AN ANCIENT SOLUTION FOR MODERN DISEASES

"Gu Syndrome" and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

with Autoimmune Complications

AN INTERVIEW WITH HEINER FRUEHAUF

Good evening, Dr. Heiner! Welcome back from exception of some medical anthropologists or experts
* China and thank you for making time for this
interview. How was your trip?
on tribal medicine, the concept of Gu Syndrome is very
much dead in regular TCM.

Are you aware of any provinces in China still

The trip was wonderful! I am constantly looking for
higher quality herbs that are ideally wild crafted, so I
went into some remote areas in Central China where
* practicing Gu?

the air is still clean and the water is not polluted and Depends on how you understand the term “practicing
those kind of herbs are still in abundance. I usually go Gu”… Originally, the meaning of Gu Syndrome
with groups of about 30 people to China, so it has been was not so much how you treat yourself against
a long time since I had the opportunity to travel into parasitism, but implied an active process of infecting
some rather remote regions of China by myself. I was some adversary, as pointed out in my first article on
very pleased with the results. Gu, also mentioned by Unschuld; it was a sort of black
magic practice, where a “hex” is directed at somebody
Speaking of China, the cradle of the Gu in the belief that the recipient may die and their
* Syndrome… What is your understanding
of their current approach to the treatment of Gu
possessions will come to you. I read several articles
on the ancient customs of the tribal Miao people in
Syndrome? China, most often called Hmong in the United States.
According to modern Chinese lore, the Miao are the
The Chinese educational system in the field of Chinese custodians of Gu practices, and that these practices are
Medicine is very much standardized in China, and Gu still in circulation in Guizhou Province. I have been
Syndrome is definitely not part of the regular TCM to Guizhou several times, and never found somebody
curriculum there. Most TCM students or practitioners who was willing to admit that Gu magic was still
do not know what Gu Syndrome is. At most, they will being practiced in this region. Several years ago, a
think you’re asking them about black magic or some Chinese Hmong anthropologist concluded similarly
kind of magical incantation. in an article. He said that Miao people may still be
afraid of going to certain people’s houses, because they
In general, there is very little awareness of what Gu think there might be Gu poisons in their homes, but
Syndrome really is—a chronic inflammatory syndrome, when you actually visit the family in question it turns
or a super-infection involving lots of different out to be a prejudice. More importantly, however, in
pathogens like funguses, viruses and spirochetes the folk medicines practiced by the Miao and other
at the same time. There is even less awareness that tribes in China—particularly tribes who tend to live
there is a whole herbal component to the treatment in malaria infested areas—one finds lots of herbs that I
of Gu Syndrome. I would say, therefore, that with the would consider anti-Gu in nature. People simply can’t

INTERVIEW BY GORDANA SMITH · JUNE 2014

 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
for chronic inflammatory diseases in modern times

survive in those areas unless they have knowledge of this country were it not for its high percentage of first
anti-parasitic herbs, because infection rates are high, generation immigrant workers from South America.
modern medical care is far away, and malaria or other Many of these restaurant employees come from
febrile diseases afflicting the nervous system will kill countries where parasitism is endemic, and all it takes
you or literally drive you insane if you don’t treat them to infect a patron is to forget to wash your hands before
locally. preparing a salad! So, you definitely do not need to
travel outside the U.S. in order to be exposed to these
When did you first realize that you had such
* great interest in Gu Syndrome, what is it that
drove you in that direction?
types of pathogens.

