The famous herbal remedy called the ginseng currently has a well deserved reputation as an effective herb for the treatment of many different disorders affecting the human body.
Many cultures have utilized the ginseng for centuries in the continent of Asia, particularly the east Asian cultures of China - where it is most widely used - Japan and Korea, many peoples in the Asian part of Russia towards the far east or the Asian parts of the former Soviet Union also made use of this herb - the ginseng root is used as a virtual wonder herbal remedy or even as a miracle panacea in these parts.
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One reason for this tradition of multiple uses of the herb may lie in the morphology of the ginseng root, according to the ancient herbal "Doctrine of Signatures" a plant that resembles some part of the body was typically thought to be useful in treating that part of the body.
The root of the ginseng has a strange and manlike form, which may be one reason it is considered so useful in the treatment of "man's afflictions"- the thinking being, as it resembles a man, it can treat every disease in a man.
At the same time, the actual way in which ginseng is used in Asia has been investigated by Farnsworth, he noted that the ginseng is not seen as a curative herb at all and is not in almost universal use as a herbal medication due to a prophylactic or therapeutic benefit, but for its main role as a supportive herb for the maintenance of health in people - the herb is not used to cure any particular disease and its use is thus as a general immune system booster.
Aside from the fact that ginseng is believed to be mildly aphrodisiacal in its effects and is said to boost sexual functioning, the herb largely performs a role similar to and analogous to the role performed by the ubiquitous vitamin tablets used in supplementary treatments in the western world.
The recent love affair of the Western world with ginseng is explosive and the consumption of ginseng root and herbal products in the West is growing at a phenomenal rate, in all this, the ginseng's adaptogenic effects are the main benefits beings stressed by the proponents and marketers of this herb in the Western world.
The herb is believed to help increase the ability of the human body to resist stress, this is due to the adaptogenic powers in the herb, this increased resistance is carried out by inducing a state of higher resistance in the body, the increase in resistance of the body helps in recovering general physical and mental vitality and leads to a general strengthening of all the normal functions in the body - and the body is then able to overcome and defeat infection as well as disease easily or as and when they occur.
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Although such indirect effects are naturally somewhat difficult to verify scientifically, favorable modification by ginseng of the stress effects of temperature changes, some diet, restraint, physical exercise, and the like have been recorded. Useful pharmacologic effects in such conditions as atherosclerosis, anemia, depression, diabetes, edema, hypertension, and ulcers have also been well documented.
The root of the ginseng contains large amounts of the active chemical principles - triterpenoid saponins, which are the main agents believed to be responsible for the beneficial effects of the ginseng.
The nature of these compounds and their chemical nomenclature is extremely confusing and very complex to understand, for this reason the many different chemicals initially identified by different groups of clinical investigators were given different names even though they were found to be similar in later tests.
At the same time, the chemical composition and the relative organic constitution of the Asian and American ginseng species differs to a great extent and the two species have differing levels of similar compounds.
For example, Japanese clinical researchers called the active saponins they identified as ginsenosides, while the Russian scientist called these chemical compounds panaxosides.
Asian ginseng is therefore credited with having a minimum of eighteen saponins, like the compound ginsenoside Rc, another name for the panaxoside D compound (Russian classification).
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The name panaquilin C is used to identify exactly the same chemical compound in American Ginseng. No doubt, this is very confusing for the reader, the important factor to remember aside from these confusing details about names is that to the triterpenoid saponins are the compounds responsible for all the pharmacological activity displayed by the ginseng and the user does not need to be confused about names of chemicals.
The main problem faced by potential users today, is in obtaining an authentic or unadulterated ginseng product in the mass market. The ginseng product called the Korean Red - which is a specially "cured" root, can cost more than $20 an ounce and ginseng root in any form is very expensive - it is therefore advisable to be very careful while buying ginseng products.
The direct effect of the high costs is that there is a diverse range of products in the market with ginseng derived ingredients such as commercial ginseng herbal teas, herbal powders, ginseng in capsule and tablets form, the extracts of ginseng etc.
This is the reaction of the market forces to the relatively high cost of the real product and reflects the absence of quality control affecting the health food industry - needless to say, some of these products are absolutely useless and do not contain the real ginseng at all, while other products may be useful.
The variability of quality in the various ginseng products available in the free market was verified by two independent studies that surveyed the commercial ginseng products available in the market, it was observed in one of these studies that up to 60 percent of those products analyzed could be classed as worthless and at least 25 percent of all the sampled products had no ginseng in the product - the sampling survey involved the complete chemical analysis of about 54 ginseng products sold in the market.
Ginseng has been extensively studied under test conditions, and between 1968 and 1990, at least thirty seven clinical studies on the ginseng were published, out of this total about fifteen of the tests were carried out under controlled conditions, and eight of these had double blinded control groups.
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Marked improvements in the physical performance of the test subjects given ginseng was noticed in seventeen of the studies, an improvement in the intellectual performance was observed in the test subjects administered ginseng in eleven of the tests, ginseng was able to improve the mood and the emotional well being of the test subjects in another thirteen of these tests.
The nature and methodology of all these studies has been heavily questioned and the most serious questions have been regarding the design quality and the form of the statistical analysis used on the results of these tests.
Dosage regimen for the ginseng differs based on the type of herbal product, a daily dosage regimen consisting of 1 to 2 g of the crude ginseng medication, or about 200 to 600 mg of the standardized ginseng extracts - which has been calculated to about 4 to 7 percent ginsenosides content - is suggested by the German Commission E monograph that gives herbal medicine dosages for many kinds of herbal remedies.
