Jimmy, you probably have what Chinese medicine calls Damp Phlegm, though it may also be partly Cold Phlegm. If the former, read our page on Lung Phlegm Damp (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-damp-phlegm.html) where there are links to other pages that may help. Improving the food choices you make and how you eat may help a bit but if it's as bad as you say, probably you need treatment too.
I develop Phlegm everytime I eat that forces me to cough, and I have to cough it out or else it’s there making noise if I laugh. Is embarrassing infront of people I have to hide it or go to the bathroom everytime and secretly cough it out. This happens with everything or anything I eat. It doesn’t matter if it’s healthy or not. I’m so embarrassed that it’s caused me my relationships because I don’t want them to hear me or causes me dates.
Dear Rosio, I'm sorry you have this problem so badly. You don't say much about the kind of phlegm you have so I can't be sure my answer is right for you. But following on from what I said to Greeva, who had a similar problem, the following may help: Also, I don't know whether you live in a warm country or somewhere coldish like Britain, which makes a difference when you're outside! But if your cough is loose and brings up runny white or clear phlegm when outside or eating junk food, probably it's Cold Phlegm, or possibly what I call Fatigue Phlegm. There's lots about cough on our page www.acupuncture-points.org/cough-and-corona-virus-cough.html. And for more about phlegm and why you get it, check www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html If I'm right, then over time you've tired out your Spleen energy and weakened your Yang energy. If you are young and otherwise in good health it's not too late to get better. If you are old, then you need to be more careful. A place to start would be making sure the food you eat is warm to the touch when eaten, and that you take time to chew it well before swallowing. For more, click on www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html And remember that junk foods contain little or no nutrition to strengthen you, yet take energy to digest, so it's the worst of both worlds. We've just produced a short flowchart 'phlegm after eating' booklet which should soon be available on our website (www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html ) so look out for it. It may help you self-diagnose your phlegm.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 I am having this too, I stopped smoking 2 years ago, now about every 3 months I get coughs with green phlegm, I've had a cough everydsy for 2 months, was really thick phlegm, the cough has improved but now when I eat I cough , i can feel the phleghm coming up, its slimy white phleghm, scared to go doctor, I always think of the worst.😣
This happens to me and I’m so embarrassed and hate going in public to eat with friends and family I gag and always have clear thin phelym come out sometimes it is so loud like I’m vomiting but no food comes back just thin long slimy mucus I’m so disgusted and I’m 48 years old and can’t enjoy a good meal no more
@@jessgemini333 this is exactly my situation!! omg now I know i’m not the only one. This has kept me from so many dates and going out to eat with friends. i’m so tired of it!!! is embarrassing. 😔
@@Rosio6891 I been dealing with this 2017 and doctors sent me for a swallow text all types of testing told me take Pepcid and allergy pill at night and nothing has worked. I had a MRI in 2017 they said I had a spot on my spleen and don’t worry about it but now I’m concerned I always have pain where my spleen is located and now I’m concerned and wondering is my spleen not functioning properly.
i’m 20 years old & had this mucus problem probably since my early teens. a clear sticky mucus substance i feel in my throat at random times thru the day-but consistently right after i eat something and EVERY morning when i wake up. sometimes it has a tad bit of a darkish tone in the morning? i don’t cough, choke, sneeze or have trouble breathing as i’ve read a lot of… it’s just annoying and needs to come out. i noticed, if i hold it all in for long periods of time and keep the stuff in my system-my nose will get a bit congested and my voice will change a bit and sound as if i have a “cold” ….. it’s weird.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:13 🤒 Phlegm after eating is the mucus or sputum that occurs in the throat, nose, or chest, causing discomfort and hindered daily activities. 01:13 🍲 The type of food you eat can influence phlegm production; warming foods like meat can increase metabolism, while cooling foods like fruits and vegetables can have the opposite effect. 02:37 🌡️ Cooking certain foods can make them more warming, while consuming them raw can have a cooling effect on the body. 03:18 ⚖️ Your metabolism plays a role in digestion; individuals with warm metabolisms might benefit from slightly cooling foods, while those with cold metabolisms may benefit from slightly warming foods. 04:43 🍽️ Making small changes to your diet based on the warming and cooling properties of foods can potentially have a positive impact on your health and reduce phlegm after eating. Made with HARPA AI
Hi Harbor 23, There are various explanations for your symptoms, including eating the wrong kind of food (for YOU), and Qi stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html). The most likely explanation is Qi deficiency (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-deficiency-how-to-overcome-tiredness.html). As to which foods would be best and worst for you, keep a note over some days of the kinds of foods that cause you most problems and then read our pages on Hot Foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) and Cold Foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html) to help you make sense of it all. Concerning the dry itchy sensation, there are more possibilities! Most likely it is due to a form of Heat (www.acupuncture-points.org/heat.html), but just might be from a form of yin deficiency (www.acupuncture-points.org/yin-deficiency.html). I realise you wanted a simple answer, and I've given you many pages of theory to read, but Chinese medicine is a huge subject and can explain most conditions. What is so good about it is that it puts in your hands ways to help yourself before you need to see a practitioner.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 well all started this feeling last September 27,2020 at midnight when I wake up, this is the first time I feel shortness of breath chest tight, and then sometimes I feel bloated stomach cramps, but when I go to doctor 3x time my diagnostic test is normal I have a little bit UTi ! one of the doctor says maybe you have panic attack or anxiety but I want to make sure what it is? I go to the 3rd doctor and also said you are not sick, I said can I get another diagnostic test? the doctor said for what? you are not sick..I'm worried😢😢😢
@@harbor2368 Dear Harbor 23, chest tightness with bloating stomach cramps sounds like a form of qi-stagnation, of which there are different types. I wrote a book about it called 'Qi Stagnation - Signs of Stress' and chapters 11 and 12 are about what happens (for example in your digestion) when you have it. There's too much to repeat here, I'm afraid - you'll have to read the book - but it will probably help you understand what's happening to you. As your doctors discovered, with Qi Stagnation nothing much shows up in Western-medicine style diagnostic tests at least to start with. If the condition goes on for too long, and you do nothing about it, you may start to develop the additional syndromes and symptoms listed under 'What Happens Next?' on page 307 of the book for example. Unfortunately, these additional conditions DO produce symptoms and signs that Western-style medicine can measure and diagnose, such as hypertension (www.acupuncture-points.org/high-blood-pressure-hypertension.html), heartburn, irritable bowel disease (www.acupuncture-points.org/ibs.html) and so on. When these symptoms develop, again assuming you've done nothing about the underlying causes, you'll be prescribed medications that will - your doctors hope and expect - successfully suppress your symptoms. This suppression (www.acupuncture-points.org/suppression.html) is not beneficial in the long term - again, you'll have to read the link to see why. I'm told by many readers that my book "Qi Suppression" is easy to read so I hope suggesting it won't put you off. (Click amzn.to/3fR3mDb to see how to buy it.) I try to answer questions without insisting readers buy one of my books but in this case I think it's what you need. Hope this helps. Jonathan
Truly fascinating, I always have a few barky coughs after eating any sort of meat/chicken/fish/turkey, it doesn't really happen with eggs though and it NEVER happens when i eat beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, or even whole grains, very interesting stuff to think about 🤔
The Lung channel starts near or within the stomach organ before descending to the large intestine then up to the lungs so what we eat can have a big effect on our lungs. Probably you have some residual 'Heat' in your lungs which is triggered into a cough by foods that for you are more yang. You might find acupuncture to clear that Heat would reduce or clear the barky coughs.
Can I be honest. I do something NO ONE ELSE DOES. I used to vape and smoke and party a lot. I stopped 8 months ago. But I cannot go throughout my without carrying a trash can with me at home. I spit so much. Not just thin spit. I Literally hack or cough up dry sticky thick phlegm from my throat and have to spit it out. It gets bad when I eat. I blow my nose a lot to help but it doesn’t work sometimes. My doctors have not found anything. I will have a clear swallow for a couple swallows but then I feel something and have to cough it up again. If you have anything similar or advice please let me know. I’m 18 I’m very healthy physically and eat great macros. I don’t have acid reflex or anything of that like wise. I don’t have problem coughing either. Just a problem with spitting.
