Container of phlegm

Spring allergy season is upon us. A lot of people start to drown in phlegm right about now.

There's a saying in Chinese Medicine: "The Lung* is the container of phlegm."

The container. But not the source.

The source of phlegm is one level beneath, an organ labeled in modern Chinese Medicine as the "Spleen"**.

One of two primary digestive organs, along with the Stomach, the Spleen is responsible, amongst other things, for the transformation and transportation of fluids.

If the Spleen falters, fluids will accumulate, especially in the Lung above.

Sugary foods, dairy and dairy substitutes, raw foods, rich foods, and oily foods all overburden the Spleen and produce excessive amounts of phlegm.

---

*In Chinese Medicine, "Lung" refers to the anatomical lungs as well as the nose, throat, and chest.

**The designation "Spleen" was an unfortunate result of the influence of seventeenth-century European missionaries in China. In early Chinese history, this organ was likely indistinguishable from the modern biomedical understanding of the stomach.