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Nourishing the Center Spleen & Stomach. Between Heaven and Earth. The View of Chinese Medicine.
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Nourishing the CenterSpleen & Stomach Between Heaven and Earth
The View of Chinese Medicine • Over 2000 years ago the Chinese view of health was described in Su Wen, chapters 1 and 2, The Way of Heaven. That view was to live life in a way that protects the movement of life and to nourish the qi, the breaths, without harm. • Each human being can choose to live in harmony with Heaven and Earth, in tune with the natural cycles and life phases. This is how to live in an authentic Way. • The Chinese saw the crucial relationship between life style and health and the superiority of preventive medicine through avoiding disorder before it arises. (quote) • Thus its intention and purpose was to avoid an empty harvest, concerned most importantly with the fertility and longevity of human life on earth. • One’s lifestyle, individual healthcare and the broader field of planetary health were perceived as interdependent. Because we are an integral part of nature, we cannot continue to exploit nature without damaging or destroying ourselves. Personal and planetary responsibility become the same. • There are striking similarities in the ancient descriptions of natural disasters that occur when the Way of Heaven is lost and the ecological problems we face today. • One of the key imbalances is our preoccupation with “the measure” of time and thus ignoring our natural cycles. Eating and drinking had their limit, Activity and rest had their norm, Not exhausting themselves thoughtlessly, Body and spirit held together, Having reached the natural span, They departed at 100 years of age. Credit: Peter Firebrace and Monkey Press for this information.
How To Live Authentically • One approach is to step out of mechanical time into body time for optimal health. • The Chinese consideration of time starts with a perception of different qualities. • Faced with this initial, spontaneous life movement, they marked its indicators and divisions to better represent it to the mind (the senses and body). Thus time is born. • Here too, there must not be confusion between the measure and what is measured, between the time and what matters much more than “time”, the qi, the breaths of life. • It matters little if we waste our time, whereas it matters greatly if we are ‘out of qi’. • The 12 astronomical months are correlated with a division of the year into 24 fixed periods. This division does not depend on the lunar months but on the solstices, equinoxes and the beginnings of the 4 seasons. • The exact number of days in the year is of little importance to the study of the quality of the qi. The measurement of these was long ago established by Chinese astronomy. Credit: “The Way of Heaven”, Su Wen chapters 1 & 2, Monkey Press. Translated by Claude Larre and Peter Firebrace.
24 Periods of the Seasons • The first step to live an authentic lifestyle is to reconnect fully to the movement of the seasons, what time is actually measuring, our connection to Heaven and Earth. • This means one can choose to step out of mechanical time into body time. Pay attention to the moments when you ignore your body and what it communicates. • We’ve become a top > down animal versus a bottom > up animal. Thus we ignore the wisdom of our own bodies, and the body of nature. • There are 24 periods of qi transformation in the cycle of the seasons. Six, 15 day periods for each season which is 3 lunar months long. • This movement of life through the seasons also takes place at every level of the human beingthrough resonance. By understanding the proper qualities of qi of each of the 4 seasons, we can become aware in our body and mind of the changes and transformations of qi. • Thus we each can learn what the appropriate conduct is for each season: how to maintain one’s life through the changing times and how to assist the spirits in leading our life, not against, but in harmony with the proper qualities of the qi of each of the 4 seasons. • This is preventative medicine. One can see this in the flow of a single day. When you first arise is the movement of spring. Mid-day, one progresses to summer, full development. Late afternoon is late summer, harvest time. Evening is autumn, the movement of life contracting, quietude. The sleep, the time of winter, for restoring and renewal. They did not overwhelm their body with physical affairs. On the interior, They did not distress themselves with worries. Serene Contentment Was what they sought. They worked on Being in full possession of themselves. Their body in perfect condition, They retained their essences and spirits. Thus it was possible for them to reach 100 years of age.
