My notes on Ma Huang (ephedra)

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>ROCKY MOUNTAIN HERBAL INSTITUTE rmhiherbal.org

>2000 Spring Newsletter

>[2] Proper and improper uses of ephedra

>

>perspective of the TCM pharmacopoiea. The TCM

>pharmacopoiea states that it

> - Releases the Exterior and disperses Cold;

>indicated for TaiYang-stage Exterior Chill; acts by

>inducing sweating.

 

TaiYang-stage Evil (Greater Yang-stage Evil) has been discussed on here. This is

the first stage when the Evil still is completely Exterior. The TaiYang

meridians are the Bladder and the Small Intestine. Symptoms of TaiYang-stage

Evil include headaches, muscular aches and pains, stiff neck, and nasal and

sinus congestion. Note that the primary function of Ma Huang is to relieve

Wind Chill (like in the common cold, some cases of flu, certain headaches that

are due to Wind Chill, etc).

 

>Ephedra is to be avoided or used cautiously in

>Deficiency conditions characterized by excessive

>sweating; it may aggravate high blood pressure and

>cause restlessness and tremors.

 

Ma Huang (Herba Ephedra) is one of those herbs that causes you to sweat. It's a

fairly strong herb for inducing perspiration. You don't want to use this one if

the person already is perspiring heavily because you could deplete the person of

needed fluid and induce Yin Deficiency. You want to be very, very careful using

this herb if the person is Qi, Yang, Yin, or Blood Deficient.

 

>To use ephedra for weight loss or as a stimulant,

>two popular uses, risks exhausting the Qi, resulting

>in adrenal exhaustion and chronic fatigue. Its

>classification as a " tonic " by certain sources is

>misleading, as its long-term side effects are just

>the opposite, resulting in exhaustion.

 

This is a very important paragraph. Go back to a previous paragraph where he

says Ma Huang is used to " disperse Cold " . Cold isn't the only thing it can

disperse. It also disperses Qi. In many ways " dispersal " is the opposite of

tonification. You tonify (build up, add what's missing) when you treat

Deficiency. You disperse or empty (get it moving, take something away) when you

treat Excess. This is an herb for DISPERSING EXTERIOR Wind Cold.

 

In order to understand why this is not a proper herb for weight loss, it's

important to examine the TCM model of obesity. In the TCM system obesity usually

is caused by Qi Deficiency that may also be Stagnant, and/or by Phlegm

accumulation. This is not a tonic herb. It's contraindicated in cases of

Deficiency because its primary function is to disperse Exterior Wind Chill. It

will exhaust what little Qi the person does have. It will get Stagnant Qi

moving, but there are safer, more appropriate herbs for moving Stagnant Qi whose

main function is to move Qi. When a person takes Ma Huang long-term for weight

loss the person actually is setting up his/her body to become more obese because

it's causing the person to become even more Qi Deficient.

 

Ma Huang can be especially depleting of Kidney Qi. Kidney Qi Deficiency can turn

into Kidney Yang Deficiency, and then the person is extremely fatigued and not

very active. Plus, the metabolism can be slowed down even more than it already

is once Yang Deficiency sets in.

 

Also note that Ma Huang is an herb for Relieving the Exterior. Qi Deficiency and

Phlegm are Interior conditions. It takes a long time to treat Phlegm conditions

and the treatment will vary according to the cause of the Phlegm.

 

>As for

>weight loss, ephedra can temporarily increase

>metabolic rate and diuresis, which can enhance

>short-term weight loss, but if underlying metabolic

>factors are not corrected, long-term consumption

>of ephedra will lead to not only exhaustion, but a

>rebound of weight gain.

>

>Furthermore, many Americans are already suffer some

>type of exhaustion (of Qi, Yin, Yang, or Blood) due

>to stress, overwork, and poor diet, and any use of

>ephedra, especially without counteraction by other

>herbs, may risk aggravating the condition.

 

This is an important paragraph too. Many Americans do suffer from Deficiency

conditions. Deficiency conditions are so common in the U.S. that one of the

classic TCM rules about a floating pulse frequently does not apply. A floating

pulse is one that can be felt the strongest with very light pressure. Increase

the pressure of your finger on the wrist and you no longer can feel it as well.

Decrease your finger pressure, and you immediately can feel it again. This is a

floating pulse. In classical TCM theory, a floating pulse usually is the result

of the Protective Qi fighting an External Evil like Wind Cold. If the floating

pulse also is weak, this can point to Deficiency of Yin or of Blood. If the

floating pulse also is strong, this can point to Interior Wind.

 

So much for classical theory. Deficiency states are so common in the U.S. that

you may encounter another pattern - the rapid, floating pulse. Very often a

rapid floating pulse will be a sign of True Cold, False Heat. The person may

have a red tongue, a flushed face, and even have a fever (all signs of Heat) but

it's a False Heat. The root problem is Cold - Yang Deficiency Cold. The extrene

false Heat indicators are coming from what little Yang there is floating to the

surface of the body. This is a critical condition as the last remaining Yang is

dissipating. This frequently occurs right before death. Being able to recognize

True Cold, False Heat conditions is critical because if the healer prescribes

cooling herbs it can kill the person if the Yang is too exhausted. Like so much

in TCM floating Yang is a continuum condition. It's always a critical condition

that needs treatment, but some cases are more severe than others.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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