Just at the start of last week, my 17-year-old son woke up with a runny nose, a sore throat and headache. He had had an activity-packed weekend, as the sunny, warm, Spring inspired action: going out on a trip to another city with friends, working out hard at the gym and not having enough sleep. However, when action is not balanced with rest, then we pay a price for it. Since I had spent time in the garden on the weekend, I had noticed that a plant that I have grown in containers for years now, is returning in full growth, after its winter dormancy and this plant would help my son get over his ailments. This is none other than the common Mint.

Mint is one of those common herbs that we find almost everywhere in our modern world. Go to the grocery store and you’ll find it on the herbal tea shelf, probably with many brands offering the same herb. You will also find it in the fresh herb section, packed in neat little boxes ready to be used. Move through the store and you’ll find Mint in so many of the products, from mint stracciatella ice-cream, to toothpaste, to chewing gum and candy that are called mints. Go to a bar or restaurant, order a cocktail and it’s used as a garnish. In Malaysia, where I come from, we use it in food as a garnish, to enhance the flavors; for instance, in Assam Laksa, a spicy, sweet, sour fish noodle soup dish.

Mint is a perennial, grows outside in almost all the continents of the world, except Antarctica, as long as there is sunlight and enough moisture in the Earth. It is an aromatic herb, as such it is often used fresh as a garnish and should not be cooked, in order to maintain its essential oils. If you are not careful to plant it in a container, it will take over your garden. This is the resilience of Mint, its growth will spread throughout the garden, coming back year after year, with little care; as long as conditions are suitable.

In Chinese Medicine, we call this herb Bó Hé  薄荷.Herba Mentha haplocalys or Mentha arvensis or Field Mint is the species of Mint that is used in Chinese Medicine, but there are at least 25 Mint species and numerous hybrid species in existence today. This herb enters the Lung and Liver channels, is spicy, cool and aromatic. It is used to clear the head, eyes and throat, as well as what we call Wind-Heat conditions, which includes the common cold/ flu symptoms, like sore throat, headache, fever, etc. It vents rashes, like in the case of early-stage measles. Mint disperses the turbid in the abdomen, meaning dampness with heat symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, as in the case of a gastrointestinal virus. Finally, it soothes and relieves Liver Qi Stagnation, which manifests as tension in the chest/breast and hypochondrium (rib area), headaches and emotional instability, which are common symptoms in PMS. One of its functions that I learned from my own personal experience but is often not stated as a function is that it slows down breastmilk production, especially useful when one wants to wean a child off the breast. So many functions for such a small, common, rather under-estimated plant, isn’t it?

I hear from new patients drinking the infusion of Mint often, but are unaware that it is cooling. If you are someone who tends to feel cold, this is not the infusion that you should be drinking too often, especially not in winter. Drink it in late Spring or Summer, like now, where days are longer and the sun is shining, and the leaves are in full-growth. If you experience PMS, then drink Mint regularly in that phase of the menstrual cycle. It is by the way, one of the herbs in the famous Free and Easy Wanderer Powder (Xiāo Yáo Sǎn) which I wrote about in previous blogposts.

As in the case of my son, he spent the day resting, taking the famous Wind-Heat formula, Yín Qiào Sǎn, which has Mint as one of its herbs, and drinking fresh Mint infusions, as our plants are right at our front door, guarding the entry to our home. The next day, he was well again ready to go back to school and everyday life. Even though I know the power of Mint, it never ceases to amaze me how this simple, common plant can provide such relief and healing in those moments that we so need. This is the magic of the simple and the everyday. You just have to know when to apply it and it reveals its magic to you.
 


Images by Elaine

Over the past Christmas season, I had the urge to reread the Harry Potter books. I read all 7 of them through the early 2000s and did “selective” readings as I was going through my Chinese Medical studies, to get my mind of medical themes. In rereading these books, I am currently on book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I am reminded of the power of 3s. In the Harry Potter series, even though the story centers around Harry Potter, it is the story of 3 friends: Harry, Ron and Hermione.

