This patient's chief complaint: prefers cold foods, loose stools that stick to the toilet, aversion to cold, easily fatigued, and abdominal bloating after eating even a small amount.
Let's take a look at his tongue picture
First, observe the color of his tongue, which is pale white, indicating a deficiency of qi and blood in the body; next, look at the shape of the tongue, which is larger than normal, with a ring of tooth marks along the edges, suggesting excessive dampness in the body and poor water metabolism; finally, examine the tongue coating, which is thick, white, and appears as if covered with a layer of moisture, indicating an accumulation of excessive dampness, undigested food, and retained fluids.
A tongue like this is a typical symptom of spleen and stomach deficiency. At this time, simply tonifying the spleen and stomach is not enough. We must first remove excess dampness from the body, and then tonify the spleen and stomach. In simple terms, it's like "clearing the roadblocks first, then delivering supplies." This way, nutrients can be absorbed, and the spleen and stomach can regain their strength to continue digesting food and expelling excess water from the body.