24 Periods of Qi“Season the spirits” • 4th Feb Beginning of Spring • 20th Feb Rain Water • 5th March Awakening of Insects • 20th March Spring Equinox • 5th April Pure Light • 20th April Cereal Rain • 6th May Beginning of Summer • 21st May Grain Fills • 6th June Grain in Ear • 21st June Summer Solstice • 7th July Slight Heat • 23rd July Great Heat • 8th Aug Beginning of Autumn • 23rd Aug End of Summer Heat • 7th Sept White Dew • 23rd Sept Autumn Equinox • 8th Oct Cold Dew • 23rd Oct White Frost • 7th Nov Beginning of Winter • 22nd Nov Slight Snow • 7th Dec Great Snow • 22nd Dec Winter Solstice • 6th Jan Slight Cold • 21st Jan Great Cold
Spring • The sun, which is in the constellation House Construction, sets the cycle in motion. The first month bursts out with the opening of buds. Above, the presidency passes to the emperor Increasing Light, helped by his assistant Vegetable Growth. Music expresses the note jue, which causes the tai zu tube to resonate. This is the subtle notation of the virtue in Heaven and on Earth, the catching hold of life. It vibrates in every fibre and the stimulation is communicated to all under Heaven. The number 8 evokes the winds and 8 is the number of Spring. Numbers are one of the most powerful and mysterious aspects of Chinese thought. The 8 winds represent wind itself, which is in keeping with spring. The taste is acid, like sap, and the smell that of sheep’s grease. • The first month of spring covers the two periods: Beginning Spring and Rain Water. The beginning is the inaugural establishment of spring and is followed by a period of opening, in which Heaven, where clouds filled with water vapour have accumulated, releases this life power and the rain falls. • In the second month, the virtue of spring becomes more marked. With the Awakening of Insects, the peach tree slowly comes into blossom and the oriole begins to sing. The sparrowhawk is transformed into a more fortunate bird, the wood pigeon, symbol of love and life. Swallows usher in the spring and thoughts turn to fertile unions. The voice of thunder is heard and through the Spring Equinox, the yang makes its victorious rise more visible. Celebrations are in the making and everyone is excited, pushed on with a slight feverishness. • The third month is that of Pure Light and Cereal Rain. At this time of life renewal, the dead must be considered because the harvest depends on Heaven, home of the glorious ancestral souls…….One also does not want to thwart the natural upsurge of life by leaving hungry and unhappy souls wandering……This third month is the month of Cereal Rain, in which the cereals have grown and call for a second shower of benedictions coming from Heaven. All of the above information is contained in the Li ji, the Book of Rites, (chapter yue ling, Monthly Commands. From Peter Firebrace, Su Wen Chapters 1 & 2, The Way of Heaven, Monkey Press.
What does the Spleen do in CM? • The spleen and stomach are in charge of storehouses and granaries. The 5 tastes stem from Stomach and Spleen. Two viscera linked together in order to share the same charge. • They both have a double movement: to receive and then to send to a good place at the right time. All the other viscera have one function as it were. • Collection for distribution is what we call the 5 tastes or flavors, the “wei”. • Spleen and Stomach make up the middle heater, represent, the junction of Heaven and Earth in humans and command the movements of raising and lowering. • The spleen is the zang (those organs that store essences) most directed towards the fu (hollow organs) since it is thru the spleen that everything drawn from food must pass before circulating in the body. • The stomach is the “Sea of Liquids and Cereals”. It is a sea for everything that is absolutely essential for the continuation of life. One name for the stomach is “big storehouse”. • The Spleen fears dampness because it is rooted in soil and dampness, and for that reason likes dryness, although not too dry. The Stomach fears dryness because of its own nature, Stomach needs humidity, dampness and liquids in order to make its fermentation, maceration and transformation.
Chinese View of Spleen • The 5 tastes represent the totality of life. It is the totality and diversity of everything that will reconstitute my life. • It’s important to understand the view of taste in Chinese medicine. The five tastes are resonances: sourenters the liver, sweet enters the spleen, acrid enters the lung, salt enters the kidney, bitter enters the heart. • The Chinese saw taste on two levels: the external or outer impression that takes place in the mouth and the more important, intimate effect of that impression that comes from its subtle basis. • This internal effect is a subtle movement inside our own life-motion. • The sweet taste is expressed by a Chinese ideogram which is simply a picture of a hand and a mouth. Thus the etymological explanation of sweet is any kind of thing which can be held in the mouth and gives satisfaction. Sweet is the taste which is able to sum up all the other Tastes. • The effect of the sweet taste inside our body, not the superficial impression, is to recollect, because to recollect is to make things come to the Centre. This is how the taste is working inside us, not the feeling you get. Sweet is soothing and centering. • Sweet gives strength to the 4 limbs and muscles. It is the basis for purpose, intention and all activity. • The mouth is the orifice of the spleen. • The spleen stores actively the essences from the food. Food is broken up by work of middle heater, stomach and spleen, in ripening and rottening. The 5 tastes are transformed into the “jing wei”. • Jing is essences and wei indicates something which is very fine and subtle, so refined that it has a great power of penetration. Then further separation occurs in the jing wei, by the spleen, and expressed in the form of the 5 tastes sustains the health of the other organs.
