Hello dear reader

Today I’m going to talk a little bit about the impact of dairy products in the autumn / winter period, especially for people who suffer from recurrent sinusitis.

Autumn and winter are seasons of the year with characteristics of cold and dryness. Thus, it is in these seasons that we often feel the skin, hair and mucous membranes of the body most dry. The skin can be scaly and itchy, the hair tends to be dull and brittle and the mucous membranes are very dry, causing irritations in the eyes and nose, mainly.

In Chinese Medicine we know that dryness is a pathogenic factor. It has the potential to consume body fluids and generate symptoms of internal heat, such as inflammation.

Given the dryness of the mucosa, breathing becomes more difficult, air filtration less effective, predisposing to respiratory diseases, such as Sinusitis.

It is at this time of the year that the body, in an attempt to balance itself, gives the individual the desire to consume foods that are considered moist, especially milk and milk products. In a small amount, for people suffering from internal dryness, they are even indicated, however, the complication occurs when there is an exaggeration in the consumption of these foods.

Milk and dairy products are difficult to digest, according to Chinese Medicine. Because they are excessively moist, they block the Spleen’s ability to remove excess of dampness and what is left of this incomplete digestion, we call it Phlegm.

Phlegm, is the pathogenic factor that appears as a consequence of the dampness maintained in the body without circulation or elimination for a long period. It is a mass maker, such as cysts, polyps, localized fat and secretions in general, including those that we find blocking the sinuses in sinusitis.

In addition to the milk and its derivatives already having the moist essence, predisposing to the situation described above, during Autumn / Winter, due to the external dryness itself, the body will go as a form of protection, retaining more dampness that it receives externally. Thus, these foods become even more, the villains of the cause and worsening of chronic sinusitis.

Thus, Chinese Medicine professionals should contraindicate the consumption of milk and dairy products throughout the winter for patients who are suffering from Sinusitis or who have frequent cases of this pathology.

And what should we indicate?

Foods that are considered fresh for the Earth element are indicated to make the body promote greater production of Jin Ye (body fluids), which are fluid and healthy for the body. It is often said that Jin Ye are clear, while Moisture (as a pathogen) and Phlegm are cloudy.

They are fresh foods for the Earth element: cucumber, tomato, tangerine, apple, among others, found in the following link: https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

It is also important, in the autumn and winter period, to keep the Spleen and Lung strong, since the defense energy of our body, that is, immunity, depends on the proper functioning of these two organs.

Thus, I recommend the use of points: SP3, SP6, LU7 and LU9, which in addition to needles, can be worked with moxa or acupressure.

Keeping the body moist with healthy foods, removing foods that help the Phlegm perpetuation and making the immunity organs strong, without a doubt, the patient will experience many, many months without suffering from sinusitis.

I hope I helped you and that you liked the text.

A big hug.

Profa. Fernanda Mara