Etiology: Causes of disease
Great Scholar
Body:
It is important not to consider the presenting disharmony as the cause of disease. The cause of the disharmony itself is found in the dietary habits, lifestyle, environment, emotions, toxins, constitution, trauma, or wrong treatment.
Identifying the cause is important so that we can advise the patient on how to avoid it, minimize it, or prevent its re-occurrence.
Most importantly, Chinese medicine stresses balance in ones life. Too much or too little of a good thing can cause disease. Also, what is right for one person may not be for the next. Therefore, do not have in mind an ideal and rigid state of balance you think you should impose on every client that walks into your clinic.
Emotions
We all have emotions, and yes we are allowed to feel, this is a part of what makes us human. Emotions only cause disease when they are extremely intense, prolonged over a long period of time, and especially when they are not expressed or acknowledged.
There are basically 5 emotions considered in Chinese medicine theory: Anger (resentment, irritability, rage, bitterness, frustration), Joy (excessive excitement, extreme lifestyle), Sadness, Worry & pensiveness, and Fear.
Anger: effects the Liver. If prolonged cause Liver Qi stagnation, Liver Blood Stasis, rising of Liver Yang, or Liver Fire. Headaches & painful clotted menses would be the most common symptom. It also commonly effects the Spleen. Work, family, and unfulfilled desires are common causes of anger.
Joy: effects the Heart. Prolonged excessive excitement, extreme lifestyle, or continuous pleasurable stimulation can lead to Heart disharmony (Fire, deficiency).
Sadness: effects the Lungs (& Heart). It can manifest in breathlessness, fatigue, depression, & crying. In women this often leads to Blood deficiency and amenorrhea.
Worry & pensiveness: effects the Spleen. Excessive thinking, mental work, or studying can cause fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, gas, & bloating. This commonly also leads to dampness and Phlegm, and may also affect the Kidneys & Heart causing fear & anxiety.
Fear: effects the Kidneys (& Heart). Chronic fear and anxiety (also shock) most often cause Kidney and Heart Yin deficiency displaying as night sweating, palpitations, dryness and heat.
Climate
Excluding Gan Mao and Bi Zheng, climate effects in 2 basic ways; 1. effecting the person via its natural characteristics, 2. exacerbating and already underlying pattern. For example; Cold contracts and causes pain and watery discharges. Dampness causes heaviness, turbidity, and sticky discharges. Dryness is obvious. Heat gives rise to feelings of heat, skin eruptions, and restlessness.
Constitution
We can only expect moderate improvements in ones constitution, after-all, we are born with it. Through balanced lifestyle & dietary habits, and certain practices such as Qigong (breathing exercises), Taijiquan, Yoga, meditation, & prayer. It is important to assess constitution to make a realistic prognosis.
Over-Exertion
A proper balance between work, exercise, and rest. Too much or too little of these aspects of life cause imbalance. When one overworks beyond the point that Qi can keep up with the demands, the body takes from the persons Essence to keep up.
Essence Functions:
1. Birth, growth, reproduction and fertility, development of bones, teeth, hair, and brain, and sexual maturity.
2. Kidney Yin and Essence are heated by the Kidney Yang & Ming Men to produce Qi (refined steam).
3. Kidney Essence produces Marrow which fills brain & spinal cord & produces bone marrow which helps produce blood.
4. Essence determines our basic constitutional strength & resistance to external pathogens.
Essence deficiency:
1. Slow growth in children, poor bone development, infertility, habitual miscarriage, mental retardation, bone deterioration (osteo), premature graying, hair loss, and tooth loss.
2. Poor sexual function, impotence, weakness of knees and back, nocturnal emissions, tinnitus, & deafness.
3. Poor concentration & memory, dizziness, tinnitus, empty headed feeling.
4. Weak immune system, always catching colds/flus, chronic rhinitis & allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
In particular, excessive mental work will damage the Spleen. Excessive physical work will also affect the Spleen and Kidneys. Also, excessive weight lifting can injure the lower back, jogging can stagnate Qi in the knees, and tennis/golf/writing the elbows.
Sexual Activity
'Normal' amount of sexual activity is entirely dependant on the person's state of health, constitution, and strength of Essence. Therefore it should be adjusted accordingly (i.e. age). Also, a man having trouble with impotence should be advised to not preform sexual acts during your course of treatment. If sexual desire is low, the Kidney Yang is deficient. Too little sexual activity is said to cause stagnation of Qi. Lastly, an unhappy sexual life can cause emotional issues (discussed earlier).
Dietary Habits
An aspect that causes much disease.
Organic foods: due to all the toxins in our foods, organic should be the choice whenever possible.
Quantitative and qualitative aspects of diet: overly strict diets may cause malnutrition, so will eating disorders. This will weaken the Spleen which results in Qi deficiency, dampness (possible weight gain) and Blood deficiency. Over-eating, the more common problem, also weakens the Spleen causing bloating, gas, fatigue, and ultimately Phlegm.
Too much Cold & Raw foods: in some can cause damage to the Spleen Yang. The argument of raw having more nutrients than cooked foods becomes irrelevant when a person has weak digestion and therefore trouble digesting raw uncooked foods.
Too much Sweet: damages Spleen and causes dampness (loose stool, bloating, vaginal discharge, phlegm).
Too Much Spicy: unless culturally adjusted, curry, lamb, alcohol, beef, lobster, and many hot spices) causes Heat usually in Stomach and Liver resulting in bitter taste, heartburn, thirst.
Too much greasy: impairs Spleen function causing Phlegm and Dampness and eventually Heat (sinusitus, foggy mind, heaviness).
Some other important guidelines to follow: relax while eating, chew food well, and eat at regular times.
Trauma
Trauma of any sort to any part of the body will cause stagnation of Qi and Blood and may result in pain.
