The Spleen

The stomach receives foods and digests them, and then the spleen digests them for a second time, sending them to the lungs to be transmitted to all parts of the body. The most important energy in the human body is called "true energy," which is closely related to the spleen and the lungs. The spleen sends digested foods to the lungs to be mixed with the energy of the air inhaled by the lungs, and the two energies form the essential ingredients of true energy. This is why the spleen is capable of producing energy. Therefore, when a person is suffering from energy deficiency accompanied by spleen deficiency, the function of the spleen in producing energy may have already been impaired and should be treated first.

The spleen governs the blood circulating throughout the entire body to prevent it from overflowing outside the blood vessels. Energy deficiency of the spleen may impair its function of governing the blood, resulting in various types of bleeding. As spleen energy is capable of elevating, it can transport pure energy and pure substances of water and grains upward to the lungs and then to other internal organs to be transformed into energy and blood. If spleen energy fails to elevate and caves in instead, then symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, chronic diarrhea, prolapse of the anus, prolapse of the uterus, and falling of other organs will occur due to middle energy falling.

The spleen likes dryness and dislikes dampness. When the spleen fails to perform its functions of transformation and digestion due to its deficiency, it will generate dampness. Conversely, excessive dampness will contribute to the difficulty of the spleen in performing its functions. When the spleen is being troubled by dampness, symptoms such as heavy sensations in the head, feeling as if the whole body is sinking down, discharge of watery stools, and white and greasy coating of the tongue may occur. For this condition, it is necessary to dry up the dampness and strengthen the spleen, and the herbs used should be relatively warm and dry.