Characteristics of Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Overall Characteristics: Phlegm and dampness accumulate, primarily characterized by a corpulent body, fullness in the abdomen, and a greasy tongue coating.
Physical Characteristics: Obese body shape, soft and full abdomen.
Common Manifestations: Oily facial skin, excessive sweating, chest tightness, phlegm accumulation, a greasy or sweet mouth, a preference for rich, sweet, and sticky foods, a greasy tongue coating, and a slippery pulse.
Psychological Characteristics: Generally mild and steady personality, often patient.
Predisposition to Illness: Prone to conditions such as diabetes, stroke, and chest obstruction.
Adaptability to External Environment: Poor adaptability to the plum rain season and humid environments.
Health Preservation for Individuals with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution often have significant internal dampness, which obstructs the spleen’s qi, commonly presenting as drowsiness, fatigue, and a tendency to be quiet, especially after meals when dampness can further hinder the spleen, leading to increased sleepiness. Therefore, it is advisable to cultivate habits of going to bed early and rising early, avoiding lying down after meals, and engaging in moderate household chores or walking.
Living spaces should ideally face the sun, maintaining a dry environment, frequently changing undergarments, and taking hot showers to help disperse yang qi and promote the flow of qi.
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution can often tolerate cold but are intolerant of heat. During seasonal transitions or significant temperature differences between day and night, they should adjust their clothing accordingly to prevent exposure to cold, which can exacerbate internal dampness.
Clothing should be loose-fitting, made from breathable natural fibers such as cotton, linen, or silk, which facilitate sweat evaporation and help eliminate internal dampness. In humid and cold weather, outdoor activities should be minimized to avoid exposure to cold rain.
Exercise Recommendations for Individuals with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution often have stagnant phlegm and dampness in the body, leading to obesity and lethargy. Consistent moderate exercise is key to improving the adverse state of a phlegm-damp constitution.
Exercise should be gradual; the focus should be on the duration of each session rather than the intensity. Depending on their physical condition and endurance, older individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution can engage in gentle, sustainable activities such as walking, brisk walking, hiking, tai chi, or fitness classes, while younger individuals may participate in more vigorous activities like ball sports, cycling, swimming, or running, aiming for at least 40 minutes of exercise each session.
During exercise, it is important to ensure adequate hydration to prevent dehydration from excessive sweating; maintaining a habit of regularly weighing oneself and striving to keep weight at a satisfactory level is essential for effective results.
Dietary Recommendations for Individuals with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution should maintain a light diet, focusing on foods that can clear the lungs, resolve phlegm, strengthen the spleen, and promote water metabolism.
Foods that can strengthen the spleen, resolve phlegm, and eliminate dampness include japonica rice, glutinous rice, oats, buckwheat, sorghum, millet, corn, coix seed, red adzuki beans, mung beans, mung bean sprouts, fava beans, lentils, soybeans, tofu, soybean sprouts, leafy green vegetables, ginger, radish, winter melon, bitter melon, cucumber, various wild vegetables, mushrooms, lean meat, shrimp, freshwater fish, milk, and eggs.
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution, especially those who are overweight, should avoid rich, greasy, and cold foods, such as fatty meats, turtle, bird’s nest, tremella, walnuts, bananas, apples, pears, vinegar, pastries, and candies. Instead, they can consume filling yet low-calorie staple and side dishes like whole grains, wild vegetables, seasonal fresh vegetables, mushrooms, and freshwater fish.
Here are some medicinal dishes that can help adjust a phlegm-damp constitution for your reference:
1. Carp Soup
Ingredients: 1 carp (about 1000 grams), 50 grams red adzuki beans, 6 grams dried tangerine peel, 6 grams grass fruit, 3 grams fritillaria, and appropriate amounts of vegetable oil, ginger slices, scallions, and salt.
Preparation: Clean the carp, remove the gills and internal organs, and wash thoroughly; heat vegetable oil in a pot, sauté ginger slices and scallions until fragrant, then briefly fry the carp. Rinse the red adzuki beans, fritillaria, grass fruit, and dried tangerine peel, soak in cold water for one hour, and stuff into the carp’s belly. Boil water in a clay pot, add the carp, season with salt, and simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat.
