What to Eat for a Damp-Heat Body Type
Aug 28, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Sun Lianqing
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, individuals with a damp-heat constitution are advised to consume foods such as luffa, poria (Poria cocos), mung beans, water spinach, and lotus seeds, as well as oral medications including Sanren Mixture (Three Seeds Mixture), Compound Gotu Kola Granules, Qingre Qushi Granules (Heat-clearing and Dampness-resolving Granules), Longdan Xiegan Pills (Dragon胆Liver-Draining Pills), and Xiangsha Yangwei Pills (Fragrant Sand Stomach-Nourishing Pills). People with a damp-heat constitution should generally avoid excessive consumption of sweet, greasy, or fried foods in order to reduce the accumulation of damp-heat.
Generally, individuals with a damp-heat constitution are advised to consume foods such as luffa, poria (Poria cocos), mung beans, water spinach, and lotus seeds, as well as oral medications including Sanren Mixture (Three Seeds Combination), Compound Desmodium Stems Granules, Qingre Qushi Granules (Clear Heat and Remove Dampness Granules), Longdan Xiegan Pills (Dragon胆Liver-Draining Pills), and Xiangsha Yangwei Pills (Fruit and Cardamom Stomach-Nourishing Pills). A detailed explanation follows:
I. Foods
1. Luffa: Luffa is cool in nature and has a high water content. It clears heat, transforms phlegm, cools the blood, detoxifies, and assists in removing dampness. It can be stir-fried or made into a luffa and egg soup, helping to alleviate symptoms caused by damp-heat such as sore throat, skin itching, and sticky, difficult bowel movements.
2. Poria (Fuling): Containing poria polysaccharides, it strengthens the spleen, removes dampness, calms the mind, and improves sleep. It promotes the transformation and transportation of bodily fluids, reducing the accumulation of damp-heat. It can be cooked into poria porridge or stewed with Chinese yam and lotus seeds, helping to improve symptoms caused by damp-heat, such as poor appetite with abdominal distension and impaired urination.
3. Mung beans: These clear heat and detoxify, promote diuresis, and remove dampness. They help eliminate internal damp-heat and can be boiled into mung bean soup or cooked with millet as a mixed grain porridge. Particularly suitable for summer when damp-heat is prominent, they help relieve symptoms such as mouth ulcers and irritability with heat.
4. Water spinach: Rich in dietary fiber and moisture, it clears heat, cools the blood, promotes urination, and removes dampness. It can be stir-fried or served cold. It has an auxiliary effect in improving symptoms caused by damp-heat, such as dark yellow urine, constipation, and acne.
5. Lotus seeds: These strengthen the spleen, stop diarrhea, benefit the kidneys, and consolidate essence. After removing the core, lotus seeds avoid the cold nature of the germ, which may damage the spleen and stomach. They also help alleviate symptoms of damp-heat combined with spleen deficiency, such as loose stools, fatigue, and poor appetite. They are suitable for making porridge or soup.
II. Medications
1. Sanren Mixture (Three Seeds Combination): Composed of almond seed, talc, white camphorweed, etc., it regulates qi circulation, clears damp-heat, and is suitable for early-stage damp-warmth and damp-heat accumulation causing symptoms such as headache, chills, heavy painful sensation in the body, chest tightness with poor appetite. It should be taken under a physician's guidance according to the prescribed course.
2. Compound Desmodium Stems Granules: Containing broad Desmodium stems, plantain herb, and Pyrrosia leaf, it clears heat, removes dampness, promotes urination, and expels stones. It is suitable for treating heat-induced dysuria (heat淋) and stone-induced dysuria (stone淋) caused by downward invasion of damp-heat, alleviating frequent urination, urgency, and pain. Strict adherence to medical advice is necessary when using this medication.
3. Qingre Qushi Granules (Clear Heat and Remove Dampness Granules): Made from Codonopsis root, capillary wormwood, and other herbs, it clears heat, removes dampness, benefits qi, and promotes body fluid production. It can relieve symptoms such as fatigue in the limbs, poor appetite, heat, and dry mouth caused by damp-heat. It is suitable for individuals with damp-heat combined with qi deficiency and should be taken according to medical instructions.
4. Longdan Xiegan Pills (Dragon胆Liver-Draining Pills): Composed of Gentiana root, bupleurum, and skullcap, it clears heat and dampness from the liver and gallbladder and is suitable for symptoms caused by liver-gallbladder damp-heat, such as dizziness, red eyes, tinnitus, deafness, rib-side distension and pain, and short, dark urine. Due to its cold nature, it should be used under a physician's guidance to control dosage.
5. Xiangsha Yangwei Pills (Fruit and Cardamom Stomach-Nourishing Pills): Containing costus root, cardamom, and atractylodes, it warms the middle jiao, harmonizes the stomach, removes dampness, and strengthens the spleen. It is suitable for individuals with damp-heat constitution combined with spleen-stomach cold deficiency, improving symptoms such as epigastric discomfort, vomiting sour fluid, and limb fatigue. It helps prevent damage to the spleen-stomach yang qi caused by dampness-removing medications and should be used under medical supervision.
Individuals with a damp-heat constitution should avoid excessive consumption of sweet, greasy, and fried foods to reduce damp-heat generation. They should also maintain regular sleep patterns and avoid staying up late. When using medications, strict adherence to medical instructions is essential; self-medication or arbitrary dosage adjustments should be avoided.
