Swollen legs and ankles. Heaviness in your body. These are all symptoms of what is termed ‘dampness’ in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Considering how common these symptoms are in human health, especially as we age, it would be wise to understand what is going on from an alternative medical pathway. This understanding might just help us improve our health in more ways than one and beyond that which traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals currently offers you.
Dampness is a very unique concept to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and one that I, as a practitioner, pay very close attention to in my patients. This concept of dampness is involved in many facets of our health and one which if not controlled in the early stages, can prove very difficult to remedy, yet not impossible.
What is dampness in Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Dampness is a termed used to express fluid retention in the body, but this fluid doesn’t have to be just ‘water’ as most will believe. Dampness can refer to excess body weight gain in the form of fat. It can also refer to increased drainage from various cavities of our body from the sinuses to the vaginal vault. It can be excess sweating, increased eye drainage, nose drainage, or even diarrhea or loose, pasty stools.
Dampness also often is related to toxin buildup in the body, commonly seen with many in the form of body odor emitting from many locations. In Ayurvedic medicine, this toxin and fluid retention is referred to as ‘Ama’. Dampness is also seen with swelling of various parts of our body from feet and ankles to the prostate in men and ovarian issues in women. It is commonly evident in the formation of cysts in our body, which could be in the breast, the ovary, sinus cavity, testicle, prostate, or any other location. A cyst is essentially an accumulation of fluid, so it directly indicates dampness.
Dampness can impact any area of the body, sometimes more obvious than others. It can be overtly obvious or it can be indicated by a slowing of cellular function, such as in the brain, mind, circulation, or other areas.
Tell tale signs of dampness in your body:
- Overweight body condition, fat accumulation
- Swellings and fluid retention, prostate and breast
- Excess fluid excretion, sinus drainage, loose stools
- Overall heaviness and sluggishness
- Foggy brain, cognitive issues, memory issues
- Tongue coating-thick (white or yellow)
- Need to clear throat-consistent
- Coughing up phlegm or moist cough
Dampness and Digestion
Dampness in TCM and Ama in Ayurvedic medicine both directly relate to the act of digestion and when either is present, it indicates that the digestion is not optimal. This is a key concept and one that I hope to relate in a manner which can be understood.
Our digestion is the root of everything in our body and the key to health, as more modern research is indicating with the connection of many health ailments (if not all) with our digestive microbiome. Think of your digestive tract as being like a pot on the stove. To break down food and process the nutritional components, fermentation must take place, which requires heat. Like that pot on the stove. Heat is required to bring the water to a boil. If heat is not present, then we cannot boil that water or breakdown the food. If too much heat is present, then we could boil that water off completely and produce nothing but steam into the air. The heat must be ‘just right’ for optimal digestion.
Now, another concept which is proving important, and this is what I term ‘overload’ or in alternative medicine they view it as ‘overnutrition’. Back to the pot of water on the stove. We could have just the right amount of heat, then add 1 cup of rice for cooking, then create the perfect recipe. However, if we dump 5 cups of rice into that 2 cups of water, we will overload the cooking capacity of the pot, the stove, and the water. Instead of well cooked rice that is soft and edible, we will end up with a mess of sludge, some being burned and some not cooking at all.
The overall point here is that our digestive power and health dictates our health. If your digestion is weak or too cold, or too hot, or if you overload it with the wrong foods, you will create dampness in your body. Dampness is perceived as being an accumulation of improperly digested food stuff in the body. Essentially, it is food waste that accumulates in one form of another from improper digestion. This leads to the fluid retention, sinus drainage, and other issues mentioned above.
I know what you are thinking. You have swollen ankles and your doctor has told you that you have peripheral vascular disease, right? Or you have polycystic ovarian disease and are told it is related to hormones or that we do not know the cause. Or maybe you have a swollen prostate and again, told it is cancerous or otherwise, right?
Well, as true as those explanations may be, they are only true on a certain level. Those are diagnoses, applied to a medical condition. It is like seeing a person with a nose that has blood coming out, and we diagnose them with a bloody nose. While that diagnosis is correct, it tells us nothing about the cause. What caused that bloody nose? If we knew the cause, we could be better equipped to manage the condition.
Dampness, Digestion, the Microbiome, and Inflammation
Here’s the thing. As I noted above, science is slowing catching up with alternative medical philosophies like TCM. Science and research has connected almost every health condition from allergies to cognitive issues, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and immune related conditions to an imbalance in the digestive microbiome. This is referred to as a ‘dysbiosis’ and often leads to leaky gut syndrome, which is a more advanced condition that leads to many of the above mentioned conditions.
Your digestive microbiome is a very delicate balance of microorganisms that aid in the digestion of the food you consume and aid in helping to combat inflammation and proper immune function in your ENTIRE body. What happens in your gut DOES NOT stay in your gut! When the microbiome of your gut is out of balance, we often feel digestive issues like bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, or even ulcers. The imbalance is also seen in IBS, IBD, Crohn’s, and ulcerative colitis. For some, they do not experience direct gut signs, but the problems manifest or appear in other areas of their body, like an allergy, a cyst, or stiff joints.
Why?
When the microbiome is out of balance, several things happen. First, food is not digested properly and dampness forms. We also do not gain the nutritional value of the food we eat and our body suffers the consequences. Second, bad bacteria become dominant and can produce nasty and harmful byproducts of fermentation which contribute to inflammation. Third, as the imbalance increases, inflammation in the gut develops and harms the lining of our digestive tract on a microscopic level, leading to leaky gut syndrome or ‘increased permeability’ in the world of research. This leakiness is the main cause behind the chronic systemic inflammation which develops in our body, especially as we age.
It is THIS inflammation that then leads to the vascular disease, the changes in cells in the prostate, ovary or other tissue that contribute to cancer, or the improper cellular metabolism behind diabetes.
Do you see how it all goes back to digestion? This is a very important concept!
It is this imbalanced microbiome or improper digestion that then leads to the concept of dampness in TCM. So, when we clinically see signs of dampness, we automatically know that in some shape or form, digestion is behind the problem. You can have a diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease, polycystic ovarian disease, cancer, diabetes, or otherwise, but behind this diagnosis is inflammation which is then linked back to the digestive microbiome and dampness in TCM.
So, that heaviness and sluggishness that you feel, those swollen ankles and feet, and that sinus drainage that you encounter is all related to your digestion and your diet. Considering that a large portion of our human population is overweight, and that this overweight body condition IS dampness, it is not hard then to connect the dots with the presence of many health ailments.
In the next article, we will go more into diet, foods, and how they impact digestion. We will also discuss specific herbs that can be used to help counter the problem and improve the situation. There is a reason why so many can reverse cardiovascular disease and even cancer JUST with diet changes and herbs.
Can’t wait? Read ahead and get the full story with our book “Why Aren’t You Healed?”
Author: Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN