Thursday, February 26, 2015

Dehydration Warning! Winter is kidney and bladder cleansing time/Are you getting leg cramps?

Dehydration Warning! Winter is kidney and bladder cleansing time/Are you getting leg cramps?

In Oriental medicine winter is kidney and bladder Life Force cleansing time and many of my clients are coming in dehydrated with sore kidney/bladder points in feet and calves. Warm, clearish liquids such as decaf green tea, brothy soup such as miso with seaweed - careful - not too many minerals or too much salt as the kidneys are cleansing and extra minerals may not help and can actually decrease vitality. Yet some person do need the minerals, so try step by step to see what helps you.

This can also result in cold feet - part of the fight and flight response. Extremities get less blood in fight and flight because they are most likely to be injured so the body reduces flow via muscle tension in the little muscles around the capillaries and the bigger muscles as time goes on in fight and flight then they lock. This give very sore very tight calves. Many chronic diseases have this as a symptom.

A small amount of peanut oil rubbed into the calves can also help with muscle soreness.

After a warm/hot shower, a cool/cold rinse on calves can break up the muscle tension that reduces blood flow and causes cramping. An ice cube rubbed into the calves can also help to break up residual tension and help blood flow to the feet. The body must be thoroughly warmed before trying this. 

The bladder meridian starts on the bridge of the nose and goes over the top of the head, so headaches are also associated with dehydration in this way. Along with eye issues.

Life Force is most active in the Bladder from 3-5:00 pm and the Kidney from 5-7:00 pm and in the winter/rainy months. These are key times to increase water intake and, for many persons, also electrolytes. Chewing your water and any liquid will mix it with amylase; a digestive enzyme found only in saliva that will dramatically increase waters absorptivity and bio-availability. 


Finally, each tooth pair top and bottom has a meridian associated with it. So if you are having issues with a particular organ, check the tooth and for scars. Here is a website with a chart to show which teeth are involved. http://www.meridiantoothchart.com/tooth_charts.html