In sum, it was primarily a clinical interest, paired with

my ability to read ancient Chinese texts and coming
It was primarily a clinical interest, paired with my across the concept of Gu Syndrome again and again
activities as a scholar who loves to read ancient texts. within them, that caused me to devote a good portion
I discovered that there is a certain class of patients of my life to researching this phenomenon.
where I could not make much difference with the
From Unschuld’s book Medicine in China: A
regular bianzheng diagnostic approach. This included
my favorite classical diagnostic system, the liujing
bianzheng (Six Conformation) method used in the
* History of Ideas we learn that Ku (Gu) poison
was made, among other reasons, to poison someone
Shanghan lun. These patients are way to complex to for revenge or prestige. But Gu was obviously not just
diagnose them simply as suffering from a shaoyang used for poisoning, but designated many things during
or jueyin syndrome. I addition, I discovered that the the last 2,500 years. The Hanyu da zidian dictionary
writings of most ancient scholar physicians included altogether lists nine definitions for the term “Gu”:
chapters on Gu Syndrome. So, it quickly became clear to
me that this concept was very popular in ancient times, 1. Infection by a worm in the digestive tract
but does not appear at all on our TCM radar screen 2. A type of artificially cultivated poisonous bug
today. The more I learned about the phenomenon 3. Ghost of a person (often convicted of Gu-
of Gu Syndrome, the more I concluded that it was magic) whose severed head was impaled on
describing symptoms of complex and chronic parasitic a stake
infection, covering a wide range of conditions that 4. Evil heat and noxious qi that harms humans
are very common yet not often recognized in modern 5. Insect pest that eats grain
times. When I started using the herbal approach 6. Sorcery that harms humans
inspired by ancient anti-Gu prescriptions, a dramatic
7. To seduce; tempt; confuse; mislead
improvement in clinical results proved that I was on
to something. 8. Affair; assignment
9. One of the 64 hexagrams of the Yijing,
There is an overall belief in Western medicine that specifically Hexagram 18. It is formed by the
there exist almost no parasites in Western society trigrams Gen (mountain) over Xun (wind)
today. I think that it is a huge mistake to buy into the
general statement that only 1-2% of the US population I was particularly interested to hear what your
is suffering from some type of parasite. First, we have experience was in those less common or more unusual
a population that has been widely exposed to the aspects of Gu—like that of the ghost of a person, or
over-prescription of antibiotics during childhood and evil heat, or sorcery that harms humans. Have you had
adolescence, essentially wiping out their healthy gut any first hand experiences with any of those?
flora and making them prone to fungal overgrowth
as well as other chronic inflammatory agents that Yes and no. As I point out in quite a few articles - if
the body would otherwise been able to defend itself someone tests positive for a type of protozoan infection
against. Secondly, most people believe that you need or even a worm, none of this means that they have
to travel to tropical regions in order to get parasites. If contracted Gu. The original meaning of Gu, during
you read books like Anthony Bourdain’s entertaining the Shang and Zhou dynasties 2,500-3,000 years ago,
“Kitchen Confidential,” however, we know that the denoted some type of black magic practice, like putting
restaurant industry wouldn’t be able to survive in needles into the effigy of a person, or putting a hex/

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
for chronic inflammatory diseases in modern times

