Many people go throughout their entire lives not understanding or realizing how big of a deal their organs are. The first medical-acupuncture textbook, written 4,600 years ago, details how the organs control different parts of the body. If your organs are strong, your body will be strong. If your organs are weak, your body will be weak and susceptible to disease and illness.
The intent of my monthly blog is to highlight a different organ and educate you on the function of each. After reading the articles, you will have a better understanding in determining if your organs are strong or weak and learn ways to make changes for the better. This month, let’s begin with the spleen and pancreas.
The spleen and pancreas are two separate organs but were considered the same organ by ancient Chinese doctors and are simply referred to as the Spleen.
Western medicine classifies the spleen as an immune organ that stores white blood cells and platelets (clots blood), kills bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis and filters blood before sending it to the liver to be filtered again. The pancreas releases ‘juices’ into the stomach to help break down food and to turn it into energy and releases hormones to keep your blood sugar level. If your blood sugar is too high, tissues, nerves and organs are damaged. When blood sugar is too low it can cause dementia, comas or death.
Chinese medicine classifies the Spleen as being in charge of movement and transformation of grain and water and because of this, the Spleen is the source of blood creation. Really what this means is that the Spleen is in charge of breaking food down into nutrients that our cells, tissues and organs need to be strong. These nutrients find their way to your cells, tissues and organs via the blood. If you are eating proper foods and your spleen is able to break down your foods properly, you will create nutrient dense blood and strong cells, tissues and organs.
A weak spleen will lead to little or no appetite with a bland, sweet or slimy taste in the mouth. Bleeding can occur in the form of petechiae (small dots of bleeding under the skin), purpura (big flat patches of bleeding under the skin), inability to clot and flooding or spotting of menses. Accumulation of fluids can occur that creates impaired movement of limbs, edema and phlegm.
One of the easiest ways to tell if the Spleen is healthy or sick is to look at your tongue. If you have a swollen tongue, your Spleen is weak. If your tongue is swollen AND pale, you are deficient in nutrients.
If your Spleen function is weak, you can eat all of the health food you want and exercise your booty off but it won’t re-boot your Spleen’s function. The best way to re-boot your Spleen or any organ is to have Acupuncture by a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac). Acupuncture is the use of tiny little ‘needles’ that are placed into a specific location on your body. Once the needle is inserted into the skin, it wakes up the nerve which sends a message to your brain to heal a specific part of your body. It is a simple, non-invasive form of healing that actually fixes your body.
The number of acupuncture treatments needed to reverse the organ damage depends on how long it was left untreated. The longer the damage or pain was allowed to go on, the more treatments required. Similar to car repair – if the ‘check engine’ light has been on for months, the damage may have continued to the point where the repair will cost you much more than if you had it checked out immediately when the light first appeared.
Paying attention to pain and seeking immediate intervention/consultation is a better option than waiting it out to see if it gets better. In the long run, your body will thank you be being a “finely tuned engine”. It’s all about your health!
Please share this article with family or friends who would benefit from this information.
Until next month!
Shana Grams L.Ac
