Peter Stewart, L. AP. On the causes of Damp Heat.

When I asked Licensed acupuncturist, Peter Stewart, about the cause of facial eruptions created from long-term mask use, he answered, Damp-Heat. Stewart then laid out the triggers of damp heat and a few solutions. Peter Stewart has been a licensed acupuncturist on the island for many years and has successfully treated many people with different ailments. He recently interviewed Charlene Springer about sinus issues and people wearing masks and the hot tropical climate. The first question is what causes dampness and heat in the body? One organ in moving fluid and energy in the body is the spleen. It is instrumental in the production of flam and movement throughout the body. The spleen gets its energy from the kidney. The kidney gets its energy from two places. The first one is food, which the Chinese call “guqi”. The second source of energy is from the air we breathe known to the Chinese as ying chi. So if your air is good and your food is good, you produce a lot of energy.

December 16, 2020

Peter goes on to explain spleen deficiency where there are 5 food types that limit the flow of spleen energy is cold food. If you are constantly consuming cold food throughout the day, you will be using up a fairly large amount of energy warming up the consumed food in order to have it reach your body temperature. The second food type is raw food. It takes large amounts of energy to break down raw food depending on its density. The next food type is fried foods. Frying foods are ok if you are using olive oil, but if you are using vegetable oil, it causes agglutination in the body. You will not be able to move things very well. Dairy food is another food that hinders movement in the body. Many people have lactose intolerance and are not aware of it. This contributes to inflammation as well. Finally, sweet. Anything with a large amount of sugar also causes inflammation. Juices orange juice, cranberry, and apple juice are considered a major source of sugar. All these foods contribute to spleen deficiency.

The symptoms of spleen deficiency are prolapsed organs, which could contribute to snoring. Laurel parous begins to sag. It also could mean your muscles lose tone. It also causes bruising easily for no apparent reason. Gaining weight around the mid-section of your body. Mental attitude also plays a major role in affecting how the spleen functions. The more you stress especially during the pandemic, the more you use up spleen energy. This could lead to overthinking. The kidney supplies energy to the spleen. It is affected by fear. So when all these factors in play, it leads to spleen deficiency.

The humidity on the island is a contributor to spleen deficiency. What are some of the food that can help? Steamed vegetables, lean meat like fish, and brown rice. whole grain. sweet potatoes, watermelon, and cucumber are good sources of nutrition.

Lung energy also plays an important role in protecting yourself during the pandemic. Feelings of sadness can weaken your lung energy and caused skin issues to manifest.

Peter recommends washing your hand frequently and keeping a good attitude which helps lead to a more healthy and fulfilling life in these trying times.

To Sum It Up:

Important Things Avoid cold or frozen foods, Don’t put ice in your drinks, Be mindful, Do one thing at a time, Take a break, try not to worry (it weakens the spleen)

Foods That Harm Dairy, wheat, cold drinks, fruit juice, processed foods, refined flour and sugar, cold raw foods, coffee, alcohol, and deep-fried foods.

Foods That Support organic lightly cooked vegetables, corn, celery, watercress, turnip, pumpkin, alfalfa sprouts, button mushrooms, radish, caper, brown rice, barley, amaranth, rye, oats, legumes, kidney beans, adzuki beans, lentils, a small amount of lean organic meat, poultry and fish, tuna, a small number of whole fruits, lemon, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds. seaweed, kelp, green tea, jasmine tea, raspberry leaf tea, chai tea, gasp berry, peach, strawberry, cherry, walnut, chestnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, lamb venison, lobster, mussels, prawns, shrimp, trout, black peppers cinnamon bark, clove, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, peppermint, rosemary, sage, turmeric, thyme, horseradish, cayenne, nutmeg