Introduction to the disharmony
Major symptoms:
- coughing
- wheezing
Coughing and wheezing are symptoms with various underlying conditions. There could be cough, provoked by runny nose from an externally contracted disease (common cold), there could be cough due to phlegm in the Lung, cough due to dryness in the Lung, etc. Therefore the herbs in this class should always be combined with the applicable herbs that address the underlying condition of the cough. Their function is to relieve the symptom (the cough) but the root of the disease needs to be examined and addressed.
Major Chinese herbs
Apricot seed – Xing Ren (Prunus armeniaca) – is maybe the most commonly used herb to relieve cough, yet it is more suitable for “dry” coughs. It also calms wheezing. Another seed that stops coughing and wheezing is Su Zi (Perilla frutescens). This one is more beneficial for cough with copious phlegm. Being seeds, i.e. having moistening effect, both herbs also benefit constipation.
There are two kinds of Xing Ren - Tian Xing Ren (sweet apricot seed) and Ku Xing Ren (bitter apricot seed). A famous Chinese doctor whose name was Sun Su Mao, who lived 101 years, used Tian Xing Ren in a longevity formula called "sweet apricot mixture".
Zi Wan (Radix Asteris Tatarici) – is an herb used for cough with many underlying conditions, especially chronic cough. Meng Shi (Lapis Micae seu Chloriti) addresses persistent difficulty to settle phlegm, that has build up and clogged the Lung. Bai Bu (Radix Stemonae) is a root with moistening quality and is used for both chronic and acute cough. It is also used topically for lice and fleas. Sang Bai Pi (Cortex Mori Albae Radicis) is a root bark with diuretic effect, used in cases when the water metabolism is impaired due to Lung Heat.
Healing foods
The Lung benefits from substances with white color.
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Food therapy is the most economical and non-toxic biochemical approach to health and disease. Food is something we continuously use to sustain our lives. Learning what foods are healing (and what disruptive) for each condition has the potential to convert every meal into a form of therapy.
YS
Benski, Dan & Gamble, Andrew (1993). Materia Medica, Revised Edition. Seatle: Eastland Press, Incorporated
Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing with Whole Foods. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books
Lu, Henry (2005). Chinese Natural Cures. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
Holmes, Peter (1998). The Energetics of Western Herbs. Boulder: Snow Lotus Press, Inc.
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