True Friends You Can Rely On for Your Whole Life – Shanyao Yimi Qianshi Porridge

Zhonglibaren, Book 2, Chapter 2, Our Ancestor’s Secret Recipes Are Everywhere, Section 8, pg. 49

(continued from previous post)

Shanyao, yimi, and qianshi are friends who are alike and attracted to each other.  They all share the remarkable effectiveness of promoting the spleen and benefiting the stomach, while each having its own unique property.  Shanyao is beneficial to the five zhang organs [1].  It takes care of spleen, lungs, and kidney; it promotes qi, strengthens yin, and is stringent at the same time.  Yimi promotes spleen and clears lungs, and eliminates water and benefits stomach.  It is both nourishing and eliminating; its main advantage is to eliminate wet and turbidity.  Qianshi promotes spleen and strengthens kidney.  It stops diarrhea, seminal emission, and frequent urination.  Porridge prepared using pulverized shanyao, yimi, qianshi and dried red dates was used to treat anemia with obvious effects.

With so many benefits of the three herbs, there are regrettably many people who are not lucky enough to enjoy them.  People with too much turbid gas in the body will feel uncomfortably distended in the stomach; people with too much liver fire will feel uncomfortably congested in the chest; people with stagnant blood will feel more painful.  These herbs are also not suitable for people with dried jin (津) [2] and blood, wind cold [3] and shi (实) asthma [4], reddish and scanty urine, and constipation due to heat.  An analogy for the scenario is to introduce pure spring water into a place – one has to clean the place of dirty water first.  “New blood cannot form if old blood is not gone; pure gas cannot exist if turbid gas is not eliminated.” [5]

It is also true that there are people who simply do not like the taste of this porridge.  This is because they have no resonance (connection) with it.  In this case, it is better for the person to find something else that suits his/her taste, because it will not be well absorbed, even when forced down.  One can always find something suitable when guided by his/her own heart.

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[1] Zhang and fu organs: TCM categorizes organs into zhang and fu.  Zhang organs are solid and inner relative to fu organs, while fu organs are with cavities.  There are five zhang organs: heart, kidney, liver, spleen, and lungs, and six fu organs: small intestines, pericardium, urinary bladder, gall bladder, stomach, and large intestines.

[2] Jin (津) is a term in TCM to describe the state of the body. It is usually related to saliva.

[3] Wind cold is a disease with symptoms similar to flu.

[4] According to TCM, the causes of asthma could be shi (实) or xu (虚). Shi is excess, and xu is lacking.

[5] There are herbs and exercises of the meridians and channels to activate qi and blood, and eliminate turbid gas, water, and toxic material.  Refer to reference in Post #1 for TCM theory.

Qianshi (芡实）

Yimi (薏米）

Shanyao （山药）

True Friends You Can Rely On for Your Whole Life – Shanyao Yimi Qianshi Porridge

 

Zhonglibaren, Book 2, Chapter 2, Our Ancestor’s Secret Recipes Are Everywhere, Section 8, pg. 49

(continued from previous post)
Now let’s talk about yimi [1] (薏米).  You will find yimi the best helper, if your body has wet: accumulated fluid, swell, eczema, cysts - all problems related to the turbid water of the body.  “Yiren (薏仁) is the best at eliminating water, and it does not consume the qi of real yin.  It is the best for removing excess wet of the lower body.”  Yimi is a bit cool, and so it is not suitable for people with very cold and weak stomach and spleen or people who have very cold four limbs.  Li Shizhen (李时珍) said pregnant women should not use yimi; he might worry that yimi would also drain the amniotic fluid.  However, in practice yimi was found not dangerous to pregnant women at all.  Actually, it seems to be helpful.  Nevertheless, for the sake of safety, let’s listen to the old gentleman.  Yimi’s main function is to promote the spleen and eliminate wet.  Promoting the spleen can help the lungs [2], and eliminating water can resolve phlegm [3].  Thus, this herb can be used in treating lung heat, lung abscesses, and lung collapse.  When used together with shanyao, they complement each other and have synergistic effects.  “Shanyao and yimi both promote lungs and spleen without causing turbidity.  However, if used alone for a long time, shanyao is a bit sticky and yimi is a bit draining.  When used together in equal amount, shanyao and yimi can be used for a long time without side effects.”  Modern TCM doctors reported that daily intake of a porridge consisting of 50 grams of shanyao and 50 grams of yimi had an obvious effect on the draining of water accumulated in the abdominal cavities of patients of cirrhosis.  Now, why would we wait until the disease becomes so serious to eat the porridge?  Isn’t it a good idea for us to pulverize shanyao and yimi, cook them together as porridge, and eat it often?  It is very tasty, and one would never get tired of eating it.  There are people who say that the porridge tastes like medicine, sour and bitter and hard to swallow.  This is probably because the material they had is of low quality. Certain variety of shanyao has a slight sour flavor, but that does not affect the wonderful taste of the porridge.

