In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the most important organs that we look at are the liver, spleen, and stomach. The liver can affect your digestion because stress affects the liver, and the liver will affect either the spleen or the stomach. If the liver affects the spleen, you may see symptoms such as irritability, abdominal distention, and pain; you may be hungry but get full only after a few bites of food or thirsty but have no desire to drink; there may be alternating constipation and diarrhea and a lot of gas—to name just a few symptoms. If the liver affects the stomach, you might see more upper-digestive issues such as acid reflux, hiccups, belching, nausea, and vomiting, and you may retain food in your stomach for a longer period of time and have distention in you upper abdomen, and more. In TCM, other organs may be involved, and certainly other patterns can cause digestive issues as well. But there are just a few herbs that might help people suffering from digestive issues. These herbs are often used in combination with other Chinese herbs for best results. Some of the herbs are easy to get, and others only your TCM practitioner can get for you. Please consult your doctor and a TCM practitioner before taking any of the following herbs: It’s considered helpful in managing thirst, diarrhea, and fatigue, which is why it’s included in one of the most popular dishes in Asian cultures, congee, a type of rice porridge. You can make different types of congee depending on what ails you by adding different herbs, vegetables, or meats. When you eat too much and feel that the food is just sitting in your belly, not moving, this herb is good to add into your formula. It’s also considered helpful for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, moving undigested foods, and severe indigestion. Shan Zha is also thought to have cardiovascular benefits. Drinking it as a tea may help—but you would have to take the tea in large quantities and for a very long period of time because it’s not concentrated enough. It’s also bitter, which means it can help drain dampness. Dampness in your digestive system can affect you appetite and cause you to have loose stool, always be tired, and have a thick, greasy tongue coating. FYI: Never brush your tongue when you go see an acupuncturist because that tongue coat can tell us a lot about what’s going on in your body. As a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, Marina specializes in oncology and chronic pain management. Her approach is holistic, taking into account not only each patient’s physical state but also his or her mental and emotional states. She often works with specialist doctors to offer an integrated approach that assists their current treatments.
