To nourish the kidneys, one must first understand how: Understanding kidney deficiency in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the types of kidney deficiency in modern people.

It seems that men's kidneys have suddenly become weak, and products claiming to tonify the kidneys and enhance male virility have flooded people's lives. Kidney deficiency has become synonymous with sexual dysfunction, and tonifying the kidneys has become another way of saying aphrodisiac. But the harm that kidney deficiency brings to men's health goes far beyond simple sexual dysfunction. And the effects of tonifying the kidneys are not limited to simply enhancing virility. Improper tonification can even harm one's health!

Nowadays, various kidney-tonifying drugs and health products flood our daily lives, and many men may have taken some of them to varying degrees. The common experience for most is that they have little effect; some even experience mild symptoms like "internal heat," while others experience worsening of their existing conditions. While the products themselves may have issues, a lack of proper understanding of "kidney deficiency" and "kidney tonification" is also a significant contributing factor.

Do you understand kidneys?

The concept of the kidney in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) differs from that in Western medicine. In TCM, the kidney encompasses the urinary and reproductive organs, including the kidneys themselves, and also includes reproductive, endocrine, and immune functions-a broad medical concept. The kidneys are located in the lower back, one on each side, bean-shaped, and weigh approximately 50-80 grams. TCM believes the kidneys' main functions are: storing essence; governing growth and development; regulating fluids; controlling respiration; governing bone marrow production and its connection to the brain; governing the fire of the gate of life (mingmen); opening to the ears and the two lower orifices (urethra and anus); and manifesting in the hair. Current clinical practice and scientific experiments have demonstrated that the state of the kidneys (whether deficient or excessive) is closely related to the body's respiratory, digestive, reproductive, and metabolic functions, as well as the physiological functions of bones, marrow, brain, teeth, hair, lower back, ears, and urination/defecation.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the root of the entire process of human growth, development, and aging lies in the waxing and waning of the kidneys. As men age, their kidney qi changes from its peak to its decline, thus affecting the flourishing and decline of their bodies. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic states, "At eight years old, a man's kidney qi is abundant, his hair grows long, and his teeth change; at sixteen, his kidney qi is at its peak, his Tian Gui (menstrual blood) arrives, his essence overflows, yin and yang are in harmony, so he can have children; at twenty-eight, his kidney qi is balanced, his tendons and bones are strong, so his permanent teeth grow and reach their full length; at twenty-eight, his tendons and bones are robust, and his muscles are full and strong; at thirty-eight, his kidney qi declines, his hair falls out, and his teeth become brittle; at forty-eight, his yang qi is exhausted in the upper body, his face becomes sallow, and his hair and temples turn white; at forty-two, his liver qi declines, his tendons cannot move, his Tian Gui is exhausted, his essence is scarce, his kidneys decline, and his body reaches its limit; at forty-four, his teeth and hair fall out."

The course of a person's healthy lifespan is essentially a process of the kidneys transitioning from excess to deficiency. Clinically, it is clear that kidney deficiency often manifests as multiple systemic symptoms; similarly, the effects of kidney-tonifying treatment will also lead to the relief and improvement of these systemic symptoms. All of this clinically demonstrates the vital role of the kidneys in human life activities.

**Understanding the importance of "supplementation"-Nine out of ten men experience kidney deficiency after middle age**

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that there is no "excess" condition in the kidneys. Therefore, men are either deficient in kidney yang, kidney yin, or both. Kidney deficiency is always closely linked to men's health and has become one of the main themes of men's health.

An ancient saying goes, "At 40, a man's kidney energy declines," meaning that men begin to age naturally around the age of 40. The kidneys are the first to decline, and other organs are subsequently affected. As aging progresses, the body's organs begin to deteriorate, manifesting as decreased physical strength, slowed movement, sluggish reactions, muscle relaxation, increased wrinkles, gray hair, age spots, and increased susceptibility to illness. Therefore, the saying "nine out of ten middle-aged men suffer from kidney deficiency" has become a common observation.

