Phlegm-Damp Constitution — TCM Food Therapy & Dietary Approach

Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns

In TCM, this constitution is differentiated into several patterns, each with a classical herbal formula:

Internal Obstruction of Phlegm-Damp (Damp-Phlegm Pattern)

Formula: Erchen Tang (Two-Cured Decoction) (Formulary of the Bureau of the People's Welfare Pharmacies, Song dynasty)

Ingredients: Pinellia (Banxia), Tangerine Peel (Juhong), White Poria (Bai Fuling), honey-fried Licorice (Zhigancao), decocted with fresh ginger and smoked plum (Wumei)

Traditionally used to dry dampness, transform phlegm, regulate qi, and harmonize the middle. Traditionally used for the damp-phlegm pattern: copious white phlegm that is easy to expectorate, oppression in the chest and diaphragm, nausea and vomiting, heaviness of the limbs, or dizziness and palpitations, with a white moist tongue coating and a slippery pulse.

Spleen Deficiency with Dampness

Formula: Shenling Baizhu San (Ginseng, Poria and Atractylodes Macrocephala Powder) (Formulary of the Bureau of the People's Welfare Pharmacies, Song dynasty)

Ingredients: Ginseng (Renshen), Atractylodes (Baizhu), Poria (Fuling), honey-fried Licorice (Zhigancao), Chinese Yam (Shanyao), White Hyacinth Bean (Baibiandou), Lotus Seed Flesh (Lianzirou), Coix Seed (Yiyiren), Amomum (Sharen), Platycodon (Jiegeng)

Traditionally used to supplement qi, fortify the spleen, percolate dampness, and stop diarrhea. Traditionally used for the spleen-deficiency-with-dampness pattern: poor digestion, oppression in the chest and epigastrium, borborygmus with diarrhea, weak limbs, emaciation, a sallow complexion, a pale tongue with a white greasy coating, and a deficient, moderate pulse.

Gallbladder Depression with Phlegm Harassment

Formula: Wendan Tang (Gallbladder-Warming Decoction) (Treatise on Three Categories of Pathogenic Factors, by Chen Wuze of the Song dynasty)

Ingredients: Pinellia (Banxia), Bamboo Shavings (Zhuru), Immature Bitter Orange (Zhishi), Tangerine Peel (Jupi / Chenpi), Poria (Fuling), honey-fried Licorice (Zhigancao), decocted with fresh ginger and jujube

Traditionally used to regulate qi, transform phlegm, harmonize the stomach, and benefit the gallbladder. Traditionally used for the gallbladder-depression-with-phlegm-harassment pattern: timidity and easy startling, dizziness and palpitations, vexation with insomnia, many strange dreams at night, or nausea, vomiting, hiccup and vertigo, with a white greasy coating and a wiry, slippery pulse.

These formulas are for reference under TCM constitution differentiation and should only be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner.

Food Therapy & Diet

Dietary Therapy Recipes

Tangerine Peel and Coix Seed Congee: 9 g tangerine peel, 30 g coix seed, optionally with 9 g bamboo shavings and 20 g mother-of-pearl. Wrap the tangerine peel (and bamboo shavings and mother-of-pearl) in gauze, decoct in water and strain out the dregs, then use the liquid to cook the coix seed into a congee; as it nears completion, season with brown sugar. One dose per day.
Coix Seed, Winter Melon and Pork Soup: 10 g coix seed, 10 g white hyacinth bean, 5 g tangerine peel, 500 g winter melon (with skin), 400 g lean pork, and ginger to taste. Rinse and cut the pork into chunks and blanch to remove blood; rinse the other ingredients and cut the winter melon into chunks with the skin on; place everything in a clay pot with ample water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours and season with salt.
Poria Congee: 20 g Poria powder and 100 g rice. Rinse the rice and place it with the Poria powder in a pot with ample water; bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until thoroughly softened, and stir in a little salt and minced ginger (brown sugar may be added to taste).
Winter Melon and Coix Seed Soup: one piece of winter melon and coix seed to taste. Soak the coix seed in cool water overnight, add water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over medium-low heat until soft and split; add the winter melon chunks and continue cooking for 5–10 minutes, then season with salt.
Tangerine Peel, Lotus Seed, Coix and Duck Soup: 6 g tangerine peel, 30 g lotus seed flesh, 30 g stir-fried coix seed, 12 g Chinese yam, 10 g ginger, and 250 g duck meat. Rinse and chop the duck; stir-fry the coix seed in an iron pan until lightly browned; place all the ingredients in a pot with water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 2 hours and season.

Dietary Principles

Keep the diet light, and limit rich, greasy, sweet, and sticky foods (fatty meat, fried foods, sweets, and cold drinks) that obstruct the spleen and generate dampness.
Eat more spleen-fortifying, dampness-draining, phlegm-transforming foods such as coix seed, adzuki bean, winter melon, white hyacinth bean, Chinese yam, Poria, tangerine peel, radish, and kelp.
Avoid excessive sweets and raw-cold foods; sugar tends to transform into dampness and generate phlegm, and cold drinks damage spleen yang.
Eat three meals at regular times and in fixed amounts, chew slowly, and avoid overeating so as to ease the burden on the spleen and stomach.
Combine this with moderate exercise that produces a light sweat to help the spleen transport water-dampness; sit less and move more, and keep the living environment dry.

Understanding the Constitution

The Phlegm-Dampness Constitution forms mainly from a biased prenatal endowment, or postnatally from indulgence in rich, sweet, greasy foods and raw, cold, sweet items that damage the spleen and stomach, or from prolonged sitting with little movement and lack of exercise, which impair the spleen's transportation and transformation. In Chinese medicine the spleen governs the transportation and transformation of fluids and is the source of phlegm production; the lung is the receptacle that stores phlegm; and the kidney governs fluid metabolism. If spleen deficiency prevents the transportation of water-dampness, water-dampness accumulates internally and, congealing, engenders phlegm; phlegm-dampness then stagnates within the body and, over time, forms the Phlegm-Dampness Constitution. Such individuals commonly present with an overweight or obese build, a full and soft abdomen, oily facial skin, bodily heaviness and lethargy, copious phlegm, a sticky sensation in the mouth, an enlarged tongue body with a white greasy coating, and a slippery pulse, and they are prone to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.