110 - Morning Smile (Kai Xin San)

Category:Digestion, psyche, nerves, insomnia, fatigue, prevention, anti-aging, Spleen system, Heart system

Use of recipe according to traditional Chinese medicine:

-strengthens the Qi of the Heart and Spleen, strengthens the Spleen

-opens clear openings of the Heart, transforms Tan (phlegm)

-nourishes Yin

-soothes and nourishes the spirit of Shen

Description:

Due to the fast pace of our daily lives, more and more people are suffering from depressive symptoms such as: mood disorders: anhedonia (loss of interest and pleasure), persistent depression, feeling helpless or experiencing excessive guilt; cognitive disorders: memory loss and difficulty concentrating; behavioral disorders, difficulty falling asleep, loss of appetite or overeating, agitation, or even suicidal tendencies. If these symptoms occur together and last for more than two weeks without significant improvement, the condition is already diagnosed as a depressive disorder (i.e. depression). Today, depression has become one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses, with a prevalence of 15% of the general population, perhaps even higher in women, up to 25%. According to TCM, the cause of depression is attributed to weakness of the Spleen and accumulation of mucus, deficiency of Heart Qi and Heart Yin/Blood. The Heart, but especially its Shen spirit, which is the seat of our personality, lacks nourishment, and moreover has its windows "clouded" by mucus. Therefore, mixtures are usually given to strengthen the Spleen to remove the mucus, and nourish the Qi and Yin of the Heart.

From the perspective of Western medicine, a lack of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin in the brain has long been considered the main cause of depression. Therefore, all antidepressants available on the market are aimed at restoring the reduced levels of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft or brain of depressed persons by inhibiting the reuptake and breakdown of neurotransmitters. Even in Kai Xin San, such an inhibitory effect has been demonstrated, namely on acetylcholinesterase. However, modern evidence-based studies have found that this is not all. The results suggest that the antidepressant effect of Kai Xin San may be mediated by an increase in the expression of so-called neurotrophic (nerve tissue nourishing) factors in astrocytes (a type of nerve cell), which fully supports the centuries-long use of this decoction.

Kai Xin San, which was first prescribed by Sun Simiao in the Beiji Qianjin Yaofang about 1400 years ago, is a relatively simple but very effective mixture that contains ginseng, thin-leaved vetch root, rhizome of the grass-leaved boxwood, and poria coconut.

In China, it was used to treat psychiatric problems associated with stress, with symptoms of depression and forgetfulness. Modern indications today include old-age dementia, and especially Alzheimer's disease, where the effectiveness of the mixture has been confirmed by a modern experimental study by TCM University in Shanghai.