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Deficiency of Heart Blood
Cause
- general blood deficiency
- a diet that lacks protein
- severe bleeding
In Traditional Chinese Medicine the cause for "Heart blood deficiency" is a general blood deficiency. Since one of the functions of the Heart is to govern the blood, a general blood deficiency will manifest in the Heart.
There are different causes that lead to blood deficiency. One major cause is a weak Spleen.
Note: In Traditional Chinese Medicine the concept of the Spleen largely differs from Western medicine understanding of this organ. The symptoms of an imbalanced Spleen in TCM point to imbalance in the digestion. So in order to avoid confusion whenever we refer to the Spleen in this project we will think about the collective work of some organs and systems that participate in the digestion rather than what we know about the spleen from Western science. We have discussed this in more detail in the material “The Spleen in Traditional Chinese medicine” in the Physiology chapter.
When the Spleen is weak it cannot sufficiently perform its transformative function - transforming food into food essence, Qi and blood. Thus not enough blood is being produced. If this is the case the above blood deficiency symptoms are accompanied with some digestive issues like poor appetite and/or poor digestion.
A diet which lacks insufficient nourishment and protein is another cause for the blood to become deficient. A third cause for blood deficiency is severe haemorrhage (bleeding).
If you want to learn more about the Heart and its functions from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine go to "The Heart in Traditional Chinese Medicine" in the Physiology chapter.
Symptoms
- nervousness
- anxiety
- insomnia
- dream-disturbed sleep
- poor memory
- heart palpitations
- dizziness
- paleness
The Heart houses the mind. Thus “depleted Heart blood” will lead to an unstable spirit as the house of the spirit is now fragile. Therefore the majority of the Heart blood deficiency symptoms are spirit related. Such are nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, poor memory. In addition there could be heart palpitations - the main symptom that manifests when the Heart is in disharmony. Dizziness is a general blood deficiency symptom (not enough blood to nourish the brain). Paleness is another general blood deficiency symptom. Paleness on the face, lips and/or tongue confirm that one is blood deficient. (1)
Treatment
In order to treat Heart blood deficiency blood in general needs to be tonified. As the Liver, which stores blood, may also become blood deficient, the treatment principle for tonifying Heart blood is similar to the treatment principle for tonifying Liver blood.
A great way to tonify Heart blood is by adding blood tonifying foods to the diet.
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Food therapy is the most economical and non-toxic biochemical approach to illness and disease. Food is something we continuously use to sustain our lives. Learning what foods are healing (and what disruptive) for each condition has the potential to convert every meal into therapy.
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(1) Maciocia, Giovanni (1989). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Nanjing: Harcourt Publishers Limited
(2) Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing with Whole Foods. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books
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