The strength of the lungs depends on their qi. Lung qi is characterized by its ability to consolidate, gather together, maintain strength, and unify against disease at every level, including cellular immunity. Personalities of people with strong qi seem unified, hold on to their direction, create order and are effective at what they do. Those with healthy lungs tend to hold onto their principles and keep their commitments, but when it comes time to let go of an object or relationship, they sense this and do it without emotional repression, feeling the associated grief and sadness, but soon resolving it. In comparison those with weak lungs may experience loss with confusion and attempt to stifle their sadness, never completely letting go. At the same time they can be disorderly and either lose their possessions easily or else hold onto them with unreasonable attachment.
Physiology
A very active organ involved inabsorption and elimination.
Damaged By
Smoking, animal fats, especially eggs and meat, being unable to express your emotions easily, especially grief or sadness.
Supported By
Hard green-leafy vegetables like broccoli, watercress and dandelion leaves.
Diagnosis
Pale skin, low energy, depression.
Common syndromes of the lungs
Heat congesting the lungs symptoms:
fevers accompanied with chills, red tongue with a dry, yellow coating, dry cough, shortness of breath, painful sore throat, thick yellow-green sputum with pus or rank bloody pus and yellow nasal discharge.
Dietary suggestions:
watercress, cantalope, apple, persimmon, peach, pear, strawberry, citrus, seaweeds, mushroom, daikon radish, radish, carrot, pumpkin, kuzu, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, chard, papaya, and white fungus. Beneficial herbs include horehound leaf and chickweed. Diet should consist primarily of soups and congees of millet, barley or rice.
Phlegm in the lungs symptoms:
cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, asthma accompanied by sticky phlegm. Tongue coating is greasy and white if phlegm is cold and a greasy yellow if phlegm is hot.
Dietary suggestions:
fennel, fenugreek, flaxseed, cayenne, watercress, garlic and onion family, horseradish, turnip, fresh ginger, radish, daikon radish, mushrooms, cereal grasses, seaweeds, nettles, coltsfoot, elecampane root and mullein leaf. Avoid all dairy foods, meats, tofu, tempeh, miso, soya sauce, soy milk and products, amasake and all sweeteners except stevia.
Deficient yin in the lungs symptoms:
chronic lung infections, inflammation or other long-term lung disease. Dry, periodic cough, fever, frequent thirst, fresh red cheeks and tongue, hot palms and soles, night sweats, thin and fast radial pulse.
Dietary suggestions:
Irish moss and other seaweeds, spirulina and chlorella micro-algae, orange, peach, pear, apple, watermelon, tomatoe, banana, string bean, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, sugar cane, rice syrup, flaxseed, butter and other dairy products, eggs, oyster, clam, pork. Herbs include Marshmallow root, slippery elm bark, the bulbs of Tiger lily and other lilies, rehmannia root(raw) and Solomon's seal root.
Deficient qi in the lungs symptoms:
deficient qi is a chronic, often debilitating lung pattern. weakness, fatigue, weak voice and limited speech, coughing and shortness of breath, may be spontaneous sweating with any physical activity and poor immunity to contagions such as colds and flus
Dietary suggestions:
rice, sweet rice, oats, carrots, mustard greens, sweet potatoe, yam, potatoe, fresh ginger, garlic, molasses, rice syrup, barley malt, herring. Herbs include elecampane root, spikenard root and licorice root. Diet should consist of primarily cooked foods and restrict mucus forming foods and cooling foods such as citrus fruits, salt, milk and other dairy products, cereal grasses, spinach, chard, seaweeds, and micro-algae.
Resources: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford & Acupressure by Jon Sandifer
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