September 22, 2024 - Overthinking & the Spleen
“No Cold or Icy Drinks”
Acupuncturists always talk about staying away from cold or icy drinks and this is because they damage the Spleen. And as you will read below, the health of your Spleen Qi is essential for many things that involve your overall health.
The Spleen in East Asian Medicine
The Spleen in East Asian medicine has many functions. I'll list them below, and then focus on just a few:
Transformation and Transportation
The Spleen's function of transforming and transporting is crucial to the process of digestion and the production of Qi and Blood.
Controls the muscles and the four limbs
The Spleen extracts Food Qi from food and then uses that Qi to nourish all tissues in the body.
Houses Thought
The Spleen is said to be the "residence" of Thought. This means that the Spleen influences our capacity for thinking, studying, concentrating, focusing and memorizing.
If Spleen energy or Qi is flourishing, we will think clearly and be able to concentrate and memorize easily.
If Spleen energy or Qi is weak, we will have difficulty concentrating, focusing and memorizing.
Additionally, excessive thinking, mental work, studying and concentration for extended periods will weaken the Spleen energy or Qi.
Think about the health of a college student at the end of their undergraduate or graduate program. These individuals' need Spleen Qi nourishment big time. And, if the Spleen never properly recovers, will start to cause more chronic issues over time.
There are other organ systems that influence thinking in different ways. For instance, the Heart houses the Mind and influences thinking in the sense of being able to think clearly when faced with life problems, affecting long-term memory of past events. And the Kidneys nourish the brain and influence short-term memory in everyday life. We'll cover Heart and Kidney in future editions.
Treating the Spleen
Diet plays an important role in the treatment of Spleen. The Spleen prefers warm and dry foods. ‘Warm” in terms of temperature and food energy. Examples of warming foods are ginger, pepper, meat. Examples of ‘cold’ foods are raw foods, fruit (with a few exceptions), some vegetables and icy-cold drinks/food.
Acupuncture, herbal treatment, Qigong, along with some changes to your diet can help nourish your Spleen.
If you are an over-thinker, do a lot of concentrating in your school or work, you may consider getting support for your Spleen.