Cloudy With A Chance Of Rain - What Does It Mean?

WHAT IS A DAMP CONDITION

Least you mistakenly suppose I am referring to a weather condition, for those of you who did not read my last post, I have begun referring to my recently diagnosed damp condition as "cloudy with a chance of rain."

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, though each case is diagnosed and treated individually, as I read further on the subject of dampness I find that there are any number of common contributing factors.

One of the reasons that it is important to treat conditions of dampness in the early stages, when it is easily resolved by lifestyle modification, is to prevent the more serious diseases, cancer, MS, RA, chronic fatigue, to name a few, associated with deep-seated damp conditions, from occuring.

SYMPTOMS

Dampness creates certain signs and signals in the body that are important to pay attention to.  Dampness creates symptoms of sluggishness and stagnation.  The person with a damp condition is easily tired and feels heaviness in the body.  Symptoms of dampness include weak or sluggish digestion, edema, excess mucus, tumors, cysts, parasites, yeasts such as candida, fungi, excess body weight and a thick and/or greasy tongue coating.

TREATMENTS

In the early stages a condition of dampness is easily treated with diet and specific herbs.  Along with proper dietary measures - exercise is helpful in resolving conditions of stagnation and dampness in the body.  Paul Pitchford uses the analogy of a damp cloth that does not mold if it is hung out in the circulating air.  So too, our bodies benefit from the movement and circulation of regular exercise.

DIETARY FACTORS

Aren't there ALWAYS dietary factors in a health condition?

1 - Too much raw food such as raw fruits, vegetables, sprouts, and juices - which according to TCM extinguish the digestive fire - in fact, anything that extinguishes digestive fire - will lead to a watery dampness in the body.

2 - Foods that are highly sweet will contribute to damp conditions - such as those that suffer with candida.

3 - Poor quality fats and oils contribute to a condition of dampness - particularly an excess of poor quality dairy products.

4 - Foods that are refined and highly processed, stale, rancid, or chemically treated will contribute to a damp condition.  Just as an aside these are the foods that, in Ayurveda, another ancient healing system, are considered Tamasic.

NOTE ON RAW FOODS

Excepting items 2, 3, and 4 and poor quality foods in general, it is always important to remember that there are times, when raw food is appropriate - and that it is not always pathogenic.

For instance, a person who is robust and overheated will benefit from eating more raw food.  Raw food will help bring balance to their tendency and condition.  Nearly everyone finds some raw food and raw salad refreshing and appealing during the summer months.

In TCM the ideal diet will change as the individual condition changes - and the diet will change with the seasons or time of the year.  In TCM there are seldom one-size-fit all dietary guidelines, or even prohibited foods for that matter, again I am excepting GM foods, refined or highly processed foods or the plethora of faux foods to be found out there.  In TCM it is all about making balance and using food creatively and appropriately to maintain that gloriously dynamic, not static, and ever changing state of equilibrium - called HEALTH.