Food Recipe: Resolving Ingestion for Post-Feast Rescue!

As the holiday season approaches, gatherings with family and friends often involve hearty feasting. However, if you experience abdominal discomfort or indigestion after a satisfying meal, it could be related to poor digestion. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), indigestion is linked to inadequate spleen and stomach function, improper eating habits, rapid consumption, or excessive food intake.

Even individuals with normal digestive function may experience indigestion when consuming a large amount of food or liquids in a short period or when eating too quickly without thorough chewing. Those with weak constitutions or deficient spleen and stomach conditions may also be prone to issues related to indigestion, even with a normal diet.

Common symptoms of indigestion include abdominal bloating, chest tightness, belching, bad breath, loss of appetite, stomachache, diarrhea, or constipation. The following dietary therapy recipe can help alleviate gastrointestinal discomfort caused by indigestion:

Tangerine Peel and Chinese hawthorn fruit Tea Ingredients:

3g Tangerine Peel (Chenpi), 3g Chinese hawthorn fruit (Shanzha), 3g Barley Sprout (Maiya)

Method:

Put all ingredients in a 350-500ml thermos with hot water. Wait for about 15-20 minutes. Ready to drink when it gets cooler.

(Note: Barley Sprout has the effect of reducing breast milk supply, so it is not suitable for breastfeeding women. Barley Sprout can be taken out from the recipe if needed. Appropriate amount of crystal sugar can be added.)

In TCM food therapy, these herbs are commonly used to resolve indigestion:

Tangerine Peel (Chenpi): Bitter, spicy, and warm in nature; helps with qi circulation, strengthens the spleen, and eliminates dampness and phlegm. It can improve issues such as indigestion, abdominal bloating, and loss of appetite.
Chinese hawthorn fruit (Shanzha): Sour, sweet, and slightly warm in nature; primarily functions to aid digestion, disperse stagnation, and promote qi circulation. Particularly effective in resolving ingestion caused by greasy or oily foods.
Barley Sprout (Maiya): Sweet and neutral in nature; aids digestion, benefits the spleen, and relieves bloating. Especially effective in promoting the digestion of starchy foods like rice, noodles, and potatoes.

The discomfort caused by indigestion may affect daily life. If indigestion persists without being addressed, it can further contribute to dampness, phlegm formation, and heat accumulation, which can damage the spleen, stomach, and other organs. To prevent gastrointestinal discomfort, it is important to take good care of the spleen and stomach, and regulate your diet. It is advisable to reduce the intake of foods with high calories, oil, sugar, salt, rawness, coldness and spiciness.

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