Are you exhausted all the time?

It could be adrenal fatigue.  When you are under a lot of stress, your adrenal glands must make more adrenaline to get you through the day.  Over time, your adrenals wear out and can no longer keep up with your stress level.

This is not regular fatigue.  This is fatigue where you feel like you can’t get out of bed.  You feel you cannot go on.  It is possible you feel a sense of doom, you might be dying, but you don’t know what is wrong.

With regular fatigue, you can take ginseng and other tonic herbs to recover your energy and help your body deal with stress.  With adrenal fatigue, it is different.  Here are some common symptoms of adrenal fatigue:

These factors are taken from the book, “Adrenal Fatigue The 21^st Century Stress Syndrome” by James L. Wilson.  I highly recommend this book.  He has many more symptoms as well as a test you can take that will confirm the diagnosis.

1.      You have experienced long periods of stress that have affected our well being.

2.    You have driven yourself to exhaustion

3.    Your ability to handle stress and pressure has decreased

4.    You have decreased cognitive ability.  You don’t think as clearly as you used to.

5.    Your thinking is confused when hurried or under pressure.

6.    You are chronically fatigued; a tiredness that is not usually relieved by sleep.

7.    Your muscles sometimes feel weaker than they should.

8.    You have decreased tolerance.  People irritated you more.

9.    You often do your best work late at night.

10.  If you don’t go to bed by 11:00 PM, you get a second burst of energy around 11:00 PM, often lasting until 1:00-2:00 AM

11.  You have dark circles under your eyes

These are only a few of the symptoms, but probably some very common ones.

The good news is, this problem can be solved.  It can take up to 2 years, but you will probably feel a difference in a week with the right supplements.

I recommend:

Vitamin C  1,000 mg. 3 times daily – Vitamin C Ester

Vitamin B Complex by the Vitamin Code – Garden of Life. It is available on Amazon: Raw B-Complex

Fatigue should be addressed from several angles.  An herbal formula that includes ginseng and other energy tonics is the best way to take ginseng.  Taking ginseng by itself is not nearly as effective.  Chinese herbs, when used in combination, are very strong to boost energy and treat fatigue causes.

I started acupuncture school in 1996.  I was exhausted.  I wish I knew then what I know now.  I would not waste any time taking the right supplements to strengthen my body as quickly as possible.  If you can take all the appropriate supplements, strengthening your digestion and kidney energy as well as taking all the necessary vitamins, you can get better quickly.

The list of supplements I recommend for fatigue are:

Either ginseng formula from Planetary Formulas:

Planetary Herbals Ginseng Elixir
Planetary Herbals Ginseng Revitalizer
Ginseng and Longan- I had insomnia, so I would have taken Ginseng and Longan, but added a couple of pills of Ginseng Elixir or Revitalizer to make it stronger.

Cordyceps is so strong to boost energy.  Everyone likes this after trying it.  I would take the cordyceps that has other kidney tonics in it:
Cordyceps Power CS-4 120 Tablets
I would also take a good multi-vitamin and extra Vitamin C.  My favorite vitamin was not even made in 1996, but it is the best quality I’ve taken. Vitamin Code Perfect Weight

The best vitamin C is esterified vitamin C.  It is buffered and stays in your body longer. Vitamin C Ester

I would have also taken magnesium glycinate.  I have since found out that 70%  of Americans are magnesium deficient.  There are many kinds of magnesium, I have tried them all.  Nothing compares to magnesium glycinate.  It is better absorbed and I have had amazing results with it. Chelated Magnesium Glycinate

Cordyceps is also an herb used in Chinese Medicine.  Cordyceps is a supreme energy tonic and strengthens the energy of the lungs and kidneys.  It can be used long term to boost energy and improve endurance.

When I give my patients cordyceps, they always come back for another bottle.  You will be able to tell within a week, with improved energy levels.  I like cordyceps so much, I set up a website about it and how it treats health issues.  Cordyceps benefits.  Cordycepsbenefits.org.

If you have severe fatigue, I would recommend including cordyceps in your herbal and vitamin regimen. Cordyceps power has extra herbs in it that make it a stronger kidney tonic.  I would recommend that for people who have symptoms of a kidney deficiency, then moving on after a month to the regular Cordyceps 450.