Physical weakness and fatigue in patients is countered by the ginseng herbal medication, and it is normally given as a general purpose herbal tonic, the ginseng herbal remedy is also restorative in function and is used to buffer and support the physical performance of individuals affected by a reduced stamina level, it is also used to remedy impaired concentration and to boost the memory.
The herbal remedy is used as a general tonic to patients under convalescence and is generally given to strengthen and speed up the healing bodies of patients who are recovering from some illness.
The relative safety of the herb when used as a medication is another potential area of concern. In the year, 1979 a report was prepared about the abuse of ginseng and the so called "ginseng abuse syndrome" in a group of individuals, about 133 in all, all of whom were ginseng users and this threw some light on ginseng and its possible side effects - these potential toxic side effects have caused some concern regarding the real safety of the herb.
However, the study and its disturbing results has now been discredited and proven to be false, due to the faulty investigative methodology used during the tests and due also to the absence of a uniform definition of the ginseng.
The herbal literature still keeps cropping up with references to this particular study even now, and the frequency of times this report is cited is disturbing indeed as it represents useless and false information.
Another researcher, Farnsworth has extensively investigated the many reports which attributing some estrogenic - or female hormone like - effects said to be induced by the ginseng in the body's of users.
According to Farnsworth, there is zero experimental evidence to indicate or to support any such estrogen like activity in the ginseng and it is therefore not a phyto-estrogenic herb based on his investigation.
Problems like sleep disorders including insomnia, and the rare case of diarrhea, and some types of skin eruptions are the only known and well documented side effects of long term ginseng use.
The information pertaining to some side effects induced by the ginseng suffers from the fact that, the majority of the clinical cases which have purportedly reported the presence of other side effects due to ginseng do not show any documentation or species of ginseng employed is not given or they are missing the dosage levels of the herb given to test subjects during the test.
Taking all these factors into consideration, it can be said that at least for the vast majority of users and potential users of the herb, perhaps even a prolonged or the excessive dosage of herbal ginseng remedy has relatively low risk for the user and that the herb is generally safe for use with patients.
A patient's health status is assessed in the Chinese system of medicine through the measure of three basic polarities.
These are" hot vs. cold," "exterior vs. interior" and "excess vs. deficiency," patients belonging to one type of polarity alone are almost nonexistent, and most patients tend to usually swerve towards one end of a polar type spectrum.
For this reason, a five phase method of constitutional evaluation or referral system exist within traditional Chinese medicine to asses different types of patients and their polarities.
As far as the use of the ginseng and other tonic herbs is concerned, the essential six principles of Chinese medicine are sufficient and can be used to come at an understanding of dosages required for any patient.
n the Chinese system of medicine, cautious use or complete avoidance of the herbs and ginseng is usually required for the administration of any herbal remedy if the essential state is hot, excess and an exterior condition, while both the general herbal tonics and the ginseng can be given for the cold, deficiency, and interior patterns.
Patients in this essential state of "excess vs. deficiency" polarity are to use the ginseng and other tonic herbs - and this polarity is taken to be an important indication for using of the general tonic herbs as well as the ginseng remedy.
The definition of the word "deficiency" in Western medicine as an absence of some health factor is not connected or related to the use of the word in the Chinese medicine term - for example a "calcium deficiency" and the Chinese medical idea of deficiency are different terms.
A more accurate and sometimes used meaning of the Chinese medical term is "vacuity" or "emptiness" and the word deficiency in Chinese is often translated this way.
Taking ginseng and other tonic herbs in excess polarity is not advised and can cause problems to the patient, aggravating the disorder in some cases, the ginseng and the other herbal tonics are contraindicated for all patients with excess polarity.
Patients with deficiency polarity patterns can ideally benefit to a great extent from using the ginseng and the other herbal tonics and these remedies are often administered to patients with deficiency problems.
Chinese ginseng in particular and the other ginseng species and herbal tonics are to be used with caution and care in only a single type of deficiency pattern apparent in some patients, this form of deficiency comes with heat signs and in these cases, dosage is usually restricted or the herbs are not used at all. In patients with heat sign patterns, the Chinese ginseng herb is contraindicated and avoided.
A fever is not necessarily the indication of the hot pattern in a patient; the heat pattern can be discerned on examination of the patient. This hot feeling is a subjective event, the actual temperature of the patient may be 98.6°F or in the normal range for humans.
The pulse of the patient may be faster than it normally is, and the patient may develop redness in the facial region, patients are also normally agitated and very restless and may complain of heat in the body.
In the same manner, the patients with a cold pattern are otherwise having a normal body temperature, they subjectively feel cold in the body and may complain about how cold they feel thought the skin is at a normal temperature.
Cold patients may be characterized by a pale complexion, and similar to the hot patients have a quickened pulse rate at all times.
As was mentioned previously, patients with heat sings suffering at the same time with the deficiency pattern are not given the Asian ginseng and the other herbal warming tonics and self-medication should not be carried out using these herbs and tonics.
However, the hot and deficient pattern patient can ideally benefit from taking the American ginseng as an herbal remedy for his or her condition.
For any patient suffering from cold or heat patterns, the appropriate herbal tonic is used as all the herbs have been classified as being either heating or cooling in effect and patients with one or the other signs are given the appropriate herbal medication.
The place of origin of symptoms determine the nature of the terms "exterior" and "interior" and such patterns determine the area of the body where the symptom are dominant in the patient.
