New to ECM? Start with What Is Eight Constitution Medicine? for the basics of the eight body types.
Earlier articles looked closely at dameum (痛飲), the fluid stagnation that Korean Traditional Medicine (KTM) — the traditional healing system of Korea also known as Hanbang (한방) — treats as the root of many illnesses. Dameum is more than the residue of poor digestion: it underlies metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension, and recent research has found a deep connection with dementia, which has made managing it all the more pressing.
Dameum is usually explained as the result of a weak stomach failing to digest food properly. Which raises a question. Among the eight constitutions, Pancreotonia (토양체질) has the strongest pancreas and stomach and the finest digestive power of all. So why does this type develop dameum at all?
In Summary
- Pancreotonia’s excellent digestion comes from having a great deal of heat in the stomach. Moderate heat aids digestion; excessive heat manufactures false hunger.
- Under overwork or stress, stomach heat flares abnormally. A burning kind of hunger arrives, and only food quenches it — which is why this type reaches for something to eat, or binges, when stressed.
- But eating more does not suddenly raise the energy the body spends. Food pushed in to douse the fire exceeds the processing capacity and settles as surplus — and that is dameum.
- Dameum can form even without overeating, because excessive heat boils the body’s fluids down until they turn thick and sticky.
- The good news: because the digestive engine is powerful, this type can clear dameum comparatively easily once the principle is understood. The key is governing the heat of the stomach.
Good Digestion, and Dameum Anyway
1. Stomach Heat That Calls for Overeating
In KTM terms, Pancreotonia’s fine digestion arises from an abundance of heat in the stomach. A moderate amount of that heat helps digestion along; an excess of it produces false hunger.
When this type is overworked or under stress, stomach heat rises abnormally. What follows is a burning, scorched sort of hunger — and only when food goes in does the heat subside and a temporary ease arrive. Hence the strong tendency to keep eating, or to binge, under stress.
The trouble is that eating more does not suddenly increase the energy the body expends. The excess food pushed in to put out the stomach’s fire eventually exceeds the body’s processing capacity and accumulates as surplus matter — which is precisely dameum.
2. Fluids Boiled Thick by Heat
Dameum can arise even without eating much, purely from excessive heat in the body. The fire (火) that shows on the surface may come from several organs, but the heat radiating from the stomach (yangming) is the strongest and most abundant of them.
Picture a pot of soup on too fierce a flame: the broth cooks down fast and turns sticky. The body is no different. When stomach heat is excessive, the normal fluids, the blood, and the moisture in the food consumed are all boiled down by it. Fluids that ought to run clear become thick and turbid, and their flow inevitably stalls. This is the heat-driven route to dameum peculiar to Pancreotonia.
How Pancreotonia Can Reduce Dameum
Here is the encouraging part: because this constitution’s digestive engine is fundamentally powerful, clearing dameum is comparatively easy once you understand the principle. The key is governing the heat of the stomach.
Recognise what the appetite actually is. You have to distinguish whether the hunger you feel right now is a genuine need for energy, or false hunger produced by heat rising in the stomach. When your stomach burns or a sudden craving for sugar strikes, simply registering “ah — my body has gone hot” goes a long way toward preventing needless bingeing and keeping the diet in hand.
Eat to put out the fire. Cut down on foods that stoke stomach heat — spicy dishes, chicken, ginseng, honey. These are oil poured on a burning house, and they generate more dameum. Reach instead for foods that cool the stomach and support the kidney, the organ that governs and restrains that heat. Pork, beef, seafood, cucumber and barley — cooling by nature — are the medicine for Pancreotonia’s dameum.
Slow the pace of the mind. This type is quick-tempered and quick-moving, and when the mind hurries, that impatience transmits directly into stomach heat and makes the digestive system hotter still. Wherever you can, act deliberately more slowly and let the mind settle. Bringing psychological heat down through meditation or deep breathing is a remarkably effective treatment for physical dameum.
In Summary
Managing dameum as a Pancreotonia rests on emptying and cooling. Be wary of an appetite that overflows, and cultivate the wisdom of cooling a hot interior.
Related reading: Indigestion and Dizziness: Could It Be Dameum? · Dieting as a Pancreotonia
This article reflects the teaching and research of Professor Seungho Baek, Professor of Korean Medicine at Dongguk University College of Korean Medicine, specializing in Pathology and Oncology.