Cordyceps is also called “caterpillar fungus“, because it was originally cultured on caterpillars.  Now, it is cultured on vegetable matter and American suppliers make top quality, pure cordyceps.

When you have fatigue, often there are several things that are causing fatigue.  In Chinese medicine theory, common imbalances are spleen/heart deficiency, which is treated by ginseng and longan.  A kidney deficiency is not about the kidney organs, but about the energy system.  There is no correlation to Western medical theory.

Cordyceps is used to treat kidney and lung deficiencies.  Common symptoms of a kidney deficiency include:  Fatigue, lower back pain, insomnia, frequent urination, nighttime urination and impotence.  Your kidney energy is the foundation of your health in Chinese medicine.  When your kidneys are weak, you will not have enough energy to function well.

The ingredients are:

Astragalus Root,
Licorice Root,
Bupleurum Root,
Chinese Cimicifuga Rhizome,
Molasses,
Bai-Zhu Atractylodes Rhizome,
Jujube Fruit,
Dong Quai Root Extract (4:1),
Dong Quai Root,
Ginger Root

This is one of the best over the counter ginseng products I have found.  Chinese herbs such as Panax ginseng, are much stronger when combined with other tonics and balancing herbs.  This formula also has pseudoginseng, which is used to treat angina in China.  It is an expensive herb and not very commonly sold in over the counter products.

Ingredients:

Dong Quai Root,
Bai-Zhu Atractylodes Rhizome,
Codonopsis Root,
Asian Ginseng Root,
Fo-Ti Root,
Licorice Root,
Astragalus Root,
Eleuthero Root,
Tienchi Ginseng Root,
American Ginseng Root,
Ginger Root,
Eleuthero Root Extract (5:1),
Poria Sclerotium, and
Asian Ginseng Root Extract (3:1).

One of the most effective things you can do to treat insomnia is get acupuncture and take Chinese herbs.

In Chinese medicine, insomnia is related to a malfunction in the energetic system of your body.  For example, excess stress affects your liver, sadness affects your lungs and fear affects your kidneys.  Over time, all emotions in excess affect your heart.  Your heart can become energetically weak over time.  You might have symptoms such as heart palpitations, poor memory or being easily startled.

Insomnia is usually related to weak heart energy or weak kidneys.  It is important to strengthen your body with ginseng and other Chinese herbs.  Herbal sedatives such as Valerian root are basically muscle relaxers.  If you have really severe insomnia, Valerian root will probably not be enough.  You will need to build up your body again.

Acupuncture works by regulating your body.  Your body has over 400 acupuncture points.  Each point has a specific function.  For example, if you have kidney problems, there are points that are known to affect the kidney energy.

An example of kidney problems is incontinence.  As you get older your kidneys naturally grow weaker.  Also, if you are under constant stress, that can affect your kidneys also.  There are Chinese herbs that will strengthen the kidneys and cure incontinence that is caused by weak kidneys.  The acupuncture points often used for kidney deficiency are: Kidney 3 and 6 and Spleen 6.  There are other points that can be used for this.  It depends on all of your symptoms and which organ pattern you have.

The formula “Gui pi wan” is very effective to strengthen and nourish your heart.  It is one of the most popular formulas used in Chinese herbalism for energy and insomnia.  It is called “spleen returning” decoction.  It is used to rejuvenate people when they have become run down.  Some common symptoms where it is used are: low energy, insomnia, easily startled, poor memory and palpitations.  These are symptoms of “heart Qi and blood deficiency”.  Your heart has become weak and needs to be strengthened to relieve your symptoms.

My favorite formulas for insomnia in Chinese medicine are available on Amazon:

Injury to the spleen (digestion) impairs its ability to generate and control blood. When the blood is deficient, the heart is not nourished. This affects the heart’s ability to store the shen (spirit) and the spleen’s ability to store the yi (intelligence).