Hi Jordan, I agree, not pleasant! But you're wrong if you think you are alone - believe it or not, there are others with your predicament. Of course nobody is exactly the same as anyone else and the reasons why you got like this vary hugely, and those underlying reasons often point to what went 'wrong' and how best to treat it. Your symptoms suggest a background of Damp and possibly Cold, but you didn't say anything about the colour of your phlegm so I may be wrong. On our site, in the booklet and in our book on phlegm there is much more. Phlegm is a big complicated subject which is why it's impossible to do it justice in a single page. You may need to change some of the foods you eat and how you eat them, there may be herbs and spices that help and, if you've suffered for a long time from this, you may need to get some good treatment to speed the process in the form of either acupuncture and/or Chinese herbs. Best wishes, Jonathan
These are different things. Throat mucus after junk food is definitely from Stomach and Spleen deficiency. Runny nose while eating is more complicated and only partly because of Spleen deficiency: it relates as much to the Metal element, Lungs and Large Intestine. Both can have Liver involvement too.
Hi Luxury Doll, Sorry to hear you've had your problem for so long! Think back to when it began and what was going on in your life at the time. Probably there was a change, or an increase in some activity, that eventually meant your body couldn't handle the change and clear out its effects. Ever since you've had phlegm after eating. We can learn a lot about how our body works by watching when it doesn't react in a healthy way to something. That's what, lacking modern medicine, people in China did over 2500 years ago and we can use their observations and experiece even now, because the human body hasn't changed much, if at all, since then. Best of luck in your wanderings down memory lane! Jonathan
Try eating more slowly and chewing very thoroughly before swallowing, without drinking water at the same time. If you find you really need the water to swallow the food, probably the food you are eating is too dry. Try something like our 'Clogstoun Congee'; also eat mushy soups that are not too spicy. One other thing - what you call 'healthy' may not suit you, even if its manufacturer claims it is healthy!
I’ve been having mucus and phlegm after eating and I cough all day all night it itches in my throat all the time . I really don’t understand what your trying to let me know I don’t know we’re I fit in this program 😆
Dear Carole, Thank you for sharing your problem - what a trial it must have been for you all these years. If you've read our web pages explaining the source of phlegm and still can't understand why you have it and your cough, probably there is a deeper reason. This might be (just some examples):
- a constitutional problem, inherited from a problem your parents or grandparents had which might not have showed up in them as phlegm or a cough, but as symptoms following an illness and/or; - arising from early medication or treatment or even vaccination if your body was unable to metabolise the medication properly - ie 'burn it out' properly and/or; - starting after some kind of stress, accident or emotional experience that was deeply upsetting at the time and never fully resolved and may be ongoing even now and/or; - from exposure to something environmental, eg a poison or gas or dust or allergen. These are just examples. It's often difficult to see ourselves objectively, let alone know what to do about it! With any long-term problem like yours, it is clearly chronic and your body has settled into a 'holding' pattern where it doesn't know how, or lacks the energy, to make things better but at least can stop them getting worse. Sorting through different possibilities and arriving at a good diagnosis might need someone experienced and knowledgeable and without being able to examine you in person, take your pulses the Chinese way and so on, I cannot do it. But someone will have that knowledge and may be accessible to you with some searching. I hope you can find him or her. Again, thanks for sharing - Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott
Hello, I’m 24 years old had have been suffering from excessive regurgitation of my food with a lot of clear saliva. It happens almost immediately after I eat. Many times I feel like I am choking and need to bring the food up but a lot of saliva (very stringy) and clear mixed with the food is the biggest issue for me. I’ve seen every doctor under the sun but nothing is helping.
Omg I just came across your comments on two different videos. I am on the same page! 😔 barely going to make a Drs appointment. Do you get ear aches as well?
@@emlove625 Hi! No I do not, most of the time it’s just my lump in my throat feeling And the regurgitation of my food constantly! Have you been treated with anything that helps?
@@LizzyLove1296 More important than the stringy saliva is what is called the 'descending' function of your Stomach. Putting this together with your throat 'lump' feeling, the most probable cause of your problem is Qi Stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html) which interferes with the way your stomach works. As a result, your stomach rebels (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach-qi-rebels.html). (There are other explanations, but that seems to me, on the basis of your description, the most likely.) Amazing they noticed these symptoms and put them into a coherent system of medicine over 2000 years ago!
@@acupuncture-points hello! Thank you for this information. Do you think acupuncture will help with this? If so what areas of the body does acupuncture usually be performed
@@LizzyLove1296 If my diagnosis is correct [obviously your acupuncturist would take your 'case' properly, including taking your pulse (www.acupuncture-points.org/pulse-diagnosis.html), examining your tongue (www.acupuncture-points.org/tongue-diagnosis.html) and doing any other checks needed, including talking to you about the onset of your symptoms and your health background in general: all of which would lead to his/her more specific diagnosis] - then acupuncture points typically used for Qi Stagnation might be on your back, on your feet and arms, and for Stomach Qi (to help it 'descend') on your legs near or below your knee and feet and possibly on your abdomen. If it's your first time, he/she might treat you just on your legs, feet and arms.
Well, Billy, I think that's a little unfair! Phlegm is a big subject, and different kinds of phlegm benefit from different things. What you eat can make a huge difference. If you read our page on Phlegm After Eating you'll find much more about this but, having written it, I realised there was so much more to say that people might find useful. The book is around 180 pages long, with detailed descriptions of many different situations and their causes: reviews are encouraging and responses received privately have been overwhelmingly positive. We also produced a flowchart booklet which you can acquire for £1.99, quite a lot less than a cup of coffee from you know who. So there is masses of information for free on our site, on phlegm and on many other subjects. It takes time to prepare and write all this and we try to give the best information. On quite a few pages I recommend books by other authors that may help, so if occasionally I think my book is the best, am I not supposed to mention it?
Yes, phlegm after eating, and chronic phlegm in general, are big problems for many of us. Often it happens after a respiratory problem, such as a cold or cough (including Covid 19), when our energy is low and we eat comfort foods. Unfortunately our bodies lack the energy both to improve our health generally AND deal with what is, in effect, indigestible food, so we get phlegm. The disease has used up some of our Kidney Yang energy, maybe also used up our deep reserves from Mingmen, our Gate of Vitality. So we take time to recover. I haven't found a single remedy that suits everyone but our pages on Phlegm and Phlegm Colour may help you identify your particular syndrome which will lead you towards the correct treatment.
My partner always has rubbish on his chest after eating. He has had it for years. He was vegetarian for 8 years and been vegan for 2. He still has it the same now as he did when he was vegetarian. I've always thought it's because he eats so fast. It doesn't hurt him, it's just strange. He just has 1 or 2 coughs straight after he's finished his meal, and it's clear and gone. So strange
By 'rubbish on his chest' I presume you means phlegm in his lungs or bronchi. This problem could have started as a child, depending on his environment then, or later from stress when Liver qi stagnation interfered with the action of his Spleen and Lungs. If he's a vegan he's probably worked out which foods exacerbate the 'rubbish on his chest' but eating too fast also worsens digestion (the action of his Spleen and Stomach in turning food into Blood and Qi.) Old eating habits are hard to change but may be worth it. Acupuncture would probably help!
I have that too but it isn't phlegm. It's like my airway doesn't properly close when I am eating so I have to cough to clear any residue that gets in my airway. You may want him to go get checked to make sure it isn't a mechanical issue with his esophagus.
I started getting something stuck behind my nose and in my throat I can't spit it out or swallow it it get worse when I eat my throat get like phelmy and I start chocking on everything so I haven't been eating now because of that idk what it is please help me :(
Stacey, I suggest you first ask your doctor to examine your post-nasal area to be sure you haven’t got something stuck or swollen there. However, assuming it’s phlegm, and that you’ve had it for a while (you don’t say for how long you’ve had it) and is worse for eating, then probably it’s a form of Damp Cold Phlegm. I can’t be sure because you can’t hawk it up so can’t see its colour, but it will be a form of Yin Excess (www.acupuncture-points.org/yin-excess.html). Other symptoms will point to whether it is a hot or a cold form: read Stomach Cold and Deficient (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach-cold-and-deficient.html) for example. As to what to do, that depends on the diagnosis, for example as to whether it’s a hot or cold type of phlegm. If it’s so extreme, it may take a while to clear.
