Heart and Spleen Deficiency

How to recognize Heart and Spleen Deficiency

The signs that point most strongly to this pattern:

1. Tired, especially after eating, with a poor appetite
2. Hard to fall asleep, light sleep, dream-filled nights
3. Worry that runs in circles, poor memory
4. Palpitations when anxious
5. Pale gums, pale lips, pale face, with gums that ooze a little rather than bleed red

Also common

• Loose stools
• Bloating after meals
• Dizziness on standing
• Shortness of breath on effort
• Easy bruising
• Heavy or long periods that are pale, or spotting between them
• Chronic low-grade bleeding anywhere: gums, nose, under the skin
• A weak voice and a wish to lie down

Tongue

Pale, possibly swollen, with a thin white coat.

Pulse

Thin and weak.

Formulas for Heart and Spleen Deficiency

Herbs that matter most for Heart and Spleen Deficiency

• Huang Qi Root of Membranous Milkvetch Astragalus lifts the qi so the Spleen can hold blood in its vessels.
• Dang Gui Root of Chinese Angelica Builds blood and keeps it moving.
• Long Yan Rou Longan Aril Longan fruit feeds Heart blood and calms the mind.
• Suan Zao Ren Sour Jujube Seed Sour jujube seed settles the Heart for sleep.
• Yuan Zhi Root of Thinleaf Milkwort Polygala clears the mind and steadies the spirit.
• Bai Zhu Rhizome of Largehead Atractylodes Strengthens the Spleen so food becomes blood.
• Ren Shen Ginseng Ginseng restores the qi behind everything else.

How Heart and Spleen Deficiency differs from its look-alikes

• Kidney Yin Deficiency Kidney yin deficiency is warm and dry: night sweats, hot palms, a red peeled tongue. Heart and Spleen deficiency is pale and tired with a pale tongue. Both can loosen gums, but one is dry heat and the other is simple lack.
• Spleen Qi Deficiency Plain Spleen qi deficiency has the tiredness and loose stools without the sleep, worry, and palpitation side. Add the Heart signs and the formula shifts from Si Jun Zi Tang to Gui Pi Tang.
• Heart Blood Deficiency Heart blood deficiency alone has the poor sleep and palpitations with a normal appetite and firm stools. When digestion is also weak, the Spleen is part of the picture.

What drains into Heart and Spleen Deficiency

• Worry, overthinking, and mental work without rest
• Irregular meals, skipped meals, or a poor diet
• Blood loss from heavy periods, surgery, or childbirth
• A long illness
• Grief or long stress that wears the Heart down

Food and habits that help Heart and Spleen Deficiency

• Three warm cooked meals at regular times. This pattern cannot be fixed on skipped lunches.
• Blood-building foods: red meat or liver in small amounts, eggs, dates, longan, black sesame, spinach, beets, bone broth.
• Stop working an hour before bed. Worry at night is what drains this pattern.
• Gentle walking rather than hard training. Sweat takes blood with it.
• Chew slowly and eat sitting down. The Spleen works best when it is not rushed.

What should change as Heart and Spleen Deficiency improves

• Appetite and energy after meals improve within two to three weeks.
• Sleep deepens and dreams quiet down over a month.
• Pale gums and lips turn pink, and the slow oozing stops, over one to three months.
• If bloating increases, the tonic is too rich. Reduce the dose and add warm cooked food.

Conditions where Heart and Spleen Deficiency shows up