Natural remedies--good news

[belle9]

I have been taking Paragone that I got with a recommendation from a person on this website. It has really helped get the GI tract back in working order. I also saw the video posted a long while back about swishing red wine. It has not helped the feeling that tiny snakes are biting my tongue all the time, but it has helped get a lot of fibers out like the naturopathic doctor in the video said. I am feeling better but am still terribly weak and tired. I can get through a school day without wanting to fall down and faint (literally). I found an organic "dessert" that I can eat. Every ingredient in it is organic. It is called Pure Bliss and is Acai Coconut flavor. My sweet tooth is off the chart and I feel like life really stinks without chocolate.

[tcmgpt13]

Hi Belle,

In traditional Chinese medicine different organs are assigned a flavor. The sweet cravings are most likely coming from a deficient spleen, which is common in women in Western cultures due to the type of diet most of us consume. To help the spleen function better and to help the spleen recover sweeter natural foods are consumed. The spleen also has a color assigned to it which is yellow, so the foods which help the spleen are also yellow or orange in color. Sweet potatoes, carrots, yellow squash, root vegetables all will help spleen function. If you can eat more warming foods than cooling as cold foods hurt the spleen. Here's a list of foods from different website which show what might help you as far as eating for improving spleen function. If you drink something cold then it is good to balance it by eating something hot. This will neutralize the effect of cold which is very damaging to spleen function:

Foods to Strengthen the Spleen

Beef
Root vegetables
Warm foods
Soups
Warming spices, such as black pepper, ginger, cumin


about.com

Vegetables
1. Many vegetables aid the spleen, such as leafy greens, squash, asparagus, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pees, yams, green beans, green peppers and rutabagas.
Grains
2. Grains, such as barley, millet and rice, are particularly helpful in strengthening the spleen.

ehow.com

Sweet, Sweet and Sour

TCM distinguishes five basic flavours, each of which can strengthen or hamper particular organs. A detailed list of these flavours and their properties is given in Appendix 2: The Five Flavours.

In moderate amounts, the sweet flavour (note: not “refined sugars”) is said to strengthen the spleen-pancreas. This is why naturally sweet foods are particularly useful for ill people, children under seven and the elderly. The natural sweet flavour as in cooked carrots, for example, supports, strengthens and energises the digestive system.

Most foods are somewhat sweet: all are derived from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are natural sugars and the basic building blocks of life. From this perspective, all grains and most vegetables, beans and meats are basically sweet. In moderate amounts they strengthen the spleen-pancreas and build body fluids (including blood), body structure and tissue, and energy. In excess - and this applies mostly to the consumption of refined sugars in one way or another, but also to overconsumption, particularly of fruits and fruit juices - sugar generates excessive amounts of fluids and damp that flood the spleen-pancreas and create spleen-pancreas fatigue (a Spleen Qi Deficiency), Stomach Heat, Spleen Damp and Phlegm.

Foods That Weaken The Spleen-pancreas