Chinese Medicine Actions:
• Supplements Qi
• Supplements heart blood
• Strengthens spleen and heart qi

Indications in Chinese medicine:
• Anxiety
• Appetite, poor
• Concentration, poor
• Constitution, delicate
• Dream-disturbed sleep
• Feverishness from deficiency
• Forgetfulness
• Insomnia
• Nervous exhaustion
• Night sweats
• Palpitation
• Phobias
• Uterine bleeding
• Weakness after surgery or illness

Ginseng and Longan is one of the most prescribed herbal formulas in Chinese medicine.  Amazon carries this formula Ginseng and Longan

Ginseng has been used for thousands of years to improve energy, vitality and overall health.

There are 4 common ginsengs:

Panax Ginseng (Chinese or Asian Ginseng)— used to strongly boost energy and recover vitality

American Ginseng (Wisconsin Ginseng)– Very helpful for people over 40.  We export most of our American Ginseng to China where it is highly valued as a longevity tonic to restore what you lose as you age.

Siberian Ginseng– Boosts energy, but not as strongly as Panax Ginseng.  It is often used for adrenal fatigue.

Korean Ginseng (Red Ginseng) — This is Panax Ginseng that has been cooked and processed to turn red.  When Ginseng is processed into Korean Ginseng it becomes much hotter.  Acupuncturists do not prescribe Korean Ginseng.  Energetically it is trickier to use as you can quickly take too much and have side effects.

Ginseng that is used in Chinese Medicine formulas is Panax Ginseng.  It is usually used at about 10% of the formula.  Other herbs are used as energy tonics and the herbs harmonize each other.  Panax ginseng is not usually taken alone in Chinese Medicine.  It is best to balance the ginseng with other herbs that regulate energy or that have a cooler energy to balance the warm energy of Panax Ginseng.

Everyone wants more energy.  Over time, stress and normal aging tend to wear the body down.  It is normal to suffer a decline of energy as you get older.  Fortunately, you do not have to stay fatigued.

Many people have no idea how tired they really are until they start to feel better.  It sometimes takes a month of taking ginseng to feel a difference, if you are very fatigued.  People who are only slightly fatigued might feel ginseng within an hour of taking it.  If you take ginseng and do not feel better in a few days, it is usually because your energy is so low, it is going to take a while to fix what is broken.

If someone is very fatigued, he/she might also need to take a good multi-vitamin. Stress depletes your body of vitamins and your body needs to have the vitamins it needs to heal.  It is well known that today our vegetables do not have as many nutrients in them as they did 50 years ago.  It is almost impossible to get enough nutrients to have optimum health by eating vegetables.  We are looking for Optimum health, not just getting by.

Boost energy:

• Herbal supplements
• B Vitamins
• C Vitamins
• Getting good sleep

A little goes a long way, you can reap the benefits of American Ginseng with taking one capsule of high quality American Ginseng EXTRACT per day.  If you buy an American Ginseng extract, you do not need to take a lot of pills and the herb is assimilated better than taking the raw Ginseng that is just chopped up and encapsulated.  Chinese herbs are always taken as an extract.  The herbs are boiled and the liquid is then either drunk as a tea, or processed into pills.  Raw herbs are not as strong as extracts.

American ginseng is very useful for people over 40.  It is not well known in America, but in China it is very popular as a longevity and anti-aging tonic.  People often take herbal tonics to improve functioning as they age.  As you age, there is a normal tendency to suffer from fatigue, memory issues and sleep issues.  Chinese medicine theory is that this is due to a yin deficiency.

American ginseng is rarely used by most Americans.  We sell most of the American ginseng we grow here, to China.   The Chinese have a long tradition of using herbs to improve health and longevity.  They tend to take herbs as they age to stave off the symptoms of aging.

American ginseng is surprising effective as a libido tonic.  It is used as a “yin” tonic.  As we age, we become deficient in yin.  This affects our libido.

American ginseng can also be effective for women to reduce the symptom of dark facial hair.  As you get older, your body suffers from a decline of all hormones, but in women it is the “yin” that affects us the most.  American ginseng, in nourishing the yin, helps to restore what we lose as we get older.  It is often taken long term on a regular basis to maintain health.