Finally, let us talk about qianshi (芡实).  Have I exhausted all the praises for shanyao and yimi?  Not really.  Qianshi has an unparalleled special use.  If you have tuo symptom (脱症) or lou symptom (漏症) [4], qianshi can be like a pair of strong hands to hold you and keep your qi and blood from being wasted away.  There are people who have prolonged diarrhea, so severe that the food they eat goes straight to the toilet.  There are people who are troubled by unstoppable seminal emission.  There are also people who urinate so frequently at night that they cannot sleep well.  Qianshi can do wonder dealing with all these problems.  TCM doctor Chen Shize (陈士择) of the Qing Dynasty did the best job summing it up: “Qianshi can stop pains of the back or the knees, and sharpen vision and improve hearing; if taken regularly, it can prolong life.  It is plain to sight, but very beneficial to use.  Qianshi does not just stop seminal emission, it promotes essence [5] production.  It eliminates wet and phlegm of the stomach and spleen, thus producing the real and pure water [6] in the kidney.”  Based on this, I would say qianshi is the first choice for promoting spleen and strengthening kidney.  The results will be even better, if it is used in conjunction with shanyao.  (to be continued)

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[1] Yimi, also called Yiren, is pearl barley.

[2] According to TCM theory Wuxinglun (五行论), promoting the spleen can help the lungs,

[3] Phlegm is a term in TCM indicating anything sticky, not clean, not smooth, or not belonging to the place.  According to TCM, turbid water in the body is one of the causes of phlegm formation.

[4] Tuo symptom (脱症) or lou symptom (漏症): tuo and lou mean leaking and draining, respectively.  Symptoms such as prolonged diarrhea, seminal emission, or frequent urination at night belong to tuo and lou.

[5] Essence in TCM is the original force/vitality that starts and sustains life.  It is stored in the kidney.

[6] Real and pure water of the kidney means the essence of the kidney.  It is completely different from “wet” that is to be eliminated.

Qianshi (芡实）

Qianshi in soup (popcorn like)

True Friends You Can Rely On for Your Whole Life – Shanyao Yimi Qianshi Porridge

Zhonglibaren, Book 2, Chapter 2, Our Ancestor’s Secret Recipes Are Everywhere, Section 8, pg. 49

(continued from previous post)
If there are friends, in this world, who will help with all they can without calculating what they will get in return, then shanyao (山药), yimi (薏米), and qianshi (芡实) are such friends: never impatient or irritable, always composed and strong, and can be relied on for a whole life.  They will give us the most persistent, quiet and peaceful help when we are totally out of wits.  They are respected as top herbs in the Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic [1] "herbs that can be used for a long time, and can be used together with grains to sustain the human body and prolong life”.  We need to meet our truly good friends often, and keep each other company for a lifetime.  We shall never be tired of doing this.  Isn’t it lucky to have a few friends who always support us?