Oats tend to have a massively damp effect on my digestion... what does this mean? Also please could you advise how to get rid of thickened skin and swollen eye lids?
I’m 30 😔 since 20’s I’m having this issue of Coughing up phlegm after eating and drinking, before sleeping and after waking up from sleep. Anytime my body is at rest it is building up phlegm for me to force cough it out. I have had it since my 20’s in the navy. I thought it was just smokers cough. Please advice
Hi Niven, you don’t say what your phlegm looks like or whether it changes its nature in different situations or at different times (see www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html). Also whether what you eat or drink make a difference to it. So my answer can’t be precise. That your phlegm builds up during rest suggests not only your Spleen energy (www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html) is deficient but also that Wood energy (www.acupuncture-points.org/wood-element-or-wood-phase.html) takes advantage of it. This suggests that it may have started during a period of stress (Qi Stagnation - www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html). Continuing anxiety and/or stress would make it chronic. You should be able to at least make a small change in its frequency and persistence by reading the pages mentioned above (and putting into practice what they say!) plus carefully following the advice on hot and cold foods (eg see www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html). Probably you’ll need some treatment to clear it. (Chinese medicine has many strategies for this, including acupuncture and herbs.) Best wishes Jonathan
I have the same problem and it began once I started eating a lot of meat and bread. I used to eat meat like maybe 10times a month but now it's everyday and I never ate bread but now wow. My mucus is clear
Same bro. I have white phlegm. It's kinda fine when it's the morning or when I brush my teeth or when i wake up. But it's really bothering when it's at night. My sleep gets disturbed. How's your cough now?
I would like to know why I have thick phlegm almost admittedly after eat or drinking. I've had this for many years, but its gotten worst. Went to the doctor and they gave me acid reflux medication and that has not helped. They want to put a scope down my throat and am nerves about that. Can you tell me what I can do to get rid of it or atleast improve it. I try to drink warm water or tea with my meals to see if that helps and that doesn't help either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Sary, if your phlegm is white, it is probably either from what Chinese medicine calls ‘damp’ (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-damp-phlegm.html) or from what it calls ‘cold’ (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-cold.html). Depending on how long you’ve had it and other things, it could also come from qi deficiency ie an underlying tiredness (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-deficiency-how-to-overcome-tiredness.html). Click on those links for more. Often people have a combination of two or more conditions and you could have all three. If you want to know a lot more about this and, for example, more about which herbs might help and what to avoid and what to do, you’ll have to read my book ‘Yuck! Phlegm!’ (amzn.to/3syBiIm). Probably you’ll need to make some quite big changes to how you live, what and how you eat, and you may benefit from some treatment to get you started. With ongoing phlegm such as you may have, there are answers but it won’t improve unless YOU do something about it.
I too have this and it is very irritating and has certainly decreased my quality if life... becoz of this i fear eating outside and can i ask what is ur consistency of sputum? mine is slimy and clear
@@scikish5 the consistency is usually thick and clear. But sometimes I get more or less phlegm depends on what I eat. I've been keeping a list of what I eat and drink, but can not find what is causing it. Seems like everything I eat causes me to get phlegm. Its not fun, and your definitely right it about it changing the quality of your life. I get embarrassed when I go out and eat, because it will just happen in the middle of eating.
@@sarybear84 Yeah and i have also noted it is very thick in the morning or after prolonged periods of bedrest.... spicy foods are definitely triggering it more... also i have anxiety issues... don't know whether it could also behind this.... but this is absolutely embarrassing even before my own family... no matter what i do i cant control spitting after eating.... after the covid pandemic, it has increased a lot.... unfortunately i couldn't get any answers/help from doctors.... i think i should accept and live with this😞
I feel cough after eating sometimes it happen or sometimes not but most of the time it happen ,I visited pulmologists but cxr was normal and I don't know why it happens it is so embarrassing thing .I want to get rid of this.
Hi Shilpa, your problem is not uncommon. It can occur for several reasons, including the kinds of food you eat, how you eat and how well you digest food. The experience of Chinese culture and medicine has led them to consider these and other variables in great detail. You need to check our pages on Phlegm after Eating (www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html) and Nutrition (www.acupuncture-points.org/nutrition.html) to make more sense of all this. Good luck! Jonathan
How do i get rid of phglem and mucus around the sinus area? I went to an ENT specialist and he said its an allergy or inflammation. How will I know what I am. Allergic to?
When I wake up in the morning, I have to cough and always cough up a black phlegm. Also right after I eat, I feel the need to cough once and clear my throat of the same black phlegm. All throughout the day I’m doing this and lately I have developed very sticky clear phlegm like the egg white before cooking when I brush my teeth and even when I throw up I throw up a lot of this egg white phlegm. I have no Idea what’s going on.
Hi Inso Black phlegm has several possible sources. It could be congealed blood, coming from your oesophagus, lungs or stomach. For a proper diagnosis see your doctor or experienced health practitioner. At any rate, it has probably been ‘cooking’ for a while, making it darker, which is why you get it on waking in the morning. It could be from something you have inhaled, like soot. Or from something dark you have eaten. Clear phlegm, like uncooked white of egg is more likely to be from qi deficiency, damp or cold. Working out what makes it worse and what makes it better would help you differentiate between these different possibilities. If from Qi deficiency, you must decide what the cause is. It could be poor digestion, poor diet, or some chronic health condition: the latter might explain the black phlegm too. I strongly suggest you see a doctor or qualified and experienced health practitioner. Not knowing, and therefore guessing will keep you in fearful suspense. Often this makes you worse (worry weakens your Spleen energy, see www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html). Getting a proper diagnosis, even if It’s bad news, allows you to make plans and move forward. Best wishes Jonathan
Same bro. I have white phlegm. It's so fine when it's the morning or when I brush my teeth or when i wake up. But it's really bothering when it's at night. My sleep gets disturbed. How's your cough now?
Hi Maggie - thanks for contributing. You said you cough up 'blooby' stuff at 4am. If you meant 'bloody' stuff, which would suggest blood from your lungs or stomach, then see your doctor. If you just mean thick phlegm, then probably it's from what you're eating and your way of life: these clash, making it hard for you to digest food properly. Without knowing more about the type of phlegm and whether you get it at other times, and how and when you're eating, it's hard to made further comment. Best wishes - Jonathan
Hi Rohit, about half way down our page www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-colour.html you'll see a section which says 'What if phlegm colour is white?' That's the place to start, but the rest of that page contains lots of useful information too. For example, a bit further up the page is a section on clear, watery phlegm/mucus. Jonathan
Actually, Artbug, you're right, we could make it clearer! I don't in the video make it sufficiently obvious that hot foods and a hot metabolism tend to produce slimy, yellow, thick phlegm, whereas cold foods and a cold metabolism tend to produce clear, runny phlegm. But if you look at the page, about part of which the video is a summary, it should become very clear. So, thank-you! Then, knowing which way you incline, you are armed with information to make changes and, I hope, to improve your phlegm.
When i eat certain foods, i get warm spots on my forehead and get the worst headache. I then have to throw up diffrent amounts of flem then the migraine slowly leaves and so do those warm spots on my forehead
Small painful areas on the skin or scalp are often a sign of phlegm, so I suppose small warm spots might be too. If so, clearing the phlegm would then help clear the warm spots. Phlegm is a difficult subject and not always easy to clear or avoid, but at least you know which foods trigger it in your own case.
Well, poor digestion and poor food choices for your particular metabolism go some way to explaining it. For more, really you need to look at the web pages we've written, like www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html. They go into more detail. Still more detail is in my book on phlegm: amzn.to/3iTwLNc
Hi Melissa, thanks for your comment. Yes, just looking at what happened after eating certain kinds of foods and seeing how they affected health was what Chinese medicine did, over two thousand years ago. It's a very practical system of health, and much more sophisticated than we may imagine. Jonathan
Hi sir. What u had spoken is very informing. I have a doubt im 23years old i have been smoking for past 3 years and my problem is for the past 7 months phelm production is higher whenever i had my food i cough and vomit phlegm with water. What may be cause..? Is this the side effect of smoking or what may be reason..?
