Week 3: Deficiency Flashcards
Qi deficiency can appear in any of the networks but what are the most common ones?
- Spleen qi xu
- Kidney qi xu
- Lung qi xu
What are some common spleen qi xu signs and symptoms?
- lassitude
- loose stools
- lack of concentration
- lack of appetite
- limb weakness
- abdominal distention after eating
- indigestion
- sallow complexion
- tongue: pale and swollen, teeth marks
- pulse: empty
What are some common lung qi xu sn/sx?
- pale complexion (or bright white)
- pale tongue
- low/weak voice
- lassitude/fatigue
- susceptibility to infection
- SOB
- spontaneous sweating
- coughing
- empty pulse
What are some common kidney qi xu sn/sx?
- frequent urination/incontinence
- low back pain
- tinnitus
- dizziness
- heavy periods
- SOB/asthma
- pale tongue
- deep, weak, possibly tight
What are some dietary causes of qi deficiency?
- too much thermally cold food
- raw food
- too much diary
- too many tropical fruits
- frozen foods
- denaturalized foods
- canned foods
- ice cold beverages
- irregular eating habits
- hasty eating
- eating too late in the day
What thermal nature, cooking method and flavour can help with qi xu?
- neutral, warming, sometimes hot
- cooking method: warming
- flavour: neutral to warm-sweet, neutral to warm-pungent, neutral to warm-salty, occasionally hot
What Grains, Meat, Fish, Vegetables can be used as therapy for qi xu?
- Grains: oats, corn, rice, millet
- Meat: poultry, lamb, beef, venison
- Fish: mussels, trout, lobster, salmon
- Vegetables: carrots, leeks
What spices, nuts, legumes can be used for qi xu?
Spices: ginger, garlic
Nuts: hazelnuts, black sesame (warming) walnuts
Legumes: lentils
What is one of the best things to do in the morning for qi xu?
Eat a warming breakfast (porridge).
What are some general yang deficiency sn/sx?
- chills
- cold limbs
- inability to get warm
- loose tools
- profuse clear urine
- spontaneous sweating
- lassitude
- pale tongue with white coat
- slow, deep, weak pulse
Why does yang xu have similar symptoms as qi xu and a similar aetiology? What organs are most affected by yang xu?
Yang xu is always preceded by protracted qi xu and the transition between the two is not always clear.
Spleen, Kidney, Heart
What is the therapy for yang xu?
It is mostly the same as for qi deficiency, however more foods with strong yang character can be used:
- Cooking method: warming, grilled, fried
Meat: beef, poultry, lamb, venison
Extras: fennel, walnuts, chestnuts, corn, raisins, cherries, peaches, leeks, pungent spices, meat and vegetable stews
What are some general yin xu sn/sx?
- agitation or restlessness
- five palm heat
- night sweats
- hot flashes
- rapid pulse
- red tongue with no coat or peeled
What are some dietary causes of yin xu?
- excessive intake of extremely warm foods, especially pungent spices that dry out the body fluids and hut the yin
- excessive intake of coffee, black tea, red wine or alcohol
What are some food therapies for yin xu?
Meat/fish: pork, oyster
Vegetables: cool like spinach, tomato and seaweed
Grains: spelt, corn, rice, wheat
Fruit: apples, pears, blackberries, citrus, bananas, grapes
Dairy: butter, cheese, yogurt, milk
Soy products
Beverages: red fruit juice, citrus juice, wheat beer, green tea
What are some general yin xu causes?
- Chronic illness
- Depletion of BF
- Excessive sexual activity
- Excessive drug use/meds
- Emotional strain
- Overexertion/overwork
- Sleep deprivation
- Stressful lifestyle
- Internal heat?
What are some stomach yin xu lifestyle causes?
Irregular diet/eating habits
i) Eating too late at night
ii) Skipping meals
iii) Hectic lunch hour
iv) Worrying about work etc while eating
Which meridians/organs are most susceptible to yin xu?
Liver, stomach, heart, kidney
What is yin energy?
Yin energy is night energy, quiescent, time to recharge. People get that. Give them little suggestions of things they can do themselves.
Are they taking any time out to just sit and be? Walking meditation, yoga, etc
What deficiency is at the root of many gynaecological problems?
Blood xu
How is the spleen related to blood xu?
- Spleen is in charge of the production of blood
- Produces food qi or gu qi
- Over a long period spleen qi xu will turn into blood xu
How is the heart related to blood xu?
- governs blood
- controls the mind
- anxiety and worry over a long time disturbs the mind
- a disturbed mind can lead to heart blood xu
What are sn/sx of heart blood xu?
palpitations insomnia dizziness dream disturbed sleep dull pale complexion pale tongue pale lips dry hair dry nails dry tongue coating
What happens if the spleen does not produce enough blood?
