How should coix seed be eaten for the best dampness-clearing effect, and how long do you need to eat it continuously before it works?

When people hear about clearing dampness, the first thing they probably think of is coix seed. Coix seed is a food that is both medicine and food. The most common way to use coix seed to clear dampness is to eat “red bean and coix seed porridge”. So exactly how should coix seed be eaten for the best dampness-clearing effect? How long should it be eaten continuously to remove dampness?

1. Introduction to coix seed

Coix seed, also known as Job's tears, coix seed, and liuguzi, is a variety of Coix in the genus Coix. It is cool in nature, sweet and bland in taste, and very high in nutritional value. It is known as the “king of gramineous plants in the world.” Coix seed contains starch and can be eaten or used to make wine. Although it is a grain, its fat and protein content is very high and it is easy to metabolize, so eating more of it does not bring worries about gaining weight. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is recorded that coix seed is slightly cold in nature and sweet in taste, and its functions are to clear heat, drain dampness, and strengthen the spleen. It mainly treats edema, beriberi, rheumatism, diarrhea, intestinal abscess, lung abscess, and so on.

2. How do you tell whether your body has dampness?

1. The edges of the tongue are scalloped, and the tongue coating is white and thick;

2. You are prone to diarrhea, the stool is not well formed, and it is sticky and hard to flush away;

3. Poor appetite, poor mental state, poor sleep quality, and easy chest tightness;

4. Hair tends to get oily, the face looks dull in the morning, the eyelids are puffy, and there are dark circles under the eyes;

5. Prone to edema and puffiness.

If you match several of the situations above, then you should pay attention to whether your body has dampness. At this point, you need to use dietary therapy to remove dampness.

3. How should coix seed be eaten for the best dampness-clearing effect?

Nowadays, due to some reasons related to lifestyle, daily routine, and environment, our dampness tends to be heavier, which makes our spleen and stomach poor. When symptoms such as poor appetite, indigestion, abdominal pain, and diarrhea appear, we can use the following methods to remove dampness:

1. Drink soaked cooked coix seed water

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that coix seed is cool in nature and sweet in taste, and enters the spleen, lung, and kidney meridians. It can promote urination, remove dampness, and strengthen the spleen. Raw coix seed is rather cool in nature, and drinking it regularly after boiling can easily damage the body's vital energy, but fried coix seed is much milder. Heat a pan over low heat. No oil is needed in the pan. Add clean coix seed and stir-fry over low heat the whole time until the surface is slightly yellow and puffed up (it takes about 1 hour), then take it out. After frying, let it cool and store it in a sealed container. Cooked coix seed can be fried by yourself, or you can buy it at a traditional Chinese medicine shop.

Method: Soak about 15 grams of fried coix seed in 300 milliliters of water. Soak it before bed each night. The next morning, add some boiling water and drink it on an empty stomach.

2. Coix seed and red bean porridge

Coix seed and red beans are very common ingredients, but at least 90% of people do not know how to eat them in a way that helps the body reduce dampness. The red beans that can remove dampness here refer to adzuki beans, not the common red small beans sold in supermarkets; coix seed refers to cooked coix seed that has been baked or stir-fried. Only by boiling these two ingredients together can the dampness-clearing effect be achieved.

Ingredients: coix seed, fox nut, adzuki beans, rock sugar

Method: Adzuki beans, coix seed, and fox nut are difficult to cook until soft, so it is best to soak them in hot water for one hour before cooking, then finally add an appropriate amount of white sugar and it is ready to eat.

Here everyone should be reminded that not everyone is suited to drinking red bean and coix seed porridge. People with too much turbid qi in the body, renal edema, cardiac edema, cirrhotic ascites, malnutritional edema, and obesity, as well as women preparing for pregnancy, pregnant women, and women during menstruation, should avoid eating it.

4. How long should coix seed be eaten continuously to remove dampness?

Coix seed has a very good effect on clearing dampness. Under normal circumstances, after eating it for a period of time, there will be a phenomenon of increased urine output. Gradually, you will find that the dampness in the body is being discharged little by little, and the body will also feel very relaxed. Generally, 28 days is one cycle. If you want to remove dampness faster, you might as well combine it with other methods, such as exercise, moxibustion and cupping (not frequently, once a week), and acupoint massage.

5. Can red bean and coix seed porridge be drunk every day?

Although red bean and coix seed porridge removes dampness, you should also note that coix seed cannot be drunk every day. Generally, eat it about 3 times a week for one month continuously; do not eat too much at one time, otherwise it can easily cause diarrhea; it is not suitable to eat on an empty stomach, and it is best to eat it in the morning.

Conclusion: Although coix seed is rich in nutrients and has a good dampness-clearing effect, you must also clearly understand that only cooked coix seed has a dampness-clearing effect, and it is also not suitable for long-term consumption. Generally, people with a deficient cold constitution, irregular menstruation, pregnant women, and women during menstruation had better not eat it.