Symptoms Manifested During Heavy Cold and Dampness

• Pale, bluish, dark, or black complexion indicates the presence of cold in the body. The darker the color, the heavier the cold and dampness.

• A white tongue coating indicates internal cold and dampness.

• Recurrent mouth ulcers indicate internal cold.

• Bad breath with a white tongue coating indicates internal cold.

• When coughing, if the phlegm is thin and white, it indicates internal cold.

• Clear nasal discharge indicates internal cold.

• Cool sweat indicates internal cold.

• Frequent sneezing, especially upon waking in the morning or when encountering wind, indicates internal cold.

• Feeling cold all over during a cold or fever indicates internal cold.

• Frequent abdominal pain and diarrhea indicate internal cold.

• Acne and spots on the face indicate internal cold.

• Eczema, psoriasis, and vitiligo indicate internal cold.

• Cold hands and feet year-round indicate internal cold.

• Swollen feet indicate kidney deficiency and cold.

• Pain in the limbs and joints, neck and shoulder soreness, periarthritis of the shoulder, and lower back pain indicate internal cold and dampness. The more areas affected and the longer the duration, the heavier the internal cold and dampness.

Methods to Eliminate Cold and Dampness

1. The first recommendation is moxibustion (àijiǔ), which was originally used to treat cold syndromes. As stated in the Suwen: On Different Methods: “In the north… the wind is cold and icy, and the people enjoy wild foods and dairy, which leads to cold accumulation and illness; thus, moxibustion is appropriate for treatment.” The Tang Dynasty commentator Wang Bing noted: “The burning of moxa is called moxibustion,” and using this burning therapy to treat “cold accumulation diseases” is quite effective, gradually developing into a treatment for various diseases of different natures throughout the body.

The heat and medicinal properties of moxibustion can directly act on the affected area to expel cold and dampness. If moisture (wetness) or blisters appear during moxibustion, it indicates significant internal cold and dampness. Persisting with moxibustion for a period will lead to improvement. As the saying goes, “Once cold and dampness are removed, all diseases disappear!” A Qiang believes that suspended moxibustion, although labor-intensive, yields the best results!

2. Navel rubbing (rǒu qì) is simple to learn, directly targets the root of the disease (the abdomen is where cold and dampness accumulate), and is easy to maintain. Long-term adherence can lead to health and longevity, with abundant vitality!

3. Patting and stretching (pāi dǎ) is effective for immediate relief of waist and leg pain caused by cold and dampness, as it can quickly expel waste and cold dampness from the body.

Why Does the Body Feel Cold Yet Experience Heat?

Everyone has experienced “excess heat,” such as feeling hot in summer due to high temperatures, developing mouth sores and constipation after eating heat-inducing foods, or having a person with excessive liver fire being irritable and internally heated, or a long-term illness leading to “Yin deficiency and excessive fire.”

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) categorizes “fire” into real fire and false fire. The treatment for real fire involves clearing heat and reducing fire, while false fire is treated with tonifying methods.

For real fire, various commonly used TCM methods to clear heat, detoxify, and reduce fire, as well as Western anti-inflammatory medications, are effective. Taking them for three days will definitely reduce fire. However, the number of people with purely real fire is decreasing; most have false fire.

The Huangdi Neijing states: “Currently, heat diseases are all related to cold… When a person is harmed by cold, it results in heat disease.” This indicates that cold is a cause of heat disease. If cold evil is excessive, the body will exhibit heat symptoms and diseases, meaning that false fire is actually caused by cold.

Why does heavy cold lead to “fire”? As previously mentioned, the direct consequence of heavy cold in the body is kidney damage, leading to insufficient kidney Yang and Qi deficiency, resulting in decreased organ function and blood deficiency. In TCM, the kidney belongs to water in the five elements, and water nourishes and moistens the entire body. When this water is insufficient, it is like the earth lacking water, causing dryness in the body. Organs also require movement; if this movement lacks the moisture of water, friction generates heat. The liver, which belongs to wood, requires water for nourishment; once it lacks water, liver dryness and fire become evident. If the liver is provided with sufficient water to remain moist, it cannot become dry and will not generate fire.

The head and face are also the areas most prone to excess heat. The kidney governs the marrow and the brain; when kidney Yang is insufficient and Qi is deficient, the marrow sea becomes empty, leading to reduced blood supply to the head, which is essentially “lacking water,” resulting in dry symptoms such as dry eyes, dry mouth, dry tongue, and sore throat. Additionally, the oral cavity, throat, nasal cavity, and ears are exposed to the air, making them susceptible to bacterial infections. When blood supply to the neck and head decreases, immune function in these areas declines, leading to various discomforts, increasing the likelihood of rhinitis, pharyngitis, periodontal disease, tonsillitis, and otitis media. Due to insufficient blood supply, various inflammations are difficult to heal, leading to chronic diseases such as chronic rhinitis, chronic pharyngitis, chronic periodontal disease, and chronic otitis media.

When modern people indiscriminately consume various cold fruits and vegetables regardless of the season, when people use air conditioning for extended periods in summer, and when women wear fewer clothes to show off their figures, a significant amount of cold and dampness quietly enters the body, leading to increasingly insufficient kidney fire and greater false fire. Currently, the common practice is to use cold and cooling medications to treat fire, which exacerbates cold and increases false fire, making the fire grow larger.

