Improving your health and extending your life by combining ancient herbal formulas and modern medicine
Wars, invasions and the ravages of nature have turned many of ancient China's wood and rice-paper structures to dust. The Forbidden City—named because no commoner or foreigner was allowed to enter without special permission from court officials—was constructed of stone and has survived since 1421. Surrounded by a wall thirty-five feet high and extending two and a halfmiles on each side, the Forbidden City contains hundreds of buildings, many of which served as the Imperial palaces of the emperors of China until 1911.
Within the Forbidden City are dozens of museum rooms housing ancient records. In 1976, an archaeological student entered one of the rooms and stepped into the dark shadows. Although it was not acceptable behavior to touch the artifacts, her curiosity took over. She opened one of the dust-covered leather sacks that had sat undisturbed for over a century. The sack turned out to be one of many that contained meticulously prepared and preserved medical archives of thirteen generations of emperors and their families. This happenstance find was considered to be by far the most complete and detailed set of Chinese medical history records to date.
The newly rediscovered manuscripts afforded the Chinese medical community an unprecedented opportunity to examine the works of some of the greatest Chinese physicians in the past three to four hundred years. The modern Chinese medical community was able to learn and understand their ancient techniques and formulations. They were also able to re-create many of the formulations and test them under modern medical protocols.
In examining the manuscripts, it quickly became evident that health maintenance and preventive medicine were favored topics among the royal families. Among the plethora of formulations developed over the ages was a group of formulas designed to promote youthfulness.
In August 2000, forty-five-year-old Alana Mays, a nationally known yoga instructor, was preparing to shoot another yoga video for her series. “I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and had years of sun damage,”Alana said. “I work in the field of fitness, doing videos and public appearances, and I felt I looked haggard. My career was blossoming and I wanted to take advantage of it. So I had scheduled cosmetic surgery.”
The surgery did not take place as planned. Alana was in demand and had to reschedule five times. Under the stress of the hectic pace and juggling of her schedule she developed shingles on her face. Her plastic surgeon prescribed Valtrex. “After six weeks on Valtrex the shingles had cleared,” Alana said. “But before surgery they give you antibiotics for infection. Then, of course, there is the anesthesia during surgery. Afterwards I took Vicodin for pain.” For three days after surgery, the nurses in the aftercare facility kept Alana on soft, cold foods such as applesauce. “What I was really craving was something hot to eat. After three days of that my body blew up with water. I couldn't get my clothes on. I had a rash from my neck to my kneecaps. My body hurt worse than my face, which looked like I had been in a train wreck. I went to the plastic surgeon, and he wanted to give me medication to take away the inflammation. I said, ‘No, that's what got me here. ’ I went home and drank lots of water, vegetable broth and herbal remedies. Over the next six months I couldn't do my yoga practice, I put on weight, and my face was still very painful.” Eight months after surgery, Alana was asked to relocate to Los Angeles by the company that produces her yoga videos. Hesitant, Alana shared her story with her producer, who suggested she go ahead with the relocation and see Dr. Mao as soon as she arrived.
“When Alana first visited my office, she was suffering from complete exhaustion,” Dr. Mao said.“The cosmetic surgery she had had eight months prior had affected her vitality to the point where she was nonfunctional. Her hormones were imbalanced, causing an irregular menstrual cycle and a sharp drop in libido. She was suffering from pain in her neck, chest and face. Ironically, the procedure that was supposed to restore youth had caused her decline.
“When formulating a treatment plan, I took into account her condition previous to the surgery—she had been constantly working and traveling. Her Kidney system—her vitality—had become depleted. Her inner fire—what we call Kidney Yang—was deficient. In Chinese medicine, the Kidneys are considered to be the storehouse of life Essence. Chinese medicine enjoys a long tradition of antiaging research from which developed methods to slow down and even reverse the aging process. Acupuncture, for example, can be used to improve circulation, immune functions and muscle tone—such as in the face—and enhance and balance overall body function. Specifically, there are many herbs that are used and possess known antiaging properties. This group of herbs was documented in Shen Nong's Herbal Materia Medica. Shen Nong was thought to have lived five thousand years ago, and his Medica—written by scholars using his name—purportedly dates back to the time of Christ. These antiaging herbs belong in a category called superior herbs, also known as tonic herbs. Examples include Ginseng root, Cistanche root, Schisandra fruit, Chinese wild yam, Lycium berry, Angelica root, Fo Ti root, Lotus seed and Longan fruit. Special formulations consisting of carefully prepared combinations of various tonic herbs were created by ancient Taoist physicians specifically for increasing energy, longevity and enhancing quality of life.”
Alana was treated with acupuncture and given Chinese herbal antiaging formulas. “In the beginning preparing the herbal decoction seemed like a chore,” she said. “It's not the most pleasant-tasting drink in the world. But I feel very nourished when I drink it. So it's become a pleasure to smell the herbs cooking.
