Stomach Chi

ELEVEN NOURISHING HERBS** SC-ALL

Stomach Chi improves your ability to process nourishment on both physical and emotional levels.

Basic Way: Take two capsules three times a day.

Another Way: Throw out the notion that a printed set of directions will provide the exact answer. Consider size, constitution, timing, and other factors affecting each unique person. Frequent use (as often as every twenty minutes) may be required in certain circumstances. With more experience and some anticipation, you won't need to consume a large quantity of herbs. The suggested maximum amount per day is 24 capsules.

Continue with the Basic Way for a couple of days to ensure restoration of the digestive system.** When the process is complete, you will feel more balanced.

**The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Nourish Thyself

People spend a lot of time considering what they put into their bodies. There are numerous places to put the blame for poor digestion and inadequate nutrient assimilation. Maintaining a high quality diet is often a juggling act as we try to balance our stressful, hurried lifestyles, too many fried foods, too many acid-producing foods, the demands of travel, and occasional overindulgence. Some try to add hydrochloric acids, pancreatic enzymes, and beneficial bacteria to their diets. The problem, however, may not come directly from food allergies, stress, poor food combining, or chemical additives. It may come from the lack of sufficient constitutional strength.

Constitution has different meanings depending on your point of view. Western medical thought sees constitution as being limited by genetic makeup. As such, it is invariable and carved in stone at birth. In Chinese thought, constitution is the sum of the prenatal jing (or essence) and the postnatal jing. Postnatal jing can be nourished and is thought to be directly related to the health of the Spleen and the Stomach (as these terms are used in Chinese medicine).

Teachings on this concept date back to 100 BC and The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic. This collection is considered by most students and scholars of Oriental philosophy as the first place where the idea that the Spleen (pi) and the Stomach (wei) are at the very root of many if not all diseases. Li Dong Yuan became a chief proponent of this philosophy.

Perhaps Dong Yuan's greatest achievement, and certainly a major reason for the current interest in his work, is his apparent insight into complex disease patterns which he called ?curious? disease manifestations. Many recognize that it is just these types of diseases which are giving Western medicine the most problems today. Hidden pathogenic stealth viruses may be the cause of many auto-immune diseases. The apparent confusion of normal immune function is believed to cause severely disabling and degenerative problems such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and perhaps even some forms of cancer.

Dong Yuan sees these types of manifestations as being rooted in a complex type of Yin Fire which is itself rooted in an emptiness in the functions of the Spleen and Stomach. When this fire upsurges, it causes a confusion of influences, a chaotic chi, which is at the root of a myriad of complex symptoms. Western medicine seems to be blind to this level of the disease. To Dong Yuan, a major part of working with insidious diseases is to consolidate the two organ systems - Stomach and Spleen. It might be clear by now that Dong Yuan viewed these organs, as including, but not limited to the Western medical digestive function.

Stomach Chi would then potentially have greater benefit than simply dealing with a tummy ache although it may be helpful in this area as well. To consolidate the Middle in the way Dong Yuan suggests would control potential Yin Fire upsurging and nourish the True Yang. Stomach Chi works to improve one's ability to take in and process nourishment on the physical, emotional, and mental levels.

The digestive function is particularly vulnerable to invasion by the stresses of modern life. As we are pressed by the demands of our jobs, relationships, and responsibilities, we tend to contract away from life. We close doors and put up walls for protection. In so doing we also close the doors to our nourishment and hinder our ability to assimilate our experiences. Stomach Chi helps to strengthen us enough to have a clear relationship with our existence. Once this root is established then we are able to allow free movement of our digestive process. It can act as a complimentary agent to a deeper sense of health and well being.

Ingredients

Below is a complete list of the eleven herbs that make up Stomach Chi.

The first entry is the name as it appears on the current label within the Supplement Facts box. This is followed by the pharmaceutical (Latin) name and then a transliteration of the Mandarin or Chinese pronunciation.

If you have further questions about an ingredient, click on the list in the side bar.