You have been smoking for three years and now for 7 months have been getting more phlegm when you eat? Smoking may be the cause, but there are other possibilities. If smoking is the cause it could be because the smoke produces heat in your lungs. This results in thicker mucus leading to phlegm in your lungs which obstructs your Lungs' 'descending' function. See more about this at www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-heat.html. As you will read there, foods that are heating or drying or phlegm-forming make this worse (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) and can interfere with your Stomach's 'descending' function (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach.html), which means stuff comes UP instead of going DOWN and staying DOWN. Another possibility is that you started smoking to help you manage stress. Stress often causes Qi Stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html) which over time interferes with both your digestion and breathing (stress can cause asthma, for example - see www.acupuncture-points.org/asthma-causes.html) and this again can cause phlegm. So ... what to do? - If you smoke to de-stress, read the suggestions on the Qi Stagnation page and take more exercise, for example. - Develop ways to deal with the stress, if this is the cause. Assertiveness training suits some people; just talking to someone helps others. Getting away from the stressful situation is sometimes the only solution. - Of course, try to stop smoking! Read www.acupuncture-points.org/smoking.html! - Be cautious about what and how you eat. (www.acupuncture-points.org/nutrition.html) For example, reduce 'heating' or 'hot' or phlegm-forming foods. - Learn to chew well and long before swallowing, and take more time over meals. - For more, see www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-with-both-lung-and-spleen-deficiency.html. Hope this helps.
Hi Robin Marie, There are various ways Chinese medicine might explain this. Herre's one! Yin deficiency wit Empty Heat might explain the ongoing warmth and flushing. Stomach Yand deficiency with Spleen deficiency and eating foods of a cold, damp nature, might explain the congestion after meals. It is certainly possible to have such a mix of syndromes, but don't act according to my surmise, please see a professional who can examine you properly, check your tongue and pulses and discuss your health history.
Certain foods cause me mucus. Sticky thin stuff for an hour or so. Ice Cream, certain dairy, soy sauce, beer (certain kids, mainly IPA). I try to avoid them. No one but a natural gave me a reason. He assumed allergies. Allergists and Doctor clueless.
The foods you mention often produce, in susceptible people, phlegm that is Cold(www.acupuncture-points.org/cold.html) and/or Damp (www.acupuncture-points.org/damp.html) in nature. The underlying syndrome in Chinese medicine is usually deficient yang in Stomach and Spleen. Many people have this but it's rarely an allergy - a real allergic response can be severe, even life-threatening. Acupuncture and herbal treatment, together with avoiding Cold-type foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html) and eating more Warm-type foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html), and other advice can make a huge difference, depending on age and health (and ablity to follow instructions!)
If this is like mucus, it's not normal but not uncommon. It's due to qi deficiency, usually of your Lungs which, in Chinese medicine, 'rule' your nose and when over-stimulated, as with spicy food, produce more mucus to wash away a perceived 'threat'. However, there is also Spleen involvement (Lungs and Spleen work together as partners in Tai Yin), meaning that your Spleen is unable (again because of qi deficiency) to prevent Damp which in this case appears as moisture - the runny nose. Jonathan
Very difficult! Weak digestion/Spleen deficiency often lead to symptoms of Damp or Phlegm. Damp may appear as oedema, an undesirable form of weight gain, and fat-type obesity is often considered a form of phlegm. So gaining useful, healthy weight, in the form of toned muscles etc with weak Stomach Fire may take a long time, with very careful attention to diet, rest and exercise, if indeed it is possible. We'll soon have a page on Stomach Fire/Yang which may help.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 So good to see you reply to one of my comments. I've been enjoying watching your content and you clearly have a lot of knowledge and experience. Do you have any advice on how to reverse thickened skin and thickened / puffy eye lids?
I always sneeze after I eat and every time it's three sneezes (or maybe more). Sometimes it happens, but sometimes it doesn't, but lately it has a lot.
Dear Christina Sneezing after eating may not be connected to phlegm, at least not directly. More likely, at least on first thought, it is an imbalance between your Lung, Large Intestine and Stomach energies. Abdominal palpation might suggest whether it is this kind of over-sensitivity, and if so there are various ways of treating it, too complicated to detail here. Best wishes Jonathan
You're likely allergic to something that you're eating. Common things like dairy (milk and cheese) or gluten (bread), or even something like soybean oil or high fructose corn syrup-- which are both in just about every food you can think of. Do a 5 day water fast and watch how amazing you feel. Then slowly bring back your food, one thing at a time every few days. Once you eat the thing that is bothering you, you'll notice the phlem right away.
It covers a lot more than just your digestion. It covers your ability to think, to consider, to 'read, mark, learn and inwardly digest', and aspects of it cover your body's ability to hold things in place and to clear out the garbage. Our page on Spleen (www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html) explains some of this.
@ 2:51 you have pleghm :) just kidding, thanks for your advice and explanation. So what we need to eat to avoid phleghm after eating cause it always happen to me. Do i need medicine ?
There's a fair bit of advice on the page 'phlegm after eating' and also on our page www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html. Phlegm takes several forms, and arises from different causes so one can't easily generalise. By and large, what you eat, the type of food, can make a huge difference for better or worse (and certain foods nearly always make it worse - they're listed). How and when you eat are also important, and often overlooked, because we haven't been shown the right and wrong way (... like breathing, few of us take lessons!). As you'll read on the pages mentioned, emotions can play a big part too. Although it's a big subject, for most people, once they understand the underlying idea about phlegm in Chinese medicine, they'll know what to do. Of course, DOING it is another matter! It's hard to change ingrained habits, but it can be done. I've had lots of patients over the years who have decided to improve their lives and have successfully taken the appropriate action to do so.
Hi Nunya Bizness - I think you misheard me! - or didn't listen to it all. The 5 minute video can't tell you everything there is to say on this. We have a page on hot foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) which goes into much more detail, when they help and when they don't. Same for Cold foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html). What Chinese medicine regards as a 'hot' or a 'cold' food covers much more than just whether the food is warm or cold when eaten.
Hi Laeeq - not quite sure what you mean by 'no remedy recommended' as there are all sorts of solutions to having phlegm after eating both mentioned in the flowchart and the website and alluded to in the video. But you're right in that no single remedy suits everyone - we're all different and have to learn what suits us as individuals.
I eat or drink anything cold or warm, i need to spit mucus 3 times for every 1 bite food, the Mucus is pure white like white gel
Jimmy, you probably have what Chinese medicine calls Damp Phlegm, though it may also be partly Cold Phlegm. If the former, read our page on Lung Phlegm Damp (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-damp-phlegm.html) where there are links to other pages that may help. Improving the food choices you make and how you eat may help a bit but if it's as bad as you say, probably you need treatment too.
Do you have cough?
Yes
Same it sucks
I am this same problem
I develop Phlegm everytime I eat that forces me to cough, and I have to cough it out or else it’s there making noise if I laugh. Is embarrassing infront of people I have to hide it or go to the bathroom everytime and secretly cough it out. This happens with everything or anything I eat. It doesn’t matter if it’s healthy or not. I’m so embarrassed that it’s caused me my relationships because I don’t want them to hear me or causes me dates.
Dear Rosio, I'm sorry you have this problem so badly. You don't say much about the kind of phlegm you have so I can't be sure my answer is right for you. But following on from what I said to Greeva, who had a similar problem, the following may help:
Also, I don't know whether you live in a warm country or somewhere coldish like Britain, which makes a difference when you're outside!
But if your cough is loose and brings up runny white or clear phlegm when outside or eating junk food, probably it's Cold Phlegm, or possibly what I call Fatigue Phlegm.
There's lots about cough on our page www.acupuncture-points.org/cough-and-corona-virus-cough.html.
And for more about phlegm and why you get it, check www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html
If I'm right, then over time you've tired out your Spleen energy and weakened your Yang energy.
If you are young and otherwise in good health it's not too late to get better. If you are old, then you need to be more careful.
A place to start would be making sure the food you eat is warm to the touch when eaten, and that you take time to chew it well before swallowing. For more, click on www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html
And remember that junk foods contain little or no nutrition to strengthen you, yet take energy to digest, so it's the worst of both worlds.
