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The causes of Yang deficiency are numerous. Some individuals are born with insufficient vitality and a weak constitution; modern people often experience excessive fatigue, depleting their Zheng Qi (正气), extreme emotional states damaging their organs, and prolonged periods of recovery; irregular eating habits harm the Spleen and Stomach, leading to Qi and Blood deficiency; excessive consumption of cold foods in summer, air conditioning, and external pathogenic invasions; and some suffer from Yang deficiency after major illnesses due to inadequate recuperation. In summary, it involves both congenital and acquired factors.
There is a peculiar phenomenon categorized by the Six Excesses (六淫) in Daoist medicine: Wind, Cold, Heat, Dampness, Dryness, and Fire. Among the patients I observe, 80-90% present with Yang deficiency and Cold-Damp syndrome, while Yin deficiency and Heat syndrome are rarely seen, not even once. I found that not only are Northern people Yang deficient, but Southern people are also particularly numerous, with almost 100% of Southern individuals showing this deficiency without exception.
The climate in the South is particularly hot, generally described as having summer without winter. In such a scorching climate, it is astonishing that no one suffers from Heat syndrome, heat spots, or Yin deficiency. This situation perplexes me.
Main Symptoms of Yang Deficiency
Cold Intolerance! I have observed the living habits of Southern people and started to seek the root cause. In my observations, I found:
The first issue is that Southern people commonly use air conditioning, often setting it to very low temperatures. Outside, during the hot summer, temperatures soar above thirty degrees, but upon entering a room, it feels like falling into an ice cave. This drastic temperature change occurs multiple times a day, leading to many artificial air conditioning-related illnesses.
Air conditioning illness, according to Western medicine, has causes beyond just the cold stimulus: one is that air-conditioned rooms are sealed, leading to a lack of negative ions and ‘fresh’ air, causing illness. The second is the significant temperature difference, which the autonomic nervous system cannot adapt to.
Common Symptoms of Yang Deficiency:
1. Heavy Dampness, Cold Intolerance, Cold Hands and Feet
This is the most obvious symptom of Yang deficiency patients. Yang deficiency, simply understood, means insufficient Yang Qi. Yang Qi is like the sun in nature; if there is little sunlight, it cannot disperse the fog, resulting in heavy dampness, leaving our bodies in a ‘cold’ state.
Especially many women experience cold hands and feet in winter, so it is essential to nourish well in summer, treating winter diseases in summer.
2. Inability to Digest Food, Cold Spleen and Stomach, Cannot Eat Cold Foods and Cooling Fruits
Commonly seen in Yang deficiency are Spleen Yang deficiency and Stomach Yang deficiency, which we often refer to as Cold Spleen and Stomach. Such individuals feel discomfort in the stomach after consuming cold foods, and eating cooling fruits like watermelon can easily lead to diarrhea and loose stools.
3. Cold Uterus, Dysmenorrhea, Irregular Menstruation, etc.
In fact, all cold syndromes influence each other, and their causes are quite similar.
Generally, Cold Uterus can be caused by premature birth, miscarriage, etc., leading to congenital Spleen and Kidney Yang deficiency. This deficiency cannot effectively transport the internal dampness, resulting in internal cold accumulation; it can also be due to excessive exposure to cold water, living in cold environments, using air conditioning during menstruation, indulging in cold foods, wearing crop tops in summer, or being invaded by cold pathogens in the harsh winter, leading to delayed menstruation, reduced menstrual flow, dysmenorrhea, and even cold-induced infertility.
Understanding Air Conditioning Illness from a TCM Perspective
Cold Dampness is the most harmful external pathogen. The cold we create artificially is even more severe than the natural cold.
Since the advent of air conditioning, Yin and Cold Qi frequently invade the body. This repeatedly compresses the cold energy layer by layer within, causing many illnesses.
For example, headaches, chronic rhinitis, and Yin Heat syndrome, which is a condition caused by exposure to cold in hot weather.
Chronic colds that are hard to cure, dysmenorrhea in young women, postpartum illnesses, and infants raised in air-conditioned environments are most prone to asthma.
