WARREN KING, L.Ac.

We don’t often think about our adrenal glands, but having healthy adrenals is really a key for feeling well. These walnut sized glands sit atop our kidneys. They have a lot to do with controlling of other glands and hormones of the body. The outer layer or cortex produces hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, DHEA and cortisol.

The central portion produces adrenaline, which is used in the fight or flight response.

Under stress your heart rate and blood pressure increase, your energy stores are ready for immediate use and your digestion slows. Your senses are also sharpened. This is healthy response to stress in an emergency. But in modern society stress can become an ongoing state of affairs. When we don’t get enough sleep, when there are financial pressures, relationship issues, and a reliance on caffeine and simple carbs for energy our adrenals can become fatigued.

In oriental medicine what we think of as adrenals was considered part of the kidney energy system. Symptoms of deficient kidneys are what you may consider as old age symptoms like graying or losing hair, weakening of bones or teeth, low back pain, memory loss, sleeping poorly, low sexual energy and sensitivity to cold.

It was thought that the kidney/adrenal energy could especially be healed during the winter. I’m concerned that with our lack of a real winter this year, the energy is not going deeper in the body to replenish the kidneys, like a tree trying to bud when it should be storing up nutrients in it’s roots.

Fear and anxiety are the emotions generated by an imbalanced kidney/ adrenal energy. But also being in a state of fear can weaken those organs.

A sauna can warm up the kidneys, as can a compress over the kidneys made of strong ginger tea. Silent meditation or mindfulness, just being in the present moment, without mental chatter, can be very useful in reducing stress.

There are many herbs that help the adrenals as well such as ginseng, schizandra, rhodiola, turmeric, astragalus, galanga and ginger. These are found in a product I often use called “Adrenal Balance”. Some foods that can help the kidneys are the high protein grain quinoa, burdock root, kale, azuki beans, tempeh, sea vegetables, green tea, olive oil, and miso soup. Try to enjoy what’s left of our deficient winter without kidney/adrenal deficiency.

The Stomach-Diagnosis
Your Food Includes All of Life’s Experiences
by Bill Tims

Recently I was in the intensive care ward of Massachusetts General Hospital to visit a close friend of mine who was fighting for his life with acute duodenal ulceration, kidney failure, severe edema, and a rapidly weakening heart condition. As I entered the quiet, sterile, yet busy room, I was instantly consumed by a heavy cloud of death. As I approached what was to be my friend’s deathbed, I saw him lying there, unconscious, swollen beyond recognition, and punctured like a pin cushion with intravenous needles for injecting both food and medications.

A sudden mixture of emotions simultaneously arose in me. It was fear of death; a strange combination of gratitude toward the doctor and nurses caring for their patient and anger at the machines and medical establishment that they represented; and disappointment toward this friend who seven years earlier had left conventional medical care to seek and find relief from terminal pancreatic cancer through macrobiotics and now had returned to die such an ignoble death.

Clearly he was no longer fighting for his life. He was in fact struggling to die! Within moments, an awful odor of death pervaded every cell of my body, and I began to feel a slight tightening in the pit of my stomach which grew and grew until it encompassed my entire central abdomen, sending waves of nausea and dizziness to my head. First, being somewhat embarrassed at my lack of self-control, I tried to relax and accept what I was experiencing without emotional involvement. When this approach failed, I tried in vain to force back my nausea. Finally, I practically stumbled into the lobby of the hospital and out into the fresh air. I kept saying to myself, ‘I just cannot stomach this.’ I felt as if my stomach were regurgitating the odors and vibrations of the room, just as it might have a big swallow of soured milk.

Two reflections instantly came to me. First, our food obviously consists not only of our physical food and drink but also includes all our life’s experiences, what we take in every day through our senses, our emotions, our intellect, and our spirit. Second, the stomach is the body’s central location for judging whether a food is to be accepted or rejected. Nausea serves as a rejection slip which notifies the central nervous system that poisonous food or vibrations have entered the body.

The stomach is a J-shaped hollow organ located in the upper-left portion of the abdominal cavity and surrounded by most of the other major organs of the body. Eighty-five percent of its mass lies to the left of the body midline. It has four distinct layers, including: 1) the mucosa or the innermost coat of the stomach that secretes digestive enzymes; 2) the submucosa or connective tissue between the submucosa and the muscles of the stomach; 3) the muscular coat, which enables the stomach to contract and expand and therefore move food toward the intestines, and 4) the serosa or outer coat. The stomach mucosa contains millions of tubular glands, the cells of which secrete pepsin or hydrochloric acid as well as small quantities of mucin, anti anemia materials, and inorganic salts. Pepsin, along with hydrochloric acid, decomposes protein into its various amino acids. This enzymatic action together with muscular peristalsis converts solid food into semi-liquid chyme, an acid that relaxes the lower stomach pyloric valve and allows the chyme to be propelled into the duodenal section of the small intestine.

The traditional and Oriental view of the stomach extends beyond these anatomical and physiological features, as they do with all organs, to include certain energetic, emotional, psychological, and cosmological characteristics. According to this view, the stomach, since it occupies roughly the center of the abdomen, plays a crucial role in centering and stabilizing the various aspects of our life. Energetically, the stomach is the location of the third chakra (energy center) where the forces from heaven and earth collide, charging and emanating out to the kidneys, spleen, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Emotionally, a healthy stomach is considered to result in stability, confidence, and prudence, while stomach imbalances are thought to lead to worry, skepticism, and certain forms of anxiety.

First, let’s take a look at the constitutional tendencies of the stomach by examining the second and third toes on each foot. which are the ends of the pathways for the stomach acupuncture meridians. These two toes are often longer than the large toe and may be partially or completely webbed, both conditions showing an excessive consumption of fruit, sugar, medications, and refined foods taken by the mother during pregnancy, resulting in an expanded (yin) stomach structure. This tendency is further indicated if the mouth is considerably wider than the nostrils or if the upper lip is thick. The opposite, though much less common condition, is when these toes are considerably smaller than the large toe or are curled toward the big toe, a condition created by the mother’s excessive intake during pregnancy of salt and minerals together with animal food. This contractive (yang) constitutional tendency is further increased if the mouth is narrow or the upper lip is nonexistent. (Incidentally, vigorous massage of these toes is a great treatment for nausea or upset stomach.)

To diagnose conditional stomach problems, we can begin by looking at the corresponding areas in the face, the bridge of the nose, and the upper lip. While the mouth as a whole shows the condition of the entire digestive tract, the upper lip accordingly represents the upper digestive tract or stomach. Even more specifically, the left upper lip shows the upper stomach while the right upper lip shows the lower stomach. The stomach generally develops one of two primary conditions, either too swollen and expanded (yin) or too tight and contracted (yang), either of which will often lead to the most common of stomach problems, over acidity. Because of the stomach functions, which are primarily to secrete acid enzymes for the digestion of protein, the stomach naturally becomes acidic regardless of what we eat. Problems arise only when this acidity reaches an extreme, usually the result of an excessive intake of animal protein or sugar. An occasional case of acid insufficiency usually is the result of too much salt or strong alkalizing agents such as baking powder or soda.

An expanded stomach condition usually appears as swollenness in the upper lip and is most often caused by over-eating or eating too many refined or simple carbohydrates such as white sugar, honey, fruit or fruit juices, alcohol, and white flour. A contracted stomach condition, on the other hand, will appear as tightness of the upper lip and is caused by the intake of meat, eggs, salt, dry baked foods, or fasting. As mentioned, either of these conditions may result in an acidic stomach condition, which often causes inflammation or a blister on the upper lip.

Freckles or brown blotches, a common appearance on the bridge of the nose, indicates chronic stomach acidosis, ulcerations, hypoglycemic and diabetic tendencies, or even stomach cancer. (In the case of stomach cancer this area may also take on a slightly green shading.) The bridge of the nose or often even the entire nose along with the upper cheeks may also become red. This indicates chronic swollenness and inflammation of the stomach, spleen, and lymphatic system, again owing to an excessive consumption of animal protein and refined sugar.

The skin as a whole can also be a good indicator of stomach imbalances. For instance, a dirty or splotchy brown skin color indicates chronic acid stomach condition due to excessive fruit or sugar consumption. This is particularly noticeable when there is also prolonged exposure to the sun, resulting in a so-called ‘suntan’ (when you cook sugar it turns brown!). This is the same for freckles. Moles or warts, on the other hand, also show an acid stomach condition but in this case caused by an excessive consumption of animal protein.

Next, please examine the near back of your tongue looking for the following symptoms: 1) dark red coloration, indicating inflammation, ulcers, and a progression toward stomach cancer: 2) a white or yellow coloration or white patches, indicating accumulations of fat and mucus in the stomach and general tiredness of the digestive functions; 3) blue or purple coloration from the over consumption of expanding foods such as fruits, juices, soft drinks, chemicals, alcohol, drugs, medications, or sugar; or 4) small mushroom-like eruptions also indicting acidity, ulcerations, and often nausea and regurgitations.

Recommendations for harmonious stomach functions include the avoidance of acid forming foods, including meat, eggs dairy foods, refined sugar, nuts, oils, and stimulants. Reduction of stress-producing factors in one’s life, in particular eating while in a rush or while emotionally upset, is also recommended. Avoid cold foods and beverages which can tend to shock the stomach. Emphasis should be placed on whole grains (well chewed), vegetables, beans, sea vegetables, and cooked fruits.

In ancient times, the center of a village or hamlet was almost always the granary, the central storehouse and distribution center for the village’s staple foods. Most probably, this was even the precursor for latter day church temples, shrines, altars, and holy places. The stomach then represented the granary or centrum of the body, held to be the symbol of home, family, and stability. A strong home and family life and a strong stomach were reflections of one another. Treat your stomach to a warm and secure hearth place.

The Stomach
You Needn’t Be Diamond Jim Brady to Have a Champion

Stomachs will hold just about anything we put in. To most people, the stomach is the fool of the body-after all, its only dream in life is to fill itself with food, and it has to be a dummy to tolerate the abuse we give it at times.

The stomach has few talents compared to other organs, but what it does-taking in and processing large amounts of food-it does extremely well. An elephant’s stomach calmly takes in up to 750 pounds of grass and green leaves every day, while large snakes swallow whole pigs and antelopes, and alligator stomachs think nothing of digesting turtles, shell and all.

Not to be outdone by our lower relatives, human beings (usually the male of the species) often try to prove their superiority by testing their stomachs. Some of the recent world eating record include ingesting 63 bananas in ten minutes; 37 donuts in 15 minutes; eight pounds of ice cream in 16 minutes; 83 hamburgers in 2.5 hours; 44 hard-boiled eggs in 30 minutes; 25 soft-boiled eggs in three minutes; and 13 raw eggs in 3.8 seconds.

Going for bigger game, one man ate 27 two-pound chickens at one sitting, while another man sat down next to a whole sheep and when he stood up again left only the fleece, skin, bones, and horns.

These feats are special performances and not typical daily events for the champions. There are, however, people whose regular daily consumption of food has made them legends. One such hero was the turn-of-the-century millionaire Diamond Jim Brady, a sociable fellow who did a lot of his eating publicly at New York City hotels and fashionable spas like Saratoga. According to first-hand accounts, a typical day for Diamond Jim would include a breakfast of hominy grits, eggs, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, lamb chops, fried potatoes, beefsteak, and a gallon of orange juice (his favorite drink). A late-morning snack of two or three dozen oysters was followed by 12:30 lunch of clams, oysters, boiled lobsters, deviled crabs, a joint of beef, and a variety of pies. Afternoon tea consisted of a heaping plate of seafood and several quarts of lemonade.