We've just produced a short flowchart 'phlegm after eating' booklet which should soon be available on our website (www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html
) so look out for it. It may help you self-diagnose your phlegm.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 I am having this too, I stopped smoking 2 years ago, now about every 3 months I get coughs with green phlegm, I've had a cough everydsy for 2 months, was really thick phlegm, the cough has improved but now when I eat I cough , i can feel the phleghm coming up, its slimy white phleghm, scared to go doctor, I always think of the worst.😣
This happens to me and I’m so embarrassed and hate going in public to eat with friends and family I gag and always have clear thin phelym come out sometimes it is so loud like I’m vomiting but no food comes back just thin long slimy mucus I’m so disgusted and I’m 48 years old and can’t enjoy a good meal no more
@@jessgemini333 this is exactly my situation!! omg now I know i’m not the only one. This has kept me from so many dates and going out to eat with friends. i’m so tired of it!!! is embarrassing. 😔
@@Rosio6891 I been dealing with this 2017 and doctors sent me for a swallow text all types of testing told me take Pepcid and allergy pill at night and nothing has worked. I had a MRI in 2017 they said I had a spot on my spleen and don’t worry about it but now I’m concerned I always have pain where my spleen is located and now I’m concerned and wondering is my spleen not functioning properly.
i’m 20 years old & had this mucus problem probably since my early teens. a clear sticky mucus substance i feel in my throat at random times thru the day-but consistently right after i eat something and EVERY morning when i wake up. sometimes it has a tad bit of a darkish tone in the morning? i don’t cough, choke, sneeze or have trouble breathing as i’ve read a lot of… it’s just annoying and needs to come out. i noticed, if i hold it all in for long periods of time and keep the stuff in my system-my nose will get a bit congested and my voice will change a bit and sound as if i have a “cold” ….. it’s weird.
My brother and I have the exact same issue. Still don’t know what the heck it is called.
I suffer from the exact same thing WTH any solutions ?? I carry a inhaler on me just in case
I have the same but with cough. Was it GERD?
@@endgamefond if its with cough and dry with heart burn then it's gerd
It is postnasal drip
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:13 🤒 Phlegm after eating is the mucus or sputum that occurs in the throat, nose, or chest, causing discomfort and hindered daily activities.
01:13 🍲 The type of food you eat can influence phlegm production; warming foods like meat can increase metabolism, while cooling foods like fruits and vegetables can have the opposite effect.
02:37 🌡️ Cooking certain foods can make them more warming, while consuming them raw can have a cooling effect on the body.
03:18 ⚖️ Your metabolism plays a role in digestion; individuals with warm metabolisms might benefit from slightly cooling foods, while those with cold metabolisms may benefit from slightly warming foods.
04:43 🍽️ Making small changes to your diet based on the warming and cooling properties of foods can potentially have a positive impact on your health and reduce phlegm after eating.
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I get thick green phlegm that builds up after I eat. After not eating for a whole day and half a day I noticed it doesn't happen till after I eat.
I accidentally came across your video. This is fascinating, and I must read more about it. Thank you!
Hi Deana, Yes, phlegm is a big subject and explains many problems. Of course, it helps us work out what we've been doing 'wrong' too!
I feel mucus build up in my throat after eating and lump sensation (globus) when I was fatigue from work, sometimes feels dry itchy..
Hi Harbor 23, There are various explanations for your symptoms, including eating the wrong kind of food (for YOU), and Qi stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html). The most likely explanation is Qi deficiency (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-deficiency-how-to-overcome-tiredness.html).
As to which foods would be best and worst for you, keep a note over some days of the kinds of foods that cause you most problems and then read our pages on Hot Foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) and Cold Foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html) to help you make sense of it all.
Concerning the dry itchy sensation, there are more possibilities! Most likely it is due to a form of Heat (www.acupuncture-points.org/heat.html), but just might be from a form of yin deficiency (www.acupuncture-points.org/yin-deficiency.html).
I realise you wanted a simple answer, and I've given you many pages of theory to read, but Chinese medicine is a huge subject and can explain most conditions. What is so good about it is that it puts in your hands ways to help yourself before you need to see a practitioner.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 well all started this feeling last September 27,2020 at midnight when I wake up, this is the first time I feel shortness of breath chest tight, and then sometimes I feel bloated stomach cramps, but when I go to doctor 3x time my diagnostic test is normal I have a little bit UTi ! one of the doctor says maybe you have panic attack or anxiety but I want to make sure what it is? I go to the 3rd doctor and also said you are not sick, I said can I get another diagnostic test? the doctor said for what? you are not sick..I'm worried😢😢😢
@@harbor2368 Dear Harbor 23, chest tightness with bloating stomach cramps sounds like a form of qi-stagnation, of which there are different types.
I wrote a book about it called 'Qi Stagnation - Signs of Stress' and chapters 11 and 12 are about what happens (for example in your digestion) when you have it. There's too much to repeat here, I'm afraid - you'll have to read the book - but it will probably help you understand what's happening to you. As your doctors discovered, with Qi Stagnation nothing much shows up in Western-medicine style diagnostic tests at least to start with.
If the condition goes on for too long, and you do nothing about it, you may start to develop the additional syndromes and symptoms listed under 'What Happens Next?' on page 307 of the book for example. Unfortunately, these additional conditions DO produce symptoms and signs that Western-style medicine can measure and diagnose, such as hypertension (www.acupuncture-points.org/high-blood-pressure-hypertension.html), heartburn, irritable bowel disease (www.acupuncture-points.org/ibs.html) and so on.
When these symptoms develop, again assuming you've done nothing about the underlying causes, you'll be prescribed medications that will - your doctors hope and expect - successfully suppress your symptoms. This suppression (www.acupuncture-points.org/suppression.html) is not beneficial in the long term - again, you'll have to read the link to see why.
I'm told by many readers that my book "Qi Suppression" is easy to read so I hope suggesting it won't put you off. (Click amzn.to/3fR3mDb to see how to buy it.) I try to answer questions without insisting readers buy one of my books but in this case I think it's what you need.
Hope this helps. Jonathan
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 thnks a lot..
@@harbor2368 we had thesame problem,
Truly fascinating, I always have a few barky coughs after eating any sort of meat/chicken/fish/turkey, it doesn't really happen with eggs though and it NEVER happens when i eat beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, or even whole grains, very interesting stuff to think about 🤔
The Lung channel starts near or within the stomach organ before descending to the large intestine then up to the lungs so what we eat can have a big effect on our lungs. Probably you have some residual 'Heat' in your lungs which is triggered into a cough by foods that for you are more yang. You might find acupuncture to clear that Heat would reduce or clear the barky coughs.
Warm metabolism. Huh! Never crossed my mind. I will try eating cooler foods more often.
Can I be honest. I do something NO ONE ELSE DOES. I used to vape and smoke and party a lot. I stopped 8 months ago. But I cannot go throughout my without carrying a trash can with me at home. I spit so much. Not just thin spit. I Literally hack or cough up dry sticky thick phlegm from my throat and have to spit it out. It gets bad when I eat. I blow my nose a lot to help but it doesn’t work sometimes. My doctors have not found anything. I will have a clear swallow for a couple swallows but then I feel something and have to cough it up again. If you have anything similar or advice please let me know. I’m 18 I’m very healthy physically and eat great macros. I don’t have acid reflex or anything of that like wise. I don’t have problem coughing either. Just a problem with spitting.
Hi Jordan, I agree, not pleasant! But you're wrong if you think you are alone - believe it or not, there are others with your predicament. Of course nobody is exactly the same as anyone else and the reasons why you got like this vary hugely, and those underlying reasons often point to what went 'wrong' and how best to treat it.
Your symptoms suggest a background of Damp and possibly Cold, but you didn't say anything about the colour of your phlegm so I may be wrong.
On our site, in the booklet and in our book on phlegm there is much more. Phlegm is a big complicated subject which is why it's impossible to do it justice in a single page. You may need to change some of the foods you eat and how you eat them, there may be herbs and spices that help and, if you've suffered for a long time from this, you may need to get some good treatment to speed the process in the form of either acupuncture and/or Chinese herbs. Best wishes, Jonathan
hey jordan, have you found any info or tips at this subject?
@@WitchOnABroomstick I have not. I am going to a throat specialist soon
@@jordanensign6469 Ok, I wonder what they will tell you.. any how, good luck and i hope it gives you some kind of insight!
Thanks a lot. I will search this deeper. I always get a runny nose when I eat. And i get mucus in the throat, especially when i eat 'junk' food.
