Men’s Health
How 9/11 Caused Bladder Cancer
While smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of lung cancer, only about 10-20% of smokers actually contract the disease, reminding us that there is almost never a 1:1 correlation between some objective disease and etiology, logically implying that nor should there exist any 1:1 prescription for cures.
Smoking is also the leading cause of bladder cancer, and maybe not coincidentally there have been nearly 1,200 recorded cases of bladder cancer from the 9/11 attacks’ residual toxins.
From a Classical Chinese medicine perspective, this makes perfect sense.
The bladder vessel was originally named the “Foot Tai Yang,” meaning it ascends from the lower limbs and the bulk of its oxygenated blood, or “Qi,” exists closer to the surface of the body (most Yang) than all other organ vessels. The lung vessel was originally named “Hand Tai Yin,” meaning it ascends from the upper limb and the bulk of its oxygenated blood exists closest to the surface of the three Yin layers, but still inferior to the three Yang layers.
The Foot Tai Yang bladder and Hand Tai Yin lungs share in a mutually interdependent relationship of fluid exchange. The lungs’ job is to descend vital substances downward to imbue the organs located beneath them with ample blood and energy. The bladder’s job is of course to excrete urine, but then from a Chinese medical perspective, take those vital fluids that are not excreted and circulate them upwards to imbue the central nervous system, upper orifices, and musculature with ample blood and energy. In Chinese medical school we are taught that a point along the wrist, “Lung 7,” is used to treat neck pain. What was never explained to us (unless I was absent that day) is that this dynamic is the reason why it works—also that it is logically most effective for neck pain located close to the center, that is along the bladder vessel. “Neck pain” located closer to the trapezius is a result of a different mechanism.
Whenever we treat urinary issues, from UTI’s to enlarged prostate, it is important confirm optimum functionality of the lungs and their corresponding vessels. It is also why exercise and deep breathing exercises can greatly benefit urinary dysfunction. Common Chinese herbs that share a common tropism for both vessels include plantain seeds (Che Qian Zi), schizandra fruit (Wu Wei Zi), and of course cinnamon branch (Gui Zhi).
Acupuncture that treats this “Water/Metal” dynamic of Kidneys and Lungs includes Lung 5 at the crease of the elbow or Kidney 7 just above the inner ankle, a point pair that is as useful for treating asthma or sinusitis as it is urogenital conditions—especially when the two coincide.
The inverse is less common. While some respiratory ailments are due to a failure of the urogenital microbiome to effuse fluids upwards, they are more commonly a result of GI issues, as seen in the coinciding of obesity with asthma and/or sleep apnea, or even rudimentary snoring at night. Urinary dysfunction tends to be further along down the domino effect. Commonly used herbs to drain dampness from the bladder and at the same time strengthen the gut include poria mushroom (Fu Ling), bitter tangerine (Chen Pi), or again, cinnamon branch (Gui Zhi), making cinnamon branch, per usual from Han Dynasty thought, the grand winner!
Is Coffee Good for the Heart?
I recently read this article from New York Presbyterian on whether caffeine is good for heart health, citing recent scientific research findings that coffee can reduce the risk of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and type 2 diabetes.
Of course, I have to weigh in… first by thanking NYP for the impetus and content material—even if we come from different paradigms of thought, science, in my opinion, is entitled to nothing if not thoughtful, yet vulnerable debate.
As everyone who adds one, two, or more teaspoons of sugar to their daily coffee knows, coffee is a bitter agent, and in Chinese medicine the directional chemistry of bitter medicines and/or foods is downward—down and out to be specific—evidenced in the bowel movements that are so common after one, two, or more cups of coffee in the morning. Is bitter medicine healthy? Sure, about half the population will gain more physiological benefit than harm from bitter herbs. The other half might experience the short-term benefit of bitters’ ability to reduce local inflammation, but in the long run it may harm their microbiome and ability to absorb nutrients, which in the longer run will create more inflammation.
“Give her more bitters!” the foolish clinician will shout. “Reduce her inflammation!”
But that second time around she is older and weaker—those initially experienced benefits seem inaccessible, and conventional medicine might increase dosages or attempt to potentiate the first medicine’s effect with another anti-inflammatory, and before we know it all gastrointestinal functionality is gone.
According to the FDA about 4 cups of coffee per day is considered safe for most healthy adults. I don’t know about you, but I can say with full confidence if I drank 4 cups of coffee a day for a month, I would develop some kind of health crisis by the end of it.
My opinion is the reason conventional medical research seems to waffle back and forth so much—during one generation coffee’s the villain—next generation it is alcohol—is because of its greatest flaw: Its insistence on attempting to objectify things as healthy or not, good or bad.
