I'm so afraid of lower body edema! Traditional Chinese Medicine: Red Bean and Coix Seed Soup Strengthens the Spleen and Eliminates Dampness

Winter is a good season for weight loss, but if you encounter edema in the lower body, you can use Chinese medicine diuretic method to relieve it. Chinese medicine practitioners point out that obesity and swelling in the lower body are mostly related to the "phlegm-dampness" constitution. Chinese medicine treatment focuses on "strengthening the spleen and eliminating dampness", using herbs such as coix seed, poria cocos, cinnamon twig, licorice, etc., or using red bean and coix seed soup as a medicinal diet to rescue edema.

Dr. Lin Yaying, a practicing Chinese medicine practitioner, pointed out that Western medicine generally divides edema into local edema and systemic edema. The causes of local edema include venous or lymphatic vessel obstruction, increased microvascular permeability, such as allergies and local inflammation; the causes of systemic edema include heart failure, acute or chronic nephritis, chronic liver disease, pregnancy edema, and others (endocrine edema). The latter is seriously ill.

Diuretic therapy to eliminate lower body edema

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the causes of edema in the human body include both external and internal injuries, but the main sites of disease are the lungs, spleen, and kidneys. The lungs, spleen, and kidneys are very important in regulating the amount of water in the body. If any step goes wrong, it will make it difficult to excrete water from the body and cause edema.

In clinical practice, one can first ask the patient whether he has little urine volume or difficulty urinating. If so, diuretics can be used to draw out moisture through urine and eliminate edema. Commonly used prescriptions in clinical practice include Wuling San, Zhuling Tang, Zhenwu Tang, Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang, Jisheng Shenqi Pills, and Wuling San. This prescription is used to treat edema caused by internal accumulation of cold water in the Taiyang Meridian, which leads to poor bladder gasification.

Foot bath massage exercise helps drain water

In addition to diuresis and edema reduction, exercise can also promote blood circulation and help drain water. Chinese medicine practitioner Lin Yaying emphasizes that exercise should be done for at least 15 minutes a day. People who are prone to edema should start with gentle exercises such as walking due to their weak constitution, and then gradually increase the amount of exercise; or soak their feet in warm water before going to bed to help peripheral blood circulation; and massage frequently to help lymphatic flow and promote metabolism to help reduce edema.

Diet therapy for reducing swelling and promoting diuresis 2 Medicinal diet

Red Bean and Barley Soup

Ingredients: 50g red beans, 50g coix seeds, water, rock sugar (appropriate amount)

practice:

1. Wash red beans and coix seeds, add 3 times the amount of water, and soak for 1 night.

2. Before putting it into the rice cooker and simmering it, you can change the water in the pot and add an appropriate amount of water.

3. Add 1.5 cups of water to the outer pot of the rice cooker.

4. After the rice cooker pops up, simmer for another 20 minutes. Add appropriate amount of rock sugar while it is still hot and it is ready to eat.

5. There is a difference between red beans and adzuki beans. In ancient times, adzuki beans were used to reduce swelling and promote diuresis, and modern red beans have the same effect.

Four-spirit Pork Intestine Soup

Ingredients: 10g Poria cocos, 10g Euryale ferox, 10g Chinese yam, 10g Coix seed (you can also ask a Chinese medicine store to directly pack 1 portion), pig intestine segments (add as much as you like).

Seasoning: salt (appropriate amount), rice wine (appropriate amount).

practice:

1. Soak coix seeds and water chestnuts for about half an hour.

2.Blanche the pig intestines and set aside.

3. Put Poria cocos, Euryale ferox, Chinese yam, Coix seed and pig intestine into appropriate amount of water, add rice wine and stew for 1 hour.

4. Add appropriate amount of salt for seasoning 10 minutes before serving.

5. Before eating, if you have angelica rice wine (1 piece of angelica soaked in 150cc of rice wine), pour some on it for a better flavor.

【3 tips for reducing edema】:

In addition to being related to physical constitution, edema is mostly related to personal diet and lifestyle habits.

1. Drink water at the right time and in the right amount. Don’t be afraid to drink water because you have to go to the toilet during work, or drink a large glass of water at once. This will accelerate the excretion of excessive urine due to a sudden drop in blood concentration, causing the hypothalamus in the brain to feedback the feeling of thirst. The more water you drink, the thirstier you will be. Therefore, you should drink water in two sips at a time so that the water can be truly absorbed.

2. Reduce the intake of high-salt foods. Potato chips, instant noodles, canned foods, thick soups, etc. are all high-salt foods. High sodium can also cause water retention in the body.

3. After working for a while, you should get up and move around to improve blood circulation in the lower body. This will also reduce the risk of varicose veins, swollen feet, and edema. At night, when watching TV or sleeping at home, you can try to lift your legs to help improve circulation in the lower body.