a hurry, while working or watching TV, and being distracted with your cell phone will impact your organs, foremost the spleen. Pale yellow skin, being tired after meals, and loose stool is often associated with poor food habits. Do not consume chilled drinks during main meals; they will dilute and handicap the spleens function of processing foods into nutrients, circulate blood to moisten the lungs, and, according to TCM, is responsible for upward movement.

In classical TCM, if the earth element – the Spleen/Pancreas – is imbalanced, there will be symptoms of digestive upset reflecting in loose stools, poor appetite, low energy, edema (water retention), nausea, vomiting, weakness in the four limbs, pale lips, organ prolapsed, bruising, a feeling of cold, tiredness and a lack of motivation. A spleen imbalance causes a weak Qi (lassitude and lethargy), and food will taste dull. Often the simplest adjustment with food medicine can reset your mood and energy! Focusing on restoring spleen functions has left doctors baffled that I can restore clients’ health, what takes them years to medicate away…

The Pancreas (next to the Spleen) is an unknown organ in the human body. Most people don’t know where they are located or what their functions are. During digestion, your pancreas makes pancreatic juices; these enzymes break down sugars, fats, and starches. Your pancreas also helps your digestive system by making hormones. These are chemical messengers that travel through your blood. Pancreatic hormones help regulate your blood sugar levels and appetite, stimulate stomach acids and tell your stomach when to empty during digestion; your pancreas makes pancreatic juices called enzymes that break down sugars, fats, and starches. If you experience insulin or glucagon deficiency, it is here where you must pay attention!

TCM poetic perspective: If you have a damaged pancreas or spleen, you will not store sugar correctly, break down sugar, convert sugar into energy, and your liver will become enlarged. Spleen troubles tend to cause kidney problems. The earth element controls water by channeling the river or holding the lake from breaking. When the earth is weak or becomes saturated, the river will flow uncontrolled. In psychology, the spleen element represents your self-esteem, and your sensory organ is the skin.

Foods that strengthen the spleen are usually yellow: Mango, papaya, orange, corn, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, apricots, ginger, and most squashes!

Foods to void with spleen and pancreatic issues are dairy, dairy, and cold drinks, especially carbonated drinks!