When evening came, Diamond Jim reached the true peak of his powers and ate a dinner of two or three dozen oysters, six crabs, several bowls of green turtle soup, six or seven lobsters, two ducks, a double serving of turtle meat, a sirloin steak, vegetables, and orange juice. He topped this off with several platters piled with cakes and pies, and a two-pound box of candy.

Diamond Jim Brady’s stomach was a true champion. The normal American stomach has to cope only with three pounds of solids and two quarts of liquids a day, about seven pounds in all.

Strangely enough, there was a time when there were no stomachs at all. Over 500 million years ago when the first fish appeared, they had no stomachs and no jaws. They were like living vacuum cleaners, scouring the sea bottom sucking up tiny bits of plants and other particles. Gradually they became more active and developed jaws with which they began to eat other fish and sea animals. This is when stomachs developed. Until this time, fish had eaten a continuous stream of tiny food particles that could go directly into their intestines, pass slowly along while being digested, and exit out their rear ends. At this time they began to eat other animals whole or in big chunks and large amounts at various times rather than small amounts continuously.

To this day, our stomachs still serve their original purposes: 1) to hold the large amounts of food we eat; 2) to complete the first stage of protein digestion; 3) to mix all the food with the acids it secretes; and 4) to pass this food on as liquid to the intestines at a proper rate.

There are three main ingredients in our food that need to be digested: carbohydrate, fat, and protein. (Minerals and water are already in a simple form and are easily absorbed in to the blood.) The body has a definite plan for our foods: Carbohydrates (starch) are digested in two stages-in the mouth they are partly broken down, and when they reach the small intestine the digestion is completed and they are absorbed. Carbohydrates are not digested in the stomach at all.

Protein is not digested in the mouth but begins to be broken down when it comes in contact with the combination of hydrochloric acid and the enzyme pepsin in the stomach. The small intestine finishes the job and absorbs the final product. Fat (oil) is digested neither in the mouth nor in the stomach but only in the small intestine where it is also absorbed.

Carbohydrate, protein, and fat can be absorbed only through the small intestine. The mouth, the stomach, and the large intestine do not have the ability to absorb these foods. In cases where inedible foods or other substances that are not suitable for human beings are taken in, absorption will sometimes take place in the mouth, stomach, or large intestine, but his is not natural. Substances such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and many drugs will be absorbed to some extent by any part of the digestive tract.

Food stays in the stomach in the same order in which we eat it. The stomach has a definite order in which it prefers to digest and pass on food, and if we upset that order indigestion is far more likely to happen.

For smooth, complete digestion, each type of food needs to be passed through its key digestion area in an orderly and unhurried way. For instance, if starch, protein, and oil are put into a jar, the oil will rise to the tip, the starch will sink to the bottom, and the protein will be in-between. This, then, is the order in which we should eat; from carbohydrates to protein to fat.

If complex carbohydrates are our main food, we are in harmony with both the oldest traditions of human beings as well as our evolutionary development. Apes changed into human beings when they stopped eating mainly fruit and began eating grains, beans, and seeds. To be digested properly, starch must be 1) chewed thoroughly and mixed with the saliva and enzymes in the mouth, 2) thoroughly mixed with the acids in the stomach, and 3) completely digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Starch needs to be held in the stomach only long enough to mix with the acids there. Starchy foods include grains, vegetables, beans, bread, and potatoes.

Protein is the dominant nutrient in all flesh foods, especially the less fatty types such as fish, lean meat, and chicken. Protein is not affected by the saliva and enzymes in the mouth and begins to be broken down chemically only in the stomach. This is the reason meat-eaters (both human and animal) tend not to chew much. In fact, choking on large pieces of meat has become so common that many states require all restaurants to have throat-clearing instruments on the premises. If protein food is eaten before starch food, the starch will have to wait because the protein needs to stay in the stomach a long time. During this time, the starch will move down, the protein will rise, and indigestion can easily happen.

Fatty and oily foods include fatty meats, all dairy foods, eggs oils, nuts, nut butters, and others. These fats are not broken down until they reach the small intestine and there they must spend a long time passing slowly through. In general, the speed with which a meal passes through the stomach depends on the amount of fat and oil in it. When fat or oil reaches the first part of the small intestine, the movements and secretions of the stomach are dramatically slowed. When this happens, food tends to just sit in the stomach. For example, there is very little fat or oil in Chinese cooking compared to American cooking, and so Chinese food will be digested faster and leave the stomach sooner. This is the basis for the complaint that American food tastes good, but an hour later you’re hungry again.’

The stomach-stopping power of fat and oil is sometimes used for practical purposes. For instance, people will often eat cheese hors d’oeuvres or other fatty snacks at the beginning of a cocktail party so that the stomach stops working and the alcohol they drink will stay in the stomach and not reach the intestines quickly and be absorbed. This prevents them from getting drunk so quickly. Taking butter, cream, or oily food along with coffee also reflects this principle. Caffeine is a powerful stimulator of acid secretion in the stomach and can often cause over-acidity or heartburn. Fats and oils slow the secretion of acid and help neutralize the acidic effects of coffee or tea.

On the other hand, this stomach-stimulating power of caffeine can be used to help digestion. Coffee is often drunk after meals in America, here the meals contain a lot of stomach-slowing fat. Coffee counteracts this and gets the stomach moving. Alcohol has a similar effect, as does nicotine, and so after-dinner cigars, brandies, coffees, teas, and cigarettes are standard ingredients in oily and fatty meals. Sugars (especially refined sugar and honey) will also stop the stomach, and it is very common to include a strong dose of caffeine or a similar substance like theobromine in soft drinks and candy bars. Donut shops that sell only coffee and pastry (caffeine and sugar) are thriving in the United States. A recent news story told about a race horse that grabbed a candy bar from his trainer’s shirt pocket and ate it just before a race. The horse ran the race and won, only to be disqualified later when track officials found illegally high levels of caffeine and theobromine in his blood. The appetite-suppressing effect of sugar is well known, and this happens because both a full stomach and a dose of sugar will stop the stomach movements that accompany hunger.

In general, liquids will leave the stomach faster than anything else and will even quickly bypass the food in a full stomach, reach the exit valve at the bottom and leave in a few minutes. Water drunk with meals has little effect on the time that food stays in the stomach. If fruits are eaten alone, they leave the stomach in one or two hours, but if taken along with other foods they can cause indigestion, especially if eaten before other foods. This is because fruits are mainly sugar.

Even though starch and sugar are both carbohydrates, their effects on the body are very different. Sugars tend to stop stomach activity and create acidic blood, while starches (especially well-chewed whole grains) create alkaline blood. Vegetables and grains will stay in the stomach for much less time than either protein or fat, and fats leave the stomach more slowly than any other food. For smooth and orderly digestion, here are some things we can consider:

1. Diet

Some foods are appropriate for the physical, mental, and spiritual development of human beings and some are not. Our digestive system is precisely designed for the digestion of those foods that are best for us. By understanding the digestive system of human beings or any other animal, we can clearly see what foods will be best.

2. Chewing

In general, the less evolved an animal is, the less chewing it does. Digestion is basically chemical in nature, and if food is not chewed well, the digestive juices can’t reach their targets efficiently. For example, large lumps of meat have been found in the stomach as long as nine hours after eating, while ground meat leaves the stomach in a fraction of this time.

3. Order

Eating foods in the proper order is a little-known secret of health. In general, foods that are mixed together or contain a large variety of ingredients should be avoided.

4. Temperature

Cold foods are preferred by people who eat a lot of flesh foods like meat, eggs, and chicken. Cold foods not only tend to disrupt digestion but are a prime factor in causing fat and mucus to harden into rigid deposits, cysts, and stones in the kidneys, liver, gallbladder, intestines, spleen, and pancreas, which are all in direct contact with the stomach.

5. Environment

The place where we eat should be slightly dark, warm, and have an atmosphere that is both peaceful and relaxing. These conditions are all conductive to the functioning of our digestive organs. The brightly lit, hurried, and tense atmospheres of fast-food restaurants are ill-suited for dining.

6. Emotions

Tension, fear, depression, pain, sadness, and other disturbing feelings will stop the digestive process. Eating in these mental states in common to people who develop sickness, while healthier people who tend to live long lives intuitively avoid eating food when they’re not feeling well.

7. Activity

Digestion will go well in proportion to how relaxed we are. Standing or moving while eating is practiced only by fish and some modern people. It’s best to sit peacefully while eating, and the amount of activity immediately after a meal should not be more than a leisurely stroll.

8. Quantity

In general, the less we eat the better it is for both digestion and health. Of course, babies and growing children need much more food. We should eat less if we want to think clearly and be spiritually aware, because the functions of the nervous and digestive systems are like a see-saw: the more one is active, the less active the other will be. When our stomachs and intestines are full, our energy goes to those locations and is not available for optimum thinking and other mental or spiritual activities. On the other hand, when we are intensely concentrating on something, we become much less interested in food. People in love, for instance, often lose weight and forget to eat at all.

The Pancreas
This Gland’s Balancing Act Keeps Us Centered

While probably one out of ten suffer from diabetes, a 1977 HEW study revealed that every other person in the U.S. suffers from hypoglycemia, diabetes’ mysterious sister disorder. True, as our third leading cause of death, diabetes in all its ramifications annually kills 350,000 Americans (just over half the death rate of cancer), and the number of reported ‘hypoglycemia deaths’ is minute by comparison. But once one realizes that hypoglycemia has been identified as a possible cause for at least a major proportion of alcoholism, drug abuse, violent crime, suicide, psychiatric disorders, and many other common ills that result in death or disablement, one begins to get the uneasy feeling that hypoglycemia itself may be the heavyweight, and not diabetes.

The two disorders together form what we might call a national ‘epidemic of being uncentered,’ for both are related to an imbalanced function of the gland that is largely responsible for our being ‘centered’-the pancreas.

The human organism maintains its equilibrium through three general operations: first, it regulates the biochemical qualities of the nutrients absorbed through digestion of food; second , it controls the delicate balance of different substances carried in the blood (which is built from digested food through the actions of the endocrine ( hormone) system); and third, it balances different functions of energy, mind and spirit. The pancreas and its energies lie at the center of all three operations. Even the name, literally translated from the Greek as ‘all flesh,’ is a clue to its central, balancing role.

Its position is another clue: the organ begins at the center of the torso, the solar plexus, its head nestled against the duodenum, its body and tail extending straight out of the left behind the stomach. ‘Solar plexus’ indicates that it is solar energy, captured by plants and bonded to carbon (with oxygen and water ) as carbohydrate, that is unlocked by digestion (controlled) by the pancreas), and is finally released to animate our thoughts, words, and deeds (again, under the guiding force of the pancreas’s energy). Let’s consider the role the pancreas plays in each of these three areas.

THE DIGESTIVE ROLE

The pancreas of a truly healthy person has a rich golden-yellow color, though in sickness and on autopsy its radiant sheen fades to a withered grass color. It somewhat resembles a fish, measuring about eight inches from head to tail. In place of the fish’s solid spine is the hollow pancreatic duct, which runs from left to right (tail to head), collecting the enzyme-rich pancreatic juice and depositing it into the duodenum via the common bile duct (which also delivers bile from the liver and gallbladder).

