The Sour and the Astringent tastes

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Literature on flavors usually mentions 5 - Sweet, Spicy, Bitter, Salty, and

Sour. But some authorities subdivide Sour into Sour and Astringent. The reason

for this is that even though both tend to " plug up leaks " , Sour and Astringent

have opposite properties and plug leaks in opposite ways.

 

Sour-tasting herbs tend to be heating, moistening, and light. Astringent-tasting

herbs tend to be cooling, drying, and heavy. Opposites.

 

Of these properties, it's frequently the moistening/drying properties that will

be the deciding factor in which one to use. Suppose for a moment that you have

two clients who both have the typical " leaks " (diarrhea, excessive sweating,

excessive urination, etc.) caused by Deficiency. Client number one also has

Dampness accumulation in the body. Which of the two classes of herbs do you want

to go with to stop the leaks? The astringent one because astringent herbs have a

drying effect, and this person is already too wet and doesn't need the

moistening effects of a sour herb. Encouraging more moisture in this person's

body will make him/her sicker.

 

In case number two the person suffers from Yin Deficiency. Which class would be

better in this case. Yep, the sour class because it is moistening and one of the

symptoms of Yin Deficiency is that the person is too dry. There's not enough Yin

to moisten the body and its tissues correctly. (Note: At the same time you're

plugging the leaks with a sour herb, you also want to include an Yin tonic herb

in that mixture so that there will be something to moisten with. Also, sour

tasting herbs tend to have heating energy and people who are Yin Deficient are

Hot, so you want to include Yin tonic and other herbs with cooling energy to

cool down the overall thermal energy of the mixture so more Heat won't be added

to an already too Hot person.

 

These are general remarks and there are exceptions. This is also just a rough

guideline, but it's a good rule of thumb for beginners to remember. Both sour

and astringent plug leaks, but sour is warming and moistening whereas astringent

is cooling and drying.

 

Excessive use of sour foods and herbs can create Heat, especially in the Stomach

and Blood (just like excessive use of salty foods and herbs). Even though the

sour taste has a moistening effect, prolonged, excessive use of sour foods and

herbs can lead to Dryness. It works like this. The sour tasting foods and herbs

tend to have a heating action. The Heat builds up until it destroys the Yin.

Once the Yin is severely damaged, there's nothing to moisten with. Dryness

results even though sour herbs and foods tend to be moistening in nature.

There's nothing left to moisten with.

 

Prolonged excessive use of sour foods and herbs also can make the teeth

sensitive and can lead to muscle wasting.

 

Astringent herbs can be the better choice for sores and wounds that " weep " .

 

Excessive use of astringent foods and herbs can trigger retention of feces

(they're not moist enough to pass), gas, retention of urine, emaciation,

fatigue, thirst, and stiffness. Use astringent herbs very, very carefully when

the person is too Dry and/or has Stagnation problems.

 

Some foods have either a predominate sour or predominate astringent flavor. For

example, lemons are definitely sour whereas persimmons are astringent. But

complicating things a bit is that the foods and herbs that contain one taste

frequently contain the other. You're want to check the actions of the herbs

under consideration very carefully for these two classes.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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