Herbs, Substances and Supplements

Zhi Shi Ying and Calcium Fluoride

By Fornia ⋅ October 12, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Zhishiying (紫石英) and Kidney Yang: 

The Kidney in TCM encompasses more than just what we understand as the anatomically tangible kidney. According to the Neijing, the Kidney governs the bone and marrow (“肾主骨髓。”); according to another classic zabing yuanliu xizhuo (《杂病源流犀灼》), teeth are the superficial expression of the marrow and fundamental expression of the bone (“齿者，髓之标，骨之本也。”).

“女子七岁，肾气盛，齿更发长，。。。 四七筋骨坚，发长极，。。。 六七三阳脉衰于上，面始焦，发始白。。。”

In another excerpt in the Neijing we see an exposition of how kidney qi is so deeply intertwined with your teeth, hair, and bones. For example, the ebb and fall of kidney qi in women is covered in the following lines: At seven years of age, Kidney qi is in abundance, her teeth are taking root and her hair is growing… at twenty-eight, the sinews and bones are strong, hair is growing at its best… at fourty-two, the three yang channels wane at the upper part of the body, her face looks crusted, the hair begins to turn white.

“丈夫八岁，肾气实，发长齿更，。。。 五八肾气衰，发坠齿槁，六八阳气衰竭于上，面焦，发鬓颁白，八八则齿发去。。。”

And in men: When a man is of eight years, his Kidney qi is in abundance, his hair is growing and his teeth are taking root… at 40 years of age, his Kidney qi begins to wane, his hair droops and his teeth wither; at 48 years, Yang qi declines at the upper part of the body and his face begins crusting, his hair turns white; at 64, both teeth and hair disappear… As with most translations read several versions, because it really depends on how you interpret the words. But the sense is the same; we know from these lines the connection between the Kidney and the teeth and hair.

In the two cases mentioned above, TCM links the kidneys with the bone, the marrow, the teeth, the hair, the ears and your sex organs.

Now, zhi shi ying (紫石英) is an ingredient sometimes added to a prescription to help “warm your kidney yang.” The interesting thing is that zhi shi ying (紫石英) is composed mainly of Calcium Fluoride.

What do Naturopaths say about Calcium Fluoride?

According to this site I found on the internet, a certain Dr. Schuessler (1821-1898) says that 12 mineral salts are vital to the body’s healthy functioning, and Calcium Fluoride is one of them. We are told that Calcium Fluoride is present in the cells of the skin, in the bones, in the tooth and all flexible fibers. Now, isn’t that something? Doesn’t that somehow tie the TCM conception of kidneys together, albeit only very loosely?

Fluoride IN MODERATION is good for our teeth.

Most toothpaste and city tap water contain fluoride. Research has shown that just introducing fluoride into city tap water can reduce the inhabitants’ rate of tooth decay by between 40-70%. Fluoride does so in three ways.

1. Fluoride enhances tooth remineralization: In instances of tooth decay (demineralization), fluoride found in a person’s saliva will remineralize the tooth. Fluoride will also attract with it calcium and other minerals, which will keep the tooth in a ‘mineralized’ state.
2. Fluoride make the tooth harder and more decay resistant: When fluoride remineralizes the tooth, it remain so in the form of fluorapatite. Fluorapatite is actually harder than what an original tooth is made of i.e. (carbonated) hydroxyapatitite.
3. Fluoride inhibits oral bacteria’s ability to create acids that demineralize your tooth:  The bacteria that live in your dental plaque will be inhibited by fluoride. This is because fluoride disrupts the bacteria’s ability to metabolize sugars.

It must be easy now to concur that zhi shi ying (紫石英) and fluoride can’t be of any harm. They are in fact good for our health in general, aren’t they?

Fluoride and our health: 

Perhaps not.

According to this site, fluoride can be rather dangerous to our health. Focusing on just the issue of bone, the assertion here is that fluoride will change the chemical composition of bone. Bone needs a regulated amount of calcium inside of itself, and two hormones, calcitonin from the thyroid (which brings calcium from the blood to the bones) and the parathyroid hormone (which brings calcium from the bone out to the blood, especially during instances of blood calcium deficiency). So, changing the chemical composition of the bone may cause it to be hard, but maybe also brittle and hence prone to fractures!

More comes from another site excerpting a report by the National Research Council of the United States. According to the report, fluoride damages one’s nervous, endocrine and immune system. It says that fluoride alters normal endocrine function, ”although probably not in the sense of mimicking a normal hormone.”

The mechanisms of action remain to be worked out and appear to include both direct and indirect mechanisms, for example, direct stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by interference with second messenger function, indirect stimulation or inhibition of hormone secretion by effects on things such as calcium balance, and inhibition of peripheral enzymes that are necessary for activation of the normal hormone.

What of zhi shi ying (紫石英) now?

It is not difficult to imagine how 紫石英 ‘warms kidney yang’ by evoking an endocrine response. The question is whether there are side effects to using it as medicine. Remember that thus far, we’ve been equating zhi shi ying to calcium fluoride. Anyone else has a take on this?

Sources:

1. http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/epa/nrc/excerpts.html
2. http://www.deadwater.info/hardbones.htm
3. http://www.animated-teeth.com/tooth_decay/t4_tooth_decay_fluoride.htm

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