There is a concentration of the symptoms at the surface of the body in patients who are said to suffer from exterior patterns - these patients are affected in areas of the body such as the skin, the various external muscles, and areas such as the mucous membranes on the nose.
Thus the term exterior pattern can be applied to the symptoms attributed to the majority of the common acute illnesses, including the various colds or flu, different allergies and allergenic reactions, problems in the muscle and problems such as joint aches, different types of headaches, and to skin rashes and other disorders.
Interior patterns refer to all the other physical complaints that are not externally manifested and the treatment is different for the patients with such patterns.
As the herbs can aggravate the exterior symptoms, the use of the ginseng and all the other herbal tonics are contraindicated in cases of patients suffering from exterior conditions.
For example, while taking ginseng, if a patient suddenly develops a cold, he or she should stop taking the herb until the cold has subsided or the most acute part of the condition passes off and then resume taking the ginseng.
Heat and cold signs can also characterize both the exterior and interior patterns affecting the patient, the ginseng and other tonic herbs normally contraindicate very apparent external symptoms and therefore these should be used with caution by all patients.
The first priority for ill patients before beginning any self medication using different tonic herbs or the ginseng, is to go and consult a physician as a first step, the doctor may be from a Western or Chinese medical background - the priority however, is to find out what the illness is before starting on any treatment strategy.
The direct beneficial effects of the ginseng herb on many organs and glands in the human body has been identified in various tests by clinical researchers that measure the benefits of various chemical compounds in the herb.
However, the exact biochemical basis for most of these effects the herbal constituents have on the body is still a mystery and requires further investigation.
Current scientific know how is still insufficient to gauge all the potential and actual nature of the diverse chemical constituents in the ginseng herb, it is still not possible to probe and get a precise knowledge of their functions and map out all their effects.
That so many physiological effects are due to just one herb, sometimes does seem unlikely and even impossible, this is one reason that the ginseng is often called the wonder herb in the literature.
The effects of ginseng on hormones may provide a clue, and the entire biochemical explanation for the benefits of the herb may be at the level of regulation of hormones and their role in the human body.
The hypothalamus in the brain, the endocrine pituitary gland, and the endocrine adrenal glands above the kidneys are responsible for the release of a large number of regulatory hormones in humans.
These internal structures produce hormones that regulate stress and our response to it, our response to physical fatigue and trauma or shock, control and regulate our blood sugar levels, check the blood pressure and pulse rate, maintain body temperature or homeostasis, maintain the sexual functioning of gonads, aid in the detoxification of the blood, and regulate immunity - all of these factors in the human body are also events which the ginseng herb affects.
The main controlling region for both the endocrine glands is the secretion region of the brain called the hypothalamus, which is a structure in the region of the lower brain - this region secretes regulating factors that control the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
The advent of any external threat on the body as well as the maintenance of internal stasis and physiological functions is the main role of the hypothalamus - this area of the brain is constantly monitoring the state of the body.
The body and the brain both give nervous to the hypothalamus continually and homeostasis is maintained in this manner.
All physiological functions such as the hormone levels in the blood, the blood pressure, the body's water balance and fluid content, the levels of blood sugar, among other important physiological parameters are monitored continuously by the hypothalamus.
A stressful situation perceived by the sub-conscious mind also elicits a response from the hypothalamus and appropriate signals are sent to the body signaling stress.
Physical as well as mental stimuli can cause the hypothalamus to respond and secrete factors triggering the release of appropriate hormones to prepare the body for reaction.
The regulation and secretion of the pituitary gland is under the direct control of the hypothalamus, the pituitary can be said to perform like an executive officer under the orders of the hypothalamus, once directed and affected by the former, the pituitary release hormones which will regulate and change the nature of the general metabolism in the body, its hormones will affect appetite, the hormones it release will affect the body temperature, and other important functions like the water balance and osmo-regulation in the body.
The pituitary thus acts when activated by the hypothalamus, which the real region that coordinates all these key bodily functions in a smooth flowing manner - the hypothalamus in turn recovers all signals from the brain and the body, for example, the intensity of light absorbed by the eyes directly affects the hypothalamus and directs it to activate the pituitary for the release of hormones which will control our sleep, wake cycle under normal circumstances.
The endocrine hormones of the pituitary intermediary is not necessary for the hypothalamus for all functions, this region of the brain has some direct affects on human sexuality, it directly affects the growth in the human body, and it also has a role to play in the reproductive cycle.
The secretion of hormones which result in the activation of another endocrine gland the adrenals, is one of the most important secretions of the pituitary, these adrenal glands release the adrenaline hormone, which is the main chemical that is responsible for the "fight or flight" reaction in all animals, including humans.
Alarm or danger, is processed by the brain through visual or other cures and this is transmitted immediately to the hypothalamus region, which in turn will activate the pituitary gland, that results in pituitary secretions which travel to the adrenal glands and activate it - the result is the release of stress hormones which flood the body - priming it for fighting or fleeing from the danger and the stress.
The process relies on a feed back system and the stimulation of the pituitary in turn is affected by these very stress hormones, which stop the pituitary gland from further stimulating hormone release once they are in the blood in requisite amounts.
The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis is the term applied by life scientist to these interactions that result in the regulation of all the vital functions in the human body.
Ginseng is believed to act on this axis and affects the regulation of hormones, by an unknown mechanism yet to be studied, the biochemical activity of herbs like the ginseng and the related adaptogens is believed by some scientist to be primarily on the functioning of the hormonal system and in the regulating of the vital functions of the body.