I personally take American ginseng extract almost every day.  I take a top quality extract, so I only have to take one capsule.  If more Americans knew of the effect American ginseng has on libido, we would run out of it… American Ginseng Root Extract or American Ginseng Root Extract.  The American ginseng extract on Amazon seems to get sold out easily.  I prefer the Bluebonnet or Solgar brands.

I would especially advise women to not take Korean Ginseng root.  Korean Ginseng is too “hot” for women.  It can easily cause you to have hormonal issues.  You would then have to take yin tonic herbs such as American ginseng a long time to recover from that.

Ginseng has been used for thousands of years as a health tonic.  There are several types of Ginseng: Panax, American, Siberian, Korean and Pseudoginseng.  Panax ginseng is the type that is used in Chinese herbal remedies.  Panax ginseng is also called “Chinese Ginseng” or “Asian Ginseng”.  It is grown in China.  Traditionally, Panax ginseng is used as an extract.  Herbal extracts can be made by either using alcohol to extract the active components, or water.  Chinese medicine uses the water extraction method.  You will get different components of the herb depending on which type of extraction method you use.  Alcohol extraction will tend to pull out different things than water will.

Panax ginseng is typically combined in formulas.  Chinese herbal remedies are comprised of 4-10 different herbs in certain precise percentages to address different energetic imbalances.  Ginseng is used in many formulas because it improves energy and digestion which are necessary to be totally well.  You will not recover from an illness if you are not able to boost your energy levels and help your body heal itself.  If you are exhausted, your body does not have the energy to heal.

Panax ginseng is usually combined  with other Chinese energy tonics such as atractylodes, poria, licorice root and astragalus.  Combining these herbs in one formula is much more  effective than just taking ginseng by itself.  The other herbs in the formula help to “harmonize” the formula.  Each herb has specific functions that enable them all to work better together.

American Ginseng is grown in Wisconsin and is considered a superior “yin” tonic.  In Chinese medicine, there are yin and yang.  Yin is the cool and moist part that affects you a lot as you age.  You lose yin and yang as you age, but many symptoms of aging are caused by becoming yin deficient.  Yin deficiency will cause things such as hot flashes, insomnia, irritability and dryness.  American Ginseng is very popular in China to counteract the symptoms of aging.  It is considered a superior longevity tonic and is also a libido booster.

Korean Ginseng is actually Panax Ginseng that has been processed by heating it and sometimes adding chemicals to make it Red Ginseng.  This heat and chemical processing causes the ginseng to be “hotter” than Panax ginseng that has not been processed in this way.  It is very strong to boost energy, but it is not used in Chinese Medicine because it can easily cause an energetic imbalance.  For short periods of time it could be OK, however, it would especially be contraindicated for most women.  Taking too much of it could increase irritability and facial hair growth.

Siberian Ginseng is not a true ginseng but is an adaptogen.  It does not boost energy as well as Panax ginseng, but it helps the body adapt to stress and is considered to be very strengthening to the adrenal glands, which are very easily weakened by stress.  Siberian ginseng is often the type of ginseng that is in “ginseng” formulas at discount stores because it is the least expensive.

Pseudoginseng is not typically taken by Americans.  It is used in Chinese medicine to stop bleeding.  It is also used sometimes in cases of angina.  Please seek the advice of an acupuncturist and do not take this herb on your own.  It can cause the cessation of menses in women if the dosage is high enough and there can be other herbal remedies that are more appropriate to your needs.

Ginseng has been used in Chinese Medicine to boost energy for thousands of years.  It also is used to boost energy as well as improve digestion and resistance to stress.  However, if you pick the wrong type of ginseng, you can end up with symptoms that are caused by using something that is not appropriate for you.

Ginseng comes in several types: American, Siberian, Panax (Chinese) and Korean.  Each ginseng has a completely different effect.  Panax ginseng is the most commonly used to boost energy.  It is used in hundreds of Chinese herbal formulas too improve energy and digestion.  It is rarely taken alone.  It is usually about 10-20% of the formula.  The other herbs in the formula help to balance ginseng.  There are other energy tonics such as atractylodes and poria that are usually included with ginseng.