To weak and old people, young children with deficient original constituents [2], or patients with severe diseases, I often give the same advice for them to eat shanyao (山药) yimi (薏米) qianshi (芡实) porridge.  There were people who asked me if it was possible to gain qi and blood just by eating the porridge.  My answer is that if a person could not build qi and blood by eating the porridge he/she would not be able to gain qi and blood from anything else.  For ordinary food, including those that can increase qi and blood, our initial output of qi and blood is required to digest and absorb, before nutrients can be obtained.  People who are deficient in qi and blood do not have this initial energy.  However, shanyao, yimi, and qianshi are good food and herbs that provide us qi and blood directly with minimal requirement of initial energy output.

Let us talk about shanyao first.  Shanyao is sweat and neutral, nourishing both qi and yin [3].  It nourishes qi without causing stagnancy and fire, and promotes yin without causing wet and phlegm.  It is the most neutral herb to build zhong qi [4]. and is highly praised by all TCM doctors.  Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目) [5] says: “it is good for stomach, spleen, and kidney qi.  It can stop diarrhea, resolve phlegm, and nourish skin and hair”.  Jingyue Quanshu (景岳全书) [6] says: “Shanyao can promote the spleen and is beneficial to xu (虚) [7] symptoms. It increases essence (精) [8] and promotes kidney, and can cure all xu symptoms and damages, and heal all wounds and overstrain.” Yaopin Huayi (药品化义) [9] says “Shanyao is warm and nourishing but not too speedy, and a bit aromatic but not dry.  It can gradually adjust the lungs, and cure lung xu and prolonged coughing.  It is a very reliable herb.”  The famous doctor Zhang Xichun (张锡纯) of the late Qing Dynasty highly recommended this herb.  In his medical treatise Yixue Zhongzhong Canxilu (医学衷中参西录) [10], he recorded using large doses of fresh shanyao to cure many serious and dangerous diseases such as severe asthma and diarrhea.  He said “Shanyao can promote yin and eliminate wet, is lubricating and stringent at the same time.  Thus, it can promote lungs, kidneys, and also stomach and spleen…It is the best in all nourishing herbs, very neutral, and can be used for a long time.”  There are many varieties of shanyao.  Huaiqing Fu (淮庆府) of Henan Province, nowadays the Qinyang City (沁阳市) of Henan Province produces shanyao with best quality.  That is why shanyao is also called huaishan (淮山).  Usually, it is sliced and dried for medical uses.  There are fried and raw shanyao available in the pharmacies.  I recommend dried raw shanyao. (to be continued)

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[1] The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic (神农本草) is an herbal classic, multiple authors, Donghan Dynasty and later additions until Qing Dynasty.

[2] Original constituents are constituents given by parents as it was at birth, including heredity and the state of health at birth.

[3] Yin and yang are concepts used widely in the Chinese culture.  In TCM, yin means the body constituents that provide the basis for yang, while yang represents functions and activities of the body.

[4] In TCM, there are several different kinds of qi’s. Zhong qi is one of them.  It is the qi that flows through the center of the body trunk.  An advanced yogi, martial artist, or meditator can feel it.

[5] Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目) is an herbal classic of TCM, by Li Shizhen (李时珍), 1578, Ming Dynasty

[6] Jingyue Quanshu (景岳全书): A 64-volumes comprehensive treatise of traditional Chinese medicine, 1624, Ming Dynasty. Editor: Zhang Jiebin (张介宾)

[7] Xu (虚) and shi (实) are ways to describe symptoms.  Generally xu refers to empty and weak, and shi refers to full and stagnant.

[8] Essence (精) in TCM is the original force/vitality that starts and sustains life.  It is stored in the kidney.

