centralforce6661
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- Nov 19, 2005
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I was intending on writing a long post detailing the natures of many common herbs however due to personal time constraints I have decided to present this in a different format. I will outline the basics in this initial post along with some commonly used herbs (about 2) and then each week I will post a new herb and respond to questions about herbs people are currently taking or interested in and how they fit with the individual presentation:
The main idea behind herbal medicine is that each herb has a specific nature, that is a thermal nature (hot or cold and in between or neutral), a flavour (which corresponds to which organ(s) it benefits based on the five-element system of the Chinese) and a direction in which it moves qi in the body. Additionally, the same herb but prepared differently can alter its properties especially in regards to the direction in which it moves qi.
Herbal medicine is not a one herb fits all system and this is why people often report mixed reactions and benefits to natural or herbal medicines which claim to fix one certain western medical diagnosis when in reality one western diagnosis can have up to ten different pathological states in Chinese Medicine and thus each person has a different requirement depending on how the disease is presenting in that person at the time which herbs are prescribed. Giving someone the wrong herb can make them worse, or even result in fatal complications if administered wrongly.
For instance someone with chronic nephritis (kidney infection) which fits the disharmony of Yin deficiency might be prescribed Morinda Flower by someone who does not understand this concept because it 'benefits the kidneys'. In reality, Morinda is a strong Kidney Yang tonic and this will further consume Kidney Yin, driving the infection deeper and potentially killing the patient. This is an extreme case but illustrates the damage one can do by using improper herbs.
Some herbs are less strong, and act o body systems in a more subtle way however can still cause imbalances over time. Now for the herbs!
Ginseng (Panax, American, Siberian etc.) is warm and sweet. Sweet indicates that it belongs to the element of EARTH (Chinese earth, not western astrology earth.. there is a difference, I just haven't figured it out in its entirety yet) and enters the spleen and stomach. It is warm which means it strengthens Qi and Yang and is an excellent remedy for Spleen Qi Deficiency. HOWEVER it is contraindicated in High Blood Pressure as it increases the upward motion of Qi to the head, and throbbing headaches which are a tell tale sign of high blood pressure could be worsened as a result. It can also strongly tonify stomach Qi which has a tendency to become Stomach Fire which can result in increased appetite, burning esophageal reflux and increased risk of stomach ulcers and bleeding due to accelerated blood circulation in the stomach. Complex cases of Spleen Qi deficiency and Stomach Fire occurring together (very common) require more subtle tonification of the Spleen Qi with neutral herbs like Codonopsis Pilusula (poor man's ginseng) and Stomach Yin supporting herbs like Ophiopogon Japonicus and Glehnia.
Dandelion is Bitter, Sweet and cold. Bitter and Sweet indicates that this herb enters the Heart, Small Intestine (plays a urinary role in TCM), Spleen and Stomach Channels, belonging to the elements of FIRE and EARTH (fire is not necessarily hot in this context.. confused yet??). Dandelion is COLD which means that the direction in which it drives Qi is downward which is beneficial to the Stomach and helps subdue the Liver (whose direction is partly outward and partly upward) BUT is contrary to the direction of the Spleen whose direction is upward and whose upward action holds the organs in place (organ prolapse is a symptom of severe Spleen Yang Deficiency leading to a syndrome called Spleen Qi Sinking). It is also contrary to Yang altogether whose nature is hot and any herb which promotes diuresis (urination) is damaging to Yang as Yang holds the urine inside the bladder. Forcing it out with a herb is damaging to this aspect and as thus this herb should not be used for extended periods of time and is contraindicated in patients who have Spleen Qi Deficiency, or any cold syndrome, wether empty or full cold (empty cold is absence of Yang, full cold is Yin predominance). Some practitioners believe Dandelion is so cold that it should only be used topically for clearing toxic heat like red, bleeding, purulent skin lesions. I have used it to treat Liver Fire however with concurrent Spleen Qi deficiency at the time, it worsened a poor appetite and caused reflux from rebellious Qi in the stomach, as cold congeals Qi and Qi reversal can occur (the Stomach and Lung are the organs which most commonly suffer from Qi reversal and this is evident by Cough for the lung or belching, hiccuping and esophageal reflux in the stomach. These often occur together as a result of excessive Liver energy rising which occurs due to heat or becoming angry too often and allowing stress to override calmness.