Panax ginseng is not typically used in people under 20 years old.  Panax is very strong to boost energy and this is not usually necessary in younger people.  Other herbs such as Codonopsis are used in formulas to boost energy without tonifying too much.  To tonify is to boost energy in Chinese medicine.  You tonify organs that you want to strengthen.

Siberian ginseng is very moderate in its ability to boost energy.  It is considered to be an adaptogen.  As an adaptogen, it helps the body to cope with stress.  It is also considered to be very good for the adrenal glands, which can be weakened by prolonged stress.  Siberian ginseng is also known as Eleuthero.  It is less expensive so it is often the choice of supplement manufacturers to add to energy tonics.

American ginseng is grown in America.  It is very popular in China and in fact, China buys most of our ginseng.  It is not as strong to boost energy as Panax ginseng.  However, it is very appropriate for people over 40 who have become depleted by stress.  It is considered to be more cooling and nourishing.  As you get older, your body “yin” declines.  It is a natural progression that Chinese people use American ginseng to treat.  It is a yin tonic that helps rejuvenate what you have lost over time.  It is especially good for women over 40 as a yin deficiency in women can cause hot flashes, excess facial hair and “dryness”.

Korean ginseng is actually Panax ginseng that has been treated to be red.  When you treat an herb, the energy of that herb can completely change.  It can go from being warm to being hot.  Korean is often used by men for libido.  It is very strong and rarely appropriate for long term use.  American ginseng is actually better for libido than Korean ginseng.  This is not well known in America or perhaps we would run out of it.

Chinese herbs are extracted by either boiling them in water or putting them in alcohol.  The liquid resulting from this is called an “extract”.  It is typically 3-5 times as strong as taking the raw herb.  It is also easier for your body to use because the fiber from the herb does not have to be digested.  If you take an herbal extract you do not have to take as many pills and the effect is much stronger.

American ginseng can be taken alone.  It is rarely used in formulas.  Panax ginseng is almost always used in formulas.  When you use a formula, you can address many issues at once.  It is better to not take ginseng alone.

Taking ginseng long term can build up your energy and resistance to illness.  As an herbalist, I would say that the only ginseng I would be concerned about using would be Korean ginseng.  Korean ginseng is not used in Chinese medicine remedies because it is too strong and easily can cause an imbalance.  It does boost energy quickly, however taking it over 2 weeks or so can cause too much “hot” energy in your body and cause side effects such as insomnia, irritability and facial hair growth in women.  In my opinion, it is not worth it to take the risk when the other types of ginseng are better in the long run.
 

Premenstrual Tension Syndrome “PMS” is the bane of many women.  Your body seems to go crazy before your period.  You become more irritable, have bloating, cramps and constipation.

Chinese Medicine has an answer for this.  In Chinese Medicine, PMS is caused by “liver stagnation”.  Your organs are affected by emotions.  Too much stress affects your liver energy and it becomes stagnant.  That means, the flow of energy is blocked and your body cannot function normally.

Liver stagnation is the cause of many ailments.  We are not talking about the liver organ, we are talking about the liver energetic system as it is in Chinese Medicine.  You can have hundreds of symptoms that all go back to the root cause of liver stagnation.  Some common symptoms of liver stagnation are:  Irritability, frustration, skin rashes, headache at the top of the head, muscle spasms and twitching, muscle tightness.

In Chinese medicine, a woman has excess liver stagnation before her cycle begins.  Her body goes through hormonal shifts and if her liver is not working properly, she will have PMS symptoms.  This imbalance can also cause infertility.

It is very simple to treat liver stagnation.  There are acupuncture points such as Liver 3 and Spleen 6.  These points regulate the liver and kidneys which regulates the menstrual cycle.  These points relieve stress and also reduce excess fluid in the body.

There are also herbal solutions that are sold over the counter in China.  You can buy Chinese herbal remedies over the counter there just like we buy aspirin here.  Free and Easy Wanderer is a formula that is famous for PMS and infertility.  It regulates your liver and nourishes your blood and can be taken long term.  It typically takes at least 3 months to regulate a hormonal cycle.

Another thing I have discovered is that taking chelated Magnesium will help reduce cramps also.  Many people are deficient in Magnesium and this causes muscle tightness.