The Chinese gall is the product of an insect, melaphis chinensis, a type of aphid that lives on certain trees throughout China. A typical gall is smooth and oblong, with a grayish-brown outer surface and a smooth, blackish-grey inner surface. It is prepared by being cooked and then dried.
According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese gall has sour, salty and cold properties, and is associated with the Kidney, Large Intestine and Lung meridians. Its main functions are to help contain lung qi and to absorb moisture.
Chinese gall has astringent, antidiarrheal and antibacterial properties. It treats digestive disorders such as diarrhea and dysentery, reduces coughs, congestion and inflammation, and helps to stop night sweats and spontaneous perspiration. Chinese gall can also be applied topically to stop bleeding, promote wound healing, and reduce scarring from burns, scrapes and cuts.
The typical dose of Chinese gall is between 1.5 and 4.5 grams, decocted in water. If powdered Chinese gall is being decocted, smaller doses (0.5-1.5 grams) are recommended. Larger doses may be used if it is being applied externally.
Dried Chinese gall can be found at some Asian markets and specialty stores. Chinese gall is also available as a pill or powder.
Chinese gall should be used with caution in patients diagnosed with excess heat, accumulation or stagnation. In addition, because of its strong astringent properties, it is recommended that the ingestion of drugs be performed at least two hours removed from taking Chinese gall to avoid interference with proper absorption. As always, make sure to consult with a licensed health care provider before taking Chinese gall or any other herbal remedy or dietary supplement.
References
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
| Digital Exclusive
One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
| Digital Exclusive