Sudden diarrhea after eating while exposed to air conditioning, leading to vomiting and diarrhea.
Another situation is persistent high fever. This high fever should be seen as a good sign. Why? Because when cold energy enters the body, the Yang Qi must rise to fight back, causing fever. When we have a fever, we often consume watermelon, ice cubes, and large amounts of antibiotics to suppress the surface symptoms, but in reality, the cold energy has not been expelled, leading to prolonged fever that can last many days without resolution. Moreover, it leaves a root cause, and once exposed to similar or slightly suitable environments, the illness recurs.
Whole body muscle and joint pain, this pain has a cramping nature, which in TCM is described as Cold causing contraction. Cold pathogens have the characteristics of contraction, pulling, and inward gathering. After feeling the cold pathogen, the Yang Qi cannot resist temporarily, leading to contraction.
In extremely hot weather, we cannot avoid using air conditioning. What should we do?
Try to adjust the temperature slightly higher, so it is not so cold that it causes shivering, thus preventing harm to your body. Alternatively, when using air conditioning, open the windows to allow some natural air to drive away the cold wind.
The Yang Qi Defense Battle
In recent years, as Northern people have more money and the climate has become warmer, many have started using air conditioning. How can we protect Yang Qi?
Besides avoiding cold drinks and cold showers, we must also pay attention to our daily routines. People in big cities often have their Yin and Yang reversed, violating the ancient health principles passed down through our culture, deviating from nature, and disrupting the body’s biological clock.
Yang Qi is the combination of congenital Kidney Qi and acquired Spleen and Stomach Qi!
It is difficult to distinguish which is Central Qi and which is Pre-Heaven Qi. Kidney Qi, also known as Yuan Yang (元阳) or Mingmen True Fire (命门真火), is the foundation and driving force of life. The consequences of Yang Qi damage are very serious.
I have participated in the rescue of critically ill patients in Western medicine ICUs. When I entered the ICU, it was unbearably cold. Patients with heart failure, lung failure, or kidney failure should be the most afraid of cold, yet they are kept in such low-temperature conditions, which is even more unbearable. It is very difficult to save patients in such environments.
I suggest setting the air conditioning to above 26 degrees as a method.
Another suggestion is to tell the family to discharge the patient as soon as possible; under such conditions, it is counterproductive.
Yang Qi Deficiency Equals Illness
Illness, like a person, is very cunning. What it manifests is not necessarily its true nature, so we must think of the deeper issues and the underlying causes to avoid mistakes.
Many patients must place their feet on ice to sleep at night. This situation seems to indicate extreme heat, but in fact, it is a manifestation of deficient Yang Qi. This can be treated with Si Ni Tang (四逆汤) to restore Yang Qi to the lower jiao (下焦), and usually, two to three doses are sufficient. If the diagnosis is incorrect and cold herbs are used, it will instead disperse the Yang Qi, leading to dire consequences.
I have summarized this illness: regardless of whether it is internal or external, affecting the limbs, joints, or any organ, as long as Yang Qi is insufficient, it is considered an illness.
Yang Deficiency vs. Yin Deficiency: Can You Distinguish?
To determine whether it is Yin deficiency or Yang deficiency, one must understand what Yin and Yang are.Yang is like our cash, while Yin is like our fixed assets (such as houses). Have you ever seen someone with 100 houses but no cash, or 100 billion in cash but no place to live?
The relationship between Yin and Yang is like planting seeds, watering, fertilizing, and working hard this year, and then harvesting grain the next year. This is the transformation of Yang into Yin, which is a very long process.
Once the grain is harvested, selling it for money is a quick process, which is the transformation of Yin into Yang.
Yin and Yang can transform into each other; in reality, there is rarely pure Yin deficiency or Yang deficiency. It is usually a combination of both.
Many people ask whether they have Kidney Yang deficiency or Kidney Yin deficiency. Everyone knows that the Kidney governs storage, and this function can be understood as Kidney Yang, while the substances stored can be understood as Kidney Yin. Therefore, the two are inseparable; one cannot simply say they have Kidney Yin deficiency or Kidney Yang deficiency.
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