[9] Yaopin Huayi (药 品化义): Classic of traditional Chinese medicine, 13 volumes, Ming Dynasty, Editor: Jia Jiuru (贾九如)

[10] Yixue Zhongzhong Canxilu (医学衷中参西录): comprehensive treatise of traditional Chinese medicine, by Zhang Xichun (张锡纯), 1909, Qing Dynasty

Shanyao, yimi, and qianshi cooked with rice (山药薏米芡实粥）

True Friends You Can Rely On for Your Whole Life – Shanyao Yimi Qianshi Porridge

Zhonglibaren, Book 2, Chapter 2, Our Ancestor’s Secret Recipes Are Everywhere, Section 8, pg. 49

Many friends have chronic diseases with various symptoms.  They usually feel not even a single comfortable spot from head to toe in the body.  Their problems are neither serious nor dangerous, but rather lingering ones that never get truly healed.  The symptoms are better at one time, and worse at another, and always unbearably troublesome. What these friends really need as soon as possible is to increase qi and blood and maintain a reserve of them, because only when there is enough qi and blood in the body can a person resist various diseases.

What is the fastest and most effective way to increase and store qi and blood?  According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the stomach and spleen are what the human body relies on after birth - they are the sources of qi and blood.  The stomach and spleen must be kept in good condition, if we want to have enough qi and blood.  There are people who cannot digest food well and feel uncomfortably full after eating only a small amount of food.  There are also people who can eat, but cannot absorb nutrients; the food they eat causes diarrhea, constipation, produces phlegm instead of minute particles and essential nutrients, or produces lumpy tissues instead of qi and blood.  The root of the problems for both conditions is the malfunction of the stomach and spleen.  Therefore, for these people, the most important step in strengthening the body constituents is to improve and promote the functions of stomach and spleen. 

It is not difficult to imagine that if the stomach and spleen of a person cannot digest grains and vegetables, it will be even harder for them to handle herbs [1]. 

Some people take kidney-nourishing herbs to strengthen their weakened kidneys [2].  However, these herbs are usually difficult to digest, in addition to having strong odors and tastes.  Thus, they often become a burden to the stomach and spleen instead of having the expected result of nourishing the kidney.  Eventually, these nourishing herbs could become stagnant and difficult to eliminate, and so become toxic to the body.  The phrase in TCM “too weak to be nourished”, partly means that the stomach and spleen are too weak to digest and absorb.  There are people with strong fire in their hearts and livers [3] who use cold [4] herbs for a long time to quench the heat and remove toxins.  They do not realize that cold herbs are the most hurtful to the stomach and spleen, and long term usage of cold herbs to quench fire is like using the family’s own farm field as a battle field to fight with an enemy.  At the end, even if they are not defeated by the enemy, they could still die from food shortage.  We need to always keep a reserve of qi and blood.  In a battle, we have nothing to be afraid of, when we have enough food supply.  In the fight with diseases, the only thing we need to worry is when we lose the ability to gain more fresh qi and blood.  Many patients lost their last chance to fight off diseases because they could not eat and absorb nutrients.  In life, we will have money to use, as long as we are able to make money, and we can persist to the final victory.  Similarly, in the battle with diseases, we need qi and blood and we should protect our ability to make and keep them. (to be continued)

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[1] That is why grains are our staple food.

[2] Kidney in TCM is not limited to the anatomical kidney, but is defined to have a lot more functions, including the vitality and fertility of the body.

[3] Fire is a TCM term which indicates general over-activity or inflammation.

[4] Cold, hot, warm, and cool are used in TCM to describe the properties of an herb, based on the effects of the herb.

My sources for this blog

Sources for this blog will be mainly from my reading and translation of a few books on traditional Chinese medicine.  They are books by Zhonglibaren (中里巴人): "Asking your doctor is not as good as asking yourself (求医不如求己)" and Zhao Zhengshan's (赵正山) "Assays from the healing chamber (疗斋随笔)", "Records and thoughts from the healing chamber (疗斋誌忆)", "Talks about food from the healing chamber ((疗斋食略)".  My intention is to share information.  I do not assume any responsibility for the results or consequences you have following the methods described in this blog.  There will be no diagrams or pictures in the blog, and I recommend a book from which you can find the necessary information to locate acupuncture points mentioned in the blogs.  The book is "Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion (revised edition)", Cheng Xinnong , Chief editor, foreign languages press, Beijing, 1987, ISBN 7-119-01758-6.  In addition to a complete description of the acupuncture points based on the channel and meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), this book also has a brief introduction to TCM theories.