Virtually all the products of digestion gather in the duodenum, our digestive central clearinghouse. Carbohydrates (especially complex carbohydrates or starches) are first acted upon by starch-digesting enzymes called amylases in the saliva as you chew your food; proteins are the primary target of the stomach’s digestive juices; fats are emulsified by bile from the liver and gallbladder. These actions are but preludes to the pancreatic concerto that follows. Within minutes after you take your first bite, the pancreas is already tuning up and beginning to secrete its powerful enzymes into the duodenum. Closely resembling saliva, the slightly alkaline pancreatic juice-the most versatile digestive fluid in the body-contains different enzymes that act upon all classes of nutrients and foods. The partially digested food then proceeds, together with all its pancreatic enzymes busily at work, downward through the maze of the small intestine where all its usable nutrients are finally absorbed into the bloodstream towards the liver, heart, and lungs for the finale of circulation. It is here that the pancreas’s hormones come into play.

THE PANCREAS’ ENDOCRINE ROLE

Scattered throughout the pancreatic tissue surrounding the pancreatic central duct are tiny, irregularly shaped coils of cells, called the islets of Langerhans after their discoverer. These cell clusters are most numerous in the tail, and have no physical connection with the pancreas’s central duct or digestive function. Four distinct types of cells have so far been identified: A cells, B cells, D cells, and F cells (the first three are also called alpha, beta, and delta). Each cell type secretes its own hormone(s), which do not enter the duct but pass directly into the blood circulation through tiny capillaries permeating the gland’s tissue.

The first violin of this hormonal string quartet is the beta-cell, which secretes insulin, the hormone so well-known in connection with diabetes. The second-diddle alphas secrete glucagon, or ‘anti-insulin,’ which opposes the action of insulin and is also thought to have a role in the development of diabetes. Artificial glucagon is often injected for emergency treatment to counteract an accidental overdose of injected artificial insulin. The mellower violas, the delta-cells, secrete two hormones that maintain harmony within the violins’ counterpoint: somatostatin, which tones down the action of both alpha and beta cells, and gastrin, which does the opposite. Finally, the cello of the group, the F-cells, secrete pancreatic polypeptide, which serves as a bass-line and regulates the entire harmony of both hormonal and digestive functions of the pancreas and the stomach as well.

Insulin is truly a virtuoso, a veritable Paganini of a hormone! Its commonly known role is in lowering blood glucose levels by sending circulating glucose off into body cells to be burned as fuel, or into storage as glycogen (‘animal starch’) in the liver and muscles or as fat in adipose tissue. But insulin has a variety of other functions. Also known as the ‘Storage hormone,’ it causes free-circulating amino acids and fat constituents to leave the bloodstream and build up muscle, fat, and other body tissues. Severely insulin-deficient diabetics often lose weight, muscle, and skin tone for this reason. Insulin is also the sole hormone responsible for the prodigious growth and bodily development of the fetus during pregnancy; the fetal pancreas’s secretion of insulin is fully operational. In macrobiotic terminology, all these functions are considered yang, that is, having a concentrating, gathering, building effect. The effects of insulin are balanced somewhat by the glucagon, and even more so by the action of other organs and glands such as the liver and adrenals.

THE ENERGY ROLE

Traditional Chinese medicine has no labels for endocrine glands as such, but describes their energies and functions together with parallel digestive and excretory or circulatory organs. Hence, ‘kidneys’ refers to the physical kidneys and their associated meridians, and to the adrenal glands and gonads as well. By the same token, ‘heart’ may be considered as including the thyroid. The actions attributed to the ‘spleen’ in Chinese medicine actually describe the functions of both the spleen and the pancreas. Though the Chinese never used the term ‘pancreas,’ I will use it here to appropriately designate ‘spleen.’

The Nei Ching, the classic Chinese book of medicine, describes the pancreas as ‘the official of the center,’ and characterizes its energy as soil. Soil is the most harmonizing energy. It refers to the downward, gathering force typical of pancreatic juice and insulin. The soil organs and meridians guide our response to every seasonal and climatic change, balancing us during times of transition. Virtually every illness was considered by the Chinese to involve the soil organs at least secondarily.

In terms of consciousness, the pancreas was held to be the seat of reason, intellect and understanding, empathy, decision-making, and clarity of direction. The pancreas expresses itself in the voice, with a healthy, vital gland producing a distinctively rich, melodious speech and the special gift of song.

If you look at an anatomical chart, you cannot help notice that the liver and stomach together almost exactly replicate the famous Tai Chi symbol of yin and yang. More accurately, though, it is the pancreas lying behind the stomach that forms a complementary unity with the liver-in many ways, the two are mirror images. While the pancreas is animated by the down ward, more consolidating energy that dominates the body’s left side (the brain’s left hemisphere and the descending colon are two other examples), the liver is created and nourished more by the yin, ascending, and more expanding energy that influences the right side. Consequently, the liver is ten times the size and weight of the pancreas. It sends the blood glucose level up while the pancreas sends it down. It takes apart the stores of fat, protein, and glycogen the pancreas builds up. As the pancreas modifies the physical and biochemical properties of nutrients moving down to enter the bloodstream through the intestine, the liver receives the intestines’s new blood and filters, detoxifies, and regulates its biochemical qualities before sending it up to the hear it and lungs for distribution.

Energetically, the times of the pancreas’s greatest activity are afternoon and evening, waning moon, and late summer to fall, and for the liver, morning, waxing moon, and springtime. Opposing the pancreas’s qualities of intellect and comprehension are the liver’s energies of spontaneity, colorful imagination, and spiritual growth or ascendance. The pancreas responds to the sweet (balancing) taste, while the liver is stimulated by the sour (separating) taste. The pancreas keeps us centered and stabilized, and the liver uplifts and maintains our energy’s lightness and freshness. Keeping in mind the opposing, mutually controlling roles of this sweet’n’sour duo, let’s now explore the various disorders of disharmony.

DISORDERS OF THE PANCREAS

The work of our body’s cells is largely fueled by glucose, a simple sugar that is the basic building block of carbohydrates such as fruit, grains, beans, and others. Glucose is derived from the digestion of such foods or, in emergencies by breaking down body tissue, and is distributed throughout the body by the bloodstream. Since either over-or underfeeding the cells leads to sickness, we have a marvelously intricate ensemble of organs and gland functions to keep the blood glucose level steady (normal levels are roughly 80-140 mg per 100cc of blood). Complex carbohydrate foods, and particularly whole grains and dried beans, produce the least potentially toxic byproducts during digestion. Because our digestive and gland functions are designed to work with these foods, they serve best to stabilize this delicately tuned ensemble. Today, however, as the traditional staple food of whole grains has progressively faded from the modern dinner table, we have had to turn to more extreme food groups as dietary staples, and these have a profound effect on that hormonal web. Those that are more yin (expanding and blood glucose-raising) include: tropical fruit and juices; tomatoes potatoes, yams, and other semi-tropically originating vegetables; refined sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, and other mono-or disaccharide sweeteners; refined grains and flours; milk and dairy products; coffee, spices, and other stimulants; highly processed foods with their additives; and various medications and drugs, both legal and illicit. The strenuously blood glucose-raising effect of some of these foods stems from their high simple sugar content, which has a more radical impact on the system than the complex sugar molecules of starches such as grains and beans. Others, such as coffee and spices, have no sugar, but strongly stimulate the adrenals and liver, which in turn causes the release of stored sugars and speeds up the metabolism. Those foods that have a more yang effect (heavy, contracting, and blood glucose-lowering) include: eggs, meats, and poultry; salty cheeses; fatty, more aggressively acting or salted fish; heavily salted foods; and overcooked foods (especially animal foods or dry, baked, roasted, or fried grain foods).

As you move away from the stabilizing force of a whole grain-based diet, depending upon which category of food you emphasize, you create one of three tendencies. First, abuse of the yin group over accentuates the rising energy of the liver and weakens the yang, downward force of the pancreas. Second, abuse of the yang group has the opposite effect, over activating the pancreas and causing the liver to stagnate. Excessive quantities of both groups creates a chaotic pattern combining features of both imbalances.

It should be noted here that the kidneys and adrenal glands serve to help keep the balance between liver and pancreas, the right pair teamed more with the liver and the left more with the pancreas, These food abuses also have the corresponding effects on these balancing organs/glands as well; and the adrenals and/or kidneys are usually involved in any blood glucose disorder.

The first abuse leads eventually to diabetes, the second to hypoglycemia, and the third to a generally unstable condition featuring qualities of both that characterizes just about everybody who eats a modern-day diet and is not clearly diabetic or hypoglycemic.

DIABETES

Diabetes is characterized by a weakened pancreas owing to chronically excessive intake of weakening that region and allows food to pass from the stomach directly to the small intestine. In some cases, though, adopting a carefully managed macrobiotic diet can help dissolve stubborn stagnation in this area, leading to a regression of the tumor and allowing that central region to open up again.

HEALING THE PANCREAS

As with all illness, eliminating extremes and establishing a more moderate diet centered around whole grains and cooked vegetables is the most important factor in healing the pancreas. For pancreatic tumors, it is especially important to emphasize a lighter cooking style, with less or no salt seasonings, little or no oil or oily foods, and no over-cooked or roasted and baked foods. (For more details on this subject, see Michio Kushi’s The Cancer Prevention Diet.) In addition to diet, establishing a more relaxed lifestyle and calmer way of thinking is also important; daily meditation and deep breathing can be very helpful.

Dietary treatment for hypoglycemia is commonly misunderstood. Following the false conclusion that refined carbohydrates are the prime cause, many nutritionists recommend more high-fat, high-protein diets, usually involving lots of animal foods-what a tragic mistake! Such a diet, of course, leads to still further stagnation of the liver, kidneys, adrenals, and pancreas, and aggravates the condition in the long run. Since under activity of the adrenals and/or thyroid is often considered (correctly) to be involved, hormone extracts from animal sources are often prescribed as dietary ‘supplements’-reminiscent of insulin therapy. This type of treatment not only obscures the underlying cause, but often creates a profound state of hormonal stress and emotional confusion. Vitamin and mineral supplements are also recommended, often in mega-doses, to alleviate hypoglycemia. Finally, physicians who are untrained in nutrition (which means practically all of them) have been known to say to a patient suffering from ‘low blood sugar,’ ‘You need more sugar; just eat a candy bar.’ I think this prescription needs no comment.

Both diabetes and hypoglycemia can be traced ultimately to the general dietary cause: lack of complex carbohydrate foods, and particularly whole grains. Persons with hypoglycemia should follow a more yin version of basic macrobiotic eating, with an emphasis on fresh-tasting,lightly cooked vegetable dishes, barley and medium-grain brown rice as daily staples, very little salt seasoning, and very little oil. Food cooked in a more wet style, such as grain soups or soft grains, can be helpful, as can vegetables chopped artfully in smaller pieces rather than as large chunks. Though this would seem to e a sheerly esthetic consideration, recent studies on foods’ ‘glycemic index’ have clearly shown that a food’s texture and consistency profoundly affect the body’s insulin and glucose reactions. Animal foods as a rule should be minimized, as should any heavier dishes; salads or par-boiled near-salads and lightly pickled vegetables should be routine. Although cooked fruit is a common macrobiotic dietary suggestion for becoming more yin, many hypoglycemic cannot tolerate simple sugars of any kind; thus vegetable dishes and the absence of strongly yang factors are the mainstay of ‘yinnizing.’

Dietary recommendations for diabetes should include only cooked foods, and generally with an emphasis on more well-cooked dishes, slightly saltier seasoning, vegetable slicing in larger chunks, less fluid, and more root vegetables and hard squashes. Short grain brown rice and millet should be daily staples, and some seaweed side-dish should be eaten daily. All simple sugars, refined foods, and chemicalized foods should be avoided altogether. (For more on this subject, refer to East West Journal, September 1983.)