Spleen and Ying • Spleen is “the dwelling place of nutrition”, the ying, the vitality. Ying has the meaning of building and rebuilding: renewing the constitution and structure: maintaining the shape of the body and nourishing all the elements. • The Spleen is for the elevation of the clear and pure, the fu (hollow organs) are for the descending of the unclear. The Spleen, its mastership is defense. • Ying qi is ready to use right now, everything is prepared and everything is ready for assimilation. Whereas nutritive Breaths are not prepared but can be used later for nourishment and nutrition. • The Spleen is also like a storehouse and granary for the body, especially for the liver, kidneys, lung, heart and tan zhong. It distributes the nutritive influx and benefits itself and other organs by way of the 5 Tastes. Thus it distributes the 5 Tastes to the appropriate organs. • The Spleen is entrusted with 18 days in each season , it does not command a single season as the other organs do. The Spleen ensures a good passage from one quality of Breaths to another quality of Breaths, from one season to another and one zang to another. By itself, Spleen has no ability to master one season, its particular virtue is to master the time of passages and transmissions. For this reason, the Spleen masters 18 days in each season, and these days are between two seasons.
What injures the Spleen? • Overactive, he strains his heart, Going against the joy of life, Starting and stopping without moderation, Half-way to 100 years, he declines. • Obsessive thought injures the Spleen. Churning something over and over turning into worries and concerns without distribution; there is no giving of form. • Dampness injures the flesh, provoking a kind of loosening in the flesh. A flaccidity, and there is no longer any transformation, movement and circulation. • Excessive sweet taste injures the flesh by creating a flaccidity. The acid taste or sour taste balances out sweet. • As soon as there is irregular intake of food and drink or overexertion of any kind, the spleen qi will be harmed. As soon as the spleen and stomach suffer damage, food and drink stagnate and do not transform: the mouth loses its ability to distinguish flavors. • If one forces oneself to eat when not hungry, the spleen will suffer. If one forces oneself to drink when not thirsty, the stomach will bloat. If one eats beyond capacity, the stomach region will be jammed and shut off.
Stomach • The stomach is the great granary, the great storehouse. The five orifices of the Stomach are the great and small doors of villages and hamlets. • This is a very strange formulation. The meaning is that the Stomach has 5 orifices which are under its responsibility- the pharynx, the cardia, the pyloric sphincter, the ileo-cecal valve and the anus. • This is important because we see from this that the mastership of the Stomach extends from the pharynx, the first entry point of food, to the anus, the exit point of food. Thus the health of the stomach influences the entire digestive tract. • “From the stomach, the immaterial flavors contained in the food penetrate the spleen, transforming them into the jing wei, then transported to the five organs, whereas the material components enter the small intestine where they are further transformed. When they reach the lower opening of the small intestine, the first stage of the process of separating clear and murky materials occurs. Murky materials are the waste, to be passed on to the large intestine. The clear materials are the source of all bodily fluids; they enter the bladder which is called the store house of fluids. In the bladder, once again a separation of pure and murky materials takes place. The murky debris goes into the urine to be excreted, while the clear material enters the gallbladder. The GB, finally, guides this purified fluid essence to the spleen, which dispenses it to the 5 organ networks.”
Oriental Medicine and Weak Digestive Fire • Black Pepper: Hu Jiao, warms the middle heater, warms the spleen, and supports digestion. Especially with stomach cold. Research states it increases bio-availability of nutrients. Piper Nigrum is botanical name. Extracts are made called Piperinewhich inhibits drug metabolism. • All the Cardamoms help to transform damp in the digestive system. They are known as “aromatic transform damp” herbs. Sha Ren, “grains of paradise fruit”, is the gentlest for alleviating stagnation of food. Bai Dou Kou, known as ‘white cardamom’, is another one good for intestinal gas. These are aromatic herbs that penetrate the spleen and awaken it’s function. Used as culinary herbs, they promote assimilation. Used especially when there is cold diarrhea, nausea, belching due to cold and damp. Not used with hot type dysenteric infection as a general rule. The cardamoms contain the aromatic borneol that has an analgesic and stimulant action. • Fresh Ginger warms digestion and helps harmonize stomach. • Simple food based tea for upset stomach and diarrhea: mix 1 teaspoon of kudzu (Ge Gen clears Stomach heat) with one cup of water before heating, add 2 slices of ginger. Add ¼ teaspoon of umeboshi plum paste (mume, Wu Mei) . Stir well. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add a drop or two of tamari. Allow to cool some and sip warm. Excellent to sooth and settle stomach and intestinal system.
