To live long and healthier is a goal for almost everybody, as well as for our healthcare professionals. Average life-span is prolonged and our living standard is also better and better. We not only want to live longer, but also want to live healthier. How can we achieve this goal?
Many people have articles and books on this subject, and we do learn a lot from them. Here I am going to talk briefly and practically about this topic in the view point of Chinese medicine. There are four parts: balanced diet, constant physical exercise, positive emotions and awareness of health protection and disease prevention.
- Balanced Diet
Balanced diet is the most important factor for our health. Common saying like “hundred diseases are related to your diet” or “watch your mouth and use your legs” are all about the importance of diet. Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that kidney is the primary basis for our body and spleen and stomach is the acquired basis. The function of the spleen and stomach (in Chinese medicine) is to take care of the intake, digestion of food and discharge of wastes from the intestines. It is almost equal to the digestive system in modern medicine. Everybody rely on the function of the spleen and stomach after their birth.
The essentials for us are to have balanced diet and variety of foods. The foods we eat are more or less of different properties as yin or yang, cold or hot, nourishing yin or strengthening yang, tonifying qi or reinforcing blood, or supplementing essence, etc. Some foods may produce damp-heat, and some may cause cold or stagnations. Only when we have balanced diet, can our body get even nutrition and not have imbalances between yin and yang, qi and blood, and we can live more healthily.
Balanced diet is to eat different variety of foods. If we can eat all type of foods, including grains, vegetables, fruits and sources of protein, etc, we do not have to take bottled food supplements. We should live naturally with food, not food supplements. At least, to eat is one of our basic needs and enjoy of our life.
Understanding the compositions in our foods is helpful, but it is not a good idea to choose foods based on this. It is not practical and it is sometimes confusing. There are people having high cholesterol, but they rarely eat any food contains cholesterol. The reason is that our body does not function that simply, it is a complicated combination of all the systems. Only when we provide balanced and even environment, can it be possibly function well. Also remember, balanced diet does not mean all the foods you are eating should have the same amount of serving, a modification of the amount of different type of food is necessary based on ones constitution. Be picky with food and food cravings are enemies of health.
We should not overeat or starve. A regular and low salt and low sugar diet is always a good habit. Try to eat more natural non-processed food. Drinking enough water is important for maintaining our body metabolism.
- Constant Physical Exercise
There is a saying “life is move”, without movement, there is no life. We often define one natural thing whether it is alive or not by its movements. Appropriate amount of constant physical exercise is good for: (1) circulate qi and blood, promote metabolism; (2) inhale clear qi and expel wastes; (3) exercise our organs to obtain their coordination; (4) adjust our emotions, and connect with nature; (5) help the movement of the stomach and intestines, improve digestion and absorption; and (6) enhance memory and alertness and keep good coordination of our movements, etc.
Exercises are of different forms, times and locations. Many people like to go to the gym. That is one good way because it always reminds you to do the exercise and besides the facilities there will give you more fun and interests. I like outdoor exercise too, because it has no limit of time and location, and you can get closer to life and nature. Walking, jogging, bicycling, football, tennis, qigong and Taiji etc. are all good exercises. We can go to the beach, go hiking in mountains, go to the parks or just walk around the neighborhood or in the shopping centers. Outdoor exercises enables you to get fresh air, know more about the local community or even to meet or chat with friends. Regular constant physical exercise is a must for our health.
- Positive Emotions and Attitude towards Life
In Chinese medicine, besides the seven exogenous pathogenic factors, dietary factors and stress and exertions, seven emotional factors are also closely related to the occurrence of diseases. These emotions include joy, anger, grief, worry (over-thinking), sadness, fear and fright. Normal emotions are good to the health, but severe and long-lasting emotions are very harmful. They will influence the circulation of Qi (energy) and blood, and as a result, to cause diseases.
Over-joy and sadness cause sluggish flow of Qi and blood, weaken motivation; anger causes qi to rise, leading to hot temper and hypertension; over-grief and worry will cause Qi and blood to stagnate, leading to the stagnation and consumption of blood and essence; fright causes chaos of qi and blood, makes one feel like at a loss; fear causes qi to go down, and weakens the muscles, tendons and bones. We are surrounded by a lot of bad emotions which is mostly from the modern stressful life style, such as mental tension, frustration, loneliness, anxiety, nervousness, anger, worry, sadness and grief, etc. Therefore, we need to find ways to avoid or to resolve these bad emotions. If we can successfully balance our emotions, more than half of the diseases, which you might get from emotional disturbances, will disappear.
- Awareness of Health Protection and Disease Prevention
Science is developing and our life standard is improving. More and more people live longer and healthier, and they spend more and more money on food supplements, nutrients and tonics. But besides the previous factors, what else are also important for a healthy long life?
(1) Good combination of work and rest, appropriate outlook on life and material value.
(2) Get regular physical check-up, lab tests and other medical examinations recommended by your doctors.
(3) Make friends and share ideas and love with them.
(4) Follow the nature of things and do not go opposite to the law of nature, to grow, not kill, get connected to nature.
(5) Control weight and desires, including material desire, sex desire and food desire, keep positive emotions and attitude with life. Be happy with what you have and be easy-going with people.
(6) According to individual constitution, some necessary food supplements can be added. Based on the evaluation by Chinese medicine, you can also use Chinese herbal supplements to balance yin yang, regulate qi and blood, expel toxins, strengthen blood and body essence, etc.
I think there are some differences between modern western food supplements and oriental Chinese herbal supplements. The western food supplements, such as vitamins and minerals are to provide materials for your body, like the parts of a computer; and oriental Chinese herbal supplements are to stimulate the physiological functions and ability to process and use these materials as well as to provide materials for the body, like the software and hardware of a computer. If the two type of supplements can be combined nicely, you will get the most benefit so that you can live a healthy long life.
(by Dr. Qisheng Guan, May 9, 2010)
Acupuncture and Herb Clinic
1532 Anacapa Street, suite 7, santa Barbara, CA 93101 Tel: 805-965-6070/805-689-1979
Website: www.acupuncture999.com
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