spell on someone, and later on creating some type of severe parasitic infection that inflames their nervous
biological warfare involving the burying of hundreds system and thus literally drives them crazy. That
of snakes and worms and insects in a single vessel is the “ghost” aspect of it! I see a lot of people with
under the earth until they have all devoured each other, Lyme disease in my clinical practice, and a lot of them
so that in the end only one super-virulent bug remains; suffer from severe mental symptoms. Gu syndrome,
this was then ground into a powder, or processed therefore, does not mean so much that I see ghosts
by some other technique that doesn’t get described in nature, but that my patients look like ghosts, or
in detail in ancient written descriptions, possibly that they tell me about seeing ghosts. This is a typical
harvesting the bug’s body fluids to poison somebody difficulty that is often encountered when making
else. However, in the medical texts of later eras Gu ancient medical texts relevant for modern clinical
Syndrome always means severe parasitic infection, not practice—in this case, you have all of this talk about
so much ghosts or black magic. Some of these writers ghosts, causing many modern TCM practitioners to
may have still believed that the disease originated by dismisses Gu Syndrome as a crazy idea from an era
somebody having deliberately put something in the riddled by superstitions. A patient that looks like a
food of their clients. But this really does not matter ghost, or behaves like a ghost, or thinks he is seeing or
much, because now that you had contracted this possessed by ghosts… that kind of symptom, however,
condition the agreement was that you needed to get is very real and diagnostically relevant in patients with
rid of the pathogenic presence, however it had first chronically inflamed nervous systems.
entered. It was recognized that this was the presence
In your previously published articles you were
of multiple pathogens that conspired to slowly hollow
you out from the inside until you die—that is, really,
where the “ghost” aspect comes from.
* distinguishing Brain Gu and Digestive Gu.
From what you just described, it seems that the ghostly
part would be part of the Brain Gu, how about the
To synthesize, Gu Syndrome is an ancient technical Digestive Gu?
term for a particularly severe form of parasitic
infection that generally involves what I call parasitic Yes, good question. In modern terms, Brain Gu
super-infection: multiple types of infections that all encompasses conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic
thrive upon each other’s existence and symbiotically fatigue syndrome, Lyme Disease, and certain types
assist each other in the process of feeding upon their of mental diseases caused by pathogens infecting the
more and more deficient host. nervous system, primarily spirochetes or certain types
of viruses that can inflame the brain and other parts
In addition to that, these pathogens are affecting the of the nervous system, causing symptoms such as
patient’s mental state and her ability to think. At the body pain, compromised mental function, extreme
very least, there is a brain fog, and in the worst case emotional volatility, and traumatic fear responses to
scenario there may be hallucinations, nightmares, minor stimuli, i.e. hypersensitivity to smell and noise.
extreme emotional ups and downs, insomnia, This, in a nutshell, is the story of typical Brain Gu.
palpitations, anxiety, stabbing headaches, and bizarre Digestive Gu, in contrast, is caused by infectious agents
symptoms that come and go without anybody being that are primarily present in the gut, like certain types
able to explain or diagnose them. Those all have of worms, or protozoan parasites, or funguses, all of
contributed to the “ghost” aspects of Gu syndrome, which happily coexist and promote each other.
meaning the presence of strange phenomena that are
otherwise not explicable. In addition, some of these The important thing to know is that external exposure
symptoms will cause the patient to look like a ghost, to vicious parasites is not the primary cause for either of
or make them appear as if they have seen a ghost these conditions. It is part of the very definition of Gu
(hallucinations); and according to some reports, “evil that a general state of deficiency precedes infection—
snake monsters” (most likely tapeworms) were seen especially spleen qi deficiency, which specifically
exiting the body of a dead Gu victim. enables wind and damp influences to breach a person’s
defenses and enter into their system. It is quite typical
From my perspective, many people in modern times that someone with Brain Gu simultaneously also
who have been diagnosed with mental illness really suffers from Digestive Gu, or the other way around.
suffer from Gu syndrome—meaning they have a Either way, it is part of the definition of Gu Syndrome

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
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that proper mental functioning is affected in some however, stemming from the fact that Gu patients are
way. In the case of Digestive Gu, the brain may not be by definition constitutionally exhausted, are deficient
directly inflamed, but becomes irritated via secondary pulse patterns. This is why this condition can take hold
metabolic pathways because the gut is inflamed. In cases in the first place.
like irritable bowel syndrome, for instance, or ulceritive
What are the demographics of Gu patients in the
colitis and Chron’s disease people’s brain chemistry is
indirectly affected because the gut-brain barrier has
become compromised and certain substances that have
* States? What is the most susceptible group and
are there any common denominators?
no business being in the body now can pass through
the digestive membranes, often with the result that I think it is the following two factors that make
the body develops an autoimmune response to them, somebody susceptible to Gu Syndrome:
which then clouds people’s emotional and mental way
- A history of frequent administration of
of looking at the world. That is the reason why even
antibiotics during childhood, inducing spleen
the Digestive Gu patient will most likely exhibit some
qi deficiency (immune deficient patients)
mental and emotional symptoms.
- A history of travel to countries where
Per Unschuld, “To diagnose whether someone
* was suffering from Gu poisoning the patient was
asked to spit into the water, if the spittle sank the result
more severe types of parasites are endemic,
i.e. Africa, Latin America or Asia (often
transmitted by mosquitos, like malaria)
was positive.” How do we diagnose Gu Syndrome
today? How do YOU diagnose Gu Syndrome? This combination of a weak immune system and
the event of a tick bite or a mosquito sting creates a
Very few of the relevant Gu texts that I have
prime candidate for Brain Gu. I should add that even
encountered, particularly the more recent and
in areas that are generally considered safe, such as
clinically extremely relevant herbal Gu texts from the
Northern Europe, you’ve got the German government
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), do emphasize this method.
acknowledging that 5% of the population is infected
If somebody’s digestive tract is inflamed, there could
by Lyme disease or related neurotoxic strains. As
feasibly be a change in the ph of the person’s saliva and
clinicians, we therefore must wake up to the fact that
it might therefore behave differently when spit into
at least 10% of the general population—and up to 50%
a bowl of water, so maybe there is some truth to this
of the patients who come to us—suffer from one form
method. However, there are just so many different
or another of chronic inflammatory disease!
forms and manifestations of Gu Syndrome—I would
say, therefore, that spitting into a bowl of water is Western medicine categorically denies the existence
rather anecdotal, and that is the last thing I would use and clinical magnitude of systemic parasitism. At the
to diagnose Gu Syndrome today. same time, modern research shows that most diseases,
even disorders like heart disease or Alzheimer’s, are
Personally, I rely on a combination of physical and
ultimately inflammatory in nature. “Inflammation-
mental/emotional symptoms, described in detail in
inflammation-inflammation” is a mantra that
earlier interviews/articles about Gu Syndrome, to
dominates the causative research on lots of chronic
diagnose this condition. Typical examples are constant
illnesses. In addition to regular inflammation, there
feeling of malaise, body pain, bloating, irregular bowel
is so much autoimmune inflammation now—asthma,
movements, anxiety, insomnia, frequent mood swings,
MS, Chron’s, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjoegrens,
etc.
lupus, Hashimotos, etc. From the perspective of my
What is the most common pulse finding in Gu clinical experience with Gu Syndrome, all of these
* patients? are sequellae of a deficient and over-challenged
immune system that is battling on too many fronts
Part of the definition of Gu Syndrome is that it until it reaches the “freak out” stage when the chaos
doesn’t fit into any specific type of diagnostic box, of autoimmune reactions commences. The treatment
so one typically finds a variety of different types of strategy for many autoimmune diseases, therefore, can
pulses in Gu patients. One consistent pulse feature, also benefit greatly if Gu is considered as part of the
diagnosis. The reason why the body is over-reacting