MediHerb for the Center • HerbaVital: Japanese Knot Weed: source of resveratol. In modern Chinese usage of the herb it is regarded as an anti-spirochete, anti-viral and bacterial, clear heat and toxin, king herb for BPH, vitalizes the blood, immune enhancing activity, cool the blood, dries damp and treats microcirculation disorders. Korean Ginseng, Milk Thistle, Masson Pine Bark, Ginkgo Leaf, Calcium. • Ganoderma and Shitake can be combined with Standard Process’s Epimune Complex: immune system support. Source of Maitake Mushroom and Coriolus (Yun Zhi). • Astragalus Complex: Astragalus, Echinacea and Eleuthero (Wu Jia Shen). • Astragalus 1:2: single herbal extract. 5mls = 2.5 grams of raw herb. • Echinacea Premium: Support immune system. • Eleuthero Tablets: tonifies spleen and kidney chi, adaptogen for stress, and promotes healthy sleep.
Western Spleen • The spleen is the largest organ of the lymphatic system. Key components also include tonsils, thymus gland, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels and some regard the appendix as the lower tonsils, thus a part of the lymphatic system. Liver produces 40% or more of lymph. • Spleen plays a significant role in the body’s defense system, as a reservoir for huge numbers of immune cells called monocytes (the largest of the body’s WBCs) and that in the event of a serious trauma to the body like a heart attack, gashing wound or microbial invasion, the spleen will disgorge those multitudes into the bloodstream to tackle the crisis. New York Times, August 2009. • The spleen is like an elaborate wetlands, a Mississippi bayou for filtering and freshening the blood. In other organs, blood flows through an interconnected mesh of increasingly narrow arteries, veins and capillaries.
Western Spleen • The spleen, by contrast, has a so-called non-capillary circulatory system: as the blood flows in, it is dumped into puddle-like sinusoids, and to get back out it must squeeze between cells. That dumping and squeezing help filter out blood-borne parasites, aging blood cells too brittle for compression and the little oxidized pellets, the BB’s, with which red blood cells are often pocked. • It is more than a graveyard for red blood cells. It is more of a recycling center, for the iron and other components are plucked out of the cells and used to stock new hemoglobin cages. • In injury, monocytes remove dead muscle cells, start rebuilding stable scar tissue, stimulate generation of new blood vessels. • Hail to the chief, hail to the queen and hail to the monocytes residing in my spleen.
Dr. Lee & Basics of Spleen PMG • Spleen PMG is the universal PMG. • Promotes anti-body formation • Calcium metabolizer • Control of natural tissue antibodies and repair • Controls defense mechanism • Promotes local nutritional environment of cells • Specific cell determinant factors. Specific cell activator.The PMG is the blue print for proper cellular function unfolding and thus repair of tissue. • We find Pituitrophin PMG is a very effective prophylaxis (nervous stress influence on pituitary which disrupts hormonic balance and healing rate) which basically controls the release, distribution and function of the sex hormones. The synergist for the pituitary in this action is the spleen, the organ we believe, which controls the integrity of the antibodies. • Combined with synergists Thymex (aids phagocytosis) and Cataplex ACP (Epithelial-Connective Tissue Factors). • Spleen PMG and endometriosis.
Dr. Royal Lee Support the Bodies Recovery with Spleen PMG • Allergic reactions: hives, canker sores, cold blisters. • Edema: transient variety, compensatory type involving blood volume. • Blood Dyscrasias: anemia, polycythemia, lymphocytosis, leukopenia. • Demineralization: hyper irritability most common finding. • Lowered Resistance: susceptibility to infection, boils, chronic mononucleosis. • Control of Natural Tissue Antibodies: Spleen PMG used with Pituitrophin PMG for digestive disharmonies like colitis, ulcerative colitis, immune insufficiency, increased or decreased red blood values, and increased or decreased serum iron. PMGs always given with indicated essential foods.
Dr. Royal Lee Support the Bodies Recovery with Spleen PMG • Lymph node swelling. • Parathyroid dysfunction. • Long term infections, unresponsive to therapy, may be residing in the spleen. • Anemia, anti-pyemic effect, good in lingering colds, bursitis, recurrent febrile diseases. • Leukopenia, phlebitis, pneumonia, pruritus, psoriasis, reactions to milk and dairy products (with Thymus PMG), elevation of sedimentation rate, shock, sterility, tonsillitis, X-Ray burns, hyper-Thymus to normalize function, MS.
