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Dāng Guī: uses and virtues

Dāng Guī: uses and virtues

by | 2828,Mar, 2024 | Traditional chinese medicine

The “Ginseng of women”

Dāng Guī, or Radix angelicae sinensis, is a plant commonly used in Chinese pharmacopoeia. A highly versatile herb, it finds its strength in the treatment of women’s health problems, particularly deficiencies and blood stasis. Often referred to as “Woman’s Ginseng” for its indispensable contribution to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) gynecology, Dāng Guī literally translates as “state of return”. This reflects its ability to restore a state of health.

However, it benefits people of both sexes thanks to its various properties: warming, nourishing, moistening and invigorating. Chinese angelica is used for a wide range of conditions, including musculoskeletal, dermatological and digestive disorders.

Herbaceous plant of cool climates

Dāng Guī is a large, fragrant, herbaceous perennial grown in cool, humid climates at high altitude. It is found in the provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei in China, as well as in the mountainous regions of Korea and Japan.

The plant grows to around one metre in height. It has grooved purple stems, large bright green leaves and large flat clusters of small white flowers that bloom in summer. It is the roots that are used in Chinese pharmacopoeia. These are harvested in autumn, when the plant is three years old.

The roots are then carefully cleaned, dried, slowly smoked and cut into thin slices. The best quality roots seem to come from Gansu province, and are long, moist and fragrant.

Although the whole root is generally used, different parts of it are attributed to different functions: the head (Dāng Guī tou), the body: Dāng Guī shen, the tail: Dāng Guī wei.

Dāng Guī is prepared in a variety of ways, depending on the desired effect.

Chao Dāng Guī (dry-roasted) is warmer, drier and less invigorating to the blood, making it more suitable during pregnancy.

Jiu zhi Dāng Guī (wine-roasted) and cu zhi Dāng Guī (vinegar-roasted) have a stronger blood-toning action. Finally, charred Dāng Guī (tan Dāng Guī) is hotter and stops bleeding.

L'angélique chinoise, trésor de la mtc

Nourishes and tones the blood

Dāng Guī is one of the most popular Chinese herbs. For nourishing the blood, it is the main TCM medicine. Its sweet (tonifying) nature, tones the blood; its pungent, bitter nature drains and harmonizes the blood; its hot nature, nourishes the blood, dispels cold and penetrates the organs that store, generate and control blood (liver, spleen and heart).

Dāng Guī has a strong, sweet, earthy flavor with a bitter aftertaste. Its slightly pungent, warm aroma and taste, which attacks the tongue a little, is a reminder of its invigorating energy.

Dāng Guī is therefore included in prescriptions for blood deficiencies manifested by signs and symptoms such as pale complexion, dizziness, fatigue, dry skin, blurred vision, palpitations and tinnitus.

It is recommended in all cases of anemia.

  • Actions: invigorates the blood, tones the blood
  • Tropism: heart, liver, spleen
  • Taste: sour, bitter, sweet
  • Temperature: warm

Treats menstrual disorders

ginseng de la femme

As mentioned above, “women’s ginseng” plays a special role in women’s health, particularly in regulating menstrual disorders such as premenstrual syndrome, amenorrhea, and painful or irregular periods.

It is generally recommended for most gynecological conditions rooted in blood deficiency, particularly those associated with blood stasis and/or cold.

Dāng Guī is also often used to moisturize the intestines and relieve constipation due to dryness, which is a common consequence of blood deficiency.

Finally, it is a valuable medicine for many skin conditions (wounds and abscesses with swelling and slow-healing wounds).

The legend of Dāng Guī

la légende de dang gui, la plante du retour

According to Chinese legend, once upon a time, a young married couple lived happily ever after. One day, the husband was forced to leave their home to prove his strength and courage by going into the mountains to survive the dangers of the environment and collect medicinal herbs. When he left, he asked his wife to wait three years for his return. He said that if he didn’t return after that time, it meant he was no longer alive and she would have to find a new love.

Three years passed, and he didn’t return, so she found a new love and remarried. Shortly afterwards, the husband returned. His wife was heartbroken to have remarried. Her heartache weakened her condition, and she fell ill with sadness, no longer wanting to live.

