Which foods are effective for removing dampness from the body?
Jul 15, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Sun Lianqing
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, consuming foods such as Poria (Poria cocos), red adzuki beans, Euryale ferox seeds, winter melon peel, and mung beans may help remove dampness from the body. If you have a need to eliminate dampness, you can adjust your diet according to your individual condition. In daily life, in addition to eating these foods, you can also maintain a dry living environment, avoid excessive consumption of raw and cold foods, and engage in regular moderate exercise.
Generally, consuming foods such as Poria (Fu Ling), red adzuki beans (Chi Xiao Dou), Gorgon fruit (Qian Shi), winter melon peel (Dong Gua Pi), and mung beans (Lv Dou) may help eliminate dampness from the body. If you have a need to remove dampness, dietary adjustments can be made according to your individual situation. Detailed analysis is as follows:
1. **Poria (Fu Ling):** Poria is neutral in nature and sweet and bland in taste. It functions to strengthen the spleen and drain dampness. It enhances the transformation and transportation functions of the spleen and stomach, promoting the elimination of dampness from the body. It can improve symptoms caused by dampness such as body heaviness, abdominal distension, and loose stools. It is commonly used to regulate conditions involving internal accumulation of dampness.
2. **Red Adzuki Beans (Chi Xiao Dou):** Red adzuki beans are neutral in nature and sweet and sour in taste. They have the effects of promoting diuresis, reducing edema, detoxification, and discharging pus. The dietary fiber they contain promotes intestinal peristalsis and helps eliminate excess fluid from the body. They can alleviate symptoms such as edema and difficult urination caused by dampness and are suitable for consumption in porridges or soups.
3. **Gorgon Fruit (Qian Shi):** Gorgon fruit is neutral in nature and sweet and astringent in taste. It functions to benefit the kidneys, consolidate essence, strengthen the spleen to stop diarrhea, remove dampness, and reduce leukorrhea. It nourishes the spleen and stomach, enhances their ability to transform and transport dampness, and reduces dampness accumulation in the body. It helps regulate symptoms such as diarrhea and increased leukorrhea caused by dampness.
4. **Winter Melon Peel (Dong Gua Pi):** Winter melon peel is cool in nature and sweet in taste. It functions to promote diuresis, reduce edema, clear heat, and relieve summerheat. Compared to the flesh of the winter melon, the peel has a more pronounced effect in removing dampness. It promotes urination and helps eliminate dampness from the body. It is especially suitable for consumption during summer when dampness is more prevalent and can be used to boil water or prepare soups.
5. **Mung Beans (Lv Dou):** Mung beans are cool in nature and sweet in taste. They function to clear heat and detoxify, promote diuresis, and relieve summerheat. They enhance metabolism and accelerate the elimination of dampness through urine. They can improve symptoms caused by damp-heat such as dryness and bitterness in the mouth and a thick, greasy tongue coating. Drinking mung bean soup during summer is a common method for removing dampness.
In daily life, in addition to consuming these foods, you can also maintain a dry living environment, avoid excessive consumption of raw and cold foods, and engage in regular moderate exercise to reduce dampness accumulation in the body and maintain a comfortable physical condition.
