Geri asks me: “Hi, I have been constantly sick for years, catching everything going. Immune system shot. Started Miso soup 3-5 days a week and didn’t get sick for months. But, gained 15lbs. Dr. advised i stop it, and lost 6 pounds within a week.
Would the miso have any benefit to me if i drank just 2 tablespoons a day instead of small bowl? Small amounts of vitamins and medications suit me, and am always told take the least of anything due to reactions.
What do you think?
Thanks very much. Geri “

So, lets see if we can’t help Geri and others raise their immune system in a healthy way. Hopefully we can do it in a way where no one is going to have a reaction!

I would like to start with the Miso Soup. Good job on picking up the miso and sticking to it. Well, gaining 15 lbs in a few months isn’t a medical problem so I don’t know why your doctor would intervene in this when you clearly made a good change and have not gotten sick! Seaweed and the minerals in miso soup are truly miracle workers in themselves. Seaweed is very alkaline which works to balance your body’s pH. Its a fact that people with higher acidic pH levels are more prone to getting sick. Seaweeds also balance your thyroid and metabolism as well. A problem I am seeing is the amount of salt in the miso soup! My suspicions here seem to be confirmed based on the fact that you lost 6 pounds in a week by not eating the miso soup. The saying goes like this “where sodium goes, water follows”. You have clearly built up quite a bit of water weight and your body has been able tore-balance itself when you stopped taking in the miso. You have taxed your kidneys a bit at this point in filtering the sodium out, but now you should be okay.

At this point lets talk about increasing immunity. In Chinese Medicine people don’t ‘catch a cold’. We believe that we are exposed to pathogens (germs) all the time. These external pathogens want to invade us all the time. It depends on the person and their defense system (wei qi or immunity) if they get sick or not.  This old Chinese Medicine way of looking at this has been proven by Western Science. In recent studies on ‘common cold’ or ‘rhino virus’ patients were planed with the rhino virus directly in thenostril . About 60% of the patients got sick. This study was used in very different ways, but as far as Chinese Medicine is concerned- What Happened to the Other 40%? Simply they had defense high enough to dispel the virus!

There are many herbs when used together to supplement the system they can raise your immunity! However, alone there is one that stands atop these called Astragalus or Huang Qi.  Huang Qi is well documented for this task and is recommend for everyone. This is a typical herb used through the Fall and Winter season. I would also note that Echinacea is also used to raise white blood cell count, but this herb should be used in no more than 10 day increments.

Immunity is best done by eating soups and such. Foods like Congee or Kicharee offer foods and herbs that are already cooked down. This allows your body to easily digest and assimilate the nutrients and foods. This really gives your body a break from working so hard on the foods we take in all the time. Also, making a soup or other food like this allows you to add herbs. Herbs for medicinal purposes need to be decocted down. Being in a crockpot and slow cooking for a few hours, you are also decocting these herbs!

Here is a recipe I would like you to switch to:
http://blogofherbs.com/herbs/energy-weight-maintenance-congee-recipe

This Congee recipe has many great herbs and is very uplifting to your energy and immune system. I want you to pay special attention to use the herbs Huang Qi and Dang Gui. If you can’t or aren’t able to source the other herbs that is fine! Huang Qi and Dang Gui together is going to supplement your body and immune system.

For ongoing immunity supplementing you can take pills for this as well! Lung Tonics, Yin Tonics, Immunity Tonics and such are essential here.
Dimmak Herbs sells a formula called ‘Immunity’. These pills contain Ginseng, Huang Qi, Dang Gui, Goji (Gou Qi Zi) Berries, Licorice Root, and about 5 other herbs that synergistically are used to raise your immunity to these external pathogens!

I think between alternating these other foods and maybe eating Miso once a week should be great. Also note the usage of seaweeds in the Congee recipe, add more if you like!

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Hana asks “I’ve problems with arthritis in my hands. What can help me because it is painful and I must do everything because I’ve take care of my husband that passed 3 strokes and hardly can walk. I’ll be very obliged if You can suggest some herbs or something else.”

Arthritis can manifest in 2 ways, either with or without inflammation.
In Chinese Medicine this is an obstruction syndrome called Bi Syndrome. This is characterized as, usually, wind/cold/damp invasion of the joints. More often than not you need to dispel the cold/damp from the area by warming and dispeling.

There are a few herbs that are quite specific for the job here. Yu Jin / Turmeric Rhizome, Du Huo / Angelica Dahurica, Qiang Huo / Notopterygium, and Fang Feng / Siler are some of the main herbs for this condition. Normally these herbs are pretty easy to source, but you may not necessarily be able to get all or some of these.