In Chinese philosophy and medicine, numerology is a very important principle. In Chapter 42 of the Dao De Jing (also spelled Tao Te Ching), said to be written by Lao Zi, it is stated (translation by Stephen Mitchell):

“The Tao gives birth to One
One gives birth to Two
Two gives birth to Three
Three gives birth to all things.”

One, written 一 in Chinese character is defined as unity, a symbol of Heaven, the Dao. Two is 2 ones coming together, 二 ,the duality, a symbol of Earth, the Yin-Yang. Three, written 三 , is The Three Powers or The Great Triad; Heaven above, Earth below and Human in between. Three is a number of movement, of creation and of growth.
 
The number Three is not just special to Chinese culture but to many cultures around the world. Take the Christian faith and its Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Or in Goddess-based Pagan spirituality: Maiden, Mother, Crone. In Hinduism, the Trimurti are Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. The 3 Jewels of Buddhism are Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. The stories we tell our children also have 3s, like The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Even well-known adult stories like The Three Musketeers, or the not so literary-rich black-and-white TV comedy The Three Stooges. The number Three is also prominent in math, science and art. Somehow or another this number has a resonance for us humans and life on Earth.

In my past 3 blogposts, I have been introducing 3 herbs that we commonly use in Chinese Medicine. These are Ginger, Licorice and Red Date. They are the 3 most frequently prescribed herbs in Chinese Medicine and are often prescribed together. The reason for this is their shared ability to assist other herbs in performing the formula’s tasks and to harmonize the herbal collective into a team, so that the body can better absorb the formula’s healing properties. Each of these 3 herbs shares the function of neutralizing the unwanted effects of any overly potent, hot or cold and uncompromising herb. Many of the classical formulae include this trio. This includes Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction), Ba Zhen Tang (Eight Treasure Decoction) and Gui Pi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction). It is for this exact reason that these 3 herbs, as one of my professors Dr. Jiao, used to call them the 3 Amigos – the Three Friends, are in so many classical and modern formulae. Ginger, Licorice and Red Date are all food-grade herbs too; this means that they can be used over a longer period of time and our bodies respond well to them; as I mentioned in my last post, they are like whisperers to our bodies, appealing to our inner environment while bringing the healing to its proper place.

Just as Harry, Ron and Hermione are best of friends, where each can depend on the others for support, so are Ginger, Licorice and Red Date to us. Not only do they reverberate the resonance of 3, but also evoke a harmonious rhythm within our bodies.
 
 
 
Image Ginger Root by gate74 from Pixabay
Image Red Date by SW Yang on Pixabay
Image Licorice Root by gate74 on Pixabay

The color red is considered very auspicious to the Chinese. During the Chinese New Year, which will be coming up on the new moon in mid-February this year, many things are red – red dress, red decoration, red cakes, etc. These are viewed as bringers of luck, prosperity and success. Not only do the Chinese dress in the color red during the new year celebrations but also during weddings, both bride and groom; this is to symbolize joy, happiness and a fruitful union. It is also common to place Chinese Red Dates, along with peanuts, longans and lotus seeds on the bridal bed, as a salutation of fruitfulness. These Dates are also often gifted by the Chinese to a person as a symbol of wishing one health and vitality in life.

In the Chinese Materia Medica the herb Fructus Zizyphus Jujubae, Hóng Zǎo  紅 棗 is also known as the Chinese Red Date. Sometimes it is called Big Date,  Dà Zǎo 大 棗. These fruits are not the same as the dates we know from our regular grocery stores in Switzerland, which are palm dates. Hóng Zǎo actually looks red (as the image above) or so dark that they are almost black, mostly dried and are used in soups, teas or alcohols, made into paste for sweet cakes and used in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Its flavor is sweet and its temperature neutral. Most times when an herb is sweet, it is used for tonification. It enters the channels of the Spleen and Stomach. It is a food-grade herb, which means it can be consumed very regularly as food. As such, it makes sense that it enters the Spleen and Stomach channels, as these organs are like the power-generators for our bodies; they digest our food and create vital substance to maintain life. Hóng Zǎo nourishes both Qi and Blood in the body and calms the Spirit. But its true power is in its ability to support, moderate and harmonize the effects of harsh herbs in an herbal formula. For instance, if a formula were to be on a bitter side, which is often the case with expellant ones that would have anti-bacterial or anti-viral capabilities, an herb like Hóng Zǎo would be added to moderate the flavor as well as neutralize the coldness of these herbs. This would make the formula more easily acceptable to the taste and digestibility of the body.

