The cornerstones for viral immunity were laid in steps 1 through 4. In this fifth step, you will learn how to restore the normal innate immune response and how to manage inflammation and chronic pain associated with degenerative disease and chronic viral infection.
Valerie, a young, energetic, bright, and ambitious woman, went into the business world right after college. To get well positioned in her company as soon as possible, she worked long hours and took work home on the weekends. No stranger to a sampling of marijuana in college, more aggressive drugs at parties in the corporate world, and the social cocktail or glass of wine, she couldn't see the harm in the occasional use of drugs or alcohol. Work came before boyfriends, so her relationships were transitory, though she recently had met an attorney who she thought had potential for her. To keep fit, Valerie exercised regularly at a gym and also ran several times weekly.
If you have chronic fatigue associated with a viral illness.
If the first symptom of a common viral infection is fatigue rather than fever.
If you frequently experience chills with fatigue at the first sign of a cold.
If you have inflammation associated with a chronic viral disease.
There are several steps involved in restoring normal inflammatory responses, some that you may do on your own and some that will require the supervision of a physician. Please review the following lists carefully before you continue:
Reduce stress.
Get regular rest.
Replace strenuous exercise with slow, limbic-system stimulating movements like tai chi, yoga, or swimming and walking.
Replace pharmaceutical NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors with natural anti-inflammatory medications, acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic.
Prescribe a sleeping medication to assist in improving your sleep cycle.
Help you taper off steroid drugs, and replace them with hydrocortisone or natural cortisol, if necessary, and manage rebound inflammatory conditions as the dosage is reduced.
Prescribe short-term antibiotics to manage bacterial infections, but with the goal of eliminating antibiotics.
Prescribe and manage NSAIDs, with the goal of replacing them with natural alternatives or eliminating their need.
Precautionary Note: If you are taking steroid drugs like prednisone to manage an autoimmune condition, under no circumstances should you or any unqualified person, reduce or stop using steroid drugs without medical supervision.
Her daily routine went something like this: she got up at 6:15, showered, checked e-mail while the coffee was brewing, drank a glass of packaged orange juice, and poured the coffee to drink in the car. She applied her makeup and brushed her teeth while driving, as well as answering her cell phone's voicemail and calling her girlfriend to set up a dinner date for that evening. When she arrived at work, she bought a bagel in the deli on the ground floor of her office building and ate it while standing in the hall taking to coworkers. For snacks, she nibbled all morning on candy at her desk and drank a second cup of coffee around mid-morning; then more candy, a break outside, and an occasional cigarette, depending on the stress of the day.
She ate lunch at her desk, and this frequently consisted of a commercially pre-packaged chicken Caesar salad and two glasses of ice tea with sugar. Her afternoon business schedule included reviewing reports, calls, meetings, coffee, and candy. At the end of the day, she worked an extra forty minutes to straighten her desk and finish e-mails, then she rushed to get home, only to end up stuck in traffic; she turned the radio on loudly to control her frustration. In fact, she wanted to scream most times, but instead reached for breath mints and downed five or six sugar-and-menthol tabs.
At home, Valerie would check her voice messages while changing into her jogging outfit, and immediately take off on a four-mile run to burn off stress and extra pounds. When she returned home, she showered and then drove to meet her friend for seafood pasta and salad, two glasses of white wine, a cup of decaf coffee, and a small dessert. Typically, she had a great time. At home, she would realize she forgot to take her vitamins, so she'd pop a handful of pills and capsules. She didn't know why she took them, but said she was told they are good for energy, weight control, and general health. They energized her, so she often found it hard to fall asleep afterward.
Then, one weekend, she ran a half-marathon sponsored by her company for needy, crippled children. Afterwards she hugged some of the kids wearing t-shirts with her company logo. One of them had the sniffles; the next day Valerie was sneezing and had a running nose. She thought it was an allergy. By the end of the day, she had a headache and felt achy all over. On the way home she stopped at the drugstore and bought an over-the-counter cold medicine. She stayed up late working on a document due the next morning. In the morning, when she woke up she felt feverish and her head was pounding. She took more cold medications and two aspirins. At work, she gave the presentation, and went home sick in the afternoon.
At home, just as she was trying to rest, Valerie's sister called. One of her kids fell down and has to go to the emergency room for stitches. Could she come right over and watch the baby for a few hours? Valerie grabbed some paperwork and a box of Kleenex, and drove a few miles to her sister's place. The baby also had a cold, and Valerie had to hold it the entire time she was there to keep it comforted. When she got home, she took more aspirin, finished another report, then fell into bed.
The next day, Valerie felt tired and her head was congested, but she went to work anyway. Her cold lingered through the week, and on Friday her affair with the attorney took a turn for the worse. She stressed and worried over it on the weekend. On Monday, half of the employees of the company were coughing and sneezing. In fact, she had noticed that people were frequently sick with colds or had allergies in her building.
Just before her menstruation, Valerie had an outbreak of herpes, something she contracted in her wilder days before college. She started on the Acyclovir her physician prescribed for her last year. The next week, she had pressure in her head and felt tired and saw her physician, who spent a few minutes with her and diagnosed sinusitis. He prescribed antibiotics and decongestants.
Valerie developed a vaginal yeast infection the third day into the antibiotics and also had diarrhea. To reduce her stress, she took an extra-long run, even though she was feeling poorly. Rather than the energized sensation she usually had after a run, she felt exhausted. The next week she had no sinus symptoms but was still tired.
Since the relationship was finished, Valerie stopped taking her birth control pills and the irregular menstruation and cramping that she had before her use of the pill returned. Stress mounted in her company due to labor cutbacks, and though she did not lose her job, the worry and anxiety of the other employees affected her. More people seemed to have colds and flu, and she caught two in three months. The third cold caused symptoms of wheezing and chest pressure, and her doctor prescribed medications and steroid inhalers for asthma.
In the fall, Valerie had another sinus infection, and in the winter she had another bout of asthma and got more prescription drugs for treatment. Her PMS increased, and she comforted herself during her period with candy. Valerie's weight gradually went up and she was unhappy with how she looked, so she started dieting. Her weight went down but so did her energy. Work was as stressful as ever. Her new boyfriend was nice but lived in another city, and they only saw each other once or twice a month.
In the winter, Valerie had yet another cold that led to sinusitis. This time, she had no fever and experienced head pain and pressure on the left side of her face. The asthma returned, and she was using the inhalers every day. The sinus infection was treated with another round of antibiotics, which did not work at all this time. The doctor tried a different antibiotic, which also did not work, so he sent her to an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist, who prescribed a stronger antibiotic, which caused a rash all over her body.
By this time, Valerie was able to continue to work and function socially, but she did not feel well. She had recurrent diarrhea, episodes of vaginal yeast infections, frequent herpes outbreaks, PMS and cramps, irregular periods, sinusitis and asthma, and she routinely took several prescription medications. When she got a cold, which is every few months, she felt tired but kept working. She did not have a fever and the doctor never asked her about how her colds started or presented, but only treated her symptoms.
You can see that Valerie had a weakened innate immune response. She did not get a fever when she caught cold or flu or had a sinus infection. Stress was disrupting her hormonal rhythms and poor diet exacerbated problems with her periods. Her metabolism had trouble regulating her blood sugar, so she craved sugar, and stress disrupted her adrenal function, resulting in insufficiency of cortisol. This added to the sugar metabolism problem. She had minor chronic inflammation in the intestines and in her respiratory tract. The drugs were not curing her condition, but only treating some of the symptoms, while creating other problems directly due to continued use.
When Valerie came to see me she had chronic fatigue, chronic herpes reactivation, increasing incidence of allergic-like reactions, food intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, and was on an antide-pressant. She was an excellent candidate for the strategies outlined in this book, and her case and lifestyle illustrate many of the points I've made about immunological fitness and how we lose it.
You can learn several things from Valerie's case. First, her condition was largely self-inflected due to a stressful lifestyle. Second, toxic environmental conditions contributed to her immune disruption. Third, prescription drugs complicated her clinical picture as the different aspects of her initial complaints were not differentiated from those that were actually a result of an infection and those that were part of her immune response (or lack of it).
Simply put, you cannot get completely better if the normal febrile and inflammatory responses of your innate immune system are blunted or if you have chronic inflammation. Certainly, if you have a serious autoimmune disease it may be possible to reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life by using anti-inflammatory drugs. Indeed, sometimes this is the best option one can use temporarily, but it is not possible to attain a complete cure without normalizing pro-inflammatory immune chemicals and restoring the innate immune response.
You cannot get completely better if the normal febrile and inflammatory responses of your innate immune system are blunted or if you have chronic inflammation. It is not possible to attain a complete cure without normalizing pro-inflammatory immune chemicals and restoring the innate immune response.
As discussed in chapter 4, fever is a naturally occurring response of the innate immune system to infection. It triggers changes in brain chemistry, local tissue and cell activity, and the release of cytokines, resulting in an elevated temperature. However, in repeated infections (perhaps coupled with frequent use of aspirin or acetaminophen to suppress mild fevers), the febrile immune response becomes blunted or absent. Why this happens is not well understood. The results of this blunting effect is that fever, the universal sign that humans know as the first clue of illness and infection, is missing. Instead the first symptom of an infection becomes fatigue.
The Significance of Rest: The restoration of the febrile response takes time and patience, and once again we come back to the basics of diet, exercise (or when not to exercise), and, all-importantly, rest. For those with a blunted febrile response replaced by fatigue, the first thing to do is to develop the awareness of when your body is sick and tired.
Rest when you feel tired and at the first signs of a cold or flu, such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, headache, or pain in the back of the neck or head. At this time, you are more vulnerable to other infections, allergens, antigens, and indoor air pollution, so stay home and avoid further exposure. This may be a foreign idea to many Americans who are used to rushing home from work, taking the kids to soccer practice, and visiting an aging mother in the nursing home. However, if we do not change our life- and work-styles, we will become a nation of ever sicker individuals.
Rest means that you cease activity and work. When attempting to rebuild your innate immune system, allow your body the space and time to slowly and progressively work its miracles. Stay home from work and cease any activity around the house; do not watch television, read for long periods of time, or listen to loud music, as the nervous system and sensory organs must also rest. Instead, listen to soothing music while resting in bed or sitting comfortably in your favorite chair. Shut the phones off or screen your calls.
Keep the shades drawn and avoid bright sunlight, as excessive sunlight disrupts the immune system. Ultraviolet radiation can affect the severity of infectious disease; worsening skin diseases like herpes and smallpox. Bright sunlight also lowers melatonin levels, a hormone of the pineal gland that not only helps you sleep but is a powerful antioxidant. A shaded room is more conducive to rest and recovery during illness. Practice quietness and stillness. Repeat healing affirmations, like “My cells are growing stronger and I am getting healthier minute by minute.” Meditate, if you like.
If you work for a large company, ask your doctor for a note explaining your condition and recommending that over the next three months, if you feel ill, you will have to stay at home. A shortterm leave of absence of a week or two may be necessary if your condition persists or is severe. Disability should be reserved for only the severest cases. Your doctor can advise and help you with these issues.
The Necessity of Sleep: Sleep is critical in cases of both blunted febrile response and chronic inflammation. While resting, allow yourself to sleep if you feel sleepy. In general, you need 9–12 hours of sound sleep each night to restore immune reserves. During periods of active infection, your body may require up to 14 hours or more of sleep.
In the early years of my practice, I was amazed by a phenomenon that occurred regularly among my patients. When healing responses were activated either by acupuncture, hands-on energy work, or cranial therapy, patients often became very drowsy and routinely fell asleep on the treatment table. In fact, it was not uncommon for some to go home, even in the afternoon, feeling so overwhelmingly sleepy (not simply tired) that they would lie down and sleep for 14–20 hours straight. When they woke, they felt great.
This type of response is the body's instinctive mechanism taking over to restore and heal through sleep. In the ancient Greek temples dedicated to Asklepios, the god of healing, patients went there to sleep and dream, allowing their bodies' healing power to work a cure.
Sleep is so important that having insomnia is one of the few instances in which I allow a shortterm prescription of pharmaceutical sleeping medications. If you have a sleep disorder, try the natural remedies listed in step 1, but if these do not help improve the quality and patterns of your sleep, you may need to consult with your doctor for the temporary use of sleeping medications.1
Managing Fever: As you follow the viral immunity principles in this book, your health will gradually return, as will your febrile response. Your first fever may be mild and fluctuate during the day, worsening at night. Fever is a sign of infection, but not all infections are bad. This next point is very important. When your next fever or infection develops, work with a naturopathic physician or other doctor experienced in managing fever. Do not attempt to treat the first fever on your own. This first fever may require several different treatments and medications to assist your body in restoring a normal immune response.
Useful treatments include acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbal medicines. Immune-modulating medications, such as lactoferrin or transfer factor, may be also required. Your immune system may still be too weak to fight off a bacterial co-infection. Access to a physician who uses intravenous vitamin C or concentrated allicin (a medical garlic extract) may be necessary to control an opportunistic bacterial infection.
If the infection cannot be controlled with natural medicines, you may need to take an antibiotic or use steroid drugs again. However, this should be viewed as a temporary crutch only, and do not allow a temporary setback to discourage your will to continue. If you persist on the path towards rebuilding your immune system, eventually you will succeed and your immune function will be restored.
Temperature Fluctuations: Symptoms of fever include an over-all warm body sensation, flushed cheeks, a forehead warmer than the body, a warm or sweaty feeling, and sometimes chills. You can take your temperature with a mercury thermometer, an oral digital thermometer, or the newer ones that insert in the ear.
The average normal body temperature is 98.6° F, but at about 99.0–99.5° F, you may only feel slightly flushed and experience only a mild fever. This is considered a low-grade fever. If it persists more than a few days or longer, you may have a smoldering internal infection and require medical evaluation. Even then, it is often difficult to determine the cause of persistent low-grade fevers. Regardless, a fever induced by the innate immune response will rise and then decline as the illness wanes; generally, it does not persist over ten days.
Above 100° F, you will have the classic symptoms of fever and systemic inflammation, including loss of appetite, general malaise, stiffness and aching, weakness, and sleepiness. A fever above 101° F in an adult or 102° F in an infant or child requires active management and even medical intervention.
What to Do About a Fever: A low-grade fever is managed with rest, increased fluid intake, and natural remedies. Remember, fever is a sign of infection and even a low-grade fever persisting more than two weeks requires a consultation with your doctor to determine the cause. For mild infections, use echinacea, boneset, or elderberry tea.
The long-held notion of “starving a fever” is supported by naturopathic physicians and doctors who uphold evolutionary medical principles. Eric R. Yarnell, N.D., president of the Botanical Medical Academy in Sisters, Oregon, says that substances called dietary lectins can increase the likelihood of infection from viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms, and they can also induce autoimmune diseases (Yarnell 2001). Lectins are proteins that bind with sugars, and are found in many common foods including milk, wheat, legumes, and the nightshade family (potato, tomato, eggplant, and peppers). Fasting when you have a fever, or at least completely avoiding all dairy and wheat products, helps to prevent the risk of more serious illness.
Active fevers under 102° F can also be managed with rest, increased fluid intake, and natural remedies. Increased body temperature exerts stress on metabolic functions and reduces appetite, but not eating may lower your blood sugar levels, making you feel very weak. To avoid this possibility, add honey to the herbal teas to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
You will need to take natural antimicrobial medications, such as garlic and grapefruit seed extracts, to manage the infection. (These medications are explained in detail in step 7.) Cool baths or sponge baths can control mild fevers by keeping your overall body temperature lowered. In high fevers, Tylenol, or children's Tylenol for those sensitive to medication, may be necessary to manage an active fever.
The inflammatory response is intimately connected with immunity, degenerative processes, and healing. Usually, if chronic inflammation is present, no true cure takes place until the inflammatory process is under control and the underlying causes eliminated. Normal inflammation occurs when there is tissue damage from trauma or infection as part of the natural inflammatory immune response. Chronic inflammation is also part of the body's way of attempting to keep an abnormal condition under control. However, in the process, it can cause harm to other tissues and lead to organ degeneration and even organ failure, as is the case with advanced chronic hepatitis C virus.
There are three types of imbalanced inflammatory responses: 1) chronic low-grade inflammation; 2) absent or blunted response; and 3) heightened response. As discussed in chapter 4, many factors increase abnormal inflammation and because of their significance, they are worth reviewing. Avoid or remove as many of these factors as you can.
Strategy #1. Rest and improve sleep: It may come as no surprise to you by now that the first step involves rest and appropriate sleep. Looking at the list of biological factors that decrease inflammation, several are affected by rest: balancing acidosis and increasing alkalinity; improving allergic tolerance; normalizing cortisol; reducing stress; enhancing recovery; improving autonomic nervous system balance and increasing parasympathetic activity; and reducing repetitive trauma. Deep sleep normalizes body rhythms, relieves stress, restores hormone balance, promotes the body's healing capacity, and helps to reduce inflammation.
Strategy #2: Balance diet and ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids: Nutritional influences play a significant role in reducing inflammation. Protein and carbohydrate deficiencies, and low levels of vitamins A, C, D, E, B-complex, and trace minerals can exacerbate inflammation. Steps 1 and 2 provide information on dietary and supplemental nutrition to help manage inflammation. Additionally, improving the intake ratio of fatty acids by ensuring adequate omega-3 fatty acids will help reduce inflammation.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA), linoleic acid (LA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are referred to as essential fatty acids (EFAs), and adding them to your diet can reduce inflammation and influence immunity. However, the balance between the different types of oils is crucial.
EPA comes from cold-water fish like salmon and is an omega-3 fatty acid. It is useful for managing inflammation and treating depres-sion. GLA and LA belong to the omega-6 fatty acid family. GLA sources include borage, black currant, and evening primrose oils. These are referred to as the “good” omega-6 fatty acids and are used to reduce inflammatory abdominal pain and improve the mood fluctuations associated with premenstrual syndrome.
Linoleic acids are also found in plants and include the oils of sesame, safflower, sunflower, flax, pumpkin, and walnut seeds. Omega-6 fatty acids are necessary for healthy skin and hair growth and help to regulate metabolism, among their many functions in the body.
DHA, another omega-3 fatty acid from fish oil is important for the normal functioning of the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems, and helps regulate inflammation during infection. It is used to treat a wide range of diseases including arthritis and psoriasis, and can help reduce blood pressure. Using excessive amounts of olive oil can decrease DHA's anti-inflammatory properties. Omega-6 fatty acids, found in both olive and corn oil, when consumed in excess amounts, can produce inflammation.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids follow similar metabolic pathways in the body, but if the ratio between the two favors omega-6 fatty acids, inflammation can develop. The recommended ratio is 1 to 1; however, in the Western diet, the ratio is unbalanced with an excess of omega-6 fatty acids.
Reduce olive oil consumption and use safflower seed and sunflower seed oils. Supplement with a tablespoon of flaxseed or pump-kin seed oil instead; take 2–4 grams of EPA and DHA in capsules from fish oil. Eliminate corn oil and all fried foods.
Strategy #3. Exercise: Strenuous exercise increases inflammation, tissue damage, and oxidation, so avoid strenuous exercise and change to slow, rhythmic movements. Balance rest with exercise. It is not healthy to remain stationary or sedentary for long periods; movement is essential. Swim, practice hatha yoga or tai chi, or walk. Take saunas; as described in step 4, they improve lymph and blood circulation and help to reduce inflammation.
Strategy #4. Avoid allergenic foods: Certain foods have greater potential to cause allergies than others, and allergies can trigger inflammation in susceptible individuals. The most reactive foods are wheat and products like bread and pasta made from wheat, and cow's milk and products like cheese and yogurt. Other common allergenic foods are soy, eggs, yeast, and peanuts.
If you have chronic inflammation or a viral illness, do not eat these foods for one month. Once you introduce them back into your diet, follow a rotation diet and do not eat the same food more than two times per week and allow two days between each time you have them. If you suspect allergies are part of the cause of your illness, consider allergy testing for food hypersensitivity by a laboratory blood test called the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Strategy #5. Reduce acidosis: Acidosis, an abnormal increase in the acidity of bodily fluids, generally accompanies inflammation. If you have inflammation, change your vitamin C from pure ascorbic acid to a calcium-magnesium buffered form. Additionally, take a quarter teaspoon or two 250 mg capsules of sodium and potassium bicarbonate every one or two hours during active inflammation and then reduce to a maintenance dose two to three times daily for one to two weeks. Sodium and potassium bicarbonates are highly alkaline, and when taken as nutritional supplements rapidly reduce acidosis in the body. Other, though slower, ways to reduce acidosis are by drinking green vegetable juices and adding more vegetables in your diet.
Caution: Do not take bicarbonates for longer than two weeks, as you can over-alkalinize your system. Though excess alkalinity is not associated with inflammation in the same way acidosis is, it can cause other symptoms, including a sensation of excess energy and insomnia that could indirectly make your condition worse by robbing you of rest or sleep.
Strategy #6. Regulate cortisol: Excessive or deficient levels of cortisol, an important adrenal hormone, are often involved in inflammatory conditions. Resting, following the diet outlined in previous chapters, managing blood sugar levels, getting appropriate exercise, and reducing stress all help to restore normal cortisol activity. However, for some people with adrenal insufficiency, either genetic or as the result of excessive stress, supplementing with adrenal cortical extracts or hydrocortisone may be necessary. (For more details on hormone balancing see step 9.)
