Running is a popular sport loved by many people for exercise. However, excessive dampness can be a problem for many individuals, as it can lead to various discomforts. So, can running help eliminate internal dampness?
How is internal dampness formed?
1. Long-term consumption of various high-protein, high-calorie, and high-fat foods can lead to severe nutritional imbalances. Most of these foods have high heat or high dampness properties. After consumption, dampness quietly accumulates in the body, especially in the summer when dampness is more likely to occur.
2. Long-term consumption of foods that are baked, roasted, fried, spicy, or have a cold and greasy nature can result in the combination of internal dampness and heat, leading to more severe damp heat.
3. Busy work and life, frequent staying up late, irregular or excessive eating can damage the spleen and stomach, causing dysfunction and forming internal dampness.
4. Lack of exercise can lead to severe degradation of bodily functions, overall weakness of qi and blood, and reduced organ function, leading to abnormal water and damp metabolism in the body, resulting in stagnant intestines and stomach and gradually forming internal dampness.
5. Long-term living in humid and hot areas or damp and cold mountainous areas can also aggravate internal dampness.
Can running eliminate internal dampness?
Running can help eliminate internal dampness. During running exercises, it can promote blood circulation, improve overall qi and blood, and clear stagnation in the meridians, which can regulate the organs, enhance spleen and stomach function, and eliminate internal dampness.
How to run to eliminate internal dampness?
1. When running to eliminate internal dampness, it is best to choose clear weather. Try to run indoors on cloudy, rainy, or smoggy days.
2. It is advisable to take measures to keep warm while running. Although body temperature will rise after running, it is still important to wear sufficiently warm clothing before running to prevent invasion of cold dampness and to achieve the goal of eliminating internal dampness.
3. After running, a large amount of sweat will be produced. If conditions allow, it is best to change into dry clothes and use a warm towel to wipe off the sweat. Avoid taking a shower immediately after running; it is better to wait for at least half an hour for body temperature to return to normal before showering.
Improving lifestyle habits to eliminate dampness
The effectiveness of running in eliminating internal dampness is weak and slow. To quickly get rid of dampness, it is necessary to improve unhealthy lifestyle habits and try to consume less spicy, stimulating, cold, greasy, fried, and high-calorie foods. Instead, eat more vegetables and fruits to maintain a balanced diet. Pay attention to regular work and rest, avoid staying up late, and maintain a positive and cheerful mood.
Recommended foods to eliminate dampness
White Kidney Beans
The first recommendation to eliminate dampness is the white kidney beans, also known as the "longevity beans". White kidney beans have a slightly warm nature and a sweet taste. They have the functions of harmonizing the stomach, removing dampness, invigorating the spleen, and stopping diarrhea. They are mainly used to treat symptoms such as spleen deficiency diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and abnormal vaginal discharge.
The effect of white kidney beans in tonifying the spleen and eliminating dampness is ideal, but they are not easy to cook. They can be cooked in a pressure cooker, and soaking them in advance can make them more tender and soft.
Pearl Barley
Pearl barley has the effects of promoting diuresis and reducing edema, invigorating the spleen and eliminating dampness, relaxing tendons and relieving bi pain, and clearing heat and draining pus. It is a commonly used diuretic and dampness-dissipating medicine. Pearl barley can be boiled with red beans to make porridge, using only pearl barley and red beans without adding rice. Drinking the water and eating the beans regularly will have an effect over time.
Red Beans
Red beans can nourish the blood and eliminate dampness. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, red beans have a neutral nature and a sweet and sour taste. They have the functions of invigorating the spleen, promoting diuresis, clearing heat, and eliminating dampness. Drinking the water boiled with red beans or boiling water with red beans, black beans, and mung beans together can effectively eliminate dampness from the body.
Chinese Yam
Chinese yam does not have a direct effect on eliminating dampness, but it can nourish the spleen, indirectly helping to eliminate internal dampness. Chinese yam can be stir-fried, stewed with vegetables, or made into desserts. Steamed Chinese yam dipped in white sugar is also a good choice.
It is better to choose the iron stick Chinese yam, which is a medicinal and edible variety, and has a better effect on tonifying the spleen and can also invigorate qi, compared to the ordinary Chinese yam used in households.
Bitter Melon
Bitter melon has a bitter taste and a cold nature. It enters the heart, liver, spleen, and lung meridians, with the functions of clearing heat, dispelling summer heat, improving vision, detoxifying, reducing blood pressure and blood sugar, diuresis, cooling blood, relieving fatigue, and invigorating qi. Due to the presence of quinine in bitter melon, it has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, dispelling dampness, and relieving itching. It can be used to treat diseases caused by dampness and heat, such as furuncles, boils, prickly heat, and eczema.