These are different things. Throat mucus after junk food is definitely from Stomach and Spleen deficiency. Runny nose while eating is more complicated and only partly because of Spleen deficiency: it relates as much to the Metal element, Lungs and Large Intestine. Both can have Liver involvement too.
@@acupuncture-points very interesting. Many thanks for taking the time to respond.
This been happening to me for years.
Hi Luxury Doll, Sorry to hear you've had your problem for so long! Think back to when it began and what was going on in your life at the time. Probably there was a change, or an increase in some activity, that eventually meant your body couldn't handle the change and clear out its effects. Ever since you've had phlegm after eating.
We can learn a lot about how our body works by watching when it doesn't react in a healthy way to something. That's what, lacking modern medicine, people in China did over 2500 years ago and we can use their observations and experiece even now, because the human body hasn't changed much, if at all, since then.
Best of luck in your wanderings down memory lane! Jonathan
i’m still watching the video but after i eat something small healthy or something and drink water too i like get mucus on my throat and throw it up
Try eating more slowly and chewing very thoroughly before swallowing, without drinking water at the same time. If you find you really need the water to swallow the food, probably the food you are eating is too dry. Try something like our 'Clogstoun Congee'; also eat mushy soups that are not too spicy. One other thing - what you call 'healthy' may not suit you, even if its manufacturer claims it is healthy!
How can i know what metabolism I am having - cooling or warming?
I’ve been having mucus and phlegm after eating and I cough all day all night it itches in my throat all the time . I really don’t understand what your trying to let me know I don’t know we’re I fit in this program 😆
Dear Carole,
Thank you for sharing your problem - what a trial it must have been for you all these years. If you've read our web pages explaining the source of phlegm and still can't understand why you have it and your cough, probably there is a deeper reason.
This might be (just some examples):
- a constitutional problem, inherited from a problem your parents or grandparents had which might not have showed up in them as phlegm or a cough, but as symptoms following an illness and/or;
- arising from early medication or treatment or even vaccination if your body was unable to metabolise the medication properly - ie 'burn it out' properly and/or;
- starting after some kind of stress, accident or emotional experience that was deeply upsetting at the time and never fully resolved and may be ongoing even now and/or;
- from exposure to something environmental, eg a poison or gas or dust or allergen.
These are just examples. It's often difficult to see ourselves objectively, let alone know what to do about it!
With any long-term problem like yours, it is clearly chronic and your body has settled into a 'holding' pattern where it doesn't know how, or lacks the energy, to make things better but at least can stop them getting worse.
Sorting through different possibilities and arriving at a good diagnosis might need someone experienced and knowledgeable and without being able to examine you in person, take your pulses the Chinese way and so on, I cannot do it. But someone will have that knowledge and may be accessible to you with some searching. I hope you can find him or her.
Again, thanks for sharing -
Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott
Hello, I’m 24 years old had have been suffering from excessive regurgitation of my food with a lot of clear saliva. It happens almost immediately after I eat. Many times I feel like I am choking and need to bring the food up but a lot of saliva (very stringy) and clear mixed with the food is the biggest issue for me. I’ve seen every doctor under the sun but nothing is helping.
Omg I just came across your comments on two different videos. I am on the same page! 😔 barely going to make a Drs appointment. Do you get ear aches as well?
@@emlove625 Hi! No I do not, most of the time it’s just my lump in my throat feeling And the regurgitation of my food constantly! Have you been treated with anything that helps?
@@LizzyLove1296 More important than the stringy saliva is what is called the 'descending' function of your Stomach. Putting this together with your throat 'lump' feeling, the most probable cause of your problem is Qi Stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html) which interferes with the way your stomach works. As a result, your stomach rebels (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach-qi-rebels.html). (There are other explanations, but that seems to me, on the basis of your description, the most likely.) Amazing they noticed these symptoms and put them into a coherent system of medicine over 2000 years ago!
@@acupuncture-points hello! Thank you for this information. Do you think acupuncture will help with this? If so what areas of the body does acupuncture usually be performed
@@LizzyLove1296 If my diagnosis is correct [obviously your acupuncturist would take your 'case' properly, including taking your pulse (www.acupuncture-points.org/pulse-diagnosis.html), examining your tongue (www.acupuncture-points.org/tongue-diagnosis.html) and doing any other checks needed, including talking to you about the onset of your symptoms and your health background in general: all of which would lead to his/her more specific diagnosis] - then acupuncture points typically used for Qi Stagnation might be on your back, on your feet and arms, and for Stomach Qi (to help it 'descend') on your legs near or below your knee and feet and possibly on your abdomen. If it's your first time, he/she might treat you just on your legs, feet and arms.
Didn’t really tell us why warm or cool foods effect phlegm, just promoting his book
Well, Billy, I think that's a little unfair!
Phlegm is a big subject, and different kinds of phlegm benefit from different things. What you eat can make a huge difference.
If you read our page on Phlegm After Eating you'll find much more about this but, having written it, I realised there was so much more to say that people might find useful. The book is around 180 pages long, with detailed descriptions of many different situations and their causes: reviews are encouraging and responses received privately have been overwhelmingly positive.
We also produced a flowchart booklet which you can acquire for £1.99, quite a lot less than a cup of coffee from you know who.
So there is masses of information for free on our site, on phlegm and on many other subjects. It takes time to prepare and write all this and we try to give the best information. On quite a few pages I recommend books by other authors that may help, so if occasionally I think my book is the best, am I not supposed to mention it?
Thanku Dr., For sharing about this much 'pain' causing ailment....
Yes, phlegm after eating, and chronic phlegm in general, are big problems for many of us.
Often it happens after a respiratory problem, such as a cold or cough (including Covid 19), when our energy is low and we eat comfort foods. Unfortunately our bodies lack the energy both to improve our health generally AND deal with what is, in effect, indigestible food, so we get phlegm.
The disease has used up some of our Kidney Yang energy, maybe also used up our deep reserves from Mingmen, our Gate of Vitality. So we take time to recover.
I haven't found a single remedy that suits everyone but our pages on Phlegm and Phlegm Colour may help you identify your particular syndrome which will lead you towards the correct treatment.
My partner always has rubbish on his chest after eating. He has had it for years. He was vegetarian for 8 years and been vegan for 2. He still has it the same now as he did when he was vegetarian. I've always thought it's because he eats so fast. It doesn't hurt him, it's just strange. He just has 1 or 2 coughs straight after he's finished his meal, and it's clear and gone. So strange
By 'rubbish on his chest' I presume you means phlegm in his lungs or bronchi.
This problem could have started as a child, depending on his environment then, or later from stress when Liver qi stagnation interfered with the action of his Spleen and Lungs. If he's a vegan he's probably worked out which foods exacerbate the 'rubbish on his chest' but eating too fast also worsens digestion (the action of his Spleen and Stomach in turning food into Blood and Qi.)
Old eating habits are hard to change but may be worth it. Acupuncture would probably help!
I have that too but it isn't phlegm. It's like my airway doesn't properly close when I am eating so I have to cough to clear any residue that gets in my airway. You may want him to go get checked to make sure it isn't a mechanical issue with his esophagus.
wow that made so much sense
Thanks Joaquin for your comment. Chinese medicine has a lot of common sense in it but it's not always obvious! Jonathan
Am having phlegm, but it's not coming out, and feel mucus after eating, which causes coughing and the food i ate comes back up.
I started getting something stuck behind my nose and in my throat I can't spit it out or swallow it it get worse when I eat my throat get like phelmy and I start chocking on everything so I haven't been eating now because of that idk what it is please help me :(
Stacey, I suggest you first ask your doctor to examine your post-nasal area to be sure you haven’t got something stuck or swollen there.
However, assuming it’s phlegm, and that you’ve had it for a while (you don’t say for how long you’ve had it) and is worse for eating, then probably it’s a form of Damp Cold Phlegm.
I can’t be sure because you can’t hawk it up so can’t see its colour, but it will be a form of Yin Excess (www.acupuncture-points.org/yin-excess.html).
Other symptoms will point to whether it is a hot or a cold form: read Stomach Cold and Deficient (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach-cold-and-deficient.html) for example.
As to what to do, that depends on the diagnosis, for example as to whether it’s a hot or cold type of phlegm. If it’s so extreme, it may take a while to clear.
Oats tend to have a massively damp effect on my digestion... what does this mean? Also please could you advise how to get rid of thickened skin and swollen eye lids?