In all cases of serious illness, a qualified macrobiotic counselor should be contacted to work out individual details of daily diet. Non-insulin-dependent diabetes (Type II) can usually be healed readily; Type I often responds readily at first, with a fairly rapid decrease in insulin requirements, but is much more difficult to heal completely. Shiatsu massage and vigorous physical exercise are beneficial in healing diabetes. Also, periodic ginger compresses over the pancreas region can speed recovery.

The archetypal expression of the pancreas is melodious song. For any pancreas or blood glucose problem, diet is only one part of the path to recovery of stability, health, and happiness. Regular musical expression, particularly emphasizing your sense of melody, is also medicine for your pancreas; but more than that, you can strive to pattern your everyday life in the model of song. Moderation and consistency, avoiding extremes of high and low registers, balanced with spontaneity and a perpetual sense of newness, are the essence of the songwriter’s craft, and they can be yours as well as you compose each day in the image of harmony.

The Lungs-Diagnosis 
Keeping Tabs on the Seat of Our Feeling 
by Bill Tims

In diagnosing the condition of the lungs, we can look first at the face in the area of the cheeks on a line with the mouth. A sallow, pale or slightly puffy appearance of the cheeks usually suggests weakness and under activity in the lung function and is generally accompanied by poor circulation, difficult breathing (particularly in a prone position), weak chest muscles leading to rounding and tensing of the shoulders, a drooped posture, and often a tendency toward anemia and obesity. If this condition becomes chronic it can often lead to pleurisy, emphysema, asthma, and the progressive development toward lung or breast cancer. This condition is most commonly associated with the excessive consumption of hard saturated fats such as in cheeses and eggs; the excessive consumption of dry, baked, salty foods that leads to excessive fluid consumption; the lack of consumption of fresh or lightly cooked crisp green vegetables; excessive smoking; and a lack of cardio respiratory exercise.

Common signs which appear in the cheeks and indicate an excessive and hyperactive function of the lungs are:

1. Pimples, indicating excessive storage of fatty acid mucus in the lungs, usually the result of saturated animal fat, especially milk products, and refined white sugar;
2. White cheeks, indicating storage of saturated animal fats, especially from milk products;
3. Red cheeks, indicating a hyperactive condition of the blood capillaries of the lungs caused primarily by fruits and fruit juices, stimulants, spices, and refined sugar;
4. A drawn, overly tight appearance sometimes including vertical lines in the cheeks showing restriction of the chest muscles, blood flow, and alveoli function, most commonly caused by excessive salt and/or fish and poultry consumption plus dry or baked foods. This condition often leads to pneumonia;
5. Brown blotches, indicating chronic acidosis of the blood caused primarily by refined sugar consumption and often indicting a precancerous condition;
6. Shades of green showing a progressive development toward cancer in he lungs or the breast;
7. Beauty marks, indicating a past fever in the lungs;
8. Moles, showing the excessive storage of mucus from animal protein consumption.

Any of these signs which show mucus and fatty acid storage in the lungs can often lead to allergies, bronchitis, whooping cough, nasal congestion, tuberculosis, and precancerous development. All these signs of hyperactivity in the function of the lungs are often accompanied by constipation and tight chest muscles resulting in hard, tense, rounding shoulders. These preceding skin colors and blemishes may also appear along the acupuncture meridian of the lungs.

Next, we can see the condition of the lungs by observing the whites of the eyes (sclera), using the diagram showing the areas of the white and their corresponding organs as in the illustration.

For example, a bloodshot look in the region that corresponds to the lungs, means that the blood capillaries in the lungs are inflamed and expanded. Dark spots appearing in the upper region of the eye show the development of calcified stones in the sinuses. A pale color anywhere in the sclera denotes weakness in the lungs, and a green color or transparency in the lung region reflects the progressive development of lung or breast cancer.

We can next diagnose by touching, either the area of the abdomen (the two points located in the front of the abdomen, at the lowest point of the ribcage), on the back relating to the lungs (in the area between the upper third of the shoulder blades. left and right of the spine), or along the lung acupuncture meridian. This will confirm or shed new light on our visual diagnosis.

To practice the abdominal diagnosis, have the person that you wish to examine lie comfortably on his or her back with raised knees. Ask them to breathe deeply, and on the out breath press deeply but gently into the area that you are examining. If be touching this area or the lung area on the back or anywhere along the acupuncture meridian for the lungs, you encounter looseness and flabbiness superficially and pain and hardness with deep pressure, this indicates a weak condition of the lung function. Superficial hardness, tension, pain or oversensitivity indicates a hyperactive or excessive lung function. In addition, if the lung function is weak, quite often the thumb will be weak and fatigued. If the lung is hyperactive there will be tension or a pulling pain in the thumb.

One of the most often used and most highly respected of Oriental healing techniques has been pulse diagnosis. In order to become sensitive to the hundreds of different qualities of the pulses one needs years of practice; however, using the illustration to locate the lung pulse, you can easily begin to use this technique to judge whether the organ is weak or hyperactive. To practice this technique, face your partner using the index finger of your left hand to locate the lung point on their right wrist, while supporting this pressure by placing your thumb underneath their wrist. Press on the point labeled for the lungs as deeply as you can, then release slightly until you feel the pulse appear.(If you fail to release, you will clamp the pulse off altogether.)Try not to touch any other part of their body while taking the pulse as this will tend to confuse your diagnosis.

The pulse should feel steady and of moderate strength. A slow, faint, or irregular pulse indicates an under active function of the lungs. A rapid or bounding pulse indicates a more hyperactive lung function. The pulse for the large intestine, which is the complementary/antagonistic organ to the lungs, is located on the same point as the lungs but is felt superficially rather than deeply, by applying only light pressure to the point.

Psychologically and emotionally the lungs were considered in the Far East as the seat of our feelings, our sentiments, and our ability to experience sadness. If the lungs become weak, there is usually a tendency to self-pity, to be anti-social, and to carry a somewhat quiet or inward depression, lacking will and vitality.

If the lungs become hyperactive there is a tendency toward more outward expressions of depression such as crying, sobbing, and verbal pessimism or a strong lashing out at others.

For problems associated with the lungs, avoid all milk products, refined sugar and flour products, raw fruits and fruit juices, hot spices, stimulants (especially coffee), and excessive smoking, while emphasizing in your diet brown rice, fermented soybean products such as tempeh, natto, miso, or shoyu broth along with lightly cooked green vegetables, as well as some regular cardiorespiratory exercise. If the lung condition is weak, you may also try for a while adding to your diet condiment-size quantities of pungent foods for toning the lungs, such as ginger, radish, daikon radish, or scallions. If the condition is hyperactive, you may want to try emphasizing in your diet for a while lightly cooked white vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, cucumber, and celery.

The Lungs
Stoking the Inner Fires

As you read this article, you will probably breathe ten to fourteen times each minute. With each breath you will take in about a half-quart of air or five to seven quarts per minute, and if you needed to, you could take in much more. For instance, if a dinosaur suddenly broke into your room and chased you around, you might find yourself breathing 200 quarts of air per minute, which is more than 25 times what you are breathing now.

But with no beast in sight we can take a few minutes to learn about these lungs of ours which expand and contract 20,000 times a day, our personal bellows that keep our inner fire going. The lungs are the only organs that everyone is able to control consciously. They are also becoming the leading candidate to be named the ‘Organ of the Decade’ because they are on so many people’s minds. There are 30 million joggers who think about how well their lungs are working. There are thousands of meditators who consider their lungs to be instrumental in making their dreams come true. There are the doctors who know that respiratory problems are the fourth leading cause of death. There are also the middle-aged men who are aware that lung cancer is the number one male cancer. In addition, there are the women who have learned that the lung cancer rate among women has risen so fast during the last 20 years that by the mid ‘80s it will be the number one cancer with women, too. Then there are the tobacco company’s 60 million smoking clients who wonder whether they should quit before anything unpleasant happens. With a knowledge of our breathing and lungs we will be much better prepared to make the decisions that the coming years will call on us to make.

Here is a quick test of your lung condition. Simply breathe in as much air as you can in one breath, and then exhale. How did it feel? Did you cough or feel any pain or stiffness? If so, then things could be better, and you have the possibility of greater health and fitness in your future.

Everyone’s breathing abilities are different. For instance, men in general can breathe in about 25 percent more air than women. An average man at rest breathes about a half-quart of air with each breath, but could actually fit about three more quarts into his lungs. After a normal breath, there are still over two quarts of air left in the lungs, and even if we breathe out as much as we can there will still be over a quart left inside. This is as it should be because it keeps the lungs from collapsing and also keeps oxygen going into the blood at all times.

What is all this air doing to us? One thing breathing does is bring oxygen into our lungs. There our blood picks up the oxygen, turns bright red and goes back to our heart where it is pumped through our arteries to our body cells. The cells take in the oxygen, combine it with sugar or fat, and a low-level fire results. The burning is called oxidation, and it gives off the energy that our cells need while leaving behind carbon dioxide and water as by-products.

The carbon dioxide is picked up by the blood (which is now dark and slightly bluish) and carried back to the lungs where it passes into the air and is breathed out with a certain amount of water. The remaining excess water is picked up and taken out by the kidneys.

The path that air takes into our lungs begins at the nose, where the air approaches as a single stream and divides into two streams as it enters our nostrils. These two streams then merge into one at the back of our mouth and throat (an area called the pharynx). This single stream goes down past our larynx surrounded by bands of cartilage.

Four or five inches below our larynx the windpipe branches into two bronchi, one going to each lung. Once inside the lungs, the two bronchi begin to divide, always with one becoming two, and continue dividing until there are 20 to 22 bronchi in each lung. From here on they are called bronchioles and these continue dividing until they bring the air and blood together in 300 million separate round rooms called alveoli. These little spaces are where the blood and the air exchange their contents.

The lungs themselves weigh about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each, are about eight or nine inches long, and are very dense. The right lung is about 10 percent bigger than the left and is divided into three sections or lobes, while the left one is smaller in order to make room for the heart (which is on the left side), and has two lobes. Along with the heart, the lungs are snugly fit into the upper ribcage and surrounded by a thin layer of water that makes them stick to the ribs and expand when the ribcage expands.

Between the ribs are muscles which can expand or contract the ribcage, but the main work of breathing is done by a large sheet of muscle called the diaphragm. This divides the ribcage horizontally at the level of the bottom of the breastbone and is both the floor on which the lungs and heart sit as well as the arched dome over the liver and stomach. Because of its bell-shape, when the diaphragm contract ‘s it flattens out in a downward direction, expanding the lungs and at the same time pressing down on the liver, stomach, and intestines. This is why the belly swells whenever we breathe in a relaxed way, giving all the organs a stimulating massage. When we rest or sleep we use the diaphragm exclusively, but if we are tense or exercising then the rib muscles (intercostals) are used to expand the ribcage.

The blood capillaries that circle the walls of each alveoli are very small and thin and cover the walls of these little round rooms like a fine net. The capillaries are so narrow that the red blood cells actually carry the oxygen, while the carbon dioxide has to squeeze through. When we are at rest the red blood cells have about three-quarters of a second in which to zip through and trade their carbon dioxide for oxygen, but during hard exercise this time is cut to one-third of a second.

Our blood takes about one minute to circulated through the body and come back to the heart. This means that every minute the lungs have to do business with about 35 trillion red blood cells, all of which have to be allowed to glide around an alveoli and get some air. The lungs are well-designed to handle this because the surface area available for the blood cells and air to meet is about the size of a tennis court. The largest amount of blood contained in both lungs at any one time is a cup, and if we imagine this spread out over a tennis court we can get an image of how effective this arrangement is.