Ulcerative Colitis • Rebalance the gut utilizing MediHerb’s Gut Flora protocol for 8 to 12 weeks, up to a full year, possibly longer. Take 2 Gut Flora Complex capsules, 3 times per day starting Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. In extreme cases, use Garlic 5000, 2 tablets, twice daily. Repeat protocol 1x every two years. Combine with SP’s 21 day purification program. At the end of 8-12 weeks, consider Golden Seal 500 500mg, 1 TID to restore intestinal lining. • On Weekdays: take Slippery Elm powder (1 teaspoon TID, ) or a suitable prebiotic three times per day with Vitanox (source of tannins) tablets @ 1 tablet 3 times per day. • Low sulphur diet: avoid eggs, onions, cheese, cruciferous vegetables, milk, ice cream, mayonnaise, soy milk, mineral water and sulphated drinks like wine. Avoid dried fruit that has been treated with sulphur. Dairy free and yeast free diet. Follow diet for 12 months, perhaps longer. • Include a high intake of soluble fiber to encourage SCFA production. SP’s Whole Food Fiber contains soluble and insoluble fiber. Increasing SCFA production can help to counter over production of hydrogen sulfide which is toxic to intestinal mucosa. • Standard Process: Prosynbiotic is a source of evidence-based strains, healthy flora. • Consider Lactic Acid Yeast Wafers for over growth of yeast.
Ulcerative Colitis • Boswellia Complex: 1-2 tablets, 3-4x per day with fat containing meals. • Spleen PMG: 3 tablets chewed before bed. Begin with one tablet first week and increase to 3 tablets. • Pituitrophin PMG: Use step ladder dosage till level of relief is obtained. 1-6 before bed, chewed. Balances endocrine system. • Okra Pepsin E3: should be given at a rate of one each half hour for the first 1-2 days. It does have a small amount of lactose in it. • Chlorophyll Perles: 4 perles, 3 times per day. • Consider using Cal-Ma Plus as a source of parathyroid. 3-6 tablets per day. Harrower used spleen and parathyroid to support the body’s balance with all ulcerations. • Check pH of colon: if alkaline, use Zymex or Lactic Acid Yeast wafers. If acid, use Calcium Lactate or Calcifood, Pancreatrophin PMG, and Organic Bound Minerals to restore balance. • Rule out parasites, viruses, bacterial infections. • Consider fecal transplant from a healthy donor to restore the micro-biome. Consult your Gastroenterologist for this procedure.
Nutritional Deficiencies and Inflamed Stomach Mucosa • Gastrex: one every hour for acute. • Okra Pepsin E3, acute gastritis, take 1 capsule every 30 minutes • AC Carbamide for inflammation anywhere along the digestive tract. “While Carbamide is neutral in itself, it can release ammonia for neutralizing acids..” Acidosis. Also quiets the mind if waking in the middle of the night. • Chlorophyll Perles • For Gastric Hyperacidity: Phosfood • Pituitrophin PMG and Spleen PMG: regulatory effect in digestive disturbances and promotes healing. Delayed healing. • Pancreatrophin PMG: supports healing reactions. • Cal-Ma Plus plus Spleen Desiccate and or Spleen PMG for ulceration anywhere along the digestive tract plus Pituitrophin PMG. • Cataplex E2: indigestion symptoms due to nervous tension, cramps, spasms. Specifically when upon palpation of the abdomen, there is abdominal and muscular tension. Hyper irritability and tonicity are indicators. • Cataplex G: enzymatic anti-spasmodic. • Zymex: intestinal detoxicant • Cholocol II: Anti-bacterial action and toxin adsorbent • Detoxify intestinal system and liver-gall bladder. LivaPlex and LivCo considered. 21 day purification etc.
Harrower, Spleen and Epithelium • Harrower used his Para-Spleen and cured extensive alimentary ulceration of maximum degree, visible in the mouth and sigmoid and apparently involving the entire tract. • Para-Spleen has been used successfully in many thousands of cases of ulceration of almost every description. It has been of service in a great many cases of…….tetany, and leg ulcer…..gastric ulcer….sprue (a chronic form of malabsorption syndrome, occurring in both tropical and nontropical forms)….chronic otitis media, ulcers of the sinuses. Treatment for 3 months. Hypocalcemia is especially common in persons who have a long standing chronic ulceration.
