Understanding the Benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Gut Health

About five months ago, I cut smoothies and cold/raw foods out of my diet, and it’s made a pretty significant impact. I used to not think twice about reaching for one post-workout, as a snack in between meals, or just a sweet treat after lunch. And time and time again I dealt with chronic constipation, a slow digestive system, and intense nausea and bloating.

I’m not saying that smoothies alone caused my IBS (I talk about the root cause of my gut health issues in this post). But I don’t think I grasped the correlation between smoothies and a dysfunctional digestive system.

You may be wondering, “Why would my smoothie impact my digestive health?”. Well, once you step into the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it all starts to make sense.

Not only should we pay attention to the types of foods we are consuming, but how we are consuming them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: What is it?

When I started seeing an acupuncturist weekly for my digestive issues and chronic migraines, I began to learn so much around Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM. She taught me the correlation between what I ate, herbal remedies, and the “fire” or “energy” within my body.

The “fire” she was referring to is a basic concept in TCM of a vital life force, called Qi (pronounced “chi”), that runs throughout the body. Any imbalance to Qi can result in different aliments, illnesses and diseases.

Think of it as an energy, and when something - whether external like a virus or internal like dehydration - throws off that energy, we can develop physical symptoms.

There are two main balancing forces that make up Qi: Yin and Yang. In TCM, there are certain elements, like food, that are deemed higher in yin or yang. An imbalance of these two forces throws off your Qi. Therefore, you can present physical symptoms, like digestive issues.

TCM has been around for thousands of years and is the second largest and oldest continuously practiced professional medicine in the world! It’s an institution that lasted centuries and should be given credit where credit is due!

I am not considering myself an expert at all but educating myself with traditional practices has opened up a whole new world of holistic healing for me.

I know, it sounds a bit farfetched if you are accustomed to Western Medicine. I was once like that too. I would throw antibiotics and Ibuprofen at every aliment I had, just hoping that it would cover up my symptoms. But when I learned that overusing antibiotics and consuming a North American diet have been some of the biggest contributors to my IBS and SIBO, I knew that I had to go to the extremes to make a change.

Working with an acupuncturist through my symptoms, I learned that cold and raw foods were slowing down my digestive system.

It’s not that smoothies, and raw vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and cucumbers are “bad” for you. But it could help the flow of your digestive system if you choose cooked, steamed, and warm foods. Not only do cooked vegetables break down fiber, making it easier on your digestive system, but it can help the flow of energy (aka motility; aka bowel movements).

Now, let’s dive into why this should matter for you and your gut health.

The Link Between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Gut Health Explained

If you are someone who has tried multiple diet changes, has taken different tests for your gut health, and you just cannot get to the bottom of your issue, you may want to lean into TCM and holistic practices for optimal digestion.

When we begin to look at the brain-gut connection, the principles of TCM make so much sense. Sometimes negative emotion like anxiety, depression, and grief can negatively slow our digestive system, and even change our gut microbiome because of the neurons that run along our gut-brain axis.

The principles of TCM connect all properties within your digestive system, including your organs, mind, and soul. To promote digestive balance within the body, all vital organs must be in equilibrium. This includes the tongue/mouth, stomach, spleen/pancreas, liver, and intestines (and mind!).

From the moment food enters our body through the mouth, to the time it passes through the organs, there is an energetic flow that occurs. And the color of your tongue is a window into your gut health (which is why tongue scraping is a must-have habit in my morning routine!).

The First Sign of a Digestive Imbalance: The Tongue and Mouth

The first time I saw my acupuncturist she asked to see my tongue. “Okay??” I said as I stuck it out. Little did I know from this alone, she could tell if I was dehydrated, malnourished, or inflamed. My lil red, dry tongue showed her that I was chronically constipated, dehydrated, and probably malnourished. And she was sooo right (sadly). At the time, I had not gone to the bathroom in days and felt fatigued (food was noooot giving me energy at the time).

If you are new to TCM, try examining your tongue to see what you could add or remove from your lifestyle. For me, I learned that I should add minerals and electrolytes to my water to help with dehydration. I also take a multivitamin and additional vitamins like Vitamin D3 + K and fish oil to make sure I am meeting my daily requirements.

The Stomach

The Stomach: Where our beloved smoothies come into play. The stomach is known to be the digestive hotspot, aka has a lot of heat and fire. This is how we are able to have a strong and healthy metabolism. And how do you put out your digestive fire? With cold, raw foods.

Cold and raw foods are said to weaken the fire in our gut. It makes it difficult to digest food, leading to energy, or qi stagnation. Symptoms from this include constipation, migraines, fatigue, and cold hands/feet. By focusing on warming foods, you can promote healthy digestion and remove stagnation. This leads to less bloating, inflammation, and constipation.

