the school of yang

[Guest guest]

Arguably, the average american is yang xu, yin excess. 60% of Americans

are significantly overweight. The foods that supplement yin are rich in

our diet (beef, pork, milk) while those that supplement yang or warm

yang are missing from most diets (oysters, bull testicles, lamb, hot

spices). Some of you might be surprised to learn that most americans

still eat bland diets, but this is true (perhaps not in CA and the

southwest, but just about everywhere else; try asking for a sandwich in

Oregon without mayo and you will get a serious look of shock). Most

people are couch potatoes, preferring sedentary pursuits to vigorous

ones. Apparently, sex is fairly infrequent amongst married couples or

those in other forms of longterm relationships, as well. So people are

eating yin foods and living a yin lifestyle. Of course, many do

otherwise, but the point here is the majority and the majority of those

who are chronically ill. So it makes sense that most people would

present as yang xu, yin excess. Now I am not saying that people don't

get yin xu, here; they do. But it is also interesting how few people in

my career with either diabetes or menopause (classic yin xu diseases in

TCM) present with clearcut yin xu signs. In fact, most menopausal women

are overweight and have clearcut signs of cold mixed with heat. And

diabetics are often very qi and yang xu. Now I am also not ruling out

dampheat, which many of you know I also think is ubiquitous in chronic

illness. But to me, dampheat usually arises in my patients from qi and

yang xu which allows damp yin to accumulate and stagnate leading to

heat, but a yin fire, as Li dong yuan puts it. A yin fire of dampheat

dt yang xu is still yin excess in my opinion. Because of this, I

prescribe shu di huang less and less in my practice over the past 13

years and in the early days had quite a few mishaps with this herb.

This is meant to underscore my last few posts on kidney tonics and

growth hormone. Heiner Fruehauf used to tell me that zhang Zhong Jing

could be called the founder of the warm and warming school. He called

the SHL the book of cinnamon to underscore this. while the books has

heat clearing formulas in it, the majority of rx contain warming herbs,

like fu zi, gui zhi and xi xin.

 

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