Within the red blood cells are molecules of hemoglobin, a special iron-containing protein that is able to pick up oxygen, carry it to the cells, and then release it. The carbon dioxide is carried back to the lungs by the rest of the red blood cells.

One problem that can hamper our oxygen supply is exposure to carbon monoxide, which is made of only one carbon and one oxygen atom. It is a major ingredient in both car exhaust and cigarette smoke and can cause big problems. Carbon monoxide is much more attracted to hemoglobin than oxygen. When it attaches to hemoglobin it wonÕt let go and keeps the hemoglobin from carrying any oxygen to the hungry cells. If enough hemoglobin is taken out of action, the result is death.

In less than fatal doses carbon monoxide can also have a strong effect. Cigarette smoke contains about 4 percent carbon monoxide. 2 percent of the hemoglobin in the average nonsmoker is bound to carbon monoxide while a pack-a-day smoker may lose from 5 to 15 percent of his or her hemoglobin. Since carbon monoxide takes at least three to four hours to be eliminated from the blood, a person who smokes 20 cigarettes a day can have his or her oxygen system completely disabled.

To compensate for a lack of oxygen, the body will shift into a higher gear and make the heart beat faster and harder. The nerves get excited, the number of red blood cells increase, and the breathing rate gets faster. This results in a tense or excited condition. Another result is a lessened ability to supply oxygen during exercise. A smoker, for instance, would have to work harder than a nonsmoker to get the same amount of oxygen to the muscles, providing all, other things are equal.

This increased tension and nervous excitement caused by the carbon monoxide in cigarettes may also cause trouble for meditators and others who are trying to reach higher levels of consciousness. In some cases a high degree of nervous control and relaxation are needed, and the nervous and bodily excitement that accompany smoking may not help. In general, every type of food and every substance that we take in will exert some control over our physical and mental condition. This makes it very important that 1) we have a clear idea of what kind of physical and mental condition we want to have, and 2) that we carefully choose foods, activities, and ways of thinking that will help us achieve our goals.

Besides burning food, there is another source of energy that we can tap when we use our lungs. This is the ocean of vibrations that fills our surroundings. These vibrations or energies have many names, including spirit, electromagnetic energy, ki, prana, and others. These vibrations cannot be detected by our regular senses, but require a more refined sensitivity. Unfortunately, most people have lost this ability because of the modern diet and lifestyle, although i still exists and exerts a great power.

The vibrations at the earth’s surface take the form of two energy flows, one going down and one going up. These are both always flowing and are energizing and charging our bodies. Whenever we breathe in we become more energized by upward flow and can actually feel ourselves rising, feeling more ‘up’ and ‘inspired.’ On the other hand, when we breathe out, we feel heavier and more ‘down.’ The activity of the lungs influences not only the energy released from our food, but the amounts and quality of the energy flowing through our brains and bodies.

For instance, when we are angry, we tend to breathe out in strong bursts. When we laugh, we breathe out in longer, broken streams of air. When we are depressed we tend to breathe out in long sighs. When we emphasize breathing out we become warmer and to cool off we breathe in more. When we are tense, we intuitively breathe a long, sustained number one male cancer. In addition, there are the women who have learned that the lung cancer rate among women has risen so fast during the last 20 years that by the mid ‘80s it will be the number one cancer with women, too. Then there are the tobacco company’s 60 million smoking clients who wonder whether they should quit before anything unpleasant happens. With a knowledge of our breathing and lungs we will be much better prepared to make the decisions that the coming years will call on us to make.

Here is a quick test of your lung condition. Simply breathe in as much air as you can in one breath, and then exhale. How did it feel? Did you cough or feel any pain or stiffness? If so, then things could be better, and you have the possibility of greater health and fitness in your future.

Everyone’s breathing abilities are different. For instance, men in general can breathe in about 25 percent more air than women. An average man at rest breathes about a half-quart of air with each breath, but could actually fit about three more quarts into his lungs. After a normal breath, there are still over two quarts of air left in the lungs, and even if we breathe out as much as we can there will still be over a quart left inside. This is as it should be because it keeps the lungs from collapsing and also keeps oxygen going into the blood at all times.

What is all this air doing to us? One thing breathing does is bring oxygen into our lungs. There our blood picks up the oxygen, turns bright red and goes back to our heart where it is pumped through our arteries to our body cells. The cells take in the oxygen, combine it with sugar or fat, and a low-level fire results. The burning is called oxidation, and it gives off the energy that our cells need while leaving behind carbon dioxide and water as by-products.

The carbon dioxide is picked up by the blood (which is now dark and slightly bluish) and carried back to the lungs where it passes into the air and is breathed out with a certain amount of water. The remaining excess water is picked up and taken out by the kidneys.

The path that air takes into our lungs begins at the nose, where the air approaches as a single stream and divides into two streams as it enters our nostrils. These two streams then merge into one at the back of our mouth and throat (an area called the pharynx). This single stream goes down past our larynx surrounded by bands of cartilage.

Four or five inches below our larynx the windpipe branches into two bronchi, one going to each lung. Once inside the lungs, the two bronchi begin to divide, always with one becoming two, and continue dividing until there are 20 to 22 bronchi in each lung. From here on they are called bronchioles and these continue dividing until they bring the air and blood together in 300 million separate round rooms called alveoli. These little spaces are where the blood and the air exchange their contents.

The lungs themselves weigh about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each, are about eight or nine inches long, and are very dense. The right lung is about 10 percent bigger than the left and is divided into three sections or lobes, while the left one is smaller in order to make room for the heart (which is on the left side), and has two lobes. Along with the heart, the lungs are snugly fit into the upper ribcage and surrounded by a thin layer of water that makes them stick to the ribs and expand when the ribcage expands.

Between the ribs are muscles which can expand or contract the ribcage, but the main work of breathing is done by a large sheet of muscle called the diaphragm. This divides the ribcage horizontally at the level of the bottom of the breastbone and is both the floor on which the lungs and heart sit as well as the arched dome over the liver and stomach. Because of its bell-shape, when the diaphragm contract ‘s it flattens out in a downward direction, expanding the lungs and at the same time pressing down on the liver, stomach, and intestines. This is why the belly swells whenever we breathe in a relaxed way, giving all the organs a stimulating massage. When we rest or sleep we use the diaphragm exclusively, but if we are tense or exercising then the rib muscles (intercostals) are used to expand the ribcage.

The blood capillaries that circle the walls of each alveoli are very small and thin and cover the walls of these little round rooms like a fine net. The capillaries are so narrow that the red blood cells actually carry the oxygen, while the carbon dioxide has to squeeze through. When we are at rest the red blood cells have about three-quarters of a second in which to zip through and trade their carbon dioxide for oxygen, but during hard exercise this time is cut to one-third of a second.

Our blood takes about one minute to circulated through the body and come back to the heart. This means that every minute the lungs have to do business with about 35 trillion red blood cells, all of which have to be allowed to glide around an alveoli and get some air. The lungs are well-designed to handle this because the surface area available for the blood cells and air to meet is about the size of a tennis court. The largest amount of blood contained in both lungs at any one time is a cup, and if we imagine this spread out over a tennis court we can get an image of how effective this arrangement is.

Within the red blood cells are molecules of hemoglobin, a special iron-containing protein that is able to pick up oxygen, carry it to the cells, and then release it. The carbon dioxide is carried back to the lungs by the rest of the red blood cells.

One problem that can hamper our oxygen supply is exposure to carbon monoxide, which is made of only one carbon and one oxygen atom. It is a major ingredient in both car exhaust and cigarette smoke and can cause big problems. Carbon monoxide is much more attracted to hemoglobin than oxygen. When it attaches to hemoglobin it wonÕt let go and keeps the hemoglobin from carrying any oxygen to the hungry cells. If enough hemoglobin is taken out of action, the result is death.

In less than fatal doses carbon monoxide can also have a strong effect. Cigarette smoke contains about 4 percent carbon monoxide. 2 percent of the hemoglobin in the average nonsmoker is bound to carbon monoxide while a pack-a-day smoker may lose from 5 to 15 percent of his or her hemoglobin. Since carbon monoxide takes at least three to four hours to be eliminated from the blood, a person who smokes 20 cigarettes a day can have his or her oxygen system completely disabled.

To compensate for a lack of oxygen, the body will shift into a higher gear and make the heart beat faster and harder. The nerves get excited, the number of red blood cells increase, and the breathing rate gets faster. This results in a tense or excited condition. Another result is a lessened ability to supply oxygen during exercise. A smoker, for instance, would have to work harder than a nonsmoker to get the same amount of oxygen to the muscles, providing all, other things are equal.

This increased tension and nervous excitement caused by the carbon monoxide in cigarettes may also cause trouble for meditators and others who are trying to reach higher levels of consciousness. In some cases a high degree of nervous control and relaxation are needed, and the nervous and bodily excitement that accompany smoking may not help. In general, every type of food and every substance that we take in will exert some control over our physical and mental condition. This makes it very important that 1) we have a clear idea of what kind of physical and mental condition we want to have, and 2) that we carefully choose foods, activities, and ways of thinking that will help us achieve our goals.

Besides burning food, there is another source of energy that we can tap when we use our lungs. This is the ocean of vibrations that fills our surroundings. These vibrations or energies have many names, including spirit, electromagnetic energy, ki, prana, and others. These vibrations cannot be detected by our regular senses, but require a more refined sensitivity. Unfortunately, most people have lost this ability because of the modern diet and lifestyle, although i still exists and exerts a great power.

The vibrations at the earth’s surface take the form of two energy flows, one going down and one going up. These are both always flowing and are energizing and charging our bodies. Whenever we breathe in we become more energized by upward flow and can actually feel ourselves rising, feeling more ‘up’ and ‘inspired.’ On the other hand, when we breathe out, we feel heavier and more ‘down.’ The activity of the lungs influences not only the energy released from our food, but the amounts and quality of the energy flowing through our brains and bodies.

For instance, when we are angry, we tend to breathe out in strong bursts. When we laugh, we breathe out in longer, broken streams of air. When we are depressed we tend to breathe out in long sighs. When we emphasize breathing out we become warmer and to cool off we breathe in more. When we are tense, we intuitively breathe a long, sustained out-breath in order to relax. The way we breathe influences both our physical and mental conditions, because our breathing is a major key to regulating our overall energy.

Because all our body parts depend on our energy flow for their activity, our health can either get better or worse along with changes in our food, environment, breathing, thinking, and activity. To achieve health we need to maintain a full and unblocked flow of energy. Some materials conduct energy better than others, and since our food is the material that makes our body and organs, we need to choose our diet thoughtfully.

The Liver-Diagnosis 
Your Eyes Monitor the Health of Your Largest Organ

Recently a woman in her mid thirties came to me for a consultation. Her primary complaint was a persistent sty in her right eye. Upon questioning and examination, I found that the sty had first arisen in the spring, that she had lots of yellow mucus forming in her eyes, and that the area between her eyes was swollen and puffy. She also felt her life was floating without any stability, she had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, and her impatience about seeing me, about curing herself, and even about getting out of my office was extreme. For twelve years she had been a lacto-vegetarian, consuming regular quantities of dairy products, honey, and spicy foods, considering herself to be eating a “healthy, natural diet.” (Indeed, she did all her shopping at a natural foods store.) her “healthy, natural diet,” had caused her liver to become swollen, inflamed, and congested with animal fat and protein. The symptoms she was exhibiting, from the eye sty to her impatience, were all classic signs used by traditional healers to diagnose illnesses of the liver.

