Daniel: Chinese Herbs

Introduction

Herbs are consumed to reinforce the effects of balanced food when attempting to treat (a) syndrome(s).

Chinese cook with herbs in order to mask the bitter taste of the herbs with food and in order to make it a pleasant and healthy experience.
We like food because it tastes good, we don’t necessarily like the taste of herbs, but we like the effects.

Symptoms, syndromes, signs and disease

Disease - same definition by both Western medicine and Chinese.

Symptoms - an abnormal change in the body and its functions.

Physical or psychical signs - viewed as ‘objective symptoms’ by Western medicine. Chinese view them as a manifestation of a particular syndrome.

Syndromes-‘a specific combination of disease and symptoms’; a fundamental condition of the body to be corrected by treatment, indicated by a group of symptoms and signs.

Syndromes are the focal point of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicinal Treatment

- differs from that of Western Medicine.

- Western medicine seeks to eliminate a disease by observing a combination of signs, symptoms, and syndromes which allows for the identification of the disease.

Chinese Medicine treats the Syndrom with herbs and a change in diet.

The syndrome disrupts the flow of Life Energy or qi. Therefore the goal is to eliminate a disease by bringing the body back into balance by herbal remedies to rid the body of the Syndrom.

Balance is key……

Everything in the universe (all concepts, phenomena, and things) can be categorized according to their yin/yang qualitites. Everything contains some of both, but one dominates. Males are yang with a little yin to preserve balance. While women are mostly yin with a little yang.

Yin and yang qualities in regard to Symptoms
-a chronic symptom is considered yin
- and an acute symptom is yang:
yang energy is warm and travels on the body’s surface to defend the body and keep it warm; yin energy travels inside the body to keep the body moist.

Example: yang energy of the lungs keeps the lungs warm and active while yin energy of the lungs keeps the lungs moist and stable.

Composition of a recipe

-4 types of ingredients

1) Master ingredient(s): -this will be the herb used to treat the primary symptoms. There may be more than one herb used

2) Associate ingredients: - will be used to reinforce the master ingredient in its primary therapeutic objective.

3) Assistant ingredients: -will aid master and associate in treating primary symptom further i.e. -a headache, or will treate the discharge of phlegm, a secondary symptom that the master and associate ingredients have not addressed

4) Seasoning ingredient: -improve taste and/or facilitate the action of the recipe (speed up recipes' effects).

*Seasoning types are used based upon their ability to further facilitate the effects of the recipe.

Cooking Methods

Cooking herbs to be mixed with food.

1 - decoct herbs-for use in food. Make a soup out of the herbs and water, then strain

2 - wrap herbs in gauze then boil with food

3 - bake, roast, dry-fry herbs then ground into powder

4 - boil with food if herbs are edible, if not then remove before eating

Steaming -yin in nature, good for too much heat or fire in the body

Boiling -bring to boil with food already added or add food after boiling

Frying(fat,stir,dry) - fat is deep frying, stir is with a wok, dry is to remove water from herbs to grind them into powder

Roasting/Baking - cold/cool foods changed into warm foods, also makes some things grindable

Cooking rice - can make it into regular rice or porridge, which is good for recuperating from an illness, diarrhea, fever, or indigestion.

Understanding of terminology for Food and Herbs

‘Secure the fetus’- to stop the motion of the fetus in the womb.

‘Middle region’- referring to the stomach and spleen.

‘Cool the blood’- reduce its temperature

‘Clears heat/summer heat’- heat is characterized by fever, thirst, and perspiration. Summer heat-takes moisture and water out of body resulting in dry mouth and lips, and constipation due to intestinal dryness. In order to ‘clear’ these hot qualities that are present in the body you must treat them.

‘Disperse wind’-referring to ridding oneself of the effects on the body of wind

Determining a recipe requires to determine the symptom(s) first.

Food

Jellyfish (haizhe)

Flavor:salty

Energy:neutral

Nutrients: iodine

Actions: clears heat; transforms sputum; eliminates congestion or coagulation; lubicates intestines

Indications: cough with sputum, asthma, chest congestion, constipation, swelling of foot, swelling of lymph nodes.

