I want to talk about what the word “Health” means. Chinese medicine is much more of a physical science where as Western medicine is much more of a chemical science. They have two very different vantage points, and I want to explain that of Chinese medicine as I understand it.
Is NOT being sick a fair way to measure health? I don’t think life is that black and white, it would certainly be simpler if it were, but so far it’s not looking that way. In our country we have become very accustomed to putting our health completely in the hands of our doctors, who rely largely on diagnostic machines to show them what state of disease we are in. Unfortunately this lends more often than not to a “no disease name, no problem” mentality and leaves us a largely uncomfortable population. I’ve seen this lead a person that is looking to their physician for relief from some troublesome symptom to question their own sanity at some point in the goose chase when they are repeatedly told “it’s all in your head, you’re fine”. The fact of the matter is that there is a long way to go from optimal health to disease. There is a lot of grey area in between and that is where Chinese medicine shines most. Chinese Medicine is able to recognize the subtle imbalances in the body when they manifest as seemingly minor symptoms looonnggg before they actually become severe enough to be recognized by your doctor’s diagnostic equipment. Even more common is our tendency to ignore these “minor” symptoms until they become something that IS able to be recognized by our doctors. What I would love to see is a majority of people that are able to notice and seek care to resolve these symptoms and their underlying imbalances before they ever become any type of disease/disorder. Cliché as it may be, prevention is the way to go- but to understand how to be truly preventative, we first have to understand what health is.
I see patients all the time that come in with complaints of heart palpitations, restless sleep, frequent urination, irregular menstrual cycles or fatigue (you name the random symptom, it happens) that DON’T want to be put on a pill indefinitely by their MD, or have already done that and gotten no relief. Generally by the time a patient comes through my door they have [unfortunately] exhausted all other medical resources and have come back with either a clean slate of health or no solutions. “My MD says my heart is fine, but I know something isn’t right, I’m scared”… this happens a lot. Using Chinese medicine diagnostic methods we are able to determine if the heart is beginning to weaken or if there is some other imbalance at play. Often times these are all symptoms of a weakened heart- the heart’s energy is low. We talk about yin and yang in Chinese medicine a lot, and basically these concepts can be taken to mean here Yin= structure and Yang=function. When the Heart Yang is weak, it doesn’t mean that the heart is diseased, but that the strength with which the heart pumps is beginning to lessen.
The body’s temperature is a product of the heart’s continuous pumping action which generates a huge amount of thermal energy. This thermal energy is distributed throughout the body in a very specific way to ensure that each organ and structure of the body has an adequate amount of energy and an appropriate environment to perform its function harmoniously. This temperature distribution starts with the lungs- if you look at the placement of the lungs, they are situated above and behind the heart. Essentially the lungs work as a kind of radiator to cool the heat by forcing it to descend from the heart (the engine) as it would naturally rise to the upper body. This immediately prevents the body from overheating as the lungs force this thermal energy downward from the heart directly along a pathway into the small intestine. Because Chinese Medicine loves its analogies (and I do too!), we speak in terms of the 5 elements-the heart’s element is Fire. Once the lungs have sent a sufficient amount of thermal energy (fire) to the small intestine we now have two main sources of fire in the body, the heart its self (like the fire of the sun), and the small intestine (like the core of the earth). These fires are responsible for heating their respective halves of the body- upper and lower. Having an adequate fire element is first and foremost in maintaining health. When this begins to diminish an entire world of health problems begin.
The small intestine is in contact with the bladder, in close proximity to the kidneys, and in women- the ovaries and uterus, in men- the prostate. This is only part of the picture, but an important part. When there is an adequate fire in the small intestine, not only does this mean that the Yang is sufficient (remember yang= heat, movement, function) which allows for healthy intestinal motility > regular bowel movements, but as the small intestine also contacts the bladder it heats the urine to such a degree that it actually creates an effect of evaporation within the bladder. The bladder has approximately a 400 cc capacity and if there is inadequate heat within the bladder you will end up having a small amount of urine weigh on the bottom of the bladder frequently giving the sensation of pressure and needing to urinate before the bladder has become full. But because of the heat, the urine is essentially turned to steam which allows it to expand and float lightly creating an evenly distributed pressure that tells you that you need to urinate only once it is completely full. This allows you to have force and volume when urinating, and also lets you hold it if you need to, because remember yang= heat and function. If the temperature is too low, your urination will be frequent and with little force due to a small amount of “cold“ urine accumulating at the bottom of the bladder giving you the sensation of pressure and urgency, but with inadequate volume.
