Managing Fluctuating Temperatures: Traditional Chinese Medicine Approach to Functional Indigestion

On hot summer days, air conditioners are often running in homes and offices, causing a fluctuation of temperature between indoors and outdoors. This leads to many people experiencing functional indigestion, characterized by symptoms such as acid reflux, nausea, bloating, fatigue, loss of appetite, and belching. This condition falls under the category of "distention" and "stomach pain" in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is often caused by changes in external temperature and emotional state, resulting in an imbalance of spleen and stomach function. Treatment often involves methods that promote digestion and harmonize the spleen and stomach. Below is a simple and effective recipe for fragrant orchid drink.

Take 9 grams of Huoxiang (Pogostemonis Herba) and 9 grams of Peilan (Agastache rugosa), mix them together, and simmer for 30 minutes. This drink is suitable for long-term consumption. Huoxiang has a pungent taste, a slightly warm nature, and belongs to the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians. It has the effects of relieving summer heat, dispersing turbidity, regulating qi, and stopping nausea. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as chest tightness and fatigue caused by summer dampness, fever and vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, nasal congestion and headache, malaria, and bad breath. The "Bencao Tujing" records it as the "most important medicine" for treating spleen and stomach vomiting. Modern pharmacological research has found that Huoxiang has significant antifungal, anti-nasal virus, and promoting gastric secretion and digestion effects. Peilan has a pungent taste, a neutral nature, and belongs to the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians. It has the effects of relieving summer heat and dampness, invigorating the spleen and opening the appetite, and dispersing external pathogenic factors. It is commonly used to treat symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, headache, internal dampness and heat, loss of appetite with distension in the stomach area, sweet and greasy taste in the mouth, and bad breath. Modern pharmacological research has found that Peilan has inhibitory effects on various pathogenic microorganisms. When these two herbs are combined, they have the effects of dispersing turbidity, clearing heat, stopping nausea, and invigorating the spleen and opening the appetite.

In daily life, attention should also be paid to: 1. Maintain regular daily routines. Adjust clothing when entering or leaving a room, and avoid resting in an air-conditioned room for a long time to prevent the body from being stimulated by temperature changes. 2. Drink plenty of plain water to regulate the body's metabolic balance.