Why women experience a scalloped tongue more than men

In TCM physiology, women lose blood every month. The Spleen’s job is to produce blood from food and if your digestion is weak, blood production will also be weak. Then, fatigue ensues. This cycle happens again and again until it’s disrupted. 

Signs of Spleen Qi Deficiency in Women

A pale, scalloped tongue is the classic indicator, but here are other common signs: 

• fatigue after eating and/or deep thinking

• bloating

• loose stools

• water retention

• brain fog

• sugar cravings

• heavy-feeling limbs

• weight gain

The Spleen is often damaged slowly over decades, especially from stress & chronic overthinking and irregular meals.

When a scalloped tongue occurs

Spleen Qi deficiency can occur at any age, but there are specific life stages when women are much more likely to develop it because of blood loss, hormonal shifts, and years of pushing through something difficult.

Below are the ages when Spleen Qi deficiency most commonly appears in women.

1. Late 20s to Mid-30s

This is often the first period where Spleen Qi deficiency begins to develop.

Why? This period is also when one is building a career, which can be all consuming. So stress and overwork weaken the Spleen. And when you’re stressed, you’ll likely have irregular eating habits. Add on the worry and overthinking about what you “should have” or “could have” and the Spleen starts to feel a little bruised with all the self judgement. For many women, the symptoms are mild at this stage, but the pattern begins here.

2. Late 30s to Early 40s 

This is when Spleen Qi deficiency becomes more noticeable.

Every menstrual cycle uses Blood, and the Spleen must continually replenish it.

If the Spleen is weak:

• Blood becomes deficient

• Energy declines

• Digestion worsens

If these symptoms don’t get addressed, you’ll really feel it during perimenopause.

3. Perimenopause 

This is the most common period with noticeable Spleen Qi deficiency in women.

During perimenopause the body is: adjusting hormone production, losing Blood reserves, and redistributing Kidney energy.

If the Spleen is weak, it cannot adequately produce Qi and Blood, which can impact your sleep (insomnia), cause weight gain (but in dampness/water retention), and create chronic fatigue.

Many women at this stage develop combined patterns:

• Spleen Qi deficiency

• Blood deficiency

• Kidney Yin deficiency

4. Post-Menopause

After menopause, the menstrual blood loss stops, but long-term Spleen weakness may still remain such as as slow metabolism, chronic fatigue, and fluid retention.

However, some women actually improve after menopause if their Spleen is no longer strained by menstrual blood production.

A scalloped tongue is repairable

Sure, like all problems, the sooner it’s addressed, the easier it will be. But nothing is set in stone! When you repair the Spleen, many other chronic health problems slowly dissolve.