Effect: Clears the lungs, resolves phlegm, strengthens the spleen, and eliminates dampness.
2. Four Nut Mung Bean Porridge
Ingredients: 20 grams coix seed, 20 grams red adzuki beans, 15 grams white lentils, 5 grams bitter apricot kernels, and 150 grams japonica rice.
Preparation: Rinse all ingredients, soak in cold water for 1 hour; place the soaked ingredients in a clay pot, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the porridge thickens and the beans are soft.
Effect: Strengthens the spleen, drains dampness, promotes urination, and moistens the intestines.
3. Steamed Carp with Coix Seed
Ingredients: 1 carp, 100 grams coix seed, 10 grams dried tangerine peel, 10 grams ginger slices, 5 grams grass fruit, and appropriate amounts of salt, monosodium glutamate, and fresh broth.
Preparation: Remove the shell from the grass fruit and wash; rinse the dried tangerine peel with warm water, cut into strips, and soak in water for 10 minutes; soak the coix seed in water for 2 hours; clean the carp, stuff the grass fruit, tangerine peel strips, and coix seed into the carp’s belly. Place the carp in a large bowl, add ginger slices, salt, monosodium glutamate, and fresh broth, and steam for about 90 minutes. Remove from the steamer and discard the ginger, grass fruit, tangerine peel strips, and coix seed.
Effect: Treats damp-heat liver cancer with symptoms of edema, diarrhea, and food stagnation.
4. Coix Seed and Winter Melon Seed Tea
Ingredients: 30 grams coix seed, 30 grams winter melon seeds, and appropriate amounts of rock sugar.
Preparation: Rinse the coix seed and soak in cold water for half an hour; rinse the winter melon seeds and drain; boil water in a pot, add the coix seed and winter melon seeds, and when the coix seed is soft, add rock sugar and simmer for a moment, then strain and drink.
Effect: This tea has effects of lowering blood pressure, reducing blood sugar, eliminating edema, and promoting diuresis. Long-term consumption can improve rough skin, making it soft and tender, serving as a natural skincare expert for women.
5. Stir-fried Lotus Root with Lotus Leaf and Bean Sprouts
Ingredients: 200 grams fresh or dried lotus leaves, 50 grams soaked lotus seeds, 100 grams shredded lotus root, 150 grams mung bean sprouts, and appropriate amounts of vegetable oil and salt.
Preparation: Boil the lotus seeds and lotus leaves in water to make a broth; heat vegetable oil in a pan, stir-fry the shredded lotus root until 70% cooked, then add the lotus seeds, mung bean sprouts, and lotus leaf broth, seasoning with salt, and cook until everything is tender.
Effect: Nourishes the spleen and kidneys, drains dampness, and reduces obesity.
6. Plantago and Mung Bean Tea
Ingredients: 60 grams mung beans, 30 grams plantago.
Preparation: Soak the mung beans in water for 2 hours, rinse and drain; wash the plantago. Place the mung beans and plantago in a pot, add water and simmer until the tea reduces by half, then strain and drink.
Effect: This tea clears heat and detoxifies, promotes diuresis, and has effects of improving vision, resolving phlegm, and soothing the throat.
Diseases Commonly Associated with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Due to genetic predisposition and excessive consumption of rich foods, along with lack of exercise, individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution often experience stagnation of fluids, leading to weak spleen qi that fails to transform and transport fluids, resulting in phlegm and dampness accumulation. This can obstruct the functions of various organs, leading to various discomforts and diseases.
Phlegm accumulation in the lungs can obstruct lung qi, causing symptoms such as cough with phlegm, phlegm rattling in the throat, snoring, and shortness of breath, which can lead to chronic bronchitis, chronic bronchial asthma, and cough.
Phlegm-heat can cloud the clear orifices, leading to symptoms such as confusion, chest tightness, mental fatigue, forgetfulness, and decreased responsiveness, making the elderly prone to dementia, and even stroke or chest obstruction.