When you consume excessive cold and raw foods, like smoothies and big, hearty salads, you are at risk of putting out your digestive fire and slowing down your metabolism. This could lead to a change in bowels, more gas (as waste is just sitting in you) and a feeling of heaviness.

I’m not saying you can’t ever have a smoothie, ice cream, or salad again, but I would try limiting the amount you are consuming each week to see if this improves your digestion!

On the other hand, if you have too much fire, this may lead to more hunger and constipation. At this point, you may want to go for that smoothie! You don’t always have to play with the temperature of foods, but you can try foods with cooling properties like peppermint, dandelion greens, and leafy greens.

Spleen/Pancreas

After working with this acupuncturist for about a month, she also drew the conclusion that I likely had Spleen Qi Deficiency. The spleen and pancreas are said to turn food into useful nutrients that our body can use. Without it, you will likely be fatigued, have a poor appetite and could have undigested food in your stool.

There are certain herbal teas you could drink to help with this deficiency. I used “Six Gentlemen Formula” for about a month after each meal. At the time, I was also going through an antimicrobial protocol, so couldn’t tell a huge difference after using it. But I heard you should use it for about three months it can help improve your symptoms!

Liver

In TCM, the liver is known to detoxify and cleanse the blood and body. Because we are including the whole person within the healing process, it is also known to soothe the emotions. So, it will not work properly if there is stress, anger, impatience, etc.

Stress management is fundamental to helping the liver to do its thing. It’s important to find ways to relax and manage stress or else toxins will continue to build up within the body.

One of my favorite techniques for this is the Box Breathing method: Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, out for eight seconds, hold for four seconds.

I also recently invested in the Yoga Tune Up ball to roll out my feet before bed and omg I don’t think I realized how much stress we hold in our feet! Definitely a staple in my routine now.

Intestines

The final vital organ in our digestive system! The small intestine play a critical role in absorbing the last bits of nutrients from our food and the large intestine flushes out unwanted toxins and waste.

According to TCM, the small intestine’s role is to separate pure from impure. It separates fluids and controls, receives, and transforms elements. An imbalance in your small intestine could lead to urinary or bowel changes like diarrhea, abdominal pain, and throat pain (everything is connected!).

On the other hand, the large intestine moves out unwanted waste and toxins from the small intestine through stool. It also helps let go of unwanted emotions!

If we are not able to empty our bowels (i.e. are chronically constipated), we can accumulate toxins which lead to more imbalances in our body. Dysfunction in the large intestine can be due to a variety of reasons, including holding on to grief and anger. Stagnation in the large intestine can lead to changes in bowel movements, like IBS, and also heartburn.

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What you can do today to start incorporating TCM practices into your gut health journey!

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to TCM and gut health! If you can take anything away from this article, it’s that our mind, body, and the food we consume are connected way more than we think!

Below are some next steps you can take to start incorporating these practices into your own health journey.

Changing your diet

There are many ways you can start to change your diet to align with balanced qi. If you suspect you have deficiencies in any of your vital organs, you can Google it and it typically gives you information on what foods to incorporate into your diet. As a baseline, avoid excess sugar and processed foods.

Working with an acupuncturist

This was super helpful in my gut health journey! An acupuncturist can accurately pinpoint energetic imbalances and provide herbal recommendations. Work with your health insurance too, as they may cover a few or all sessions.

Therapy

A lot of TCM principles are based in emotional balance. Sometimes, the grief, guilt, and anger we hold onto can result in digestive issues. You can work with a therapist to uncover any trauma and let it go (literally, let it go and your large intestine will take care of it).

Herbal Teas

Teas are a gamechanger for gut health! Warming teas like peppermint, ginger, and turmeric are great for adding heat to your digestive fire. My naturopath also recommends Smooth Move tea if you are really constipated (as a last resort).

Electrolytes and Minerals

I've learned that water alone will not hydrate you! And dehydration can impact the flow between your vital organs. My naturopath recommended adding minerals, like Celtic/Himalayan Sea Salt to your water, lemon juice, or electrolyte packs like LMNT.

Incorporate holistic practices for optimal digestive well-being

This is basically reframing how we eat. Try removing distractions while eating and practice mind-body techniques. This can be useful before or after you eat. Gratitude, belly breathing, and Non-Sleep Deep Rest are great at shifting your body to a rest and digest state.

Take out the damn smoothie

For just a week. Try it :)

I invite you to share any learnings below and let me know which holistic practices you’ve used to help your gut health journey!

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*Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Please consult your doctor before you make any diet/lifestyle changes that may impact your health.