The following syndromes follow the Chinese guide to what can ail our liver and the foods and herbs that will help. Peony root (Paeonia lactiflora) is the one herb that will aid all of the syndrome disorders associated with the liver.
Physiology
- Seen as a compact and active organ. Stores and provides energy for our muscles and controls our eyes. An elimination organ.
Damaged By
Late-night eating, alcohol, eating too quickly or when distracted, stress, oversleeping in the morning.
Supported By
Physical activity, pickles, stretching, dancing, and laughter.
Diagnosis
One of the first signs of liver disharmony is emotional difficulty. Irritability, anger, impatience, frustration, resentment, violence, arrogance, stubbornness, aggression and or explosive personality. Mood swings as well as emotional excesses in general are liver related.
Signs of Liver Stagnation
Physical:
nervous system disorders, allergies, lumps, swellings, scrofula, mastitis, distended abdomen, chest or breasts, chronic indigestion, menstrual problems, stress, neck and back tension, fatigue, rigid, inflexible body, eye problems, slow rising in morning, muscular pain, tendon problems, wiry, tight radial pulse.
Emotional:
emotional repression, anger, frustration, resentment, impatience, edginess, depression, moodiness, impulsiveness, emotional attachments, poor judgement, difficulty in making decisions, mental rigidity, negativity.
Dietary Control:
Eat less! Greatly reduce the intake of foods high in saturated fats such as animal meat, cream, cheese and eggs, all intoxicants, and highly processed refined foods.
Help yourself to foods which stimulate the liver out of stagnation include moderately pungent foods, spices and herbs. Watercress, onion family, mustard greens, tumeric, basil, bay leaf, cardamom, marjoram, cumin, fennel, dill, ginger, black pepper, horseradish, rosemary, various mints, lemon balm, angelica root and prickly ash bark. Other mildly pungent foods that will help the liver out of stagnancy are beets, taro root, sweet rice, amasake, strawberry, peach, cherry, chestnut, pine nut, and vegetables in the brassica family such as cabbage, turnip root, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. Raw foods such as sprouted grains, beans and seeds, fresh vegetables and fruits also stimulate the energy flow.
Signs of Liver Heat
Physical:
red face, red, dry eyes, red tongue, splitting headaches, insomnia, menopausal disorders, low backache, weak legs, high blood pressure, indigestion, constipation, fast pulse.
Emotional:
frequent impatience and anger, irritability, explosive personality, shouting, willfulness, arrogance, rudeness, aggression, violence.
Dietary Control:
Foods that detoxify and cool the liver are mung bean and their sprouts, celery, seaweeds, kelp is very helpful in liver stagnancy, lettuce, cucumber, watercress, tofu, millet, plum, chlorophyll rich foods, mushrooms, rhubarb root, or stem, radish and daikon radish.
Signs of Deficient Liver Yin and Blood
Physical:
dizziness, dry eyes and weak vision, night blindness, ringing in the ears, menopausal discomfort, dry, brittle nails, fresh red cheeks and tongue, hot palms and soles, night sweats and afternoon fevers, frequent but small thirst, weak tendons and sinews, muscle spasms and palpitations, spots in visual field, dry eyes and unclear vision, pale fingernail beds, irregular menses, scanty or absent menstruation, numbness, memory loss.
Emotional: depression, nervous tension, irritability and same as above.
Dietary Control:
Foods for building liver yin and blood are mung beans, mung sprouts, chlorophyll-rich foods, cucumber, tofu, millet, seaweed, watercress, plum. Fresh cold-pressed flax oil and extracted oils of borage, evening primrose, or black currant seed. General blood tonics such as spirulina, dark grapes, blackberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and blackstrap molasses. Severe cases gelatin or animal liver. Herbs include Dong Quai root, prepared rehmannia root, peony root, and yellow dock root.
Signs of Liver Wind
Physical:
pain that comes and goes or moves, spasms, cramps, dizziness, vertigo, tremors, palsy, twitching, pulsating headache, ringing in ears, paralysis, dryness in upper body.
Emotional:
manic-depression, nervousness, fits, unstable personality, "the perpetual traveler", agitation, emotional turmoil, inability to keep commitments, uneasiness.
Dietary Control:
Foods and spices which reduce liver wind symptoms are celery, basil, sage, fennel, dried or fresh ginger, anise, oats, black soybean, black sesame seed, kuzu, pine nut, coconut, fresh cold-pressed flax oil, shrimp, chamomile, peony root, lobelia, skullcap, valerian.
Avoid eggs, crab meat and buckwheat as these worsen wind symptoms.
Foods that Harmonize the Liver
Many of the foods that help to harmonize the liver are sweet in nature. Grains, vegetables, legumes and other complex carbohydrates are ideal sweet foods for long term liver harmony. during times of depression or other acute symptoms sweeteners are often craved. Honey used sparingly is ideal as it also detoxifies. Mixed with apple cider vinegar it is especially effective. 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. organic apple cider vinegar diluted in 1 cup of water 1 time a day. Others which are minimally processed sweeteners include, stevia powder, unrefined cane-juice granules, whole sugar cane, and licorice root. Barley malt, date sugar, molasses and rice syrup are warming and stimulate qi energy flow.
Foods that Reduce Excesses of the Liver
The most common remedy to quickly remove liver stagnation and the accompanying depression and indigestion is vinegar. Choose unrefined apple cider, brown rice, rice wine, or other quality organic vinegars. Vinegar flavor is both bitter and sour which detoxifies and activates the liver. Once again the affect is improved by mixing it with honey, 1 teaspoon each in a cup of water. Vinegar should not be relied on forever, diet must be improved instead. Vinegar is warming so if you are showing signs of heat liver substitute lemon, lime, or grapefruit instead. Other bitter foods are rye, romaine, lettuce, asparagus, amaranth, quinoa, alfalfa, radish leaves, and citrus peel. Herbs include dandelion root, bupleurum, mandarin, chaparral, milk thistle seeds, Oregon grape root and chamomile flowers offer excellent liver cleansing effects. Licorice root can be used to help mask the bitter taste.
Foods that Accelerate Liver Rejuvenation
The green foods which are rich in chlorophyll help speed the livers recovery, wheat and barley, juice, spirulina, wild blue-green algae, parsley, kale, watercress, alfalfa and collard greens. When the liver is particularly deficient then congee with liver added is useful. Goat, sheep or cows milk is also recommended.
Liver that has been damaged to alcohol or drug abuse.
The liver can be restored even in severe cases following a strict diet for about a year.
A diet of wheat grass, wheat juice grass, spirulina and fresh vegetable juices. Up to 1 quart of carrot juice daily.
Some fruit juices and small amount of brown rice. The brown rice is the only cooked food.
1) Fast on fruit, vegetable and wheat-grass juices, for 7-10 days monthly.
2) A herbal formula consisting of qi-stimulating herbs such as fennel, anise and cayenne.
Harmonizing and demulcent herbs such as licorice and fenugreek and a highly cleansing bitter herb like chaparral.
3) Weekly colonic irrigation and or enema.
4) Periodic liver/gall badder flushes.
Resources: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford & Acupressure by Jon Sandifer
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