When he learned of her condition, the man brought her some of the herbs he had found in the mountains during his absence. She ate them, hoping they would be poisonous, but the herbs did the opposite, and she regained her health. The herb was then named Dang (meaning “state of”) Gui (“return”).

This story illustrates the power of this plant’s medicinal properties, which are found in many Chinese pharmacopoeia preparations.

Causes of illness

Causes of illness

by | 2727,Nov, 2023 | Traditional chinese medicine

Internal and external causes

Chinese medicine is known as traditional medicine. Like all traditional medicine, it seeks, through its diagnosis, to identify the cause(s) of a pathology.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), health is the result of a healthy overall energy balance. Illness occurs when this balance is disrupted. TCM then focuses on re-establishing this balance.

Its diagnosis therefore focuses on the balance between organ health (yin) and organ function (yang). It also determines energy imbalances according to the theory of the five elements, each organ being linked to one of these five elements, or five energies.

TCM classifies the causes of illness into two main categories:

  • internal causes,
  • external causes.

    Internal causes

    One of the main factors of internal origin is our emotional state. Emotions and the way we experience them affect our organs. In this way, emotions experienced excessively, for too long, or on the contrary totally repressed, will cause energy imbalances over time.

    Here’s an overview of how each emotion, linked in TCM to an organ and an element, impacts our health.

    La colere cause interne de maladie
    • Excessive anger, frustration, and repressed anger can damage the liver by hindering the free flow of energy in the body. This stagnation of energy can cause pain, muscle tension, headaches, or digestive problems.
    • Hysteria, excitement, elation, and excessive laughter can cause an imbalance in the heart and disrupt sleep and even speech.
    • Obsessive thoughts, mental rumination, and excessive intellectual work can unbalance the energy of the spleen. This can lead to digestive problems, dizziness, a feeling of mental fogginess, fatigue upon waking even after a long night’s sleep, and, for women, menstrual disorders.
    • Sadness, regret, depression, and melancholy affect the lungs and the diffusion of energy throughout the body, which can result in spontaneous sweating, dyspnea, and a weak voice.
    • Fear, phobias, apprehension, and paranoia will damage the kidneys and can cause chronic low back pain, incontinence, night sweats, and sometimes tinnitus.

    We will not go into further detail here about the internal causes of disease in order to focus on the external causes, which are the five climatic energies. There are, of course, other factors that can trigger disease apart from internal and external causes.

    External causes

    Everyone has heard of the five elements (or five energies), but few know that this is a model or template that can be applied to several areas. Thus, in TCM, the external causes of disease are linked to abnormal climatic variations, which are then perceived as pathogenic factors. These are likely to invade the body and disrupt the Yin/Yang balance, thus generating a large number of diseases.

    These climatic anomalies, or climatic perversions, are classified according to the theory of the five elements into five climatic energies, each linked to an element according to the table below.

        • Wood: wind
        • Fire: heat wave
        • Earth: humidity
        • Metal: drought
        • Water: cold

    Wind

    Wind is a pathogenic factor in itself; it is Yang. It induces movement and causes other climatic phenomena. It spreads and displaces pathogenic elements.

    The wind we are referring to here is, of course, the climatic factor, not the internal wind, which is a concept specific to TCM and will not be discussed here.

    Femme avec parapluie renversé par le vent

    Heatwave

    Heatstroke is Yang in nature. It is extremely penetrating. It causes fire and also dryness. It penetrates the body following prolonged exposure to intense heat (sauna, sun). It causes sweating, agitation, thirst, and fatigue. When it penetrates deeply, it can cause urinary tract infections. Heat waves cause sunstroke or heatstroke.

    When this heat comes from the transformation of pathogenic factors that stagnate in the body, it turns into fire. Fire is an aggravation of internal heat.

    Dryness

    Dryness is Yang in nature and damages the blood, drying up bodily fluids and causing dehydration. It is caused either by a dry climate or by dehydrating phenomena (diarrhea, heavy sweating, repeated vomiting).

    If the lungs are affected, a dry cough will develop. If the intestines are affected, some form of constipation will appear.

