Spleen Qi Deficiency

How to recognize Spleen Qi Deficiency

The signs that point most strongly to this pattern:

1. Tired, worse after meals
2. Bloating and a sense of fullness after eating
3. Loose stools or stools that are soft and unformed
4. Poor appetite
5. Heavy, weak limbs

Also common

• Pale face and lips
• A wish to lie down after lunch
• Easy bruising
• Weak voice, no wish to talk
• Weight gain that is soft, or weight loss with no appetite
• Craving sweets
• Catching every cold

Tongue

Pale, possibly swollen with tooth marks at the edges, with a thin white coat.

Pulse

Weak, soft, or empty.

Formulas for Spleen Qi Deficiency

Herbs that matter most for Spleen Qi Deficiency

• Ren Shen Ginseng Ginseng, the strongest qi tonic. Dang Shen is the gentler everyday substitute.
• Dang Shen Dang Shen Root Codonopsis, the everyday Spleen qi tonic.
• Bai Zhu Rhizome of Largehead Atractylodes Atractylodes strengthens the Spleen and dries damp.
• Fu Ling Poria Poria drains damp and calms the mind.
• Huang Qi Root of Membranous Milkvetch Astragalus lifts the qi and guards the surface.
• Shan Yao Chinese Yam Rhizome Chinese yam gently tonifies Spleen, Lung, and Kidney.
• Zhi Gan Cao Honey-Fried Licorice Root Honey-fried licorice warms and harmonizes the middle.
• Da Zao Chinese Date Jujube dates nourish the Spleen and blood.

How Spleen Qi Deficiency differs from its look-alikes

• Spleen Yang Deficiency Add cold: cold hands and feet, a cold belly that likes a hot water bottle, watery stools with undigested food, worse in winter. That is Spleen yang deficiency and needs the warming formulas.
• Dampness in the Spleen When the weak Spleen lets dampness pile up, the picture gets heavy and sticky: a thick greasy coat, nausea, a heavy head, puffy limbs. The formula adds damp-draining herbs.
• Sinking of Spleen Qi When the qi is too weak to hold things up: prolapse, hemorrhoids, sagging, chronic diarrhea, a dragging sensation. That is sinking qi and needs the lifting formula Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang.
• Heart and Spleen Deficiency Add poor sleep, worry, palpitations, and slow pale bleeding, and the Heart has joined in. Gui Pi Tang feeds both.

What drains into Spleen Qi Deficiency

• Irregular meals, skipped meals, eating standing up or in a rush
• Cold and raw food: salads, smoothies, iced drinks, especially in cold weather
• Too much sugar and refined flour
• Worry and overthinking, which knot the Spleen
• Overwork and too little rest
• A long illness or a long course of antibiotics

Food and habits that help Spleen Qi Deficiency

• Warm cooked food at regular times. Congee, soups, stews, steamed vegetables, rice.
• Nothing iced. Nothing raw in cold weather. The Spleen likes warm and dry.
• Chew slowly, sit down, and stop at eighty percent full.
• Sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, oats, rice, dates, ginger, and a little cinnamon all feed the Spleen.
• Walk after meals. Lying down after eating is for the sick.
• Worry less at the table. The Spleen cannot digest food and problems at the same time.

What should change as Spleen Qi Deficiency improves

• Energy after meals improves within two weeks.
• Stools form and bloating eases over a month.
• The tooth marks on the tongue fade and the swelling goes down.
• Appetite returns and sweet cravings quiet.
• If the formula bloats you, the Spleen is too weak for a tonic yet. Start with warm food and half doses.

Conditions where Spleen Qi Deficiency shows up