Lemon (ning-meng)

Flavor:extremely sour

Nutrients:Calciam;low calorie; low carbohydrate; low sodium; vitamin C

Actions: quenches thirst; produces and nourishes fluids; clears summer heat

Indications: thirst, sunstroke, consumption by pregnant women to ‘secure the fetus’

Pork (zhu-rou)

Flavor:sweet and salty

Energy: neutral

Nutrients: low-carbohydrate; iron; potassium; low-sodium; vitamin B; biotin; vitamin K; zinc

Actions: waters yin; lubricates dryness

Indications: diabetes, skinniness, dry cough, constipation

Tofu (dou-fu)

Flavor: sweet

Energy: cool

Nutrients: calcium; low-calorie; low-carbohydrate; low-fat; low fiber; high-protein; low-sodium; soft and bland

Actions: benefits energy; harmonizes the middle region; produces or nourishes fluids; lubricates dryness; clears heat; counteracts toxic effects

Indications: cough, poor appetite, frequent or diminished urination, pink eyes, thirst, abdominal bloating

Tea (cha-ye)

Flavor: bitter

Energy: cold or cool

Nutrients: low-carbohydrate; low fiber; fluorine; low sodium; vitamin C; vitamin P

Actions: clears the head; relieves mental depression or stress; transforms sputum; promotes digestion; promotes urination; counteracts toxic effects

Indications: headache, blurred vision, sleepiness, thirst, depression, sputum, diarrhea

Wine(jiu)--Example of an Assistant ingredient.

Flavor:pungent, sweet, and bitter

Energy:warm

Actions:promotes blood circulation; disperses cold; speeds up effects of herbs

Indications:wind cold rheumatism; spasms of tendons; chest pain; cold abdominal pain

Effects/uses of herbs as medicine

Bo-he (peppermint)

Flavor: pungent

Energy: cool

Actions: induce perspiration; clear heat; disperse wind

Indications: Mouth canker, toothache, full sensation and pain in the chest and abdominal region

Da-huang (rhubarb)

Flavor:bitter

Energy:cold

Actions:to attack accumulations, sedate fire, counteract toxic effects, remove coagulations

Indications:Excess heat in stomach and intestines, nosebleed, blood coagulation, vomiting of blood, amenhorrhea

Da-suan (garlic)

Flavor:pungent

Energy:warm

Actions:To counteract toxic effects, destroy parasites, promote energy circulation, eliminate water, clear heat

Indications:amebic dysentery, tapeworms, trichomonas vaginitis, fish and shellfish poisoning, edema, beriberi

Gan-cao (licorice)

Flavor:sweet

Energy:neutral

Actions:To tone spleen, benefit energy, produce fluids, release toxins, harmonize various herbs, slow down symptoms

Indications:spleen and stomach weakness, dry cough, sore throat, acute abdominal pain, carbuncles, swelling, poisoning

Huo-ma-ren (hemp)

Flavor:sweet

Energy:neutral

Actions:To lubricate dryness and dry intestines

Indications:Constipation with dryness, senile constipation, chronic constipation, constipation after childbirth

Suan-zao-ren (jujube)

Flavor:sweet

Energy:neutral

Actions:To calm the heart and spirits, check perspiration, produce fluids

Indications:Insomnia, palpitation, forgetfulness, deficiency perspiration

Interesting herb

Dong-chong-xia-cao (chinese caterpillar fungus)

Part used: fungus

Flavor:sweet

Energy:slightly warm

Actions:To water and tone the lungs and kidneys, benefit semen and marrow, transform sputum, arrest bleeding

Indications:Cough due to deficiency fatique, cough with bloody sputum, spontaneous sweating, impotence, lumbago

Example recipe

Indications/Symptom-cold syndrome, stomach indigestions syndrome, yin deficiency syndrome, and yang deficiency sydrome of hiccups

Ingredients

Master-Shi-di(Japanese persimmon): 5 pieces

Associate-Sword bean: 20grams cut to pieces

Assistant-fresh ginger: 3 slices

Seasoning: brown sugar

Steps: 1) boil the first three ingredients in water until cooked.

2) add brown sugar to drink

Consumption: prepare this recipe for consumption whenever hiccups occur