Churg Strauss Syndrome Association -About CSSA

It Don’t Mean a Thing If it Ain't Got That Jing

All summer long I have been pondering what to write next for Savvy readers. Two subjects that have been recurring themes posted on Savvy recently by readers who have Churg-Strauss have been the loss of teeth and/or broken bones and the effects on sex hormones.

For Churg-Strauss patients the prevalence of dental trauma, including chipped, broken and lost teeth as well as the occurrence of broken bones is not surprising. These effects tend to follow aggressive treatment with high dosages of life-saving medicines such as prednisone.

Additionally, the theme this week on Savvy is the correlation between Churg-Strauss and hysterectomies, the onset of menopause and prostate disease - all of which have been documented in recent medical studies. From a Western Medical model the jury is out on the relevance of these conditions with Churg-Strauss, but from my perspective and according to my training in Chinese Medicine these unfortunate problems make perfect sense.

During my four-year training in Acupuncture school my fellow students and I were routinely accosted by strange terminology that was new and foreign to us. It was a struggle to translate these unfamiliar words from Chinese texts, memorize their definitions and comprehend their concepts. To deal with one such challenge my dear friend and colleague Dr. Robin Falkov used to go around singing a takeoff on an old Duke Ellington song, “It don’t mean a thing if it aint got that jing” instead of “swing”. I used to think of this mnemonic device in two ways; one, you can’t remember anything if you don’t have any jing and, two, you will ultimately lose that swing altogether without your jing, since jing is closely associated with all things to do with aging.

Jing or essence, according to ancient text, is the foundation of the human body. Jing consists of two parts - congenital jing and acquired jing. Congenital jing involves the characteristics which we inherit from our parents, while acquired jing is developed over time as a result of our surroundings such as the food we eat and the air we breathe. Think of it as nature and nurture.

This essence forms the genetic material of which our bodies are comprised. Congenital jing is the ultimate source of qi or energy. Think of jing as your original battery pack, or your constitution. It is this jing that supports all other sources of qi in the body. The amount of jing we inherit from our parents is finite in its quality and quantity. Once it is used up, we die. The good news is - if we take proper care of ourselves we can slow down the consumption of jing. Acquired jing is the surplus of qi at the end of the day. If you get enough rest, eat properly, and don’t overindulge, chances are that you can delay the eventual depletion of congenital jing. Basically, this concept is anti-aging, or slowing the process of aging.

About ten years ago I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at my house that included, a very pregnant me, my growing family, my grandmother, who at the time was approaching her 97th birthday, and my mentor and friend, Dr. Andrew Weil. At one point during dinner my grandmother, who was obsessively polite and proper, gracefully approached Dr. Weil and sat down next to him to offer him some of her words of wisdom on aging gracefully. We all turned to my grandmother to hear her secret. She told him people often asked her the secret to living so long and her replay was “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t have loose sex.” Needless to say, the room fell silent; I almost gave birth on the spot.

At the time, I was mortified by her candor, but now when I recall the embarrassing family moment, I believe my grandmother must have known an ancient Chinese secret on anti-aging and the concept of jing!!!!

Jing is stored in the kidney. Once again, like the spleen (digestive system) from my previous articles, the kidneys are a theoretical model that represents the root of life. The kidneys rule birth, growth and development. If kidney energy is weak the kidneys can not effectively support digestive energy, nor “root the function of the lungs”, resulting in breathing difficulties. Other kidney functions, besides storing essence are controlling water metabolism, producing marrow, filling the brain (called “the sea of marrow” in Traditional Chinese Medicine), controlling the bones and teeth, influencing hair and its luster, influencing hearing and sustaining the urinary bladder.

In fact, Jing controls a number of physiological functions in our bodies including the reproductive organs, thus affecting our hormones and adrenal glands. We already know that taking prednisone drains our adrenals. When jing is depleted we vastly diminish our vitality and youthfulness. Hopefully by now you are thinking…maybe this jing theory makes sense.

Our bodies are challenged by the ravages of overwork, acute and chronic stress, excessive behaviors, extreme emotions, substance abuse (or the use of extreme substances like chemotherapeutic agents), chronic pain, prolonged illness, sexual excess, excessive menstrual patterns, pregnancy and childbirth. All of these contribute to a rapid weakening of jing. It’s a wonder we have any jing left at all when you reflect on the disease process of having Churg Strauss?

It should not surprise you that people with Churg Strauss vasculitis have all the symptoms of a kidney deficiency and loss of essence. If you consider all the side effects of the medications we take, let alone the disease process and etiology of Churg-Strauss, it is practically a text book explanation. Most patients have a history of asthma, ear infections and sinus problems. Whether a person had allergies or developed them later in life is common place. So many of us suffer from having had some sort of chemical exposure that has weaken lung function or perhaps even set off the entire disease process. Remember, the energy of the lung is rooted by the kidneys and essence in TCM.

Weight gain is common among Churg-Strauss patients because the kidneys regulate the digestive fire. If the kidneys are weak, weight gain and edema occur.