    Cold

    External cold penetrates the body following prolonged exposure to cold, either by staying in cold places for long periods of time or by frequently eating cold foods.

    When there is a lot of cold, Yin becomes abundant, and too much Yin tends to harm Yang. When cold blocks the dynamism of Yang, it can no longer perform its functions of managing Qi and providing warmth, leading to the onset of illnesses characterized by a decrease in the body’s activity: reduced vitality, exhaustion, and sensitivity to cold.

    This can lead to joint pain, muscle aches, back stiffness, intestinal pain, and diarrhea. Other symptoms include lumbago and stomach flu.

    Humidity

    TCM considers Dampness to be heavy and sticky. It tends to sink or stick close to the ground, and is difficult to get rid of. We readily associate it with something improper or murky… fungi, molds and algae thrive in damp environments. It is on the basis of these particular characteristics of Humidity that TCM qualifies different states of the organism.

    Humidity is of the Yin type, and therefore injures the body’s Yang energy. It is caused by exposure to a humid climate. Humidity hinders movement, slowing everything down.

    It causes a feeling of heaviness, general fatigue, joint pain with swelling, the sensation of a crowded head, abdominal distension and loose stools.

    Humidity often affects the lower part of the body and the pelvis (leucorrhoea may appear). In extreme cases, moisture in the body is transformed into mucus, which can cause cysts, tumors or circulatory disorders (excess cholesterol in the blood). The spleen is also affected. Moisture damages the spleen, which is no longer able to perform its transformative function properly.

    Resisting climate perverts

    Of course, these climatic perversions do not affect individuals in the same way. An individual’s ability to resist these perversions depends on his or her capacity to resist, and therefore on the strength of his or her Zheng Qi. Zheng Qi can be translated as Straight Qi or Correct Qi.

    Zheng Qi is thus the synthesis of the vital Qi that ensure the proper functioning of the organs, Qi and Blood, as well as the Yin/Yang balance and harmony between the body and its environment.

    This is why the strength of Zheng Qi will determine whether or not an individual falls ill. The climatic perverse is merely the triggering factor.

    Fatigue according to the 5 elements

    In TCM, the 5-element theory is applied in various fields. It also applies to fatigue. Before we reach the point of exhaustion or “burn-out”, let’s take a look at our state in terms of the 5 energies.

    Wood-type fatigue

    Physical signs: excessive sighing, premenstrual syndrome, irregular periods, lump in the throat, tendon tension…

    Emotional state: irritable, moody, impatient, too many expectations of self, perceived as “aggressive” OR as a doormat.

    Causes: constant stress, feeling trapped, tight schedules, frustration, agitating environmental factors (too much noise, frequent disagreements, etc.).

    Fire-type fatigue

    Physical signs: restless sleep, memory loss, flushed feeling, spontaneous sweating, heart palpitations.

    Emotional state: controlling, feelings of rage, excessive vulnerability, significant lack of joy.

    Causes: lack of intimacy with self, prolonged exposure to other people’s negativity.

    Earth-type fatigue

    Physical signs: tiredness after meals, loose stools, bloating, lazy legs

    Emotional state: unmet needs, feeling misunderstood, longing for things other than those already acquired, jealousy.

    Causes: overthinking, sitting too long or too often, poor diet.

    Metal-type fatigue

    Physical signs: tired after long talks, shortness of breath, sweats easily, tired after exercise, feels cold, gets sick easily, chronic cough, prone to allergies, chronic fatigue, eczema.

    Emotional state: overly critical, hard on self or others, demanding precision/overly perfectionist, “unfair”, sense of loss and grief, quickly cuts ties, holds grudges.

    Causes: very frequent use of voice (e.g. teachers), untreated grief, hereditary factors, lower gastrointestinal problems.

    Water-type fatigue

    Physical signs: adrenal fatigue, hair loss, low back pain, cold limbs, low libido, erectile dysfunction, fertility problems, urinary frequency.

    Emotional state: difficulty staying still, “too tired”, restless, anxious, fearful, worried about money, overly tolerant of risk OR frozen in fear.

