Excessive Yin Jing?

[HoldorFold]

I'm taking Ho Shou Wu, Goji Berries and am going to start taking Rehmannia, Shilajit and black tahini/black-beans.

All good for increasing Yin Jing.

I haven't heard anything about excessive Yin Jing, it's always about it being depleted.

Anyone know what, if any, are the drawbacks of taking lots of Yin Jing tonics over a long period of time?

[wilfred]

i think the problem could more be with the balance yin-yang energies in the body. i don't think there's anything wrong with eating these herbs/foods, the body will use what it can. but i have read some comments about refining energy, it's not always the issue with people.

[kevin_wallbridge]

Too many rich tonifying herbs creates phlegm/痰. In the use of formulas, tonics are always mixed with Qi movers to prevent side effects from sticky herbs. If you are going to take Chinese herbs you really may want to consider seeing a trained herbalist.

Edited May 31, 2015 by kevin_wallbridge

[SecretGrotto]

Too many rich tonifying herbs creates phlegm/痰. In the use of formulas, tonics are always mixed with Qi movers to prevent side effects from sticky herbs. If you are going to take Chinese herbs you really may want to consider seeing a trained herbalist.

 

I also use He Shou Wu and Goji berries daily, but swallow 4 tbsp/day of chopped raw ginger for dealing with phlegm that may arise. I also drink a shot of Aloe bitter/day to help the liver/gallbladder.

 

To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing, but my health and vitality has improved greatly since I've been using this combo. I'd add garlic too, but the smell issue makes it not sustainable, ginger is a very good substitute though.

 

I'm just waiting to for local Ginseng stock to be replenished and then I'll add Korean Ginseng to my He Shou Wu tea as well. And when I have some money to throw away one day I'll get some Cordyceps supplements as well.

 

Zhan Zhuang twice a day for 10 minutes helps maintain my meridian health, which is also invaluable overall.

[kevin_wallbridge]

Well, you can't go too far wrong with things like heshouwu, gouji and ginger, as these all fall into an area called kitchen herbs. While they can be used in medicinal doses in combination with other herbs to create precisely balanced formulae, they are also used in cooking simply for nutrition or flavour.

 

Ginseng 人参 and dongchong xiacao 冬虫夏草 (cordyceps) are another matter. They are strong herbs that change the body's balance and do not make good supplements. Xu Dachun wrote a great polemic against the misuse of ginseng in his 1757 text 醫學源流論 Yi Xue Yuan Liu Lun. While it stirs up the minister fire 相火, and so can make people feel like they have more energy, it is not the ginseng itself that we are feeling, it is our own life force being agitated. If a person has issues with depletion of functional Yang in their body (things like hypothyroidism or age related metabolic decline) then the use of strong Yang tonics may be called for; but if there is no actual decline all you are doing is stimulating the body system to run hot. Burning the candle twice as bright burns it half as long. Too much ginseng at a young age will shorten your life, full stop.

 

There are no panaceas in Chinese medicine, nothing is good taken all of the time. When I said this here before someone pointed to anecdotal tales of Li Qingyun 李清云 taking heshouwu everyday. The thing is that the elderly are in a state of constant decline, so they often have to take herbs everyday to deal with that decline. The herbs and formulae they take may not change often, but over time they will need to change. This is not the same thing as a younger person looking to feel better or have more pep.

 

There are two likely negative results that come from self-dosing with Chinese herbs. The first is increased or hyper-metabolism which we would call heat in classical terms. It can show as an extremely wide range of symptoms and often seems unlinked to the herbs. Such things as: increased appetite, weight loss and not the good kind, insomnia, rashes, constipation, irritability, reckless behaviour, addictions, and so on.

 

The second is the accumulation of pathological metabolites,  phlegm. This is exactly the excessive Yin Jing the OP was asking about. If we take in clear essences and they are more than we can handle then they will be stored by the body in some way. If it is rich nutrition then we will store it as fat. If it is a tonic that stimulates the moist structural base of the physical body then we will get thick fluids and phlegm.

