Chinese alternative therapy helps lead a healthy life

After the waitress was done recommending certain dishes, saying they are a must-try, about a dozen of us old timers sitting around the table almost collectively said, "More vegetables, less meat".

All of us, in our early 50s, had gathered for dinner at a restaurant in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, during the recent Spring Festival break, a period when most Chinese traditionally prepare a lot of meat.

Suddenly, we found ourselves discussing a topic we never really cared much for some years ago when we were in our prime - health.

The level of each other's blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar, we were now talking like the oldies. Click to learn Chinese herb Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata (Fuzi).

And then, I glimpsed at the ladies sitting at the table and told them they needed to do more physical exercise to lose weight. It was said like a joke, but we all knew it wasn't really one.

And then I proposed, "Tonight, let's not have liquor with our dinner." A few agreed, the others, a majority, said they would drink a little and eventually persuaded all of us to take a drink or two.

A huge meal, consisting of a lot of varieties of meat, along side alcohol, is a norm during the two-week long Spring Festival.

It's quite an irony that a large number of urbanites have developed unhealthy lifestyles after their living standards have gone up.

Earlier, people fell ill because they didn't have enough to eat. Today, people are falling ill because they're eating too much, and eating wrong.

Latest statistics from Chinese Preventive Medicine Association show that non-contagious chronic diseases have increased by 14.3 percent on an average in the past decade. The total number of diabetes patients has gone up by 30.5 percent, hypertension by 17.6 percent, cerebrovascular diseases by 10.6 percent, coronary diseases by 63 percent, and malignant tumor by 60 percent.

There is no denying that chronic diseases have today become a major threat to the health of both urban and rural residents. Click to learn Chinese herb Pericarpium Zanthoxyli (Huajiao)">Pericarpium Zanthoxyli (Huajiao).

All these diseases are closely related to the lavish, and usually reckless, lifestyles that we follow.

It is quite normal for youngsters of this generation to sleep late and wake up late, often skipping breakfast, and heading straight to work. Lunch is the first meal of their day. Then it's back to work, after which a party with friends until they call it a night, too late to refer to it as night.

Many of my daughter's colleagues lead such a life. My daughter, too, swears by this routine, or the lack of it.

Except for spending a few hours at home in the evenings watching TV, my daughter lives just like most youngsters her age - skipping meals, sleeping late etc. Of course, the fact that I keep harping about the importance of outdoor exercise and healthy psychology makes absolutely no difference to her. Click to learn Chinese herb Fructus Evodiae (Wuzhuyu)">Fructus Evodiae (Wuzhuyu).

Hao Wanshan, a well-known doctor of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), says, you are your own best doctor, and at the same time, your own worst enemy.

I agree. If you can control your desires, eat right, and live right, chances are you'll never need a doctor. You would have prevented all ailments.

I am not just talking about controlling what you eat. It's also about controlling your greed for power, fame and money.

The more you aim at extracting from this world, the heavier is the pressure on your psychology. And it will damage your health sooner or later.

It takes perseverance to lead a healthy life. Click to learn Chinese herb Rhizoma Zingiberis (Ganjiang).

For example, we all know exercising everyday is the best thing we can do for our health. Yet, many of us don't, because we want it easy. So easy, that we're putting our lives to risk to lead what we think a comfortable life.

Statistics show that only 15 percent of Chinese people are living in healthy conditions, another 15 percent in unhealthy conditions and the remaining 70 percent are on the verge of living an unhealthy life.

This is because most people overdraft their health by following an unhealthy lifestyle. They often feel tired and rarely find themselves in high spirits.

In this increasingly materialistic world, blindly worshipping money, too, poses a threat to the health of many.

There is a saying that best sums up the mentality of many young people today: They're making money at the expense of their health in the first half of their life, and then using that money to stay alive in the second half.

Many believe they can get whatever they want, even good health, if they have enough money. There is no such thing as "enough money".

The more you make, the more you'll want. Click to learn Chinese herb Cortex Cinnamomi (Rougui).

Chinese literature giant Lu Xun (1881-1936) once said: "The tighter your grip on money, the more you can save; the more you save, the more you want to make."

The obsession for money and a luxurious life is a psychological disease. Failure to realize the goal will make one frustrated, and success will make one greedier.

Either way, by the end of it, you would have damaged your health. The psychological impact on physical health is far more than we can imagine.

A sound psychology is indispensable to one's physical health, and vice-versa.

Psychological problems developed due to physical illness will only further deteriorate one's health. It can be a vicious circle.

The idea of making money at the cost of health, and then maintaining health at the cost of money could be the root cause of the vicious circle, one that will be very hard to reverse once it has developed.

Article source: chinadaily