July 2026 Office Hours

Kan Herb Company — July Office Hours: Caring for the Spleen & Digestive Health

Hosted by Greg Pepping and led by Darren Huckle, this session focused on a topic Darren considers foundational to TCM practice: spleen and stomach care. Drawing on his years teaching dietetics at Five Branches Institute, Darren walked practitioners through the basics of spleen stewardship — regular meal times, identifying food intolerances (with a 2–3 week elimination and reintroduction method), regular aerobic exercise, and encouraging patients to approach food without guilt. He also framed a simple food spectrum for patients: cooling/cleansing fruits and vegetables on one end, building fats and proteins on the other, with grains and beans in the neutral middle.

Chapters

0:00 — Welcome & Kan Overview
Greg introduces the session and the Office Hours format. Kan has been manufacturing over 300 formulas in-house in Santa Cruz since 1987.

2:30 — Spleen Stewardship: Diet & Lifestyle
Darren covers the foundations of digestive health: regular meal times, high-enzyme and fermented foods, identifying food intolerances, aerobic exercise, and a mindset of self-compassion around eating.

24:00 — Food as Medicine: The Dietary Spectrum
Darren explains a simple framework for patients — cooling/cleansing foods vs. building foods — to help them understand where their diet may be out of balance.

26:00 — Formula Progression: Where to Start
For Qi and blood deficient patients, Darren recommends a divide-and-conquer approach: use herbs and acupuncture to work the spleen, and food to build blood. His go-to starting formula is Prosperous Farmer (Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang) for its aromatic, moving qualities alongside spleen tonification.

32:00 — Clearing Excess Before Tonifying
When damp heat or liver Qi stagnation is prominent, Darren recommends clearing first — using Four Marvels for damp heat, or Bupleurum Soothe Liver (Chai Hu Shu Gan San) when stress and liver overacting on spleen is the primary pattern.

38:00 — Extracts, Bitters & Timing
Darren highlights taking extracts 15–30 minutes before meals to catalyze digestion. He also recommends a few drops of Coptis Clear before meals to stimulate stomach acid and bile production, drawing from Western herbal bitters tradition.

41:00 — Formula Differentiation
Quick breakdown of key spleen formulas: Arouse Vigor (Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan) for prolapse and emotional sinking; Shen Ling Spleen Support as the gentlest option for yin-deficient patients; Women's Precious (Ba Zhen Tang) for combined spleen and blood deficiency in a maintenance context.

45:00 — Practical Kitchen Advice
Darren's real-world recommendation: two pots of soup a week as a simple entry point for patients who don't cook. Encourages moving toward three structured meals a day rather than frequent snacking.

50:15 — Practitioner Matrix Tool
Darren reminds practitioners to download the Clinical Herb Recommendation Matrix from the Kan resources page — a differential diagnosis cheat sheet covering 20 conditions, with 10 more being added with a focus on women's health.

Next Office Hours: August.
Free consultations available by phone or email. Darren is in practice Mondays and Wednesdays. Kan is closed Fridays.