“Before I started Chinese medicine I was getting out of bed after ten hours of sleep, feeling exhausted. I had to take a two-hour nap every day. I have more energy now and don't need to nap. I am mentally alert. I've begun exercising again. Chinese herbs supported my body's balance so that I could rebuild muscle mass. I'm getting ready to do a video production, and I need to be the best I can. It's been very easy to get myself into shape to do that. I don't think yoga, exercise or diet would have brought me back. Once you are depleted you have to go deeper to bring yourself back to optimum.”
The sale of prescription drugs in this country rose 40 percent from 1998 to 2000. Drugs, surgery and other sophisticated scientific modalities have great value and much to offer medical care. At the same time, the goal of good health is to prevent the necessity of taking drugs, having surgeries and so on. In the past, Western medicine had little or no interest in fostering wellness. Western medicine has traditionally been crisis- or illness-focused. Patients generally are not treated until a diagnosable illness develops or a trauma occurs. A person had to be stricken with an affliction before a doctor could intervene. This premise infiltrated the public's mind-set, and a dangerous attitude resulted: Eat, smoke, drink and generally live it up. When a person got sick, he or she went to the doctor to get “fixed.” Fortunately, this attitude is being revised as the concept of preventative medicine has begun to creep in and take hold within the common mind-set and within the Western medical establishment.
Today, scientists now agree that prevention is as important as treating illness and that wellness begins on the cellular level, within the interconnected, interdependent systems of your body. Prevention, from a Chinese point of view, is based on the philosophy of balance. Antiaging medicine, a newly emerging field in Western medicine, parallels the philosophy of Chinese medicine more than any other specialty.
In addition to the progressive Western doctors who are working in the areas of antiaging, clinics devoted solely to the specialty of antiaging have sprung up across the nation. Physicians who incorporate antiaging medicine into their work often practice both sickness and wellness medicine. Specialized antiaging clinics do not treat disease. Instead they target hormonal imbalances and educate patients on nutrition and exercise as a way of maintaining the body in the most optimally functioning state—thus thwarting the aging process to the degree possible with current scientific knowledge.
Cenegenics, a premiere antiaging clinic located in Las Vegas, was founded by Alan Mintz, M.D., and John E. Adams in the early 1990s. Mintz and Adams organized a team of professional health care specialists ranging from neurologists and pharmacists to internists, nutritional experts and exercise physiologists. “Over eighty percent of medical costs in this country are incurred during the last few years of life,” said Dr. Mintz. “That doesn't make sense. Why wait until something goes terribly wrong to try to make repairs? In makes more sense to invest in preventing illness early on, so that your middle and older years can be vigorous and productive.”
David Leonardi, M.D., medical director of Cenegenics, takes his own medical advice. “At twenty-nine, I was single and used to vacation at Club Med. My buddy Roger and I could get up at six-thirty in the morning, eat an eighteen hundred-calorie breakfast and be on the tennis court at eight. After three vigorous sets of singles, we'd shower and devour an eighteen-hundred-calorie lunch—starches and desserts prevailing. The afternoon was spent learning to windsurf, which is a sport with a steep learning curve. By four-thirty we'd drag ourselves to the shower. But by dinnertime we were miraculously rejuvenated. Dinner was twenty-five hundred calories—a thousand of which came from alcohol—followed by dancing and debauchery till two in the morning at the nightclub. After four and a half hours of sleep, we'd repeat the performance the next day.
“Fifteen years later, at age forty-four, tennis was doubles from ten to eleven-thirty followed by a light lunch. After a few hours of relaxing, we might get in one hour of windsurfing. A nap was necessary to make it to dinner. We'd have a glass of brandy at the table in lieu of four hours of dancing and hit the sack by ten.”
At age fifty, Leonardi feels closer to how he felt as a twenty-nine-year-old than to how he felt as a forty-four-year-old. He credits his recovery to judicious application of hormone replacement therapy, optimal nutrition and regular sensible exercise. “Aging progresses swiftly between ages twenty-nine and forty-four, yet by age fifty I'd learned state-of-the-art ‘age management. ’ Aging is a preventable disease. We simply don't have all the answers necessary to prevent it. At our current state of the art, we are able to slow the aging process and to a significant extent reverse many of the symptoms. Supplementing hormones as levels decline is one of the most effective methods for reversing the symptoms of aging and for improving the quality of life. Hormone modulation is not a simple endeavor, as it affects our physiology in a multitude of ways. It should be undertaken only under the care of a physician knowledgeable in the nature of these hormones and their interactions, and one who will monitor not only their
levels but their effect on all aspects of well-being. Hormone modulation should accompany lifestyle improvements in nutrition, exercise, stress reduction and the avoidance of environmental toxins. This comprehensive program can maintain a remarkably slower rate of aging, enhancing quality of life and, we believe, an extended lifespan. We feel confident that we can make a ten-year difference, and if they're quality years, that's a lot of tennis.”
New patients at Cenegenics are put through the thorough diagnostic Medical Biological Age Comprehensive Evaluation, or MedBACE. A day of diagnostic evaluation provides baseline information on the patient's general state of health, metabolism, level of fitness, hormonal status and biological age—in-cluding memory and cognitive tests, reaction time, muscle motor tests, lung function and capacity and sensory tests of vision and hearing. Patients' bone density, body fat and muscle mass are also evaluated. Included in a full day of evaluation are one-on-one consultations with a staff physician, nutritional counselor, exercise trainer and care coordinator.
