Castanea, Chestnut

Picture Ortus Sanitatis, Cube, Johann von, 1501

Picture Picture
Dioscorides Materia Medica, Mathias, 1563

 Krauterbuch, Lonitzer, 1578
Picture Flora von Deutschland (10), Kohler, 1882

Botanical name:


Castanea sativa

Parts used:


Nut

Temperature & Taste:


Warm, moist

Uses:


1. Nourishes Blood, Tonifies Yin:
-‘They have the vertues of Almonds and Hazelnuts, but more nourishing’; Galen said they are the best nuts
-‘Breed good blood, and yield commendable nourishment to the body’ (Culpeper)
-strengthens the Brain: Alzheimer’s, Poor Memory, Dizziness, Deafness, Tinnitus from deficiency
-Lumbago and Diabetes from Kidney deficiency

2. Nourish and Strengthens the Lungs, Stops Cough:
-spasmodic Coughs, including whooping cough
-Nut is excellent for Coughs, spitting of Blood, loss of Voice from dryness or Lung Yin deficiency
-phlegm-type Chest pain

3. Stops Leakages and Bleeding:
-excessive menstrual bleeding;      
-diarrhea and bloody Dysentery; Hematuria
-roasted Chestnuts are an old remedy for intestinal bleeding and internal ulcers when taken with Honey and Maple Syrup.
–the red membranes between the shell and kernel cure bloody Dysentery and Leukorrhea

4. Moves the Blood, Eases Pain:
-Headache, swellings, Scrofula
-Fractures and Bruising


Dose:


Eat 3–5 daily
They may be chewed well, or ground and added to soups or porridges.

Substitute:


Almond or Hazelnut

Preparation:


They are lighter and easier to digest once dried.

Main Combinations:


1. To nourish Yin, combine with Black Sesame seeds; powder, mix with Honey and eat daily.
2. Coughing Blood; dry chestnuts, powder, mix with Honey (Culpeper)
3. Cough with Diarrhea, Chestnut, Carob, Gum Arabic, Starch, Purslane seed, Poppy seed (all roasted), and add Red Earth (from Dispensatory of Ibn at Tilmid)
4. Threatened Miscarriage, Chestnut with Red Coral Mastic, Mint, Cypress Nuts (Wirtzung)

Major Formulas:


Pills to Prevent Miscarriage (Wirtzung)

Cautions:


They are rich and heavy, not suitable for those with Phlegm and Damp. They breed Melancholy in excess.

Main Preparations used:



  • Extra Info
  • History
Daoists texts on Chestnut (from A Soup for the Qan, Hu Sihui et al. 2010)
If kidney qi is deficient and weak, take fresh chestnuts, it does not matter how many. Let the wind dry them. Each day chew up tho- roughly on an empty stomach. Slowly swallow three or five.