Adult Stem Cells and Traditional Chinese Medicine, can an ancient classical Chinese medical term, the Jing Essence be relevant in today’s modern scientific paradigm?
The traditional medical theories of Chinese medicine started to develop over two thousand years ago and have been continually evolving and adapting ever since. The World Health Organization officially recognized the diagnostic system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a valid system in 2019.
Modern scientific research has endeavored to explain the mechanism of acupuncture and how and why it works as well as studying the effects of Chinese herbs and how they work on a molecular and physiological level.
The comparison with the ancient Chinese medicine concept of the the Jing Essence and the modern day understanding of Adult Stem Cell calls for closer attention. This post will explore the connection between these two concepts and thus provide an alternative avenue to consider to promote wellness, prevent disease and perhaps even treat chronic conditions.
What is the Jing Essence?
The term Jing Essence is divided into two types. The first one being the Jing Essence. Jing Essence is the essence that you are born with and it is stored in the body. The other is the essence which comes from the refinement and distillation of the food that we eat.
We will be looking at the inherited pre-natal Jing Essence in this post.
According to traditional Chinese medical thought there are 12 main meridian energy lines that flow interconnecting with other. These meridians are connected to all the main organs of the body such as heart and liver. Further to this are what are called the eight extra meridians which run and flow at a much deeper level. These eight extra meridians store the Jing Essence and this Jing Essence can be accessed via specialized acupuncture treatment procedures and specific herbs to treat acute and chronic disorders.
One of these eight extraordinary meridians is called the Chong- Penetrating meridian. It is called the Penetrating meridian because it corresponds to the blood system which can penetrate to every part of the body. The Chong-Penetrating meridian is regarded as the foundation of all the other extraordinary meridians and originates in the marrow of the spine.
Adult Stem Cells, are they the same as the Jing Essence?
This knowledge of the origin of the Chong-Penetrating meridian is most important and is the first clear comparison to the modern day Adult Stem Cell as they also originate in the bone marrow. So think of it like this. The Jing Essence is stored in the marrow of the spine and via the Chong-Penetrating meridian can then access every part of the body via the blood circulatory system. In modern science, we know Adult Stem Cells are naturally released from the marrow into the blood stream to go where they are called to.
Chinese medicine says that the Jing Essence in the eight extraordinary meridians is called upon under extreme stress, shock and trauma. Modern medicine has confirmed that the body automatically stimulates the natural release of Adult Stem Cells when under shock or trauma or when needed to repair the body when faced with chronic disease. The problem is that as we age, the release of Adult Stem Cells declines or if we are are succumbed to a serious or a multiple number of disease scenarios, the number of free floating Adult Stem Cells may not be adequate enough to maintain optimal health.
Adult Stem Cells – What do they do and what is the function of the Jing Essence?
Adult Stem Cells can reach every part of the body. The Jing Essence circulates all over the body and determines reproduction, development, sexual maturation, conception, pregnancy, menopause and aging as well being the basis for our constitutional strength. If we have good constitutional strength we have the ability to fight off and recover from injuries and diseases. Good constitutional strength also means that we have the potential to age better. Ageing correlates with a natural decline of Jing Essence.
This knowledge about the Jing Essence correlates with Adult Stem Cells as they are involved with the aging process as the number of free floating Adult Stem Cells also decrease as we age. Therefore as we age, our ability to rejuvenate and repair our body from injuries and disease decreases. If we had an abundance of Jing Essence and Adult Stem Cells we would age much slower and our organs and tissues would regenerate and thus we would live longer and healthier lives. Chinese medicine says that the Jing Essence is passed from the mother to the child via the umbilical cord and this is exactly what occurs with Adult Stem Cells.
The problem is, is that as we age the bone marrow becomes ‘sticky’ and when your bone marrow becomes ‘sticky’ you don’t release enough Adult Stem cells to repair and replace all of your damaged and dying cells so your health declines. If this happens in one organ it is called disease, if is happens throughout the body it is called ageing.
Adult Stem Cells and Jing Essence – can they help with chronic disease?
In Chinese medicine the Jing Essence is responsible for the day to day interaction of the qi-energy function and the shen-mind. When the Jing Essence declines then the basic physiological function of the body is inhibited leading to body degeneration and disease ensues. Western medicine research took dozens of people with diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, macular degeneration, heart disease, arthritis, dementia and multiple sclerosis and measured the numbers of circulating stem cells in their body. They found that the people with a chronic illness or health complaint had on average only about half of the circulating Adult Stem Cells as compared to a healthy person. Less Adult Stem Cells equates to less cellular replacement leading to development of illness and disease. For example, the pancreas can deteriorate by 60% before people show their first symptoms of diabetes. The part of the brain that produces dopamine can deteriorate by 70% before you show your first symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It is postulated that if you had normal levels of circulating Adult Stem Cells, then this degeneration wouldn’t happen or if you were able to increase the number of free floating Adult Stem Cells it may be possible to reverse the condition.
Every cell in your body has a predetermined life span, some cells live only for a few days, others for weeks and some for years. When that cell comes to the end of its predetermined life span, it sends a chemical signal to the bone marrow which releases an Adult Stem Cell. That Adult Stem Cell travels to and comes in contact with the damaged or dying cell, then switches on the gene and becomes a brand new healthy cell of that type and the old cell floats off to be discarded by the body. This process takes place when you have enough free floating Adult Stem Cells, leading to no degeneration and you remain healthy.
If there is a reduction or lower number of circulating Adult Stem Cells, then that cell would die off without being replaced and over time the person would develop disease of that tissue. This is the same process for every organ, tissue and gland of your body.
