Acidic Chinese Medicine Treatment

Acidic Chinese medicine treatments are used to target ailments associated with liver dysfunction and other ailments associated with discharge and excess fluid in the body. Unlike many Western treatments that center around drugs or invasive treatments, traditional acidic Chinese medicine treatments focus on the properties of acidic foods to return balance to the body.

Acidic Chinese Medicine in Brief

Acidic Chinese medicine largely focuses on foods with acidic or sour flavors. In traditional Chinese medicine, the flavor of a food reveals its medicinal properties, and foods are categorized by four flavors: spicy, sour, sweet and salty. While Westerners prescribe foods based on their nutritional content, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners see flavors as the key to determining a food's beneficial properties. Depending on the specific needs of the individual, certain flavors should be emphasized and others should be minimized.

Liver Conditions

Acidic flavors enter the liver. Therefore, acidic Chinese medicinal treatments can be applied to conditions that involve the liver such as liver fire, liver qi stagnation and liver yang rising.

Liver fire

The symptoms of liver fire are associated with the Western medicine diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome, attention deficit disorder, fibromyalgia, acid reflux disease, migraines, herpes, mania and bipolar disorder.

Liver qi stagnation

Liver qi stagnation is associated with PMS, infertility, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, pelvic inflammatory disease and colitis among others.

Liver yang rising

This condition is associated with migraines, blurred vision and depression.

Discharge and Excess

Acidic flavors have the ability to absorb excess fluids in the body. Therefore, acidic foods are used to treat ailments associated with discharge and excess such as:

Chronic diarrhea

Dysentery

Hemorrhoids

Excessive bleeding (including wounds, hemorrhoids, blood in stool and other bleeding disorders)

Frequent urination and incontinence

Excessive sweating

Involuntary nocturnal emissions

Chronic cough

Acidic Foods

These foods are dominated by an acidic or sour flavor, which signifies that they target the liver and prevent discharge and excess fluid within the body.

Black plums

Raspberries

Lemons

Apples

Apricots

Kumquats

Lychee

Mandarin oranges

Mangoes

Olives

Peaches

Pineapples

Plums

Raspberries

Adzuki beans

Star fruit

Strawberries

Tangerines

Tomatoes

Vinegar

Pears

Plums

Balance

Keep in mind that while acidic Chinese medicine treatments prescribe a diet that is partial to sour flavors, balance is still the key to a proper diet and long-term health. Each flavor has negative and positive properties, and only when present together do they provide harmony to the internal organs. For example, while acidic flavors strengthen liver qi, they weaken spleen qi. Therefore, all five flavors should be consumed daily.

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