Besides more comfortable temperatures, ends of vacation, back to school transitions, and the change of leaf colors, fall means the inevitable descent of “Yang Qi,” or excitatory and stimulating hormones and chemicals of the body. While the winter ahead is the time for conservation, that is of vital substances and energy, fall is the journey towards that end.
For those of us who spent much of the summer fueling our “heart fire” in the form of over-stimulation, fall can fall hard, thereby exacerbating any number of symptoms that fall under the heading of “Yang failing to descend:”
- Fall allergies
- Insomnia
- DRYNESS… of the skin, lips, eyes, or bowels (constipation)
Countless other presentations are possible—migraines, unusually late menstrual cycles, even a lack of libido due to the failure of Yang Qi to descend into the genitals—although the above list is most common, and what I’ll address today.
The concept of Yang failing to move in accord with nature is not mutually exclusive to the biomedical idea that each of our individual DNA’s are simply hard-wired to particular allergens. What Chinese medicine would argue is that the etiology for our hard-wiring is tied in with our constitutional make-up and vice versa; which might explain why seasonal allergy responses change from one year to the next, and tend to improve in conjunction with overall health.
From a western perspective, a few supplements one might consider to possibly mitigate fall allergies are Quercetin, Vitamin D, or even Magnesium
- Quercetin is a natural antihistamine that comes from the white part of the grapefruit or orange fruit and has been extensively studied in the treatment of allergies.
- Vitamin D supports regulatory T-cells, but begins to wane during the colder fall months when we are not out in the sun as much. I would recommend getting levels tested before just mindlessly supplementing, as you wouldn’t want to cause hypercalcemia.
- Magnesium is a mineral that has been appropriated from Chinese medicine, “Mang Xiao,” and is useful for people who tend to have big appetites, dry constipation, poor sleep, and thirst for cold drinks… all of which potentially point to a pattern of Yang Qi failing to descend. It is especially contraindicated for people who easily forget to drink water, have small appetites, or tend easily to bloating or nausea.
As for Chinese medicine, there is a great deal to offer.
Acupuncture at Stomach 36, located just below the knee, is extensively studied to boost immune function via the gut/immune axis. Moxibustion at various points, is proven to block the NF-kB protein pathway that triggers inflammation, has historically been used to support Yang function.
As always, herbal medicine is more complicated. We cannot simply prescribe herbs to prevent allergy symptoms without treating the entire pattern, lest we would not be practicing holistic medicine. Generally, the flavors whose biochemical directionality encourage descent include bitter for those more prone to heat, or sour for those more prone to dryness. Within each of these flavor categories includes countless substances that are researched to support immune function. From there it is up to your herbalist to determine what formulaic combination is best for you. In the meantime, bitter leafy greens cooked with lemon juice is advisable in the months to come!