It is important not to consider the presenting disharmony as the cause of disease. The cause of the disharmony itself is found in the dietary habits, lifestyle, environment, emotions, toxins, constitution, trauma, or wrong treatment.
Identifying the cause is important so that we can advise the patient on how to avoid it, minimize it, or prevent its re-occurrence.
Most importantly, Chinese medicine stresses balance in ones life. Too much or too little of a good thing can cause disease. Also, what is right for one person may not be for the next. Therefore, do not have in mind an ideal and rigid state of balance you think you should impose on every client that walks into your clinic.
Emotions
We all have emotions, and yes we are allowed to feel, this is a part of what makes us human. Emotions only cause disease when they are extremely intense, prolonged over a long period of time, and especially when they are not expressed or acknowledged.
There are basically 5 emotions considered in Chinese medicine theory: Anger (resentment, irritability, rage, bitterness, frustration), Joy (excessive excitement, extreme lifestyle), Sadness, Worry & pensiveness, and Fear.
Anger: effects the Liver. If prolonged cause Liver Qi stagnation, Liver Blood Stasis, rising of Liver Yang, or Liver Fire. Headaches & painful clotted menses would be the most common symptom. It also commonly effects the Spleen. Work, family, and unfulfilled desires are common causes of anger.
Joy: effects the Heart. Prolonged excessive excitement, extreme lifestyle, or continuous pleasurable stimulation can lead to Heart disharmony (Fire, deficiency).
Sadness: effects the Lungs (& Heart). It can manifest in breathlessness, fatigue, depression, & crying. In women this often leads to Blood deficiency and amenorrhea.
Worry & pensiveness: effects the Spleen. Excessive thinking, mental work, or studying can cause fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, gas, & bloating. This commonly also leads to dampness and Phlegm, and may also affect the Kidneys & Heart causing fear & anxiety.
Fear: effects the Kidneys (& Heart). Chronic fear and anxiety (also shock) most often cause Kidney and Heart Yin deficiency displaying as night sweating, palpitations, dryness and heat.
Climate
Excluding Gan Mao and Bi Zheng, climate effects in 2 basic ways; 1. effecting the person via its natural characteristics, 2. exacerbating and already underlying pattern. For example; Cold contracts and causes pain and watery discharges. Dampness causes heaviness, turbidity, and sticky discharges. Dryness is obvious. Heat gives rise to feelings of heat, skin eruptions, and restlessness.
Constitution
We can only expect moderate improvements in ones constitution, after-all, we are born with it. Through balanced lifestyle & dietary habits, and certain practices such as Qigong (breathing exercises), Taijiquan, Yoga, meditation, & prayer. It is important to assess constitution to make a realistic prognosis.
Over-Exertion
A proper balance between work, exercise, and rest. Too much or too little of these aspects of life cause imbalance. When one overworks beyond the point that Qi can keep up with the demands, the body takes from the persons Essence to keep up.
Essence Functions:
1. Birth, growth, reproduction and fertility, development of bones, teeth, hair, and brain, and sexual maturity.
2. Kidney Yin and Essence are heated by the Kidney Yang & Ming Men to produce Qi (refined steam).
3. Kidney Essence produces Marrow which fills brain & spinal cord & produces bone marrow which helps produce blood.
4. Essence determines our basic constitutional strength & resistance to external pathogens.
Essence deficiency:
1. Slow growth in children, poor bone development, infertility, habitual miscarriage, mental retardation, bone deterioration (osteo), premature graying, hair loss, and tooth loss.
2. Poor sexual function, impotence, weakness of knees and back, nocturnal emissions, tinnitus, & deafness.
3. Poor concentration & memory, dizziness, tinnitus, empty headed feeling.
4. Weak immune system, always catching colds/flus, chronic rhinitis & allergic rhinitis (hay fever).
In particular, excessive mental work will damage the Spleen. Excessive physical work will also affect the Spleen and Kidneys. Also, excessive weight lifting can injure the lower back, jogging can stagnate Qi in the knees, and tennis/golf/writing the elbows.
Sexual Activity
'Normal' amount of sexual activity is entirely dependant on the person's state of health, constitution, and strength of Essence. Therefore it should be adjusted accordingly (i.e. age). Also, a man having trouble with impotence should be advised to not preform sexual acts during your course of treatment. If sexual desire is low, the Kidney Yang is deficient. Too little sexual activity is said to cause stagnation of Qi. Lastly, an unhappy sexual life can cause emotional issues (discussed earlier).
Dietary Habits
An aspect that causes much disease.
Organic foods: due to all the toxins in our foods, organic should be the choice whenever possible.
Quantitative and qualitative aspects of diet: overly strict diets may cause malnutrition, so will eating disorders. This will weaken the Spleen which results in Qi deficiency, dampness (possible weight gain) and Blood deficiency. Over-eating, the more common problem, also weakens the Spleen causing bloating, gas, fatigue, and ultimately Phlegm.
Too much Cold & Raw foods: in some can cause damage to the Spleen Yang. The argument of raw having more nutrients than cooked foods becomes irrelevant when a person has weak digestion and therefore trouble digesting raw uncooked foods.
Too much Sweet: damages Spleen and causes dampness (loose stool, bloating, vaginal discharge, phlegm).
Too Much Spicy: unless culturally adjusted, curry, lamb, alcohol, beef, lobster, and many hot spices) causes Heat usually in Stomach and Liver resulting in bitter taste, heartburn, thirst.
Too much greasy: impairs Spleen function causing Phlegm and Dampness and eventually Heat (sinusitus, foggy mind, heaviness).
Some other important guidelines to follow: relax while eating, chew food well, and eat at regular times.
Trauma
Trauma of any sort to any part of the body will cause stagnation of Qi and Blood and may result in pain.
