Some additional comments on diet & losing weight

[Guest guest]

>LETTER FROM CHINA

>March '00 (2)

>A newsletter on and modern China

>

>by Dagmar Riley

>A woman has been overweight for years. She easily feels

>tired, and, except in extreme hot weather, always has cold

>hands even if the people around her feel hot. She finds it

>hard to get motivated for everyday tasks and sometimes feels

>depressive. In the morning she only comes alive after 2 cups

>of coffee.

>

>Should this woman attempt a diet of " healthy " fruit juices

>like pineapple, kiwi, grapefruit and orange?

>

>All of the woman's symptoms point to a Yang (energy and

>warmth) deficiency (see Letter from China [00/3(1)]). As

> " health " means Yin (substance, blood and body fluids)and

>Yang (energy and warmth) being in balance, supporting and

>restricting each other, a Yang deficiency will, over the

>long run, be unable to restrict Yin. The body does not

>have enough energy (Yang) to transform and distribute its

>substances (Yin), resulting in the accumulation of fat and

>water in the body tissues (Yin excess): The woman becomes

>overweight.

>

>We can see from the analysis of the symptoms that the

>woman needs food providing her with Yang energy. The juice

>diet using pineapple (Wood, COLD), kiwi (Wood, COLD),

>grapefruit (Wood, COLD) and orange (Wood, COOL)will give her

>the opposite of what she needs and deplete her Yang even

>more. The diet will ultimately make her gain weight.

>

>Instead, she would benefit from predominantly (but not

>exclusively) eating food classified as warm or hot, eating

>cooked food rather than raw foods, and regularly drinking

>hot soups and beverages.

>

>If imbalances have existed for years already, it is

>advisable to consult a TCM doctor for a proper diagnosis

>and treatment. Herbal treatment or acupuncture help to deal

>with imbalances that have already affected several organs

>and produced complicated patterns that are not easy to

>rebalance by the layman's nutritional therapy.

 

As someone who has had a long standing Yang Deficiency and has been very Cold, I

can add some personal insight on this. Remember how at extremes any TCM

condition can start to change into its opposite? Yin can start to become Yang,

Yang to become Yin, Cold can produce Heat, Heat can produce Cold, etc. Some very

complicated patterns can manifest when there's been a long-term imbalance.

 

Usually, when a person has an excessive appetite, that's due to Heat in the

Stomach and/or Liver Invading Stomach. The treatment is to cool the Stomach

and/or balance the energy flow of the Liver. But, in cases of long-term Yang

Deficiency you may run into cases of excessive appetite where the treatment is

the exact opposite of cooling the Stomach. In other words, very spicey foods

with warming energy will decrease the person's excessive appetite. For the first

time in years the person will be satisfied with a little food and will not feel

like s/he is starving.

 

Why does this happen? The person has been starving even though the person has

been eating a lot. The person has been starved for Yang energy and Qi. The

excessive appetite has been an attempt to get the needed energy. The problem is

that it doesn't work. Yang energy is the energy that activates the bodily

functions. When Yang energy is Deficient, bodily functions tend to be hypo.

Hypo-glandular states as well as other systems of the body being sluggish are

common manifestations of Yang Deficiency. You need the proper amount of Yang

energy in order get what you need from the food you eat. Also, the body needs

the proper amount of Yang in order to act as a check and balance on Yin. Yin

tends to build up, to accumulate. When Yang is Deficient, the body tends to be

tilted to anabolic (building up, accumulating) instead of catabolism (burning

up, producing energy, activating).

 

In cases of Spleen Yang Deficiency of relatively short duration, you will tend

to see a decreased appetite. But in cases of long-term Kidney Yang Deficiency

which has produced a lot of changes in the body, you may see the excessive

appetite and weight gain because there's not enough Yang energy to extract and

properly use what the person eats.

 

Western medicine believes that people are tired because they are overweight. TCM

looks at it differently. In cases where the person is both overweight and has

fatigued, TCM recognizes that both the fatigue and the weight are coming from

the same root - the person lacks the proper energy (Qi and Yang). Treat the Qi

and/or Yang Deficiency, and the excess weight will start to come on naturally as

the person's energy rises. (There may also be Phlegm problems and energy

Stagnation problems that need to be treated.)

 

In cases of overweight people who have plenty of energy and excessive appetite,

the cause may be Heat in the Stomach along with Phlegm and maybe Stagnation

problems. In these cases the accepted Western diet for weight loss might work.

