'other' organs systems

[Guest guest]

I have been wondering about our herbal classification system. Herbs have

functions, indications, taste, temperature, action, and entering channels. Interestingly enough, there never seems

to be any mention of how herbs might negatively affect an organ system. Negative might be a strong word, more

correctly might be ‘decrease energetic function or production of yin, yang, qi

or xue.’ How do herbs affect the ‘other’ organ systems energetically? Reading

any herbal description one gets the impression that some of these herbs can do

no harm (or decrease the function of a given organ system/element.) Yes... we do have contraindications,

but I believe there's more. This

idea came from Michael Moore and how he classifies western herbs. For example, he looks at Ma Huang as:

strongly stimulating - respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous,

sympathetic, adrenaline stress

Weak stimulating – renal, muscular skeletal, thyroid stress

weak suppression— upper GI, lower GI, immunological, skin, mucosa,

parasympathetic

strong suppression – none:

 

So... if an herb is increasing spleen/ kidney yang, stabilizing essence,

and aiding the kidney to grasp qi.

Are we to believe that this is all that is going on? This herb is contraindicated for yin

deficiency with the heat, is this

herb damaging Lv yin? Lung

yin? Stomach yin? Is this herb decreasing qi

somewhere? And increasing it

another place? Looking at Ma huang

how is it effecting other Chinese organ systems? Interestingly Moore says it decreases skin fx, no comment on

the lower urinary system, but, of course, increases renal.…? We could view something like this

in a five element perspective, but I think this might be too limiting.

 

Does any of this matter?

.. It just seems we could

take herbs to a new level if we understood these types of energetics. Do the

classics make mention of this type of decreasing fx? Just curious...

 

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