[I’m not sure how long one blog entry is supposed to be- I think I am threading topics together here, but that’s the thing about Chinese Medicine- EVERYTHING is connected to everything else in the body! Let me know if this is too long please and I’ll break it up next time! I’m going to keep going. ]
Having a normal temperature in the small intestine will also lead to cold in the ovaries and uterus in women. Cold= lack of movement. Think ice in a river. To have a healthy menstrual cycle there MUST be a good amount of fire from the heart > small intestine to warm to reproductive organs to make sure that blood is able to flow. When there is cold, you end up with blood stasis- during menstruation that means blood clots, amenorrhea or delayed and irregular periods, PAIN and even over time the accumulation to such a degree that cysts, fibroids and tumors can develop. I’m not going to talk about cancer in this post, that gets an entire article of its own, but it often times begins with cold and stagnation. I’ll go into more depth in gynecological disorders in its own article too.
This same principle applies to the prostate in men. When there is enough heat from the small intestine, the prostate is healthy, but when there is not, fluid accumulates around the prostate, and eventually within the prostate causing it to enlarge. This is a very common problem and of course can lead to prostate cancer- again; cancer often thrives in cold, stagnant fluid.
Now the kidneys- they play an important role in all of this too. The kidneys and the heart have a very symbiotic relationship. The heart is fire, and the kidneys are water- two opposing elements, but they also need each other to flourish. When fire is strong enough, it keeps the kidneys warm enough (kidney Yang = movement, function) to perform their role of keeping the water metabolism in the body going. (Note: Chinese Medicine says the kidneys also control energy level, libido, bone density, memory, hair growth, anxiety/fear, and concentration/focus)). Obviously the kidneys have a lot to do with maintaining your health in the eyes of Chinese Medicine. When fire is too weak, the water will stagnate, accumulate and become cold- again- think ice in a body of water. The kidney function will diminish and the body begins to enter into what we call the Shao Yin disorder. This is where you see the majority of Cancer patients. Shao Yin basically means that the heart and kidney function is weak, and the body’s internal environment is full of stagnant cold fluid.
SO what on earth does all of this mean to you?! WELL. It means that now that you have a basic idea of how Chinese medicine views some of the vital processes of your body, you can learn to recognize the early signs of all of this getting out of balance. In addition to keeping in mind any of the specific symptoms I mentioned earlier- this is a general guide for you to keep in mind:
1) Warm hands and feet, and a cool face. This is because the fire from the heart will send heat to the furthest point of the upper body, if it is strong enough, that means your finger tips will be warm. The fire of the small intestine will send heat to the furthest point of your lower body- the tips of your toes will be nice and warm. And because the lungs function to push this heat DOWN instead of allowing it to ascend, your forehead should be cool. The palms of your hands and soles of your feet should be warm, but the backs of your hands and tops of your feet will still be cool.
2) Daily complete bowel movements. The temperature of the small intestine is just right and you have healthy intestinal motility. This is also very important to keep toxicity from building up in your body that will lead to all sorts of other problems I will discuss later.
3) Proper Urination. The color should be a light or pale yellow color, and should be about 5-7 times per day. It will be less often if you are doing a lot of physical work and sweating regularly. There should be strong force, and an adequate amount of urine each time with minimal urgency.
4) Good Sleep. You can fall asleep easily and stay asleep through the night. You should feel rested and energized upon waking in the morning.
5) A normal appetite. You should get hungry at normal meal times, have a good ability to taste, and be satisfied after an adequate amount of food.
There is a LOT more to the picture of health that Chinese Medicine paints, but I think this is a good place to start. In my next few articles I plan to talk about diet, Cancer, and Gynecology. Shao Yin is going to be a recurrent theme for a while; I’m finding this everywhere I turn lately and on my mind.
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