The wide ranging effects of the ginseng can be explained in some part if it is capable of controlling or modifying hormonal flow in the body as these hormones are the chemical agents which have universal control over the entire body - any herb that can interfere with their flow can also in theory control and affect the vital functions of a human body.
The connection between the functioning of the adrenal glands and the ginseng has been studied thoroughly and is well documented in the literature.
The resistance of the body to stress is increased by taking ginseng and this has been proven in animal tests where animals that had their adrenal glands removed could get no benefit from administrations of ginseng.
Ginseng may have an indirect regulatory action on the adrenals through the hypothalamus, or it could be acting directly on the adrenals in controlling stress in the body - but the fact that it has a controlling influence over the adrenals is not disputed in the literature.
One of the main roles of ginseng in normal animals facing stress is the stimulation of the biochemical production of stress hormones in large amounts, helping the body to cope with stress immediately.
The herb has a very strong action in this regard, for example, the production of stress hormones in the adrenals stops immediately when the stress goes away in animals that are not given ginseng, but this is not the case in animals given ginseng which continue to produce hormones for some time even when the stress disappears.
The adrenals of ginseng administered test animals seem to conserve the produced stress hormones after the passage of the stress inducing factor and seem to prolong endurance in the body.
The adrenals of animals treated with ginseng and other adaptogens reacts better to stressful situation and is more adaptable in the event of trauma, in general, the efficiency of the adrenals is increased by the ginseng and other adaptogens given during tests.
Scientist have still not been able to identify the exact pathway of action and if these biochemical effects of the herb are solely felt by the adrenal glands, or if the hypothalamus and the pituitary are also affected in some way.
The role of the ginseng in sensitizing the hypothalamus to increase its efficiency and performance has been possibly revealed in the experiment of a ginseng researcher from Great Britain.
The direct action of ginseng on the pituitary and the adrenal glands and its effects on the sex glands that are under the regulation of the hypothalamus could be revealed if this experimental results are proven to be true, ginseng then will also be indirectly connected and will be presumed to have an effect on the target organ tissues that these glands act on and regulate in the physiology of the body.
During one study, all possibility of stress hormones being produced by adrenal glands and ovaries in laboratory rats were eliminated when these structures were removed from the test animals.
These laboratory rats were then separated into two testing groups, one group was given only placebos for eight days, while the other group of test rats received ginseng for the same duration.
The main stress hormone in mammals, called corticosterone was then injected into all these animals following the dosage with placebos and ginseng. In order to know, where exactly in the body the corticosterone ended up, the researchers chemically "tagged" the hormone before injecting them into the test animals.
Compared to the placebo group of test rats, the rats that were given ginseng, showed corticosterone deposition of more than seven times as much in the brain regions surrounding the hypothalamus - thus ginseng is directly responsible in these animals in how stress hormones are handled.
The balancing action of the hypothalamus to hormone levels in the body is apparent and in all normal bodies, the hypothalamic area operates a feedback loop for the stress hormone corticosterone and other hormones.
Once the elevated levels of theses hormones are detected by the brain, a balancing biochemical mechanism comes into play and the levels of hormones are regulated in this way.
The effectiveness of the corticosterone in combating stress may be increased by the ginseng because the herb may sensitize the hypothalamus to the operation of this biochemical feedback loop in the brain.
Brain efficiency of people on ginseng is believed to be greater, because the herb acts in "priming" the hypothalamus, resulting in the initiation of hormonal secretions that lead to greater efficiency in brain functioning, according to the studies of one ginseng researcher.
According to the Chinese system of medicine, the ginseng is a wonder herb and has a remarkable medicinal action unparalleled by other herbs, the Chinese believe that while most of the other herbal tonics may benefit a few organs in the body, the ginseng is unique in having a beneficial action on most of the organs in the human body, leaving virtually no organ untouched by its beneficial effects.
When they are translated into the English language, many of the names for organs in the Chinese medicine organ systems tend to have similar names which are roughly comparable to the names for organs in the Western medical physical organs system - this can be confusing, because of a unique difference in the view point of the Chinese medical system.
Functioning terms for the organ systems and their relationships that often have very little to do with the names of Western counterparts exist in the Chinese system of medicine, this is due to the culture in which the Chinese medical system has evolved, unlike Western medicine, the Chinese system of medicine though older had several taboos and one of this was the a negative view of cutting open the physical body for examination - on the other hand anatomical observation is the very bulwark of Western medicine.
For example, in the ancient Chinese system of medicine, the Heart or xin, can be said to name the physical cardiac heart, it is also used for the force of the pulse or the blood propulsion system inside the body, it is used to refer to the tongue, it is also a reference to the facial complexion of a human being, and also indicates the presence of a conscious mind in a body.
Thus a herbal medicine designated for the heart in the ancient Chinese system of medication may be relevant for many parts of the body and can be used in treating multiple illnesses, not only is the physical heart disease treatable using the Chinese herbal or acupuncture treatments, but some other conditions such as forgetfulness, the affectation of excessive dreaming or disorders of the consciousness and insomnia, sleeplessness etc. can also be treated using the Chinese heart system remedy.
A direct cause and effect relationship between the cardiac system and the conscious mind is never implied in the ancient Chinese system of medication, though the reorganization of a connection between the conscious mind and the heart can be arrived at even in the Western system of modern medicine - the mind does affect the functioning of the physical heart in many ways.
The definition of the organ systems in the Chinese system of medicine occurred over many centuries, and is an event related to the Chinese development of a functional definition of chi, these systems were developed from the observed functional relationships that occur in the human body and its relation to the psyche.
