Glutinous rice root, a harvest leftover
Nuo Dao Gen reads without mystery: “glutinous rice root”. The most accurate name is Nuo Dao Gen Xu, because it is the mass of fine rootlets that is used, far more than the short rhizome that bears them. It is the tuft pulled up after the rice has been cut: neither a plant grown for the pharmacy nor a by-product of processing, but a harvest leftover, one of the humblest entries in the Chinese materia medica. It comes from all the major rice-growing provinces, and its only guarantee of quality is its origin: a field planted with a rice whose grain is opaque white and sticky when cooked.
Holding back what escapes
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the root is sweet and neutral, associated with the Lung, Liver and Kidney. The sweet nourishes, and its neutrality pushes the body in no direction: it can be taken for a long time without tipping the balance. According to Chinese tradition, its use is to firm the surface: the Lung governs the skin and pores, and it is through the Lung that it closes them. The tradition sees two leaks of Fluids, one by day, when Qi is too weak to keep the pores closed, the other at night, when Yin is lacking; this root answers both, which is rare.
Replacing what has gone
Its second side is to support the Stomach and generate Fluids: when sweating has gone on too long, mouth and throat dry out, and its sweetness restores what has been lost. Through the Kidney and Liver, which hold Yin, it also makes Deficiency Heat recede, the Heat that rises for lack of Fluids to contain it, by restoring Yin rather than cooling it head-on. Holding back what escapes, replacing what has gone: the tradition keeps it for already weakened constitutions and periods of convalescence. With wolfberry root bark (Di Gu Pi), it forms the pairing for Deficiency Heat.
Key benefits
Night sweats & closed surface
Traditionally used to firm the surface, it accompanies night sweats as well as daytime perspiration.
Nourished Yin & gentleness
Sweet and neutral, it nourishes Yin and makes the Heat that rises for lack of Fluids recede.
Generated Fluids & gentleness
According to Chinese tradition, it supports the Stomach and generates Fluids, and helps soothe dryness.
