Factors That Affect Health
After Su Ziyang finished explaining traditional Chinese medicine and the internal organs of the human body, everyone took a short break, and then the class ended.
There was little organization or discipline.
At first, Su Ziyang thought everyone was free to do their own thing, but unexpectedly they all came over to ask Su Ziyang to treat their illness, which gave Su Ziyang a terrible headache.
And he asked Su Ziyang some vague and ambiguous questions.
Su Ziyang could only tell them to trust science.
After everyone had finished their activities, they resumed their lessons.
Su Ziyang still raised one question: Under what circumstances are people more susceptible to illness?
The crowd began to discuss it again.
Some people said they were unhappy.
Some say they ate too much.
Some people say they can't sleep well.
Some say it involves heavy drinking and smoking.
There were many different opinions, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Finally, Su Ziyang summarized for everyone: what everyone said was correct, but none of it was comprehensive.
And he explained it to everyone.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the cause of a disease is called the etiology.
Traditional Chinese medicine's understanding of the causes of disease comes entirely from observations of real life. It does not contain feudal superstitions such as the idea that diseases are caused by ghosts or gods. All causes of disease fall into four categories: natural factors, emotional factors, lifestyle, and pathological products.
The causes of the disease can be mainly divided into three categories: internal causes, external causes, and neither internal nor external causes.
External factors refer to the six evils, namely, wind, cold, heat, dampness, dryness, and fire, which are six abnormal climate changes.
Under normal circumstances, these are called the Six Qi, which are the normal climate in nature. When the climate changes abnormally and exceeds the human body's ability to adapt, or when the human body's resistance decreases, the Six Qi become pathogenic factors, called the Six Evils.
The pathogenic characteristics of each of the six pathogenic factors are also different.
For example, wind-evil is mobile and changes frequently, causing rapid onset and many variations, such as urticaria and migratory arthritis;
Cold pathogens can cause stagnation and contraction, leading to pain, cramps, and poor circulation of qi and blood.
Summer heat and dampness tend to rise and disperse, easily depleting qi and damaging body fluids, and this often occurs in summer.
Dampness is heavy, turbid, and sticky, causing diseases to linger and be difficult to cure, such as eczema and edema;
Dryness can damage body fluids, easily leading to dry mouth, dry cough, and dry skin.
When excessive heat rises upwards, it can easily lead to redness, swelling, heat, pain, and bleeding.
Internal factors refer to the seven emotions, namely joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and shock.
Normal emotions do not cause illness. However, when emotional fluctuations are excessive or last too long, exceeding the body's regulatory range, they can damage organ functions and lead to disease.
For example, excessive anger damages the liver, excessive worry damages the spleen, excessive grief damages the lungs, and excessive fear damages the kidneys.
This reflects an early understanding of psychosomatic diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is essentially consistent with the stress-induced disease theory in modern medicine.
There are even more reasons beyond internal and external factors.
This includes improper diet, overwork and lack of rest, external injuries, insect and animal bites, as well as pathological products such as phlegm, fluid retention, and blood stasis.
Eating too much or too little, eating too much or too little food, or eating unclean food can all cause illness.
Overwork or excessive comfort can also damage one's vital energy;
Bruises, burns, and insect or animal bites are considered external injuries.
"Oh! No wonder my back hurts so much. I play cards all day and lie down, but I have no energy. It turns out I'm being too comfortable!"
A chubby man echoed Su Ziyang's words, and everyone burst into laughter.
"Then you should do some chores! Help with the laundry, cook! If that's not possible, you could farm some land!"
My deskmate next to me was joking around with a grin.
"Yes, those who do manual labor should take appropriate rest, and those who need more rest should engage in moderate labor!"
Although it was a joke, Su Ziyang agreed with their statement!
According to us, the core principle governing disease progression depends primarily on a person's "vital energy," which refers to the body's resistance, repair capabilities, and regulatory abilities. Sufficient vital energy makes one less susceptible to illness.
"The core of learning about the etiology and pathogenesis of diseases is to understand that all diseases have objective causes, and are the result of the interaction between the body's own state and external factors. There are no supernatural pathogenic factors."
Please do not engage in feudal superstition!