Introduction to the disharmony
Major symptoms:
- excessive sweating
- excessive urination
- severe or chronic diarrhea
- Kidney Yang deficiency symptoms - excessive urination, loose stools, edema, clear vaginal discharge in women
The herbs in this class address disorders in which body fluids are discharged abnormally, chronically or excessively. Excessive bleeding, sweating, urinating, or chronic diarrhea are all examples of such disorders. Most commonly excess discharge of body fluids is caused when there is Qi deficiency. One of the functions of Qi is to hold things in place. Chronic or severe Qi deficiency will manifest in excessive sweating (cannot contain the fluid) and prolapse (cannot keep the organs in place).
Another cause for the abnormal discharge of fluids is deficient Kidney Yang. Every body organ has Yin and Yang aspects. Yin is the structural/substance aspect of the organ while Yang is the warming faculty that makes this structure function(1). When the warming principle diminishes (due to long term sickness, old age, etc.) the Kidneys become “cold” and lethargic and body fluid leakage starts. Kidney Yang deficiency manifests in excessive urination(2), dripping after urination(3) loose stools, edema(2)(3) and clear vaginal discharge in women.
The herbs in this class are mostly sour and astringent and address the symptom of the disharmony - leakage of fluids - rather than its cause. Therefore they should be combined with herbs that address the root of the disharmony(4).
Major Chinese herbs
A major astringent herb in Chinese medicine is Shan Zhu Yu (Cornus officinalis) – Asiatic cornelian cherry fruit, or cornus. It preserves Kidney Essence, and astringes excessive sweating and bleeding(4).
Wu Wei Zi (Schisandra chinesis) is another major astringent herb. It enters the Heart channel, relaxes the Heart and quiets the spirit. It both inhibits sweating and generates fluids, and it also retains Kidney Essence. Maybe the most famous usage of Wu Wei Zi is for its ability to withhold leakage of Lung Qi, manifesting in chronic cough and wheezing(4).
There is a story about a man who suffered from tuberculosis so everyone in his village wanted to get rid of him. Finally his parents, left without a choice, send him to live in a cave up in the mountains. After some time the man became so weak and lost so much weight that he didn’t have the strength to go and collect food anymore. One day a hunter came by the cave and feeling sorry for the sick man went to pick some fruit for him to eat. He picked a big amount of that fruit and it lasted for 10 days. Eating the fruit the man gradually started feeling better and regained his lost weight. In a few months he fully recovered from the tuberculosis and returned to the village. The fruit he was eating was Wu Wei Zi(5).
Healing foods
Foods that are beneficial for abnormal discharge of fluids are foods with astringent quality and sour taste.
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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.
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(1) Zhang, Enqin (1990). Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Shanghai: Publishing House of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
(2) Maciocia, Giovanni (1989). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Edinburgh: Harcourt Publishers Limited
(3) Yang Weiyi, Meng Fanyi, Jiang Yuanan(2002). Diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Beijing: Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology
(4) Benski, Dan & Gamble, Andrew (1993). Materia Medica, Revised Edition. Seatle: Eastland Press, Incorporated
(5) Lu, Henry (2005). Chinese Natural Cures. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
(6) Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing with Whole Foods. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books
(7) Holmes, Peter (1998). The Energetics of Western Herbs. Boulder: Snow Lotus Press, Inc.
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