Bitter diuretics have a drying effect on the body, so if you are someone who has more pathological biofilms than deficiency of blood and vital enzymes, you may benefit from coffee in moderation. If you are the inverse, it can have the opposite effect. You might mitigate this by having coffee with food, which can provide enough metabolic moisture to offset its bitter diuresis.
A good way to know whether coffee is good for you is to observe how your body responds to it. If it gives you heart palpitations or makes you feel racy, then 2-4 cups per day will likely not benefit your long-term heart health. The same goes for if it causes you soft stool. If coffee is your key to regular, formed bowel movements then its bitter biochemistry likely agrees with you. If it gives you diarrhea it tells us your gut is a bit too lacking in enzymes to properly metabolize it—not to mention the fact that diarrhea further depletes such enzymes, which will inevitably impact the heart over time, ironically.
Many doctors and scientists are brilliant but in my opinion their brilliance is often handicapped by a reductionist lens. If you want to know if coffee is good for your heart one of the best people to ask is yourself. Or a (real) herbalist.
Acupuncture Post-NYC Marathon
The NYC marathon was this past weekend, and approximately 55,000 people pursued an admirable goal, reached a self-defined mountaintop, and in the process may have caused some degree of irreparable damage to their knees and/or hearts.
Although running is not the most advisable form of exercise in Chinese medicine, it is my opinion that for most people in moderation its benefits outweigh its pitfalls, helping to improve stamina and cardiovascular health, promote circulation, and in most months out of the year a healthy, non-excessive amount of perspiration.
But just like too much perspiration ends up negating its benefit by leaching the anti-inflammatory molecules and neurotransmitters contained within it, too much running can cause more harm than good—excess sweat being just one form of it.
While I struggle to disidentify as anything but a metropolitan, I also know that humans were not intended to walk, let alone run, on cement. That concrete is an inorganic, manmade endeavor, a luxury but challenge of modern society—good for capitalism, bad for Daoism.
Repeated pounding on the knees depletes their synovial fluid, the cushioning between bones and lubrication around tendons and ligaments that keep them soft, pliable, protected. Two ways to mitigate this effect is through stretching, that is opening the vessels and collaterals that send fluids to the patellae, but also with treatment.
Local acupuncture where fluid is missing cannot offer very much, but local moxibustion can inhibit NF-kappa B (inflammatory) signaling pathways, thereby dilating local vessels enough to attract white blood cells and healthy fluids. What’s more, “sports medicine” treatment around the neuromuscular paths that surround the knees can have a similar effect. Rectus femoris, biceps femoris, vastus medialis and laterali—basically, invigorate the thighs to unburden the bones.
As for the heart, this is obviously a serious issue. Excess exercise is arguably just as hard on the body as no exercise. It is important that we all find our own unique sweet spot in the middle and engage with discipline each week. For the excess inflammatory type, who drips with sweat, whose face turns red during workouts, who over-indulges and over-extends, the best recovery formula after a marathon will likely be Bai Hu Jia Ren Shen Tang, or White Tiger and Ginseng Decoction, with gypsum stone to clear the inflammatory heat that can overstimulate the heart, plus ginseng, licorice, and that’s right, white rice, to prevent further heat from flaring.
For the more typical runner type, thin and pale, who gets easily cold and prone to getting sick or injured, a potential recovery formula is Gui Zhi jia Gui Tang, or Cinnamon Twig Decoction with licorice, ginger, red dates, and extra cinnamon to strengthen and warm the chest.
Wishing everyone a speedy recovery, whether from the madness of marathon running or that of trick-or-treating. Stay warm and take care, especially en route to the holidays!
Acupuncture’s Abdominal Diagnoses
Contrary to popular belief, there is a great deal of overlap between Chinese and Western medical diagnoses and systems. A good clinician from either should inquire about your metabolism—fluid or otherwise. How often do you pee and poop? Drink water or eat? We both feel patients’ pulses, at the wrist and sometimes even the carotid (throat) and dorsal pedis position on top of the feet. Additionally, I was reminded while (binge)watching The Pitt that Chinese medicine is not the only paradigm that places emphasis on abdominal palpation.
In Western medicine, my understanding is doctors are feeling for any number of things: fluid retention, organs size and shapes, masses or tumors, tenderness, or pain.
Our assessment process is not much different, though as expected, most acupuncturists are less adept at detecting tumors or misshapen organs, and most doctors are not applying their findings to a global/holistic diagnosis. They are ruling out emergency, which has its own obvious value. Acupuncturists, instead, are searching more for subjective signs to fit a pattern diagnosis.
A COLD abdomen means metabolic organs are lacking in blood or healthy gases and requires moxibustion therapy and/or herbal families such as dry fried ginger or aconite stone.