The Cenegenics team individualizes a program for each patient comprised of nutrition, exercise, nutritional supplements, prescription medications and hormone replacement therapy. Follow-up evaluations and consultations are scheduled regularly so that prescriptions can be adjusted. Hormones, medications and supplements are shipped monthly to your home. Antiaging clinics such as Cenegenics do not take over your medical care. These clinics offer wellness programs and communicate with your regular doctor and specialists.
Consult with a doctor who specializes in antiaging medicine to have your hormone levels checked
Studies on hormonal therapy for the aging are ongoing. “So far, evidence suggests that appropriate advanced hormonal, metabolic and exercise physiology interventions can slow down, maybe even turn back, the biological clock,” Dr. Mintz said. The following hormones collectively contribute to energy, strength, stamina, large muscle mass, lower body fat, greater libido, and the more optimistic outlook of youth.
DHEA. A male sex hormone that is critical for men and women's wellbeing. It is important for your immune system, for your mood and to maintain muscle mass, which decreases body fat.
Testosterone. The primary male hormone, which is also crucial for women's health and well-being. Testosterone is important for lean body mass and to decrease body fat. It is a critical component for your brain (mood), heart, and sex hormones, and for the formation of bone. A lack of testosterone is associated with decreased sex drive. In men, from age thirty to fifty, testosterone levels decline on the average of 30 percent.
Melatonin. A hormone that is synthesized and secreted by your pineal gland. It regulates circadian rhythm, aids in sleep and is an antioxidant. By age thirty-five, melatonin levels in both sexes decline to the level of an eighty-year-old. Keeping melatonin levels at a more youthful level will provide benefits in sleep, energy levels as well as providing antioxidants.
Thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Every cell, tissue and organ of your body is affected by the actions of your thyroid gland. The thyroid controls your metabolism, regulates your body's thermostat, helps maintain your circulatory system and blood volume, heightens the sensitivity of your nerves and is necessary for building and maintaining lean body mass (muscle and bones).
Estrogen and progesterone. Sex hormones produced in the ovaries. When ovarian function declines during perimenopause, sex hormones fluctuate. The cardiovascular system, bones, skin and certain cognitive functions begin to deteriorate. Bioidentical estrogen and progesterone replacement therapy is associated with prevention of osteoporosis and heart disease, maintaining strength and a youthful appearance, among other benefits.
Insulinlike growth factor (IGF-1). Human growth hormone (hGH) is produced by your pituitary gland. In response to the presence of hGH, in sulinlike growth factor (IGF-1) is released. Your level of IGF-1 will determine your need for hGH. HGH and IGF-1 decline progressively with age. By raising the levels of these two hormones by hormone replacement of hGH, you can see such improvements as:
Increased skin thickness and elasticity
Diminished wrinkling from sun damage
More lean body mass and less body fat
Improved cholesterol panel
Less recovery time between workouts
Better mood and a sense of well-being
Better sleep and improved energy levels
These effects can take up to six months and diminish once you discontinue use. Side effects such as joint pain and stiffness from hGH replacement can almost always be avoided by using conservative doses. HGH may only be absorbed via injection. It must be obtained by prescription and must be used under the supervision of a licensed physician. Currently under patent, hGH is very expensive, running between $300 and $600 per month.
No studies to date have proven that using hGH replacement has caused disease. Studies have pointed to possible links between higher levels of IGF-1 and the risk for prostate cancer and breast cancer. Other studies have demonstrated that higher levels of IGF-1 are not a risk factor for these cancers. At this time there is not enough data to draw reliable conclusions. As with other types of hormone replacement, many doctors and individuals feel the benefits are worth the potential risks. The decision to use hGH or any other hormone replacement is up to the individual. When researching hormone replacement, it is always best to consult with a physician trained in antiaging medicine.
Deer Velvet Antler, Chinese medicine's answer to hGH
If you want the benefits of increased human growth hormone without using the injectable hormone, you can talk to your doctor of Chinese medicine about the benefits of using Deer Velvet Antler. Deer Velvet Antler has been known for centuries as “the Emperor's tonic.” It is one of the most important medicines in Chinese herbology. Deer Velvet Antler is the very tip of the new male deer antler growth, which has not yet become the hardened calcified bone of the antler. Deer Velvet Antler is harvested in China and New Zealand in deer farms that have been developed for the sole purpose of acquiring this substance as a supplement. The animal is not hurt or killed, and it takes about one year for the antler to grow back.
Deer Velvet Antler is considered an important Kidney Yang tonic. It enhances strength and accelerates metabolism. Energetically, it is Warm and can even be considered Hot, so it is not suitable for everyone. For example, people with a Yin-deficient constitution need to be careful using it, and people with an excess Yang condition will most likely experience some side effects such as headache, nosebleed, insomnia, irritability, heart palpitations and elevated blood pressure.
Considered an adaptogen (antistress substance), Deer Velvet Antler strengthens the immune system to combat the effects of physiological and psychological stress. Deer Velvet Antler is rich in minerals, amino acids, antiinflammatory agents, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.
