I had a patient who was argumentative about an extremely painful right shoulder just yesterday in my hospital. He was extremely disappointed that the best specialist in Sydney
My diagnosis was in accord with that of the specialist. There was nothing obviously wrong with his shoulder – however there was something seriously askew in his liver.
Further consultation with the patient confirmed that he also had dry eyes, dry skin, was prone to headaches, back pains on the right hand side and a sore neck. Also, from my own observation I could see that he was a very irritable man.
Not surprisingly, he admitted that his father had been an alcoholic and a very angry and violent man to boot, as had his grandfather.
So what does all this mean in terms of health?
Liver fire would account for all of the above health problems.
Anger is an emotion that has a particular affiliation with the liver. An excess of anger causes the liver qi to stagnate. Qi is vital energy or life force. The result is that the liver heats up like a pile of compost. Just as in a cooking pot, the heat rises upwards in the body.
Pay attention to the effects of your own anger. You might notice that your face will become flushed, your eyes redden and your eyesight become affected.
As my patient has discovered, all the physiotherapy in the world will be of little use if his liver heat goes untreated.
So how can someone who is suffering from liver fire put an end to their misery?
Since anger is a significant cause of liver heat, it would be very beneficial to learn to master this emotion. Tai Chi or any other relaxing exercise would be very healing.
However, if you are a victim of a family that is riddled with anger, then exercises might not be enough. See a professional such as a good counselor or psychologist. Avoid the use of alcohol or drugs as this put further stress on the liver.
Acupuncture, Chinese herbs and Western herbs are all very powerful at correcting damage to the liver.
Some impressive herbs that do wonderful things for the liver are dandelion, yellow dock and milk thistle.
If you can find some dandelion greens in a meadow or at least well away from a polluted road, then chop them up and put them in your salad. They are delicious in a potato salad. The bitter taste is part of the healing effect.
Several scientific studies suggest that silymarin – the active substance in milk thistle has actually regenerated the severely damaged livers of alcoholics. It has also been proven to protect the liver from damage caused by viruses, toxins and alcohol.
If your specialists have been unable to find the cause for your suffering from any of the above health problems then you should consider the health of your liver.