    Causes: prolonged periods of overwork, persistent anxiety/fear.

    Cupping therapy

    Cupping therapy

    by | 2424,Aug, 2023 | Traditional chinese medicine

    Relax and detoxify with cupping therapy

    Cupping therapy is an ancient technique adopted by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. Rediscovered and praised by Hippocrates, it was practiced by our grandmothers until the end of World War I, before the advent of antibiotics.

    Used in China as a healing method for thousands of years, this technique has evolved over time to become part of the arsenal used by Chinese doctors. Cupping therapy aims to balance the flow of vital energy (qi) in the body. Cupping is used to stimulate blood circulation, lymph, and energy in the body.

    The suction cup draws pathogenic factors such as wind, cold, and heat to the surface, thereby draining and eliminating them. This is what makes this technique effective for colds and bronchitis. By drawing blood to the surface, cupping also relieves pain associated with muscle tension or stiffness, as it releases the blood stasis that causes this pain.

    Formerly made of cow horn or bamboo, cupping cups are now most often made of glass, plastic, or plexiglass.

    How does the suction cup work?

    According to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), pain at an acupuncture point is a sign of dysfunction in the corresponding organ. Cupping is performed on the skin at acupuncture points along the meridians, specifically at points that are painful.

    Applying one or more cupping glasses releases blockages in the organ, helping to relax and relieve congestion.

    The vacuum under the glass cup is created by burning oxygen with a flame, or in more modern versions, using a manual pump on plastic cups. The cups can be fixed on the body’s tension points, or moved around as a massage tool on oiled skin.

    Some patients like to receive cupping treatment once a week as a preventive measure.

    In cases of stress, joint or muscle pain, upon waking, before sleeping, before physical exertion, or after intense exercise, cupping will always be useful for providing relief and making our patients’ days more comfortable.

    Cupping causes blood to rise to the surface, which is generally a sign of many impurities. The bruise will be visible for 2 to 4 days. As the sessions progress, the bruise will fade.

    Cupping is an effective aid, complementing ongoing treatment, such as acupuncture. In cases of acute pain or crisis, it can be used more regularly.

    The different cupping techniques

    The techniques used for cupping vary depending on the suction method, suction power, area treated, other materials used with the cups, etc. The techniques include:

    • Dry cupping:
      A vacuum is created inside the cups using fire or a manual pump. Dry cupping is also known as static cupping.
    • Mobile (massage):
      Oil is applied to the skin and the cups are moved with low suction. Massage cups are also called dynamic cups, sliding cups, and mobile cups.
      Flash (or empty cups):
      The cups are applied for a short period of time, less than 30 seconds at a time. This is also known as empty cupping.
    • Wet:
      The skin is lightly pierced before applying the cups. This method is also known as blood cupping.
    • Herbal:
      The practitioner boils a herbal solution, dips bamboo cups into it, and applies the slightly cooled cups to the skin.

    It should be noted that techniques are evolving towards magnetic or electrical systems. As far as we are concerned, we are keen to maintain traditional techniques.

    The benefits of cupping

    In general, the influx of blood to the area where the cup is placed will drain toxins. The suction effect activates blood circulation where the cup is placed.

    This localized congestion reduces pain, releases blockages, accelerates the recovery of tired muscles, and improves tissue repair.

    Cupping therapy is known to relieve discomfort and improve quality of life. The following conditions may improve with this technique:

    • Low back pain. Cupping helps reduce pain and improve function in people with acute and chronic low back pain.
    • Fibromyalgia. Cupping therapy, alone or with acupuncture, helps relieve pain in patients with fibromyalgia.
        • Chronic neck pain. Cupping therapy helps relax the neck muscles and make them more flexible.
        • Heavy menstrual bleeding. Dry cupping helps reduce the amount of menstrual blood flow in women with menorrhagia.

        Cupping therapy also shows improvements in:

        •  digestive problems,
        • lung and respiratory tract diseases, including bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia,
        • high blood pressure,
        • cellulite,
        • tendinitis,
        • sprains,
        • cramps,
        • sports recovery,
        • stress,
        • sleep disorders,
        • skin problems.

        A cupping session