Within two weeks of balancing her diet according to macrobiotic principles, the woman reported that the sty in her eye was completely gone. Within two months the yellow in her eyes disappeared, she started arising in the morning without an alarm clock, and she became much more relaxed and clearer about the purpose of her life, her goals, and her aspirations.

By far the most common of all liver problems is a general condition of congestion due to overeating, especially of fatty and greasy foods, eating before sleeping, and lack of exercise. This general condition can progress toward any of a number of more specific illnesses, including low blood sugar, indigestion of fats leading to flatulence, fatty mucous accumulation and obesity, jaundice, gallbladder and liver stones, skin roughness or oiliness, a fatty or anemic blood condition, excessive or insufficient body heat, cyrrhosis of the liver, and ultimately liver cancer.

For the purpose of diagnosis, we can divide these more specific liver conditions into two main categories: an overly tight and contracted (yang) condition of the liver and an overly swollen (yin) liver condition.

First let’s take a look at how we can apply visual diagnosis to determine which of these two liver conditions is likely to arise due to constitutional or inherited tendencies. In traditional medicine, the liver has been associated with the eyes due to their simultaneous embryological development as well as to their connection via the energy meridians of acupuncture. If the eyes are small or tend to cross, if they are close-set, or if the eyebrows grow closely together or slant upward, there is a constitutional tendency for the liver to develop problems from becoming overly contracted. If the eyes are large or tend to move outward or if the eyes are set far apart, there will be more of a tendency for the liver to become swollen. In addition, any inherited or congenital eye defects will usually indicate some related weakness in the liver. Also, since the liver is on the right side of the body, which receives more of the mother’s influence than the father’s, tendencies in liver conditions tend to follow more the inheritance from our maternal ancestors.

First, and most important in determining the present liver condition, is a thorough assessment of the eyes. If yellow, fatty excess accumulates in the whites of the eyes, this shows a similar fat accumulation in the liver. (This often will ooze or crust in the corners of the eyes, particularly during sleep when the liver does most of its cleansing of fats from the blood.) If the eyes are red or bloodshot, or if a rash or inflammation arises between the eyes, this suggests a swollen and inflamed liver condition. The eyes or eyelids or the area between the eyes also commonly develop red spots or stys, a sign of excessive storage of animal protein in the liver.

If the eyes become watery or swollen or begin to burn or itch, this indicates an overly swollen liver condition. Conversely, dryness indicates an overly contracted condition. If there appears a single, deep vertical line between the eyes, the liver is overly contracted, while if there are several shallow vertical lines, the liver is overly expanded. Crossed eyes, down turned eyes, and farsightedness all indicate a contracted liver condition, while eyes drifting outward and upward as well as nearsightedness all indicated an expanded liver condition.

You can confirm these visual assessments by feeling the liver pulse. To find the liver pulse, place the thumb of your right hand on the center of your left wrist. Place the first three fingers of your right hand on the inside of your left wrist below the thumb. Your middle finger will fall on the inside wrist bone-this is where the liver pulse is located. Check whether the pulse is heavy or light and excited. In addition, with the fingers of your right hand feel underneath your right rib cage. You should be able to extend your fingers underneath your rib cage up to the second knuckle. If you can’t your liver condition is swollen. If you can but you feel pain and hardness the liver is too contracted.

Next, take a look at your nails, especially the nail of your big toe, which is the terminus of the liver acupuncture meridian. Do the nails tend to be ingrown (yang) or flared (yin)? Are there white spots on the nails, an indication of an expanded liver condition because of too much refined sugar? Are they yellowing at the edges because of excessive fat accumulation in the liver? Are they dry and eroding (yang) or brittle (yin)?

From the big toe, you can then follow the acupuncture meridian of the liver along the inside of the foot and up the inside of the leg. This part of the leg may be tight and pulling, a contracted liver condition often resulting in leg cramps, particularly of the right leg, or bowleggedness. (Bowleggedness is natural among newborn infants, due to the still compact nature of the internal organs. By the age of six months to one year, as the child starts to grow and the organs expand, the legs should gradually straighten out.)

To see these conditions in the posture, look in a mirror to see if your right shoulder is raised (yin) or drawn inward (yang), or look at your friend from the back to check for swelling of the right upper back, shoulder, and shoulder blade, all indicative of an overly expanded liver condition.

If the skin color is yellowish, usually appearing first on the palms of the hands, this indicates a blockage of the bile ducts from the liver and the gallbladder to the stomach, leading to bile backing up and into the bloodstream. This is usually caused by an excessive consumption of saturated fatty foods, particularly of cold fatty foods such as ice cream. If there is a greyish cast to the skin, this indicates a swollen, hard liver, usually accompanied by depression and anger. If the overall skin tint is green, a progressive development of cancer in the liver is indicated.

Traditional healers attempted to view humanity not as an amalgam of separate parts but holistically, interrelating the internal with the external environment, the material with the immaterial, and the physical with the emotional and psychological. Each internal organ or function was associated with a particular emotion, certain thought processes, creative tendencies, modes of behavior, and movements.

The liver was associated with both our degree of stability as well as our creative drive and sociability. The most common signs of a disturbance in the liver were anger or impatience, a loud voice, and instability, with stagnation in the liver often resulting in unexpressed emotions and antisocial behavior.

Externally or environmentally the liver has been traditionally associated with the spring season, the early morning hours of the day, the new moon moving toward full, and windy weather. Each of these natural phenomena was thought to have a tonifying or energizing effect on the liver. Just as these and other aspects of nature move in a constantly changing order and rhythmic ebb and flow, so the liver mirrors these rhythms with its own increases and decreases of energy and activity. In the springtime, in the early morning hours, and during the waxing of the moon and rising of the tides, the liver energy rises and begins its active and outward functions of distributing nutrients to the blood, cells, and tissue of the body. In the fall of the year, in the evening, and during the waning moon and falling tide, the liver turns within to the quiet processes of cleansing and purifying our blood. Knowledge of this rhythm is one main reason why traditional healers encouraged people to avoid eating late at night and to go to sleep before midnight.

A contracted liver condition is caused primarily by an excessive consumption of meat, eggs, cheese, and baked goods while an expanded liver condition is caused more by an excessive consumption of drugs, stimulants, alcohol, spices, citrus fruits, refined sugar, vinegar, and oil. Since all these substances are quite widely consumed in modern society, most people have serious health problems resulting from some combination of these foods. In order to restore balance and revive the liver, it is necessary to reduce or eliminate these extreme foods from your diet, increase your consumption of whole cereal grains and beans, and regularly eat fresh and lightly cooked green leafy vegetables. As a side-dish it is also important to eat daily some form of fermented foods such as pickles, tempeh, miso, or shoyu. Along with regular doses of fresh air and exercise and a positive mental outlook, these dietary recommendations should help you avoid any liver sickness and increase your enjoyment of life.

The Liver-Body 
The Beneficent Godfather Is a Second Brain

The image of a godfather has become familiar to all of us. He is that hidden persuader who takes care of people, a real but unofficial leader who oversees the community’s affairs. Outsiders don’t even know he exists, but throughout the community his presence is felt everywhere.

The liver is like a beneficent godfather to the body. Hidden silently beneath our ribs, this huge, deep-red, wedge-shaped mountain oversees the activities and welfare of the body.

Weighing about three pounds, the liver is massive and solid. It extends vertically from our right nipple almost down to the bottom of our rib cage. Crossways, it goes from the right side over to the left nipple. About the same size as the brain, it is our largest and most complex body organ.

Like all organs, the liver is made up of cells and tubes carrying various liquids such as arterial blood (which is coming from the heart), venous blood (which is returning to the heart, lymph blood minus the red blood cells and protein), and bile (an alkaline, yellow liquid made by the liver from cholesterol and the remains of red blood cells and used to digest fats and carry waste).

The main building block of the liver is called liver lobule, which is a cylindrical or tin-can shaped arrangement of the special liver cells and vessels. In each lobule there is a vein running right up through the middle, and the liver cells radiate out form this vein like the spokes of a wheel. The cells are in neat rows so that there are spaces between the rows for blood to flow through and be acted on by the liver cells. There are between 50,000 and 100,000 lobules in the liver.

The amount of blood flow through the liver is tremendous, with one-third of all the blood in the body passing through every minute. This is twice as much as the blood flow through the brain. Since we have over five quarts of blood in us, there is about a quart and a half going through the liver each minute.

To describe exactly what the liver does is a big job, It has about 500 separate functions. Alone, it makes about 1,000 different enzymes, which are substances that bring about the quick chemical reactions needed in the body. In general, the liver does its work by acting on the blood and its contents.

The liver is like the brain of the body. It is also like the general manager of all bodily functions, making millions of decisions and carrying them out every day. Its responsibility is to regulate and supervise our internal condition.

All at the same time, the liver is: 1) the body’s chief chemical laboratory, 2) the receiver and processing plant for all incoming food and other matter, 3) the warehouse and dispenser of much of the body’s extra supplies, 4) the quality control manager for all food admitted into the body, and 5) the body’s Environmental Protection Agency which monitors the quality of the internal environment and neutralizes any unwanted or poisonous substances.

The liver also has a strong influence on our emotions and spiritual condition. A healthy liver ensures patience, endurance, perseverance, the energetic pursuit of spiritual development, and the ability to develop and maintain a strong spiritual center. Conversely a weak or sick liver will show itself as deep insecurity, irritability, anger, excitability, and stubbornness.

The liver controls and regulates the quantity, the quality, and the use of the foods we take in. For example, the liver regulates the appetite, and in the case of hepatitis (liver infection), the first symptom is a complete loss of appetite.

The liver begins its control of food in the following way. When blood leaves the heart, a certain portion passes through the intestines, where it gives oxygen to the tissues and picks up the food that is being absorbed at that time. This blood does not immediately begin circulating throughout the rest of the body but instead goes directly to the liver. The liver receives all the blood that has passed through the stomach, spleen, pancreas, and the intestines.

The liver needs to process our incoming food because if we let our food pass directly into our bloodstream it would poison us. This seems strange but much of the food we eat, even organic food, cannot be used by the body as it is. The amount of sugar in our blood is very carefully controlled by the liver. The liver is able to take any excess sugar and turn it into a type of starch called glycogen, which it stores. Later, when the blood sugar is low, the liver changes the glycogen back into sugar and puts it into the blood to feed our cells.

If we eat a starch like grains or bread, it will slowly be broken down into sugar molecules, absorbed, and sent to the liver. On the other hand, if we take in simple sugar in the form of fruits or honey, for instance, the gradual breakdown doesn’t take place and sugar is sent to the liver in great quantities.

Whenever hit with a great wave of sugar, the liver will try to stop it by turning the sugar into glycogen and storing it. There are only two ways that an unhealthy amount of sugar can get by the liver into the bloodstream. One, if there is just too much sugar storming the liver at once, (for example, after eating many sweets) and two, if the liver has become weak and can no longer do its job well.

With most people today, not only do they have weak livers from eating extreme foods, but also the quantities of sugars that are sent to their livers are enormous. I talked with a Pepsi-Cola delivery man who said that on hot days he often drank a whole case of Pepsi-Cola while driving. This is the equivalent of nearly four cups of white refined sugar.

Bile is made by the liver and is either stored in the gallbladder or sent directly to the intestines. It is necessary for the digestion of fats. Bile also carries much of the liver’s waste to the intestines to be discharged.

Animal fats are the one substance absorbed through the intestines that does not go to the liver. Instead, the fat is picked up by the lymph and put into the blood stream near the heart, from where it circulates throughout the body to be picked up and stored by the body’s cells.

Fat ends up being deposited in the liver if enough excess accumulates in the body. Such stored fat may be the single greatest cause of the weakening and poor functioning of livers.