 

Combine the two and you get the very best recipe for Qigong sickness or Kundalini syndrome that there is. Make some phlegm and then set it on fire, nothing is crazier than that. Want a personality disorder? Then play with Chinese herb tonics and Qigong. It is my professional opinion as a trained herbalist, professor of Chinese medicine and 30 year Qigong practitioner that ginseng and cordyceps should never be taken without a prescription.

 

As an aside, where people tend to use ginseng as a pick-me-up there is a better option. Using ginseng for a buzz is like Michael Jackson using propothal to go to sleep, killing flies with a hammer. Consider astragalus 黄芪 huangqi, it is those things that look like yellow tongue depressors. They are often available in Chinese groceries. Throw one or two into any soup stock or congee that you make and you have a nice mild spleen tonic that boosts the acquired constitution without messing with the substrate of your metabolism.

[Andrei]

Ginger is a warming herb which tonifies the spleen so it balances the Yin excess and so does the cinnamon twig (Gui Zhi):

 

http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/ramulus-cinnamomi-gui-zhi-cinnamon-twig/

[SecretGrotto]

Well, you can't go too far wrong with things like heshouwu, gouji and ginger, as these all fall into an area called kitchen herbs. While they can be used in medicinal doses in combination with other herbs to create precisely balanced formulae, they are also used in cooking simply for nutrition or flavour.

 

Ginseng 人参 and dongchong xiacao 冬虫夏草 (cordyceps) are another matter. They are strong herbs that change the body's balance and do not make good supplements. Xu Dachun wrote a great polemic against the misuse of ginseng in his 1757 text 醫學源流論 Yi Xue Yuan Liu Lun. While it stirs up the minister fire 相火, and so can make people feel like they have more energy, it is not the ginseng itself that we are feeling, it is our own life force being agitated. If a person has issues with depletion of functional Yang in their body (things like hypothyroidism or age related metabolic decline) then the use of strong Yang tonics may be called for; but if there is no actual decline all you are doing is stimulating the body system to run hot. Burning the candle twice as bright burns it half as long. Too much ginseng at a young age will shorten your life, full stop.

 

Wow, you really know your stuff, thanks for the detailed analysis.

 

So no daily Ginseng and Cordyceps then? Thanks for that, my wallet looked scared before.

 

Will too much He Shou Wu at a young age also shorten your life?

[kevin_wallbridge]

Ginger is a warming herb which tonifies the spleen so it balances the Yin excess and so does the cinnamon twig (Gui Zhi):

 

http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/ramulus-cinnamomi-gui-zhi-cinnamon-twig/

 

Well, yes and no. Fresh ginger is mildly warming and has tropism for the spleen and lung, though I wouldn't call it a spleen and lung tonic. It is at best mildly tonifying. When it is said that it balances Yin excess they mean in this case cold, especially externally contracted wind 外感风寒, it won't prevent the build up of pathological metabolites. Say for example, if a child eats too much ice cream and gets abdominal cramps and vomiting then ginger will do a fine job of warming the middle burner and stopping the retching. However, the phlegm that builds up from the overconsumption of milk fats (think the chubby kid whose every whine is met with placation with junk food) won't be affected much by the ginger.

 

桂枝 Cinnamon twig is similar, an exterior resolving herb, certainly warmer than ginger, yet still with its strongest effects felt in the periphery. When it appears in formulae that effect the core of the body it is often there to support the effect of another herb with deeper penetration. On its own it will more likely give you warm hands than do anything at all to accumulations of turbid phlegm.

 

One thing that often causes problems for outsiders to Chinese medicine is the convention within the classics for context to be assumed to be clear. This is especially true of Yin Yang terminology. While it is true that both accumulations of pathological metabolites and cold are classed as "Yin Excess" we never use the term "Yin Excess" to describe any kind of condition. Its like cancer in biomedicine, a patient may understand "I have cancer," but their doctor will not treat "cancer" they will treat "acute lymphoblastic leukemia" or "hepatocellular cancer" because each one is a different kind of problem. So while phlegm and cold are technically Yin conditions we don't call them that. When we do use the terms Yin and Yang is when we are talking about changes in the physiological substrate one the one hand and changes in the metabolic activity on the other.