There will be a lack of blood to be stored by the liver.
What is the most common cause of spleen qi xu and liver blood xu?
Diet
What are the common sn/sx of liver blood xu?
Blurry vision Floaters Dizziness Numbness of limbs Brittle nails Dry hair Scanty menstruation Orange sides of the tongue Muscle cramps esp. Gastrocnemius
Why should you avoid the bitter and pungent flavours with blood xu? Examples?
They dry the blood more.
Eg. Black tea, hot chocolate, pungent spices like garlic, ginger, pepper, curry, cinnamon.
What type of cooking methods should be avoided with blood xu?
Warming cooking methods and thermally hot foods.
Best cooking method and flavours for blood xu?
Cooling
Flavour: sweet-neutral, sweet-warm, sour-neutral, sour-cool
Best grains and vegetables for blood xu?
Grains: oats, amaranth, short-grain rice
Vegetables; all thermally neutral and cool vegetables like red beets, red cabbage, carrots, spinach.
Vegetables for liver blood xu?
Thermally neutral and cooling, green vegetables of the wood element, beans, broccoli, lettuce, swiss chard
Meat and Fish for blood xu?
Meat: chicken, beef, lamb, liver
Fish: oysters, mussels, squid, perch, eel
Fruits, nuts/seeds and beverages for blood xu?
Fruits: red grapes, cherries, longans, plums, apricots
Nuts/seeds: sesame, sunflower
Beverages: red beet juice, sweet cherry juice, plum juice, red teas (rose hip and hibiscus), red grape juice, red wine in moderation
What are some foods that are high in iron, good for graying hair and help treat baldness?
Hijiki
Nettle
Wheatgrass
What herb is good for gray hair but is extremely warming? What is the danger?
Ho Shou Wu
So warming it may cause anger and depression
What are the characteristics of a high fat/ high protein diet?
More sweet and warming in nature, will decrease pH level of blood
What will high salt do to the body?
Damages blood, affects the kidneys and may lead to hair loss.
What are some things that weaken lung qi?
- Grief
- EPF
- Talking excessively
- Loss of body fluids, sweating
- Constitutional weakness
- Extended periods of sitting in slumped (slumping inhibits breathing and lung qi)
- Smoking
Where does lung qi (wei qi) circulate and what does it do?
- circulates outside of channels on the body surface, protects from EPF
- warms and moistens skin and muscles
What other organs/meridians are involved in the production of wei qi?
The middle burner also contributes to production of wei qi (SP/ST).
Kidney (prenatal qi) plays a role in wei qi production as well.
What are symptoms of wind-cold?
- chills and fever (heat effusion), with chills predominant
- sensitivity to wind
- lack of thirst
- cough
- lack of sweating
- stiff neck and possibly occipital - - headache
- body aches
- runny nose with clear or white discharge
- a tongue that is normal colored with a thin white coat
- pulse that is floating and tight
What should be avoided with a wind-cold invasion?
- Avoid colds that weaken the yang, eg. cold, raw, dairy, fruit
- Avoid phlegm forming foods, bananas, dairy, oily and fatty.
- Avoid sour flavour because direction of movement is inward and downward which we do not want to do!
What flavours are helpful for W-C invasion?
Work with pungent warm, pungent hot flavours during early stages of a cold: ginger, pepper, green onion, chai tea
What is an important herbal remedy for supplementing wei qi?
Huang qi (astragalus)
What food therapy can be used to supplement lung qi and strengthen wei qi?
Spices: chilli, curry, ginger, pepper
Beverages: spiced teas, alcohol
Vegetables: cauliflower, leeks, horseradish, onions, radish, watercress
Nuts/seeds: almonds, almond butter
What is chlorophyll’s claim to fame? (3 factors)
- Purifies
- Quells inflammation
- Rejuvenates
What are some other benefits of chlorophyll?
- Anemic condition
- BP (decrease)
- Calms nerves
- Diuretic
- Intestinal regulation
The three primary micro-algae contain more what than any other plant or animal food?
- Protein
- Beta- carotene
- Nucleic acids
(PB & Genes)
What are the properties of wild blue-green algae?
- Most extreme properties
- Very cold in nature, bitter, drying, mildly diuretic,
- Anti-depressant, cool, stimulating. Helps to treat addictions!
Where is the only safe source for Blue-Green?
Studies show that products coming from Oregon farm are SAFE → KLAMATH LAKE, OREGEON.
• Can transform into a TOXIC PLANT! Animals that ingest it grow in wild can die.
