10
Adrenal Burnout/Kidney Energy Deficiency

Combining Chinese and Western medicines to rebalance your stressed-out body

On January 6, 1996, a blizzard ripped across the eastern seaboard, bringing the New York area to a crawl. Twenty years earlier, Dimitri Stojanov had entered the country illegally from Russia with little education and few words of English. He landed a job on the production line in a defense company. In a mercurialrise to a senior management position, by age forty Dimitri had achieved his white-collar American dream, with citizenship, a prestigious job with a penthouse office, a luxurious home in a nice neighborhood, a loving wife and three children. Now, with the expressways reduced to parking lots, Dimitri's normal three-hour round trip commute from his home to the factory was taking him over seven hours. But he was used to hardship and sacrifice and was not going to let nature stand in his way. He did have one nagging worry, however. Inexplicably, although he could still function, he was plagued with a numb sensation over half of his body.

Around that time Dimitri was flying back and forth regularly to the West Coast on business. On his first trip, he heard about Dr. Han and went to see him. Dimitri explained his concern about the numbness he was experiencing. He admitted he was taking a megadose of Xanax. He said he had given up his lunch break to go to the gym to work out, but his waistline was still spreading. He either could not sleep or would drag himself home from work and be dead to the world. Dr. Han began by prescribing herbs to help Dimitri reduce the dose of Xanax he was taking. After two weeks, Dr. Han was able to reduce Di-mitri's medication by 25 percent but could not lower the dosage any further without Dimitri suffering acute anxiety. The numbness had not resolved. In fact, Dimitri was not seeing any real improvement in any area of his health. The herbs Dr. Han prescribed went into him like a handful of sand into the ocean, with hardly a ripple.

On a subsequent trip to the West Coast, Dimitri began to open up to Dr. Han. “During the Cold War there were a lot of opportunities in my company for advancement,” he said. “When the Cold War ended, government orders slowed down. My workforce was reduced from twelve hundred to eight hundred people, but I was still expected to keep up a certain quota.” In addition, Dimitri had been called upon by the board of directors, who had learned that one of their vice presidents was involved in money laundering—an activity that directly involved his division. “I knew about the vice president's racket. The board members promised that my testimony against him would be kept a secret. So I went along. But the man I testified against had enough control in the company so that the board wasn't able to squeeze him out of the company. He found out that I had testified against him and started verbally terrorizing me. After two weeks of this, half of my body went numb.”

Dimitri was an extremely driven individual who worked six days a week. He was determined not to show signs of weakness. He made no friends at work and would spend his entire workday focused on his responsibilities. He described his stomach as “being tied in knots” for as long as he could remember. He had not had a natural bowel movement in two years. He drank coffee from the moment he woke up until shortly before going to bed. He kept a two-pound can of sugar on his desk to add to his coffee, and replenished this supply every week. On his drive home, he would stop once or twice at a convenience store to refill his coffee mug so that he would not fall asleep while driving. After listening to his story, it was clear to Dr. Han that Dimitri was worn down by stress. He bluntly told Dimitri that it was a miracle that he had not dropped dead from a heart attack.

Stress from a Western Point of View

As the world seems to spin out of control, modern medicine has been compelled to examine the effects of stress on human health. The overwhelming consensus is that stress kills. Although we are all familiar with the immediate unpleasant effects of stress, the most dangerous and insidious effects of chronic stress are cumulative.

Stress is derived from the concept in physics of an outside force having an impact on a given body. The human body has set levels that all its systems are designed to return to in an attempt to keep the body's processes in a state of status quo. This state is referred to as homeostasis. The body's adaptive responses to stress are an attempt to return from what the body perceives as an abnormal state, back to homeostasis. When you exercise, your body generates heat due to muscle contraction and the use of energy. In an effort to return to its homeostatic 98.6 degrees your body will begin to sweat; the evaporative cooling of perspiration ultimately brings your temperature down. Likewise, when you are cold, your body starts to shiver; these muscle movements release heat in an attempt to return to homeostasis. Or, when you are walking at higher altitude than you are accustomed to, your respiratory rate will increase in an attempt to maintain your body's homeostatic level of oxygen and carbon dioxide. All warm-blooded animals possess this innate drive to maintain homeostasis.

Understanding the body's drive to maintain homeostasis, it is easy to understand why any change is perceived as stress. To the body, it makes little if any difference whether your stressors are good or bad. Normal everyday life activity and events cause stress. Stress cannot be avoided; the only way to be truly free from stress is to be dead.

Since the systems of the body are interconnected, the impact of chronic stress is so complex that a full explanation would take an entire book. For simplicity's sake, the focus here will be on your endocrine adrenal glands. Your two adrenal glands are small triangular organs perched above each kidney. Stress hormones are secreted from your adrenal glands in response to acute and chronic physical and emotional stress. Stress hormones influence nearly every bodily function. Every excitatory situation will result in an initial adrenaline rush from the adrenal medulla to help your body deal with the stressful situation. If stress is chronic, the hormones cortisol and dihydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are next secreted from the adrenal cortex to help your body function in the long term.

Functions of Adrenaline

Causes immediate, emergency response (fight-or-flight)
Accelerates heart rate
Increases breathing
Raises blood pressure
Increases metabolic rate
Intensifies blood flow to muscles, brain and lungs
Sharpens mental focus

Functions of Cortisol

Maintains blood pressure and fluid balance

Diminishes inflammation

Directs many other systems of your body to operate effectively

Regulates immune responses

Functions of DHEA

Decreases recovery time from exercise

Decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease

Increases the production of human growth hormone

Improves your immune response

Increases energy and fat burning

Constant demands on your adrenal glands to secrete stress hormones results in a diminishing of their functional abilities. Police cars get driven twenty-two hours a day. If they are not regularly maintained and repaired, within six months their gas mileage starts to diminish. A private citizen's car might not begin to show a change in gas mileage for several years. Like the police car, your adrenal glands cannot be driven day and night past their ability to rejuvenate and repair. Without rest and maintenance their reserves will diminish and the overall functioning of your adrenal glands and stress hormone secretion will gradually falter. Adrenal fatigue affects all the interconnected systems of the body. These systems include your entire endocrine system, your neurological system and your immune system to name a few—thus the progression from stress to illness.

Adrenal Burnout Is the Equivalent of Depleted Kidney Energy

All five major Energetic systems are involved in stress response, particularly Kidney, Liver and Heart Energetic systems, which are associated with the fluctuations of emotions when an individual is under physical and psychological stress. Chinese medicine intentionally does not distinguish between the physical and psychological aspects of our bodies.

Stress on the body weakens and exhausts Kidney Energy. Kidney Energy regulates your body's ability to deal with stress and provides vitality while supporting all the other systems. Kidney Energy maintains structural integrity and

function of the bones and joints. It is closely associated with some of the most important cognitive functions such as memory, information processing, focus and concentration. It is particularly associated with emotions such as fear and courage.

Early Kidney Energy decline is much more prevalent in Western cultures. The difference is due to Lifestyle Factors, which are a Non-Internal, Non-External Cause in Chinese medicine. What makes the Western culture unique is the hidden stress—the kind of stress that permeates day-to-day life and the basic fabric of this culture. It is always in the background, as a constant reminder of the things one is expected to accomplish, of demands and consequences.

When stress is extreme and prolonged, the constant demands on your adrenal glands to secrete stress hormones will cause them to tire. Adrenal fatigue negatively affects all the interconnected systems of the body, including your endocrine, neurological and immune systems, to name a few. When you suffer from adrenal burnout you begin to suffer from chronic illnesses.

From Dr. Han's many years of consultations with Americans he has come to understand that many people who appear to be successful are actually only a few short steps from major financial crisis. From a Chinese perspective Americans tend toward overdoing, whether it is work or enjoyment. There is a lack of moderation, discipline and balance that wears on Kidney Energy so that it declines much faster and earlier than it is supposed to. The majority of people in the West, even those who are considered healthy, have a weakened Kidney pulse.

Factors That Deplete Kidney Energy

Symptoms of Kidney Energy Deficiency/Adrenal Burnout

Recovering from Adrenal Burnout/Depleted Kidney Energy

The fundamental way of preserving and cultivating Kidney Energy is through maintaining a lifestyle of moderation and discipline. In Chinese medicine there are two distinct preventative approaches. First is the prevention of the development of disease, and second is the prevention of already existing illness from evolving or escalating into an even more serious disease. In addition to taking herbs, lifestyle changes are imperative in restoring adrenal function and rebalancing your Energetic systems.

Ways to Strengthen Your Heart, Liver and Kidney Energies and Resolve Adrenal Burnout

Observe moderation and discipline in diet, work, play and exercise

The American culture has become excessive in many, if not all, aspects of life. Overconsumption of food is the norm—the average meal served at a restaurant has been shown to be two to three times the recommended amount for a serving. People are overworked and overextended financially. Some are too sedentary, others are addicted to extreme sports and exercise. Then there are those who play—too much sex, alcohol, drugs and partying depletes Kidney Energy and creates an imbalance of Liver Energy. Even on vacation people cannot relax, running from one tour to the next, from one flight to another. They return home feeling more exhausted than before they left. It is only when an individual is able to achieve and maintain moderation throughout his or her life that the need for medical intervention or support can be effectively minimized.

Get enough rest and sleep

Your autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. You can think of your sympathetic mode as the Yang and your parasympathetic as the Yin of your nervous system. Like Yin and Yang, there is a dynamic relationship between the sympathetic and parasympathetic mode. Your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are constantly adjusting—just like Yin and Yang—in an attempt to keep your body in balance. Your autonomic nervous system is constantly adjusting and accommodating the processes within your body and all of your external input such as food, drink, environment and stimuli. Just like Yin and Yang, there is never perfect balance, as the sympathetic mode and the parasympathetic mode each have a purpose and are beneficial to your body when appropriately set into action.

During the day you are predominantly in the sympathetic state as you go about your life, eating, working, living. Internally your body is reacting to and facilitating metabolic processes and stimulating your adrenal glands to increase output of stress hormones whenever you are stressed. The sympathetic mode creates acids as by-products of metabolic processes, which tend to make your system more acidic.

At night, your parasympathetic mode counteracts the physiological effects of the sympathetic nervous system by stimulating digestive secretions, slowing your heart, constricting your pupils and dilating blood vessels. It also brings your body from an acidic state back to a more neutral pH. Your body's homeostatic mechanisms strive to maintain an extremely narrow range of pH—very close to neutral—which requires a skillful balancing act. Your body needs an ebb (Yin) and flow (Yang) rhythm like night and day. Nighttime is the appropriate time for your body to flow into a parasympathetic mode to balance the day's accumulated acidity. This is known as the alkaline tide. The alkaline tide is important because the biochemical processes within your body depend on a specific pH balance. When your body remains too acidic for too long, numerous metabolic processes are shut down. The cellular flow is slowed, interrupted or stalled and your cells collect toxins. If this imbalance is not resolved, it can ultimately damage your system on a cellular level, accelerating the disease and aging processes. Malnutrition, stress, sleep deprivation, drugs, stimulants (including sugar) and exposure to toxic substances are all factors that keep your body in a sympathetic state.

At night our autonomic nervous system is supposed to move from a sympathetic state of breaking down (acidic) to a parasympathetic state of building up (alkalinizing). But most of us stay up far past sunset and intentionally cut back on sleep to catch up on work or other activities. By doing so, we create a heightened state of sympathetic dominance (adrenal excess) that prevents or delays the shift into the parasympathetic mode necessary to sleep, digest food, absorb nutrients and repair.

One of the most common factors that lead to depleted Kidney Energy is sleep deprivation. If you are not sleeping deeply for six to eight hours a night because you have difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep, or if you awaken too early in the morning, or if your sleep is fitful, you are suffering from insomnia.

Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or to remain asleep restfully through the night, or the tendency to awaken too early. From a Western point of view, insomnia in itself is not a disease, but rather a symptom of another problem, such as stress, anxiety, too much caffeine, chronic pain, depression, gastroesophageal reflux, medication side effects, muscle spasms or hormonal fluctuations, to name some factors.

The Stages of Sleep: Sleep is divided into two major categories based on brain activity and EEG (electroencephalogram) wave patterns: nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is divided into four stages. Stage one of NREM sleep is a short transitional period between being awake and being asleep. It is considered to be one of the least restorative stages of sleep. In stage two NREM sleep, the individual has less voluntary muscle tone than in stage one. The greatest proportion of time asleep is spent in stage two. Stages three and four—characterized by slow-wave EEG patterns called delta waves—are deeper and more restorative stages of sleep than stages one and two. Periods of slow-wave or delta sleep are associated with vital restorative brain processes, such as neurotransmitter replenishment, cellular repair, cerebral metabolism, neuroendocrine release and resynchronization of circadian rhythms.

REM sleep is defined by characteristic rapid eye movements. The brain wave pattern of REM sleep includes low-wattage, relatively fast-frequency EEG waves. REM sleep is associated with dreaming, rapid oculomotor (eye) movements and loss of muscle tone of voluntary muscle groups. Most REM sleep occurs during the last third of the night, shortly before awakening. During REM sleep, the brain is very active metabolically, with high blood flow and blood sugar utilization. The brain wave activity pattern during REM sleep actually looks similar on an EEG to that of being awake.

Western medical treatment for insomnia includes medications to aid in sleep. None of these medications provides a long-term answer, and they can lead to tolerance and/or addiction. However, in the cases of transient, short-term problems with insomnia in an individual who otherwise does not suffer from sleep difficulties, these medications can be rather safe and effective in temporarily resolving sleep problems until the issue that is causing insomnia is resolved or becomes less unsettling. In recent years more people have begun to find relief from insomnia by using over-the-counter herbs, amino acids and hormones.

Serotonin is the primary neurotransmitter involved in the wake/sleep cycle. Tryptophan is the building block of serotonin. Having a snack high in tryptophan, such as warm milk, cottage cheese with banana, peanut or almond butter, plain yogurt with nuts, or sliced turkey before bed can help you sleep. See pages 154–155 for sleep formulas.

Chinese Medicine's Approach to Insomnia: From a Chinese medicine perspective, there are many ways to treat insomnia. Usually, it attempts to harmonize and balance Heart, Liver, Kidney and Spleen Energies—depending upon what the specific diagnosis calls for. Acupuncture is commonly and effectively used to treat insomnia. The same acupuncture points that can be needled to interact with the central nervous system to reduce pain also participate in the regulation of sleep-wake cycles. Acupuncture can induce alpha waves, thereby promoting REM sleep. With electroacupuncture, electric stimulation patterns can be synchronized with the alpha waves. Acupuncture is also an excellent way to assist the patient in relaxing, which will of course also help improve the ability to fall asleep. Compared to the use of medications to help induce sleep, which act primarily upon the central nervous system, acupuncture is able to help induce sleep by affecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Oftentimes, once the muscles are well relaxed, via the effects of the peripheral nervous system, the central nervous system follows suit.

Consult with a health care professional to resolve your health issues

A health care professional can assess your adrenal hormones and prescribe replacement hormones if indicated—see chapters 17 and 19 for more on hormone replacement.

Have your amino acid levels tested. If your body is not breaking down the proteins you eat into amino acids, this can exacerbate fatigue and symptoms of depression. Amino acid supplementation can boost your energy as well as supply your body with the necessary precursors to neurotransmitters.

Stool, hair and blood tests can determine if you have (1) high levels of accumulated heavy metals in your system, (2) sensitivities to foods or (3) dysbiosis, which is an imbalance of the healthy and unhealthy bacteria and yeast in the gut, any of which may be weakening your immune system and draining your energy.

See page 431 for a laboratory that can refer you to a health care provider in your area who does these types of tests. If you test positive for any of these factors, your health care professional can treat you on an individual basis.

See a health care professional to help resolve back pain

Back pain often accompanies adrenal burnout/Kidney Energy deficiency. Back pain affects an estimated 80 percent of all people at some time of their lives and is the leading cause of disability for people under the age of forty-five. Chronic back pain is defined as pain lasting more than six months or recurring every three months for at least three years. Because an exact diagnosis is often impossible to establish, as many as 85 percent of patients with back pain will never receive a definitive diagnosis. Western medicine has a limited number of interventions for back pain. For example, after the acute phase of back pain— which is usually two to four weeks—people are encouraged to begin an exercise program with strength and endurance exercises. For overweight individuals with chronic back pain, weight loss is recommended. Complete cure of chronic back pain is usually considered an unrealistic expectation.

Western medicine approaches the treatment of back pain from the outside inward. Back pain is considered a localized musculoskeletal and/or mechanical disorder. Chinese medicine approaches treatment from the inside outward, as it recognizes the interplay of internal Energetic systems. For example, in many situations, weakened Kidney Energy leads to vulnerability of one's back. People with deficient Kidney Energy have a tendency to develop premature degenerative back problems. One of the important functions of Kidney Energy is to support the function and structural integrity of the bones. Through strengthening Kidney Energy the back can also be strengthened. For example, the treatment of osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis is often approached by fortifying Kidney Energy.

In treating the most common types of back pain, herbs and acupuncture are often utilized in combination to treat the Energy deficiencies. Acupuncture is utilized to alleviate the pain during the acute flare-up and herbs are then used more often to address the root causes. Back muscles can be strengthened and stabilized by supporting the underlying Energetic systems. The three Energy systems intimately involved in back pain are Kidney Energy, associated with bones; Spleen Energy, associated with muscles; and Liver Energy, associated with tendons and ligaments. By addressing all three of these Energy systems and bringing them into balance, Chinese medicine can effectively treat and help strengthen your entire system.

Moxabustion, explained on page 58, a combined herbal and heat therapy treatment directed at specific acupuncture points, is often used to treat chronic back pain. Also, acupressure can be effective in treating back pain, particularly for those patients with anxiety about needles used in acupuncture. Acupressure has been found to be particularly effective in treating people with muscle spasms.

Gua Sha (cupping)

Cupping is perhaps one of the oldest forms of treatment in Chinese medicine, even predating acupuncture. Cupping can be used to stimulate the circulation of Qi and to “draw out” stagnation causing muscle spasms, tension, pain and lack of range of motion. Cupping uses bell-shaped cups in varying sizes, from the size of an espresso cup to the size of a wineglass. Cups are made of glass, rubber, bamboo, plastic or ceramic. The most commonly used are glass cups. Traditionally, fire is used to create a vacuum inside the cup. One method is to light an alcohol/herb-saturated cotton ball and place it into the cup. The burning herbs create a vacuum within the cup that sucks the cup tightly onto your skin. At the same time, the herb particles will be dispersed by the heat created. These particles move rapidly and are absorbed by the increased circulation in the skin beneath the cup. The heat (fire) cupping method requires skill and should be attempted only by a well-trained and experienced practitioner.

The modern vacuum cups have a pump to create the vacuum, which is more controllable. An electric pump is used to evacuate air within the cup. Sometimes the practitioner applies a thin layer of oil, herbal cream or aloe vera to your skin prior to treatment, which allows the cups to be moved during treatment to cover a wider area. During the treatment the skin beneath the cup will turn light red to purple and even almost black. Every five to ten minutes the cups are lifted or slid from one area to another. After the cups are removed the deepened skin color will gradually diminish over twenty-four hours to a few days. After a cupping treatment you are “open” to outside exposure. For that reason it is advised that you:

Herbal Transdermal Ionization (HTI)

The newest treatment for back pain includes the use of an ultramicrowave or infared heat lamp along with topical herbs. The technique is designed to promote circulation and relax muscles as well as help the topical herbs to penetrate deeply into the affected muscles. Another method is known as herbal transdermal ionization treatment (HTI). HTI is an effective way of concentrating and delivering the herbs deep into the affected sites by converting the herbs into electrically charged particles in an electric field, then, through polarity, forcing the herbal particles with the same electric charge as the electrode to penetrate deeply into the body. As a basic law of physics, electrically charged particles are drawn toward each other if they have opposite polarity (charges), and like charges will repel each other. During a treatment the herbal soaked pad is placed between the patient's body and an electrode. By applying electricity to the electrode it will push (repel or drive) the herbal particles with the same charge as the electrode into the patient's body.

See a health care professional to help resolve constipation

By brutally driving himself, Dimitri had suppressed peristalsis—the natural rhythm of the digestive tract that pushes food along the various stages of diges-tion—which meant that he could not have a bowel movement without the use of laxatives or even enemas. Dr. Han prescribed a potent herb to increase peristalsis. While 10 percent of the dose of this herb would have sent most people running to the bathroom all night long, the herb had no effect on Dimitri whatsoever.

In Chinese medicine constipation is not ideally treated with laxatives, since one's body can easily become dependent upon them. Optimal treatment for constipation focuses on restoring normal peristalsis. Unlike Western medicine, Chinese medicine distinguishes between various types of constipation based on the underlying causes. The type of constipation will direct the choice of appropriate herbs and herbal formula.

Constipation can be due to deficiency or excess (stagnation), each requiring different measures of treatment according to the diagnostic principles of Chinese medicine. Within a deficiency there are distinctions of Qi, Blood, Yin, Yang, Jing or Fluid deficiency or a combination of these. Excess (stagnation) can be due to Heat, Cold, Blood, Dampness, Dryness, Food or a combination of these. The deficiency and stagnation can appear simultaneously in some situations. The herbs need to be selected and put together carefully and each pa-tient's uniqueness needs to be addressed and well targeted.

Modify your diet

Burned-out individuals are often lacking in electrolytes. Electrolytes are elements required by your cells to regulate the electrical charge across cell membranes. Having a protein drink with super green food every day will provide your body with the electrolytes necessary to replace those lost through stress. See page 104 for more on super green food. Chapter 21 provides medicinal recipes to strengthen Kidney Energy and restore adrenal function.

Engage in practices that integrate mind, body, breathing and meditation

Meditative practices buffer the damaging effects of stress. See chapter 16 for more on meditation.

Quit caffeine

Dimitri's numbness—the problem that initially caused him to seek treat-ment—was due to blockage of Energy circulation partly from deficient Kidney Energy. It was also partly due to deeply rooted stagnation, the result of Liver Energy imbalance and long-term overuse of stimulants, sugar and refined white flour products such as cake, cookies, pasta, bagels and pretzels.

From a Chinese medicine point of view, everything we take into our bod-ies—air, food, liquid and experiences—generates Qi. Thus, to obtain balance, we must make healthy choices regarding the quality of air we breathe, the circumstances we involve ourselves in and especially what we eat and ingest.

As Dimitri's energy level had decreased over the years, he had begun drinking large amounts of coffee to stay alert, and when he started taking Xanax he had to pound even more coffee to counteract the medication's sedating effect. He began his day with coffee and continued drinking pot after pot all day with so much sugar that when he finished a cup of coffee there was an inch of syrup at the bottom. He had even taken to stopping at 7-Eleven on the way home from work to tank up on more coffee. Although we all experience a lift from coffee, according to Chinese medicine caffeine does not generate Energy, it merely borrows it. Caffeine drains your Kidney Energy, just like taking out a withdrawal from your bank account. If you do not put a deposit in your system, it will become depleted little by little.