 

So there are no syndromes within Chinese medicine that are actually named as Yin excess , say like 心肾阴实 heart and kidney Yin excess. Even though that could be used to describe a situation where breakdown of kidney function has led to fluid accumulations (Yin) that are overbearing on the heart, such as in pleural effusion. We would call it 心肾不交 loss of the ferrying function between the heart and the kidney. This is because the fluids that are accumulating, while originally the product of normal physiology, are now pathological and excessive and so not a part of the healthy substrate of the body that balances and contains the metabolism, and so no longer a part of what we refer to as Yin when talking about a person. Classed as Yin but not labelled as Yin.

 

Yang excess is very similar, all heat syndromes are classed as Yang, but called heat or fire.

 

So when we do use the terms Yin and Yang when referring to the circumstances of a person's pathology we say 阴虚 Yin Deficiency to refer to situations where the substrate has declined until the point that the healthy metabolic function cannot be contained and appears to "float" giving rise to signs of heat (deficiency heat); and we say 阳虚 Yang Deficiency to refer to metabolic hypo-function where a person appears as if they are cold (deficiency cold). Otherwise YIn Yang do not come up, they are foundational theory, not terms thrown about in clinic.

 

So to come back to ginger and cinnamon twig, while both are Yang in nature they are not classed as Yang tonics and they cannot help balance the body by helping Yang turn to Yin or vice-versa.

[kevin_wallbridge]

Wow, you really know your stuff, thanks for the detailed analysis.

 

So no daily Ginseng and Cordyceps then? Thanks for that, my wallet looked scared before.

 

Will too much He Shou Wu at a young age also shorten your life?

 

He Shou Wu is very mild. It can loosen the bowels for treating constipation so a good way to know you have taken too much is if you get loose stools. The most common side effect is lustrous hair (hence the name "Mister He's head is black as a crow"). It is mostly used for women as their menstrual cycle can be effected by mild imbalances of the liver and kidneys, both of which are benefited by Heshouwu.

[SecretGrotto]

He Shou Wu is very mild. It can loosen the bowels for treating constipation so a good way to know you have taken too much is if you get loose stools. The most common side effect is lustrous hair (hence the name "Mister He's head is black as a crow"). It is mostly used for women as their menstrual cycle can be effected by mild imbalances of the liver and kidneys, both of which are benefited by Heshouwu.

 

I definitely get loose stools with one tsp prepared Foti powder as tea per day, but only for the first week or so, then the loose stools subside.

 

Kevin, I just love your posts, you must make very interesting talk around the dinner table.

 

What does it mean when they say the kidneys open in the ears, and which textbooks would you recommend to get such wisdom from?

Edited June 1, 2015 by SecretGrotto

[kevin_wallbridge]

What does it mean when they say the kidneys open in the ears, and which textbooks would you recommend to get such wisdom from?

 

The idea of the Kidneys opening to the ears is from the observation that certain sense organs have stronger associations to certain organs especially in terms of pathology. A very common human circumstance is the decline of the kidneys in ageing. This is accompanied by many common symptoms among which is loss of hearing. So the hearing loss is often seen as a part of a constellation of other symptoms, all of which can be traced to kidney function. As well, something that can also be seen is tinnitus or ringing in the ears. While there are many other causes of tinnitus, especially liver and gallbladder issues, there is one particular manifestation (low-grade persistent tinnitus) that is often seen in kidney decline.

 

As for texts... one of the most common in English is Macciocia's The Foundation of Chinese Medicine. While it is very complete it suffers from errors and some poor interpretations. The current editions use the publishing trick of highlighting quotations in blue; I often point out to my students (I do use this text when teaching fundamentals) that if you see lots of blue quotes it is because he is out his depth and doesn't know how to explain that topic. He is clearly a medical guy and probably not a trained or practising Daoist, so the most important philosophical level in this book is rather weak, in my opinion.

