Kidney Yin Deficiency

Yin Deficiency - Notes from the book “Healing with whole foods” by Paul Pitchford 

Traditional Chinese Medicine sees health as a relative balance between the yang (heat) in your body and the Yin (fluids). 

 Excess heat in the body can be caused by too many heating foods, (meat, oil, dairy, alcohol) also too much activity or work, stress, exposure to heat. 

According to TCM, heat profoundly affects the heart, mind and vascular system. 

Deficiency heat aka deficient yin is similar to excess heat but it includes a deficiency of yin. This is very common among people over 40. 

This TCM imbalance is an excess of heat due to a deficiency of yin fluids which attempt to provide balance for the heat of the body. 

Yin aspects of the body include not only fluids (blood ,lymph, fluids, hormones, all secretions, intracellular fluids), but also the bones, muscles and other tissues. 

Symptoms include Inflammations, infections, hyperglycemia, diabetes, anxiety, insomnia, hot flashes, aversion to heat.

Specific foods that tonify the yin Millet, Barley, wheat germ, rice, seaweeds, micro-algae, especially chlorella and spirulina, tofu, black beans, kidney beans, beets, banana, watermelon, lettuce, summer squash, radish cucumber, eggplant, spinach, tomato, cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, dandelion greens, peppermint tea, lemon balm tea, apple, pear It is beneficial to prepare some of the foods in a watery medium as in soups, stews. Avoid frying and baking