According to traditional Chinese medicine, plenty of rest and a healthy diet are vital in the treatment of kidney yin deficiency. Too much stress and a hectic lifestyle can deplete yin.
Kidney yin is parallel to the parasympathetic nervous system which restores and regenerates. To correct kidney yin deficiency, consider some lifestyle changes. Remove yourself from the drama of the day. Turn off the television. Walk away from the phone.
Consider meditation, yoga, tai chi or qi gong. Go for leisurely walks. If you used to paint, or write or had some other peaceful pastime, revisit this pleasure. If you didn't, start now. Rest is not time wasted, it is a wise investment in yourself.
To replenish kidney yin with the foods you eat, choose foods with a wide selection of amino acids, carotenes, flavonoids, minerals, vitamins and trace elements.
Traditional Chinese medicine recommends foods that are moistening and mildly cooling. Drink plenty of water.
Black and blue foods like berries and black beans strengthen the water element of the kidneys. Seafood support the water element. Include moist vegetables like celery and cucumbers, and asparagus for its diuretic quality. Fruits are moistening and mildly cooling.
Kidney-shaped beans nourish the kidneys and hold the potential for new life. Seeds like flax, sunflower and black sesame seeds, and nuts like walnuts and chestnuts are associated with fertility and growth. These aspects are regulated by kidney energy.
Salty foods like kimchee, miso and tamari are suitable because the water flavor associated with kidneys is salty. Use sea salt rather than table salt.
Animal products like meat, eggs and cheese are beneficial. Protein is a vital building block for Yin essence.
The kidneys are believed to govern the marrow so broths and soups containing bone marrow are favored.
Grains like barley and millet are mildly cooling and nourish yin. Choose moistening herbs with high mucilage content like aloe vera, comfrey, marshmallow and slippery elm. Oatstraw strengthens nerves.
Nettles are a cooling tonic supporting the kidneys and blood. Blood is a Yin fluid. Deep green leafy vegetables build the blood.
Tonics like chlorella, kelp and wheatgrass are mineral-rich foods that build the blood and enhance Yin. They are high in nucleic acids and reduce the effects of aging.
Rehmannia root can be found in a traditional Chinese medicine formula called Six Flavor Tea Pills or Rehmannia Six. Rhemannia root is beneficial for kidney yin deficiency.
Resources:
TCM and Nutrition: Kidney Yin Deficiency
http://www.mybodywisdom.net/pdf/Nutrition_for_Kidney_Yin.pdf
Syndrome differentiation of kidney disease
http://www.tcmadvisory.com/Tcmdiagnosis/info/20081002_447.html
Understanding Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang
http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/kidneyyinyang.html
Yin and Yang Deficiency, Part II
http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=10563
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