4 Dietary Stagnation Type

(4) Dietary Stagnation Type

① Symptoms: Fullness and pain in the epigastric region, belching with a foul odor, acid regurgitation, nausea and vomiting, vomit consisting of undigested food, symptom relief after vomiting, loss of appetite, acidic and foul-smelling diarrhea, incomplete evacuation, thick, greasy tongue coating, and slippery, rapid pulse.

② Treatment: Eliminate food stagnation, harmonize the stomach and reverse upward qi.

③ Prescription: Modified Baohe Wan. Use 30g each of fresh and dried hawthorn, 10g of fermented grain, 15g of roasted malt, 10g of pinellia, 10g of poria, 10g of tangerine peel, 10g of radish seed, 10g of nutmeg, 10g of forsythia, 10g of jade tablet, 3g of coptis, 6g of licorice, and 10g of ginger; decoct twice, mix well, divide into three doses, take one dose daily.

④ Note: This syndrome is caused by overeating or consuming hard-to-digest foods, leading to food stagnation. In TCM, "accumulated food" is what people commonly call "food stagnation," and almost everyone has experienced this condition. How to identify food stagnation? A full, foul-smelling burp is a typical sign of food stagnation, which everyone probably knows. However, to recognize some atypical cases of food stagnation, one must analyze medical history, physical signs, and tongue and pulse conditions. If there is epigastric fullness, pain, thick tongue coating, and slippery pulse, etc., it may indicate food stagnation. If it's just simple food stagnation, treatment is relatively straightforward, with quick results, and can even be cured by fasting, starvation, or eating raw radishes. It's worth noting that food stagnation is rarely a standalone issue; it often combines with the six excesses and emotional factors, complicating the condition.