Let's focus on water. Moisture is an important condition for the reproduction of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. Pathogenesis caused by dampness can be divided into external dampness and internal dampness. The moisture content in the air is called humidity. When the humidity exceeds the adaptability of the human body, we call it dampness evil, commonly known as humidity.
External dampness is caused by external invasion. For example, living in a humid city in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, or wading in the rain. In recent years, patients in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai have been treated and found that the proportion of patients there is very high. It has something to do with the low humidity geographical environment in the south of the Yangtze River. "Historical Records" records that "Jiangnan was humble and wet, and her husband died young". With the development of technology and medicine, the rational use of dehumidifier, air conditioner and medicated diet, the clinical mortality rate of dampness is completely different from that when Sima Qian wrote Historical Records in the Western Han Dynasty. However, the probability of cold and wet constitution in Jiangnan is still very high, which has a lot to do with non-central heating and little rain and sunshine all year round.
Internal dampness is the pathological product of visceral function decline and metabolic disorder. Such as weak temper, eating cold, greasy, alcohol, seafood and other foods, leading to internal dampness, loose stool, joint swelling and other symptoms. The forming factors of damp evil also change in different times. Ice cream, ice cream, seafood and beer are all sources of endogenous dampness in diet.
Characteristics of damp pathogen: turbidity, viscosity, qi stagnation, Yang Qi damage, and downward dampness. Pathogenicity is easy to attack yin. The methods of treating dampness evil are aromatization to eliminate dampness, slight perspiration to eliminate dampness, and light osmosis to promote diuresis.
Aromatic dampness: warm food and medicine have the effects of strengthening the spleen and transporting dampness and turbidity. Such as pepper, pepper, angelica dahurica, cinnamon, atractylodes rhizome, Amomum tsaoko, cardamom, ginger, Amomum villosum and so on. Sichuanese can eat Chili because of the regional environment. There is little sunshine all year round, and it is difficult to get rid of moisture if the pot does not eat spicy food.
Slight sweating to eliminate dampness: dampness is caused by exterior pathogenic factors and slight sweating. Aromatic and spicy herbs have the effect of sweating. Such as: Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Perilla frutescens, Angelica dahurica, Pogostemon cablin, etc.
Light osmosis and diuresis: light taste has the effect of osmosis and diuresis. Such as: coix seed, wax gourd, adzuki bean, plantain seed, gourd, etc.
Damp evil causes diseases with mixed cold and heat. Damp-cold is treated by warming and nourishing slight sweat; Damp-heat is treated by light infiltration. In recent years, the media has publicized the viewpoint of eliminating dampness with red bean and barley soup, but not all types of dampness are indications for red bean and barley soup. Coix seed and adzuki bean are cool, and adzuki bean coix seed soup is prohibited for yang deficiency and dampness.
Sweet taste enters the spleen. Too sweet food tends to hinder spleen transport, so it is sweet and full. Licorice and astragalus are sweet, and they are rarely used when the stomach is full. Sweet taste interferes with the spleen because of dampness. Maltose is both food and medicine. It tastes sweet and fragrant. Maltose is fermented from steamed rice and malt, so the sugar content of rice is the highest among grains. People with high humidity are not advised to take rice as the staple food. Mankind has stepped into today's industrial age from the agricultural age. The proportion of sedentary people is large, the function of spleen and stomach naturally declines, and the diet is too sweet and greasy. It is inevitable that the incidence of diabetes will increase year by year. I lived in the countryside when I was a child. At that time, sorghum rice and corn were staple foods, and diabetes was rarely heard.
The wise men of ancient Chinese medicine summed up a sentence: "Fat people are wet, thin people are hot." It is impossible to prove who this sentence came from. Obese people have a lot of water in their bodies, and people who are easily angry and anxious tend to lose weight. Why are some women effective in losing weight without eating rice at night? Rice has a high sugar content, and sugar is the main source of water. Controlling sugar means controlling water, so losing weight will be effective. Patients with poor spleen and stomach say that loose stools and sticky toilets are the causes of endogenous moisture. Viscosity is one of the characteristics of damp evil. Sugar and honey are also sticky. The freshly cooked rice looks sticky, which is the external manifestation of the high sugar content of rice.
Southern rice tastes bad because of its low sugar content. It is no problem for diabetics and obese people to eat less linear rice, and the high sugar content of rice in Northeast China must be strictly controlled.
Eliminating dampness lies in strengthening the spleen, and spleen health leads to dampness transport. Low-sugar millet, sorghum rice, yam and Euryale ferox should be the first choice for strengthening the spleen. Liaoning pregnant women are pregnant for two months, and boiled eggs with millet porridge are standard. Millet yellow is put into the spleen soil to cook porridge, which tastes sweet but not sticky, and is a health product above the spleen soil. Eggs benefit kidney and replenish essence, replenish congenital kidney qi, and millet porridge cooks eggs, strengthening spleen and tonifying kidney, so it can spread for thousands of years and never die.
Euryale ferox is a traditional Chinese medicine for invigorating spleen and kidney. It looks like a chicken's head before peeling, so the Jiangnan area is called chicken's head rice. It is a special food in Jiangnan water town. When traveling in Suzhou, you can often see Euryale ferox cakes in shopping malls. Why do you care about the truth? Chinese herbal pieces are all dried products, and the water absorption of medicinal materials should be considered when decocting and adding water. In the past, when decocting medicine, it was found that Euryale ferox was very absorbent, and it was easy to dry without too much water. According to the water absorption characteristics of Euryale ferox, it can be proved that Euryale ferox recorded in Ben Jing "cures lumbocrural pain, tonifies middle energizer and eliminates violent diseases ..." Dampness is also called joint pain. On "Bi" in Huangdi Neijing: "Dampness is better than Bi." "Seeking Truth from Materia Medica" records the effect of Euryale ferox: "Benefiting spleen and dampness, astringent kidney qi." Removing water from Euryale ferox is like enhancing the water absorption capacity of soil. The spleen and five elements govern the soil, and benefiting spleen dampness means benefiting spleen soil. Removing moisture from coix seed is to ooze urine, giving moisture a way out. Coix seed is cool, cold and wet, so long-term consumption is not recommended.
"Huangdi Neijing": "Righteousness is included, and evil cannot be done; When evil is combined, its qi will be weak. " Deficiency of righteousness and excess of evil are the laws of disease formation. Strengthening body resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors is the program of traditional Chinese medicine in treating diseases. Eliminating dampness should also follow medical principles and not be paranoid. Strengthening the body is to nourish the temper, strengthen the spleen and consolidate the soil, and eliminate dampness. Eliminating dampness and pathogenic factors includes aromatization, sweating and diuresis. Different syndromes (types) of physique, we should choose the corresponding treatment methods, not stick to one method.