One or several organs in a patient may undergo a manifestation of an overall chi deficiency at any given time. The standard treatment of an overall chi deficiency in any affected organ is usually conducted by giving the patient some ginseng or any one of its herbal substitutes - this formula is the usual treatment methodology followed by the majority of Chinese physicians.
Self medication using the ginseng or the other herbs is not suggested especially in patients suffering from a physically manifesting disease, or from any severe conditions which are potentially lethal - these herbs must only be used under the direction of professional Chinese system physicians.
There is great complexity involved in any imbalance affecting the chi in the organs. The complexity of the chi deficiency disorder can be understood in this way: when an improper flow of the chi is detected in a body, it may really mean that the chi is deficient in one organ system, while present in excessive amounts in another organ system.
The discomfort of the patient and the symptoms will not go ways, by taking ginseng or herbal tonics in such cases, as there is a chance of increasing the excess chi in the other unknown organ while correcting the chi in one deficient organ - self medication of the herbs and ginseng is not advised for this reason.
The proper balance of the chi in various organs can be assured by consulting with a trained acupuncturist, depending on the particular body type and the physical condition of the patient, such a professional will also prescribe the appropriate herbal formulas to be used to correct the deficiency in chi.
The idea of the five viscera initially appears in the oldest Chinese herbal treatise called "The Divine Husbandman's Classic"; it is a compendium of medicine and the oldest book on Chinese herbal medicine going back centuries.
This treatise suggests steps by which the Asian ginseng can be used in "repairing the five viscera" present in all human bodies.
This concept of five primary viscera is present in many Asian systems of medicine, while a total of twelve organ systems are recognized in oriental medicine, five of them are considered to be of prime importance and of greater value in healing.
These organs are all internal and include the most vital organs like the Spleen and the Liver, the Heart and the Lung and the Kidney - these five organs are considered to be the five primary viscera said to be acted on by the ginseng in correcting deficiency in the chi.
The physical organ is not the only aspect considered in the Chinese concept of an organ system - it is important to remember that the ancient Chinese understanding of these organs were on the physical as well as holistic level.
They believed that the entire body of a person was influenced in one way or another by each of these individual organs and that each had its primary pattern or influence on different aspects of the human physiology.
A good understanding of the Spleen and its function is an essential factor into how the Chinese use ginseng and the other chi tonics to affect the body.
The spleen has its own unique organ chi, which can simply be called the -"Spleen chi"- this chi acts the role of a power supplier to this organ and maintains its functional state.
Many of the function of the spleen that has very far reaching effects in the human body are driven by this particular Spleen chi present in the organ.
Thus food is transformed by the Spleen chi in the spleen to make the chi and the blood in the spleen. Blood is formed when the spleen chi transmuted food essence is transported up into the lungs of the person, where the chi derived from the air is added to produce the blood in the body.
The muscles and the flesh of the person also eventually receive the generated chi and blood that is transported away by the Spleen chi from the spleen. Blood is also kept in the proper channels by the Spleen chi, and this organ chi essentially maintains blood in the body of the person.
A large variety of physical disorders can start affecting the person, when the spleen chi itself become deficient in the spleen of the person, and is unable to function properly.
The person affected by a deficiency of the spleen chi will then be affected by disorders such as blood deficiency, or even chronic fatigue and the general chi levels in the body itself may drop off to very low levels.
Other symptoms affecting such a person can include abdominal bloating and diarrhea and the weakening of the digestive system in general over a period of time. The person may suffer from emaciation and then can turn very thin, as all the muscles may become weakened and strength fades.
Different disorders such as bleeding disorders and heavy menstrual bleeding in women may also become apparent in the body.
Chinese doctors understand these symptoms and treat them all in a holistic way using herbal treatments and acupuncture to the spleen, even though the sheer variety of the physical symptoms makes no sense and have no apparent relationships to each other and will be useless for purposes of treatment or diagnosis in the Western medicine.
The holistic treatment envisaged for such disorders by the Chinese physicians also typically include appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes over a long period of time to bring back the chi in alignment within the body of the patient.
Poor eating habits and a bad diet are the main factors which can disrupt the functioning of the Spleen chi in people. All of the symptoms mentioned above and the disruption of the spleen chi can be due to eating very low quality food over a long period of time, consuming a lot of oily, and heavy or greasy meals, and the hurried eating of meals or even from the repeated taking of meals at the wrong time of the day.
At the same time, some types of food allergies, or a diet disagreeable to the constitution of the individual's constitution can also trigger the spleen chi disruption. A vicious cycle of disruption of the chi can begin, once the Spleen chi of the person has become deficient at any time.
Lesser and lesser chi is produced by the spleen of the person, and soon the entire body and the spleen suffer from a generalized chi deficiency which begins to take its toll on the body of the person, as this goes on, even less chi remains available to the Spleen chi to do its work and maintain proper functioning of the organ.
The recognition of such deficiency cycles is the reason that many natural healing systems and the Chinese system of medicine lay a very emphasis on maintaining a proper diet and digestion to remain healthy.
The power supply to the spleen chi is beneficially affected by the Asian ginsengs, and the herb functions as a unique herbal tonic to revive the Spleen chi - this is one of the major roles of the ginseng in Asian medicine.
The chi generating potential and ability of the spleen is toned up and fine tuned by the ginseng, at the same time the herb also directly affects the overall chi present in the body of the person.
The major requirement for the ginseng to act on the spleen chi in a beneficial way is for the person to have a fully functional and very efficient digestive system.