Phlegm and dampness obstructing the spleen and stomach can lead to symptoms such as excessive phlegm, poor appetite, abdominal obesity, fatigue, drooling, abdominal distension, and sticky stools, making individuals prone to simple obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and fatty liver.
Phlegm and dampness in the lower jiao can cause symptoms such as cloudy urine, lower back pain, weakness in the lower limbs, and dampness in the genital area, leading to conditions such as lower limb edema, prostate enlargement in men, and excessive vaginal discharge in women.
Seasonal Health Preservation for Individuals with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution generally adapt well to their environment and can maintain their healthy lifestyle habits throughout the seasons.
In spring, as everything revives and the weather warms, individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution should focus on regulating their emotions and spirit, maintaining a positive mindset, and attempting to lead and organize outdoor activities to cultivate their leadership skills. Due to significant temperature differences between day and night in spring, it is important to keep warm to avoid catching a cold; clothing should be layered, and masks should be worn in windy weather to prevent infections. Spring is also a good time to consume more green vegetables and moderately reduce weight.
In summer, individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution often struggle with heat; they should pay attention to hydration during excessive sweating and avoid excessive cooling that can harm the spleen and stomach. Caution should be taken with air conditioning to prevent excessive sweating and heat stagnation; seasonal fruits and vegetables should be consumed, and the diet should remain light. Care should be taken to avoid cold exposure in the early morning and late evening, and indoor exercises should be encouraged to promote sweating and hydration while avoiding excessive sun exposure.
As summer transitions to autumn, the humidity can be heavy, making individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution prone to gastrointestinal diseases. It is essential to maintain a clean and regular diet, avoiding overnight food, and refraining from raw, cold, and greasy foods. Medicinal dishes or porridge can be used to nourish the spleen and stomach.
In autumn, as the weather becomes cool and dry, individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution should take advantage of the season to strengthen the spleen and nourish the stomach, benefiting qi and resolving dampness through various methods including exercise, diet, and herbal remedies.
In winter, individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution can often tolerate cold, but their diet should be warm to protect the spleen and stomach and preserve yang qi. Even when not feeling cold, attention should be paid to warmth, maintaining a regular schedule, and ensuring consistent indoor and outdoor exercise to lay a solid foundation for good health in the coming year.
Meridian Health Preservation for Individuals with Phlegm-Damp Constitution
The meridian health preservation for individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution is based on strengthening the spleen, benefiting qi, and resolving dampness and phlegm. Acupuncture points that can strengthen the spleen and benefit qi include Pishu (Spleen Shu), Luyou (Liver Shu), Zusanli (Stomach 36), and Qihai (Sea of Qi). Points that can resolve dampness and phlegm include Zhongwan (Ren 12), Zusanli (Stomach 36), and Fenglong (Stomach 40). These points can be massaged, needled, or treated with moxibustion.
For individuals with obesity due to phlegm-damp constitution, acupuncture points such as Zhongwan (Ren 12), Tianshu (Stomach 25), Daheng (Spleen 15), Quchi (Large Intestine 11), Zhigou (San Jiao 5), Neiting (Stomach 44), Fenglong (Stomach 40), Shangjuxu (Stomach 37), and Yinlingquan (Spleen 9) can be used; for those who are drowsy, add points such as Zhaohai (Kidney 6) and Shenmai (Heart 6); for those who are lethargic, add points such as Taibai (Spleen 3) and Qihai (Ren 6); for chest tightness, add points such as Danzhong (Ren 17) and Neiguan (Pericardium 6); for palpitations, add points such as Shenmen (Heart 7) and Xinshu (Heart Shu).
Individuals with a phlegm-damp constitution can also massage their abdomen with their palms, using deep and even breathing patterns, massaging the lower abdomen near the dan tian (energy center) until it feels slightly warm. Additionally, moxibustion or ginger moxibustion can be applied to Zusanli (Stomach 36) and Qihai (Ren 6) for a duration of 15 minutes, every other day for optimal results.