Deer Velvet Antler Tonifies Jing (Essence). Recent research has demonstrated that Deer Velvet Antler contains IGF-1, which increases muscle mass. For this reason Deer Velvet Antler has become popular with bodybuilders and other athletes to increase muscle tone and lean muscle mass.
Deer Velvet Antler is considered one of the most effective remedies for male impotence. It is used for so many conditions that it would be impossible to list them all. Deer Velvet Antler must be used under the supervision of a Chinese doctor.
Depending on the grade or quality and the form (powder, extract or tincture), an antiaging dose of Deer Velvet Antler would cost between $30 and $160 per month.
See a health care professional to have homocysteine levels checked
High levels of homocysteine are a risk factor for heart disease. See page 206.
Take care of yourself on a cellular level
Medical science today is just beginning to understand the importance of caring for our bodies on a cellular level. The key to good health and vitality is to provide regular nourishment for your cells and to regularly take toxins out of your cells by detoxification.
Many Western doctors and scientists are beginning to view the human body as a whole, interconnected picture. Like Chinese medicine, they are also recognizing that this wholeness is connected by a pattern of energy that must be kept flowing. Gary Tunsky, Ph.D., a naturopathic doctor, nutritional biochemist and independent research scientist in private practice at Precision Health Systems in Dallas, Texas, explains how the process of disease, when viewed on a cellular level, corresponds with the Chinese view. “The human body contains more than seventy-five trillion cells,” Tunsky said. “You have seventy-five trillion libraries of information containing genetic information. These seventy-five trillion cells communicate like a wireless fiber-optic network. Picture all six billion people on earth simultaneously picking up a wireless phone and making a phone call. That's six billion conversations at the same time. Then picture everyone hitting conference call. That's what happens in your body's communication system twenty-four hours a day.
“Each healthy cell has an electrical current of one-thousandth of a microvolt. When seventy-five trillion cells are all lighting up at a thousandth of a microvolt, you have a healthy body. When cells are diseased, the voltage decreases to half that or less. Every living food we eat has an electrical current. Every apple, orange or vegetable has a certain microvolt or life force. This electricity is necessary for vibrant health at the cellular level.
“If you ingest processed foods with zero microcurrent, your cells will not receive the electric current that is necessary for cellular communication. Eating processed foods results in a toxic coating around the cell membrane, similar to a car battery covered in oil. If you tried to hook up cables to this oil-covered battery, the electrical charge would not be able to pass through the cables because of the oil coating. When the cells are diseased or contaminated from processed foods, their voltage decreases. With this decrease in voltage, energy levels decrease, causing a lower metabolic rate in the cells and susceptibility to disease.”
This view of the human body as a pattern of dynamic energy parallels Chinese medicine's view of Qi. Like Qi flowing through Meridians to deliver nutrients and remove toxins and metabolic waste, it is necessary for the electric current of the cells of the human body to flow freely—and when the flow is obstructed, stagnation occurs. “The human body has a filtration system that keeps the river flowing,” Tunsky said. “Cells are constantly burning fuel and producing metabolic waste, like an automobile giving off carbon monoxide. In addition, you're breathing, eating and drinking toxic substances, and your cells become further contaminated. When your seventy-five trillion cells are bathing in toxic sewage—called toxemia—cells begin to die from suffocation. Then the next generation of cells is weaker than the one before and if you don't clean up the toxic waste, the next generation will be weaker than that one, and so on. This is progressive stagnation. Picture a stagnant swamp or pond where there is no movement. Algae and fungi begin to form. This stagnation is going to attract scavengers. Then germs, bacteria, parasites and cancer cells begin to breed.
“Western medicine treats health problems by attempting to attack these problems with a kill-mode mind-set. That's like blaming algae and fungus for killing off fish in a stagnant swamp. But if you clean up the swamp and get it flowing again like a vibrant river, the algae and fungus go away.” Like Chinese medicine, getting the systems moving (as in moving your Qi) will remove stagnation, restore balance to your body and correct disease.“The seventy-five trillion cells flow like a river. When the filtration systems are working, there will be no buildup of toxic residue within your cells to cause stagnation. The goal in treating illness is to break up stagnation and get systems moving freely again. In treating illness, you don't treat the system or the organ, you treat the cell, because healthy cells make healthy tissues, healthy tissues make healthy organs, healthy organs make healthy systems and healthy systems make up a healthy body.”
Recent modern scientific research has revealed that herbs work on a cellular level to nourish cells and to remove toxins. Looking at healing from under the microscope of Western science, we understand that putting nutrients into the cells and taking toxins out will allow the cellular system to become dynamic and vital again, which will counteract the degenerative diseases of aging.
In addition to avoiding processed foods, toxins and sugar, detoxification is essential in preventing illness and promoting youthfulness. One of the most effective ways to do this is to drink fresh vegetable juice.
