By Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
According to Chinese Medicine theory, your Kidneys store your essential energy, or Essence, known as Jing Qi. We are all born with a finite amount of Jing Qi and therefore it’s important to safe-guard this valuable resource. In fact, Jing Qi is our most important commodity as it relates to your cellular DNA and your body’s hormonal reserves required to support healthy aging.
The Kidneys are more than just an individual organ in Chinese Medicine as they correspond to a complex system of organs and structures including the reproductive system, the adrenal glands, the ears (auditory system), the entire skeletal structure and the brain. Important hormones that support your body’s ability to regenerate, such as DHEA, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen all relate to your Kidneys health.
The brain is an extension of your Kidney system and considered the seat of your Jing Qi. Maintaining the health of your Kidneys is therefore vital to support your overall health and the health of your brain.
The Adrenal Glands & Brain Health
The adrenal glands sit on top of each kidney and produce a number of different steroid hormones that regulate many functions to maintain healthy metabolism and brain function.
The adrenals are commonly known as the “stress” glands because they respond to acute stress.
If these episodes of stress become chronic, long lasting recurring events, they can drive the body into metabolic crises.
Cortisol is a primary steroid hormone produced and released by the adrenal glands during periods of stress. Short-term, cortisol is our friend, but over long sustained periods, cortisol can create elevated blood sugar and induce a state known as insulin resistance that can lead to weight gain with increased belly fat and high blood pressure. The occurrence of all these factors can lead to the development of Syndrome X, a metabolic disorder that leads to heart disease and diabetes.
Furthermore, having too much sugar floating around the blood with cells that are impaired to utilize it can lead to sticky blood causing blood stagnation and an excessively fungal internal environment referred to in Chinese Medicine as Dampness.
Too much dampness can cause this excessive moisture to dampen the activity of the brain’s neurons, leading to impaired function and symptoms including brain fatigue, brain fog, poor memory, dizziness, and balance disorders — which is why sustained high levels of cortisol coursing through the bloodstream can lead to the suppression of brain function.
When the body has too much moisture, it may inherently try to dry up this dampness by generating heat. Heat is an inflammatory event and when Dampness and Heat combine a congealing effect occurs and this can lead to the development of an advanced pathological condition called Phlegm.
The Brain is a Curious Organ
Lack of clarity in the mind is often due to excessive accumulation of dampness.
According to Chinese Medicine, the Brain, Marrow, Blood Vessels, Bone, Spine and the Uterus/Genitalia comprise the six Curious Organs. In Chinese terminology, “curious” denotes the idea of “extraordinary” as these organ systems relate to the evolution of your body, mind and spirit.
All of the Curious Organs contain hollow spaces and it’s within these spaces that too much moisture can accumulate leading to excessive dampness and eventually the creation of phlegm which can become dense like a tumor.
Managing Dampness is thus fundamental to maintaining the health of your Curious Organs.
In the brain, the creation of Phlegm relates to tumors and more commonly plaque buildup in the brain. These plaques, called amyloid plaques, form between brain nerve cells and cause neuronal death. Phlegm-based amyloid plaques are the basis of more severe brain pathology such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Often described as Type 3 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s in particular has a high correlation with elevated blood sugar and therefore the accumulation of excess Dampness in the body.
Dampness Can Be a Response To Internal Heat (Inflammation)
As heat is generated within the body, the system becomes more and more inflamed. In response, the body may begin to retain more moisture (dampness) to suppress the heat, causing excess Heat and excess Dampness occurring simultaneously.
Excessive internal heat is an inflammatory condition relating to a very acidic internal environment which sugar and processed foods will exacerbate.
A diet that’s overly acidic with refined, processed foods and too high in protein, coffee, tea or alcohol will generate excessive internal heat.
So if you have a lot of heat, it may be appropriate to have a more vegetarian diet for a period of time to reduce this heat.
Heat can also be generated from sustained periods of stress such as long-term emotional and mental anguish and strain. Combined with a high-stress lifestyle with a diet high in protein, sugar, coffee, alcohol, and processed foods creates a recipe for excessive systemic inflammation.
Just as in nature, heat rises, so excessive inflammation in the body will rise up and cause a brain that’s “on fire,” which can be the root of brain degeneration.
