How does moisture enter the body?

In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the concept of dampness is defined. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that moisture exists all the time in the environment in which humans live, such as damp houses, eating a lot of meat, drinking a lot of alcohol, etc. Of course, dampness can also be driven away through correct methods to restore health, such as diet therapy and so on. So, how does moisture enter people's bodies?

1. Craving for coolness

Eating too much raw and cold food such as ice cream will increase the coldness in the body and create opportunities for "dampness" to invade.

2. Going to bed without drying your hair

People take baths very frequently in the summer. Some people sit in an air-conditioned room with wet hair, or even go to bed without drying their hair, causing "dampness" to invade the body without knowing it.

3. Blow towards the air conditioner

After coming back from outside all sweaty or after exercising, if you turn on the air conditioner to blow cool air too hard, the moisture will take the opportunity to enter the body through the open sweat pores and damage the yang energy. Nowadays, we rarely see patients suffering from colds in winter, but they are very common in summer. This is because the use of air conditioning prevents sweat from evaporating and instead accumulates in the body.

4. Poor sleep

Many people like to stay up late. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, lack of sleep is a symptom of spleen deficiency, indicating that there is too much moisture in the body.

5. Drinking a lot

Beer and barbecue are a favorite way for many people to cool off, but don’t forget that alcohol can help to eliminate “dampness”, so try to avoid it as much as possible.

6. Sitting all the time

Sitting for a long time will cause insufficient blood supply, aggravate fatigue and muscle soreness, and affect the elimination of moisture.

7. Wear less

“Only grace, not temperature” can easily allow “evil dampness” to invade the body.

So how should we get rid of dampness? Diet is a better way. Job's tears is a good food for getting rid of dampness. Eating more of it can get rid of dampness. However, you should also pay attention to strengthening the spleen when getting rid of dampness, otherwise the dampness will not be completely removed.

Purslane and Job's Tea: Job's tears, adzuki beans, bamboo leaves, purslane, sophora japonica, Euryale ferox, green tea

How to eat: Soak coix seed and red bean in water first, then boil all the ingredients together for half an hour, drink it as tea, one cup three times a day (if you don’t have time to cook, you can consider tea bags)

"Compendium of Materia Medica" records that eating more coix seed can "remove dampness, whiten the skin, and clear away heat." Red beans and water chestnuts can strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness, while sophora japonica beans can clear the liver, cool the blood and promote blood circulation. Purslane, light bamboo leaves, and green tea can clear away heat and detoxify, and reduce edema. Remember to drink 3 cups a day, and you can get rid of dampness after a period of time.