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
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in most autoimmune diseases is simply because it is You have previously linked Gu Syndrome
inflamed by recalcitrant pathogens in the first place. * to several autoimmune diseases including
fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, for which
It seems like the “demons” of our times, to
* name just a few, are GMO, diet, environmental
pollutants and inhalants, medication, stress and
Western medicine has no known cause. How did you
discover this link, and can you describe the connection
between Gu and these diseases?
lifestyle in general. How much should all of these
considered in the process of prevention and treatment As I pointed out in several of my articles, the easiest way
of Gu Syndrome (people in the Zhou Dynasty did not to diagnose Gu Syndrome is definitely not by waiting
have to worry much about those)? for a positive stool test, or confirmation from Western
medicine that there is Lyme, because modern diagnostic
Well, remember the Zhou Dynasty: a time when Gu methods for parasite detection are imperfect to begin
Syndrome may have been on the map, but there wasn’t with, and most often doctors are unwilling to order
a systematic herbal treatment approach yet. This came these tests; in addition, many insurance companies
into being only with the Neijing about 2000 years ago, don’t pay for them. There is no definitive test for Lyme
about half a millennium after the Zhou dynasty had or even intestinal parasites. Modern testing technology
come to an end. tends to be highly specific, and there are simply too
many inflammatory pathogens to test for—myriad
Furthermore, the primary “demons” of our times strains of viruses, bacteria, spirochetes, mycoplasma
are overpopulation, pollution and greed that has and fungi—each of which may have different egg
led to global warming, which is contributing to the and larvae stages that most lab technicians are not
evolution and expansion of many pathogens that were trained to recognize. The easiest thing, therefore, is
contained in tropical regions before. West Nile Virus is to utilize a symptom-oriented test. A typical example
perhaps one of the best examples for this phenomenon. would be a patient who reports severe symptoms that
Global warming has caused a proliferation of ticks cannot be identified by Western diagnostic procedures,
and mosquitoes in areas where they could not survive and thus ends up being medicated with SSRIs,
before. benzodiazepines, and other psychiatric medications.
This sort of patient has a long list of symptoms—
And once again, the frequent and casual intake of
all signs that are diagnostically meaningful from a
antibiotics (an energetically cold substance according
Chinese medicine point of view. If somebody comes
to Chinese medicine) has turned many people into
in with chronic digestive disorders accompanied by a
deficient individuals who are not able to fend off those
variety of mental-emotional problems such as anxiety
emerging pathogens. Healthy people who are stung
and insomnia or hyperacusis—that is enough for me
by an infected mosquito may be able to deal with the
to diagnose Gu Syndrome. This sort of patient often
challenge to their system. For instance, there are lots
tells me how they went to their doctor repeatedly, yet
of hunters in Oregon who test positive for exposure
received nothing but sleeping pills. For me, on the
to Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen that potentially
other hand, this is a typical Gu Syndrome case.
causes Lyme disease. However, many of them never
develop any symptoms; they don’t become Gu patients Lots of people will come in and say that they have
because their body is able to contain and potentially some type of autoimmune disease. This is sort of like
eliminate the infection. But the immune-compromised saying “I’m sick because I am allergic to potatoes.”
individual can’t accomplish this. An allergy is always a secondary cause—potatoes may
trigger a skin rash, indeed; but how come some people
I do believe that global warming, antibiotics and the
can eat potatoes and you can’t? That’s because your
overuse of other medications are some of the “demons”
gut is in a chronic state of dysbiosis, often inflamed by
of our time. GMO is a big problem, as well, but not so
multiple parasites, and it is for this reason that you are
much a cause for disease. Once again, if our gut was
experiencing this allergic over-reaction, not because
truly healthy, we should be able to deal with that insult.
you are eating potatoes.
Unnatural phenomena like GMO food are bothering
us because our gut is already inflamed to begin with. If you treat and kill the parasitic infection, the
inflammation will eventually go down and the