True energy is not a nervous energy but a sense of feeling confident, substantial and calm. The American culture associates calmness with tiredness and equates energy with being highly stimulated. “When I discuss quitting coffee and other stimulants with my patients, many are afraid that their energy is going to crash,” said Maoshing Ni, Lic. Ac., D.O.M., Ph.D., cofounder of the Tao of Wellness clinic and Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Los Angeles, California. “In the Chinese culture, calm has a wonderful connotation. It means that your head is clear; you are sharp and in control and you can manage your energy properly. In the Eastern culture we sip green tea. The tea is a calming, soothing, contemplative beverage. You sit and think and clear your head. Americans are a coffee-gulping culture. You gulp coffee because you are always on the go, go, go. Caffeine stimulates the brain that there is danger, which results in the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands. Drinking coffee turns on your survival mode. While the rush is pleasurable, your adrenal glands are also telling your immune system to gear up because you are going to fight or run to survive, and you may be injured and need help along the way. Consuming caffeine results in a sharp blood sugar drop, which is why you feel cravings soon after your high wears off. It is also highly addictive and depletes your ad renal glands and immune system. There are herbs that can build up your sys-tem—not in a stimulant way, but rather with solid strong Energy. When one feels that type of Energy, it is very different from the false energy that comes from drinking coffee or using stimulants.”

Pages 151–155 provide suggestions for ways to boost serotonin levels to help you quit caffeine. Wean from caffeine slowly. Schedule your allotted amounts of caffeine on your calendar. Week one, decrease by one-half cup per day. Week two, decrease by one cup per day. Continue until you are down to one-half cup per day. If you want to quit drinking coffee and other caffeinated beverages but enjoy the ritual of your morning or afternoon drink, you have several options:

Quit Nicotine

Nicotine is an External Cause. Nicotine tobacco products are proven to cause vascular disease and cancer. Although stimulants give you a lift, according to Chinese medicine stimulants such as tobacco products do not generate new Energy; they merely borrow and consume Energy. Stimulants tap into your Kidney Energy reserve. As a result, in the long run, you end up with an empty tank.

Patches, chewing gum and other products containing nicotine are promoted to help people kick the nicotine habit but can be addicting themselves. While not as deadly as tobacco products, these substances are nevertheless toxic to the human body. You may choose to take the prescription drug Zyban (bupropion) as part of your quitting-smoking program. Zyban is a nicotine free pill that has helped many quit smoking—even those who have smoked ten years or more. Zyban is believed to mimic nicotine's effects on the brain by boosting levels of the chemical messengers dopamine and norepinephrine. Zyban must be prescribed by a doctor.

When considering whether to use Zyban, consider the following:

Quit herbal stimulants such as Ma Huang

The herb Ma Huang contains ephedra, a substance that has adrenaline-like properties. Ma Huang is an ingredient in many over-the-counter diet, sports and performance-enhancing supplements. Ephedra extracted from Ma Huang (which is often used to treat asthma) has a strong stimulating property—so strong that it is banned in international athletic competition. Ephedra is one of the first herbs taught in Chinese medical school. Dr. Han's teacher Song Tian Bing taught his class, “Ma Huang has Energy like a wild untamed horse, so you never want to relinquish control. Don't ever forget when you use Ma Huang that you saddle it so that you have the reins.”

In Chinese medicine Ma Huang is considered to have a strong tendency to exhaust Kidney Energy and is never to be used for people who already have preexisting weakness. It is only to be used for a very brief period of time, usually only for a few days, and the patient's Kidney Energy must be protected at the same time. Do not take herbal stimulants unless monitored by an experienced Chinese practitioner.

