Up until this point in my life, fire had a totally different connotation and was strictly a noun, unless you applied the word “fire” to the discharge of a gun. You built a fire in the fireplace or cast-iron stove. You burned the leaves in the yard. You burned the woods to get rid of the underbrush and ticks. Lightning struck a house and burned it down. A chimney caught on fire and burned down the house. When you’d done something really bad, Mama would take a hickory switch and set your britches on fire. A randy person was hot to trot. A roll of good luck was a hot streak. A female dog went into heat. A tie game was a dead heat. A person who acted impulsive acted in the heat of the moment.
Daddy would say, “Get under this shade tree out of the heat.” And one of my Aunt Sadie’s favorites, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen,” and she meant this both figuratively and literally. In the summertime, we often had a heat wave. And sometimes, we had to fight fire with fire. Mama would yell at my sister “to light a fire under those feet and get moving.” And where’s there’s smoke, there has to be fire. And so on. It makes for a colorful language.
Fire was necessary to our existence and such a common element in our language that numerous idioms abound for almost any instance that heat or fire best illustrate the situation. But this was the first time I had heard “fired” used as a verb in this manner. I just didn’t know what it meant.
As soon as Daddy said those words, “I’ve been fired,” Mama stood stock still, then slumped a little and very pitifully and sadly, and with long emphasis and pain said, “Oh, Honey?” It was both a cry and a question. Honey is what Mama called Daddy. She only used his name, Stancel, when she was upset, we were at church or out somewhere, or talking to visitors. At home, he was Honey. The pitiful sound of her voice made me want to go beat up the mean man who had set fire to my Daddy.
I found out later that getting fired meant that Daddy had lost his job. He was around the house a bit more but spent time out looking for work and took on whatever odd job he could find. To make some money, Daddy spent more time in the woods hunting herbs with the family, and often I was able to go with him. Even after he found another construction job, Daddy kept on herb hunting because we were so behind on the bills. Mama worked the Scofield’s cotton fields to make some money and took in ironing. It wasn’t our last tough time.
Mama never understood or appreciated the value of herbs, but Daddy’s family did. They’d always been herb hunters, especially of pink root and American ginseng, but any wild herb they could sell on the market to a company.
A typical ginseng hunt might include Daddy, Granddaddy Light, Uncle Waylon, Aunt Jewel, and Aunt Julie and Uncle Willie. However, Aunt Julie and Uncle Willie preferred sitting along the creek bank fishing while everyone else scampered around the mountain sides. We’d park at the creek and walk up the mountain and hunt along the way. If they’d had luck catching, we’d have fish for supper. It was a fun time.
Aunt Jewel was notorious for wearing metal stove pipes on her legs, in a similar fashion to shin guards, and Army boots on her feet to avoid getting bitten by a snake. She did make a bit of a comical character; she was tall and thin, with gray bobbed hair, and wore an old dress with pants under it, Army boots, and stove pipes. Aunt Jewel would often say that she could hear a snake strike against the pipes but she just kept on walking. Regardless, she was pretty brazen in the woods and would charge through low growth like nobody’s business.
Two herbs in Southern Folk Medicine heat the body efficiently but in different ways. American ginseng builds slow heat in the body by working deep within the endocrine system to build energy and endurance. With an appropriate dose, American ginseng is both gentle and effective, and doesn’t create jitters or affect sleeping. The building of slow heat brings renewed vigor and vitality, improves endurance, improves sleeping quality, increases the sex drive, and improves memory. The bitter qualities and taste of American ginseng will cause a release of bile that can help improve digestion and facilitate a bowel movement. According to tradition, there isn’t a system in the body that ginseng doesn’t affect. It is the chief of all herbs.
A dose of American ginseng that is too high in a deficient person will actually force glands and processes into activity that creates more deficiency. A long-lasting fire is built slowly, starting with kindling, and as the fire becomes stronger, more fuel is added. If you use too much wood all at once or logs that are too big, you will smother the fire instead of supporting it. The same with American ginseng—start slow and gently build for a sustained fire.
On the other hand, cayenne creates a blaze of heat by quickly stimulating the movement of blood, opening capillaries, equalizing blood pressure, and sending blood toward the skin’s surface. It’s almost impossible to take enough ginseng to sweat, but quite easy to take enough cayenne to sweat up a storm—cayenne heats the body. It stimulates the liver, aids digestion, helps heal the digestive tract, and can help lower high cholesterol. Cayenne reduces pain both taken internally and applied topically as a liniment or salve. It stops bleeding, both internally and externally.
Cayenne improves poor circulation, especially in the elderly. In the winter, cayenne taken internally can help warm cold feet and hands by improving blood flow into the extremities of the body, such as the hands, feet and head. Applied topically to swollen, painful joints, cayenne brings blood to the area, reducing pain and turning the skin red. Cayenne, after all, is all about blood.
Using cayenne is like throwing gasoline on the fire. If there’s even an ember present, cayenne will stoke it up.
The old saying is, “Cayenne at the start of a heart attack to thin the blood and reduce damage. Ginseng afterward to recover from the heart attack and every day after to stave off another one.”
