WHAT IS LIVER QI CONSTRAINT?
Liver Qi Constraint, also known as Liver Qi Stagnation, is by far the most common Liver pattern and also one of the most common patterns in general. It manifests clinically as distending pain the hypochondriac region, stuffiness of the chest, sighing, epigastric and abdominal distention, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, sour regurgitation, belching, borborygmi, diarrhoea, feeling of being "wound up", feeling of a lump in the throat, irregular periods, painful periods, distention of the breasts prior to periods, pre-menstrual tension and irritability, melancholy, depression and moodiness. We hope the suggestions given below are helpful in your quest for optimal liver health.

THESE ARE USEFUL FOODS IF YOU HAVE LIVER QI CONSTRAINT:

• Lemon, lime or grapefruit, moderately pungent foods, spices and herbs, members of the onion family (for humans ONLY - do not give to dogs & cats), mustard greens, cardamom, cumin, fennel, horseradish, various mints, lemon balm, angelica root, prickly ash bark. Also sweet rice, strawberry, peach, cherry, pine nuts, cabbage, turnip root, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. Also sprouted grains, beans and seeds, fresh vegetables and fruit. Mushrooms, rye, asparagus, amaranth, quinoa, alfalfa, radish leaves, citrus peel, chaparral, bupleurum, chamomile, peony root, dandelion root.
• Foods that relax the Liver: Beef, chicken, liver, mussels, black sesame, kelp, plums, mulberries, celery, nori, lotus seeds, Chinese red dates and gotu kola.
• Foods that activate Liver Qi: Vinegar, amasake, beets, coconut milk, garlic, leeks, marjorams, safflower, basil, black pepper, dill seed, ginger, longan, rosemary, scallions, by leaves, cabbage, litchi, kohlrabi, saffron, peaches, oregano, turmeric, eggplant, chives, chestnuts.
• Foods that also detoxify and cool the Liver: Celery, seaweed, watercress, mung beans, lettuce, cucumber, tofu, millet, plum, rhubarb root or stem, daikon, radish, carrots, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, parsley.

THESE ARE FOODS TO AVOID IF YOU HAVE LIVER QI CONSTRAINT:

• Foods high in saturated fats (such as lard, mammal meat, cream cheese and eggs), hydrogenated or poor quality foods (such as shortening, margarine, refined and rancid oils), deep fried, greasy, fatty foods, coffee, alcohol, food preservatives, excessively spicy foods, sugar and sweets, peanut butter, excesses of nuts and seeds, chemicals in food and water, all intoxicants and highly processed refined foods (refined flour products are hard on the Spleen and make it easier for the Liver to invade it).