I am working on a new book on Chinese herbal remedies based on those reported in my Newsletter (now republished together with my memoir in a single volume titled My Life & Rollercoaster Career), as described in another post on this blog. Most of the remedies/recipes are translated from published Chinese journals or magazines. Only a handful are from my grandma.
Here is one among these, previously published in the journal, Xinzhongyi, meaning ‘New Chinese Medicine.’ But I doubt it has been translated, abstracted, or entered into any databases, even those in Chinese. The reason is Chinese scientists have been so indoctrinated by Big Pharma over the past decades that this kind of reports might be viewed as ‘non-scientific’ and ignored. If any discerning Chinese colleagues with access to this journal in print and see it entered into any database, please correct me.
This report is so amazingly simple and effective that I couldn’t help reporting it back in April/May, 1988, in its Issue #7 (see p. 246 of my above dual book). It certainly won’t hurt for childless couples to give it a try, especially now goji is available in many American chain groceries, such as Whole Foods and Sprouts. And there is no toxic drug either!
Lycium fruit in the treatment of male sterility [Xinzhongyi, 20(2): 20 (1988)]. This is such a simple and safe treatment that it is rather unbelievable! One simply chew and swallow 15 g of lycium fruit every night for 1 to 3 months and abstain from sex during this time (This may be the clincher!). The authors report treating 42 patients with this condition. Forty patients ranged in age from 20 to 30 years and 2 were over 30. Nine patients had been married for 2-3 years, 24 married for 3-5 years and 9 married for 5-10 years without offspring. Evaluation of sperm count and motility revealed abnormally low count in all patients, with 6 having zero count; and sperm motility was generally weak. After 1 mo of treatment, sperm count returned to normal in 23 patients. After 2 mo of treatment, the sperm count of 10 patients also normalized. Among the remaining 9 patients who didn’t respond to treatment, 6 had zero sperm count at the onset of treatment. A 2-year follow-up on the 33 patients with normalized sperm count revealed that they all produced offspring.
Lycium fruit has been used as a food and medicine in China for many centuries. It has a pleasant and sweetish taste, slightly resembling that of raisins, and is readily available in Chinese food stores and herb shops. It is one of my favorite food herbs. A great yin tonic, good for people with excessive yang who tend to be on overdrive and constipated. Its various good properties have been described in previous issues of this newsletter.
Compared to some of the remedies for impotence and sterility that I have seen (which often are so complicated and tortuous that it boggles the mind to think that some men actually go through with them), the above treatments are certainly much simpler and less dangerous!
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