Whole foods and vegetables must be digested before your body can absorb the nutrients. Because most people's digestive systems begin to weaken by the time they reach forty, no matter how nutritious their diet, many of the nutrients they eat are not fully absorbed. When you drink fresh vegetable juice, the juicer does part of the digesting for you by taking out the fiber and leaving only live liquid nutrients containing enzymes that signal your pancreatic juices that digestion has already taken place. These juices go directly through your portal vein into your liver, where toxins are filtered out and nutrients put directly into your bloodstream and then carried to your seventy-five trillion plus cells. “Imagine your arteries as a river, your veins as streams, and your capillaries as trickling brooks,” Tunsky said. “A flowing river with abundant growth with healthy trees and vibrant flowers at its banks.”
Dr. Tunsky recommends what he calls the “Einstein drink,” which is a mixture of nine different vegetables—of your choice—which provides thirty-five thousand phytonutrients. “Through a technology called chromography, researchers have found twelve thousand phytonutrients in one spinach leaf. Science has only studied and identified a hundred and fifty-one of these micronutrients. You can't get this full spectrum of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and nutrients in a supplement.” It takes one to one and a half pounds of fresh vegetables to make eight ounces of juice. If you drink fresh juice twice a day, you are getting the phytonutrients of two to three pounds of fresh vegetables.
The human body strives for a delicate pH balance. Maintenance of the delicate acid-base balance in the body is critical. As previously noted, the acid-base system is measured by what is known as the pH system. On a scale of 1 to 14, a measurement of 7 is neutral. The human body strives to maintain a mildly alkaline state of approximately 7.4, give or take 0.05. This alkaline environment allows all the repair processes such as making new cells, membranes, tissues, enzymes, hormones and neurotransmitters to take place. Normal metabolic processes, stress, toxins, acidic foods and beverages and ingesting stimulants all make your body more acidic. Excess acid in your system causes degeneration of normal cellular function, or stagnation from a Chinese medicine point of view. In addition to providing your body with nutrients, drinking fresh juice helps change the pH of your body from an acid state to a slightly alkaline state and cleanses your body's cells, tissues and organs.
Because many toxins are fat-soluble, the heavier you are, the more toxins you carry in your fat cells. A juice detox releases these toxins from cells back into your bloodstream before they are eliminated. You may feel the effects of this blood toxicity the first four or five days with mild flu-like symptoms. After a few days, you will begin to experience an improvement in energy. From then on, you can see improvements in sleep, memory, concentration, vitality, fewer cravings for sugar, weight loss and improved skin and hair.
In addition to drinking juice for detoxification, if you are ill, you can benefit from drinking four to eight ounces of fresh organic vegetable juice twice a day until your illness resolves. If you are healthy, you can benefit from drinking four to eight ounces of juice several times a week.
Seven- to Fourteen-Day Detoxification Program: To make fresh juice you will need a juicer. Select up to nine different vegetables of your choice. As you try different combinations, you will find those that you prefer. A mixture of nine different vegetables of your choice provides thirty-five thousand phytonutrients. Avoid fruits in your juiced drinks, as fruit juice is pure sugar. One exception is to use up to one-fourth of a green apple for flavor. You may also use up to two carrots and one-half to one beet, as these foods raise the sugar content of the juice. Avoid citrus fruits in your juiced drinks. Juice every part of the vegetable, including skins, rinds, seeds and leafy tops. Vegetables are considered to be Energetically Cool or Cold because the cellulose (fiber) in vegetables takes Stomach Fire and Qi to digest, which uses up Yang Energy. If the vegetable in juice form is at room temperature, it can be absorbed with less demand on your digestive Energy. However, excessive amounts of fluids could eventually create Dampness and bring about an imbalance at some point in the future. The purpose of drinking vegetable juice is to feel better. If you experience gastrointestinal distress or any other adverse symptom, add Energetically Warm ingredients to balance the Cold Energy and reduce the amount you are drinking or discontinue and begin again, with moderation, at another time. In addition, always drink your juice within ten minutes after juicing. Some of the phytonutrients will oxidize and be lost after that point. If you must store it, do so in a ther-mos—not in the refrigerator.
Examples of Juice Combinations
| Arugula | 1/4 green apple | Fresh parsley |
| Asparagus | Crookneck squash | Fresh turmeric |
| 1/2 to 1 beet | Cucumber | Kale |
| Broccoli | Daikon radish | Mustard greens |
| Brussels sprouts | Dandelion greens | Red bell pepper |
| Burdock root | Fresh basil | Red cabbage |
| Cauliflower | Fresh ginger | Spinach |
| Cilantro | (use sparingly) | Swiss chard |
| Collard greens | Fresh kudzu root | Zucchini |
| Fresh oregano |
Among these ingredients, several are or are closely related to Chinese herbs and have particularly strong medicinal properties.
| Vegetable | Closely Related Chinese Herb |
| Asparagus | Tian Men Dong |
| Burdock root | Niu Bang Zi |
| Daikon radish | Lai Fu Zi |
| Dandelion greens | Pu Gong Ying |
| Fresh basil | Zi Su Ye |
| Fresh ginger | Sheng Jiang |
| Fresh kudzu root | Ge Gen |
| Fresh parsley | Yuan Sui |
| Fresh turmeric | Jiang Huang |
| Swiss chard | Da Huang |
Ginger root, parsley, basil, oregano, kale, daikon radish, mustard green and red bell pepper are Warming and active in their Energetic temperature, and are important for those with a Cold constitution or sensitive digestive system. These vegetables have extremely strong tastes. Experiment by using a pinch and add more as desired.
