Lotus node comes from the lotus, a perennial aquatic plant related to the water lily. It grows throughout the tropical regions of Asia and the Middle East, with light green leaves and vibrant white flowers.
The leaves can grow extremely large at times, reaching more than 18 inches in diameter. They are typically collected in the summer and autumn, cleaned, then dried in the sun and cut into small pieces.
Based on the concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, lotus leaf is slightly bitter, and mild, and is attributed to the Liver and Spleen meridians. The main functions of lotus leaf are to stop bleeding and invigorate the blood. As with most other parts of the lotus, lotus leaf is employed to treat a variety of conditions, ranging from hematemesis (vomiting with blood) and hematuria (blood in the urine) to metorrhagia and diarrhea. An active ingredient in lotus leaf, nuciferine, also helps to reduce muscle spasms. In addition, lotus leaf is sometimes used to treat dizziness and fevers.
The typical dosage of lotus leaf is between 6 and 12 grams, boiled in water and drunk as a decoction. Large doses can be taken depending on the condition being treated.
Dried, sliced lotus leaf can be found at many herbal shops and Asian markets. Lotus leaf is also available in pill, powder and capsule form.
Lotus leaf is considered extremely safe; the American Herbal Products Association has given it a class 1 rating, meaning that it can be safely consumed when used appropriately.
As of this writing, there are no known drug interactions associated with lotus leaf. As always, make sure to consult with a licensed health care provider before taking lotus leaf 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