Yi Xin Jiang Zhi Tang Jia Jian

This formula is a modification of a research formula for the treatment of high cholesterol and coronary artery disease created by Su Hui and originally published in issue #12, 1992 of Zhong Guo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi (Chinese Nantional Journal of Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine). In issue #6, 1993 of Zhong Yi Yao Yan Jiu (Chinese Medicine & Medicinal Research), Liu Qing-lian et al. demonstrated that the base formula on which CholeClear is founded is able to lower total cholesterol and triglycerides while raising high density lipids (HDL). In choosing this base formula and its modifications, Bob Flaws surveyed over 100 research formulas published in Chinese medical journals from the late 1980s to the present (late 2003). Our version is a 12:1 extract.

RX:

Jue Ming Zi (Semen Cassiae Torae)
He Shou Wu (Radix Polygoni Multiflori)
Yi Yi Ren (Semen Coicis Lachryma-jobi)
Yin Chen Hao (Herba Artemisiae Capillaris)
Ze Xie (Rhizoma Alismatis)
Jiao Gu Lan (Herba Gynostemmae Pentaphylli)
Shan Zha (Fructus Crataegi)
Dan Shen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae)
Sang Ji Sheng (Ramulus Loranthi Seu Visci)
Fu Ling (Sclerotium Poriae Cocos)
Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri)
Yu Jin (Tuber Curcumae)
Tian San Qi (Radix Pseudoginseng)
He Ye (Folium Nelumbinis Nuciferae)

INDICATIONS:

This formula treats a liver-spleen disharmony complicated by enduring dampness and heat, incipient yin vacuity, and blood stasis. This is a common pattern associated with relatively asymptomatic hyperlipidemia, also known as high cholesterol, in a relatively mesomorphic individual (i.e., a patient who is neither extremely skinny nor grossly obese).

COMBINATIONS:

In case of more marked phlegm, dampness, and turbidity associated with obesity, this formula may be combined with Er Chen Wan (Two Aged [Ingredient] Pills). In case of more pronounced spleen vacuity, it may be combined with Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Wan (Auklandia & Amomum Six Gentlemen Pills) or Bai Zhu Shen Ling Wan (Atractylodes, Ginseng & Poria Pills). If blood stasis is more pronounced, it may be combined with Huo Luo Xiao Ling Wan (quicken the Network Vessels Miraculously Effective Pills), San Shen Yin Wan (Salvia Beverage Pills), or Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang Wan (Blood Mansion Dispel Stasis Decoction Pills).

THE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF LIVER DEPRESSION INCLUDE:

• Irritability

• Nervous tension

• A bowstring pulse

THE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF SPLEEN VACUITY INCLUDE:

• Fatigue

• A swollen, enlarged tongue

• Loose stools when nervous

• A craving for sweets

• Orthostatic hypotension

THE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF ENDURING DAMPNESS AND HEAT INCLUDE:

• A red tongue with slimy, yellow fur

• A slippery, possibly rapid pulse

THE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF INCIPIENT YIN VACUITY INCLUDE:

• Grey hair

• Falling hair

• Low back pain

• Brittle nails

• Deteriorating vision

THE SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF BLOOD STASIS INCLUDE:

• Chronic pain

• Varicosities

• Spider nevi

• Cherry hemangiomas

• Purple lips

• Purple nails

• Age spots

FORMULA EXPLANATION:

High cholesterol is a laboratory test result. As such, it is not a disease in and of itself but a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Many people with high cholesterol have no signs or symptoms of that condition per se. Therefore, there is no one-for-one relationship between high cholesterol and a single, particular Chinese medical pattern. However, over the last 50 years, Chinese doctors have identified the five or six most commonly presenting patterns in patients with high cholesterol. These are 1) phlegm, dampness, and turbidity, 2) qi stagnation and blood stasis, 3) spleen-stomach vacuity weakness, 4) liverspleen disharmony, 5) liver-kidney yin vacuity, and 6) heart-kidney yang vacuity. In actuality, most patients with high cholesterol have a combination of two or more of the foregoing disease mechanisms. In late middle- aged and young elderly patients with a mesomorphic to slightly overweight body, the most common pattern associated with high cholesterol is a liver-spleen disharmony complicated by dampness and heat. The dampness is both due to and aggravates the spleen vacuity, while the heat is due to overeating fatty, oily foods and hot, spicy foods and drinking alcohol coupled with a tendency to yang exuberance and liver depression. Due to advancing age and enduring heat, yin has been consumed. Therefore, there is also incipient yin vacuity, and, because of long-standing qi stagnation, phlegm, and dampness, there is also an element of blood stasis. This is exactly the pattern that CholeClear is designed to treat.

Within this formula, Chai Hu, Yu Jin, and Yin Chen Hao course the liver and resolve depression, while Fu Ling, Yi Yi Ren, and Ze Xie fortify the spleen and seep dampness. Jue Ming Zi, Yin Chen Hao, Jiao Gu Lan, and He Ye clear heat and eliminate dampness, especially from the liver. He Shou Wu and Sang Ji Sheng nourish the blood and enrich yin. Yu Jin, Shan Zha, Tian Qi, and Dan Shen quicken the blood and transform stasis. All four of these medicinals are commonly used for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Modern research has confirmed that Jue Ming Zi, Shan Zha, Jiao Gu Lan, He Shou Wu, and He Ye all possess significant blood lipid lowering ability. However, not only do these medicinals in this formula lower total cholesterol and triglycerides, they also increase the healthy or good high density lipids (HDL), something that Western medicines statins, such as Lipitor®, do not do. It has also been suggested that Jiao Gu Lan is able to lower C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation associated with heart attacks. Further, a number of the medicinals in this formula are also known to lower blood pressure, such as Jue Ming Zi, Shan Zha, Jiao Gu Lan, San Qi, and Sang Ji Sheng.

MY PATIENT DOES HAVE:

Liver depression Yes No
Spleen vacuity Yes No
Dampness & heat Yes No
Incipient yin vacuity Yes No
(not absolutely necessary)
Blood stasis Yes No