The following ingredients in powder form can also be added to the juice to counterbalance the Cold or Yin nature of other ingredients:
Cardamom (Bai Dou Kou)
Cinnamon (Rou Gui)
Clove (Ding Xiang)
Dried orange peel (Chen Pi)
Fennel (Xiao Hui Xiang)
Fresh garlic (or odorless garlic powder)
Galangal (Gao Liang Jiang)
Nutmeg (Rou Dou Kou)
Turmeric (Jiang Huang)
For people with particularly sensitive stomachs who do not do well with Warm ingredients, adding a piece of raw potato to the juice can help.
For breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, choose from organic eggs, cottage cheese, plain whole yogurt, raw nuts, fresh fish, poultry, cooked and raw vegetables, legumes and grains, coconut oil, butter, flaxseed oil and other essential fatty acids and extra-virgin expeller-pressed olive oil—which is available in your health food store. Avoid red meat and dairy products, as they are hard to digest and can harbor toxins in the fats.
Breakfast: 4 ounces juice with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil. Choose foods from list. Take 600 milligrams of milk thistle and 1,000 milligrams N-acetylcysteine.
Midmorning snack: Choose foods from list.
Lunch: Heavy Veggie Detox Broth 1 or 2. See pages 345–346 for
recipe. Choose foods from list. Midafternoon snack: 4 ounces juice with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil. Dinner: Heavy Veggie Detox Broth 1 or 2. Choose foods from list. Bedtime snack: Choose foods from list. Throughout the day: Drink eight to ten eight-ounce glasses of
water
If you do not want to juice or do not like the taste, or if your digestive system is particularly sensitive, bioavailable vegetable pills can provide you with the active plant food enzymes and other vital nutrients found in fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. Product recommendations can be found online at ancient herbsmodernmedicine.com.
Another option is super green food. See page 104 for more on super green food.
Eat a low-sugar diet to maintain a normal weight and to prevent degenerative disease
Chinese medicine focuses on balance. A high-sugar diet causes imbalances and stagnation in the body.
Aging is a degenerative process. We start out healthy and everything we eat and how we live our lives determines the rate at which we will age. If you eat a balanced diet of real, whole foods, your body will degenerate more slowly than if you eat a diet of chemically processed foods. Type II diabetes is an example of degeneration within the body that is almost solely due to an imbalanced diet of too many carbohydrates (sugar).
From Healthy to Insulin Resistance to Type II Diabetes: One of the most important factors in extending your lifespan is to keep your insulin levels low and even. When you eat, your body converts some of the food into amino acids R for building blocks for lean body mass and some into sugar as energy to fuel your body. When you eat carbohydrates, they are immediately broken down by your gastrointestinal system into sugar and absorbed into your bloodstream. For that sugar to be burned as fuel, it must get into your cells. Cells have receptors that act as portals that can only be opened by the hormone insulin. Insulin is secreted from the pancreas and stows away the sugar molecules into cells for use as energy. Removing sugar from your bloodstream causes your blood sugar levels to fall.
If you eat too much sugar as a child, teen and young adult, your cells will become filled to near capacity with sugar. At that point, your cells will reduce the number of insulin receptors, so that insulin cannot upload as much sugar into the cells. This is known as insulin resistance. As you continue to eat sugar, your pancreas will secrete even more insulin in an attempt to overcome this resistance in order to lower your blood sugar. Too much insulin in the bloodstream is known as hyperinsulinemia. Your cells react to this excess by further reducing insulin receptors, leading to further insulin resistance. Extra sugar in the bloodstream will continuously be diverted into fat production and deposited in your fat cells. When your fat cells are filled, the sugar has nowhere to go and remains in the bloodstream, damaging vital organs. This state is referred to as type II diabetes.
In summary, prolonged consumption of high levels of carbohydrates leads to prolonged high insulin levels, which leads to insulin resistance, which leads to even higher insulin levels, which leads to increased insulin resistance, which leads to type II diabetes.
While type II diabetes is advanced insulin resistance, everyone will arrive at a certain level of insulin resistance as they age. No matter what your stage, you can reduce the amount of fat stored in your cells by reversing insulin resistance (emptying cells of sugar). This is accomplished by systematically reducing the amount of sugar you eat so that your body can have the opportunity to burn the stored sugar, and then begin to burn stored fat as energy.
In addition to added weight, sugar degrades the body in many ways. Sugar, which is Energetically Damp, provides no nutritional value, yet it depletes your body of minerals necessary to interact with vital metabolic enzymes. It is a known immunosuppressant. All illnesses have their roots in an imbalanced immune system. Sugar has been proven to destroy the germ-killing ability of white blood cells for up to five hours after it is eaten. Eating sugar reduces the production of antibodies, which destroy or deactivate foreign invaders in your system. Sugar interferes with the transport of vitamin C, which is a key nutrient for your immune system. Sugar neutralizes the actions of essential fatty acids. Without essential fatty acids, your cells become more vulnerable to invasion by allergens and microorganisms.