A SOFT abdomen generally indicates fluid retention because of some subjective deficiency of mitochondria and might require herbs such as poria mushroom and tangerine peel to drain the excess fluids, but also aconite stone to engender cellular energy and adrenal function with the hope of preventing further fluid retention.
Tension in the upper abdomen might indicate inflammation, dryness, and a tendency to constipation, whereas tension or sensitivity below the umbilicus points more towards weakness again, and possibly diarrhea. The former often requires rhubarb root, whereas the latter might need a combination of ginseng and evodia fruit. The wrong herbal formula will make symptoms temporarily though immediately worse.
Tension anywhere can indicate local fluid retention and/or blood stagnation that may or may not be the final piece of the puzzle in getting some chronic illnesses to resolve. Local needling and moxibustion can be helpful, as can herbal formulas with peach kernel or peony root.
To the left of the abdomen pertains to metabolic function, specifically and especially between the pancreas and portal vein to the liver, as it is said in Chinese medicine: “Liver blood ascends on the left (side of the body).” In its ascension it acts as a courier for healthy gases and immunological substances, which is why tension here might point to immunodeficiency.
To the right of the abdomen pertains more to the reproductive organs, ovarian function or otherwise. It might also be implicated in chronic constipation, so if you suffer from both for example—menstrual irregularity and constipation—the focus of treatment should be on the lower right abdominal quadrant, hypothesizing that once the bowels regularly move the reproductive organs can regularly function, sans obstruction.
How does your abdomen feel? Is it tight, taut, and thus “dry,” or soft and yielding, thus “damp?” Excessively cold or hot? Tender? Have you ever thought about how it can and should inform your physician? BTW, The Pitt was great! Highly recommend.
How Much Sex is Healthy?
Not a frequently addressed subject in western medicine, most likely mostly because they don’t have a strong point of view, possibly also due to society’s repression on the matter. Is sex healthy, and if so, how often?
Generally, the answer is yes, sex is healthy, although most of us have heard stories of people—usually men—going into cardiac arrest and dying in the act. Much more common is the experience, also predominantly for men, of feeling exhausted or depleted immediately following. The French nickname the orgasm, le petit morte, or “little death.” The Chinese believe our “jing,” or fundamental physiological essence is stored within ejaculatory fluids, especially those of men. Supposedly women’s jing is stored more in placental fluids and lost through pregnancy and childbirth. Yet I have never heard a medical professional, beyond my own colleagues and teachers, discuss the issue.
Supposedly, up until our mid-20’s we have a relatively unlimited reserve of “jing,” and afterwards, we should be more mindful of how much we expend. I can’t relay a one-size-fits-all rule, but based on what I’ve read, in our thirties a few times a week is considered healthy, in our forties and fifties about once a week, and a maximum of a few times per month in our sixties and beyond. Any more would expend too much—any less could create stasis in the urogenital microbiome, which could send inflammatory heat upwards to the central nervous system. In other words, extended dry spells create stress. Overindulgence creates weakness.
Supposedly, sex is healthier than masturbation, first because of how supportive it is for the psyche, and how the “fire element” of the mind and heart balances the “water element” of our kidneys, or adrenal health. In theory, depletion of the latter might explain why overexcitement of the former can be the final straw to cardiac arrest. Secondly, although in the process men lose jing no matter what, it is hypothesized that by absorbing their partner’s genital fluids, jing is supplemented. There are ancient Taoist practices of men withholding their ejaculation or ejaculating “internally” to conserve, though this is not advisable in my opinion, without proper guidance and instruction.
According to the circadian clock of Chinese medicine, the optimum time to have sex is in the window of the pericardium, from 7-9pm, which would make the least healthy time between 7-9am, which is generally not a problem for people with small children. Besides the “ministerial fire of the pericardium” being weaker in the morning, most of us would have to still pursue our day’s activities sans the healthy physiological fluids we are intended to transform into cellular energy. In moderation, it’s probably fine. To mitigate the “side effects” of morning sex we might recommend taking it as easy as possible, consuming eggs and animal protein, and staying hydrated. Another potentially ideal time could be between 5-7pm, which corresponds to the kidneys, whose qi is largely responsible for our sexual health. Any time in the evening offers the virtue of rest following the act.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe we are meant to have much jing left when we die—in fact its complete desertion is considered the cause of death when biomedicine cites: “natural causes.” I believe in “leaving it all,” as they say in sports, as jing is expended not only through sexual activity, but through all our worldly pursuits and great effort in life. However, signs of premature “jing deficiency” usually pertain to the brain and bones, or any manifestation of looking older than one’s age. Neurological diseases, osteoporosis, loss of hair or its color in our twenties might all point to jing vacuity. I hope this provided some interesting insight in a realm where almost no clinicians do.