Is there a connection between the Jing Essence, Adult Stem Cells and the aging process?
A decline in free floating Adult Stem Cells has been shown to lead to graying of hair and the development of chronic diseases such as arthritis and Parkinson’s disease become worse as a result of aging. Studies have shown that the more free floating Adult Stem Cells that are in circulation the healthier and longer we live. Some research suggest we have enough Adult Stem Cells to last us 120-130 years and that the reason we don’t live that long is because the release rate declines. There are many reasons for this such as overwork, inadequate sleep and poor lifestyle. Ancient Chinese classical medical texts said that because we don’t follow the correct path of maintaining health, our Jing Essence declines and we age and die prematurely. Adult Stem Cells can turn into any type of cell including the gland cells that secrete hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. The Chong-Penetrating meridian is also used for many hormone type problems such as menopause, infertility and low libido as result of an imbalance with these hormones.
Is there any connection between the Jing Essence, Adult Stem Cells, immunity and vulnerability to infectious diseases.
China has a documented history of pandemics and devastation that infectious diseases have caused over the centuries.
Two diagnostic schools of thought known as the Shan Han Lun and Wen Bing developed out of the need to treat contagious epidemics and these diagnostic systems are still valid and used today. In fact the diagnostic principles used from these systems have been used in the SARS epidemic and in the treatment of Covid 19. Certain herbs and formula have been shown to have anti-viral activity and are used in influenza, colds and other chronic infectious diseases. There is a quote from one of the classics of Chinese medicine that states “If the Jing Essence is properly stored, then no exterior febrile disease will be contracted“. Putting this another way, it simply says that if the Jing Essence is in abundance it will protect you from colds and flu. Modern science tells us that Adult Stem Cells have a direct effect on the production of Natural Killer cells and henceforth have an immune enhancing effect on the body.
Adult Stem Cells, how can we increase them and how can we improve our Jing Essence?
Just by dropping a brick on your toe or cutting yourself will naturally and automatically send signals to the bone marrow to stimulate and release of your own reserve of Adult Stem Cells that will be released into the blood stream and then to travel to the damaged area. When we are young, this ability to release Adult Stem Cells is much enhanced and this is why when we are young, injuries such as cuts, bruises and burns repair and heal much faster as compared to when we are old. Science has observed that people who meditate and do yoga regularly were biologically younger for their age. It has know been demonstrated that meditation, yoga, tai chi and qi gong all help release extra Adult Stem Cells. Research has also shown that acupuncture and moxibustion also increase the number of free floating Adult Stem Cells. This may explain why acupuncture has been said to repair or help another condition even though the practitioner was not actually aware of another of it. For example, the patient came in for treatment for tennis elbow and received regular acupuncture which helped the elbow but then the patient also surprisingly experienced an improvement in their arthritic knee. This may be because the acupuncture is releasing Adult Stem Cells by default and they will flow into the blood stream wherever they are guided to go and repair the tissue there.
Are there herbs for the Jing Essence and to release Adult Stem Cells ?
Historically there are numerous Chinese herbs that have had the reputation for longevity and address various age related issues such as grey hair, weak bones, memory loss and there are many formula that are recommended for the treatment of chronic conditions. Many of these herbs have a function attributed to them to “nourish the Jing Essence“. Modern science has been studying many of these herbs as well as newly discovered herbal compounds and their research has found that they actually increase the number of free floating Adult Stem Cells.
It is important here to note that these herbs do not contain Adult Stem Cells but they stimulate the body to release them from the marrow.
When they are released into the blood stream they will travel to the areas and regions of the body that require rejuvenation and repair. Ancient Chinese Shaolin monks, alchemists and longevity Taoists all aimed to look after and preserve their Jing Essence via taking herbal tonics and doing specialist exercises such as kung fu, tai chi and qi gong to nurture their Jing Essence.
Research over the last 30 years have identified specific plant nutritional compounds that help support the natural release of your own stem cells into circulation.
Science has the view that the declining release of Adult Stem Cells is due to the fact the the spinal marrow becomes “sticky” hindering their release and specific herbal compounds have now been shown to help overcome this. Traditional Chinese medicine has classification for certain herbs to regarded as Jing Essence tonics but a more appropriate term could be Release Jing Essence Support.
How can we use this knowledge to improve our health and that of our patients?
In summary, we can see there is a very strong correlation between Jing Essence and Adult Stem Cells.
As a practitioner I tried many Chinese herb formulations to try improve upon my own Jing Essence and circulating Adult Stem Cells.
After coming down with an an unexpected dose of the shingles I was fortunately introduced to a herbal compound formulation by another acupuncture colleague that then turned my condition around during this viral attack.
This herbal product containing three plant extracts has been clinically proven and published in a peer reviewed journal and found to increase the circulating stem cells by 25% within one hour of taking just two capsules.
I have now been personally using this product and in my clinic for over four years. Not only have I had a great personal result following a severe bout of shingles, I have also observed changes in many of my patients not only from general health problems but also in chronic degenerative conditions.
Patients persistent in following through with the product found that their conditions improved which I can only explain by the body regenerating itself.
As a practitioner I am always looking for ways to improve my health, that of my family and patients. Now with the addition of stem cell nutrition I have found a very simple way to do so, regardless of their constitution, age or complaint.
This is the perfect support I have been looking for to use along side Acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
To view a brief presentation on this product, click on the link below and you can also request a personal call back from either myself, Heiko Lade, or my associate John Kennedy by filling out the survey and leaving your details.
