Chinese herb substitution and using local species
I thank you all for your patience as I adjust to my workload. The reality of the situation is that I’m going to have to post what I can, when I can. But, with the onset of clinic I find myself coming up with many new thoughts to share - I’ll do my best to get them up in a timely fashion. Look also for the return of the podcast this week. I know you’ve missed me. :)
Anyway, in a fantastic lecture by Dr. Arnaud Versluys this weekend, I was reinspired to consider a very real problem in Chinese herbal medicine. We use herbs that travel long distances, are sometimes beset with chemical and heavy metal toxicity, are sometimes banned by ill-informed government agencies and some of which are becoming rare and, thus, expensive. Given that I am very serious about a rigorously authentic Shang Han Lun
The particular herb that came up in discussion about this issue was Xi Xin - Asarum - Wild Ginger. I love this herb. It’s used in a couple of indispensible formulas, perhaps most importantly in Dang Gui Si Ni Tang. Most herbalists agree that there’s simply no substitute for Xi Xin, but I’ve seen or heard of people try to replace it with Wu Tou, Yu Jin, Sheng Jiang + Mai Men Dong (?!) and other interesting combinations. Most of these same herbalists agree that it’s simply not the same without Xi Xin.
The ban on Xi Xin for practitioners is ridiculous to the extreme and I’m not going to discuss that here. What I would like to hear people discuss is how they make substitutions in these cases. When an herb you need isn’t around, what do you do? What herbs have you had to learn to live without? I understand that UK herbalists are quite restricted in what they can prescribe - how have my UK readers dealt with this problem? Even when a governmental agency isn’t busy interfering, we sometimes lose herbs. Consider Xi Jiao, rhino horn. Consider the precarious state of Ren Shen, ginseng.
There are a couple of associated questions that come up when one considers this issue. One is - should we simply learn to work with fewer, simpler herbs? Dr. Versluys is known to say that he thinks he could do a fair job of treating patients with only 10 herbs - a set of cooling herbs in each of five flavors and a corresponding set of warming herbs. If you know formula science and architecture, such artistry is certainly possible. Is this the standard towards which we should strive? It seems far superior to the never ending quest for the “perfect herb for cancer” or memorizing five hundred herbs, over half of which are specialized for particular symptoms.
Taking this a little bit farther, we should consider the wisdom of relying on herb sources that can only be accessed by air shipments from another continent. Given peak oil, given the unstable political nature of our planet, given the environmental crisis we find ourselves in… should we at least consider the possibility that we may need to rely on local sources for our herbs at some point in the future?
My friend said an interesting thing to me today. In the course of discussing this various issue he said, “To be true Classical Chinese herbalists, we should use the herbs we find around us.” I didn’t question him any farther on this issue, but I think he’s right from some perspectives. Learning the Chinese herbs and formula science so deeply that it is second nature allows us to look at all plants, animals and minerals with the eyes of a Classical Chinese herbalist. Then it seems at least possible that we could, if necessary, find other materials that meet the needs of our patients.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this rambling post. Doubtless there are many opinions out there - share them here on Deepest Health by responding in the comments. No registration is necessary and you can even post anonymously if you are respectful.
Thanks for reading,
Eric
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Tags: chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, environment, flavors, formulas, herbs, nature, versluysRelated posts
What is Chinese Medicine? — Lifestyle counseling and dietary therapy
Every modality that falls under the umbrella of “natural medicine,” as Chinese medicine does, promotes nutrition and other lifestyle factors as a cornerstone of health. Although practitioners place differential emphasis on modalities within their profession, any Chinese medicine doc worth her salt is going to be able to provide you with dietary and exercise recommendations for your condition. The breadth and depth of the recommendations you get are, of course, going to be based on the doctor’s interest in that type of therapy as well as the strength of their training. At NCNM, we take a three term long course concerning nutrition and dietetics. Additionally, our Chinese herbs professors frequently refer to diet, since foods are the original (and often best) herbs. Our medicinary is making efforts to stock more commonly recommended dietary therapies, such as congee - a kind of rice porridge excellent for regenerating the Spleen/Stomach function. Other schools have varying emphases on nutrition and dietetics, as well as other aspects of lifestyle counseling.