 

An older text is the Fundamentals of Chinese Medicine by Ellis and Wiseman. I actually like the presentation quite a bit better than Macciocia and they include more Chinese headings and such. For example if they are going to talk about an aphorism or common saying used in Chinese medicine they will give the characters for the phrase, something Macciocia does not do (and frankly should). The downside to the Ellis and Wiseman text is that is just not as complete as Macciocia, which is broader in scope. That being said, I prefer to steer people here who are not going to study the medicine as a profession.... OK, just browsing Amazon and I see that the prices go from $120 up to about $3500! Ridiculous, even if it out of print, it is a $50 book. What is it like to see the world through such a lens of greed? Well, you should still be able to get it through an inter-library loan. I just did a quick search through books.google.com and found several libraries near me that have it.

Edited June 2, 2015 by kevin_wallbridge

[SecretGrotto]

As for texts... one of the most common in English is Macciocia's The Foundation of Chinese Medicine. While it is very complete it suffers from errors and some poor interpretations. The current editions use the publishing trick of highlighting quotations in blue; I often point out to my students (I do use this text when teaching fundamentals) that if you see lots of blue quotes it is because he is out his depth and doesn't know how to explain that topic. He is clearly a medical guy and probably not a trained or practising Daoist, so the most important philosophical level in this book is rather weak, in my opinion.

 

Brilliant, thanks so much Kevin, I welcome your posts.

[marcobjj]

Well, yes and no. Fresh ginger is mildly warming and has tropism for the spleen and lung, though I wouldn't call it a spleen and lung tonic. It is at best mildly tonifying. When it is said that it balances Yin excess they mean in this case cold, especially externally contracted wind 外感风寒, it won't prevent the build up of pathological metabolites. Say for example, if a child eats too much ice cream and gets abdominal cramps and vomiting then ginger will do a fine job of warming the middle burner and stopping the retching. However, the phlegm that builds up from the overconsumption of milk fats (think the chubby kid whose every whine is met with placation with junk food) won't be affected much by the ginger.

 

桂枝 Cinnamon twig is similar, an exterior resolving herb, certainly warmer than ginger, yet still with its strongest effects felt in the periphery. When it appears in formulae that effect the core of the body it is often there to support the effect of another herb with deeper penetration. On its own it will more likely give you warm hands than do anything at all to accumulations of turbid phlegm.

 

One thing that often causes problems for outsiders to Chinese medicine is the convention within the classics for context to be assumed to be clear. This is especially true of Yin Yang terminology. While it is true that both accumulations of pathological metabolites and cold are classed as "Yin Excess" we never use the term "Yin Excess" to describe any kind of condition. Its like cancer in biomedicine, a patient may understand "I have cancer," but their doctor will not treat "cancer" they will treat "acute lymphoblastic leukemia" or "hepatocellular cancer" because each one is a different kind of problem. So while phlegm and cold are technically Yin conditions we don't call them that. When we do use the terms Yin and Yang is when we are talking about changes in the physiological substrate one the one hand and changes in the metabolic activity on the other.

 

So there are no syndromes within Chinese medicine that are actually named as Yin excess , say like 心肾阴实 heart and kidney Yin excess. Even though that could be used to describe a situation where breakdown of kidney function has led to fluid accumulations (Yin) that are overbearing on the heart, such as in pleural effusion. We would call it 心肾不交 loss of the ferrying function between the heart and the kidney. This is because the fluids that are accumulating, while originally the product of normal physiology, are now pathological and excessive and so not a part of the healthy substrate of the body that balances and contains the metabolism, and so no longer a part of what we refer to as Yin when talking about a person. Classed as Yin but not labelled as Yin.

 

Yang excess is very similar, all heat syndromes are classed as Yang, but called heat or fire.

