5 Elements, 5 Organs and the Expelling of Toxins

According to the 5 Elements Theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine, each of the 5 internal organ systems in TCM corresponds to an element, a color, a flavour, a sense organ, a season, an emotion ...and a series of symptoms. These symptoms show up when the toxins can't be expelled. Toxins can include stagnant blood, phlegm dampness, cold, indigestion, Qi stagnation, fire flaming upward etc.

Let us have a quick look at where these toxins are hiding and how you can help repelling them by yourself.

- Kidney

Kidney system holds significant importance in Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. When the kidney function in water matebolism is deficient and there are toxins in the kidneys, one suffers from water retention, swelling, especially in the lower limbs.

The accumulated toxins are consuming kidney energy causing fatigue, weakness, heaviness and lassitude.

Pimples grow on the jaw is an indication of kidney toxins too.

Chinese people eat white gourd to help stimulate the kidney to produce more urine and expel the toxins.

Yongquan（涌泉） is the first point on kidney meridian and also the lowest point on the body. It acts like the sewage exit of a big building. Regular massage of this point can help eliminate kidney toxins.

- Liver

TCM believes that "liver governs tendon", and nails are part of the tendon. When there are toxins in liver, the finger nails become irregular with lines.

Breasts are located on the pathway of liver meridian. When there is liver toxins, hyperplasia of mammary glands appears. The breasts are particularly tender when Qi and blood become full right before the period comes.

Liver is the organ regulating out mood. With toxins in liver, bad mood appears, along with migraine and pimples on the sides of the face.

Green foods can sooth the liver, move Qi and help with bad mood, such as lime juice. Goji berries are believed to increase liver's tolerance of toxins. The yuan-source point of liver meridian Taichong （太冲）is big in expelling liver toxins.

- Heart

TCM believes that heart and the tongue is closely related. An ulcer on the tongue tip indicates the fire toxins in heart. The forehead manifests heart's function too. When there is too much heart fire, many pimples can develop on the forehead. When there is much heart fire, it affects sleep causing insomnia.

Blood stagnation is another type of toxin that can happen to the heart. Light blood stagnation in the heart shows up as chest suffocation and severe one shows up as sharp pain.

Bitter foods can disperse the heart fire. Although bitter foods are cold and they can harm the body's yang energy, but still bitter foods are the best in calming heart fire. You can also massage the ting-spring point of heart meridian Shaofu （少府）

- Spleen

Extra vaginal discharge and extra fat are spleen's toxins. In TCM, they have another name "phlegm damp". Weaker digestive ability of the spleen causes phlegm damp accumulation in the body. Therefore any effective method of "weight lose" has to improve spleen and stomach's digestive function .

Other signs of spleen toxins include bad breath and pimples around the mouth and lips.

Sour foods such as plum or vinegar can strengthen spleen. Shangqiu （商丘）, on the medial side of the ankle, is an effective spleen point to press on.

- Lung

In TCM, lung governs the skin, therefore long toxins cause dull complexion. Lung and large intestine are interior and exterior organs. When there are lung toxins, bowel movement can be hard resulting in constipation.

Toxins in lung organ can also lead to sadness.

Raddish helps with bowel movement and helps expel lung toxins too. Lung doesn't like dryness. Pear nourishes the lungs and help the lungs combatting toxins.

Deep breathing can exhale some of left-over waste air in the lungs and reduce toxins. Pressing Hegu （合谷）point, located between the first and second metacarpal bones, on the dorsum hand, can help expel lung toxins.

Hope the above helps ! For more details in health-preservation, drop by your acupuncturist to have your meridians tuned up :)

Above information courtesy to:

译自中医思维十， 2018－01 －01，版权归原作者所有