Focus on boosting your neurotransmitters naturally before turning to antidepressants

Given the incredibly hectic lifestyles and pressures of today's Western culture, the levels of stress and accompanying anxiety experienced by most individuals are much greater than in generations past. Our culture is suffering en masse from diminished brain neurotransmitters that are necessary for feelings of well-being.

To respond to this need, Western medicine has developed a vast array of antidepressents such as the tricyclics Elavil, Sinequan and Pamelor. More recently an entire new line of antidepressants, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have arrived on the scene—Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox and Celexa. Antidepressants can make the difference between misery and a sense of well-being, thus providing a bridge that allows individuals to address the problems that led to depression.

Although SSRIs have very few and rare significant side effects and are often very effective in helping treat depression, they do not treat the underlying problems of stress or anxiety. To address anxiety, there are the so-called minor tranquilizers such as the benzodiazepines Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Tranxene and Klonopin. Benzodiazepines are the leading prescribed minor tranquilizers for the treatment of stress and anxiety. Dimitri's Western doctor had prescribed Xanax, but it had not completely eased Dimitri's anxiety. For someone like Dimitri, with his chronic anxiety, for Xanax to be effective he would have to be taking the pills like M&Ms. Although for the most part effective, benzodiazepines are highly addictive, both psychologically and physiologically. They are not meant to be taken daily or over the long term. If taken regularly, dependency increases and efficacy decreases. The negative impact of addiction to tranquilizers on a person's work and family often leads to even greater levels of stress and anxiety.

Since Western medicine has been unable to develop another class of medications that are as effective in treating stress and anxiety as the benzodiazepines but do not have the addictive quality, some enlightened Western doctors have begun incorporating nonmedical techniques into their treatment plans to combat anxiety. Biofeedback has been found to be effective in some cases. Biofeedback is the monitoring of physiological functions such as blood pressure and muscle tension. The person is allowed to visually or audibly sense the fluctuations in signals. This enables the person to fully appreciate what is happening in his or her body and attempt to control—through strict mental focus—the fluctuations of physiological functions such as breathing, pulse and blood pressure. Biofeedback sessions often help people alter their reactions to stressful events and situations. The downside of biofeedback is that routine training sessions with a specialist in the field are often required.

People suffering from significant levels of stress and anxiety can benefit from Chinese herbs. There are many well-tested and proven Chinese herbal formulations effective in treating anxiety without side effects, including no physical or psychological dependency. In many ways these herbal formulations may be safer and more effective.

The following guidelines can boost your neurotransmitters and strengthen your Kidney Energy, which will subdue cravings and the physical need for stimulants.

Chinese herbs and Western supplements

If you are extremely fatigued and suspect you are suffering from adrenal burnout, a simple blood or saliva test can check your cortisol and DHEA levels. If your cortisol is too high, you can take 100 milligrams of phosphatidylserine (available in health food stores) three times a day, with breakfast, lunch and dinner, to help lower cortisol levels.

If you have been under chronic stress and are over forty, your adrenal glands may have decreased DHEA production. DHEA is a hormone that balances cortisol. It improves immunity, stimulates fat burning and improves energy. DHEA is reported to promote longevity, reduce chronic fatigue and suppress autoimmune diseases. DHEA must be taken in physiologic doses, which is an amount that would be normal for your body to produce on its own. Pharmacological doses—above what a human body would normally make on its own—could have serious side effects. DHEA must be taken under the supervision of a doctor.

Holy Basil is an Ayurvedic herb considered sacred by many Indians. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Holy Basil is a powerful antistress herb with blood sugar–balancing properties. If you have been under prolonged stress, take 800 milligrams of Holy Basil twice a day, with breakfast and dinner.

If you suffer from digestive discomfort such as bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea, before each meal take the digestive formulas on page 102.

You can take Chinese herbal formulas or Western supplements specifically formulated to treat symptoms of adrenal burnout such as addictions, insomnia, chronic back pain, constipation, anxiety and depression. You can buy herbal formulas online at ancientherbsmodernmedicine.com.