The Basic Principles of TCM that I Have to Know - Causes of Diseases

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views health as a dynamic balance between Yin and Yang. Disease develops when this balance is disturbed. Qi is responsible for keeping the body in balance. Disharmony or imbalance can be caused externally by weather changes or internally by excessive emotions. Other causes of disease are quality of inherited Congenital Essence, Improper Diet, Unbalanced Lifestyle, Trauma, Parasites, and Treatment errors.

External Causes
Because in TCM philosophy everything in the universe is interconnected, the changes in the universe, such as weather, would impacts my body. Changes in weather are characterized by six external energies that can cause disharmony in my body. Usually they are said as the Six Evils :
1) Wind, is a Yang pathogenic factor and causes these symptoms : sneezing, shivering, colds, running nose, fever, joint pain, headache.
2) Cold, another important pathogenic factor with Yin quality. The symptoms are freezing, cold extremities, joint pain, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorder, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain that improves with warmth.
3) Dampness, is a Yin pathogenic factor that stems from damp weather conditions, wet surroundings, or wet clothing. The symptoms are chronic fatigue, feeling of heaviness in head and libs, dizziness, edemas, dyspnea (shortness of breath), tightness in chest, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
4) Heat is pathogenic factor with Yang character. The symptoms are restlessness, irritability, nervousness, sleep disorder, insomnia, hyperactivity, delirium itching, red rashes, fever, thirst, dry mouth and lips, reddened, sore throat.
5) Fire or Summer Heat ia a Yang pathogenic factor that can deplete Qi and Body Fluids, which cause dehydration and exhaustion.
6) Dryness is a Yang factor and often appears in combination with heat. Dryness damages the lung and harms Yin and Body Fluids. The symptoms are dry and scaly skin, chapped lips, dry cough, little saliva, thirst, and constipation.

Internal Causes
According to TCM, my emotions are not good or bad, they simply are part of my being and live. There are good reasons to feel fear at times, to be angry, to worry, to feel joy, to feel grief and sadness. These feelings are indicator of my personal and collective relationship with the world and myself. In optimal heath, my emotions flow freely, are acknowledged, responded to appropriately, and then I move on to the next feeling. Disease only arise when I become stuck in my emotions, try to ignore or suppress them. There is a direct relationship between my emotional life and my physical health. Each of my organ is associated with a range of my emotions in these following ways :
1) Shock or Fright scatters Qi and affected both my Kidneys and my Heart and to a certain extent, my Small Intestine. The Qi of my Heart is weakened rapidly, leading to palpitations, breathlessness and insomnia.
2) Fear makes the Qi descend and affects my Kidneys. Excessive or prolonged fear drains my Kidneys. Fear also disturbs my Heart.
3) Anger affects my Liver and makes the Qi rise. Excessive and inappropriate anger causes Stagnation of Liver-Qi or Liver-Blood, the rising of Liver-Fire which may cause Heart Fire.
4) Joy slows down the Qi and affects my Heart. In general, joy is beneficial. Being at peace and filled with happiness calms and slows the Qi. Excessive joy is damaging, can harm my heart.
5) Worry knots the Qi and affect my Spleen, bringing an accumulation of Dampness. Worry also affects my Lung, leading to anxiety, breathlessness and stiffness of shoulders and neck.
6) Sadness dissolves Qi and affects my Lungs, leading to Lung Qi deficiency, also affects my Heart, bringing on Heart Qi deficiency.

Other Causes of Disease
1) The quality of my inherited Congenital Essence depends on the health and age of my parents, particularly at the time of conception. It also depends especially on my mother’s health and age during the pregnancy. My Congenital Essence can be prematurely drained through overwork, inadequate rest, alcohol, and excessive sexual activity.
2) Improper Diet. From a TCM point of view, diet can be unbalanced from the quantity and the quality aspects. Malnutrition seriously weakens my Qi and my Blood and results in Spleen Deficiency. Over-eating also weakens my Spleen and Stomach and leads to bloated feeling in my Stomach, belching, nausea and gastric efflux. Excessive consumption of food that is hot or cold in energy can also be detrimental. Eating in a hurry, going straight back to work after eating, eating late in the evening, eating in a state of emotional tension can lead to Stomach Yin deficiency.
3) Unbalanced lifestyle like overwork - mental and physical – can cause localize Qi or Blood Stagnation, deplete Qi, deplete the Kidneys and the lower back. Excessive sexual activity depletes my vital energy. As a woman I loss my vital energy through the process of childbirth. But for men, the body draws on vital energy at ejaculation and orgasm.
4) Trauma causes Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis.
5) Parasites
6) Treatment Error.