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
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autoimmune reaction will go away by itself. That’s denominators I was able to find in addition to
an important concept, not just from the perspective inflammation of the gut was Liver toxicity. What is
of Western medicine, but Chinese medicine as well, your take on the connection between Liver toxicity
because there are certain steroid-like herbs (i.e., and an already weakened immune system that stems
Dihuang) that are often over-used by herbalists for from depletion and inflammation in the gut?
their suppressant effect.
I think that natural medicine in modern times,
The real cause for most autoimmune conditions, Chinese medicine included, takes most of it’s clues
therefore, is longstanding inflammation. From a from Western medicine, which generally tries to
Chinese medicine perspective, therefore, you need detect pathogens in the blood or urine or stool. If
to primarily remove “wind,” or better yet—utilize none is found, one looks for other kinds of material
the complex anti-Gu methodology that combines evidence, like traces of heavy metal poisoning in the
five different approaches: 1) Move blood to break hair, etc. This methodology is particularly common in
up biofilm; 2) eliminate parasites directly with anti- the naturopathic profession. Over the last few decades,
parasitic substances; 3) tonify blood and yin (with we have developed an awareness as well as related
herbs that are anti-parasitic); 4) tonify qi (with anti- tests for environmental toxins, very often proving
parasitic herbs); 5) drive out wind and dry damp. That that a variety of unnatural particles are present in the
is, in a nutshell, the herbal approach to Gu Syndrome bloodstream— something the liver needs to clear.
devised by Chinese physicians over thousands of years. As a result, many practitioners of natural medicine
After I started using it, I began to make real clinical immediately jump to this conclusion that is, in my
progress with patients like that, rather than just opinion, both inappropriate and undifferentiated, yet
chasing symptoms or giving them steroid-like anti- still used to explain everything: toxic liver, toxic liver,
allergy types of herbs. toxic liver! While liver toxicity may play a part in a
lot of patients, I think it is an overused diagnosis in
Autoimmune disease is not easy to treat, and it tends natural medicine.
to come back all the time. It is one of the potential
strengths of Chinese medicine that it gives us a system I agree that there are lots of toxins present in the
that explains the why and how of a condition. The environment nowadays, but these toxins tend to act
philosophy that underlies our medicine always aims like the pathogens we have been discussing—if the
to treat the cause. If, however, we imitate the methods individual in question is constitutionally weak and
of Western medicine and simply try to suppress an encounters an inflammatory agent in this state, it will
allergy by using steroid-like herbs we may cause the cause damage in the system. The same thing is true for
patient to feel better temporarily, but in the end the heavy metals or other kinds of toxic agents: they will
condition always comes back. A better plan is to treat wreak havoc in your system, when they wouldn’t in a
the inflammation that is at the root of the condition. healthy person. So, yes, absolutely: environmental toxins
Autoimmune allergy, as outlined above, always means do have the potential to cause an overreaction/allergy
over-reaction. It’s like a situation where 3 people are or autoimmune reaction in a certain kind of immune
guarding a house who then become surrounded by compromised individuals. However, I still think that
a 50 people guerilla force—it is quite feasible in this the inflammatory agents we have been speaking about
precarious situation that they start freaking out, begin are much more dangerous, because they are alive and
to fire uncontrollably, and in that process kill some of thus intelligent. If you treat heavy metals, they simply
their own. That’s exactly what autoimmune disease is. get released via the urine or other emunctories and exit
It’s an overreaction that begins with the presence of a the system. Living pathogens, however, will employ
pathogen, inflammation! But just as important is the sophisticated evasion strategies once they feel attacked.
original deficiency of the immune system that causes the Thus the so-called “Herxheimer” reaction that is
system to overreact in the first place. This combination common in Lyme disease, which makes it so difficult
of causative factors is very easy to understand, and also to treat this kind of patient.
most often makes sense to the patient.
In comparison, therefore, I am much less worried about
Dr. Heiner, when I was doing research on
* autoimmune diseases, one of the common
these other kinds of toxins. If you employ dramatic
detox methods such as fasting, environmental toxins