In addition to stagnation caused by processed foods and toxins, excessive sugar consumption also causes stagnation in the body on a cellular level. “Eating excess sugar results in prolonged high glucose levels in your bloodstream, resulting in higher rates of glycation,” Dr. Leonardi said. “Glycation is the process by which sugar attaches protein molecules. When protein molecules are glycated, they stick together in your cells. This results in decreased cellular efficiency and begins the process of degenerative disease.”
The Glycemic Index: The glycemic index is a numerical system of measuring how fast a carbohydrate food triggers a rise in blood sugar level. The glycemic index was arrived at by feeding 50 grams of glucose to test subjects. The subjects' blood sugar levels were tested, and the average level was assigned a value of 100. Subjects were then fed individual foods and their blood sugar levels that resulted from eating those foods were compared to the standard 100. A subsequent index used white bread to achieve a baseline measurement of 100, which demonstrates that because refined white flour products are highly refined, they turn rapidly into sugar in your system.
Carbohydrates are absorbed into your blood as glucose, or sugar. When you eat a balanced meal, or a low-glycemic-index meal, your blood sugar rises gradually over two hours, which causes insulin levels to rise gradually over the same amount of time. Sugar and fatty acids (from fat cells) are burned as fuel. You will feel more energetic, will not suffer from blood-sugar-related mood swings or energy-level fluctuations and will not have the urge to snack. Likewise, eating low-glycemic-index foods for dinner will mean that you go to bed with low blood sugar and insulin levels, allowing for fat burning while you sleep.
You can keep your body in tune by eating low- to medium-glycemic-index foods and by always eating protein, fat or high-fiber foods with carbohydrates. For a Web site containing a complete glycemic index, go to www.mendosa.com.
A Basic Guide to the Glycemic Index of Foods
Low-Glycemic-Index Foods
Proteins (meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cheese)
Fats and oils (olive oil and other liquid oils, butter, cream, sour
cream, cheese, cottage cheese)
Nonstarchy vegetables (green leafy vegetables and other low carbohydrate vegetables)
Medium-Glycemic-Index Foods
Beans and legumes
Fruits
Nuts
Starchy vegetables (corn and tubers)
Whole grains (barley, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, quinoa, rye,
wheat, wheat bran, wheat germ, brown rice, wild rice)
High-Glycemic-Index Foods
Refined white flour products
Sugar
Processed and imitation foods
There are four basic food groups: proteins, fats, nonstarchy vegetables and carbohydrates. In addition to eating low-glycemic-index foods, eating proteins, fats and nonstarchy vegetables lowers the glycemic index of your meal by slowing down the digestive process. This prevents sugar from rocketing into your bloodstream.
We used to believe that dieting was the way to reduce body fat. We now understand that balanced nutrition will allow your body to gradually reach its optimal body weight and ideal body composition. If you want to lose body fat, focus on becoming healthy and balanced. Fat loss occurs cell by cell as your cells become healthy and your body becomes nourished. Some ways to heal on a cellular level to achieve your ideal body composition:
Eat real, whole foods that are in their natural state.
Eat low-glycemic-index foods.
Reduce carbohydrate consumption (see The Schwarzbein Principle by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., and Nancy Deville for further reading on me tabolism and weight loss).
Avoid sugar and refined white flour products.
Eat frequent smaller meals. Stop dieting.
Give up or reduce stimulant intake (caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, herbal stimulants).
Avoid bad fats and eat good fats
Hydrogenated vegetable oils containing trans fatty acids, such as margarine, shortening and polyunsaturated vegetable oils processed out of their natural source through heat and chemical processes, have been linked to the dramatic rise in degenerative diseases of aging such as osteoarthritis, some cancers, cholesterol abnormalities, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, stroke and type II diabetes.
Eat naturally occurring fats and oils and include essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) in your diet. Omega-3 and omega-6 blends can be purchased at your health food store in liquid or capsules to supplement your diet. See page 208 for a list of oils containing omega-3 and omega-6 and page 210 for a list of monounsaturated oils. Monounsaturated oils raise HDLs—the good cholesterol.
Eating coconut oil can help you stay healthy and lose weight. One teaspoon of coconut oil three times a day (it can be used in cooking) contains many health-giving properties, among which is the promotion of thermogenesis, which means to boost your metabolism to burn calories. Coconut oil is a non-hydrogenated, naturally saturated oil with no trans fatty acids. It will not raise blood cholesterol.
Maintain a positive outlook
Developing a spiritual connection, having healthy relationships, letting go of grudges, engaging in forgiveness and maintaining a general positive attitude have been proven to extend longevity. Tyrannical confidence, which is a negative influence on others, has not been shown to extend longevity. A positive attitude is reflected in confidence that uplifts others as well as yourself.