To ensure the fine tuned functioning and efficiency of the digestive process, the standard Chinese medicine practice, is to include many of the digestive herbs in the ginseng remedy, these digestion stimulating herbs include the poria, the licorice, the jujube dates, and the common ginger.
As far as stimulating and acting on the spleen chi is concerned, some of the other Chinese herbs, like the atractylodes, are considered to be better spleen chi tonics than the Asian ginseng itself, the reason these herbs are not used in this role is because of their lack of beneficial effects on the other organ systems and due to the absence of the wide ranging beneficial effects possessed by the Asian ginseng on the overall chi in the body.
Asian ginseng is one of the tonics for efficient lung function in the Chinese system of medicine. One of the main roles of the Lung is to mix the chi derived from the food by the spleen chi with the chi derived external air.
The surface of the body is also provided with a protective chi by the Lung, the organ circulates protective chi to the outside skin, in the Chinese system of medicine this external surface chi is believed to be responsible for immune responses on the skin surface and is also supposed to help control sweating in the skin of the person.
The circulation of the chi in a rhythmic manner inside the body is assured by the rhythmic motion of the Lung. The dissemination of moisture throughout the entire body is another special role performed by the lung in a human body. The kidney also receives fluid pumped downward by the lungs according to the Chinese system of medicine.
According to the Chinese system of medicine, the lung chi is therefore the vital power which permits not only normal rate of breathing but also the dissemination of protective chi to the external skin surface and aids in the spreading out of moisture in the body, the Chinese believe that when deficiency in the lung chi occurs, the first impact is an impaired circulation of chi to the rest of the body, leading to the stagnation and deficiency of the chi in the rest of the body.
Some of the other bad impacts of poor lung chi include excess perspiration without physical exertion, and a very poor resistance to infections such as colds and flu.
Dryness in the patient's skin may be another symptom of a deficient lung chi in the person. Other problems such as shortness of breath and a chronic cough may also develop and cause problems for the person.
The chances of developing problems in the urinary system also exist. The spleen as well as the lung is equally benefited by the Asian ginseng and this is its most significant effect as a chi tonic for the body, these two organs in the body are considered to be the two main partners in the generation of the majority of all chi in the body.
These two organs can also be induced to produce chi by the codonopsis herb, which is a ginseng substitute at times used for this purpose in many parts of China, as its effect on the two organs is similar to the ginseng, this tonic herb is reckoned by some herbalist in China to be even more effective then the ginseng itself.
The best lung tonic is the Chinese herb called the astragalus, the circulation of protective chi in the lung is strengthened by this herb and it is used in many herbal application in the Chinese herbal system.
The Asian ginseng is an unique remedy among herbs in that it affects the heart in many beneficial ways, these beneficial effects of the Asian ginseng are not inducible by the herbal tonics used to activate the Spleen and the Lung.
The Heart as defined in the Chinese system of medicine refers to the circulatory arteries as well as to the physical pumping heart. Circulation of blood is of course the primary and essential function performed by the Heart in the human body.
The Chinese in addition believe that the conscious mind is controlled by the pattern of the heart beat and this connection is believed to be useful in the treatment process. Irregular beats of the heart or cardiac palpitations can start affecting a person when the heart is not functioning properly.
Other symptoms which can manifest themselves in the person include the presence of mental symptoms like persistent anxiety and restlessness, sleeplessness or insomnia, a clouded mind or even excessive dreaming.
The Chinese system of medicine treats patients affected by the mental symptoms alone through treatment of the heart; this is carried out even when the usual physical symptoms affecting the heart do not arrive along with these changed mental states.
Ginseng is said to have a very peculiar and soothing effect on the mental symptoms and as a rule most symptoms affecting the heart accompany deficiency syndromes in the body of the person.
The Liver in the five viscera system is not affected in a direct manner by the ginseng herb, the only way in which this organ is affected is due solely to the blood building property and the overall chi effect of the herb in the body of the person.
The importance attributed to the Liver in the Chinese system of medicine is underlined by the fact, that is has been described as being "the general of the army" in one Chinese classical text of medicine.
This is due to the fact that the liver possesses a direct influence on the circulating blood and in fact, directs the chi within the body, the Chinese attribute the liver with maintaining the orderly flow of emotions in a person.
Emotional problems can occur when there is a liver dysfunction, so it is believed in Chinese system of medicine, an impaired operation of the liver, is supposed to disrupt the flow of blood as well as the chi, leading to the stagnation and erratically excessive accumulation of blood and chi in various areas of the body, this can lead to "stuck" emotions in the person.
Liver problems and disharmony in its functioning therefore lead to common emotional manifestations such as persistent frustration, intense and sudden anger, and or sudden outbursts of rage by the affected individuals.
The flow of emotions, the blood and the chi is thought to be smoothened out by the Liver - any disruption in the functioning of the organ is believed to lead to a disruption in all three factors controlled by the organ.
Another major function of the Liver in the body, lies in its control and regulation of the digestive process as it regulates the flow of bile through the Gall Bladder and to the stomach, the liver also plays an important role in the transfer of blood flow to peripheral areas of the body during times of physical activity in a person, and it also returns this blood again to the internal organs when a person is resting.
When using the ginseng and the other tonic herbs, a vital factor is to ensure that the Liver is functioning properly and efficiently. People who use ginseng in an improper manner are often affected by mental symptoms and side effects such as persistent and sudden anger, long term feelings of frustration, and persistent mental tension.
When using chi and blood tonic herbal formulas, many beneficial herbs which act primarily in improving the functioning of the liver are often included so as to boost the effectiveness of the main chi remedies.
