食積 (Food stagnation)

(English translation below)

食積主要的可能造成脾胃功能減弱, 可能食慾下降, 口臭,腹瀉腹痛, 便秘, 皮膚病, 失眠(晚上容易醒),閉經, 頭痛,咳嗽, 腹脹難受或者嘴內有異味,影響口腔健康 放著不管只會情況更加嚴重

除了症狀以外中醫可以更早期的透過診脈來發現體內有沒有食積, 透過針灸或中藥來幫助病人消化系統的健康.

如何造成食積

腸胃虛弱或者吃到不好消化的食物, 吃飯速度過快咀嚼不夠

目前知道造成食積食物

• Bagel

• 雞翅膀

• 有腸的食物比如說香腸, 豬腸等等

• 糯米類食物

• 玉米

• 過度油膩食物

• 蓮藕(是卿胃熱好東西,可是需要細嚼慢嚥)

• 過食生冷食物飲品造成脾胃虛弱也會造成

• 其他(繼續和病人學習中)

  (吃飯過快是現代人脾胃不好很大的原因)

  如何預防食積 (來自中國醫藥大學)113期

• 養成良好的飲食習慣，三餐宜定時定量，避免飲食偏嗜。

• 大病過後不可過度進補，應依個人體質循序漸進的調養。

• 治療食積除了要調整脾胃及腎的功能、穩定自律神經以外，若是因為攝食過多導致食積，要讓食積有個出路。例如常見聚餐後，其中幾人出現腸胃不適的症狀，包括嘔吐或腹瀉，直到全身冒汗才舒服多了，這時候不一定是食物不新鮮引起的，而是因為這些食物超過腸胃的負荷，當食物排出體外，氣機通暢，症狀也跟著緩解。所以治療食積須適當使用理氣藥物，若食積久成積滯，需加入活血化瘀及軟堅散結的藥物。

• 由於食物有偏性，若食積久可寒化或熱化，此時需辨明寒熱加以治療。例如傷五畜之肉者，則為肉積、熱積；傷五果之類者，則為果子積、生冷積。

*** English***

Food stagnation primarily may lead to weakened spleen and stomach functions, possibly resulting in decreased appetite, bad breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation, skin diseases, insomnia (with easy awakening at night), amenorrhea, headaches, coughing, abdominal distension or discomfort, or a bad taste in the mouth, affecting oral health. Ignoring these issues will only make the situation worse.

Apart from symptoms, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can detect food stagnation at an early stage through pulse diagnosis and help the patient's digestive system health through acupuncture or herbal medicine.

Causes of Food Stagnation

Food stagnation can be caused by a weak digestive system or consuming foods that are hard to digest, eating too quickly, or not chewing food sufficiently.

Known Foods Causing Food Stagnation

• Bagels

• Chicken wings

• Foods containing intestines, such as sausages, pork intestines, etc.

• Glutinous rice products

• Corn

• Overly greasy foods

• Lotus root (it is good for stomach heat but requires thorough chewing)

• Consuming too many cold foods and beverages can also weaken the spleen and stomach, leading to stagnation.

Others (continuing to learn with patients)

(Eating too quickly is a significant reason for poor spleen and stomach health in modern people.)

How to Prevent Food Stagnation (from China Medical University, Issue 113)

• Develop good eating habits, eat three meals a day at regular times and in fixed amounts, and avoid partiality in diet.

• After a serious illness, do not over-nourish; recuperation should be gradual and according to the individual's constitution.

Treating food stagnation involves adjusting the functions of the spleen, stomach, and kidneys, stabilizing the autonomic nervous system, and if food stagnation is due to overeating, providing a way out for the stagnation. For example, symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort, including vomiting or diarrhea, followed by sweating until relief, among some people after a feast, may not necessarily be due to un-fresh food but because the food exceeded the gastrointestinal load. Once the food is expelled, and the qi (energy) flows smoothly, symptoms will also ease. Therefore, treating food stagnation should appropriately use qi-regulating medicine, and if food stagnation becomes chronic, it may be necessary to add blood-activating and stasis-resolving, as well as hardness-softening and mass-dissolving, medicines.

Since food can have a bias, long-term food stagnation can transform into cold or heat. It is necessary to distinguish between cold and heat for treatment. For example, those harmed by the meat of the five domestic animals are considered to have meat stagnation or heat stagnation; those harmed by the five types of fruits are considered to have fruit stagnation or cold stagnation.