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
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will leave the body immediately, while inflammatory both recorded in the Qing dynasty work Zhigu xinfang
pathogens will find a way to stay. Environmental toxins (New Formulas for the Treatment of Gu). All herbs
and GMOs certainly may play a role in complicating in these formulas are easily recognizable, and together
and enhancing Gu Syndrome. The original image for present an understandable approach of tonifying
Gu is, after all, three worms in a vessel—one of those deficiency, eliminating wind and damp influences,
“worms” might be an environmental toxin, but from killing parasitic toxins directly, and at the same time
my clinical experience it is important to point out that reducing ancillary symptoms like anxiety. This method
most often they should be assessed as a contributing made sense to me, so during the last 20 years I have
rather than a causative factor. stuck with modifications of this remedy. I feel that
the creation of two patent remedies for the treatment
Are many of your patients who clearly benefit
* from the Chinese Gu treatment taking Western
medications at the same time?
of Gu Syndrome—Thunder Pearls and Lightning
Pearls—has been one of the best things I have ever
done in my career as a natural medicine educator, both
for my own clinical development as well as the modern
Most of my patients, whether they have Gu Syndrome profession of Chinese medicine. I have been teaching
or not, are often severely sick and thus come in with a about Gu Syndrome and related treatment approaches
number of different syndrome diagnoses. Most often, for close to 20 years now, and for the first 15 years very
they are on different kinds of symptom management few people were doing anything with the information
medication, such as drugs for pain, anxiety or I introduced about Gu Syndrome. Since the creation of
depression. So, yes: many of my patients take some Lightning Pearls, Thunder Pearls, and Dragon Pearls,
kind of Western medication, at least when they first however, many practitioners have started integrating
start treatment, and I do take that into account. For the concept of Gu Syndrome and its treatment in their
me, this fact is not less but more reason to prescribe clinical practice. I can comfortably say, therefore, that
Chinese herbs; to help remove the toxic load that the act of moulding an obscure academic concept into a
this kind of patient needs to constantly metabolize. concrete tool that can be physically placed on the shelf
Metabolic byproducts of parasitic agents, by the way, has perhaps had more influence on clinical practice
can also contribute to liver toxicity. than all my teaching endeavors during the last 25
years! Both Thunder and Lightning Pearls are based
Is Jiajian Su He Tang the most efficient formula
* for the treatment of Gu Syndrome?
on Su He Tang and Jiajian Su He Tang. So, yes: in
my opinion, these two formulas are the most clinically
I consider Jiajian Su He Tang to be an excellent successful and appropriate remedies for the treatment
example for the complex way that ancient physicians of Gu Syndrome in a modern Western environment.
used to successfully approach systemic parasitism.
Do you needle the 13 Ghost Points first mentioned
Personally, I tend to use this general Gu approach
extremely flexibly, often combining it with “regular”
* in the Nanjing in addition to prescribing herbal
formulas for Gu Syndrome? Have you experienced
formulas. When perusing classical medical literature,
any “unusual” or “wailing” reactions after needling
you’ll find that lots of anti-Gu herbs are mentioned,
these points?
including very toxic ones like mercury, arsenic and
other heavy metals. These are obviously not suitable Yes and no. Sometimes we deliberately use ghost points
for use in modern times, because they are either illegal for Gu patients, but in the end everything depends on
or unavailable on the market. the individual situation of the patient. Most points are
chosen based on touch. We tend to use a lot of points on
When I wrote my first article about Gu syndrome
the Yangming channels (Stomach and Large Intestine),
many years ago, I primarily approached the topic
because this is a major area where Gu Syndrome
from the perspective of a medical anthropologist
resides. I’m personally very interested in the concept of
rather than that of a clinician. At the time, I picked
the so-called Ghost Points, but I am not sure how often
two formulas that did not contain any exotic or toxic
my clinic team is actually using them.
substances for the purpose of clinical experimentation:
Su He Tang (Perilla and Mint Decoction) and Jiajian Patients may experience emotional discharges during
Su He Tang (Modified Perilla and Mint Decoction), needling, accompanied by crying or strong emotional