Chinese Dietary Therapy
Chinese Dietary therapy is based on the same principles as the rest of the medicine. Foods and herbs are discussed with very similar language. Most frequently discussed are the properties of flavor and nature. I briefly discussed these elements in my article, What is Chinese medicine: Herbal medicine. The basics are relatively easy to understand. Flavor is an aspect of the herb that does include the experience we have when we put the herb in our mouth (common understanding of the word “flavor”) but also includes some aspects of the action of the herb. For instance, pungent flavored herbs/foods will likely have a “spicy” quality but they will also act like other pungent herbs in their dispersing nature. Aside from pungent, flavor can be sweet, sour, bland, salty and bitter. Nature refers to the temperature-like quality of the herb/food. This ranges from hot to cold, with several gradations in between. Nature is a very simple way to understand the yin yang aspect of food. Nature is a more ethereal quality, but has clear consequences. Very hot herbs are intensely moving and support the Yang of the body. Very cold herbs are intensely congealing and support the Yin of the body.
In general, your instincts about foods are going to correspond to the Chinese properties of foods/herbs. What would you think watermelon would be classified as - cold or hot? If you said cold, you’re right. That’s why it’s such a great food for beating the negative effects of summer’s intense heat! What flavor would you expect watermelon to have - see the quick list above to remind yourself. If you said sweet, you’re right! It’s really quite simple in most cases. Some are a little counter intuitive, but the experience of thousands of years of Chinese medicine practitioners have led them to classify the foods in this way. When we take this information seriously, we have great results.
Tags: Acupuncture, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, dietary-therapy, flavors, food, habits, nutrition, Personal Development, seasonal-livingRelated posts
See how easily you can use 5 element theory to eat optimally
I’ve been seeing quite a few articles about balancing color in one’s diet as a way to eat well. These articles are always so beautiful - illustrated with plenty of photos of gorgeous blueberries, tantalizing tomatoes and the like. Further, the concept of choosing your food by color is an attractive one, simple and engaging of the senses. I’d like to add a little to the conversation by showing how you can similarly choose foods to create an exciting and balanced diet by using two symbol categories associated with the five elements: color and flavor. Each elemental phase has a color and flavor traditionally associated with it, and while competing theories exist regarding the exact assignment of correlation - what I’ve listed below is what is most commonly agreed upon.
My thought is that by using the following structure as a guideline, you could easily create a balanced diet. Below I just list a few examples of foods that would fit in each category, you should pick a variety of foods in each category for maximal health. I have experimented with this structure in a number of ways:
- I’ve used a different element for each of 3 meals and 2 snacks
- I’ve tried to use all five elements in each meal
- I’ve even used the creation and control cycles to have fun with recipe planning! Let me know if you use this structure and how it works for you in the comments!
- Fire: Element of Heart, Pericardium, Triple Burner and Small Intestine. Resonates with the season of summer, inspiration, intimacy and the Sun.
- Red, the color of Fire
- Red vegetables: Tomatoes - from a Chinese perspective, tomatoes are cool in nature and have both sweet and sour flavors, and go to the Stomach and Liver channels - both prime candidates for suffering due to heat. From a Western perspective, tomatoes are a great source of antioxidants like Vitamin C as well as being a source of lycopene, a cartenoid thought to be helpful in cancer prevention. Other red foods: Beets, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranates
- Bitter, the flavor of Fire
- Bitter greens: Swiss chard - Bitter flavor clears heat, and given that these leafy green are cooling, they can be a great addition to the diet of someone who has followed the Standard American diet and thus have a lot of built up heat and dampness. From a Western perspective, all leafy greens contain very high amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as providing a healthy amount of fiber. Other leafy, bitter greens: collards, kale
- Red, the color of Fire
- Earth: Element of Spleen and Stomach. Resonates with the times between the seasons or the very late summer, nurturing, stability and the earth beneath our feet.