Hair loss is another common occurrence resulting from the medicines we take and from the extreme shock and fear from a bad attack. I personally lost almost all of my waist length hair after I was hospitalized from a flare that left me with a foot drop and neuropathy. Between the narcotics, high doses of prednisone, and the fear of the experience, I drained a huge amount of jing from my body.

And as we’ve learned, many people tend to experience bone loss, broken bones and chipped teeth from the use of prednisone and other chemotherapeutic drugs - all associated to decreased jing in the kidneys according to Chinese medicine.

So, that is the bad news. The good news is you can do something about the loss of kidney energy and jing according to the principles of TCM with good old fashion logic that my dear grandmother had. If congenital jing is consumed from our disease process and aging, then it makes perfect sense that we should all be wise about gaining as much acquired essence as we possibly can. Just to refresh your memory here, acquired jing is the surplus of qi at the end of the day. How in the world can one have a surplus of qi at the end of the day, when you hardly have enough energy to brush your teeth or go out to get your mail???

Nurturing our jing becomes paramount when our reserves are depleted. I know this is a recurring theme of mine, but I cannot stress enough to you how vital a good diet is when you are ill. (Refer to my first article “Food as Medicine”.) I recommend eating foods that are warming like soup and hot cereal and adding warming spices to your cooking like cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and curry. Since most of us have developed a weakened digestive system, eating food that is boiled, baked, or steamed makes food easier to assimilate because you are assisting the kidneys by jump-starting the process of digestion.

Avoid foods that produce dampness in your body like sugar, processed food and even dairy. Dairy is mucous-forming and many Churg Strauss patients can’t afford the production of mucous due of chronic sinus maladies. In order to get the necessary calcium to strengthen our bones, add more seeds and nuts to your diet. Just like our kidneys are the root of life in our body, so are seeds and nuts in the plant kingdom! If you think about what a seed or a nut is, it is the beginning of life for a plant. Seeds and nuts have high amounts of bio-available calcium for the body, in fact much more than dairy. Nuts and seeds are beneficial with hormone inbalances and are high in fiber helping to lower cholesterol. Sesame seeds and walnuts particularly support the kidneys as well as bone health. Pumpkin seeds have high doses of zinc to support a healthy prostate gland and immune system. Almonds also have high amounts of calcium. Ground flax seeds and walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which is found to help protect against heart and vessel disease, and may lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In small amounts nuts and seed are a great snack that will maintain your blood sugar level. They are a delicious addition to any meal!!

Keeping a regular routine is extremely important. Getting up at the same time and retiring at night at the same time creates a balance in the body’s natural rhythm. Waking up early and getting to bed before 11:00 pm is extremely important in TCM. It is said that for every hour of sleep you get before 11:00 pm counts as double of that after 11:00. Think back 50-75 years ago; I highly doubt my grandmother was watching reruns of MASH at 3:00 in the morning. “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man (woman) healthy, wealthy and wise.” Dining at the same time each day also creates harmony in the body. If you know people who work shift hours at night, generally their bodies are completely off balance. Our bodies have a special gland to recognize daylight. Synchronize your schedule with way the sun rises and sets and your body will thank you.

Meditation, yoga, and even breath work all help create a surplus of qi. Just the act of deep breathing helps circulate blood throughout the entire body and helps aid in the elimination of toxins in the body. Proper breathing and yoga help expand lung capacity. Meditation actually creates specific brain waves that mimic restful sleep.

Finally, create healthy surroundings. Do you have toxic people in your life? Are there people who are bringing you down and not being supportive? Call up a friend or rent a good funny movie. Laughter is some of the best medicine there is. What about toxic air that you breathe? Invest in a good air purifier in your bedroom and try to get some fresh air every day. Is your house cluttered with junk up to the roof? It can be quite cathartic to rid yourself of material things as well as people who are not loving and supportive to you. A clean and peaceful house can do wonders for mental clarity.

Right now there are so many people who are suffering in the world. Think about how you can clean up your home and help others less fortunate by donating items you no longer use or are just cluttering up your personal space. It will make you feel good to help others in need. Yes, it is a major bummer to be sick, but you can still have a good quality of life, by breathing good air, surrounding yourself, with good people and good food. As I’ve stated before, you don’t need to run a marathon to accomplish any of this. There are many tapes and books that you can use to employ these strategies right from bed!!! Start out slow; you will see a difference in time.

My grandmother lived to be 101 (and a half if you ask my daughter). She was an amazing woman. She was a single mother earning a very small living as a secretary. Her life however was rich. She had a son who always watched out for her, grandchildren close by. Despite having strokes and heart attacks, she kept going and going like the notorious bunny in the commercials. Talk about jing!! She had so much dignity and grace. I had the pleasure of having her in my life for nearly 40 years. I remember she never over indulged in anything. She always told me to eat a variety of foods. Everyday like clockwork she got herself out of bed, read the paper, wrote letters and took a walk. And every evening she went to bed at the same time. One of the most remarkable things about her that I’ll always remember is what she told me when I first got sick, (she was 80). She told me that when she was young and had scarlet fever, her mother told her every day “You must say to yourself ‘In every day, in every way, I am getting better and better’.” You will too!! Never under estimate the power of a positive outlook.