Harrower and the Spleen • Action on intestinal peristalsis as well as on the metabolism of iron. • Immunity and resistance to infection. • “Peristaltic hormone” for both acute and chronic conditions i.e. obstipation (intestinal obstruction or severe constipation) and intestinal paresis (slight or partial paralysis). Same effect can be obtained from posterior pituitary. • The relationship of the spleen and parathyroids. Spleen used to supplement parathyroid therapy where indicated, and of parathyroid to enhance the value of spleen extract. • Spleen therapy to improve the treatment of TB. Bone and joint tuberculosis. Charles Bayle used “splenic organotherapy” in chronic infections like tuberculosis. Part of the action of spleen in TB may be to promote the utilization of lime since “lime starvation” is part of the picture in TB patients. Combined with appropriate adrenal therapy. Japanese demonstrated that the spleen accelerates antibody formation. Practical Endocrinology, pg. 625
Harrower and the Spleen • Spleen has a reticulo-endothelial (part of the immune system) stimulating effect, thus spleen therapy is a rational therapy in chronic infections and low resistance. • Positive therapy for dermatoses, eczema, hives, urticaria. Treatment of dermatoses and other allergic states associated with eosinophilia. “To state that hives will disappear in 15 minutes, the the itching and oozing of an eczema will cease in half an hour, and that an eczematous lesion regardless of its degree of lichenification, will vanish in a few days, as the result of hypodermic injection, seems preposterous, yet such has been the writer’s experience in a series of sixty-one cases.” taken from Harrower, An Endocrine Handbook.
Harrower and Bone Dystrophies • Fragilitas Ossium: My story of a little girl, between 4 and 5 years old, who had had seventeen fractures at various times and in various places. I recommended Para-Spleen and the usual remineralizing procedure. After several months, the mother brought the child to me with the report that she had had no more fractures. • Harrower sites Charles Bayle: “…Spleen to maintain, by means of an internal secretion, the principal mineral elements of the blood in a colloidal state”, thus protecting homeostasis of minerals and preventing demineralization. It appears that the spleen is likewise concerned in calcium metabolism. Spleen opposes calcium loss. • Parathyroid and Spleen for delayed union of fractures. Treatment protocol was Para-Spleen. In addition, from 7.5 to 10 grams of calcium lactate is given t.i.d. • Wheeldon….reports on the use of spleen extract in 45 cases of fracture with non-union in which there were only 3 failures. “An Endocrine Handbook”, page 108.
Bone Health • Cataplex D and Cataplex C or Echinacea C. • Chlorophyll Perles and/or Cruciferous Complete, SP Green Food. • Calcifood Wafers • Spleen PMG and Spleen Desiccated appear to fix minerals in the blood. • Bone broths as source of gelatin and amino acids. • Eat protein rare when possible, with the exception of chicken. Avoid over cooked protein. • MediHerb: Bone Complex, source of phytoestrogens. • For non-responders to iso-flavones: Follow the Gut-Flora protocol to repair the gut to optimize phytoestrogen utilization. Then consider MediHerb’s ‘Bone Complex’ as a excellent source of iso-flavones.
Vitamin A, D3 and K2 • We now know that vitamins A and D cooperate together to regulate the production of certain vitamin K-dependent proteins. Once vitamin K activates these proteins they help mineralize bones, and teeth, support adequate growth, and protect arteries and other soft tissues from abnormal calcification, and protect against cell death. • Two Vitamin K-dependent proteins are ‘Matrix Gla Protein’ and Osteocalcin. Research shows that Vitamin A and D support the creation of these two proteins. MGP may help with deposition of minerals. Osteocalcin secreted by osteoblasts (bone builders) in response to Vitamin A and D may govern organization of minerals. Vitamin K2 activates these proteins by adding carbon dioxide to them. The synergistic action of the fat-soluble trio depends on support from other nutrients like magnesium, zinc, fat, and carbohydrate as well as CO2 and thyroid hormone. From: “Nutritional Adjuncts to the Fat-Soluble Vitamins”, by Dr. Masterjohn, Wise Traditions, Winter 2012.
Vitamins A, D and K2 cont. • Fermented foods and grass-fed animal fats are the best sources of vitamin K2: natto, sauerkraut, goose liver pate, eggs, hard and soft cheeses, have substantial amounts of vitamin K2. These foods contain a wide array of nutrients that may act synergistically with vitamin K2. Weston Price’s vitamin rich-butter and butter oil concentrate provided Vitamin A, E, D, conjugated linoleic acid and other nutrients. Chris Masterjohn: On the Trail of the Elusive X-Factor: A Sixty-Two-Year-Old Mystery Finally Solved. • The interdependence of vitamins and minerals for optimal health and assimilation is critical. It’s clearly time to move beyond viewing each vitamin in isolation. The fat-soluble vitamins not only synergize with each other, but cooperate with many other nutrients and metabolic factors. • At the level of scientific research, a study about one vitamin can easily come to false conclusions unless it takes into account its interactions with all the others. • At the level of personal health, these interactions emphasize the need to consume a well-rounded, nutrient-dense diet. • From: “Nutritional Adjuncts to the Fat-Soluble Vitamins”, by Dr. Masterjohn, Wise Traditions, Winter 2012.
