HEALTH IN YOUR HANDS
Stomach Heat: Ulcers, Colities, Gastritis, Halitosis and more
Modern medical science has classified a wide variety of digestive diseases related to inflammation, based upon the location of the problem and the actual pathological process which caused it. However, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) simplifies all of these diseases into the wide-reaching categories of Stomach Heat and Stomach Fire. These disharmonies can describe a broad spectrum of disorders such as several types of ulcers, gastritis, colitis, bad breath, acid reflux, constipation and more.
Generally speaking, you will naturally tend to prefer cold foods and drinks when your stomach is overheated. However, doing so strains the Spleen system. Therefore, dietary treatment should seek balance. Avoid fried and oily foods, hot spices (pepper, fennel, cinnamon, mustard), shell fish, alcohol and coffee. Reduce red meat intake. Since TCM is allopathic in nature (use cold to treat heat disorders, dryness to treat damp disorders), you will generally want to eat cooling foods such as rice, barley, or oat congees; bananas, tofu, avocado, milk, spinach, cabbage, potato, lettuce, cucumber, figs, papayas, kale, and persimmons. Remember to chew well so that you gain the cooling benefits of the foods without taxing your spleen. Replacing dairy milk with soybean milk can also help cool your stomach heat. You can also try to take two tablespoons of steamed honey on an empty stomach in the morning.
You can also perform self-acupressure. Rub ST-44 (Nei Ting, located above the webbing of the second and third toes) upward toward the ankle while exhaling. Rub Ren-12 (Zhong Wan) in the middle of your abdomen, halfway between your navel and bottom of the ribs, in a clockwise rotation, six motions at a time.
If your condition is chronic in nature, be sure to consult your doctor. Several digestive disorders are very serious in nature and require instant attention that the long-term effects of acupressure and dietary adjustment cannot provide.
Despite this descriptive simplicity in comparison to Western Medicine, the TCM approach towards treating Stomach Heat/Fire can serve as complements to, or even replacements for pharmaceuticals and surgery. Before you follow any of the following suggestions, be sure that your disorder is related to Stomach Heat/Fire, and not Stomach Cold or Qi/Blood Stagnation. The tell-tale signs will be a very red tongue (as opposed to a pale tongue for Cold and purple tongue for stagnation) and/or extreme hunger.
Nei-ting, or ST-44 is commonly used for dealing with stomach heat.