 

So when we do use the terms Yin and Yang when referring to the circumstances of a person's pathology we say 阴虚 Yin Deficiency to refer to situations where the substrate has declined until the point that the healthy metabolic function cannot be contained and appears to "float" giving rise to signs of heat (deficiency heat); and we say 阳虚 Yang Deficiency to refer to metabolic hypo-function where a person appears as if they are cold (deficiency cold). Otherwise YIn Yang do not come up, they are foundational theory, not terms thrown about in clinic.

 

So to come back to ginger and cinnamon twig, while both are Yang in nature they are not classed as Yang tonics and they cannot help balance the body by helping Yang turn to Yin or vice-versa.

 

 

What to do when you suffer from dampness and Yin depletion simultaneously? I have been treating dampness with Cang Zhu for a long time (years). While the results have been fantastic using this herb, I'm beggining to feel the symptoms of Yin deficiency, all while dampness isn't yet fully dispelled.

 

It seems like a catch 22. If I take a herb to tonify Yin it will produce more damp, it I take  something to treat dampness it will deplete Yin. Can a combo of Yin tonic + Aromatic that dispels damp, like for example Rehmannia + cang zhu, give me the best of both worlds? or will they cancel each other out?

Edited March 15, 2017 by marcobjj

[kevin_wallbridge]

What to do when you suffer from dampness and Yin depletion simultaneously? I have been treating dampness with Cang Zhu for a long time (years). While the results have been fantastic using this herb, I'm beggining to feel the symptoms of Yin deficiency, all while dampness isn't yet fully dispelled.

 

It seems like a catch 22. If I take a herb to tonify Yin it will produce more damp, it I take  something to treat dampness it will deplete Yin. Can a combo of Yin tonic + Aromatic that dispels damp, like for example Rehmannia + cang zhu, give me the best of both worlds? or will they cancel each other out?

 

Yup, it is a Catch 22. Cang Zhu is quite drying and once it was working that would have been the time to switch strategies to strengthening and supporting the spleen. Combined problems are always more complex to unravel. In your case it depends on what the signs of Yin deficiency are and where they are manifesting. Then in Chinese medicine we would use a full formula, rather than a couple of supplements to adjust the body's circumstances. At this point I would recommend just using diet alone to control the issue and leaving the supplementation aside. See an herbalist if you want to move forward in this direction.

 

A formula that is often the base for this kind of thing is Zhu Ling Tang 猪苓汤. While originally for when the body's fight against cold that has entered the Yang Ming 阳明 or Shao Yin 少阴 stages had led to damage to the fluids by heat (thus a circumstance where water and heat are clumped due to the disturbance of the water pathways), this is now also used for Yin deficiency dampness. Now this formula is close to Wu Ling San 五苓散 which is more for interior problems that show edema. Since, in your case, the problem is actually externally induced the former formula is a more likely start.

 

Taking apart the 5 herbs shows how the thinking goes:

 

猪苓 Zhu Ling (sclerotium polypori umbellati/polyporus fungus) is one of the chief herbs and promotes urination, leeches dampness and facilitates fluid metabolism. In this formula it is the latter function that is its main contribution.

 

苻苓 Fu Ling (sclerotum poria cocos/poria fungus) is the other principle herb. It tonifies the spleen, eliminates dampness and calms the heart-mind. This has a long observed functional synergy with Zhu Ling each making the other stronger.

 

澤泻 Ze Xie (rhizoma alismatis orientalis/water plantain) is the deputy. It aids the chief herbs in their promotion of urination.

 

滑石 Hua Shi (talcum) is the assistant herb. it clears heat and can unblock painful urinary dysfunction (a common complication of dampness and Yin deficiency).

 

阿胶 E Jiao (gelatinum corii asini/donkey hide gelatin) is a Yin tonic that prevents the urination from becoming excessive, which would cause more damage to the Yin.