Take these herbs and some fresh ginger and make a strong decoction in equal amounts. I would say about 10 grams of each into 4 cups of water and reduce into 2 cups.  Take half of the decoction and apply to your hands using some flannel cloth and keep reapplying and keeping warm. Take the rest of the decoction and drink warm in two parts that day.

If you don’t know how or can’t source some or any of these herbs then put 8oz of fresh ginger in 2 cups of apple cider vinegar. Shake that up for 3-10 days and apply that to your hands 3 times a day.

The best solutions to a complicated problem like arthritis is the application of Liniments. Liniments are very potent extractions of herbs in alcohol. The liniments are applied directly to the area and allow for quick penetration of the herbs. The herbs listed above can make a good liniment, but good liniments take some time to make. Some very specific top of the line liniments made are Dimmak Herbs Liniments. For arthritis the Joint Renew Arthritis Liniment would be appropriate and it includes about 15-20 herbs and essential oils including Tea Tree Oil. If your going to pick up some products there for arthritis you should also take Blood Purifier, as this has herbs that would be called upon for fighting arthritis internally!

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Jamika asks:

Dear Sean- Can you advise an herb for really really really bad menstrual cramps?

Yes I can.
In the herbal world cramping is considered spasms. What you want to control cramping is naturally an anti-spasmodic. This would be similar to formulas that one would use for nervousness, shock, as well as cramping.

To name 1 herb for this condition I would definitely go with one that is anti-spasmodic and has affinity for the Female Reproductive System.
Black Haw is the most powerful single herb for this. A possible substitution is Cramp Bark (for cost, availability, etc…)
A tincture would work best here. Take about 20 drops 2-3 times daily or as needed.

General herbs many may have around or easier availability would be Skullcap, Lobelia, and Valerian.

Jamika, hope things go well for you. Should you get me more info we can come up with a bit better of a formula for you next time.

Perhaps to make it easy you can just buy a formula straight from online that can help very much in this! Try these PMS & Cramps forumlas form Dimmak Herbs

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Vanessa, 31 from Garner, NC asks me “what is a good herbal expectorant for phlegm? I am having allergic reactions to ?? I am not sure of. However, i seem to have alot of phlegm collecting in my lungs.”

Well Vanessa lets look at this. Phlegm is also called sputum and mucous. In Chinese Medicine phlegm does not really need to be a physical form coughed up from your lungs, but that is another discussion. Typically here is how phlegm develops. Phlegm starts as a form of dampness and then is decocted down into a much thicker substance. Your lungs are naturally a damp place and if that place is heated up and that fluid is cooked you have created some phlegm in there. This is a generalization, but a very common source of getting this phlegm. Now, typically phlegm will be a dark color from the heat. The lighter the color the more heat you have there. Usually you will end up with a more clear runny phlegm, a yellowish is more ‘cool’ but I will go over herbs to cover both of these.

Vanessa wasn’t very descriptive with her condition. So lets cover a nice general condition. Let’s add in a cough that will usually accompany the phlegm, which is your bodies natural instinctive way to expel the phlegm. What we want to do here is get rid of the phlegm by breaking it down and expelling it. We also want to soothe your throat, tonify your lungs and quiet your cough.
I like to use syrups here since we can soothe the throat at the same time and give an application that will coat the area leaving the medicine on the area. An alternative is a smoking mixture where you can use mullien, but lets move on to the syrup.

We want to use an expectorant, in other words something that expels the phlegm out. Comfrey and/or Playcodon are the good herbs here. To quiet the cough we will use the ultra powerful Kuan Dong Hua or Coltsfoot. This herb can be a little pricey but it works very well and tastes/smells wonderful. To compliment and soothe we will use Wild Cherry Bark that will also add some good flavor. I personally would use Lobelia here to open the system up to the treatment.

Gather these herbs and throw them in a stainless steel pot. You want 4oz of herb and add water to the pot to match the height or 500ml would be good. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for over an hour. Keep decocting and cooking down to get a think substance but make sure not to burn anything. You can remove the herbs and throw the water back in and a add a bit of Slippery Elm pre-mixed with a little water and add it in there. This will thicken the decoction, but don’t add too much it will get slimy. After this add honey and or glycerin to the decoction to thicken.

1-3 teaspoons of this mixture as needed should do a great job to our condition here. Should you rather buy this ready to take, Dimmak Herbs Cough Section also sells a cough syrup that is similar to this and works great (go under products and its under ’syrups’). I feel a nice tingle in my throat and fast relief. On a final note your concoction should be kept refrigerated. This should now last you about 3-6 months.

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