Pinellia (root) - Rhizoma Pinellia Ternatae (ban xia)
Poria (fruiting body) - Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (fu ling)
Oriental ginseng (root) - Radix Ginseng (ren shen)
Atractylodes (root) - Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (bai zhu)
Ginger (root) - Rhizoma Zingiberis Officinalis Recens (sheng jiang)
Magnolia (bark) - Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (hou po)
Saussurea (root) - Radix Aucklandiae Lappae (mu xiang)
Chinese cardamom (seed) - Fructus Amomi (sha ren)
Tangerine (aged peel) - Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (chen pi)
Perilla (leaf) - Folium Perillae Frutescentis (zi su ye)
Licorice (root) - Radix Glycyrrhizae Ualensis (gan cao)

"Other" ingredients

There is a cornstarch excipient that is used to bind the formula together. It is a very, very small amount. The gelatin capsules are bovine from the hide of grass-fed cows raised in Brazil. The powder versions of the formulas are vegetarian.

Licorice

Licorice is used primarily as a servant ingredient in Cold Snap, Stomach Chi, and OHCO-Motion . As described in Bensky and Gamble's Materia Medica, licorice "moderates and harmonizes the characteristics of other herbs: by virtue of its sweet, neutral and moderating characteristics. This herb moderates hot and cold herbs and makes violent herbs more gentle. Because it is said to enter all twelve Primary Channels, it can lead and conduct other herbs into the Channels."

The licorice root is long and cylindrical (one to two and one-half centimeters in diameter) and usually without branches. Its appearance is reddish or earth brown with pronounced wrinkles or furrows and transverse small pores on the surface. The pieces used in preparing the teas are transverse slices about two millimeters thick. The best quality roots are sweet and rich in starch. People find it a pleasing addition to the odor and taste of the powders. It is non toxic.

Beyond its role as a servant herb in Cold Snap, it is used for either Heat or Cold conditions in the Lungs and is effective for helping to control coughing and wheezing. It has a role in boosting righteous chi. In Stomach Chi, licorice will smooth digestive tract ulcers and aid in fighting food poisoning by fortifying the Stomach and Spleen channels. In OHCO-Motion it acts to relieve pain and reduce contraction.

The ingredients of these formulas have been carefully combined into well-designed harmonious mixes. The herbs are thought of as a family of relationships which together bring about the desired results. Individual herbs are very rarely used on their own. Licorice in extremely high dosages for long periods of time may have a detrimental effect on various hormone secretions in women. This effect is virtually impossible in OHCO's products based on its small amount relative to the other herbs in the formulas and its inherent relationship with the rest of the herbal family. However, if one was to chew on a licorice root for weeks on end, negative effects could occur.

Ginseng

One of the Chinese herbs most familiar to Americans is ginseng. It has a reputation which includes increasing sexual prowess and athletic performance. In some circles, it is considered a strong stimulant and something to be avoided in conditions of anxiety and heart hyperactivity. Because it is a "warm" or even "hot" herb, depending on its grade, the wrong conclusion about its use in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi may be reached. Looking at the list of ingredients, some may say, "No, I can't take this formula. It's way too 'hot' for me. It has ginseng in it, and I'm already a 'hot' person." This somewhat simplistic view of Oriental herbology lacks the insight of the concept of synergy.

The power of the ginseng in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi lies in the synthesis between it and the other ingredients which produce effects that the individual herbs do not produce by themselves. In a balanced formula, any unwanted negatives that the individual herb inherently produces will be reduced. In Cold Snap, for instance, ginseng is not excessively stimulating. It does not have the extreme stimulating action it would have if taken by itself. Balanced with other herbs, it is led to the areas of the body/mind system that need strengthening, and the areas that can be overheated are cooled and guarded against the build-up of toxins. Existing toxins are routed out of the system and are eliminated.

Some of the other herbs involved in the above-mentioned processes are lonicera, forsythia, arctium, platycodon, and schizenopeta. Some are actually downward-moving herbs and others by their action moderate or harmonize the formula thereby creating balance. Ginseng, in this context, will not cause anxiety (upsurging) but usually will produce a strengthening and calming sensation.

The non-toxic root used in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi is white, processed, Chinese ginseng. Undamaged roots with large branches, a long stem base, yellowish skin, and fine but pronounced wrinkles are the best. Processed means that it has been cooked, skimmed, recooked, and then vacuum dried. Its taste is sweet and slightly bitter.