The Basic Principles of TCM that I Have to Know - The Five Basic Substances

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), my body consists of the five basic substances – Qi, Blood, Body Fluids, Spirit, and Congenital Essence – that constitute my body and maintain its functional activities. TCM believes that the life process is, in fact, a process of the metabolism of these substances. My five basic substances are also the key parameter addressed by TCM therapy. Food therapy, and herbal too, are especially valuable for influencing the formation, regulation, and consumption of these basic substances.

Concept of Qi was originally a philosophy concept. The meaning of the term in Chinese is much broader and encompasses aspects that are difficult to translate into Western languages, but for making it simple, people translate it as “energy” or “life force”. Qi is the source of all life processes in the universe, arise from the energy field between the polarities of Yin and Yang. In my body, Qi comes from the combination of three kind of Qi, Primordial Qi inherited from my parents, the fresh air inhaled by my Lung, and the refined food essence transformed by my Spleen. Qi warms and protects my body and is responsible for growth and development, and for mental and physical activities. Qi flows through the channels of my body. Each organ has its own Qi, which controls the organ’s function. Dysfunction of Qi are formed in three conditions, e.g. Qi Vacuity (general physical weakness), Qi Stagnation (pain the the area of the Qi coursing disorder), and Qi Counter flow (a pathological change of direction of normal Qi flow). Qi is attributed to Yang, because it is mobile and functions to move and warm.

In TCM, Blood is Yin substance. It depends on Qi to be generated and distributed. Blood is mainly composed of Nutritive Qi and Body Fluids, which come from the refined food transformed and transported by the Spleen and Stomach. The main function of Blood is to nourish the whole body – the organs, skin, muscles, tendons and bones – to both nourish and moisten. When my Blood is sufficient I will have a rosy and bright face, strong and well-developed muscles, lustrous skin and hair, full vigor, perfect consciousness, and keen perception. On the other hand I will get withered hair and skin, atrophy and convulsion of tendons, thin muscles and weak organs, restlessness, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, dysphoria, and other mental disorder when I have deficiency of Blood. Dysfunction of Blood are formed in three conditions, e.g. Blood Vacuity (pale complexion), Blood Stasis (firmly localized pain), and Blood Heat (restlessness, heat sensation). “When Blood and Qi develop disharmony, a hundred illnesses can form.” (Su Wen).

Body Fluids is a general term for all the normal fluid of my body. They are extracted by my Spleen from food and beverages, include tears, joint fluids, sweat, digestive juices, urine, etc. As liquid substances, Body Fluids function to moisten and nourish my body. Compared with Blood, the nourishing effect of Body Fluids is not to strong. The generation, distribution and discharge of Body Fluids depend on Qi and its activities. On the other hand, Qi also relies on Body Fluids to be carried, and Body Fluids are where Qi exists, moves and changes. For example : Kidney Qi controls the opening and closing of the Bladder, so deficiency of Kidney Qi often leads to profuse and frequent urine, enuresis and incontinence of urine. Body Fluids are an important component of Blood, so Blood and Body Fluids usually influence each other under pathologic conditions. Dysfunction of Body Fluids are formed in two conditions, e.g. Damage to Body Fluids (dryness) and Body Fluid Accumulation (dampness).

Continuous supplementation and regeneration of Qi, Blood, and Body Fluids is one of the most important tasks of Chinese Food Therapy.

In TCM, spirit encompasses the mental, psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person and is expressed in the person’s consciousness and personality. Spirit is closely connected with Heart, Congenital Essence, Blood, and Qi. My good spirit provides a radiant expression and eyes that are alert and clear. The functions of spirit are consciousness, thought, memory, sleep, emotions, spirituality, and psyche. Psychological and mental disorder, insomnia are the result of spirit dysfunction.

According to TCM, Congenital Essence forms the foundation for all physical and mental development. This substance is stored in the kidneys; it has no equivalent in Western medicine. Practitioners of TCM view the amount of my Congenital Essence as determining my quality of life and life expectancy. It cannot be generated and forms a sort of “inner energy clock” which determines my life span. Once my “inner energy clock” runs out, I die. The quality of Congenital Essence is the foundation for prenatal development of the body. Postpartum, Congenital Essence influences physical and mental growth and is responsible for the body’s reproductive strength. Poor constitution, premature aging, deformities, and infertility can be seen as Congenital Essence dysfunction.

The Basic Principles of TCM that I Have to Know - Wu Xing (The Five Phases)

Understanding the concept of Yin and Yang only will not take me deeper to Traditional Chinese Medicine concept. I need to know about Wu Xing. After reading some explanations, I realize that Wu Xing is not something easy to be understood, but once I get it I know how the system of my body influences each other.

