What are the contents of traditional Chinese medicine health care?

The core of traditional Chinese medicine health care has never been as simple as following the trend of eating Internet celebrity health products and making various functional teas. The essence is all the life adjustment methods that extend around the two cores of "correspondence between nature and man" and "co-nurturing of body and spirit". Everything from the regular schedule of the four seasons to the speed of eating and emotional relaxation are all included in the category of health care.

Many people may think this is too general, but let me tell you a true story. I met a product manager of an Internet company before. Last year, he always felt that his back was weak and his hair was falling out. After searching a lot of information on the Internet, he felt that he had kidney deficiency. He spent a small amount of 10,000 to buy deer antler, red ginseng, and health tea, which he drank every day. After half a month of drinking, he started to have blisters at the corners of his mouth and nosebleeds, which lasted the whole night. He couldn't sleep, so he consulted an old Chinese medicine doctor whom he knew well and didn't prescribe any supplements. He was told to turn off the computer and lie in bed before 11 o'clock every day. He didn't watch short videos while lying down. He took 10 minutes every day at noon to stand downstairs in the company and chewed 20 times each mouthful of rice before swallowing. He persisted like this for more than a month. Most of his previous dizziness and backache were gone, and his hair loss was reduced. You see, this is the most down-to-earth health regimen, without all the bells and whistles.

Nowadays, there are always people on the Internet arguing about whether spring masking and autumn freezing are fake health care. Some people have caught fever and colds, and some people have caught colds and fevers. In fact, this shows that there is no universal formula for health care. Spring masking does not make you still wrapped in feathers when it is 30 degrees in spring. For those who are usually afraid of heat and easily get angry, just cover the back of your neck and back, the two places where wind easily enters. If your lower body feels hot, just lighten it up a little. If you are afraid of the cold and get upset when the cool breeze blows, you can just cover your lower body for ten days and a half.

When it comes to diet, it’s even more interesting. Many people think that to maintain good health, they need to drink white porridge and eat light food every day. Last time I met a young man from Sichuan. I heard someone said that eating spicy food and getting internal heat requires a light diet. After drinking white porridge for half a month, I felt exhausted and had no appetite. No, the old Chinese medicine doctor told him to eat spicy food normally and eat less ice. He said that he had been eating spicy food for more than 20 years and his body had already adapted to it. Suddenly, if he stopped eating spicy food, his qi and blood would be blocked. There is no unified dietary standard. The one that suits his body is the best.

People often talk about maintaining health, but in fact, maintaining emotions is the most overlooked part. I met an aunt before who had grade 3 breast nodules. After taking medicine for more than half a year, she didn't get any better. After retirement, she signed up for a square dance team and went out with her sisters to travel every day. She was happy every day. When she went for a follow-up examination six months later, she found that the nodules were almost gone to grade 1. You see, Chinese medicine says that "anger hurts the liver, and thinking hurts the spleen." If you hold your breath to go to work every day, no matter how much bird's nest you eat, it will be of no use. If you straighten your emotions, it will be more effective than any tonic.

The familiar moxibustion, cupping, Baduanjin, and scraping are all part of health care, but they are not done casually. For example, if you have a yin deficiency and a strong fire, often have dry mouth and tongue, and can't sleep at night, if you moxibustion your navel every day, the more you moxibustion, the more internal heat you will get, which will make you uncomfortable. Nowadays, some people say that TCM health care is all metaphysics and has no scientific basis. In fact, if you think about it carefully, what our ancestors said, "Eat and drink in moderation, daily life should be regular, and don't work rashly" are essentially the same as the regular work and rest, balanced diet, and not overexertion advocated by modern medicine. It's just that TCM uses its own theoretical system to explain, and you don't have to take sides. What suits you is the best.

In the final analysis, health care is never a big thing that requires you to devote a large amount of time to do it. It means staying up late one less time, drinking one less glass of iced milk tea, don't hold it in and find a way to relieve yourself when you are angry, and wear more clothes when the weather is cold. These small daily adjustments are the most practical content of health care.