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 examining the ancient concept of “gu syndrome” as a viable solution
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sensations or even physical tremors. I wouldn’t look Syndrome is one of the most important decisions you
for that, however, and be disappointed if nothing of the can make as a student and practitioner of natural
sort occurs. Some Gu patients, however, can definitely medicine—despite the fact that for historical and
manifest these kind of reactions. political reasons it has been eliminated from standard
TCM curricula. Once you are seriously engaged in
Lot of psychological pathologies such as
* schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or even
seizures would’ve been considered a result of Gu or
clinical practice, you will see that most of your difficult
and recalcitrant cases will suffer from this syndrome:
chronic inflammatory disease with autoimmune
“demon struck” in Zhou dynasty times. Could any complications.
of these disorders be considered to have “Gu” causes
nowadays? Secondly, I recommend that you read all of the
outstanding literature on Gu Syndrome that I
An emphatic ‘yes’ from me—this is another topic that have put together in the reference section of my
warrants further attention and exploration. I often find Clinical Manual. Those can also be downloaded
that people are “mentally ill” because of physical causes from various websites, namely ClassicalPearls.org
that facilitate an instability of their brain chemistry. and ClassicalChineseMedicine.org. Get the basic
Inflammation of the nervous system by pathogenic information about how to recognize the symptoms and
viruses and spirochetes is especially common in these signs of Gu Syndrome in clinical practice, and then
patients. One of the difficulties of researching this topic start experimenting with it in a clinical setting!
further is the fact that most schizophrenics and bipolar
patients do not believe that they are ill, and therefore Ideally, start simple: prescribe Lightning, Thunder
don’t come into the clinic unless they are being dragged and Dragon Pearls plus a few of the other Classical
in by a relative. And if they get dragged, it tends to be Pearls products that are often used in conjunction with
into the influence of Western psychiatric drugs, so we the black label anti-Gu formulas: i.e., Peace Pearls and/
don’t often see this kind of patient. What we do see are or Spirit Pearls for anxiety; Earth Pearls for abdominal
patients suffering from seizures/epilepsy, sometimes pain/bloating or thick tongue coating; Cinnamon
bipolar disorder, and very rarely schizophrenia. And Pearls for food allergies; Bamboo Pearls for body pain
yes, I often end up diagnosing such cases as suffering in chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and Lyme
from Gu Syndrome. disease patients; Ginkgo Pearls for bad headaches,
addiction and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Get
Where do you draw the line between
* autoimmune and “demonic” involvement or
attack?
an arsenal of 10 formulas and start using them to
accumulate your own clinical experience—you will
see quickly how this approach works much better for
most of these cases in comparison to what you were
Just like parasites don’t automatically mean Gu taught in school. Best to start reading and using those
Syndrome, autoimmune disorder does not necessarily remedies right away, and see what happens!
mean Gu Syndrome, either. Autoimmune involvement
can very often cause crazy and inexplicable symptoms Dr. Fruehauf, thank you again for your time and
that appear like “possession” to a physician, especially effort!
in ancient times. In the end, I think, it once again
depends on the situation of the individual case.

* Dr. Heiner, I want to thank you for your time.

Is there anything that you want to add that I did
not ask? Any advice for a novice interested in treating
Gu Syndrome and autoimmune disorders?
*
Thank you for asking this final question! I believe
strongly that familiarization with the concept of Gu

© 2014 heiner fruehauf 8 classicalchinesemedicine.org

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