But it won't work in cases where the person is Yang Deficient. (Treatment in TCM

is individualized. There are no such things as one size fits all diets or

treatment regiments.)

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Victoria,

Your timing is perfect on this one. I'm assisting some folks who

are in this exact position--but, as you also said, treatment

must be individualized. BTW, did you mean to say

" Treat the Qi...and the excess weight will start to come OFF naturally " ?

 

Cathy, Wise Weeds

http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/wiseweeds/

 

victoria_dragon wrote:

 

> Western medicine believes that people are tired because they are overweight.

TCM looks at it differently. In cases where the person is both overweight and

has fatigued, TCM recognizes that both the fatigue and the weight are coming

from the same root - the person lacks the proper energy (Qi and Yang). Treat the

Qi and/or Yang Deficiency, and the excess weight will start to come on naturally

as the person's energy rises. (There may also be Phlegm problems and energy

Stagnation problems that need to be treated.)

[Guest guest]

>Your timing is perfect on this one. I'm assisting some folks who

>are in this exact position--but, as you also said, treatment

>must be individualized. BTW, did you mean to say

> " Treat the Qi...and the excess weight will start to come OFF naturally " ?

 

>>Treat the Qi and/or Yang Deficiency, and the excess weight will start to come

on naturally as the person's energy rises. (There may also be Phlegm problems

and energy Stagnation problems that need to be treated.)

 

Yes. Warner J.W. Fan, M.D., in A Manual of Chiense Herbal Medicine says under

" Activity and Posture " that obesity's causes are " often deficiency of Qi, which

also circulates poorly, so that Dampness often accumulates and causes Phlegm:

Wind invasion is also common. " (p. 121)

 

For some people the right Energy Tonic and/or Yang Tonic will be enough for them

to lose weight. The Energy Tonic enables them to be more active, and as long as

they don't increase the amount of calories consumed, they'll start to lose

weight because of the increased activity. If there's also Yang Deficiency, the

right Yang Tonic will cause them to start burning more fuel rather than storing

it as fat.

 

If the imbalance has gone on so long that Phlegm has formed, that's going to

take longer to resolve because it can take a long time to resolve Phlegm. The

book I ordered on Phlegm disorders came in some time ago, but I haven't posted

on it because I'm still studying it.

 

With my own history with CFIDS, weight gain and loss has been a marker for how

severe the CFIDS is. When I'm a major flare-up, I start to gain weight. That's

the last symptom to appear, and by the time it appears, I'm in the major

flare-up. No more warnings. As I go into remission, the weight starts to come

off naturally. The better my overall health, the more the natural weight loss. I

don't diet to lose weight. It just happens when my health improves, and the more

my health improves, the more I lose. In my case there is the complication of

very long-term Kidney Yang Deficiency. I'm finding out from experience and from

research that Kidney Yang Deficiency can take a long time to treat. Improvement

continues the longer I stay on the Yang Tonic herbs and other needed herbs, but

it's gradual.

 

In my particular case I'm finding that I need to use a lot of warming herbs with

what I eat. I sprinkle Chinese 5 Spice (warming herbs) on my vegetables. I also

sprinkle cayenne pepper on vegetables and eggs. It's taking an unusual amount of

warming herbs in my case. In my case the problem with the Deficiency Cold has

been going on at least 26 years, probably longer, so we're talking very

long-term in my case. I'll be posting some more on cayenne pepper from some info

that was on a TCM website because there are some things to consider when you use

a lot of it.

 

I also want to point out for some readers that Americans often have some extreme

ideas on what constitutes obesity. In the TCM system, the ideal size for a

particular individual may not be a size 6. It may be a size 14 or even a 16 or

if the woman is very tall, even a size 18. It would be irresponsible to take Qi

Tonics or Yang Tonics in order to try to be a size 6 when the optimal size for

that person is say a size 12 or 14. For some individuals, the optimal size will

be a 6. It varies. Qi and Yang Tonics are appropriate when there is Qi and Yang

Deficiency.

 

Also see the additional info on Ma Huang and why this is not a good herb for

long term use for weight loss. Yes, it will get the Qi moving, but it disperses

Qi. This is not good for a person who already has Qi Deficiency and is prone to

Qi Deficiency when there are no valid indications for using Ma Huang. (Like in

the formula Minor Blue Dragon when the person has a lot of problems with

External Wind.)

 

I'll be posting some stuff on a weight loss formula from Teeguarden's book.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

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