If your acupuncturist says you have dampness, do this.

so you might have gotten this weird diagnosis called dampness from an acupuncturist or Chinese medicine practitioner and it might be you think well this sounds very pseudoscientific How Could my runny nose or flemy throat or constant yeast infections be considered dampness what does bloating have to do with dampness in this video let's break down this 2,000-year-old concept dampness because it is one of the most common diagnoses you will hear if you see a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner hey guys I'm Dr Alex hin author of the health book master of the day and board license doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine so let's jump in so what is this weird thing called dampness when people today use terms from the Han Dynasty around the time of Christ of course it sounds pseudoscientific because ancient people didn't know what it was they just observed the symptoms and they found herbal compounds and treatments to fix it but just like in the ancient times maybe they would call a panic attack what's called Running piglet syndrome quite hilarious you can see it in your head today we would call that a panic attack and we know it's due to disregulated stress hormones so in the same way if you go to an acupuncturist and they say oh you're very damp you have a thick white tongue coat you have a scalloped tongue you're bloated you get a food baby you have yeast issues or discharge or sibo what does this really mean pragmatically speaking you know ancient doctors were basically observe in nature these elements fire water hot things cold things and they would observe their effects on the environment and the environment's effects on them they would observe that certain plants that live in swamps or live in deserts are very good at regulating their level of moisture and water content so as they don't die right whereas other plants will die so they have actually evolutionary adaptations to deal with that and if you put them in their body they actually do the same thing for example the herb called BYU a traal loes this herb is so drying you can put it on your tongue and you feel the moisture being sucked off your tongue immediately I mean it's actually pretty incredible what byw can do in that sense this herb has an adaptation to regulate its level of moisture for that exact same purpose too much dryness the plant Withers too much moisture and it rots dampness is what ancient doctors had observed is similar to like a boggy swamp but inside your body fluid retention bloating feminess lots of salivation runny nose it is literally like the north side of a tree where there's moss growing and there's mold growing because it's not being dried out enough it's not warm enough from the Sun so ancient people observed if we use warming and drying herbs in the body it has the same effect as if you put it in the environment it comes from herbs like for example like ganang dried Ginger are very effective for people who have a constantly flamy throat herbs like Buu ATT traal loes that sucker you should do this if you have dampness you should try it once in your life order the raw herb it's safe put it on your tongue especially when you're really flamy and salivating you had like a big Dairy dish put it on your tongue you will feel it just suck the moisture your tongue will be dry when you just pull it off you didn't even eat the herb just touch your tongue and leave it there what these ancient doctors had observed was similar to a boggy swamp or too much of a wet area and now is mildewy that's what's going on your gun for people who are bloated or get diarrhea a lot or lose toools and the same formulas that will work in their indigenous environment their original terar that are endemic to that area will work in the body in similar ways so practically speaking on a clinical level dampness most often affects your nose and sinuses runny nose sinus issues your mouth and throat and upper GI feminess acid reflux as well as bloating small intestine bacterial overgrowth yeast infections or discharge so basically anywhere where there's basically clear or white discharge right fleem mucus so people who are naturally get respiratory issues and they get lots of mucus and fleem asmatics people who tend towards having lots of dampness in their system now how do I know if I have dampness well let's give you a list of 10 of the most common signs and symptoms here number one is a feeling of heaviness so very commonly people that have a sensation of heaviness in the body limbs or head that they often describe as lethargy or sluggishness or fogginess so lots of issues with brain fog not the kind of brain fog from fatigue or not sleeping well but lots of issues with brain fog especially involving pressure in the head low-grade pressure are dampness and these are a failure of the stomach and what we call the spleen the pancreas to digest food effectively you treat the digestive system often those headaches will go away the second is digestive issues so the most common Signature Signs of dampness are symptoms like bloating loose stools diarrhea or a lack of appetite overall and a close followup there is number three mucus and Flem production people who chronically clear their throat people who chronically have runny noses this kind of excessive mucus and flam clearing spitting a lot after meals blowing your nose a lot after meals where the mucosa or have too much moisture and they're trying to get rid of all this mucus and Flem this is quintessential dampness the fourth is swelling or edema so puffiness especially in the legs ankles or face due to fluid retention is often what we call an issue with dampness as well the fifth is you might not think of it but skin problems particularly those that are involved like wet or weepy issues like exzema so certain kinds of eczema some