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What is the most feared thing for our body? It is cold. Cold can cause pain and can form various Yin pathogens, such as dampness, cysts, and even the most dreaded tumors. In short, cold is a significant pathogenic factor, and due to our current lifestyle habits, many people suffer from internal cold.
As the weather is getting cooler, our task of preventing cold becomes even more urgent. How do we prevent and dispel cold? There is a saying in TCM: “When it is cold, we warm it.” Today, I will share a warming Yang formula that sweeps away the cold from the five organs: heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys. What is this powerful formula? It is Zhang Zhongjing’s Li Zhong Tang (Regulate the Middle Decoction), which also has a patent medicine, Li Zhong Wan (Regulate the Middle Pill). Its composition is simple, consisting of just four herbs.
First, we add Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger), which is very pungent and warm, to dispel the cold from the organs;
Then we add Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes), which dispels dampness and helps restore the spleen and stomach’s ability to transform and transport;
Next, we add Ren Shen (Ginseng), the primary herb for tonifying spleen Qi, which is like fertilizing the soil.
Finally, we add Gan Cao (Licorice), which is yellow and enters the spleen, helping to guide the other herbs into the middle earth (spleen and stomach). Moreover, Gan Cao has a mild nature, allowing for a gradual and sustained release of warmth.
Thus, the function of Li Zhong Tang is to warm and restore the operation of the spleen and stomach.
Since it warms the spleen and stomach, how does it relate to the cold in other organs? Don’t worry, let me explain slowly. I will tell you how Li Zhong Tang warms other organs through the relationship of the five elements.
First, how does Li Zhong Tang warm the lungs and clear lung cold? In TCM, the spleen and stomach belong to earth, while the lungs belong to metal. The spleen (earth) generates the lungs (metal), and according to the treatment principle of “when deficient, supplement the mother,” if the lungs are deficient, we must tonify the mother of the lungs—the spleen and stomach. People with lung cold tend to cough easily when inhaling cool air and may catch colds with clear nasal discharge. At this time, Li Zhong Tang is used. Once the spleen and stomach are warmed, the cold will naturally be expelled from the body.
Next, how does Li Zhong Tang warm the kidneys? We know that when kidney Yang is insufficient, urination is very clear and dilute, indicating kidney cold. Li Zhong Tang, when combined with Fu Zi (Aconite), becomes Fu Zi Li Zhong Tang (Aconite Regulate the Middle Decoction), which elevates the Yang Qi of the spleen and kidneys, naturally resolving the kidney cold condition.
Then we have liver cold. People with liver cold may experience cramping pain in the lower abdomen, and when it gets cold, their fingernails may turn bluish and their limbs may feel stiff. This is because, in TCM, the liver governs the tendons, and these symptoms are caused by cold congealing and constricting the tendons. What should we do at this time? We can also warm the liver through warming kidney water. In TCM, water generates wood; by warming the water, it rises to the liver, thus warming the liver. Similarly, we also refer to Fu Zi Li Zhong Wan.
Finally, we discuss heart cold. People with heart cold may easily experience palpitations and cold sweats. At this time, we use Gui Zhi Ren Shen Tang (Cinnamon Twig and Ginseng Decoction) to warm both the spleen and stomach and the heart, stopping the cold sweat and alleviating the cold pain in the chest. Gui Zhi Ren Shen Tang is Li Zhong Tang plus Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig).
This is the secret of how Li Zhong Wan warms the entire body. When treating diseases, doctors must have the five elements in mind. One must understand how the five organs interact, how they generate and control each other, and how they circulate, to achieve a comprehensive understanding.
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