In the past eight articles, I have explained the causes of diseases in Chinese Medicine. However, you might have this question. “How come when two people are in the same environment, for example outdoors in the winter under the cold, why is only one person getting sick and the other is fine?”
We first need to understand two terms, Vital-Qi and Evil-Qi.
Vital-Qi: The body has the ability to defend itself from the invasion of pathogenic factors. It also has the ability to recover from any inbalances. This function is called “Vital-Qi” in Chinese Medicine.
Evil-Qi: This generally refers to various pathogenic factors of diseases. All the causes of diseases such as climatic factors, pestilence, extreme emotions, pathological products of our bodies, are all considered Evil-Qi.
Just the Evil-Qi does not determine if the person will get sick or not. It also depends on the state of Vital-Qi of that person. During the onset of disease, the Vital-Qi and Evil-Qi will battle. Depending on the outcome, the person will either be fine or get sick.
1. Vital-Qi defeats the Evil-Qi
In this case disease will not occur. The Vital-Qi has defended the body from the invasion of Evil-Qi.
2. Evil-Qi overcomes the Vital-Qi
In this case the Evil-Qi is stronger than the Vital-Qi, resulting in an imbalance of Yin-Yang, Qi-Blood, thus leading to disorders of the physiological function of internal organs and disease.
Therefore weak Vital-Qi is a primary factor in the occurrence of disease. So how can we ensure we have a strong Vital-Qi?
- Proper Rest – Sleep at the right time, have a work-rest balance
- Proper Diet – Eat right according to your Body-type
- Proper Exercise – Do moderate exercise without exhausting too much of your Qi
- Calm Emotions – Prevent excess of different emotions and prevent having too much stress
The exact methods to achieve the above will be discussed very soon after we finish this Basic Chinese Medicine Theory Series.
Up next, I will be discussing the concept of Preventive Medicine in Chinese Medicine.
Registered Acupuncturist (R.Ac), Alex Hui created this blog to share with the world the treasures in Chinese Medicine (CM).
Other Factors that Cause Diseases