When Yin and Yang combine and alternate, they create the Five Phases (expressions) of the Qi known as Wu Xing. Wu Xing is actually the short form of “Wu zhong liu xing zhi Qi” which means “the five types of Qi which prevail in the different times”. Qi is usually translated as energy or life force. The theory of Wu Xing came into being in the 4th century BC. With its help, Tsu Yen (350-270 BC) and his students tried to demystify nature and create an intellectual, rational, self-contained theoretical system. Wu Xing relates the entire spiritual, emotional, material, and energetic phenomena of the universe to five basic phases e.g. Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire. Each one of them represents a movement, a different transformation of Qi.

The five types of Qi connect and interact one with the other in various manners (cycles). The knowledge of the cycles enables me to know how these energies are controlled in nature and also in my body. The cycle can be creative (productive), controlling (destructive), and weakening. In the creative cycle, each element intensifies, nourishes and reinforces the following one. Wood nourishes fire, fire produces the earth, the earth produces metal, metal produces water, and water nourishes wood. In the controlling cycle, each element controls and can destroy the other. Fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, wood weakens th earth, the earth blocks the water and water extinguishes fire. The weakening cycle consists of the inversion of the creative cycle. Metal weakens the earth, the earth weakens the fire, fire weakens the wood, wood weakens water, and water weakens the metal.

In the reality of my life, I am experiencing the transformation of the Yin Yang and the Wu Xing, which reflects the phenomenon in the macrocosm. Yin and Yang within Wu Xing represents my organs. Yin Wood represents my liver, Yang Wood my gall bladder; Yin Fire represents my heart, Yang Fire my small intestine; Yin Earth represents my spleen, Yang Earth my stomach; Yin Metal represents my lung, Yang Metal my large intestine; Yin Water represents my kidney, Yang Water my bladder. The interdependence of my organs will be able to be understood like this : my kidneys (water) nourishes my liver (wood), so my kidneys deficiency affecting the function of my liver. My kidneys (wood) are said to restrain my heart, such as my kidneys’ PH affecting my heart (fire) activity.

Yin and Yang within Wu Xing are playing important role in my life. My life will be in harmony and abundant, if Yin and Yang of Wu Xing are balanced.

The Basic Principles of TCM that I Have to Know - Yin and Yang

After deciding to choose Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as my dietetics way, the next step is to understand the basic principles of TCM : Yin and Yang, The Five Phases, The Five Basic Substances and Cause of Diseases. Yin and Yang is the first that I have to know.

The basic principles of TCM are rooted in the Taoist philosophy of Yin and Yang. This concept is used to describe how polar or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Yin and Yang lies at the heart of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The yin and yang represent all the opposite principles I find in the universe. Under Yang are the principles of maleness, the sun, creation, heat, light, Heaven, dominance, and so on, and under Yin are the principles of femaleness, the moon, completion, cold, darkness, material forms, submission, and so on. Each of these opposites produce the other: Heaven creates the ideas of things under Yang, the earth produces their material forms under Yin, and vice versa; creation thing occurs under the principle of Yang, the completion of the created thing occurs under Yin, and vice versa, and so on. This production of Yin from Yang and Yang from Yin occurs cyclically and constantly, so that no one principle continually dominates the other or determines the other. All opposites that I experience – health and sickness, wealth and poverty, power and submission – can be explained in reference to the temporary dominance of one principle over the other. Since no one principle dominates eternally, that means that all conditions are subject to change into their opposites.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine Yin and Yang refer to energies and functioning modes of my organs and body. It is said that the healthy state is brought by the right balance between Yin and Yang and illness is seen as a disturbance in the balance of Yin and Yang. When Yang is stronger, my body is hot, my pores are closed, and I become boisterous and coarse and do not perspire. I become feverish, my mouth are dry and sore, my stomachs feel tight, and I die of constipation. When Yang is the stronger, I can endure winter but not summer. When Yin is the stronger, my body is cold and covered with perspiration. I realize I am ill; I tremble and feel chilly. When I feel chilled, my spirits become rebellious. My stomachs cannot long digest food and I die. When Yin is stronger, I can endure summer but not winter.

By the age of forty the Yin force in my body has been reduced to one-half of its natural vigor and my youthful prowess has deteriorated. By the age of fifty my body has grown heavy. My ears no longer hear well. My eyes no longer see clearly. By the age of sixty the life producing power of Yin has declined to a very low level. Impotence sets in. Thus, I must choose the right food and nurture my psychic equilibrium in order to acquire health and longevity.