As a standard Cantonese person, from childhood to adulthood, every time I tell my parents where I am uncomfortable, their answer is:
Everything can be attributed to the presence of moisture. Therefore, "dispelling dampness" has also become a biological instinct engraved in the bones of many Lao Guang people.
What exactly is moisture? Why do Cantonese people "get nine damp out of ten"? How to make dehumidification the most effective?
Dampness is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine believes that dampness is one of the six diseases of "wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire", which is more difficult to deal with.
First, because it belongs to the "wild physique", it always likes to cooperate with other foreign evil associations, which increases the difficulty of treatment.
Rheumatic combination, often makes people have muscle and joint pain;
The combination of cold and dampness makes people afraid of cold and cold, abdominal pain and diarrhea;
The combination of dampness and heat induces sore throat and mouth ulcers.
The second is because it is difficult to get rid of. Traditional Chinese medicine has a saying that "a thousand cold is easy to remove, but a wet is difficult to go." Wet adhesion, such as oil into the surface", refers to the stickiness of moisture, which takes a long time to dissolve.
When there is a lot of moisture in our body, problems such as weakness in the limbs and gastrointestinal discomfort will appear one after another.
Fatigue and heaviness in the limbs are common. Dampness is turbid, so when the dampness is invaded, there will be symptoms of heavy head and body, and even if you wake up, you will feel tired, listless, and your body will be like a heavy load.
Spleen and stomach disharmony, decreased appetite. The spleen is mainly responsible for transporting water and dampness, and is more sensitive to dampness, which is the first to be affected, and eventually implicates the stomach, making people's appetite worse, or full after a few bites, and sometimes the mouth will stink and be bitter.
Uncomfortable bowel movements. Wet stickiness, long-term accumulation of moisture, it is easy to make the urine dripping, turbid, or unformed, viscous increase.
Abnormal tongue coating. If the tongue is fat, tooth marks appear on both sides, and the tongue coating is too white and thick and sticky, it may be that the spleen is too wet.
Abnormalities in private parts. Dampness has a tendency to go downward, and it is easy for women to suffer from "belt disease", that is, it is easy to produce problems such as abnormal vaginal discharge and vaginal inflammation.
From the perspective of external factors, external humidity is mainly related to environmental humidity.
For example, in the Lingnan region, spring is hit by the double crit of returning to the south and heavy rain, while in summer, the moisture content is steadily higher than normal due to the summer heat and humidity, coupled with the rainy season, and in autumn and winter...... (There is no autumn and winter in Lingnan, laughs).
In addition, people who often deal with "water" in life and work, such as those who cook food and beverage and make aquatic products, are easily affected by external moisture.
Internal dampness is usually caused by damage to the spleen and stomach, and the accumulation of water and dampness in the body, which is often related to some bad habits.
Diet is an important aspect of preventing or removing moisture.
Usually, you can eat more foods that strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness.
Five-grain porridge: choose 5 kinds of food, barley, red beans, white lentils, and yams, and boil them into porridge;
Red adzuki bean barley water: boil barley and red adzuki beans as raw materials to make water for drinking;
Poria cocos boiled bone broth (clearing away heat and invigorating, strengthening the spleen and dispelling dampness)
Main ingredients: 200g of fresh poria cocos, 200g of fresh yam, 250g of pork ribs, 30g of fried barley, appropriate amount of salt, 3 slices of ginger.
Atractylodes winter melon pork soup (to cool off, moisten the lungs, shengjin)
Main raw materials: 25 grams of Atractylodes atractylodes, 25 grams of Zexiao, appropriate amount of tangerine peel, 200 grams of pork, 450 grams of winter melon (winter melon skin, pulp, kernel removed).
Of course, dietary therapy and dehumidification are very important, and good lifestyle habits and professional treatment should also go hand in hand.
Intensify your exercise. Spending about 30 minutes a day to exercise outdoors, jogging, brisk walking, yoga, and tai chi can all help promote qi and blood circulation and enhance physical fitness.
If you don't have time to exercise, you can also use your commuting time to walk more, walking about 6,000 steps a day, which is also conducive to your health.
Get 7-9 hours of sleep a day. Try to go to bed before 11 o'clock, do not do strenuous exercise before going to bed, it is best not to brush your mobile phone, and avoid staying up late.
Try not to live in a damp and dark environment. The house you live in should be ventilated and have access to sunlight. In wet weather, you can use an air conditioner dehumidifier or dehumidifier.
If the symptoms of dampness are severe, it is recommended to see a doctor in time to improve the condition and recover health as soon as possible through traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture or massage.
Resources:
[1] Zhang Bingxin. Dietary therapy for heavy humidity [J]. Open Book is beneficial-Seeking Medical Advice, 2022, (12): 65.
[2] Gu Cheng. Test whether there is moisture in your body [J]. Human Health, 2022, (03): 49.
[3] Wang Tong. Drink a bowl of five-grain porridge when damp[N]. Health Times, 2021-12-21 (006). DOI：10.28434/n.cnki.njksb.2021.000441.
[4] Wang Xianen. Treating dampness is a specialty of traditional Chinese medicine [J]. Health and Wellness of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2018, 4 (06): 78.
[5] Gao Shan. Moisture is the source of all diseases [J]. Jiangsu Health Care, 2016, (05): 41.