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You?ve probably already seen the huge Halloween candy displays in our local stores, and advertisements for it on television. Soon, gobs of it will be everywhere, especially if you?ve a few young ones in the house. Candy runs rampant through our society, as do sweet foodstuffs in general, but October dominates all other months for candy. My stomach gets a little queasy just contemplating the booty gathered every year by the delightful Halloween trick-or-treaters. It?s the end of the year ?sweets? kickoff. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all a challenge to those with a sweet tooth. How sweets affect us is very important in traditional Chinese medicine.

TCM conceptualizes [tag]digestion[/tag] starting with the Stomach and Spleen. Not the ones you learn in anatomy and physiology, these conceptualized organs are more like whole systems. The TCM Stomach and Spleen work together, the Stomach receiving food from the outside via the mouth, and the Spleen, it?s paired internal organ, converts ingested foods into qi (let?s define qi as energy for now). Respect this pair. Your energy comes from food via the stomach and air via the lungs. Disrespect any of these sources, and you?ll suffer the consequence. Maybe not right away, but over time things have a way of catching up with us. Bad fuel equals bad health.

A complete TCM explanation is beyond the scope of this article. What?s really important is understanding what happens when we overingest sweets. In TCM foods have specific qualities: sour astringes, salt softens, bitter drains and sweets tonify. So now it sounds like eating sweet foods is good for us, and it is, except the TCM concept of sweet has little to do with how the stuff tastes in your mouth. Remember, the TCM definition of sweet is tonifying- the sweets in your Halloween bag (or the cake on your plate) don?t really fit this definition. In TCM a little sweet goes a long way. I was once told the correct amount of sweet to inject at the end of a meal to enhance digestion was a small ball of rice about the size of a golf ball. Hardly a candy bar.

The bottom line is, the Spleen is very sensitive to what it receives. When it receives too much sweet, it creates Damp. Symptoms of Damp in the body include fatigue, feelings of heaviness (especially in the limbs), weakness, difficulty concentrating, and a ?sticky? feeling, among others. Excess Dampness is stored in the Lungs, and it can collect anywhere in your body; in your skin, your lungs, your bladder, anywhere. When Heat is added to Damp you get Damp Heat (read as infection). So watching your diet is essential to good health. Overeating and too many sweets are a detriment. Period.

Have a ?sweet tooth?? In TCM an excessive desire for a specific taste represents a deficiency in the related organ; in the case of sweets, that would be the Spleen. Pretty common in our country. Especially when I tell you one of the main symptoms of Spleen deficiency is overthinking. So do your best this season to avoid excess and think about a balanced diet. And if you really can?t live without chocolate you can try what I tell my patients to do, and that?s to enjoy a small piece of dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa) after any meal. Not only will you get your chocolate fix, but you get the benefit of all the good antioxidants found in cocoa.

[tags]traditional chinese medicine[/tags]

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