Guest guest Posted August 6, 2001 Report Share Posted August 6, 2001 Speaking from a physiological perspective (as opposed to an examination of what happens to people when they take acidophilus), since gut bugs play a vital role in the transformation and absorption of food, I consider them most closely allied to a function of spleen and stomach Qi - particularly the transformative function of spleen Qi/Yang, since these flora WORK for us. Gradual supplementation with gut bugs seems to build digestive strength (i.e. spleen/stomach Qi). Taken apart from a dairy culture (such as in enteric coated capsules), I also have a hard time seeing acidophilus as moistening / Yin tonic. Especially since I've seen diarrhea clear up with acidophilus (again, I think by building the spleen's transformative faculties to process dampness). One thing I've heard a number of patients report is digestive upset / pain with acidophilus supplementation - especially if they didn't ramp up gradually. Could this be considered a case of Qi stagnation similar to what results from ingestion of rich tonics? Maybe Mu xiang in combination would prevent this side effect. I've gotten into the habit of prescribing acidophilus when I give patients large doses of yellow herbs. Whether we consider it a function of these herbs' cold nature injuring spleen Qi (i.e. gut bugs) or a function of their antibiotic berberine killing gut bugs, maybe it's a reasonable explanation for the loose stools I've come to expect from Huang lian. It's hard for me to consider what the nature of acidophilus could be (again, apart from the culturing medium). Partly because, unlike any herb I know of, these organisms can be considered both from the perspective of an exogenous medicinal and also as a living entity that essentially becomes us. If it is a spleen tonic, I would expect it to be neutral or even warm. But then as an entity in the body, does it still possess a nature? Why are gut bugs so susceptible to Cold? Peter ============================== Peter L. Borten, L.Ac. 4004 SW Kelly Avenue, Ste 201 Portland, Oregon 97201 503.522.2613 http://www.whiteflowerhealing.com/ ============================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2001 Report Share Posted August 8, 2001 Peter Borten [innergate] Monday, August 06, 2001 1:52 AM Re: acidophilus......... I've gotten into the habit of prescribing acidophilus when I give patients large doses of yellow herbs. Does this prevent the diarrhea (you refer to) coming from i.e. the huang lian? -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2001 Report Share Posted August 8, 2001 Jason, in my experience the antibiotic action of the yellows can often neutralize the effects of friendly flora, so I usually prescribe the flora supplementation after the yellow herb course of treatment instead of concurrently.. Eti >"" > > >RE: Re: acidophilus......... >Wed, 8 Aug 2001 19:48:40 -0700 > > > > >Peter Borten [innergate] >Monday, August 06, 2001 1:52 AM > > Re: acidophilus......... > > >I've gotten into the habit of prescribing acidophilus when I give patients >large doses of yellow herbs. > > >Does this prevent the diarrhea (you refer to) coming from i.e. the huang >lian? > >-Jason > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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