r/TCM

Hello!

I am a medical student in China!

For the TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) course final we have to give a 5 minute presentation on a topic related to TCM!

I was looking for a novel topic to work on for my presentation!

Drop your suggestions here!

Hi everyone,

I recently put together an article exploring the neurological mechanisms behind the clinical effects we see on the table. While we use traditional frameworks like regulating the Heart/Kidney and calming the Shen, modern research on the vagus nerve offers a fascinating parallel to these concepts.

The article dives into how needling specific points modulates vagal output and engages the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines.

I thought this community might find the discussion on how the two frameworks intersect insightful. You can read the full piece here:

https://www.aboveandbeyondacupuncture.com/wellness/vagus-nerve-acupuncture-scottsdale/

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you explain these physiological and energetic connections to your patients.

I created this course last year and hosted it on Podia, but I struggled to drum up enough interest to keep the course on that platform. In the interest of spreading knowledge I've decided to compile all of the videos into this 4 hour course and post it for free on Youtube!

This is an introductory course on how to live your life through the lens of traditional chinese medicine and was created as a resource for my Acupuncture patients here in Edmonton.

As this content is for the general public - some of the more complex theories have been simplified to facilitate understanding. Keep that in mind! I am not the final resource you should be using in your journey to understanding this system of medicine - this is simply a starting point for further study.

I met with a local TCM doctor who checked my pulse, tongue, and so on. He asked questions about my history and symptoms, which are mainly brain fog/lethargy, digestive problems, and chronic pain. I also often have cold hands and feet.

He said I have a combination of cold and dampness (apologies if I’m saying this wrong, I ended up looking into TCM out of desperation). He gave me an herbal prescription which I was supposed to take twice a day for I think 2 weeks. Unfortunately, this all happened while I was moving, and it seems I’ve lost the herbs.

I don’t have the money to see him again and buy new herbs. Here is the formula.

My question is, other than buying the herbs again, what home remedies can I try? I have a health pot and I love making teas, I have access to a fairly robust Chinese market but I’m quite poor.

Bonus question: if I end up finding the herbs down the road (I often lose and find things much later), will they still be good? Or should I throw them out? Just thinking ahead.

We will be going into the Li Xia (立夏) solar term (节气) starting from 5 to 20 May 2026. Li Xia is the 7th solar term out of the entire 24 and it is also the first solar term of the summer season.

During Li Xia, the Yang energy in our environment will further increase, which means temperatures will continue to be on the rise. It will also be accompanied with rain at times (especially if you are living in tropical countries).

During this period, the warmth and dampness in our environment will cause some people to have poorer appetite (as dampness will affect our spleen).

If you find that your appetite is affected, you can try to eat some 茶叶蛋 (tea eggs) or dried tangerine peel. Dried tangerine peel can help to improve appetite and regulate stomach Qi at the same time.

The dietary direction in this solar term is 养心安神 (calm our minds). The reason is that the heart (in TCM, it also represents the mind) will accumulate fire (心火) easily during this period (as summer aligns with the organ – heart).

When a person has heart fire (心火), the following symptoms will occur (not all at the same time):

- Insomnia

- Irregular/heavy heartbeat

- Giddiness

- Ulcers on the tongue

- Feeling frustrated

The following are some recommended foods to consume during this period to calm the mind and reduce heart fire (心火):

Lily Bulb (Chinese name: 百合) – Lily bulb is one of the best foods to reduce heart fire as its main property is nourishing heart Yin energy. When the heart’s Yin energy is sufficient, the heart is less likely to be in a heaty state. You can purchase dried lily bulb at most TCM retail shops or fresh ones at the supermarket.

Bitter Gourd (Chinese name: 苦瓜) – Bitter gourd is one of the ideal vegetables to be consumed during this period as it helps in clearing body heatiness and it also has the property of brightening the eyes.

Mung Beans (Chinese name: 绿豆) – Also known as green beans. You can easily prepare a mung bean drink in 5 minutes, which helps to clear summer heat in the body. It also has the property of quenching thirst, detoxing and reducing dampness. This makes it an ideal drink during this period.

Lotus Seeds (Chinese name: 莲子) – Lotus seed is good for calming the mind. Heart fire can disrupt the mind and affect sleep quality. Lotus seed is a natural remedy to counter this, which is similar to the next food, Fu Ling.

Fu Ling (Chinese name: 茯苓) – Fu ling is excellent for strengthening the spleen and improving sleeping quality. During this summer period, the spleen can be easily affected and thus, Fu Ling will be a good addition to your diet in the upcoming months.

General Wellness Recommendation

In the next two to three months, the heart can easily accumulate fire (心火), resulting in insomnia, dizziness, feeling frustrated, and/or irregular/heavy heartbeat.

The main lifestyle recommendation is to reduce the heart fire or prevent it from going into an excessive state.

Meditating is an effective way to reduce heart fire. Do consider meditating before sleep. It can help to reduce the heart fire and calm the mind.

For best results, you can enjoy a book after meditation (instead of using mobile devices) and go to bed when you start to feel sleepy.

Another important thing to note during this period is to avoid doing strenuous exercises.

The reason is that such exercises will make you sweat a lot and in TCM, there is a saying “汗为心之液” – which means the sweat is actually fluid from the heart. This also means that excessive sweating will deplete the heart’s Yin energy and thus, making one’s heart easily go into the heart fire (心火) state. Try to go for light exercise so you won’t sweat so much.

If you have been sweating a lot during this period, make sure you add some lily bulbs (dried or fresh) to your diet as lily bulbs can help to replenish your heart Yin energy.

Another simple way to replenish heart Yin energy is to drink more water. But if you’re unable to do so for practical reasons (especially during work), then consuming lily bulb will be a better way.

Hope this information helps!

Do take care of yourself and the people around you during this Li Xia solar term!