Strategy #7. Take proteolytic enzymes: Proteolytic enzymes, introduced and discussed in step 3, have potent anti-inflammatory activity. Take four to six tablets of Wobenzyme three to four times daily between meals or one hour before eating. Proteolytic enzymes are safe and have no adverse effects other than causing occasional indigestion. If that occurs, reduce your dosage until your system adapts to them and the indigestion ceases.
Strategy #8. Manage pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines: Use quercetin, a flavonoid discussed in step 2, to manage pro-inflammatory cytokines, the immune molecules associated with inflammation (interleukin-1β, interleukin 6, and nuclear factor Kappa B). Many other substances, including B-vitamins, inhibit cytokines and chemokines, so by taking the supplement program outlined in step 1 and the phytonutrientrich foods in step 3, your program will have sufficient amounts of these substances. Take 1,000 mg of quercetin three times per day.
Strategy #9. Use anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients: There are a number of natural herbal preparations for managing chronic inflammation, such as the extract of curcumin / turmeric (Curcumin longa). Selenium and lipoic acid also help to reduce inflammation. Take 500 mg of curcumin three times daily, increase your selenium to 400 mcg three times daily, and lipoic acid to 300 mg twice daily. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is also a very useful natural anti-inflammatory and can be used as a tea made from the fresh or dry powdered root (use 1–4 g per cup).
Plant sterols, or phytosterols, are a group of fat compounds found in all plants, but mostly in unprocessed seeds, nuts, legumes, and grains. The most active phytosterols are beta-sitosterol and betasitosterolin; these function as immune modulators by enhancing the secretion of interleukin-2 and gamma-interferon, but without promoting pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6. They also improve natural killer cell function.
Phytosterol concentrates are useful in the treatment of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and managing inflammation due to the effects of chronic viral infections such as HCV. They are useful in treating chronic prostatitis, allergies, hives, and the management of inflammation due to chronic infection. Plant sterols are commercially produced under the trademarked name of Moducare (Sterinol) in a standardized form (20 mg of total plant sterols and 200 mcg of sterolins); the recommended dose is 2 capsules, three times daily for one week, and then 1 capsule, three times per day thereafter.
Many recurrent and chronic illnesses are associated with weakness in one or more important energy systems of your body. Once again, fatigue is the common symptom among them all. If important vital organs, such as the kidney or spleen, are very deficient, they will require long-term supplementation with adaptogenic (stress protective) substances.
The Chinese medical model clearly defines deficiency patterns in ways that allopathic and even naturopathic medicine do not. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the organs that most easily become deficient are the kidneys (and adrenal glands) and the spleen (and pancreas). In addition, the energy substrates of qi and blood may become deficient.
Each organ, as well as the qi and blood, has yin or yang qualities. Yin is more passive, feminine, and cool in temperature. Yang is hot, fiery, aggressive, and masculine. For example, when the kidney yin is deficient there is less coolness and more fire, causing headaches and hot flashes. When the qi and yang energy are deficient, you feel tired, chilled, and have an aversion to cold; your complexion is pale, as is the body of your tongue. You easily catch cold and have a tendency to feel much more tired than usual when ill. The innate defense system, the wei qi, is deficient.
The herb of first choice for qi and yang deficiency is huang chi, also known as astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus). Astragalus contains flavonoids, and the triterpene glycosides astragaloside I-VII, the main immune-modulating substrates in this herb. It is available in health stores or from your acupuncturist, and is taken as a tablet, capsule, or tea. If you have the deficiency symptoms listed above, take this herb daily as part of your natural supplement program. There are no known side effects or interactions; however, astragalus is traditionally contraindicated during fever, inflammation, or in yin deficiency (described below; see step 8 for more details on this herb).
Your yin systems are deficient if you have chronic inflammation and pain, organ inflammation or enlargement, low-grade fever, a tendency to have excessive yellow or greenish phlegm, hot flashes or night sweats; or if your tongue is red or you experience fatigue. In this case, you can use the Chinese yin tonic herb, nu zhen zi, or ligustrum (Ligustrum lucidum).
Like astragalus, ligustrum has been extensively studied in the laboratory and in clinical research. Its active ingredient is oleanolic acid, or ligustrin, and it is used to treat inflammation in immune-deficient patients. It has been shown to reduce alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis, promote phagocytosis by macrophages, and improve white blood cell count in cancer patients whose immune function has been suppressed by radiation or chemotherapy. Ligustrum is taken in tablet or capsule form and has no known toxicity or interactions.