kinds of oily skin some kinds of acne especially if they involve oozing or wetness sometimes warts can fall into this category and sometimes if you get vesicles with your eczema that have clear fluid when you itch them and they break open this is more dampness related the sixth is a coated tongue thick white tongue coat thin white tongue coat excessive moisture and a scalloped shaped tongue is all from the swelling and the puffiness of the tongue and then the teeth pressing on that from the excessive fluid in the mouth actual excessive salivation the seventh is cloudy urine or vaginal discharge you know we talk about excessive or abnormal discharge we say like lucaria is dampness sometimes there can be an odor to it as well so there can be bacterial issues as well if that's the case we call this damp heat so there's a bacterial issue and there's a bit of an infection issue as well the eighth is having having a foggy mind or what people call brain fog very commonly when people have pressure in the forehead this is often called a stomach headache or a dampness headache in Chinese medicine and often generalized adult headaches that are really chronic and really stubborn usually believe it or not are digestive in nature these go misdiagnosed for years and the herbal formulas we'll talk about in just a moment are extremely effective for treating that the ninth is joint stiffness or pain everyone who has joint issues has some kind of arthritis or some kind of rheumatoid related issue that will say you know the cloudy days where there's a lot of moisture or raining or humidity and that's what flares up my joints these are often issues that we call cold or damp B syndrome basically pain syndromes related to cold weather or damp weather as well and finally the 10th symptom is fatigue and low energy sometimes you know the body mirrors the environment dampness is like when you're water logged and you're heavy and you're sluggish and you're full sometimes by treating the pathological factors involving dampness usually the digestive system the person will feel much much greater energy during the day and they'll feel way better on an overall daily basis it's really important to know that there's an underlying factor that creates a susceptibility to this but then beyond that it's of course based on lifestyle decisions right you're doing a lot of greasy food fried food oils fats you can increase the amount of dampness in your system and really get yourself clogged up and feeling much much worse now if you guys aren't sure where your symptoms are actually coming from that are related to the dampness make sure you go right below this video and download that free quiz I put together you can go to Dr alex.com quiz or click the link below the video and what it'll do is it'll take you to a 12-page handout we've put together that will help you assess really what is the origin of your digestive problems or these dampness related issues it'll help you figure out what exactly the symptoms are and what organ they're related to in Chinese medicine this is the OG functional medicine make sure you go check out that quiz it will help you get some Clues as to where to focus specifically for your health issues and then from there you can go watch other related videos we've link to to know what's du about it so again first link below this video or you can go to Dr Alex hind.com quiz now the most important question is what do I do about it let's talk about formulas first that can help two formulas that are extremely effective number one Le one regulate the middle pill and the second the ojun six gentlemen decoction the shared root of these two formulas is that they're high in herbs called ginsing renen as well as two herbs called BYU and fooling attractor loads and Poria BYU and fooling are a traditional oral combination going back thousands of years that are said to help with dampness these are the best herbs for chronic runny noses chronic bloating chronic loose stools chronic feminess especially after meals and what these will do is they will help basically flush the mucous membranes and dry out the amount of moisture and humidity if you want to call it that that's constantly in them so people who are a little flemy by Nature like me will always notice there a little bit of FL in the throat and these herbs these formulas will get rid of it completely it's pretty amazing now now what can you do from a dietary perspective really there's just a few key things to focus on the first is avoiding greasy and fatty and fried foods greasy foods that are high in oils I mean oils are literally fatty and just like the fats that are in Dairy fats will produce excessive amount of fem in the throat they will also worsen fleem if you have runny noses and they will also worsen if you have to blow your nose after meals the other thing you might not think about is raw foods raw vegetables raw vegans I'm talking to you too many raw vegetables is actually what we call very cold to the digestive system so you want to stick with warm meals temperature warm like literally heated up don't eat stuff out of the fridge try to eat warm Foods animal protein little bit of warm Peppers chilies cinnamon garlic that kind of thing will help clear up the D dampness and then finally stay away from dairy dairy and sugar are two inherently fleem generating food groups Dairy again has fat Sugar by itself the sweetness we say sweet generates Yin Yin like moisture like fluid stay away from dairy and sugar as the final parts so I hope that helps you guys don't forget I work with a limited number of new patients in my clinic every month in Los Angeles or virtually via tele medicine if you want to learn more just go to Dr Alex hind.com clinic or all the info is in the bio this video below and then before you go I have another great related video on dampness and dietary issues right up here