There are many patients with liver disease in China, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, liver cancer, fatty liver, drug-related liver damage, autoimmune liver disease, etc. The number of patients with liver disease is more than 10% of the total population. Patients with liver disease often get diagnosed as “spleen deficiency” when they consult a Chinese medicine practitioner, or the doctor prescribes medicine to “strengthen the spleen”. As a result, many patients are confused: I have liver disease, but why do TCM doctors say I have spleen deficiency? Especially patients with cirrhosis are more confused: Western doctors say my spleen is large, but Chinese doctors say my spleen is deficient, so why is the spleen deficient even though it is large? Why is the spleen deficient even though it is already large? Western doctors say that the spleen should be cut, but won’t the spleen be even more deficient after cutting? Questions such as these are caused by the confusion of having two systems of Chinese and Western medicine in China. Chinese medicine is the traditional medical system in China and is still widely used today because of its unique advantages in disease prevention and treatment. According to the theory of Chinese medicine, “spleen” is an important organ among the five human organs (heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney). “The function of the spleen is mainly to “transport and transform”, which means that it is responsible for digestion and absorption, and is equivalent to the function of the entire digestive system. The most common symptoms of liver disease include weakness, loss of appetite, bloating, loose stools (thin or unformed stools), and lack of luster, which are all signs of “spleen deficiency” according to TCM theory. One of the most important rules of TCM in treating liver disease is to strengthen the spleen, that is, to enhance the function of the spleen (digestion and absorption). Commonly used medicines include: Astragalus, Ginseng, Radix Codonopsis, Poria, Atractylodes, Licorice, Lotus, Lentils, Yam, and many others. In order to strengthen the spleen, in addition to taking medicine, patients must also pay special attention to life conditioning in order to get twice the result with half the effort. If you just take medicine without paying attention to life conditioning, it will be difficult to achieve the desired effect. Patients with liver disease need to pay special attention to the following matters while taking herbs for strengthening the spleen: 1. Avoid anxiety: according to Chinese medicine, “thinking hurts the spleen”, long-term overthinking, anxiety and depression will reduce the digestive and absorption functions; 2. Avoid overwork: according to Chinese medicine, “labor weariness hurts the spleen Some patients blindly carry out strenuous exercise beyond the body’s tolerance will also hurt the spleen; 3, sedentary, long lying also hurt the spleen: “Nei Jing” said “long sitting hurts meat”, “long lying hurts qi”, sedentary, long lying People who sit and lie down for a long time have too little exercise, which affects the emptying of the digestive tract and also hurts the spleen; 4, cold hurts the spleen: the spleen likes warmth but hates cold, so if you eat cold for a long time, it will cause a deficiency of the spleen’s yang, which will easily lead to abdominal distension and loose stools; 5, wet hurts the spleen: living in a humid environment will also cause a greater burden on the spleen, which will easily hurt the spleen; 6, over-eating or Fast food also hurts the spleen: many patients with liver disease worry that they are malnourished, so they eat too much, especially too much high-protein, high-fat food, which exceeds their digestive capacity and will increase the burden on the digestive system, causing injury, which is what Chinese medicine calls injury to the spleen; there is also eating too fast, without full chewing, wolf swallowing, which will also increase the burden on the digestive system, causing injury to the spleen; 7, excessive medication hurts the spleen: long-term Overdosing on a large number of drugs or health products, especially cold and stimulating drugs or various supplements, taken for a long time, is more likely to hurt the spleen. It must be clear that “medicine is three parts poison”, unless it is necessary, do not rely on drugs and health care products; 8, eating without concentration also hurt the spleen: in the past, the ancients pay attention to the “sleep does not speak, meal does not speak”, eat when you have to focus on eating, do not be distracted. Most modern people take meals as a means of socializing or the only time to communicate with their families, and many people have the habit of watching TV or looking at their cell phones for dinner, which results in “food without taste” and affects the secretion of the digestive glands, causing “injury to the spleen”. As mentioned above, there are many habits that harm the spleen, that is, the digestive function. If these habits are corrected, it is better than taking medicine for the spleen for a long time. If these habits are corrected, it is better than taking medicine for a long time to strengthen the spleen.