I’m 30 😔 since 20’s I’m having this issue of Coughing up phlegm after eating and drinking, before sleeping and after waking up from sleep. Anytime my body is at rest it is building up phlegm for me to force cough it out. I have had it since my 20’s in the navy. I thought it was just smokers cough. Please advice
Hi Niven, you don’t say what your phlegm looks like or whether it changes its nature in different situations or at different times (see www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html).
Also whether what you eat or drink make a difference to it. So my answer can’t be precise.
That your phlegm builds up during rest suggests not only your Spleen energy (www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html) is deficient but also that Wood energy (www.acupuncture-points.org/wood-element-or-wood-phase.html) takes advantage of it. This suggests that it may have started during a period of stress (Qi Stagnation - www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html).
Continuing anxiety and/or stress would make it chronic.
You should be able to at least make a small change in its frequency and persistence by reading the pages mentioned above (and putting into practice what they say!) plus carefully following the advice on hot and cold foods (eg see www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html).
Probably you’ll need some treatment to clear it. (Chinese medicine has many strategies for this, including acupuncture and herbs.)
Best wishes Jonathan
I have the same problem and it began once I started eating a lot of meat and bread. I used to eat meat like maybe 10times a month but now it's everyday and I never ate bread but now wow. My mucus is clear
You might have cystic fibrosis
Same bro. I have white phlegm. It's kinda fine when it's the morning or when I brush my teeth or when i wake up. But it's really bothering when it's at night. My sleep gets disturbed. How's your cough now?
Silent reflux/lpr
Thank you, i only get it during eating
I would like to know why I have thick phlegm almost admittedly after eat or drinking. I've had this for many years, but its gotten worst. Went to the doctor and they gave me acid reflux medication and that has not helped. They want to put a scope down my throat and am nerves about that. Can you tell me what I can do to get rid of it or atleast improve it. I try to drink warm water or tea with my meals to see if that helps and that doesn't help either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Sary, if your phlegm is white, it is probably either from what Chinese medicine calls ‘damp’ (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-damp-phlegm.html) or from what it calls ‘cold’ (www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-cold.html).
Depending on how long you’ve had it and other things, it could also come from qi deficiency ie an underlying tiredness (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-deficiency-how-to-overcome-tiredness.html). Click on those links for more.
Often people have a combination of two or more conditions and you could have all three.
If you want to know a lot more about this and, for example, more about which herbs might help and what to avoid and what to do, you’ll have to read my book ‘Yuck! Phlegm!’ (amzn.to/3syBiIm).
Probably you’ll need to make some quite big changes to how you live, what and how you eat, and you may benefit from some treatment to get you started.
With ongoing phlegm such as you may have, there are answers but it won’t improve unless YOU do something about it.
I too have this and it is very irritating and has certainly decreased my quality if life... becoz of this i fear eating outside and can i ask what is ur consistency of sputum? mine is slimy and clear
@@scikish5 the consistency is usually thick and clear. But sometimes I get more or less phlegm depends on what I eat. I've been keeping a list of what I eat and drink, but can not find what is causing it. Seems like everything I eat causes me to get phlegm. Its not fun, and your definitely right it about it changing the quality of your life. I get embarrassed when I go out and eat, because it will just happen in the middle of eating.
@@sarybear84 may i ask your age?... im 35
@@sarybear84 Yeah and i have also noted it is very thick in the morning or after prolonged periods of bedrest.... spicy foods are definitely triggering it more... also i have anxiety issues... don't know whether it could also behind this.... but this is absolutely embarrassing even before my own family... no matter what i do i cant control spitting after eating.... after the covid pandemic, it has increased a lot.... unfortunately i couldn't get any answers/help from doctors.... i think i should accept and live with this😞
I feel cough after eating sometimes it happen or sometimes not but most of the time it happen ,I visited pulmologists but cxr was normal and I don't know why it happens it is so embarrassing thing .I want to get rid of this.
Hi Shilpa, your problem is not uncommon. It can occur for several reasons, including the kinds of food you eat, how you eat and how well you digest food. The experience of Chinese culture and medicine has led them to consider these and other variables in great detail. You need to check our pages on Phlegm after Eating (www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html) and Nutrition (www.acupuncture-points.org/nutrition.html) to make more sense of all this. Good luck! Jonathan
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 it means it is not a big problem in future ?
@@shilpa5969 Sorry Shilpa - I don't understand your question. Please what you mean. Jonathan
Click bait...selling his book.
My issue is before I eat. Everytime I have sex , I want to eat afterwards. It really doesn't matter if its warm or cool foods.
I would like to know that why I get cough so often when I eat any outside or junk food. Please help me.
maybe allergies
Stop eating junk food
It is your body rejecting garbage.
How do i get rid of phglem and mucus around the sinus area?
I went to an ENT specialist and he said its an allergy or inflammation.
How will I know what I am. Allergic to?
1 TBS apple cider vinegar 1 tbs lemon in 250ml warm water. you can also check ou Dr berg. he has details on this too
When I wake up in the morning, I have to cough and always cough up a black phlegm. Also right after I eat, I feel the need to cough once and clear my throat of the same black phlegm. All throughout the day I’m doing this and lately I have developed very sticky clear phlegm like the egg white before cooking when I brush my teeth and even when I throw up I throw up a lot of this egg white phlegm. I have no Idea what’s going on.
Hi Inso
Black phlegm has several possible sources.
It could be congealed blood, coming from your oesophagus, lungs or stomach. For a proper diagnosis see your doctor or experienced health practitioner. At any rate, it has probably been ‘cooking’ for a while, making it darker, which is why you get it on waking in the morning.
It could be from something you have inhaled, like soot. Or from something dark you have eaten.
Clear phlegm, like uncooked white of egg is more likely to be from qi deficiency, damp or cold. Working out what makes it worse and what makes it better would help you differentiate between these different possibilities.
If from Qi deficiency, you must decide what the cause is. It could be poor digestion, poor diet, or some chronic health condition: the latter might explain the black phlegm too.
I strongly suggest you see a doctor or qualified and experienced health practitioner. Not knowing, and therefore guessing will keep you in fearful suspense. Often this makes you worse (worry weakens your Spleen energy, see www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html).
Getting a proper diagnosis, even if It’s bad news, allows you to make plans and move forward.
Best wishes Jonathan
Same bro. I have white phlegm. It's so fine when it's the morning or when I brush my teeth or when i wake up. But it's really bothering when it's at night. My sleep gets disturbed. How's your cough now?
It always wakes me about 4 am and I have to cough up the blooby stuff. Yuck! 🤢
Hi Maggie - thanks for contributing. You said you cough up 'blooby' stuff at 4am. If you meant 'bloody' stuff, which would suggest blood from your lungs or stomach, then see your doctor. If you just mean thick phlegm, then probably it's from what you're eating and your way of life: these clash, making it hard for you to digest food properly. Without knowing more about the type of phlegm and whether you get it at other times, and how and when you're eating, it's hard to made further comment. Best wishes - Jonathan
I am 22 year old I am getting regulury white phelgum after eating anything and runny nose since 7 months what should I do
Hi Rohit, about half way down our page www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-colour.html you'll see a section which says 'What if phlegm colour is white?' That's the place to start, but the rest of that page contains lots of useful information too. For example, a bit further up the page is a section on clear, watery phlegm/mucus. Jonathan
Spoiler: he doesn't answer the question, but tells you meat is hot and fruit is cold
Actually, Artbug, you're right, we could make it clearer! I don't in the video make it sufficiently obvious that hot foods and a hot metabolism tend to produce slimy, yellow, thick phlegm, whereas cold foods and a cold metabolism tend to produce clear, runny phlegm. But if you look at the page, about part of which the video is a summary, it should become very clear. So, thank-you!
Then, knowing which way you incline, you are armed with information to make changes and, I hope, to improve your phlegm.
Click bait...selling his book😂
When i eat certain foods, i get warm spots on my forehead and get the worst headache.
I then have to throw up diffrent amounts of flem then the migraine slowly leaves and so do those warm spots on my forehead
Small painful areas on the skin or scalp are often a sign of phlegm, so I suppose small warm spots might be too. If so, clearing the phlegm would then help clear the warm spots. Phlegm is a difficult subject and not always easy to clear or avoid, but at least you know which foods trigger it in your own case.
