One of my principle areas of focus is fluid metabolism. This is working with the body’s ability to burn and eliminate water from the body-system as it otherwise should. Many problems with one’s health boil down to the body’s inability to make proper use of fluids, the fluids that are taken in. The trend toward constant drinking of water is one culprit. When I was a youngster, I don’t remember seeing people toting bottles of water. Once we realized that our water was no good, all of a sudden people started carrying around those plastic bottles, creating yet more trash but also taking in the harmful chemicals that leach into the water, making the efforts to avoid the poisons from the faucet a questionable tradeoff. My point here isn’t to raise issue with the questionable practice of bottled watering. Rather, it’s to direct attention to another dubious “healthy practice,” juicing. I thought I’d relate a case…
A woman in her early sixties comes to me first for a cough which resolves after one month but with a lingering sinus congestion issue that is not only affecting her sleep but also her husband’s. In addition to the matters for which she is seeking my treatment, she has diabetes, hypertension, and a pace-maker, added due to a low heart beat. Her tongue is very normal looking, slightly pale, a bit watery. She doesn’t work, possibly because of a language issue. She has a short stout build.
I taught her some standard exercises that work to boost the body’s metabolic power and prescribed some herbs, which she diligently cooked and drank, though she seemed to be progressing slower than expected. I asked her if she was doing her exercises and she replied in the affirmative. She had lost 13lbs in the first month. She looked better and her manner was more cheery. It was in the course of how she was doing better that the topic of juicing came up. That’s when the needle fell off the record.
“Stop!” I blurted. Something about carrots and well, everything drew blank. “What,” exclaimed the husband, who is also the translator. “Too much sugar and too cold,” I replied. “I have never heard this,” stated the husband. “Yeah, that’s Chinese medicine,” I thought to myself. Four days later the husband called per instruction to inform me, “Last night was the first night where there was no ‘humidity’ in the nose.”
When the body shows signs of excess fluid, then the last thing the body needs is more fluid. It seems like common sense, but the prevailing common sense is to drink water and then drink more irrespective of what the body is telling you. The rationale is something about flushing toxins and hydration, none of which seems to dwell in any realm of reality beyond folklore. In some instances, the Acugraph has corroborated the questionable practice of “watering” with findings that are disproportionately high or low relative the rest of the chart.
Proper fluid metabolism is critical to one’s quality of life… and your spouses. If you are suffering from excess fluid, phlegm, edema, problems central to water, then we recommend “stopping” watering for a month or so, drinking only when you feel thirsty. If you don’t find yourself having made headway after this lifestyle modification, then there’s always the Next Step.