 

So this formula promotes urination, the major way to clear accumulated dampness from the body, without creating further damage to the Yin. So the first three act as the drainers to leech the dampness out. The talcum is cold and heavy frees up the fluid pathways that are often disturbed by Yin deficiency. Finally the E Jiao is the real key to the whole operation as it enriches Yin while anchoring the floating vitality that shows as deficiency heat. Understanding the complex way in which herbs interact is a key part of the training of an herbalist.

 

Now I am NOT recommending that you self dose with Zhu Ling Tang. What I am trying to point out is how involved the use of herbs in Chinese medicine actually is and to caution you about using them. This is the kind of formula that you may take four or five bags of before adjusting to something different as the body goes through changes. Diet and exercise (养生法/Yang Sheng Fa) are for everyday. Herbs are for making changes. There is an old Chinese saying (成语) that goes 画蛇添足 Hua She Tian Zu. It means to "paint a snake and add feet." It means doing extra when one has already completed the task to the point of ruining the original work. Overuse of herbs and formula is often like this.

 

Good luck.

[Vajra Fist]

Thanks for sharing your experience Kevin. Fascinating stuff. In your opinion, do reishi and jiaogulan fall into the kitchen herbs category, or should they be prescription only?

[kevin_wallbridge]

Thanks for sharing your experience Kevin. Fascinating stuff. In your opinion, do reishi and jiaogulan fall into the kitchen herbs category, or should they be prescription only?

 

Yes both are quite mild.

 

灵芝 Lingzhi/Reishi is a mild tonic and thermally neutral. It is considered beneficial for the Qi of all of the  脏 Zang organs, and especially for deficiency due to overwork.

 

绞股蓝 Jiao Gu Lan is a little cooler and so has mild anti-pyretic effects. Basically a mild anti-inflammatory, so it can be a problem if the person runs to Yang deficiency (metabolic cold or hypo-thyroidism, that sort of thing). Otherwise it is not problematic.

 

Both are considered to mildly calm the 神 Shen and so help with insomnia and other kinds of mental excitation.

[Vajra Fist]

Very cool, thank you so much. Would you advise to stay away from all tonics if one has excessive appetite/weight issues?

 

Is it possible to self diagnose via TCM?

Edited March 17, 2017 by Vajra Fist

[kevin_wallbridge]

Hi Vajra Fist. Yes I would watch out for tonics if you have weight and appetite issues.

 

Self diagnosing is virtually impossible in Chinese medicine. We are too close to our own experience to really get an honest appraisal. Not absolutely impossible, just really really difficult.

 

Diagnosis is the real skill in Chinese medicine. Needling is relatively easy. Formulae have been built over centuries and there is tons of clinical experience in the literature (especially in Chinese) for usage of the herbs. The trick is correctly identifying the unique syndrome that has arisen. Its important to keep in mind that we don't treat diseases in Chinese medicine, we treat syndromes within the categories of disease. For example: liver profusion insomnia and heart blood deficiency insomnia will treated entirely differently from each other despite being the same disease. However, palpitations from heart blood deficiency and insomnia from heart blood deficiency will have almost the identical treatment.

Edited March 23, 2017 by kevin_wallbridge

[z00se]

Hi Kevin,

 

I was wondering if i could check some of my TCM thoughts with you and see if they are sound or not. Also i have little dilemma at the bottom too if you know anything that may help...

 

So eating lots of meat, dairy and say juices which have dense nutritional value, along with inner alchemy and building exercises like weights will cause / aggrivate kundalini syndrome?

 

But wouldn't this also be the fastest way to develop that inner fire short term? however long term muscle building will slow because of excessive heat, hyperactivity and not enough energy reserved for healing / building the muscle tissues, instead it is all being expended outwardly through being overactive, sweating, and being anxious?

 

So then what will cause the opposite of kunalini syndrome? Say that would be feeling sedated, mellow and even perhaps depressed? Lots of vegetables / fruit, perhaps a little juice, grains / potatoes, stretching and mantras? Is there anything else that can be done, or not done to increase the strength of this sedation?

 

How about chilli? I know chilli warms and speeds up digestion, but does it burn kidney yin or just dry out lungs / large intestine?