- Yellow, the color of Earth
- Yellow vegetables: Yams/sweet potatoes - Okay, so these are often orange in color, but some are paler. Work with me, here. From a Chinese medicine perspective, sweet potatoes are sweet in flavor and neutral in nature. They work on the Spleen, Stomach and Large Intestine - so work powerfully on a number of levels in improving digestion. From a Western perspective, they are a potent source of antioxidants and vitamin E. Other yellow vegetables: corn
- Sweet, the flavor of Earth
- Whole grains: Whole wheat and/or spelt, brown rice, quinoa, millet - People are often confused about the sweet flavor in Chinese medicine. This is not the sweet of ice cream, Skittles and soda. To experience the ideal sweet flavor, take a bit of well cooked brown rice and chew thoroughly. That’s sweet. :) So whole grains are the ideal candidate in this category. Rice is sweet and neutral and goes to the Spleen and Stomach. It is the perennial digestive booster, powerful enough to be effective but gentle enough for convalescing individuals. From a Western perspective, whole grains are the foundation of a great diet - providing key minerals, B vitamins and fiber for digestive health.
- Yellow, the color of Earth
- Metal: Element of Lung and Large Intestine. Resonates with the autumn, justice, permanence and high mountain glaciers.
- White, the color of Metal
- Tofu/tempeh and other legumes, fish, chicken: quality protein sources in line with your ethical standards, keep it free-range, organic, local and well-cooked. Most of the greatest protein sources are white (or beige, or something like it). For those of you who want to argue about some of the legumes, point taken. But even many beans that are one color on the outside are pale within. Any of these sources, when prepared sans cream sauce, are excellent sources of protein as well as many minerals. In the case of legumes and their products (tofu, tempeh, etc) you will also get a decent amount of fiber.
- Pungent
- Onions: Flavor is important, and pungent flavor is great for keeping energy moving through the body. Onion is both bitter and pungent in flavor and warm in nature. It goes to the Lung, Stomach and Large Intestine. It can activate the Yang principle of the body as well as helping draw energy downward as might be desirable in constipation. It also reinvigorates stomach fire when used responsibly - good for sluggish digestion. From a Western perspective, there is some evidence that onions may have protective effects against cancer. Other pungent foods: garlic, chilis
- White, the color of Metal
- Water: Element of Bladder and Kidney. Resonates with the energy of the winter, wisdom and contemplation and the vastness of the ocean.
- Blue, the color of Water
- Blue fruits: Blueberries - Blueberries have been in the media a lot lately, mostly their antioxidant benefit is touted. Unfortunately, I do not have information about the Chinese classification of berries in front of me but my sense is that they are probably both sweet and sour, with a neutral nature and probably an affinity for the Large Intestine among other organs. The data on blueberries from Western medicine is easy enough to locate - they are a potent source of vitamins C, E and several protective compounds that are being heavily researched now. Other blue fruits: boysenberries, black raspberries, blackberries
- Salty, the flavor of Water
- Seaweed, condiments: Again, for food to be a holistic experience it must not only satisfy our intellectual understanding of nutrition or our emotional need to be able to look forward to a long, healthy life but the food must also taste good. I have used seaweed in place of salt in many situations with great results - many products are available to make this a simple experience. Other condiments are also fine, especially high grade sea salt and organic nama shoyu.
- Blue, the color of Water
- Wood: Element of Liver and Gallbladder. Resonates with the springtime, Yang energy, motivation and new beginnings and a rapidly growing field of grass.
- Green, the color of Wood
- Green vegetables: Broccoli, from a Western perspective, is a powerhouse food full of vitamins, minerals and the ever crucial fiber. There are so many green vegetables to choose from, this is a category that you can expand pretty much endlessly - even including a green food of each flavor for a five flavored green feast! Other green vegetables: Lettuces, peas, celery, green beans
- Sour, the flavor of Wood
- Citrus: Lemons - From a Chinese perspective, most citrus have both sweet and sour flavors, but lemon is distinctly sour. Its nature is slightly cool, which makes it a great candidate for cooling summerheat - the old time tradition of lemonade has some basis after all! It also goes to the Liver and the Lung - given that the sour flavor astringes, it may be helpful in restraining Lung Qi as in a cough or restraining an overactive Liver. From a Western perspective, these fruits are a prime source of Vitamin C. Other citrus limes, grapefruit
Enjoy!
Eric - Green, the color of Wood
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