Resolving food stagnation

I often talk with people who are looking for help with chronic digestive issues.

Many of the women I see who are struggling with menstrual cycle and/or fertility concerns also have digestive challenges. Men and women both write to me with questions about how to get rid of their reflux or GERD symptoms. In general, I hear from many people who experience some degree of post-meal bloating, even when they’re not reporting this as their primary health concern.

Though common, chronic bloating and digestive difficulty after meals is not normal.

There’s no need to panic, but we also do not need to accept that we are destined to struggle with digestive issues for the rest of our lives.

I strongly encourage clients not to accept that they are just “someone who gets bloated easily” as if it is a part of one’s personality.

Digestive distress is very commonly a signal that:

1) some aspect of the digestive system is weak and unable to process the digestive load;

2) foods entering the body are not appropriate for the individual at that time;

or

3) a prior or present injury/pathology is not allowing for full digestive capacity

As we work together to determine what is the root cause of the individual’s digestive challenges, we want to see whether or not the individual struggles regularly with food stagnation.

Food Stagnation

In Chinese medicine, food stagnation is a pattern of disharmony in the body where digestion slows down or stops due to overeating, eating too fast, eating a lot late at night, or consuming an excess of heavy/greasy foods, takeout (lots of additives), and sweets.

The food quite literally stagnates and starts to ferment, leading to discomfort.

You may have experienced this after a holiday meal where you ate too much and the food got stuck.

Food stagnation can be caused by a mismatch between what the spleen and stomach can handle and what was actually consumed.

(Keep in mind that this can look dramatically different across individuals. We all know that one person who seems to be able to eat anything, whenever, without the slightest challenge. Maybe you used to be like that in your teens, and wonder where that “talent” went. More on that another time, but suffice it to say that those habits usually catch up to people.)

Food stagnation can also result from emotional stagnation that affects digestion. For example, this can occur if you eat while angry or distracted.

Typical presentations of food stagnation:

• Bloating or distention (especially in the upper abdomen)

• Feeling full for hours after eating

• Belching, a sour taste in the mouth, or foul-smelling breath

• Gas or bad-smelling stools

• Low appetite the next day

• Nausea or sluggishness

• Trouble sleeping after a big meal

• The presence of what the internet has not-so-endearingly dubbed a “food baby”

Prevention and resolution

We can keep ourselves from moving toward a scenario that can create food stagnation by keeping a few good-digestion habits in daily life, such as eating dinner early, and finishing meals at least two hours before getting in bed. We can also work on cultivating a food practice that prioritizes digestive ease, with behavior such as eating wet-cooked breakfasts, creating a dietary practice that considers the directionality of foods, and avoiding the primary heaters in the diet.

If we do find ourselves with bloating and heaviness after a meal, or a feeling of fullness that will not subside, some herbal medicines can be extremely helpful:

• Peppermint + chamomile tea—cooling herbs that help clear heat and move stuck qi, make a strong brew (steep for at least 10-15 minutes)

• Fresh ginger root decoction—ginger is a common kitchen remedy that supports digestion and relieves nausea; ginger supports the spleen and digestive processes more broadly

• Dried citrus peel (organic)—tangerine peels in particular, as well as the peels of various citrus fruits, can clear stagnation and cut through phlegm; add to teas, water for cooking rice, broths, and meat dishes

• Miso soup—stimulates appetite and digestive processes; stir miso paste into warm water and drink 15-20 minutes before a meal

• Bao He Wan (Preserve Harmony Pill)—a classical Chinese herbal formula with hawthorn berry as a main herb; helps to move food downward, through the digestive system, resolving stagnation; commonly taken as a tea pill, can also be bought as a powder/granule and stirred into warm water

I’m curious to hear what other kinds of digestion-related questions you might have. You can write in with a question by responding directly to this message or sending me a dm on Instagram. You can also write to me if you are looking for reputable places to buy herbs from. I’ll look out for your messages! ☺️

Warmly,

Artemisia

Artemisia Obi, MA

Chinese Medicine Practitioner | Clinical Herbalist

innervillagehealth.com 

@innervillagehealth