He Shou Wu for Anti Ageing.
He Shou Wu (fleece flower root) is a Chinese medicine blood tonic, with a bitter, sweet, astringent taste and a slightly warm temperature.
From a Chinese Medicine perspective this herb has the ability to:
1) Tonify the Liver and Kidneys, nourish the blood, and augment the essence;
2) Expel wind from the skin by nourishing the blood.
3) Moisten the intestines and unblock the bowels for constipation due to blood deficiency
Some of the indications for the use of He Shou Wu include:
1) Dizziness, blurred vision, prematurely greying of the hair, weakness in the lower back and knees, soreness in the extremities, nocturnal emissions, and insomnia;
These signs and symptoms are describing a deficiency with the kidney qi and liver blood
2) Wind rash due to blood deficiency.
He Shou Wu is taken in China for its ability to turn the hair black. Having black glossy hair is a sign of good health and longevity and shows that your Kidney essence is strong.
The story of how this herb gained its reputation involves a man called Mr He who was plagued will ill-health and infertility. He had the plant growing in his garden and after observing how its many vines and tendrils tangled and intertwined, he began consuming the plant daily. After several years his health returned, his hair turned black, his complexion was youthful, and he farther children
In the UK we also have an obsession with antiaging, and although not everybody is looking to darken their hair, having strong kidney qi and essence is the best way to keep your bones and ligaments young as well as the face and hair.
What do the kidneys have in common with head hair and anti aging?
The foundations of Chinese medicine, teach you that the body is connected in many different ways. Each organ system has its own emotion, colour, flavour, season and sense, all of which can be directly affect the function or dis function of the associated organ.
The kidneys are connected to, and influence the head hair, the ears and hearing, the bones and teeth. The dysfunctions we see in these aspects of then body correlates to a decline of kidney qi and essence. to the development of lower back pain, knee pain, greying of the hair, the oss of hair and the diminished hearing, as we age.
How does the Kidney Qi and Kidney Essence decline?
The decline of the Kidney Qi and Essence follows the natural aging process we are used to seeing. From the moment we are born we are constantly creating qi and equally depleting qi with our lifestyle choices and environment and age.
If we burn the candle at both ends, have many pregnancy’s back to back, over work and over study, poor eating and sleeping habits, for examples, we can use up our kidney qi more rapidly.
how to increase Kidney Qi and function ?
DIET: Eating with the seasons, avoiding processed cold foods, and eating with good intentions with out fear and negativity
LIFESTYLE: Keeping warm in the winter, plenty of rest, moving the hips and waist line, increasing flexibility,
CHINESE MEDICINE: Acupuncture to improve the flow of qi to and from the kidneys and to increase the connection to the other organs. Chinese Herbal Medicine, to Strenghen the kidneys, to assist in the kidney functions of nourishing the ears, the hair the bones and the teeth, hte liver and the heart .
He shou wu is one herb which is more common that others, however we do n ot recommend that hebs be taken alone, but shod be taken in a balanaced formula which comloments the individual and facilitated the whiole body floe of qi.
The Pharmacology of He Shou Wu:
Antiaging
Antiarrhythmic
Antihyperlipidemic
Cardiotonic
Endocrine (adrenal)
Hematopoietic (red blood cells)
Immunostimulant
Laxative
Vasodilator (coronary artery)
(Source: Chen and Chen)
