Spleen
Your spleen is a small fist-sized organ that forms part of your lymphatic system. It filters your blood, stores red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. It is a key organ in your immune system. Conventional medicine states that you can live without your spleen. Whilst this is true, in the Chinese 5-element system, the spleen is a vital organ in keeping us healthy.
In TCM the spleen is paired with the stomach. Spleen energy is how you ‘play’ the hand of cards you’ve been dealt. Both the spleen and the stomach are associated with digestion. If you have a deficiency in spleen energy or Qi (chi) this may show on your tongue. You may have a ‘pie-crust’ tongue with teeth marks showing around the edge. You may also suffer from frequent oral/vaginal thrush due to internal ‘dampness’. Another sign of weak spleen Qi is bruising easily and mid-cycle bleeding. Spleen energy manifests in your lips. So if your lips are dry, cracked or pale your spleen Qi may be imbalanced.
Spleen energy ‘opens’ into the mouth. You may have a poor sense of taste, or all food may taste sweet. The pancreas is seen as an offshoot of the spleen and is controlled by it. Weak muscles and fatigue can also be a sign of weak spleen Qi. Spleen energy gives you the ability of thought, so you can study think and memorise things. You need to ‘digest, absorb and store’ information just like food. If you have weak spleen Qi, you may be prone to excessive worry and rumination. You may like to take your time to ‘chew’ things over!
Here are my 5 top tips to keeping your spleen healthy:
1. Drink your food and eat your water.
Chew your food until it has a water-like consistency. Saliva has digestive enzymes in it which start the process of digestion. This helps the stomach to absorb food.
2. Stay warm and dry.
If you have identified with any of the signs above of weak spleen energy, then to dry out the internal ‘dampness’, you should endeavour to stay as warm and dry as possible at all times.
3. Foods to avoid.
Raw, cold and spicy foods are not good for spleen Qi. Similarly fried foods, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, sugar and sweeteners should be limited or eliminated from your diet.
4. Foods to strengthen spleen Qi.
Eating these foods helps to nourish spleen Qi: lamb, beef, poultry, trout, salmon, tuna, apples, apricots, dates, figs, peaches, plums, red grapes, cabbage, pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, walnuts, rice, oats, aniseed, fennel, ginger and cinnamon.
5. Decrease worry and stress.
Try to have practices in your life that help to calm you. Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises or just a walk in nature will do all help to calm you. For more tips on this see my Mental health E-book.
My top homeopathic remedies here are: Ceanothus, China and Asaf.
Seeing a trained acupuncturist will definitely help with balancing your spleen Qi, but there are plenty of homeopathic remedies to support your spleen and general health too.