All the cells in the body can change sugar to glycogen and store it, but the muscle and liver cells do it more often than the other cells. Muscle cells can store 1 percent of their weight in glycogen, and liver cells can store up to 6 percent. When either sugar or fat sores need to be burned, the liver plays a main role.

When fat needs to be burned, the liver alters it chemically and then sends it back to the cells to burn. When both the sugar and fat supplies are low, for example after someone has been fasting or starving for a long time, protein can also be burned for energy. Again, the liver does this. During a fast, for instance, with fat and sugar supplies low, protein will begin to be taken from the muscles. Muscles will begin to disappear, as we can recall from pictures of concentration camp prisoners. This allows sugar to be saved for the brain and nerves, which will use only sugar, and can’t burn fat or protein for their energy.

Protein, like fat, is not an ideal fuel since it produces many waste products. The main waste product of protein is ammonia, which is very poisonous and can’t be allowed to accumulate. As soon as ammonia is present, the liver converts it to urea, which is much less toxic and can be picked up by the kidneys and excreted. Uric acid is another byproduct of burned proteins that sometimes is deposited in joints and produces a painful condition known as gout. This condition is common with people who eat large mounts of meat and other animal foods, as in the case of King Henry VIII.

Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins can all be changed into one another by the liver. When sugar supplies are low, for instance, the liver will begin to change fat and protein into sugar. Whatever food is left after the liver has filled our needs will be turned into fat or mucus. If there is simply too much food, even if it is brown rice, the liver will turn the leftovers into fat. Also, if the foods taken in do not have the correct balance of the different nutrients then the body can’t use them completely and this excess will also become mucus or fat.

Today more than ever there are strange things coming to the liver in hopes of getting into the body. There are pollutants, food additives, medicines, drugs, and other chemicals. Included here are more socially accepted substances like nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. The liver is the enemy of all these destructive extremes.

The liver will try to neutralize and eliminate anything it decides is unhealthy. For example, when aspirin reaches the liver, the liver will work furiously to see that nonof it gets by into the bloodstream. Therefore, doctors have to give a large enough dose so that no matter how hard the liver tries, enough aspirin gets by to do its job.

Alcohol is one of the few substances that can be absorbed through the walls of the stomach into the blood. The liver is the only part of the body able to neutralize alcohol, which it does at the rate of about one-third ounce per hour. It takes about five or six hours for the liver to neutralize the alcohol in three beers or four shots of whiskey.

Following a change to a healthy diet, a sick liver puts its amazing regenerative power to work. Even if eighty percent of the liver is destroyed by sickness or surgery, it will grow back the missing portion in a relatively short time, all the while still carrying on its normal functions.

Like a truly selfless godfather, the liver has made the care and health of the whole body its only concern. The result of this is that the liver cannot be understood or appreciated unless the intimate relations of all the parts and their oneness with the outer environment through diet is first realized.

Liver Diseases and Remedies

The three most common forms of liver disease are liver cancer, ‘cirrhosis, and hepatitis. According to macrobiotic teacher Michio Kushi, liver cancer is often the result of the long-term eating of animal foods, especially meat, eggs, and dairy foods. This includes all foods that are high in fat and oil, even vegetable-quality oil. Along with these foods, flour products, fruits, sugar, and all raw foods can be contributing factors.

To treat liver cancer, Kushi recommends a change to the standard macrobiotic diet centered around whole grains and vegetables, seaweed, fermented foods, and seasonal fruit. All food should be cooked. The saltiness of the food should be mild (less than average). The main food should be brown rice combined with barley. One or two cups of miso soup should be taken every day. Vegetables should be at least one-half the quantity of grain, and be mostly green leafy vegetables. There should be no sweets at all. Every day a small amount of aduki beans or lentils should be eaten, as should seaweed. The liquid should be roasted barley tea, roasted brown rice tea, or kukicha twig tea.

Cirrhosis of the liver is the fifth leading cause of death among both men and women between the ages of 45 and 64. It is the gradual replacement of liver cells by hard fibrous tissue and results in the loss of liver function. The cause is the long-time eating of animal foods followed by the eating of large amounts of alcohol, fruit juice, soft drinks, and sugar, Cirrhosis has even been found among teenagers who drink lots of soft drinks.

To heal cirrhosis follow the standard macrobiotic diet with an emphasis on barley and a good proportion of hard, leafy greens. Fermented foods such as miso, shoyu, and cooked sauerkraut are helpful. An occasional supplementary dish can be shellfish, such as littleneck clams, cooked in miso soup.

Hepatitis is liver infection. The first symptom is usually loss of appetite (anorexia) often accompanied by nausea and possibly other symptoms. This stage is followed by almost complete fatigue and jaundice, with a recovery period of a few weeks or more. There is no professional medical treatment for hepatitis.

The two basic types of hepatitis are infectious and serum. Serum hepatitis is more serious and usually lasts longer. Both types are believed to be caused by viruses transmitted in various ways such as by contaminated shellfish, poor sewage disposal, infected hypodermic needles, or through sex.

In the case of hepatitis, the weakened condition of the liver and blood can come from two main groups of foods. The first is animal foods in general, especially the fatty ones like meat and dairy foods. The second group are the more tropical foods like sugar, raw fruits, and tropical vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant.

Both these groups of foods will create the internal conditions that bacteria and viruses love. To treat hepatitis, follow the standard macrobiotic diet with the following provisions. All food should be cooked. Root vegetables such as radish, turnip, and carrots should be emphasized, along with the regular eating of brown rice with barley as the main food. All flour products should be eliminated. In addition, a hot ginger compress should be applied every day to the liver area.

The Kidneys-Body and Diagnosis 
These Delicate Organs Are Vital to Our Overall Drive

It’s wintertime again, and like other macrobiotic counselors I expect many people will be coming to see me with kidney and urinary problems as they have for the past five years. Recently, I read that some 67 percent of all heart attacks in the U.S. occur during the summer months and that some 47 percent of all gallbladder attacks take place during April and May. These statistics may sound a bit strange to anyone unfamiliar with the traditional diagnostic techniques of Oriental medicine; however, its practitioners commonly use the season or time of day in which a particular symptom or illness recurs to help them determine which of the internal organs is troubled.

Unlike modern medicine, traditional healing considered human beings inseparable from their external environment. It recognized that whatever happens in the natural world, such as the change of seasons or the rising and setting of the sun and moon, also occurs in microcosm within the human body. Just as the sap rises and falls in a tree and the tides flow in and out, so too electromagnetic energy (ki) rhythmically increases and decreases along the body’s acupuncture meridians, nourishing and draining each organ. At any particular time of the day or year, certain internal organs become more active (such as the heart in summer and the gallbladder in the spring) and more often than not any weakness or problem in that organ function will express itself at that time.

The kidneys, for instance, were known to be most active during the nighttime as well as during the winter months. While cool weather stimulates these organs, extreme cold is detrimental. Thus in winter or at night it is important to keep them warm and to avoid the intake of iced beverages.

The primary functions of the kidneys are two-fold: 1) to govern resistance against mental stress through control of hormone secretions, particularly from the adrenal glands, which are attached anatomically to the upper part of the kidneys, and 2) to purify the blood and discharge toxic waste in the form of urine.

In general, problems with the kidneys can be divided into two groups: they are either too contracted and tight (yang), causing restriction in the flow of blood and the discharge of waste, or too swollen and loose (yin). Either of these two general conditions can also be complicated by stagnation from excessive fatty acids, mucus, and other toxic wastes.

We can now combine our understanding of the daily and seasonal cycles of energy as they relate to the kidneys to see how these two major kidney conditions might express themselves as symptoms in our daily life.

For instance, tossing, turning, or walking during sleep, grinding the teeth during sleep, excessive sex drive at night, insomnia, nightmares, bed wetting, getting up at night to urinate, feeling cold in the extremities, sleeping very little, retiring and arising unusually early in the evening and morning all can be signs of an overly contracted kidney condition. This is often caused by too much salt or salty animal foods, too much dry baked food, an overly busy and pressurized daily schedule, or sexual abstinence. Sitting too much can also cause these symptoms, particularly sitting in a car, truck, or on a motorcycle (taxicab and truck drivers almost always have this condition).

On the other hand, snoring, groaning, moaning, or crying during sleep, low sex drive, low back pain, fear of the dark, a feeling of cold with shivering, insomnia, bed wetting, getting up at night to urinate, requiring lots of sleep, and retiring late and rising late all can be signs of an overly expanded condition of the kidneys. This condition is most often caused by excessive intake of fluid, fruits, fruit juices, and stimulants as well as by an inactive lifestyle.

As you may have noticed, the same symptoms may come from either an overly expanded or contracted kidney condition at which time you will need to use some other form of diagnosis to confirm which condition is present.

Either condition will often be accompanied by a darkness or even blackness of the skin, in particular around the eyes, indicating stagnation in the kidney function and a high level of toxicity in the blood due to inadequate detoxification by the kidneys. Observing the area underneath the eyes is the most commonly used visual diagnostic technique in determining the kidney condition. In addition to darkness, the area under the eyes may be tight and drawn indicating an overly contracted kidney condition, or it may be swollen and puffy indicating an expanded condition. In addition, you may see whiteness under the eyes or small, fatty nodules in this area indicating the accumulation of fatty deposits and progressive development toward kidney stones. The right eye corresponds to the right kidney, the left, the left kidney.

The condition of the hair and scalp also shows the condition of the kidneys (as well as the sex organs). For instance, hair loss shows a weakening of the kidneys. Loss in the front indicates more swollen kidneys, while loss in the back shows more contracted kidneys. Dandruff shows overworked kidneys because of excessive saturated fats and/or animal protein in the diet.

Also, we can check the ears to see both the constitution as a whole as well as the present condition of the kidneys. As for constitutional traits, the larger the ears, the thicker, the lower set on the head, and the flatter against the head, the stronger the overall constitution of the individual and in particular the stronger the kidneys (the size of the ear approximately equals the size of the kidneys). It may be interesting for you to look at the ears in paintings and statues of traditional peoples and notice the tremendous size of their ears. Also, look at the ears of your grandparents, your parents, your ears, and your children’s ears to see whether the biological strength of your family is becoming generally stronger or weaker.

As for conditional signs which appear in the ears, first look to see if the ears are red, a common sign indicating excessive contraction of the kidneys, usually caused by salt or animal foods. If the kidneys are overworked due to excessive oil or fat intake the ears will feel oily. You may also notice moles or warts on the ears indicative of animal protein mucus deposits in the kidneys or pimples or bumps showing accumulations of fat and perhaps stones in the kidneys. You will notice the ears are shaped like the kidneys, and wherever these blemishes appear on the ears will show where on the kidneys these accumulations are located (right ear shows right kidney and left ear shows left kidney). Many cases of deafness are associated with fatty congestion in the kidneys, and discharges of wax often suggest fatty accumulation in the ureter, the tube which leads to the bladder. Ringing in the ears indicates a discharge through the kidneys of some strongly expansive type of food or drink. Obvious body signs indicating too much fluid intake and overworked kidneys and heart are wet hands and feet, athlete’s foot, excessive tearing and saliva as well as a guttural or watery quality to the voice.

You may want to confirm your diagnosis up to this point by using the traditional techniques of pulse reading and palpation of the kidney acupuncture meridian. This is an energetic pathway connecting the kidneys to external and peripheral parts of the body and accounting for the ability of the traditional healer to diagnose and treat the internal organs at seemingly unrelated parts of the body. The kidney pulse is a deep pulse; it is located on the man’s left wrist and the woman’s right. An overly tight kidney condition will result in a strong and/or rapid pulse as well as hardness along the acupuncture meridian, while an overly expanded kidney condition will be felt as a weak or irregular pulse, lack of tone along the meridian, or superficial tension in the meridian. Fatty congestion or stones in the kidneys will often show up as pain and hardness or callouses on the first point of the kidney meridian on the bottom of the foot.

