by Bob Flaws

Shawn and Eric were recently telling me I should write a blog or two on some of the lesser known formulas I selected for the Great Nature line. So I thought I'd write about Gan Lu Yin (Sweet Dew Beverage) today. "Sweet dew" is the literal Chinese for ambrosia or amrita, a divine nectar conferring long life and good health. I first came across this formula in 1980 in Hong-yen Hsu's Commonly Used Chinese Herb Formulas with Illustrations, one of the first Chinese medical formula books available in English. "Back in the day," before the publication of Bensky & Barolet's first Formulas & Strategies book, I ratted through this book over and over and over again. Looking at that copy of Hsu's book today, my incessant flipping though that book is well-evidenced by all the packing tape holding it together. Since Hsu's book was short on text, and what there was was mainly written in the language of Western medicine, I learned how to use and appreciate the formulas in this book mainly by looking at and attempting to analyze their ingredients. Thus it was that I lighted upon Gan Lu Yin one day, letting out a mental "A-ha."

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The thing that caught my attention was that, looking at the ingredients of Gan Lu Yin, I could see that it treats yin vacuity at the same time as damp heat. I had been noticing that combination of disease mechanisms/pattern in practice, but none of the other, better known formulas I knew seemed to address it. In addition, I could see that the formula also courses the liver and rectifies the qi, and I was clear to me that liver depression presented in some form in close to 100% of my patients. So right away I dog-eared the page in Hsu's book where this formula appears and, over the succeeding decades, have often prescribed it to my patients.

Looking at Gan Lu Yin's ingredients, we can see that Sheng Di, Shu Di, Shi Hu, Tian Men Dong, and Mai Men Dong all nourish yin and engender fluids. Given their combination, we can say that they nourish yin in all three burners, whether that be upper, middle, or lower or any combination of these. Most of these yin-blood supplements also clear some heat. However, Huang Qin, Yin Chen Hao, and Pi Pa Ye are the main heat-clearing medicinals in the formula. Together, Huang Qin and Yin Chen Hao clear heat and eliminate dampness from the liver and gallbladder, while Huang Qin and Pi Pa Ye clear heat from the lungs and stomach. What readers may not know is that Yin Chen Hao not only clears heat and eliminates dampness, but it also courses the liver and rectifies the qi. Further, it does not plunder yin the way Chai Hu can. Therefore, it can be used as a substitute for Chai Hu in cases where there is a strong component of yin vacuity. Within Gan Lu Yin, Yin Chen Hao's ability to course the liver and resolve depression is augmented by its combination with Zhi Ke. When Yin Chen Hao, Huang Qin, Pi Pa Ye, and Zhi Ke are used together, this quartet can course the liver and clear and resolve depressive heat. Finally, Gan Cao harmonizes all the other ingredients in the formula.

When patients suffer from long-term depressive or damp heat, the evil heat may damage and consume true yin. In this case, the damp heat may continue to exist at the same time as there is now concomitant yin vacuity. This is how I tend to use this formula. I use it mostly for chronic mouth sores, bleeding gums, bad breath, and chronic sore throat where there are a combination of signs and symptoms of damp heat plus yin vacuity and an element of liver depression. I also sometimes use it to treat diabetes mellitus, and I've used it to treat chronic hepatitis. I have used this formula successfully in children, young and middle-aged adults, and in the elderly.

Gan Lu Yin can be combined with a number of other formulas or with powdered extract singles to increase its range. For instance, if there is also concomitant qi vacuity and blood stasis, as may often occur with liver depression, damp heat, and yin vacuity, Gan Lu Yin can be combined with Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang. If fulminant damp heat diarrhea has damaged and consumed yin fluids, Gan Lu Yin can be combined with Bai Tou Weng Tang. If there is simultaneous qi vacuity with phlegm heat as opposed to damp heat, Gan Lu Yin can be combined with Mai Men Dong Tang. If there is just qi vacuity added to the disease mechanisms of Gan Lu Yin, Sheng Mai San can be combined with Gan Lu Yin. If the damp heat is pouring downward and causing impediment in the lower extremities, this formula can be combined with San Miao San. If the disease mechanisms of Gan Lu Yin are causing marked pain, this formula can be combined with Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang. Because blood and essence share a common source, if there are marked signs and symptoms of blood vacuity and yin vacuity, then Gan Lu Yin can be combined with Si Wu Tang. However, if there are signs and symptoms of blood stasis, then it can be combined with Tao Hong Si Wu Tang. If one wants to clear heat and resolve toxins, Gan Lu Yin can also be combined with Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin.

In my experience, many North American Chinese medical practitioners either don't know about or don't realize the usefulness of this formula from the Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Formulary of the Pharmacy Service for Benefiting the People of the Taiping [Era]). However, I think it is one that deserves to be both better known and more widely prescribed.

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