The Three Treasures - Jing

The Three Treasures of Chinese medicine are 精 Jing, 氣 Qi and 神 Shen. These three exist as both physical material and energetic activity within and without the body. Besides the individual attributes of each, there is a dynamic physical and energetic interaction between these substances. Today we will cover Jing.

Jing can be translated as Essence. Essence is responsible for providing the physical structure or blueprint of the body, and in a larger sense, of life in general. Essence is stored in the Kidneys and is influenced by many different factors, including the Jing of one's parents as well as environmental factors during the pregnancy such as pollution and the position of the stars and other heavenly bodies. The Kidneys control the bones, teeth, and "marrow", an ancient Chinese term which includes cerebrospinal fluid as well as the gray matter of the brain. By way of example, someone who is born with severe physical or mental defects is said to have deficient Kidney Essence.

The word 精 Jing also translates as semen. Semen and eggs are seen as the direct physical manifestations of Jing in the body. This is why ancient Daoist texts placed great emphasis on proper sexual technique and relations. According to some texts, every ejaculation takes a year off a man's life. Given how many times a man may ejaculate over the course of a lifetime, this means that with proper safeguarding against excess, you can live over 100 years without any derangement or debility in old age. Women lose very little Jing with each orgasm, but they lose incredible amounts of Jing with every pregnancy and birth.

People are born with a certain amount of Jing which gradually depletes as they age. As you get older, your sexual desire declines, your teeth loosen, and you may actually lose bone and muscle mass. Daoist medicine, which Chinese medicine is based on, takes great interest in slowing or even reversing these aging processes. There are many specific suggestions which should be tailored to each individual, but in general you should avoid activities that accelerate the loss of Jing, and engage in activities that preserve the Jing.

Sounds simple, right? So, what accelerates the loss of Jing? Overeating of any kind. Overdrinking, specifically of alcohol. Cigarette smoking. Drug abuse. Sexual intemperance, by which is meant having too much sex or having sex in the wrong way (while drunk, after midnight, with people you don't love or respect, etc). The Daoists and blues musicians agree: hard living takes years off your life.

What preserves Jing? Moderate physical exercise. Going to bed early, getting up early. Eating well, but avoiding too much rich food, specifically deep fried food and excessive animal fats. In general, a relaxed and happy lifestyle preserves your Jing. There are also specific Daoist practices you can do which can preserve your Jing, all of which fall under the general term 氣功 Qi Gong. There are also specific foods and herbs you can eat which are known to "tonify the Kidneys" or 補腎 bu shen and therefore aid in preserving your Essence and lengthening your life.

Subtle Vibrations of Health

Think about this: everything is moving, all the time. At a basic level, what is everything made of? Atoms. What are atoms made of? Protons, neutrons, and electrons. What are electrons doing? Well, no one really knows for sure, but they're certainly not sitting still. Scientists used to think that they moved in a stable orbit around the center of the atom, then they thought that electrons existed in a sort of cloud with no set pattern. The latest theory is that electrons sort of "pop" in and out of existence in different parts of the universe. In other words, electrons aren't tied to any particular atom.

When you meditate, you will feel a certain stillness. But as things settle down and the outside world falls away, you will become more attuned to what Huaching Ni calls the subtle vibrations of the universe. If you get to a certain level, wouldn't it be possible to suggest to your electrons, your particles, your qi, to move in a certain way? To move in a healthy direction? Can meditation cure your illnesses?

Diet Soda Is Not Better Than Regular Soda

A new study further confirms that diet soda is bad for you. It's nice to know that some scientific studies follow the principles of common sense. From the New York Times:

Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and elevated blood pressure.

This study looked at the eating patterns of real people, rather than trying to calculate the nutrient value of specific foods those people ate. Take a look at this quote from ScienceDaily.com:

In general, the Western-pattern diet was heavy on refined grains, processed meat, fried foods, red meat, eggs and soda, and light on fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grain products.