As Mary Poppins sang, “Just a spoon full of sugar, helps the medicine go down…” - Hóng Zǎo does that too. The Chinese view sweet medicine also as medicine, not just bitter ones and they put it into the medicinal formula directly, to create balance. No need for a spoon full of sugar when you have Hóng Zǎo.
 
 
 
 
Image by SW Yang on Pixabay

There is a commonly quoted idiom in English, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is something that I have come to take as a kind of life philosophy, in viewing people, places, plants and situations in life. Plants especially are deep reminders of this principle, as they appear to be simple and mundane beings to our human eyes, often unworthy of our attention. They however, are much older beings than we humans are; plant life has existed since 500 million years and Homo sapiens around 300 thousand years. Most plants produce their own food through photosynthesis, thus they are self-sustaining with the help of the Sun. They produce oxygen in the process, and become food for other living beings on Earth, such as humans; they are thereby essential for life on this planet.

One of these mundane-looking beings is Licorice, Glycyrrhiza, which is Greek meaning “sweet root.” The Chinese use the root too but call it Gān Cǎo 甘草 which means “Sweet Grass.” Radix Glycyrrhiza uralensis is the species used in Chinese Medicine. It is the most utilized herb in the Chinese Materia Medica, together with other herbs in classical formulae, which is the Chinese medical way of using herbal medicine. The Chinese use the ‘team effect’ in treating with Herbal Medicine; seldom is an herb used alone, to ensure that the positive effects of the prescription are emphasized and the negative neutralized. Licorice is so often used in formulae due to its ability to harmonize the effects of other herbs. It is a balancer, a neutralizer and an envoy. Its flavor is sweet and its temperature neutral. In some text it is stated that  Gān Cǎo  enters all the 12 channels, particularly to the Heart, Lung, Spleen and Stomach. Licorice on its own tonifies Spleen Qi, moistens the Lung, stops coughing, clears heat and toxicity, moderates spasm and pain. As stated before, it is a moderator and harmonizer, as it is used as an antidote for toxic substances.

Another form of Licorice is used in Chinese Medicine, Zhì Gān Cǎo 炙甘草.This is a prepared form of Licorice, where it is fried with Honey. Honey Fēng Mì 蜂蜜 on its own tonifies the Spleen and Stomach, moisten the Lung and Large Intestines, as well as eliminate toxicity from the body especially from the skin. This is already what Gān Cǎo does, but when honey-fried, it further strengthens Licorice’s capacity to tonify, moisten and detoxify the individual organs.

It is probably the trait of Licorice to communicate with all the 12 channels of the body that makes it so adaptable; it is able to ‘speak the language’ of each channel and thus become a kind of ambassador. I have an image of this herb as a being that is able to connect with its gentle voice to other powerful herbs, urging them to aid a human being with her/his ailment. On the other end, Gān Cǎo whispers to our different channels in its proper language in a mild, sweet tone, bringing the healing effects of the other herbs to the right places, assessing the situation of what is needed, how much gets distributed and where in a proper manner.

When we view this herbaceous plant, with its little leaves and light purple flowers, we underestimate its real power in its root to connect and harmonize in our bodies. Just as we look at those brown, unimpressive roots, we would not imagine that Licorice could perform such profound tasks in our bodies. Like old books, which may look dull or unimpressive, Licorice’s external appearance disguises its true power to neutralize toxicity, strengthen the Qi and harmonize in our bodies.
 
 
 

Image Licorice root by gate74 on Pixabay
Image Licorice plant from wikicommons