 When we use the word Qi in Chinese medicine, there are a lot of different opinions about what that actually is. But I'll share something that I know for sure to be true, which is that when we talk about Qi, we're often talking about the function of something. So when we say something like, there's kidney Qi deficiency, or spleen Qi deficiency, the easiest way to translate that could be one synonym, which is function deficiency. So today in this video, I want to talk about what's called kidney Qi deficiency or kidney functional deficiency and some of the key signs and symptoms for it. Hey guys, Dr. Alex Hine, author of the health book, Master of the Day, licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine. So before we jump into this video, two very important links that are right below the video. The first is if you'd like to become a patient of mine locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, you can contact my private practice right below this video. There's a contact info button right there. The second is there's a free download I've put together for you, which is four daily rituals that could potentially help you add years to your life with traditional Chinese medicine. And that is right below if you want to download that. So maybe the first hallmark sign of kidney Qi deficiency. Actually, we could say the hallmark demographic would be the middle age male who begins to experience these signs and symptoms, right? Textbook, first one being frequent urination, especially nighttime urination. So when we talk about nighttime urination that's frequent, that's clear. This is a clear sign of the lower jaw from a Chinese medicine perspective getting deficient and getting cold. So frequent urination, but most often frequent nighttime urination is one of the key signs and symptoms that we tend to see. The second sign and symptom we see is usually feeling cold. So one of my mentors said to me once, he said, why do you hear every middle-aged or elderly man say, I'm ready to move to Florida where it's warm? That's because the kidney yang is getting weak. It's getting run down. And the way you could think about that is that we call it the Ming men. The way that I could explain it the most simply is that it is the primordial fire of life. It is the person's oomph, right? In our culture and in most cultures, I think there is a concept of what is the oomph, what is the yang, what is the primal force that makes people feel alive and feel strong and feel fertile and be virile, and what is that thing, right? There's a concept for it, which is why we say terms like burnout. Well, what burned out, right? Like what specifically burned out? We talk about burning the candle at both ends. We have these cultural sayings to understand a concept. And the concept, you know, I don't think there's a real thing that is kidney chi that will be ever measured. I don't think there's a real thing that's kidney yin or kidney yang that is ever measured. I think they are ancient concepts that physicians and people used to observe and describe functions in a time in history that predated biochemistry by literally thousands of years. And the amazing thing is that these formulas all still work to treat those symptoms very effectively. So when we talk about these functions, kidney chi, kidney yin, kidney yang, we're talking about these physiological aspects of the body and of certain organs. So when we say burning the candle at both ends, or the yang is getting weak, the Mingmen fire, the primordial fire is getting a little bit doused. One of the patterns for this is kidney chi or kidney yang deficiency. And so feeling cold is because that fire as a concept has gotten weak. And so decreased immunity, poorer circulation, definitely worse sexual performance, urination, these are all related to that aspect of deficiency and cold in our perspective. The third kind of symptom is back or knee issues. It's common to see people at this time also experience knee problems, hip problems, whether it's osteoarthritis or they end up getting a hip replacement. Very, very common in knee replacement, hip and knee replacement, double hip, double knee replacement. Let's just make them bionic, you know? Maybe they can put like a special thing in my arm they can replace this and then I can just not even have to feel the pulse and I can have an ultrasound machine. Then I can just feel the pulse, feel the ultrasound. It'd be pretty cool when I'm 146. The fourth sign and symptom is actually respiratory problems. So it's common to see people with things like shortness of breath, asthma. These breathing problems is the thing that the kidney grasps the chi. And it's a very difficult concept to explain. But clinically, one of the patterns you'll see in chronic asthma is that you often need to treat it clinically from the kidney perspective and not just from the lung perspective. And so in the same way, you know, something very similar, you often are treating heart problems from the kidney as well, which is why you look at a lot of the formulas, you know, some of the diuretic formulas that are related to hypertension, the kidney and the heart share that relationship obviously both physiologically but even from a Chinese medicine perspective for thousands of years that's been observed as well. So these formulas can be used for respiratory or cardiovascular problems at the exact same time. So it's cool to see that modern medicine has this relationship and ancient Chinese medicine observed this relationship as well. So edema, for example, can be another one. And the last one, last sign and symptom is commonly sexual dysfunction. So it's common to also see, for example, men at this age where they're having nighttime urination, the sleep's not so good. And they're also having problems with getting or maintaining erections. So impotence, one of the patterns for it is a kidney chi or kidney yang dysfunction. So when we treat fertility, sometimes for both men and women, we're often treating the kidney, there are other patterns as well. But this is a very common kind of cliche textbook pattern. So if you see some of these patterns and you're getting up at night for the first time in your life and maybe sleep's not so good or you're also having some anxiety, depression, maybe some edema, some shortness of breath, some of these problems, you may be moving in towards that kidney chi deficiency pattern or kidney function deficiency pattern. And again, in my experience, Chinese formulas are very, very effective for this kind of pattern. And we have some formulas that are so famous and so well studied. In Japan, they're actually used over the counter. So shen chi wan, kidney chi pill, is over the counter for men over the age of 50. It's just like a textbook pattern, night sweats, nighttime urination, boom. And with shen chi wan for a couple months, they're all good. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. Five symptoms of or five signs of kidney chi deficiency. I thought I would share it because if you notice this happening, you may understand why it's happening and that it's not necessarily something to be afraid of. But in addition to seeing your PCP, this is a very well understood pattern in Chinese medicine for a very long time. All right, before you go, if you'd like to become a patient locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, the contact info for my private practice is right below this video. And otherwise, I will catch you guys in these related videos over here.