Keep in mind that excessive internal Heat can also be rooted in Dryness within the body, and in this case increasing your diet in healthy fats especially Omega 3 fatty acids will help dampen an inflamed brain and nourish back your brain’s neurons. In cases of Dryness, which Chinese Medicine calls a Deficiency of Yin Fluids, then the tongue body will tend to be small and abnormally red without much of a coating at all.
Fish and Krill Oil are high in two key Omega 3 oils called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are very nourishing for optimal brain function. If you don’t have a shellfish allergy, Krill oil has been found to have a stronger anti-inflammatory effect if there is a lot of internal heat.
In cases where there’s excess Dampness, however, the tongue body will be swollen and usually with a scalloped edge due to the pressure against the teeth and the tongue coating will be excessively coated with a thick, pasty coat. In these cases, it may be best to avoid taking too much oil in general until this gets cleared up.
Other causes of a Damp fungal terrain in the body is due to the excessive use of medications such as antibiotics, steroids and birth control pills or a diet high in greasy, fried food and nuts. In addition, the regular consumption of cheese, yoghurt and other dairy foods such as milk are often included in the diet of patients with excessive Dampness and a fungal body terrain.
4 Steps to Support Your Brain Health
Here are a 4 key steps to support your daily well-being and the health of your brain, adrenal glands and Kidneys.
Step 1: Get more rest and sleep. Taking time to rest is the primary way to regenerate your Kidney Qi and restore the health of your adrenal glands, which, when hyper-activate, can contribute to the decline in brain function and brain degeneration.
Relaxation is the first stage of meditation, and simply taking a little time to meditate goes a long way to help calm an adrenal system in overdrive. If you find that you’re too tired to meditate, it’s best to simply take a short nap to rest more deeply.
Wintertime is the season that corresponds to the Kidneys. Shorter days and longer nights make it a more conducive time for rest to help recuperate this valuable organ system and prepare for the active season of Spring that follows.
So more rest and deep sleep are the best ways to tone down your hyped-up adrenal glands that can be creating a whole host of metabolic conditions that lead to the decline in brain function and brain degeneration.
Step 2: Regulate your blood sugar. Reducing your blood sugar if it tends to be elevated is critical to reduce the damp, fungal terrain in the body that literally dampens your brain function and energy levels too.
Sustained elevated levels of blood sugar down-regulate the insulin receptors found on all of your cells inhibiting them from absorbing sugar efficiently to create energy. This can lead to fatigue and low energy. The signaling of sugar deprivation by your cells triggers further cortisol release, creating a vicious cycle that can lead to a lowered immunity due to increased cortisol levels also down-regulating your immune system.
Step 3: Reduce inflammation if you tend to be overheated. Generally maintaining an alkaline diet rich in vegetables and low in sugar and processed foods will quickly help you reduce internal heat. In addition, healthy fats, especially Omega 3 oils that support brain health can also help cool your body’s inflammation.
Other categories of food that can wind up an inflammatory response are nuts, dairy and eggs as they stimulate the body’s Wei Qi and are very warming foods to stimulate heat in the body. The popular daily ritual of drinking celery juice these days is very useful to reduce heat and clear inflammation, however, if your body tends to have internal cold, too much celery juice can weaken your Qi and be counter productive to your health especially in the cold winter months when you need to keep your Yang Qi warm and vital.
If you feel the need for celery juice, try adding an ounce or so of ginger juice to your morning concoction to reduce the excessively cold property of celery juice and protect your Spleen Qi and digestive power.
Clinical Tip: If your stool is too soft, then you know your Spleen Qi is weak and digestive power needs to be warmed up rather than cooled down.
Step 4: Practice Yoga and Qi Gong. Chinese Medicine has established a sophisticated system to strengthen your Kidney system and improve brain function through the use of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, and Qi Gong.
Qi Gong and Yoga are very closely related practices as these Eastern forms of exercise focus on slow movements coordinated with deep breathing, allowing the Kidneys to become recharged with vital Qi energy. Furthermore, deepening your ability to twist and release tension in your shoulders and hips frees the Gallbladder meridian system, which supports the detoxification of all your Curious Organs.
You can practice Triple Energizer Qi Gong at our Dharma Studio with Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. in Santa Clara, California. Click here to see his schedule of classes.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is the Founder and Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine & Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare non-insertion form of Acupuncture. Salvador is also the co-host of The Natural Healing Podcast with his wife and partner, Dr. Setareh Moafi.