Phlegm and Dampness TCM Body Constitution

Before the Chinese New Year, I shared about the Blood Stasis body constitution and Dampness and Heat body constitution.

 

Today, let’s learn more about the third type of body constitution – Phlegm and Dampness Body Constitution (痰湿体质).

 

In a healthy person, there is little or no phlegm because the body can efficiently convert most foods and fluids into useful substances for the body to use.

 

The spleen plays an important part here because in TCM, we believe that the spleen is the main organ that converts and absorbs nutrients from our food and delivers them to all parts of our body.

 

When the spleen cannot absorb and transport nutrients efficiently, the excess substances that can’t be used by the body will be stored as phlegm and dampness, which eventually creates health issues in the long run.

 

Do note that the phlegm mentioned here refers to both visible phlegm (that is formed in the upper respiratory system and can be coughed or purged out) as well as phlegm that is not directly visible (stored in various parts of the body such as belly, legs, etc).

 

The following symptoms are some of the obvious signs of a person with phlegm and dampness body constitution:

 

1. Feeling of heaviness – People with phlegm and dampness body constitution will often feel a sense of heaviness in their body as they carry out their daily activities. This ‘heaviness’ refers to a feeling that the person experiences and bears no relation to the actual body weight. People of phlegm and dampness body type may be underweight or in the acceptable weight range but still feel that their body feels heavy.

 

2. Soft belly fat – For people with phlegm and dampness body constitution, they will find that their belly is bigger and softer than most people. This does not necessarily mean that they are overweight. For some people, the other parts of the body seem slim but there is a significant amount of soft fat accumulated around the belly area.

 

3. Sticky feeling in the mouth – Some individuals of phlegm and dampness body type will experience a sticky feeling in his/her mouth most of the time.

 

Eating the right foods and avoiding the wrong foods (which will be covered in a later section) is the first step towards bringing your body back to a more balanced state.

 

Foods that can benefit people with phlegm and dampness body constitution are those with spleen-strengthening and dampness-removal properties.

 

Adding these foods to your diet or increasing the intake of these foods will help to improve your body constitution and return your body to a more balanced state.

 

1. Chinese Barley (Chinese Name: 薏苡仁)

2. Radish (Chinese Name: 白萝卜)

3. Hawthorn (Chinese Name: 山楂)

4. Winter Melon (Chinese Name: 冬瓜)

5. White Lentils (Chinese Name: 白扁豆 )

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Avoid eating sweet and oily foods as these will worsen the dampness condition in your body.