What special components do Wheat and Barley Grasses have that other greens do not?
- Special digestive enzymes
- Antioxidant enzyme SOD (superoxide dismutase) and special fraction P4D1
What is SOD important for?
- Slows cellular deteriorate and mutation. There is a deficiency of this in cancerous cells.
- Useful in degenerative diseases and reversal of aging.
What is P4D1 useful for?
- Stimulates RNA, DNA renewal even more than steroids like cortisol!
- Anti-inflammatory
What are some traditional uses for wheat and barley grasses? (get 5/10)
- Arthritis
- Bruises
- Burns
- Cancer
- Constipation
- Emphysema
- Gangrene
- Poison oak
- Rheumatism
- Wounds
What are the main actions of spirulina?
- Nurturing, tonifying, good for xu
- Cleansing action, detoxifies
- Cooling
Talk about the components and structure of spirulina.
- Cell wall composed of MP’s (mucopolysaccharides); completely digestible
- Filled with phycocyanin, a blue pigment that inhibits cancer colony formation
What conditions is the blue biliproten (phycocyanin) useful for?
- Alcoholism (liver damage)
- Arthritis
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Hypoglycemia
- Obesity
- Mental capacity (draws brain cells together for neurotransmission)
Why is spirulina considered the most naturally sterile food?
It can survive in hot alkaline environments where other organisms cannot.
What are the main properties of spirulina?
- Astringent
- Builds and enriches blood
- Cleanses arteries
- Cooling
- Detoxifies kidney and liver
- Enhances intestinal flora
- Fungi, bacteria and yeast inhibition
- Increased yin fluid
- Slightly Salty
Compare chlorella to spirulina in terms of energetic temp, content of PB and genes, cost
- Chlorella has less protein and beta-carotene than spirulina
- Chlorella has 2x the nucleic acid and chlorophyll as spirulina
- Chlorella is more expensive than others because it needs more processing, the cell wall is not digestible otherwise
- Chlorella is not as cooling and is more tonifying
Talk about the cell wall of chlorella.
The cell wall binds with heavy metals, pesticides, and carcinogens and carries them out of the body
What is the substructure of chlorella?
Polysaccharides –> stimulate interferon production and other anti-tumour and immune enhancing activities
What is chlorella beneficial for?
- AIDS
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Candida
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
Does chlorella have biliprotein?
No
What is the main imbalance for rheumatic and arthritic conditions?
Mineral imbalance, usually calcium, therefore important to avoid calcium inhibitors.
What are calcium inhibitors?
- Excess meat
- Intoxicants (alcohol, tobacco, mj)
- Refined sugar
- Excess salt
There is some controversy about this but supposedly one should avoid foods that are high in oxalic acid if you have rheumatic or arthritic conditions. What are some examples?
- Beet greens
- Chard
- Cranberries
- Plum
- Rhubarb
- Spinach
What are nightshades?
Potato, tomoto, eggplant, bell pepper
What is the problem with nightshades?
FRAGILE PLANTS
When eaten in excess they may contribute to:
→ PHYSICAL & MENTAL WEAKNESS
→ PREMATURE AGING*** (someone that appears more wrinkled/older)
→ DIRTY-GRAY COMPLEXTION, SAGGING SKIN
→PHYSICAL/EMOTIONALLY COLD
→POOR CIRCULATION FROM STIFF AND RIGID JOINTS AND MUSCLES
→INSOMNIA
What are the substances found in nightshades that are problematic?
a) Solanine: green stuff on potatoes. Skin rashes
b) Glycoalkaloids: RBC destruct in vitro
c) Alkamines: contribute to nervous disorders. Also used in medications and recreational drugs IE. …Cocaine, Caffeine, Nicotine, Morphine, Anti-Malaria drug Quinine?
What are the guidelines for treating severe deficiencies?
1) Slower rate than for excess
2) More regular schedule
3) Less extreme heating or cooling foods
4) Avoid completely new dietary plans. Gradually find substitutes and phase out harmful foods.
5) If possible gradually eliminate synthetic drugs.
6) Herbs, exercise, sun, acupuncture.
7) Self-reflection and awareness practices
Which green food does the most to protect the liver and how? What protein from it is most important for liver protection?
Spirulina. It is a complete protein with important amino acids (most importantly L-methionine). These amino acids protect liver cells from being damaged by alcohol and prevents fats from accumulating in the liver.
What are more recent, modern day uses of cereal grasses?
Anemia Cholesterol excess Diabetes Hepatitis Hemorrhoids Hypertension Hypoglycemia Obesity Peptic ulcer PMS Prostate Toxicity from heavy metals
