Glehnia root, the « sand Shen » from the north
Bei Sha Shen, the Chinese name for glehnia root, reads word for word « the sand Shen, the northern one ». The sand is in the name because it is in the soil: this small member of the carrot family, barely rising above the ground, grows naturally on the beaches and dunes of the East Asian coast, and sends down a thin, fleshy root 30 to 40 cm long. Wild populations have become rare, and the root sold today comes from cultivation. Its reference growing region is Laiyang, in Shandong, where it has been grown for more than five hundred years; in Hebei, the highest grade bears a pretty name, Yi Zhu Xiang, « a stick of incense », straight and slender as a little rod.
Nourishing the Yin of the Lung, gently
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, glehnia is slightly cool, with a sweet and bitter flavour. Sweetness nourishes and generates the Fluids, bitterness makes things descend, and the light coolness is enough to clear a mild Heat without chilling the Middle. It enters only two meridians, the Lung and the Stomach, precisely the two that tradition considers most exposed to Dryness. When the Lung dries out, it no longer makes the Qi descend as it should: the root gives it back its Fluids. The Ben Cao Cong Xin sums it up in a stroke: « it properly supplements the Yin of the Lung ».
Giving the Stomach back its Fluids
Its own strength lies elsewhere: benefiting the Stomach and generating the Fluids it needs to ripen and transform food. The ancient texts stress its lightness: it moistens without weighing down, which is what allows it to be used for a long time, where heavier Yin tonics end up encumbering digestion. It is often confused with Nan Sha Shen, a root from another family; the practitioners’ rule is simple, Bei Sha Shen when it is the Yin of the Stomach that is lacking. Its reference pairing combines it with Mai Dong, in equal parts, and it is also found in the kitchen, in soups and rice porridges.
Key benefits
Softened & Moistened Lung
Sweet and slightly cool, glehnia softens the Lung and gives it back the moisture it lacks, according to Chinese tradition.
Nourished Lung Yin
Traditionally used to nourish the Yin of the Lung, it clears, in the same gesture, the slight Heat that comes with this lack.
Eased Dryness & Preserved Fluids
It generates the Fluids of the Stomach and helps to ease dryness, without weighing on digestion.
