What is Yin Deficiency in Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Yin deficiency is similar to blood deficiency, which is like anemia, but a little more intense. 

Yin, the opposite of Yang, is the cooling, relaxing energy in the body.  

When you’re Yin deficient, you feel tired, but also paradoxically restless.  It may be hard to sleep because night time is the Yin time of the day. 

Yin deficiency tends to accompany heat signs like hot flashes and night sweats.  We call it “false heat” since it’s due to the relative lack of your body’s cooling mechanism, not due to an excess of heat energy itself. 

Yin deficiency can lead to excessive bleeding of the uterus or nose.  It can accompany thyroid imbalances and other problems of the endocrine system.   

What causes Yin Deficiency?  Excessive work, not enough rest time, stress, genetic problems (childhood illnesses), having kids 🙃, and excessive bleeding.   

How to correct a Yin Deficiency will include:  getting more rest, good food, acupuncture, and herbal medicines. 

Foods that can help rebalance Yin Deficiency include:

*Grains:  barley, buckwheat, oats, and rice

*Veggies: alfalfa sprout, artichoke, asparagus, cucumber, mung bean sprout, mushrooms, pea, potato, seaweed, string bean, squash, sweet potato, tomato, water chestnut, yam, and zucchini

*Fruits:  apple, apricot, avocado, banana, blackberry, blueberry, lemon, lime, mango, mulberry, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, pomegranate, and watermelon

*Nuts and seeds:  coconut (coconut oil, coconut milk, unsweetened fresh or dried coconut), sesame seeds and tahini, black sesame seeds, and walnut

*Proteins:  aduki beans, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung beans, fish and seafood (except shrimp and prawns), beef, duck, goose, pork, rabbit, chicken and duck eggs

*Dairy:  cow, sheep and goat dairy products (if tolerated), ghee. Yogurt is considered especially cooling and yin nourishing

*Other:  beef bone marrow broth, fish oil, raw honey, and olive oil.

Avoid (excessive) alcohol, caffeine, and sugar.  

Herbs that can help include Schisandra, Ashwaganda, Dang Gui, Rhodiola, and Rehmannia.