So what are the main manifestations of kidney deficiency? Based on years of clinical observation, the main characteristics of kidney deficiency are as follows: ① Lower back and knee pain, fatigue, insomnia, and excessive dreaming; ② Cold hands and feet, aversion to cold, osteoporosis, cough, and shortness of breath; ③ Indigestion, low immunity, anemia, weak urination, frequent urination, and constipation; ④ A swollen tongue with a white coating and a deep pulse; ⑤ Low sexual function, decreased libido, and benign prostatic hyperplasia, etc.

Many people may have experienced this: even with the same type of kidney deficiency, taking the same kidney-tonifying medication can have different effects for some, while others see no results, and some may even experience a worsening of their condition. This is because kidney deficiency can be categorized into different types, such as kidney yin deficiency, kidney yang deficiency, and deficiency of both kidney yin and yang. Therefore, treatment must be tailored to the specific type of kidney deficiency, using different methods and medications, much like using the same key for the same lock. Below is a simple self-assessment method for identifying your type of kidney deficiency. Interested readers can see which type they belong to and become their own doctor.

Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, to properly prevent and treat kidney deficiency, it's essential to understand how it develops in men. The main causes are as follows:

**Congenital deficiencies**

Congenital deficiency is a significant cause of kidney deficiency, especially in pediatric conditions. "At birth, the first essence is produced," meaning that insufficient kidney essence in parents can lead to kidney deficiency in their children. Clinically, kidney-tonifying treatments are often used for conditions such as bedwetting, pigeon chest, and kyphosis in children. Furthermore, the influence of congenital deficiency is sometimes considered in cases of kidney deficiency in adults.

**Aging and frailty**

When treating diseases in the elderly, I often consider the factor of kidney deficiency. In geriatric research, some scholars have proposed the "theory of kidney deficiency and blood stasis," and have also measured the urinary 17-ketosteroid levels in adolescents, adults, and the elderly (healthy individuals), finding that the levels in the youth group were higher than those in the adults group, which in turn were higher than those in the elderly group. This indicates that the function of the pituitary-adrenal cortex system and the pituitary-gonadal system changes with age. Internationally, research on the endocrine glands of the elderly has also been emphasized. In Japan, some researchers have found that the appearance of brown pigment granules in the testes (suggesting decreased testicular function) is related to age, and mostly appears after age 60.

**Excessive sexual activity**

Traditional Chinese medicine has always emphasized the impact of excessive sexual activity on the kidneys, considering it a significant factor leading to kidney deficiency. Excessive sexual activity and excessive loss of kidney essence result in a deficiency of both kidney yin and kidney yang, ultimately leading to kidney deficiency. A study analyzing the relationship between kidney deficiency diagnosis and sexual activity in a randomly sampled population of 125 individuals confirmed that those with more frequent sexual activity had a significantly higher incidence of kidney deficiency symptoms. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of kidney deficiency symptoms in 50 married men and 50 unmarried men of the same age group (30-35 years old) showed positive rates of 80.4% and 30%, respectively, further illustrating this point.

**The Influence of Psychological Factors**

The influence of psychological factors can be categorized into two types. First, excessive sexual desire can lead to unchecked internal heat, depleting yin energy and causing kidney deficiency even without sexual activity. Second, the influence of the seven emotions-joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and fright-can cause strong psychological stimulation, resulting in a deficiency of kidney essence and ultimately kidney deficiency.

**Prolonged illness and kidney damage**

As the course of various chronic diseases lengthens, the occurrence of kidney deficiency syndromes also increases, a phenomenon known as "prolonged illness affecting the kidneys." Some scholars conducted a TCM syndrome differentiation analysis on 120 patients with chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, hypertension, coronary heart disease, chronic hepatitis, chronic diarrhea, and chronic nephritis with a disease course of more than 8 years, finding that 92% had kidney deficiency. After kidney-tonifying treatment, 85% of the patients achieved varying degrees of therapeutic effect, illustrating the regularity of prolonged illness affecting the kidneys.