I'm taking herbal weight loss medicine, and my heart is racing. Why is this happening?
This is a natural reaction that occurs as the medicine stimulates your body's metabolism. The process involves the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which increases your basal metabolic rate and heart rate, leading to palpitations or mild tremors. From a TKM perspective, this is viewed as 'Sang-yeol' (upward heat), where energy surges upward as the body adapts to the treatment.
It is quite common to feel anxious when experiencing these symptoms for the first time, such as insomnia or dizziness. To explain the principle simply: diet-specific herbal medicine acts like a catalyst that forces your body's 'engine' to run at high speed to burn energy. This stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing your heart rate. Those who are naturally sensitive or have low overall vitality often experience this reaction more intensely.
In Traditional Korean Medicine, this can be seen as a manifestation of 'Bi-heo' (Spleen deficiency), where weakened digestive function leads to unstable energy flow. Furthermore, if there is an accumulation of 'Dam-eum' (phlegm-fluid) or 'Eo-hyeol' (blood stasis) in the body, the energy cannot circulate smoothly and instead surges upward, intensifying the palpitations.
While this is often an adaptation process, persistent symptoms that interfere with your daily life or cause excessive stress should not be ignored. You do not have to simply endure the discomfort. We can easily manage this by adjusting the concentration of specific herbal ingredients or adding calming herbs to stabilize your mind and body. Please let us know so we can refine the prescription to better suit your constitution.
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