This week I will look
at one of the most important herbs used to fortify the Qi. This herb is known
as Ginseng. Asian Ginseng is without a doubt the most highly studied medicinal
plant in the world. Since the turn of the century, more than 3,000 articles
about scientific research on Ginseng or its constituents have appeared.
To continue our journey into the
Chinese medical world view, I’ll now try to explain constitutional medicine and
how the use of Ginseng fits into it. A person’s constitution is much like the
constitution of a nation, the basic rules by which a country makes its laws and
runs its affairs. Different nations have different ground rules, as do
different individuals. No two individuals have an identical constitution, but
they fall into certain categories of Chinese medicine. One individual is
naturally robust while another is frail. One is hot-blooded, and another always
has cold hands and feet. One puts on weight with the slightest dietary indiscretion,
and another cannot put on weight, no matter what they eat. Western medicine
mostly ignores such considerations, but they are perhaps the most important
considerations in Chinese medicine.
To understand the significance of
this, let’s look at two fictional characters, the businessman and the
grandmother. Each has an ulcer. The businessman is angry, red-faced, robust,
aggressive and hard driven. He is hot, kicks off the covers at night and likes
cold drinks. The grandmother, on the other hand, is frail and thin. Her face is
pale, her voice soft. She is weak and tired. She has cold hands and feet, wears
extra layers of clothes and likes warm drinks. She is more fearful than angry.
Western medicine would treat both of
these patients with very similar drugs, such as those to reduce stomach acid. A
Chinese trained practitioner, however, would give them entirely different
treatments for the ulcers.
The businessman would receive herbs
to reduce the stress and heat in his system, cooling herbs with a bitter
flavour to “cool” his digestive tract. The grandmother would receive treatments
to warm her up and increase her strength. She might get tonic herbs like
Ginseng, while the businessman would not. In fact, tonic therapy could make the
businessman’s symptoms worse.
The most important guide for the use
of Ginseng and other tonic herbs is the “excess versus deficiency” polarity.
Note that “deficiency” in Chinese terms is not like “calcium deficiency” in
Western terms; the Chinese term is more like “emptiness.” In the case of the
businessman, he has an excess constitution and the grandmother a deficient one.
Ginseng and tonics are contraindicated in the excess conditions, which might be
worsened by taking these herbs. Ginseng and other tonics, on the other hand, are
ideal treatment for deficiency patterns.
The knowledge of Asian Ginseng and
how to use it is common in China. Ginseng is used specifically for conditions
of weakness and low energy - especially by those over 40 years old - and to aid
recovery after fever and illness. It might also be used as a general tonic for
older people even when they are in good health, especially in the winter months
(in summer months it may be too warming). The Chinese may also use Ginseng to
enhance spiritual pursuits and meditation. It has been known to “increase
wisdom” since before the time of the earliest Chinese texts.
Next week I’ll continue with the
story of Ginseng and other tonic herbs.
David Foley
MRCHM, MNIMH
Medical Herbalist
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