In global health news today, there are two interesting studies that make sense in terms of the energetics of Chinese medicine:
1. Male baldness on the crown indicates a higher risk of heart disease
2. Low testosterone levels may signal an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis in men.
What do these headlines from the BBC have to do with acupuncture and Chinese medicine? Male balding and low T in Chinese medicine are deeply connected.
Interestingly, according to the article, a receding hairline did not correlate with increased risk of heart disease. But hair loss on the crown, on or near the acupuncture point, Du 20, did. The Du or governing vessel meridian traverses the spine, the scalp and runs down the midline of the face.
At Du 20, an internal branch from the liver meridian opens into the cranium. Chinese medicine teaches that if there is chronic heat in the liver, this will course upward, and cause a drying and thinning of the hair as a person ages. Remember, the liver is strongly associated with the blood in Chinese medicine. The liver stores and circulates blood and energy. The hair in Chinese medicine is the flowering of the blood, and as we know the heart is the master of blood and is the quintessence of blood. So the quality of the blood will be reflected in the hair, and if the hair is thinning on the crown in the area of the liver, the heart will also be affected. Also, chronic liver heat means stress, and chronic stress affects the heart. Additionally, a person’s ancestors might have passed this inherited condition on through the energetics of the kidneys, in which case, a person must be very strict with their lifestyle to see positive changes in their health.
The liver is also associated with the energetics of sexuality and the ability of a man to get an erection, again by resonating with proper flow and movement of blood.
If testosterone is low, in Chinese medicine we look to the kidney energetics, and when the kidney yin is weak, there will often be inflammatory issues. Low testosterone, or weak kidney qi, could be a signal that the yin of the body, the body’s water making potential, has been imbalanced. This imbalance can result in a variety of problems including rheumatoid arthritis. Chinese medicine, by utilizing the correct herbal formulas and acupuncture can help with Low T and male balding by addressing the quality of a man’s blood.
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