Chinese herbs and Western supplements
Manufacturers are adding herbs such as ginkgo biloba, kava, St. John's wort and Ma Huang and nutritional supplements such as glucosamine to processed foods as a way of making their products appear healthful. Consuming more processed food products will not give you the benefits that you would enjoy from a diet of real foods and from taking added nutritional supplements. The Chinese were probably one of the first peoples to recognize the association between the lack of certain nutrients and specific illnesses. As early as 307 A.D., there were descriptions of treating beri beri (a vitamin B deficiency illness) in ancient texts written by scholars of Chinese medicine. By 465 B.C. Chinese medicine had made observations that the individuals who were susceptible to beri beri were the aristocrats, whose food was more refined than that of the commoner. In 652 B.C. a famous physician, Sun Si Miao, studied several deficiency diseases, such as beri beri, osteoporosis (calcium deficiency), night blindness (vitamin A deficiency), goiter (iodine deficiency) and others, and developed appropriate treatments for them. These treatments consisted of specific foods and herbs that were high in the appropriate nutrient. Beri beri was treated with the husks of various grains and legumes, osteoporosis with Tortoise Shell, night blindness with Goat Liver and goiter with seaweed.
There is no pill in the world that can cure your body. You can only give your body the materials it needs so that it can heal itself. The old adage “You are what you eat” has never been as true as it is today with the proliferation of junk foods devoid of nutrients that are either intentionally or inadvertently adulterated with toxic substances. Naturally, your body is best served when it receives nutrients from the foods you eat. Unfortunately, this is not possible today, with depleted soil and with the undue demands our bodies are under—creating an even greater need for nutrients such as vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and enzymes. Regardless of your health concerns, you will benefit by taking a daily multiple vitamin-mineral supplement. Vitamins and minerals are critical in supporting your basic biochemistry and in neutralizing and excreting toxins from your body. It is important to take vitamins and minerals in certain combinations so that they can work synergistically with the metabolic and enzymatic systems in your body. A multiple vitamin-mineral supplement that contains small amounts of each vitamin and mineral with food three times a day is optimal. Vitamin/mineral supplements are absorbed best when taken with food, when digestive juices are secreted. Spreading out your vitamin-mineral intake allows the absorptive surfaces of your digestive system to take in more of each nutrient. Less is wasted, and your body receives a more consistent flow of nutrients. A wellformulated multiple supplement is designed to help fill in the missing nutrients that your body needs, in addition to providing antioxidants to neutralize free radicals.7
Routinely, on an empty stomach 20 minutes before breakfast and lunch, take 1,000 milligrams of free-form amino acids. Routinely,taketheimmunemodulatingformula describedonpages 103–104.
Routinely, take the digestive formulas found on page 102.
In 1980, a team of Chinese medical experts specializing in aging-related illnesses from Longhua Hospital of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine analyzed thousands of ancient herbal formulas that had been developed over a fourteen-hundred-year period between the Sui and Qin dynasties (circa 500 B.C. to 1900 B.C.). These researchers identified 124 classic formulas that claimed to have antiaging properties or to promote longevity. A dozen formulas were eventually selected and then integrated into a single formula. This new formula was put through extensive clinical and laboratory testing involving over two thousand patients.
The studies concluded that the formula had remarkable therapeutic effects on a wide range of symptoms associated with aging, such as weakness and fatigue, degenerative changes in the spine and joints, dizziness or lightheadedness, frequent urination or weakened urinary control and insomnia. The formula significantly improves cellular immune functions, increases muscle strength, delays the occurrence of osteoporosis, and counteracts hypertension. Laboratory studies also confirmed that the formula markedly extended the lifespan of laboratory mice and silkworms, and slowed down the degeneration of sex organs, thymus and liver cells due to aging.
Restoring Essence I was designed to be a comprehensive tonic that addresses all of the major aspects of vital energy—Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood. The formulation focused on the core of Kidney energy known as the Essence—the fluctuations of which dictate vitality and aging according to Chinese medical theory. Restoring Essence I is a revitalizing formula emphasizing treating weakness and fatigue. It fortifies multiple biological functions, including the immune, endocrine and nervous systems. It has also been used successfully in the United States to treat certain types of chronic fatigue syndrome.
7. Free radicals are molecules with at least one unpaired electron. Since electrons must be paired, free radicals bounce around your body trying to pair with other electrons by stealing electrons from other molecules. This creates oxidation, which leads to premature aging, degenerative diseases and abnormal weight gain. We live in a world rife with free radicals from exhaust, cigarette smoke, insecticides and other toxins. An antioxidant is a substance, such as R vitamin E or C or beta-carotene, that prevents or slows oxidation.
Restoring Essence II was formulated to retard the aging process and promote youthfulness. It is considered one of the most significant findings in the exciting and active field of aging research in the past two decades. The formula can regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, strengthen the back and joints, enhance sexual function and desire, moisten skin, improve eyesight, reduce frequent urination and promote regular bowel movements. These and other Chinese herbal formulas as well as supplements formulated with a combination of Western nutraceuticals and Chinese herbs can be purchased online at ancientherbsmodernmedicine.com.
You can also use Chinese medicinal herbs in recipes for antiaging. See chapter 21 for recipes.