To understand the full action of all the yin and yang tonic herbs used by herbalist requires a basic understanding of kidney functioning. For many physical symptoms such as sexual weakness, lower back pain, and premature aging, treatment usually consists of giving the patients herbs such as the astragalus, the codonopsis herb, the dong quai, the Eleuthero or Siberian ginseng, the he shou wu herb, the licorice root, or the bee derived royal jelly.
The Asian ginseng has no direct affect on the function and the working of the kidney and medical texts suggest that there is almost no connection between the function of this organ and ginseng.
However, traditionally the ginseng was also connected to the treatment of many types of kidney disorders, the kidney is indirectly affected by the ginseng in many ways.
The herb has a traditional and long standing reputation as a sexual tonic herb, it is used to relieve excessive stress, and to enhance the rate of active metabolism - most of these factors and conditions are connected to the Kidney and thus the herb can be said to affect the organ in some ways.
Formulas which are intended to strengthen and boost the performance of the kidney and increase its functioning often include ginseng, or one of its herbal substitutes, for this reason.Traditionally, the vital function performed by the Kidney has been recognized and the organ has often been said to be the "seat" of life itself.
The kidney performs many important roles in the body of a human, being responsible for the maintenance of the body and all the organ systems, the Kidney is also responsible for the regulation of reproductive organs in the body, it forms an essential component in the growth and maturation in the body.
According to the Chinese system of medicine, the metabolic fire rising from the heat of the kidney rules over both the water balance in the body as well as the general metabolism of the body.
Western medicine attributes these essential metabolic functions as being actions performed by the hypothalamus, the adrenal glands, and the pituitary glands.
Reproductive disorders and water imbalances can easily affect individuals affected by a deficiency in Kidney function - such individuals may also suffer from coldness in the body due to disrupted renal functioning.
According to the Chinese system of medicine, the respiration is controlled and regulated by the lungs and the Kidney working in tandem, due to this shortness of breath and a chronic cough can sometimes affect a person suffering from Kidney deficiency. Healthy bones and skeletal development in the body is another function controlled by the Kidneys.
Therefore, Chinese medicine treats all kinds of bone disorders including the commonly occurring osteoporosis through the Kidney. Deafness and ringing in the ears or tinnitus is also treated through the kidneys as the Kidneys are also believed to control the ears and the hearing.
As kidney functioning begins to tone down and deteriorate towards the end of life, symptoms such as a weakened hearing, the loss of calcium from bone and frail bones, the graying of hair, the low metabolism in the body, and the persistent and easy vulnerability to cold and all other normal signs of aging are due to the declining kidney functioning in the body.
Acupuncture treatments and tonic herbs intended to boost kidney functioning will be the first step taken by an oriental doctor in the treatment of persons in whom these signs appear early in life.
Staying up late at night repeatedly, overindulgence in sexual activities and persistent overwork and exertion can all tax and eventually injure the Kidney, leading to debilitation of its functioning.
The indirect effect of the Asian ginseng on the kidney is partly why the herb has a reputation as an effective anti-aging and endurance boosting herb in the herbal lore.
A direct herbal tonic for improving the kidney fire is good quality steamed ginseng, the steamed herb has a red color and compared to the raw herb, tends to have greater heating powers - it is normally used to boost kidney functioning.
Sexual restorative functions and longevity enhancing abilities are also attributed to many other herbal tonics, including the he shou wu - called the Fo Ti herb in the Western world - some of these herbs act directly on the kidney and can be used in combination with or in lieu of the ginsengs.
Ginseng and the six other health herbs (see below) can be used in six major forms or ways, they can be eaten raw, they can be eaten after being slightly cooked, and they can also be taken in the form of a herbal tea, in herbal wine form, or used in the form of herbal powder, or the extracts of the herb can be used in a number of ways.
Many Chinese herbal stores in North America sell the whole ginseng roots, and this ginseng is usually fresh. Buying the whole ginseng root is advantageous in one way, in that there is little room for mistake about the quality of the herbal product you receive, and the authenticity of the root is almost always guaranteed, even if the whole root may be more expensive than other types of ginseng based products.
There is a great difference in the quality of the commercially available ginseng, some ginseng products are much more potent than others and ginseng comes in many grades.
The price of the product gives a good indication of the quality of the ginseng used, especially when the commercial ginseng product is being brought from a reputable herbal dealer.
Since the product is so scarce and expensive, and as many of the herbal store owners in the Western world do not have a good idea about high quality ginseng roots, the quality of roots in the West is suspect as some of the Chinese herbal dealers may often pass off an inexpensive root for a high quality root to the commercial western trader - care should be taken when buying any ginseng product for this reason.
The greatest advantage of eating raw ginseng or lightly steamed ginseng is that all the most important chemical constituents in the herb can be obtained in this way.
Roots that are steamed for a few minutes are easier to slice and chew, while the whole raw ginseng roots are a little difficult to cut and eat.
The ideal way to eat these roots is to cut them in nickel thin slices that are very easy to handle and eat. During preparation of the ginger root, the entire whole root must be steamed and then cut up into slices, leaving some uncut will make it harder as the root will tend to dry again and will have to be steamed again - which is very inconvenient and makes the herb lose some of its potency.
Dosage of the ginseng eaten in this manner - raw or steamed - differs from one person to another, one or two of these thin slices eaten every day is sufficient for the average person.
The ideal way to store these slices of ginseng is to pour a little honey over the pre-sliced roots, keep these honey covered slices in an air tight container and refrigerate them for long term use.