Royal Lee and Vitamin A, D, and K2 and the Synergy of Vitamins • Dr. Lee: “milligram for milligram, natural vitamin complexes are more potent than synthetic.” This was born out from his clinical results. Thus he used Catalyn as the foundation for all his targeted food therapies. • Royal Lee’s writing in 1940 described the vitamin C complex, at the time, as containing “ascorbic acid, unknown plant synergists, Vitamin P (reducing capillary permeability, known today as the flavonoids), Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2 and Vitamin J (unidentified anti-pneumonia fraction)”. Volume 8 and 9 from Vitamin News. • December 1948, Dr. Lee wrote in Vitamin News: Vitamin K is an integral part of the C complex, found associated with it in most green plant sources, but has the solubility of chlorophyll, so is removed in concentration as a member of the chlorophyll complex i.e. a source of fat soluble vitamins A, E, K, and F. …..an overdose of the buckwheat vitamin P, may theoretically aggravate a latent K deficiency. Venous congestion and enlarged veins is the symptom.
Royal Lee on Vitamins A, D, E & K2 • Butter: “Best source of Vitamin A. Unit for unit, the vitamin A in butter was three times as effective as the vitamin A in fish liver oils. Vitamin D from butter was found 100 times as effective as the common commercial form of Vitamin D. Butter, prescribed by physicians as a remedy for tuberculosis, psoriasis, xerophthalmia, dental caries, and in preventing rickets, has been promptly effective. Butter carries vitamin E in sufficient quantities to prevent deficiency reactions. Bone resorption can result from vitamin E and F deficiency. Deep yellow butter contains more “Activator X” than pale butter. The deep yellow butter that comes from spring grass feeding to the cow.” • Spinach vitamin A was ten times as potent, unit for unit, as fish oil concentrates in treatment of night blindness. (See Dr. Masterjohn for the zinc factor & night blindness, Wise Traditions, Winter 2012) • Whole Vitamin E complex from butter and wheat germ oil: Anti-miscarriage vitamin and for nutritional deficiencies that contribute to the challenges of menopause for women.
Bone Health • Consider Cal-Ma Plus with Spleen PMG and desiccated Spleen therapy for bone health combined with SP Cod Liver oil or fermented Cod Liver Oil. • Combine this with Green Pasture’s Butter Oil along with Chlorophyll Perles as a source of fat soluble vitamins. • Raw milk and raw butter should be utilized if patient can digest these foods. • For teeth and jaw health, combine the above products with Bio-Dent. Bio-Dent is used for: bone deformities, lack of motility, dental problems, arteriosclerotic changes, protein/mineral/enzyme deficiency states, blood dyscrasias (constituents of the blood are abnormal or are present in abnormal quantity), and spinal lesions.
To support the bodies healthy functioning, consider Spleen therapy • Spleen therapy for heart attack patients, wounds, injuries, microbial invasion. • Supposition: Protection against calcium deposits in the wrong place: bunions, kidney and gallbladder stones, breast cysts, bone spurs, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis. Interplay of Vitamins A, D and K2, macro and micro minerals. • Nourishing the blood. • Lurking pathogens and chronic infections. Consider in lyme’s disease for spyrochete infections. • Foundational therapy for inflammation of various kinds. • Osteoporosis, fragile bones. • Protomorphogens and glandulars, when necessary, are a very effective tool for rebuilding and improving the function of glands and tissues. The PMGs and whole glandular concentrates supply the chemical building blocks, the basic raw materials for cellular rebuilding following injury or depletion of a specific gland. Thus Spleen PMG & Desiccate can support the healing of the spleen and all tissues. Add RNA tablets and Protefood to support protein synthesis. • Sometimes what looks like a gallbladder problem can be a spleen problem. Support both.
LifeStyle toRestore the Center • We generally choose to live a lifestyle that is pulling us out and away from our center. We try to do more than we can do. This injures the center. As Grant Hillman writes: “I had so many gadgets that were “necessary” for life, they consumed my life, and I had no time for actually living.” • This effects the function of spleen and stomach not only contributing to numerous digestive disorders but when the physical level is effected and vice versa, then our capacity for healthy thought and one’s ability to put oneself into something is injured. It is said that the spleen stores the yi or purpose or intention. When healthy, it gives you and I the capacity for applied thinking, studying and concentration. When the spleen is ill there is melancholy, obsessive thinking, depression. • Ironically in modern society’s pressured, hurried lifestyle of multi-tasking, we run the risk of harming the center, the entire basis for the continuation of life, longevity and fertility. Why are digestive problems, attention deficit diagnoses, antacids, constipation and diarrhea escalating? • The highest power to make the selection from the qi of the universe according to OM and to present it to oneself is in the charge of the Spleen, with the association of all the others, because nothing works independently. • The fundamental medicine is to restore equilibrium and thus an authentic taste for true life. • How many people do you meet who have lost a taste for life? How many people are on anti-depressants because, in part, they’ve lost their center?