The Heat of the Matter
First and foremost: Fire is hot; heat is the nature of this element. It can be hot and damp or hot and dry, but fire always produces heat.
What is fire? Using the most basic definition, the noun fire is the rapid loss of oxygen of a flammable material during the process of combustion. The combustion happens so quickly that it gives off heat, light, and flame. The two basic ingredients needed for a fire are a material that will ignite and oxygen. Fire will only be contained or continue as long as these two elements are present. In other words, fire is an oxidative process.
The element of fire is central to our civilization. Origin stories about fire in indigenous populations and in the mythology of ancient civilizations either view fire as a gift from the gods or something stolen from the gods. Regardless, fire was considered mystical, magical, and spiritual. In some Native American mythology, either crow, water spider, or opossum stole or brought fire from the thunder beings who lived in the sky. In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus gave humans the gift of fire. Later the Romans used the deadly Greek fire or war fire to subdue enemies. Its exact composition has remained a secret, but its devastating effects are well recorded in history.
Regardless of its origins, fire changed humanity. With fire, humans were able to cook their meat, which improved digestion and increased available energy. Before fire, all food, including meat, had to be eaten raw. Raw meat and starchy tubers needed to be pounded, or possibly naturally fermented, to be digestible. Cooking allowed our ancestors to gain more energy from their food, which led to increased brain size and other physical adaptations.
Fire provided light, which allowed our ancestors to stay up later at night and continue the activities required for living. It provided warmth in cold weather. Fire also provided a central point for socialization, and that really hasn’t changed that much today. Boy Scouts, church groups, campers, indigenous peoples, and social folks of any ilk understand the attraction of sitting around a campfire, sharing stories, singing, and relaxing. There is also something about a fireplace that is comforting and soothing. A fire draws folks together, whether due to its warmth, light, or cheerfulness. There is something about flames that immediately draws the eyes.
/> Fire often misbehaves. A ground fire can spread faster and burn hotter when moving uphill. There are several reasons for this. When going up the hill, the flames are closer to the fuel (grass, wood, leaves, brush) and dry the fuel out in advance of the flame which makes it ignite more quickly. In addition, as the air heats, the wind currents push up the hill, adding flame to the fire and causing a draft. This draft increases the rate of spread of burning embers, which can then roll downhill starting new fires. And so it spreads. The reverse is also true: A fire spreads slower and burns cooler moving down a hill.
Folks with primary fire constitutions are often the same, burning brighter when the finish line is in sight, running faster up the hill than down it, and blazing at the finish. This is true whether the finish line is related to the completion of a project or an athletic event. Fire people know how to push, and this works as long as they are taking care of themselves and don’t have too many irons in the fire.
In the forest, fires help maintain a natural balance among various plant species, certain trees, and the insects and animals dependent upon them for food and shelter. A forest, after all, is a complete ecosystem, not just a bunch of trees stuck together. A natural forest fire only happens when certain conditions are right, when forest moisture and leaf and needle litter are at a certain quantity and quality level. Because conditions have to be just right, the frequency and intensity of a natural forest fire is mandated by the forest itself. If artificially created outside of the ecosystem’s natural timing, forest fires can burn hotter and more intense, causing more harm than benefit.
The same is also true of fire people. As long as their fire, or energy production, is flowing along natural time cycles related to a healthy endocrine system, the fire person is happy, productive, and accomplishes much. If they try to artificially stoke their fire by eating too many carbohydrates or taking recreational drugs, then a health disaster awaits as their innate fire sputters and crashes.
The temperature of a fire depends upon the type of fuel in the fire, how much oxygen is available, and the moisture content of the burning material. The cooler the flame (red, blue), the more incomplete the combustion and the more soot and particles that are produced. The hotter the flame (white, yellow), the more complete the combustion and less ash or soot that is produced. A hotter flame is a cleaner burn, producing fewer free radicals and indicating complete combustion. This is also true in energy production within the cells.
This is an important point for fire folk. The amount of energy produced from food is going to depend on the type and quantity of food in the diet. While this is a true statement for everyone, regardless of constitution, it is extremely important for the fire constitution. Too much food, especially simple carbohydrates, and the system is overwhelmed. Too little food and there isn’t enough food for fueling. Finding the quantity and type of food that creates energy is extremely important.
In general, fire people do well with good-quality fats and proteins, vegetables, beans, and fruits and nuts. They don’t do as well with processed sugars, processed grains, and low-fat dairy products.
Types of Fire in the Body
What is fire in the body? Obviously there aren’t any little flames burning hither and dither throughout our cells. Or are there? Using our basic definition of fire as an oxidative process, let’s think about the oxidative processes in our bodies. Sometimes these processes are called redox reactions when the process applies to elements other than oxygen.
First and foremost, digestion is an oxidative process, though a slow one in comparison to a blazing fire. During digestion, the food that we eat containing fats, carbohydrates, and proteins makes its way through different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Each part of the digestive tract has its own specific environment. Food is first exposed to the enzymes in the saliva in the mouth, then the acid-based gastric juices in the stomach, then digestive enzymes and bile in the small intestine, and, last, the fermenting anaerobic bacteria of the large intestine. Each part of the digestive system has its own environment and its own role in the oxidative processes of digestion. Just like fire leaves ash in its wake, digestion leaves wastes that are excreted through feces and urine.