Many commercial herbal stores also sell pre-sliced ginseng roots and these can be very convenient. Pre-slice ginseng products come from some Korean companies.
Compared to buying the whole root of the ginseng, gram for gram the sliced roots are less expensive and may be more convenient for the individual user.
Ginseng roots differ in mass and come in different weights, ranging from five grams to an ounce each - the bigger roots are more expensive.
Compared to the sliced root, the powdered form of ginseng root is easier to digest - and this form is available in many herbal stores.
The easiest way to consume the powdered ginseng is to take them in gelatin capsules; the majority of health food stores also stock these capsules along with the powdered ginseng.
An herbal combination formula can also be prepared by mixing the ginseng root along with other beneficial powdered herbs - these can be taken together to relieve a variety of conditions in patients. Most health and herbal stores will have commercial ginseng powders and these are usually sold in pre-packaged form.
Herbal tea made from ginseng is the ideal way to consume the herb, and the main advantage in making an herbal ginseng root tea is that many other beneficial herbs can be mixed in the tea.
Ginseng root tea is normally fortified in China by adding about three to five jujube dates to the steaming tea - this is then given to the patient for drinking.
Ginseng root tea can be transformed into a simple tonic herbal combination formula by adding other useful herbs like the licorice root, the astragalus, the Fo-Ti herb, the dong quai, herb or some schisandra berries - this fortified ginseng tea is much better for health then the ginseng tea taken alone. The expensive nature of ginseng makes it prohibitive to prepare a tea like regular tea using the herb alone.
A covered double boiler is normally used to cook the ginseng herb. A ginseng cooker which is made out of a small porcelain container is used in place of the top portion of a double boiler by the Chinese to prepare the ginseng. About two cups of herbal ginseng tea can be prepared from the water held in this cooker.
This Chinese ginseng cooker is designed in a way, in which the solution within the cooker is insulated from the outside air, the evaporation of the valuable ginseng in the cooker is prevented by an inner lid that covers the top, a second domed lid fits over that, the result is that an insulating air space exists between the first and the second lids which prevents spillage of the herbal brew.
Most Chinese stores have these very inexpensive cookers on sale. Results similar to the cooker can be achieved by utilizing a lidded pint canning jar, some ginseng and water can be kept in the lidded jar and this can be placed in a large pot of boiling water for steaming.
As boiling can cause the loss of some of the herbal constituents, using the cooker or the jar ensures not too much of the herbal constituents is lost and the main role played by the cooker or the lidded jar is to keep the ginseng tea from boiling over.
The cooker or the jar can both be used in the preparation of the ginseng herbal tea, use water and six grams of the ginseng herb to make the tea, boil the ginseng for about two hours in the container, as the boils away, water can be added when necessary to make up for the loss of water in the steam.
A crock pot set on low can be substituted for the pot on the stove, if you do not have the time or the inclination to continuously watch the water level in the container. When using the crock pot instead of the pot on the stove to boil the ginseng, the herb may need to be boiled about an hour longer.
Once the tea has been prepared, remove from the stove, strain and drink about half of it every day during the supplemental period. The boiled ginseng roots and the other herbs in the water must not be discarded immediately.
When boiling ginseng, you must remember that only the beneficial extracts lying in the outer part of the root are steeped into the water during the first boiling of the herbal tea, this initial boiling of the tea does not extract the active constituents lying in the inner parts of the root.
Cut the once boiled root in to small pieces so as to expose the core of the inner root and then subject these to boiling water to make a second boiling herbal tea.
A third boiling of the ginseng can also be carried out by repeating the cooking process at least twice - until all the ginseng has been used up. A single root of the ginseng can provide you with at least six doses of the herbal tea in this way.
Taking a one week break from supplementation will be useful, if the dosage of the ginseng tea over stimulates the body, and this break is advised especially when you are affected by any rare side effects of taking the ginseng, if affected by any side effects induced in the body by continuously taking the herb, take a break for one week and then repeat the daily doses at one fourth or one third of the cooker or jar content of herbal tea.
Drinking wine in which ginseng and other herbs have been soaked for a long time is very common in China; indeed drinking such wines is a common way to take doses of the ginseng and some of the other useful tonic herbs in China.
While any wine or strong liquor can be used for soaking the ginseng and other herbs, the rice wine is traditionally used as liquor for this purpose - the herbal extracts leak into the wine and also flavor the wine.
When ginseng is commonly used as a medicine in China and taken in doses of one ounce - it is used as a medicine in such small doses. Tonic herbs are complemented very well by wines as the wine "moves" the blood, the Chinese believe that such drinking wine improves and speeds up the circulation of blood.
Prepare the ginseng infused wine in this way: use about three ounces of the ginger root, and finely chop or thinly slice these into even sized pieces, use a rice liquor to soak these slices for five or six weeks at a stretch.
The rice wine must ideally be shaken once or twice every day, and the wine with the ginseng in it must be stored in a cool and dark area for the duration of the soaking period.
This preparation must be used as a medicine and cannot be considered as a regular alcoholic beverage, as over stimulation of the body will be the likely outcome of overindulging in the liquor.
Similar wine preparations can be made using some of the other beneficial tonic herbs, including herbs such as the deer antler, the Eleuthero root, the Fo-Ti herb, the schizandra berries, and the rehmannia herb.
To promote digestion and to fine tune the circulation in the body, some fennel seeds or a little bit of cardamom can be added along with the rehmannia herb. The ginseng wine can also be infused with these herbal tonics to make a combination herbal infused wine.