Prudent diet eating patterns, by contrast, favored cruciferous vegetables (e.g., cabbage, radish and broccoli), carotenoid vegetables (e.g., carrots, pumpkins, red pepper, cabbage, broccoli and spinach), fruit, fish and seafood, poultry and whole grains, along with low-fat dairy.

Guess which one is better for you.

Hong Qu - Red Yeast Rice

The L.A. Times has a pretty good piece on the use of red yeast rice (Hong Qu 红曲) as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical statins for lowering cholesterol. Take a look at this link, keeping in mind this was apparently written without any consultation of Chinese medicine experts:

Statin-free supplement? Not quite

In terms of Chinese medicine, Hong Qu 红曲 is sweet, acrid and warm, and primarily affects the Spleen, Liver, and Large Intestine meridians. It strengthens the Spleen and invigorates the Blood and is often used for indigestion. For more information, I'd like to quote one of our textbooks, Chinese Medicinal Herbology and Pharmacology by John and Tina Chen.

Hong Qu is rice that has been fermented with yeast Monascus purpureus. The fermentation process changes the color of rice from white to red, thereby giving it the name "red yeast rice." For centuries, Hong Qu has been used in China as both food and herbal medicine. It has also been used as a coloring agent to prepare fish, fish sauce, fish paste, rice wine, and red soybean curd. In the late 1990s, it was introduced and used in the US as a a dietary supplement to promote healthy cholesterol levels.

Most medical journals attribute the hypolipidemic effect of Hong Qu to a single component, lovastatin. This explanation, however, is not sufficient nor entirely accurate. The therapeutic dose of Hong Qu delivers approximately 7.2mg of lovastatin, while the synthetic drug lovastatin (Mevacor) contains from 10 to 40 mg of lovastatin. Yet, despite the lower dose of the supposed active component, the hypolipidemic effects of Hong Qu are much greater than the synthetic drug lovastatin. Thus, it is clear that lovastatin is not the only active component, and more research needs to be done on Hong Qu as an herbal medicine, not just on lovastatin as a single compound.

We don't carry Hong Qu at the Yosan herbal pharmacy, but if you're interested, let me know and I can get some for you.

Ice Water at the Restaurant: Don't Do It!

It happens every time you go to a restaurant, large or small, fancy or cheap: a glass of ice water is plunked down in front of you, usually without you asking. It's been sitting for awhile, and condensation has formed on the outside. Touch it and your hand goes numb with cold. What do you think it does to your stomach?

Cold is one of the original boogey-monsters of Chinese medicine, second only to wind. The ancient Chinese were great scientists, and they studied cold they way the did anything else: thoroughly. Although it's now much easier to stay warm and regulate our environment, the conclusions handed down to us about cold remain extremely valuable.

Environmental cold is classified as one of the "six evil qi" or "six pathogens" that can cause damage. In general, your internal organs like to be quite warm. Consider that the average internal temperature is 98.6F - if it were nearly 100 degrees outside, it would be considered a heat wave. But that's how hot the inside of your body is nearly all the time.

Your lungs and stomach are particularly sensitive to cold, as they have direct connections to the outside world (your trachea and esophagus, to be exact). If you've ever lived somewhere really cold, you know how important it is to keep a scarf across your mouth and nose. I remember one winter in New York, there was a two-week period in January where the temperature stayed in the teens. When I walked home from work, the cold air felt sharp, like a knife. It was only nine streets and two avenues, but by the time I got home my lips would be numb.

Similarly, if you throw ice water into your stomach, you'll lose your appetite and slow down your digestive system. That can lead to gas and painful bloating, and in some cases even diarrhea or constipation.

So what are your options? You can ask for water without ice, or just don't drink water when you eat. If you need something to wet your lips or clean your mouth, try some tea. Moderate amounts of wine or beer are also warming and in most cases good for your digestion.