Nowadays, people’s lifestyles, as well as dietary structures, have changed drastically, making the incidence of liver diseases such as alcoholic liver and fatty liver higher and higher every year. The main reason for this is poor living habits, such as overeating, uncontrolled drinking, lack of sleep or staying up late, and high mental tension. According to Chinese medicine practitioners, hot weather has the most vigorous yang energy and fast metabolism, which is a good time to treat liver diseases.
Which liver diseases are treated well by Chinese medicine?
1. Fatty liver
Fatty liver is a clinical syndrome in which diffuse fatty infiltration of liver cells is caused by various factors. Simply put, a large amount of fat accumulates in the liver, thus affecting the functions of liver metabolism, detoxification, and synthesis. Traditional Chinese medicine classifies fatty liver as a category of liver fetish, the pathogenesis of which is the loss of liver qi, the spleen’s lack of healthy transportation, the accumulation of phlegm and turbidity at the liver, and the internalization of blood stasis. The main manifestations are lumps under the right knee and abdominal distension and pain. High-fat, high-sugar and high-calorie diet, negative emotions, and prolonged sitting and immobilization can cause dampness and heat to arise internally, affecting the operation of meridians and channels, and water and dampness accumulate in the body, thus generating fatty liver.
2. Alcoholic liver
Alcoholic liver is caused by drinking a lot of alcohol and liver damage. The cause of alcoholic liver is divided into two kinds, one is individual differences, such as patients with poor alcohol metabolism, even if a small amount of alcohol will generate phlegm and stasis. The other reason is that alcohol is a toxic evil of dampness and heat. Drinking too much alcohol can accumulate dampness and heat in the body, thus causing liver damage.
What principles should be followed in treating liver disease or nourishing the liver in Chinese medicine?
1. Resolve Dampness
Daily do go to bed early and get up early, choose the fresh air in the morning place activities, can promote the operation of qi and blood, but can not be strenuous exercise, especially not sweating profusely. Appropriate to eat with the spleen effect of food, such as corn, white lentils, yam, and atractylodes. When making soup or congee, you can add aromatic medicines that strengthen the spleen and dissolve dampness, such as pellitory and patchouli.
2. Strengthening the spleen
The spleen is the source of qi and blood biochemistry and plays the function of transporting and transforming water and dampness. People with fatty liver or alcoholic liver are usually accompanied by insufficient qi and blood movement ability. Regulating the spleen and stomach can enhance the function of metabolizing water and dampness, promote the sufficiency of qi and blood, and make the qi and blood run smoothly. Daily should eat less cold and cold, fat, sweet, thick and greasy and spicy food, do diet light.
3. Relieve depression
Insufficient positive qi, coupled with heavy drinking, continuous negative emotions, poor diet, etc., causes the body’s dampness and heat to intertwine, and the qi is not smooth, prompting the development of liver disease to liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Daily should participate in more outdoor activities, maintain optimism, can promote metabolism, and play the effect of liver relief.
Warm tips
In general, the treatment of fatty liver focuses on detoxifying the liver and strengthening the spleen, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, promoting the flow of qi, and resolving phlegm; the treatment of alcoholic liver focuses on removing the causes of the disease and refraining from drinking alcohol. Ensure the regularity of three meals a day, not excessive cold, and learn to regulate emotions.