The Salty Taste

[Guest guest]

Salty-tasting herbs tend to be heating, moistening, and heavy.

 

Salt tends to have a softening effect. Salty-tasting herbs frequently are used

to soften up deposits in the body. Think of the effect of sprinkling salt on

vegetables. They wilt. Also think of some laxatives. Some laxatives/purgatives

are salts. Like epsom salts. At the same time as these laxatives are exerting a

purgative effect, they're also softening and moistening the intestines.

 

Think of some water softening systems. They use salt tablets.

 

Another reason salty herbs are used is because of their penetrating action. They

will penetrate deeply downward and into the body. The kidneys are the deepest

Organ of the body, and have a special affinity for salt. Even though they're the

deepest organs of the body, salt will penetrate them easily. For this reason,

when herbalists want an herb to penetrate deeply into the body, especially to

the kidneys, they frequently will mix a salty-tasting herb into the formula for

the sole purpose of carrying the energy of the other herb deep into the body.

 

Too much salt can aggravate or trigger Heat disorders, especially of the

Stomach. Too much salt can cause Blood Heat, Blood Stasis, and wasting of

muscles as well as causing too much softening and deterioration of the kidneys

and associated parts of the Kidney meridian because of the softening effects of

salts. Remember that in TCM a meridian is more than just the organ it is named

for. Also included as part of the Kidney system are the adrenal glands, the

ears, the bones, the teeth, and the hair on the head. For this reason, too much

salty tasting foods and herbs can cause soft bones and teeth and hair problems.

(Note: Too much salt is not the only thing that can cause soft bones and teeth.)

 

*********************

Review:

 

Remember in an earlier post on Exterior and Interior conditions when we talked

about an evil attacking a meridian is an Exterior condition and when it attacks

an organ that's an Interior conditon? Some meridians are more external than

others. For example, the Bladder and Small Intestine meridians are the most

External of the meridians. When it comes to organs - which are Internal - they

too are more External or more Internal than other organs. For example, if the

Evil is in the lungs, that's usually not too serious because the lungs are the

most external of the internal organs. The Evil still has not penetrated too

deeply, and because of this it's still relatively easy to get rid of. But when

an Evil has settled into the kidneys, they're very deep so the Evil is hard to

treat and get rid of.

 

Note: Not all Kidney problems have their source in the kidneys. There may be

symptoms in the kidneys, but the root may lie in another organ or meridian. In

TCM there can be a difference between symptoms appearing in an organ/meridian

and where the root cause actually lies. The symptoms can be in the kidneys, and

the root cause may be in the kidneys. But, the root cause of kidney symptoms may

lie in the lungs/ Lung or the liver/Liver or the spleen/Spleen or even the

heart/Heart. When the root cause is in the kidneys, that's a really serious

condition.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--

Share what you know. Learn what you don't.