In reality, this is not targeted treatment. To eliminate cold and dampness from the body, one must tonify the kidneys, using warming foods. Warming therapy, isn’t that just adding fuel to the fire? Indeed, those with false fire generally experience “inability to receive tonification,” but this inability is merely an illusion.

For patients with significant fire, if general massage methods to unblock meridians do not reduce false fire, I recommend soaking feet in mugwort water (àiyè) and applying garlic to the soles of the feet. Once the false symptoms are removed, the body will present a state of cold; at this point, nourishing blood and tonifying the kidneys through dietary therapy will not lead to excess fire. When blood is quickly replenished and the body is no longer invaded by cold, your kidney Yang fire and Qi will continuously strengthen. With sufficient kidney Qi and blood, the body will naturally become strong, and various false fires will naturally subside, making chronic inflammation easier to heal.

Heavy internal cold and dampness can also easily cause blocked meridians, making heat dissipation difficult, leading to feelings of heaviness and dryness. Compared to the elderly, children have smoother meridians and dissipate heat quickly, which is why children are least afraid of heat in summer and can play under the sun. In contrast, the elderly have blocked meridians, making it difficult to sweat; heat accumulates in the body, causing discomfort and irritability, and they only feel relief after consuming cold foods. Of course, this blockage of meridians causing body dryness is not limited to the elderly; nowadays, many people indulge in cold foods and exercise less, leading to slower blood flow and easy blockage of meridians. This blockage results in various pains and skin issues such as acne and spots. Look around; how many people can say they are healthy and have never experienced back pain, leg pain, or arm pain? And how many people have skin that is bright, elastic, free of spots, and acne? These issues are all related to long-term indulgence in cold.

People who exercise regularly often experience that once they start exercising and sweating, the dryness in their bodies naturally dissipates, leaving them feeling relaxed and in a good mood. This is because exercise significantly raises body temperature, accelerates blood circulation, and sweating expels cold and dampness while also relieving false fire and unblocking meridians. This is why most athletes have cheerful personalities. After exercising, they no longer feel depressed, and by paying attention to nutritional supplementation, they can avoid depression. Nowadays, people generally indulge in cold foods while feeling hot, which is caused by weak kidney Qi and blocked meridians. Excessive heat further leads to more indulgence in cold, exacerbating the contraction and blockage of blood vessels and meridians, thus entering a vicious cycle.

How Humanity Can Harmoniously Coexist with Nature

To maintain health, the most basic needs are: sufficient Qi and blood, appropriate body temperature, and unobstructed meridians. Whether living in ancient or modern times, whether rich or poor, whether high officials or commoners, regardless of gender or age, the body’s needs for health are the same.

Just like a tree, whether it grew thousands of years ago or in modern times; whether it grew in a palace or in the wild, its growth needs are air, sunlight, and water. These basic needs for growth and survival do not change with different environments, nor do they change with the passage of time, and they certainly do not change due to the rapid development of technology.

For thousands of years, the fundamental principle of TCM in treating and preventing diseases has been to replenish Qi and blood and unblock meridians. The TCM theories, dietary methods, and meridian unblocking methods we use today are all legacies from ancient times. Just as massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion are based on ancient meridian theories, dietary therapy is guided by the properties, effects, and contraindications of various foods provided by ancient people for our daily meals.

However, the living environment and conditions of modern people are vastly different from those of ancient people. Ancient people followed the natural rhythm of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, which is something modern people cannot achieve; ancient people had unpolluted air, water, and food, which we cannot enjoy; ancient people engaged in various heavy physical labor, while modern people have simplified and mechanized these tasks. Even more unimaginable to ancient people is the vast variety of modern foods, industrially produced items, seasonal foods, and chilled foods, which are available year-round without regard to season or region.

In ancient times, material scarcity and poor living and sanitary conditions made ancient people more susceptible to malnutrition and infectious diseases. In contrast, modern people have abundant material resources, but with less physical labor, they are more likely to experience nutritional excess. Yet, modern individuals often face declining physical fitness, early aging, and a rise in various difficult-to-treat conditions, which does not seem to reflect adequate nourishment.

The true cause of modern diseases is the pollution of air, water, and food, which severely contaminates our internal environment, leading to blocked meridians and an abundance of impurities in blood vessels. Additionally, the prevalence of internal cold and dampness causes blocked blood vessels and meridians, preventing timely elimination of metabolic waste from various organs, resulting in blockages and forming a vicious cycle, thus increasing the incidence of various “rich man’s diseases” and tumors.

The treatment outcomes for various diseases common in modern times are often unsatisfactory because they do not address the root cause. Western medicine rarely has medications that can eliminate internal cold and dampness, while TCM dietary principles suggest consuming more warming foods and foods that expel cold, along with methods like moxibustion and sweating to directly remove cold and dampness. Specific treatment methods are detailed in my book.

When we cannot change the external environment and its changes, we can still adhere to the basic principles our bodies should follow, responding to changes with consistency, and choosing foods that meet our body’s needs.

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