Healing for the Center Basic Nutritionals • Zypancontains Betaine Hydrochloride, pancreas Cytosol Extract, pancreatin 3x, fatty acid, pepsin, ammonium chloride, bovine spleen and ovine spleen. Take mid-meal. • MediHerb’s Digest before the meal as a excellent source of bitters to stimulate parietal stomach cells. • Consider MultiZyme as a source of pancreatic enzymes and vegetarian enzymes or EnzyCore for 100% vegetarian enzymes and L-Glutamine source of 350mg per capsule. • Gelatin broths made from organic bones are excellent for the tummy. • Soups in general are easily digested, especially in winter. • Eat 50% raw foods and 50% lightly cooked foods. LifeStyle • Allow plenty of time for eating. Chew food slowly, 20-30 chews per mouthful. Eat till two-thirds full. Don’t eat on the run as a rule. • Walk after eating every meal. Draw the qi of Heaven and the qi of Earth into your being by breathing into your lower abdomen. • Cultivate a practice that centers you: mindfulness walking, yoga, Tai Chi Chuan, centering prayer, practice slowness, lay on the earth near running water. Renounce the body-mind state of habitual, pressured living through the practice of kindness towards yourself by slowing down. • There are 3 things that each of us can do to help the world: Choose to reduce a speedy, pressured existence. Reduce aggression and self-hatred. Encourage people that they could fall in love with something or other.
MediHerb products to enhance digestion • Digest: bitters and more, 1 tablet mid-meal. • Wormwood 1:5: digestive bitters, anti-helmintic, anti-parasite. • Marshmallow Glycerin Extract for inflammation of digestive tract. • Hawthorne 1:2 or Hawthorne Tablets: promote digestion. Known as Shan Zha in Chinese herbal medicine where they use the fruit. MediHerb uses the leaf. It also acts as a mild bile stimulant.
Standard Process Products with Spleen • Bio-Dent • Cardio-Plus • Catalyn • Cataplex B12 • Cataplex E, Cataplex E2 • Cholaplex • Cyrofood, and powder • Daily Fundamentals-General Health • E-Poise: for all the benefits of Catalyn plus Ferrofood and Chlorophyll for the blood, especially adolescent and adult females. • Ferrofood • Folic-Acid B12 • For-Til B12 • Glucosamine Synergy • Immuplex • Ligaplex I and II • Min-Chex • Myo-Plus • NeuroPlex • Niacinamide B6 • Orchex • Ostarplex • Rumaplex • Senaplex • Spleen PMG and Spleen Desiccate • Vasculin • Zypan
The Confluence of Dr. Lee, Dr. Harrower and Classical Chinese Medicine • Spleen therapy and healthy lifestyle improves assimilation of nutrients, promotes healing of tissues, supports treatment of inflammation, supports immune system function, bone health and repair, and much more from the perspectives and clinical experience of Dr. Lee, Dr. Harrower and Classical Chinese Medicine. • Spleen is a balancer, the center, the universal PMG. It supports the health of the liver, pericardium, heart, kidney, lungs and all the hollow organs in both chronic and acute disharmonies. Consider spleen therapy as preventative medicine. • Spleen therapy is “foundational therapy” just as bile salts should be considered “foundational therapy”. Oriental Medicine: “When the spleen is healthy it can generate all living things. If it becomes depleted, it can bring about the hundred diseases.”
Standard Process and MediHerb • All products that I have discussed today are for correcting nutritional deficiencies and not for treating symptoms or conditions of disease. • By using Standard Process products to restore nutritional deficiencies, the body is better able to heal and restore health. • By using MediHerb products, the herbs support the bodies ability to heal. These herbs are not used to treat symptoms or diseases.
Presented by Larry Welsh M.A., M.A. • Larry Welsh specializes in digestive disharmonies, infertility, fatigue issues, treatment of injuries, menopausal issues, men’s aging issues, insomnia and renewal of body, mind and spirit. • He is senior adjunct professor at Naropa University in the Traditional Eastern Arts Department since 1988. • A long time practitioner of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan short form, he teaches Tai Chi classes in Boulder, Colorado and renewal retreats at Shambhala Mountain Center. • He specializes in WholeFood Nutrition, Classical Acupuncture and Chinese and Western Herbal medicine. • 303-654-4836 • www.larrywelshacupuncture.com