I didn’t understand what causes the phlegm...
Well, poor digestion and poor food choices for your particular metabolism go some way to explaining it.
For more, really you need to look at the web pages we've written, like www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm-after-eating.html. They go into more detail.
Still more detail is in my book on phlegm: amzn.to/3iTwLNc
Absolutely mindblowing information!
Hi Melissa, thanks for your comment. Yes, just looking at what happened after eating certain kinds of foods and seeing how they affected health was what Chinese medicine did, over two thousand years ago. It's a very practical system of health, and much more sophisticated than we may imagine. Jonathan
I can't tell if this is a joke or not. lol
Hi sir. What u had spoken is very informing. I have a doubt im 23years old i have been smoking for past 3 years and my problem is for the past 7 months phelm production is higher whenever i had my food i cough and vomit phlegm with water. What may be cause..? Is this the side effect of smoking or what may be reason..?
You have been smoking for three years and now for 7 months have been getting more phlegm when you eat?
Smoking may be the cause, but there are other possibilities.
If smoking is the cause it could be because the smoke produces heat in your lungs. This results in thicker mucus leading to phlegm in your lungs which obstructs your Lungs' 'descending' function. See more about this at www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-heat.html.
As you will read there, foods that are heating or drying or phlegm-forming make this worse (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) and can interfere with your Stomach's 'descending' function (www.acupuncture-points.org/stomach.html), which means stuff comes UP instead of going DOWN and staying DOWN.
Another possibility is that you started smoking to help you manage stress. Stress often causes Qi Stagnation (www.acupuncture-points.org/qi-stagnation.html) which over time interferes with both your digestion and breathing (stress can cause asthma, for example - see www.acupuncture-points.org/asthma-causes.html) and this again can cause phlegm.
So ... what to do?
- If you smoke to de-stress, read the suggestions on the Qi Stagnation page and take more exercise, for example.
- Develop ways to deal with the stress, if this is the cause. Assertiveness training suits some people; just talking to someone helps others. Getting away from the stressful situation is sometimes the only solution.
- Of course, try to stop smoking! Read www.acupuncture-points.org/smoking.html!
- Be cautious about what and how you eat. (www.acupuncture-points.org/nutrition.html) For example, reduce 'heating' or 'hot' or phlegm-forming foods.
- Learn to chew well and long before swallowing, and take more time over meals.
- For more, see www.acupuncture-points.org/lung-phlegm-with-both-lung-and-spleen-deficiency.html.
Hope this helps.
I am always warm with flush rash and almost never eat warm foods. I eat cold foods every day for lunch and have tons of congestion afterwards.
Hi Robin Marie, There are various ways Chinese medicine might explain this. Herre's one! Yin deficiency wit Empty Heat might explain the ongoing warmth and flushing. Stomach Yand deficiency with Spleen deficiency and eating foods of a cold, damp nature, might explain the congestion after meals. It is certainly possible to have such a mix of syndromes, but don't act according to my surmise, please see a professional who can examine you properly, check your tongue and pulses and discuss your health history.
I always get phleum after eating with cough from few days
Certain foods cause me mucus. Sticky thin stuff for an hour or so. Ice Cream, certain dairy, soy sauce, beer (certain kids, mainly IPA). I try to avoid them. No one but a natural gave me a reason. He assumed allergies. Allergists and Doctor clueless.
The foods you mention often produce, in susceptible people, phlegm that is Cold(www.acupuncture-points.org/cold.html) and/or Damp (www.acupuncture-points.org/damp.html) in nature. The underlying syndrome in Chinese medicine is usually deficient yang in Stomach and Spleen. Many people have this but it's rarely an allergy - a real allergic response can be severe, even life-threatening. Acupuncture and herbal treatment, together with avoiding Cold-type foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html) and eating more Warm-type foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html), and other advice can make a huge difference, depending on age and health (and ablity to follow instructions!)
Sir I experience runny nose after eating anything that is little or high spicy, is it normal?
If this is like mucus, it's not normal but not uncommon. It's due to qi deficiency, usually of your Lungs which, in Chinese medicine, 'rule' your nose and when over-stimulated, as with spicy food, produce more mucus to wash away a perceived 'threat'. However, there is also Spleen involvement (Lungs and Spleen work together as partners in Tai Yin), meaning that your Spleen is unable (again because of qi deficiency) to prevent Damp which in this case appears as moisture - the runny nose. Jonathan
So what if you are hot and cold person what do eat
You need to explain in more detail what you mean by being both a hot and cold person before I can answer!
How can some with a damp weak digestive fire GAIN weight?
Very difficult! Weak digestion/Spleen deficiency often lead to symptoms of Damp or Phlegm. Damp may appear as oedema, an undesirable form of weight gain, and fat-type obesity is often considered a form of phlegm. So gaining useful, healthy weight, in the form of toned muscles etc with weak Stomach Fire may take a long time, with very careful attention to diet, rest and exercise, if indeed it is possible. We'll soon have a page on Stomach Fire/Yang which may help.
@@jonathanclogstoun-willmott3011 So good to see you reply to one of my comments. I've been enjoying watching your content and you clearly have a lot of knowledge and experience. Do you have any advice on how to reverse thickened skin and thickened / puffy eye lids?
I always sneeze after I eat and every time it's three sneezes (or maybe more). Sometimes it happens, but sometimes it doesn't, but lately it has a lot.
Dear Christina
Sneezing after eating may not be connected to phlegm, at least not directly.
More likely, at least on first thought, it is an imbalance between your Lung, Large Intestine and Stomach energies. Abdominal palpation might suggest whether it is this kind of over-sensitivity, and if so there are various ways of treating it, too complicated to detail here. Best wishes Jonathan
You're likely allergic to something that you're eating. Common things like dairy (milk and cheese) or gluten (bread), or even something like soybean oil or high fructose corn syrup-- which are both in just about every food you can think of. Do a 5 day water fast and watch how amazing you feel. Then slowly bring back your food, one thing at a time every few days. Once you eat the thing that is bothering you, you'll notice the phlem right away.
I'm confused - 'in Chinese medicine is called is called your spleen and stomach' - what is it in English medicine?
It covers a lot more than just your digestion. It covers your ability to think, to consider, to 'read, mark, learn and inwardly digest', and aspects of it cover your body's ability to hold things in place and to clear out the garbage. Our page on Spleen (www.acupuncture-points.org/spleen.html) explains some of this.
@ 2:51 you have pleghm :) just kidding, thanks for your advice and explanation. So what we need to eat to avoid phleghm after eating cause it always happen to me. Do i need medicine ?
There's a fair bit of advice on the page 'phlegm after eating' and also on our page www.acupuncture-points.org/phlegm.html.
Phlegm takes several forms, and arises from different causes so one can't easily generalise. By and large, what you eat, the type of food, can make a huge difference for better or worse (and certain foods nearly always make it worse - they're listed).
How and when you eat are also important, and often overlooked, because we haven't been shown the right and wrong way (... like breathing, few of us take lessons!). As you'll read on the pages mentioned, emotions can play a big part too.
Although it's a big subject, for most people, once they understand the underlying idea about phlegm in Chinese medicine, they'll know what to do.
Of course, DOING it is another matter! It's hard to change ingrained habits, but it can be done. I've had lots of patients over the years who have decided to improve their lives and have successfully taken the appropriate action to do so.
After i eat big meals this happens
interesting!
Very informing
Thank you for watching
what did he just say? warm and cool food? not really helpful
Hi Nunya Bizness - I think you misheard me! - or didn't listen to it all. The 5 minute video can't tell you everything there is to say on this. We have a page on hot foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/hot-foods.html) which goes into much more detail, when they help and when they don't. Same for Cold foods (www.acupuncture-points.org/cold-foods.html). What Chinese medicine regards as a 'hot' or a 'cold' food covers much more than just whether the food is warm or cold when eaten.
No remedy recommended.
Hi Laeeq - not quite sure what you mean by 'no remedy recommended' as there are all sorts of solutions to having phlegm after eating both mentioned in the flowchart and the website and alluded to in the video. But you're right in that no single remedy suits everyone - we're all different and have to learn what suits us as individuals.
I have the cure and you are wrong
Well? Do tell ... !
Joke