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If you want to better manage IBS on your own, there is a message from Chinese Medicine you might find surprisingly helpful. So what is this message about? You may have heard of inner child, but Chinese Medicine teaches that there is an ‘inner mother’: a caregiving system inside you. She is a mother who is nurturing, supportive, and selfless. She is also a mother who even sends gentle early signals (through facial colour and the tip of your nose) when your digestion and IBS may need extra care.
Who is the inner mother?
In Chinese Medicine, the inner mother is so tender that it gives you a sense of ‘sweetness’. By ‘sweetness’ it does not mean tastes from desserts or comfort food. It actually stands for the feeling of being nourished, cared for, and deeply satisfied.
If you still can’t experience the sweetness, image this: Coming home from school as a little girl, feeling tired and overwhelmed. You open the door and breathe in the comforting smell of something warm in the kitchen. Your mother offers you a small treat and a hug, to make you feel safe, relaxed, and restored.
This cozy, cared-for feeling is the ‘sweetness’ Chinese Medicine speaks of when your Spleen is healthy and your digestion is free from IBS-style turmoil. In Chinese Medicine, this sweet inner mother is called the Spleen.
Spleen: the nurturing mother
The Spleen in Chinese Medicine is not the spleen in Western Medicine (knowledge by Professor Hung, PhD London School of Economics). It is more like the digestive system but has nothing to do with the lymphatic system (in Western medicine). So what is the Spleen? It is a functional system that cares about you like your mother. It is the whole digestive and nutrient‑processing network that makes you healthy.
(EXPLAIN SPLEEN FROM PERPLEXITY)
Harnessing Qi through the power of the Spleen
This network is the heart of your body’s nourishment system, working tirelessly and ‘motherly’ behind the scenes to keep you energized. How does Spleen the mother do it? She turns what you eat and drink into nutrients. But most important of all, it transforms the food and fluids into usable energy and then sends that energy to the parts of your body that need it most.
And this kind of energy is important enough in Chinese Medicine to have its own name, a name you might have heard: Qi.
What is Qi? Qi is the internal energy in your body, TCM’s way of talking about the body’s overall vitality. If you think this is too abstract, Qi can be felt by you after jogging and gives you feelings of warmth (even in winter).
On the flip side, when things go wrong with your Spleen, there will be problems with your Qi, the vital energy. And if there are problems with your Qi (even if tests look normal) , you may feel that something is ‘off’:
- easy bloating,
- loose stools,
- afternoon fatigue, or
- just not yourself
(Want to know more about Qi and IBS, read this post.)
Yellow: signs of warmth (and warnings)
When you think of yellow in American culture, you probably picture warmth, sunshine, cozy kitchens, or a bright, happy day. Interestingly, it is the same in Chinese Medicine. There, yellow is connected to the Spleen, which is all about giving you stability, warmth and hopes.
However, the colour of yellow is also a sign of warning from Spleen the mother.
TCM insights: yellow skin as a sign of IBS and Dampness
From a Western medical view, yellow skin can have many causes and needs medical evaluation. Hoever, from a TCM view, it may suggest two important signals:
A pale or dull yellow complexion often points to Spleen Deficiency, which means your body might not be producing enough Qi to nourish yourself, which may also be something important to you: a sign of IBS. (Want to know more about Spleen Deficiency, read this post.)
Another sign of IBS your mother is warning you is: a more pronounced or dark yellow colour. It may mean an excess of Dampness has been accumulated in your gut, which blocks Spleen the mother from working properly from transforming and sending the food and fluids.
What (on earth) is Dampness? It is a big term in TCM. However, if you suffer from the symtoms of heaviness, bloating, sluggish digestion, there is too much moisture (Dampness) in your body. (Want to know more about Dampness, read this post.)
In either case, the appearance of yellow in your complexion is your nurturing mother’s way of gently warning you that it is time to give your body some extra care to restore health.
Nose tips: tiny warning signs
Did you know that in Chinese Medicine, Spleen the Mother, actually gives you little warning signs right on the tip of your nose?
What follows are the untold secrets of Chinese Medicine doctors (knowledge by Shen, Attending physician in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital):
If your nose tip starts looking yellowish, it could mean your Spleen is feeling a bit weak or is not happy with how things are going inside your body.
If it turns red, that is a sign of Heat in the Spleen. And if you love spicy, rich foods or enjoy a few drinks (a diet to be avoided by IBS people), you might notice your nose tip getting darker or even developing little blue veins.
Final word: Let your Spleen guide your IBS healing
So next time you catch a glimpse of your reflection, pay close attention to your skin tone and the tip of your nose. These subtle changes might be Spleen the mother gently warning you about your digestive health, your IBS.
For IBS people like you and me, these signs are especially important. By tuning in to the messages Spleen the mother sends through facial colours and nose tip changes, you can catch early signals of imbalance and take steps to support your Spleen.
Listening to these untold secrets from TCM not only helps you manage IBS more naturally, but also empowers you to nurture your body the way it truly needs. Sometimes, the clues to self-healing are right there on your face. You just need to know what to look for.
Sources of knowledge
- Hong Hai, PhD London School of Economics, author of Principles of Chinese Medicine: A Modern Interpretation (Imperial College Press 2016).
- Si-Lai Shen (沈邑頴) (2018). The secret of the classics, volume 3: The earth mother’s spleen meridian—Filled with the sweet taste of happiness. Dajue Culture Publishing Co., Ltd. (Text in Chinese)
