Boost Your Energy with Chinese Herbal Medicine
How many times a day do you look forward to your next cup of coffee, an energy drink, a nap, or even just to make it home so you can land in your bed? We are an energy-depleted society with busy schedules, poor sleep habits, and little time for proper rest. Furthermore, certain medications, environmental factors, and health history can contribute to low levels of energy. These tendencies often lead to burn out and that constant search for more energy, alertness, and focus.
It’s no wonder why we crave our beloved energy fixes. When your energy is high, you are more productive, more active, have a stronger immune system, and enjoy better sleep and more balanced emotions. Artificial sources of energy, however, don’t provide all these benefits. Caffeine and stimulants can leave you restless and no more rested than you were before.
The best way to address your energy – reap all these amazing benefits – is the natural way. Chinese herbal medicine can get to the root of your low energy and help to rebuild your natural resources and the body’s ability to make its own energy. Below we have the top energy-boosting herbal products for a variety of low-energy scenarios. Read on to find the one that suits your situation the best
How Chinese Medicine Boosts Energy
How we create and use our energy can have a big impact on our state of alertness, physical energy, and overall wellbeing. Chinese medicine considers several organ systems to be important in maintain our energy. We will take a closer look at the Stomach, Spleen, Lung, and Kidney systems to understand how we can best boost our vital energy.
Fuel from Food and Air
Just as in biomedicine, Chinese medicine acknowledges that we receive a great deal of our energy from nutrition. The foods that we eat provide us with nutrients and energy needed for all our body processes. In Chinese medicine, the Stomach organ and system is responsible for taking in food and controlling the appetite. It is then the Spleen’s job to transform the quality energy (Qi) from these foods into energy our bodies can use.
Now, the Lungs come into play. The quality essence from our food is then compounded with the quality essence from the air that we breathe. Together, this creates Qi, our vital energy. Qi activates us, moves us, and keeps our minds sharp and stable.
Energy Savings Bank: The Kidney
Along with the daily intake of food and air, we rely upon our deep energy stores in the Kidneys and the “dan tian”, or energy center, to maintain our energy levels. When we are born, we receive a certain amount of essential energy. This is determined by the health of our parents, our genetics, our gestational health, and our general constitution.
Low Energy = Low Qi
Most often, when we feel tired, worn-out, fatigued, or drained, it is because we have used too much qi, or our bodies are not producing enough to keep feeling bright. We are in a qi deficit. Injuries, illness, poor nutrition, childbirth, chronic stress, imbalanced emotions, and a variety of other issues could cause us to lose qi and feel weak and tired. In any case, we need to boost qi to boost energy.
Top Herbal Formulas to Boost Energy
Along with lifestyle changes and proper nutrition, herbal formulas can greatly increase your body’s ability to make and use qi. Different herbal formulas are better for different situations, so read on to find the formulas that best address your specific energy needs.
Energy for When You’re Burnt Out: Build and Strengthen
Sometimes fatigue and low energy completely take over your quality of life. You may have noticed this after a difficult illness, a long-standing stressful situation or major life-change, or just as a symptom of getting older. Some people are born with a propensity to low energy. They may be slow moving, heavy sleepers, and find even small exertions of energy can take a lot out of them. In Chinese medicine, we call this a vacuous or deficient constitution.