Many people discover they have fatty liver during a physical examination and subconsciously attribute it to eating too much meat, consuming overly greasy food, having excessive nutrition, or drinking too much alcohol during social engagements.
Go to see a Western medicine doctor, who suggests paying attention to a light diet in daily life, or prescribing some lipid-lowering drugs for treatment.
The occurrence of fatty liver disease, eating too well, and consuming too much are indeed important triggering factors, but from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, this only tells part of the story.
The underlying cause is spleen deficiency, leading to a decline in the spleen's transportation and transformation functions.
I. Pathogenesis of Fatty Liver Formation
1. Excessive food intake
As is well known, eating too well and consuming excessive amounts of rich, greasy, and sweet foods can lead to food stagnation, nutritional excess, accumulation in the body, forming a burden and resulting in pathological changes.
Therefore, paying attention to a balanced diet with both meat and vegetables, avoiding overeating and excessive fullness, and preventing food stagnation are important measures to prevent fatty liver disease.
2. Spleen deficiency, insufficient ability of the spleen and stomach to process food
The food consumed in each meal must be processed by the spleen and stomach to form the essence of water and grains, which is then transported throughout the body through the spleen's transformative function.
Therefore, the spleen is like the "food processing factory" and the "distribution center" for nutrients in our body.
Responsible for processing food ingredients into nutrients and precisely delivering them to various organs. Once the spleen is deficient, its transportation and transformation functions decline, leading to a reduced ability of the body to process food or a weakened capacity to distribute the processed nutrients. These nutrients then stagnate in the body and become pathological products—phlegm-dampness.
These phlegm dampness follow the flow of qi and blood traveling into the blood to form hyperlipidemia stopping under the skin to form lipomas and stagnating in the liver to form fatty liver
3. Excessive consumption of liver blood and kidney essence leads to spleen deficiency
Spleen deficiency is the root cause of fatty liver, but factors affecting the spleen's transportation and transformation functions can include improper diet, excessive worry, prolonged sitting, or staying up late.
These factors can all damage spleen yang, deplete kidney essence and liver blood, leading to spleen deficiency.
Once again, it enters a vicious cycle where the spleen's "transportation and transformation" capacity is insufficient, and the "distribution center" becomes paralyzed. Phlegm turbidity accumulates in the liver and cannot be metabolized, eventually leading to the formation of fatty liver over time.
II. A Treatable Chinese Patent Medicine: Jianpi Jiangzhi Granules
Based on the core pathogenesis of fatty liver disease, which is "spleen deficiency and dampness turbidity," Jianpi Jiangzhi Granules adopt the treatment principle of "strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, dispelling dampness and resolving turbidity."
1. Composition:Crataegus Cuneata, Alisma Orientale, Salvia Miltiorrhiza, Codonopsis Pilosula, Ganoderma Lucidum, Polygala Tenuifolia
These medicinal herbs are combined to have the effects of strengthening the spleen and resolving turbidity, replenishing qi and activating blood circulation. They are commonly used in clinical practice for the treatment of hyperlipidemia or fatty liver disease.
2. Prescription Analysis
Strengthen the spleen: enhance the function of the food processing plant
Codonopsis pilosula:Strengthen the spleen and replenish qi, enhance the spleen's transportation and transformation capacity, and fundamentally prevent the generation of damp turbidity. It's like injecting new energy into the distribution center.
Clearing Dampness: Eliminating Waste from the Body—Phlegm Turbidity
Alisma orientale:Promoting diuresis and draining dampness, like dredging waterways, expels accumulated damp turbidity through urination.
Hawthorn:Promotes digestion and removes food stagnation, especially effective in digesting meat stagnation, synergizes with Salvia miltiorrhiza to promote blood circulation and unblock collaterals, clears blood lipids, and reduces fat accumulation in the liver.
Salvia miltiorrhiza:Activating blood and resolving stasis. Prolonged phlegm-dampness obstruction can affect blood circulation, leading to blood stasis. Salvia miltiorrhiza can improve liver microcirculation and help dissipate accumulations.
Ganoderma lucidum:Beneficial to heart qi, tonifying the middle, increasing wisdom, benefiting essence qi, strengthening sinews and bones, improving complexion, and other effects. When heart qi is sufficient, middle qi is vigorous, and essence qi is abundant, it promotes qi flow and resolves stagnation; when qi moves, water moves; when qi is smooth, phlegm dissipates. It allows the entire qi mechanism to circulate again.
Polygala:Calm the mind and boost intelligence, connect the heart and kidneys, dispel phlegm, reduce swelling. Synergize with Ganoderma to improve sleep, allowing blood to return to the liver. When liver blood is sufficient, the spleen and stomach harmonize.
III. Conclusion
In summary, the formation of fatty liver is not solely a dietary issue but is also influenced by various aspects of life. In daily life, in addition to controlling the "intake quantity" (food amount) and "intake quality" (reasonable food combination), it is also important to ensure adequate sleep and appropriate exercise.
Kinetic energy can generate yang to ensure the body has sufficient yang qi to maintain the spleen's transportation and transformation functions.
The prescription Jianpi Jiangzhi Granules does not directly "eliminate intrahepatic fat." Instead, it works by strengthening the spleen and stomach, promoting diuresis to resolve turbidity, and activating blood circulation and qi flow. This combination helps restore the body's normal metabolic and transport functions, thereby naturally resolving fatty liver disease.
