TCM causes of diseases
In Chinese medicine, the causes of diseases are as follow:
- Emotions
- Lifestyle (diet, sleep, stress, exercise, drug use...)
- Poison
- Wrong treatment (happens more often than you may think)
- Trauma (mental or physical)
Click on the cause above to understand the Chinese medicine view on each of those and learn about your own health.
Lifestyle
- Diet plays an important role in health, we all know that. in Chinese medicine, it's a little more specific than just eating healthy, wholesome and clean food. If someone feels cold most of the time, we recommend to eat warming foods: soups, teas, stews but also with spices like ginger, or cinnamon to warm the body up internally. If someone feels mostly hot, we then would talk about salads, raw foods, cooling herbs like mint, lemon, basil. Also damp food are usually the case of too much mucus in the body (constant stuffy nose, feeling phlegmy, swollen and puffy...) and so avoiding milk products, sugar and wheat would benefit the person.
- Sleep is key to a good health. The body needs it to repair the damage of stress and other daily trauma we put our body through. The best time to get some shut eye is between 10:30 pm and 7 am. So trying to go to bed earlier will help feel refresh in the morning. Insomnia has become an epidemic in the Western world but acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can definitely help. Talk to a practitioner if you're having trouble sleeping (waking up, not able to fall asleep...).
- Stress is a major cause of emotional issues (anger, frustration, anxiety...), may cause high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, headaches, neck and shoulder tension, low back ache, PMs in women, hormone imbalances, insomnia and much more. So we need to find ways to release stress. It could be reading, walking with family and friends, dancing, singing, going for a jog, yoga, meditation... Make sure to find what helps you release your stress and practice it. Acupuncture is very relaxing (yes, even with needles in the body, most of my patient fall asleep during treatment).
- Exercise can cause health issues in two ways: too much of it or not enough. Too much can create injuries or overuse of certain muscles, can stop menstruation in women and much more if taken to the extreme. Not enough exercise of course will have consequences as well: insomnia, tension, weight gain, weak muscles, constipation... So find the one exercise that you enjoy and practice it in moderation.
- Other lifestyle causes of diseases can be due to drug use, cigarettes, alcohol in large consumption, or taking too many medications.
Try to find balance in your life as often as you can and everything in moderation is quite alright.
Clara Cohen
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