More to come over the following weeks...
The main idea behind herbal medicine is that each herb has a specific nature, that is a thermal nature (hot or cold and in between or neutral), a flavour (which corresponds to which organ(s) it benefits based on the five-element system of the Chinese) and a direction in which it moves qi in the body. Additionally, the same herb but prepared differently can alter its properties especially in regards to the direction in which it moves qi.
Herbal medicine is not a one herb fits all system and this is why people often report mixed reactions and benefits to natural or herbal medicines which claim to fix one certain western medical diagnosis when in reality one western diagnosis can have up to ten different pathological states in Chinese Medicine and thus each person has a different requirement depending on how the disease is presenting in that person at the time which herbs are prescribed. Giving someone the wrong herb can make them worse, or even result in fatal complications if administered wrongly.
For instance someone with chronic nephritis (kidney infection) which fits the disharmony of Yin deficiency might be prescribed Morinda Flower by someone who does not understand this concept because it 'benefits the kidneys'. In reality, Morinda is a strong Kidney Yang tonic and this will further consume Kidney Yin, driving the infection deeper and potentially killing the patient. This is an extreme case but illustrates the damage one can do by using improper herbs.
Some herbs are less strong, and act o body systems in a more subtle way however can still cause imbalances over time. Now for the herbs!
Ginseng (Panax, American, Siberian etc.) is warm and sweet. Sweet indicates that it belongs to the element of EARTH (Chinese earth, not western astrology earth.. there is a difference, I just haven't figured it out in its entirety yet) and enters the spleen and stomach. It is warm which means it strengthens Qi and Yang and is an excellent remedy for Spleen Qi Deficiency. HOWEVER it is contraindicated in High Blood Pressure as it increases the upward motion of Qi to the head, and throbbing headaches which are a tell tale sign of high blood pressure could be worsened as a result. It can also strongly tonify stomach Qi which has a tendency to become Stomach Fire which can result in increased appetite, burning esophageal reflux and increased risk of stomach ulcers and bleeding due to accelerated blood circulation in the stomach. Complex cases of Spleen Qi deficiency and Stomach Fire occurring together (very common) require more subtle tonification of the Spleen Qi with neutral herbs like Codonopsis Pilusula (poor man's ginseng) and Stomach Yin supporting herbs like Ophiopogon Japonicus and Glehnia.
Dandelion is Bitter, Sweet and cold. Bitter and Sweet indicates that this herb enters the Heart, Small Intestine (plays a urinary role in TCM), Spleen and Stomach Channels, belonging to the elements of FIRE and EARTH (fire is not necessarily hot in this context.. confused yet??). Dandelion is COLD which means that the direction in which it drives Qi is downward which is beneficial to the Stomach and helps subdue the Liver (whose direction is partly outward and partly upward) BUT is contrary to the direction of the Spleen whose direction is upward and whose upward action holds the organs in place (organ prolapse is a symptom of severe Spleen Yang Deficiency leading to a syndrome called Spleen Qi Sinking). It is also contrary to Yang altogether whose nature is hot and any herb which promotes diuresis (urination) is damaging to Yang as Yang holds the urine inside the bladder. Forcing it out with a herb is damaging to this aspect and as thus this herb should not be used for extended periods of time and is contraindicated in patients who have Spleen Qi Deficiency, or any cold syndrome, wether empty or full cold (empty cold is absence of Yang, full cold is Yin predominance). Some practitioners believe Dandelion is so cold that it should only be used topically for clearing toxic heat like red, bleeding, purulent skin lesions. I have used it to treat Liver Fire however with concurrent Spleen Qi deficiency at the time, it worsened a poor appetite and caused reflux from rebellious Qi in the stomach, as cold congeals Qi and Qi reversal can occur (the Stomach and Lung are the organs which most commonly suffer from Qi reversal and this is evident by Cough for the lung or belching, hiccuping and esophageal reflux in the stomach. These often occur together as a result of excessive Liver energy rising which occurs due to heat or becoming angry too often and allowing stress to override calmness.
More to come over the following weeks...