 

And with cardio exercises, say running or exercise bike. Would moderate amounts help remove phlegm, use up some excessive jing, or also help expel internal heat? Excessive amounts could deplete jing, increase phlegm because digestion becomes weaker through bodily exhaustion?

 

What I find difficult is cooling and increasing the moisture in the body, especially in the upper jiaos. It's like putting moisture onto a hot pan that steams up instantly. However if i put everything into cooling myself down healing sounds / anapana / only stretching and walking & lots of fruits and veges, I can feel the moisture beginning to accumulate, but in the lower parts of the body. Trying to lift that moisture into the upper jiao where i really need it is difficult because 1. becoming more yin i feel more lazy and lose the motivation to consistently do it, and 2. trying to move the moisture with my mind creates heat, greatly reducing the cooling effect of the rising moisture. I feel predisposed to internal heat (i am liver dominant), and feel increased moisture in my body makes it easier for me to slow down and relax before i overexert myself, without becoming intoxicated, but it is so bloody hard to do it. Is just walking / stretching a better way to circulate the moisture? Are there other ways you could recommend?

[HoldorFold]

Interesting this topic has spontaneously revived itself as I had just started taking cordyceps again as of two days ago.

 

... dongchong xiacao 冬虫夏草 (cordyceps) are another matter. They are strong herbs that change the body's balance and do not make good supplements. 

...

 

I've read that cordyceps nourishes both yin and yang and is considered balanced by some, are they misguided?

[Antares]

Cordyceps works on the preheaven Qi level so it should gently balance all systems of the body. This is a feature of Preahaven Qi. The only problem can be if someone consumes too large dose of it.

[Orion]

He Shou Wu is hepatotoxic long-term. The Chinese just started admitting to it in the past 5 years now that their elderly are taking it for everything under the sun. It causes veno-occlusive liver disease if you take it more than 8 weeks straight, whether it's in a formula or not.

 

But to answer the OP's question... yin within your body that can't integrate becomes dampness, and excess in general turns to stagnation. People who take shou wu long-term might have more lush hair but their qi dynamic is messed up.

 

If you look at historical uses, most people in China didn't have access to regular jing tonics. If they were lucky they could get small amounts and use them for a week or two to bolster the body. If they were wealthy they could hire their own personal herbalist to prescribe for them, modifying the formulas every week for their ongoing bodily changes. In modern times we even live in herbal excess. I would say short term uses only, unless you are eating ones considered food like goji. Even then, getting too fixed on something isn't good generally.

[Archivist]

Antares -- could you unpack what you said about cordyceps working on pre-Heaven Qi? What does that mean?

 

Also, Kevin -- how do you feel about the diagnostic ability of staff at reputed US herbalists, especially Jing Herbs and Dragon Herbs. I've always been wowed by the quality of their products, but have tapered off from excessive use/doses, due to the problems you've elaborated on here. Would in person/over phone with them be enough? Or do you recommend a certified practitioner? I don't mean to malign them by saying this (actually the opposite), but I find Jing Herbs and Dragon Herbs have a bit of a "pop herbalism" side to them. They certainly have very traditional formulations, but don't tend to promote some of the more obscure plants/roots/etc. They're more about high quality reishi, astragalus, ginseng, etc...the "major herbs," so to speak. Still, their general mantra seems to be 'consume as much as you can, as often as you can.' (Of course, they're businesses so they have another reason to say this...)

[Archivist]

Orion, I meant to ask, too: do you have any opinion on schizandra?

[Vajra Fist]

Kevin,

 

I had my diagnosis this afternoon at a local TCM practitioner. She said I have signs of spleen qi deficiency and cold-damp. Is it possible to treat the condition solely through diet?

 

Can I switch to eating foods like quinoa/amaranth/cabbage/mushrooms/sweet potato/natto plus lots of green tea, and exercise? Or would I need to take herbal medicine to see real change?

 

Thanks

Edited March 29, 2017 by Vajra Fist