Kidney conditions will also commonly show themselves in our postures and types of movement. For instance, overly tight kidneys will often result in aggressive body language such as leaning forward while walking, sitting, or standing, while an overly expanded kidney condition can result in passive body language e such as leaning backward or slouching when walking, sitting, or standing.

These postural and body signs can be used to understand the role that the kidneys play in our general way of moving, acting, thinking, and reacting to our surroundings.

Anatomically, the kidneys are located on our backs and are responsible for much of what we might call our drive or ‘will’ in life, including our degree of aggression, sex drive, courage, and follow-through. They are like two hands on our backs which push us to do what we do. If the kidneys are strong, vital, and flexible, then we experience courage, will-power, a healthy sex drive, endurance, and right timing in our lives. If they become too tight, then we will become overly aggressive, even violent, stubborn, always pressing ahead of time, and insensitive to the space and rhythm of others, often having a strong attachment to things of the past. If, on the other hand, the kidneys become tired and swollen, then we have the tendency to become overly passive, lazy, and increasingly fearful; we lose our concern for time, often procrastinating into the future or arriving late for appointments, lack courage and ambition, and lose our appetite for sex and life in general.

The kidneys symbolize our overall inherent constitutional strength. They were traditionally considered to hold all the strengths passed on to us from our ancestors, the treasurehouse of our deepest inherited vitality, capable of withstanding years of repeated abuse. However, once this deep well of strength has been weakened, particularly if drugs or medications have been taken over any length of time, the kidneys will usually require more time than any of the other internal organs to repair and revitalize themselves. In our present way of life the direct abuses on the kidneys are many. The most harmful of these include animal protein, saturated fats, cold foods and beverages, refined sugar, stimulants, and drugs.

In addition to reducing these harmful dietary factors, the macrobiotic dietary approach recommends:

1. The regular consumption of whole cereal grains, especially brown rice and barley which are very effective in assisting the kidneys to purify the blood.
2. The regular use of small volumes of sea vegetables which strengthen the kidney and bladder functions and help to soften stones in the kidneys; sea vegetables also bond with heavy toxic and radioactive molecules-often accumulated in the kidneys-and assist in their discharge.
3. The regular consumption of beans as a vegetable quality protein source, including aduki and kidney beans, which especially strengthen the kidneys.
4. The moderate use of sea salt, soy sauce, and miso to season foods while they are cooking and the avoidance of commercial salt, table salt, and especially salty snacks, such as chips and pretzels.
5. Flat shoes, straight-backed furniture, and a firm sleeping surface.
6. Walk as much as possible.
7. Keep your kidneys protected from the extreme cold of winter.

The Intestines-Diagnosis 
Our Mouth Speaks Eloquently of the Small Intestine

Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about our small intestine-you might say it’s another one of our body’s unsung heroes. Yet, heroic it is, for our overall health and mental clarity depend upon the proper functioning of this amazing yet often unappreciated organ.

According to modern medicine, the function of the small intestine is to absorb nutrients and eliminate waste from the body. However, according to the late Japanese scientist Dr. Morashu Chishima, the small intestine is also the primary site for the production of blood. After years of experiments, Chishima concluded that the small intestine, through some as yet unknown chemical process, produces white blood cells directly from the absorbed food particles, out of which emerge red blood cells like butterflies emerging from a cocoon. His experiments and documentary photographs are published in Volume 9 of his 18-volume work entitled The Revolution in Biology and Medicine, now out of print. Chishima’s work, which was published in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, seems to support the view of some traditional healers that the blood is produced primarily in the small intestine from our food, and only secondarily or during times of fasting in our bone marrow and spleen.

Production of blood and digestion of food are not the only functions of the small intestine, according to traditional and Oriental medicine. The traditional healer viewed the central lower abdomen as the place where the energy of heave and earth collide to form on of the body’s seven major centers of energy or chakras. This particular chakra is known among Japanese as hara and among the Chinese as tan tien. It provides us with lower body strength and circulation and the drive and confidence to realize our dreams. It is also our center of gravity. For these reasons, the traditional martial arts, such as tai chi chuan, aikido, and judo place special emphasis on strengthening the hara or intestinal region. By doing this, one becomes ‘centered’ and thus better able to use one’s energy and the energy of one’s opponent to one’s own advantage. The hara is also regarded as the chakra that governs courage, endurance, integrity, and mettle, as signified by the expression ‘that took guts!’ In addition, traditional healers classified the small intestine as a complementary partner to the heart, each supporting the other in their respective blood-producing and blood-circulating activities as well as through their harmonized rhythmical beatings and peristaltic movements.

In diagnosing the condition of the small intestine, one should begin by recognizing the constitutional strengths and weaknesses of that organ. This will give important clues to the kinds of intestinal disorders that are likely to arise.

The mouth and especially the lips show the constitution and condition of the stomach and intestines, as these are the beginning of the digestive track and embryo logically developed at the same time as the intestines. In determining the constitution of the intestines, if the mouth is wider than the nostrils or if the lips are thick, the intestines are more constitutionally expanded (yin) and were created by a diet richer in carbohydrates and fats. This is most commonly seen in people from tropical climates. If the mouth is as narrow or narrower than the nostrils, this indicates a relatively higher intake of minerals and therefore intestinal strength; and if the lips are thin, this indicates tighter, more contracted (yang) intestines created by a diet high in meat, eggs, and other animal foods.

In addition to constitution, the mouth also reveals the present condition of the intestines. The upper lip corresponds to the upper digestive system or stomach and esophagus while the lower lip shows the condition of the lower digestive system or intestines-the inside lower lip and corners of the mouth being associated with the small intestine and the outer lower lip with the large intestine. If the lips are swollen and/or the mouth droops open, there is an indication of an expanded intestinal condition. If, in addition to being swollen, the lips are wet, this usually suggests diarrhea, while if the lips are swollen and dry or cracked, there is more of a tendency toward constipation.

If the lips are tight and contracted and/or the mouth is held tightly pursed or the jaws clenched this indicates a constricted intestinal condition and the tendency towards constipation. In addition, the corners of the mouth relate specifically to the duodenum, the primary site for the breakdown of fats into fatty acids. If the corners become dry and begin to crack, this is a sign of an excessive consumption of salt, baked foods, and saturated fats, leading to a contracted and congested duodenal condition. The development of sores or blisters in this area indicated too much oily food, leading to an acidic or ulcerous duodenal condition.

Either the expanded or contracted intestinal condition can lead to poor absorption of nutrients and therefore result in more extreme blood diseases, such as anemia or leukemia. In addition, these conditions often cause incomplete food digestion, fermentation, mucous formation, flatulence, ulcers, inflammations, and eventually cancer, as well as many lower body problems such as poor circulation in the legs, excess weight around the hips, varicose veins, or multiple sclerosis.

The color of the lips is also an important indicator of the present intestinal condition. The lips should be a clear pinkish-red color. If they are vivid red, this indicates expanded capillaries in the intestines with probable high blood pressure and possible intestinal inflammation or infection. If the lips are white the person is probably suffering from anemia and poor blood circulation. Sometimes the lips turn dark or purplish, indicating blood stagnation, or if there is a black spot on the lips, toxic blood stagnation is present with the possibility that a tumor is forming. Occasionally, there will be a greenish tint to the mouth or lips indicating the possibility that a tumor is forming. Occasionally, there will be a greenish tint to the mouth or lips indicating the possibility of intestinal cancer.

The forehead further shows the condition of the intestines. The outer right side of the forehead (before the temple area) corresponds to the ascending colon, the top of the forehead to the transverse colon, and the left, frontal area to the descending colon. The middle area corresponds to the small intestine. Horizontal ridges or deep lines present in any of these areas indicate a swollen condition in the corresponding intestinal area, while vertical lines indicate a contracted condition. Acne on the forehead suggests fatty acid accumulation in the intestines, and moles show the accumulation of excessive protein mucus from animal food.

The condition of the stools is probably the most important index to the condition of the intestines. Dark, hard stools indicate a contracted, constipated condition, while loose stools or greenish stool’s indicate a more expanded condition. The person with the yang problem is probably eating too much salt, eggs, meat, or dry baked foods while the yin condition is usually caused by too much sugar, fruit, fruit juices, alcohol, or even too many leafy green vegetables.

The head hair corresponds directly to the intestinal villi. If the hair is oily, dry, or splitting at he ends, the intestinal villi most probably are in a similar condition and if the hair begins to fall out, this shows a weakening of the digestive system, loss of villi, and therefore loss of absorption ability.

In addition to the above methods for diagnosing the condition of the small intestine itself, there are also several methods whereby we can determine the condition of the functions or energy of the intestines. First, this can be done by taking the small intestine pulse, a superficial pulse, which is located on the left wrist closest to the hand on a man and on the right wrist in the same place on a woman. A pulse that is heavy and pounding indicates an overworked and hyperactive intestinal function while a faint, hesitant, or nonexistent pulse indicates a more weak and under active intestinal function.

This intestinal function can also be diagnosed by feeling along the small intestine acupuncture meridian, which runs along the inner arm out to the little finger. Superficial pain and tension indicated hyperactive intestinal functions while looseness or deep pain indicate under active functions. (During a heart attack, patients commonly will experience intense pain or numbness radiating out along this part of the arm, which is also the area of the heart meridian. This may provide another clue to the close relationship between the heart and small intestine.)

A similar diagnostic palpation can also be made on a person’s shoulders, particularly on the peak area of the shoulders right at the base of the neck. Here, you can feel again for overactive or under active intestinal functions or simply feel for the relative degree of intestinal blockage and stagnation. (Massage in this area is a great treatment for intestinal disorders.)

The traditional healer viewed the mind and body as inseparable. In particular, a close association was made between the intestines and the brain, considered to be the major complementary/antagonistic organ pair of the entire body. There are amazing similarities in their structure and appearance, while in function they are complementary: the intestines digesting and absorbing physical (yang) food and the brain processing and taking in nonphysical (yin) food.

When the intestines are having trouble eliminating waste from our bodies, this indicates a corresponding difficulty in our ability to think clearly and rationally. Oftentimes constipation or difficulty in eliminating foods suggests that we are also holding onto past memories, delusions, or behavior patterns that would otherwise be much easier to let go.

Finally, the small intestines represent our ancient origins in the ocean, the dark and mysterious deep out of which organic life is transmuted and given birth. Each day our intestines are replicating these origins by transmuting our food into the blood of life. If our understanding of life is to deepen, if our memories are to be regained and our purpose illuminated, we must know and care for this little known and overly abused physical organ.

To restore health and vitality to our intestines, a diet consisting of whole grains, beans, and vegetables is far more suitable than one consisting of animal products, sugar, chemicals, and refined flour products. Human intestines are structurally much closer to those of herbivores than carnivores. Carnivorous animals have short intestines that are capable of quickly digesting and processing meat. However, the long intestines of humans and herbivorous animals are more suited to the slower breakdown and absorption of complex carbohydrates with animal food tending to putrefy before its intestinal journey is completed.

Any type of pelvic exercise, particularly walking, will help stimulate and strengthen the intestines and is recommended for everyone. Like all our organs. the intestines have a vital part to play in our overall health and ability to realize our goals. A little care, some exercise, and a change in diet will result in some very important rewards in balancing this central sphere of our lives.