Another oxidative process (fire) in the body is the production of raw energy. For many of us, when we think of energy, we think about the raw energy that we need to play sports, go to work, or putter around the house. That certainly is a valid type of energy related to blood sugar that we tend to manipulate throughout the day with sugar and caffeine.
But there is another type of energy—cellular energy. Our cells and organ systems require a continuous supply of energy to maintain the healthy functioning of our bodies. Every second throughout the day, our bodies are busy performing all the functions vital to our existence. While we are sleeping, our bodies are busy repairing tissue, building bones, fighting infections, and processing toxins. Where does that cellular energy come from?
To create cellular energy, our bodies take nutrients from food and produce ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. The production of ATP is another type of fire that is taking place within our cells using oxidation-reduction reactions. Without ATP, we wouldn’t be alive. Influencing factors on cellular energy production include nutrient intake, mitochondria health, and thyroid activity level. Creating cellular energy, creating good fire, is a three-stage process.
First, during digestion, using an oxidative process, food has to be broken down by enzymes into a form that can be used by the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells. Proteins have to be broken down into amino acids; complex carbohydrates into sugars; and fats into fatty acids and glycerol. Once nutrients are broken down into their smallest and simplest forms, they are taken to the cells, where they gradually oxidize in energy production.
In the second stage of energy production, glucose is broken down into pyruvate which is taken up by the mitochondria within each cell. And in the third stage, mitochondria, using the nutrients from food, creates our main energy, ATP.
The ash produced from ATP production is free radicals, which can damage our mitochondria, clog cells, and reduce our energy and feelings of well-being. Extensive oxidative damage has been implicated in type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune disorders, and inflammatory disorders. It’s also been implicated in how long we live. When our mitochondria are damaged, we suffer. Our physical and mental energy levels drop, and our Vital Energy level drops as well. Importantly, when mitochondria are injured, they release a chemical that triggers cell death. Yikes! Ultimately, you want to keep these little powerhouses as healthy as possible by eating foods that are high in antioxidant nutrients, exercising on a regular basis, and getting good-quality sleep. Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, E, selenium, and the phytonutrients resveratrol and lutein.
So much of what we consider our cellular energy or vitality, our Vital Energy, boils down to what’s happening within the cell with the mitochondria. Remember the mitochondrial DNA we inherit from our mothers? Well here it is at work creating our Vital Energy. What is Vital Energy anyway? It is the energy of our life force. It fuels our passion, drive, creativity, motivation, and good health. Vital Energy is our good fire and helps us recover after illness and bounce back after emotional trauma. Every constitution, when in balance, has good Vital Energy because every constitution is sparked by the oxidative processes of energy production via mitochondria within the cell.
Just a little rabbit trail: Mitochondria are interesting little creatures. They are more closely related to bacteria than to us. All life on earth, from humans to animals to plants, has a symbiotic relationship with mitochondria; we can’t live without them and they can’t live without us. We are in a fixed and permanent relationship with these creatures that aren’t us but live inside each of our individual cells. Mitochondria contain their own DNA, which we inherit from our mothers, known as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which we discussed in an earlier chapter. Thinking about the fact that we inherit our mitochondrial DNA from our mother
s and their primary function is energy production, it is quite easy to extrapolate that the baseline of our Vital Energy is directly inherited from our mothers. Of course, there are other influences on our Vital Energy to consider such as diet, overall genetics, environment, and lifestyle choices.
And all this begins with digestion.
Other fire or oxidative processes in the body include purine metabolism, the conversion of long-chain fatty acids into medium-chain fatty acids, inflammation, the ingestion of bacteria by infection fighters, the metabolism of arachidonic acid, the act of physical movement and exercise, phase 1 detoxification in the liver, and the tissue damage caused by reduced blood supply to an area.
Lifestyle choices and environment can also initiate oxidative processes that create free radicals including cigarette smoking, environmental pollutants, radiation exposure, certain prescription medications, pesticides, industrial solvents, and ozone. In today’s polluted world, it’s never a bad idea to supplement with a good antioxidant formula.
The Fire Is in the Fat
Fire is associated with the body fluid or humor of bile, which is yellow, and the taste of bitter. Have you ever been really sick and throwing up, and you keep vomiting until there’s nothing left in your stomach? Then, when you think you can’t throw up anymore, here comes this disgusting, bitter yellow liquid. That is bile.
Bile has the significant function of emulsifying fats in the digestive process. To understand the nature of the fire element, it is important to understand the process of fat digestion, the nature of bile, and the taste of bitter. Bile is manufactured in the liver and stored and released by the gallbladder to aid in the digestion of fats. It emulsifies fat into smaller and smaller particles so that the enzyme lipase can convert the fat into fatty acids in an oxidative process. These are then carried to the cells by the lymphatic system or moved into storage through the bloodstream.
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