The healthiest state isn’t having no illnesses, it’s preventing them before they even start
By: Alfie Chung
Tags: Healthy Lifestyle, Chinese Medicine, Work Life Harmony, Covid Diaries, Wellbeing

The healthiest state isn’t having no illnesses, it’s preventing them before they even start

Photo by Eneko Uruñuela on Unsplash

Are you having the worst migraine and think it’s just part of modern life? Are you grinding so hard, and waiting for the big payday so you can ‘enjoy life’ afterwards?

My friends, as you all see in the Covid-19 pandemic, life doesn’t work that way.

There’s no big payday for your health. It almost never improves tremendously in a week, yet acute diseases can come and take over our lives so easily.

Other than the pandemic, you could see it from middle-aged family members who sweat the annual body check, worrying about what’s coming that they don’t know.

Life has its own limits, however, there are ways that we can enhance our physical and mental health for what’s coming next, no matter good or bad. You might not be a fortune teller, however, your health is in your own hands and you can start predicting what it may look like in the future, starting now.

The best doctors don’t treat illnesses, they prevent

To prevent illnesses in advance and not sweat about it, digging into the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a good way to start.

The improved economic and sanitation conditions over the years have led many of us to have a longer life expectancy for which to enjoy our lives. However, very few mention that it depends on the quality of our physical and mental health conditions. For those who consume without a limit, what follows are chronic diseases regarding ageing and our living habits, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. In fact, many of them can be prevented by fine-tuning our lifestyle habits and regular checkups to reduce the severity and complexity of the illnesses, thereby reducing the physical, mental and even economic burden on us during the treatment process.

Most people think that preventive medicine is a concept derived from conventional medicine. In fact, as early as 4,000 years ago, TCM had put forward disease prevention in the ‘Huang Di Nei Jing’, one of the ancient books about TCM. It means that doctors have the responsibility to make patients prevent illnesses well before they show up, to reduce the risks while treating them. What’s more, TCM has a saying:

‘A bad doctor treats an existing illness; a mediocre doctor treats patients who start getting sick; while the best doctor treats illnesses that haven’t occurred.’

As a result, various wellbeing-preserving methods were being practised and TCM has been used for preventive treatment and health management for thousands of years. As lifestyle and chronic diseases become more prevalent, more people who are used to conventional medical services now seek help from TCM as well.

How is it done? Personalisation!

The method of wellbeing-preservation in TCM overlooks the balance of a person’s body type, physique, diet, daily activities, lifestyle habits and even their character. It doesn’t have a minimum age limit, meaning that people could start managing their health from a child’s age (mark this down, baby mama and papas)!

The solution is then formulated in accordance with the current season, which varies from person to person. It is similar to the personalised treatment emphasised by conventional medicine in recent years. Family doctors can make corresponding health recommendations based on personal medical records and family medical history to reduce the risk of illnesses. The good news is that TCM and conventional medicine have a lot of room for cooperation in preventive medicine, which can complement each other and help increase the quality of our health by preventing illnesses effectively.

In fact, concepts and practices of TCM preventive medicine have been used and passed to generations in the Chinese and many Asian countries, some even invented their own based on their culture and habits! Things such as ‘eating less greasy, fried and ‘hot’ foods to prevent acne’, ‘drinking herbal tea to relieve “dryness” and prevent dry coughs’ come often from mouths of the elderly and the 40-somethings, however, an urge to constantly improve their wellness has occurred among millennials in recent years.

How to prevent illnesses by yourself?

Our blog has a series of articles specific to these topics which you could explore and follow step-by-step:

Get to know your body type and the do’s and don’ts Maintain a moderate diet style and choose foods that suit your body type Consult a professional about TCM food choices and developing healthy habits Track and regulate your emotions — they need exercise too!

Bonus point!

There is full of traditional wisdom inside these ‘wellbeing proverbs’ originated among the Chinese folks. Let’s learn them and see how much you could memorise:

春養肝，夏養心，秋養肺，冬養腎，一年四季養脾胃。

Nourish the liver in spring; Nourish the heart in summer; Nourish the lungs in autumn; Nourish the kidneys in winter; and nourish the digestive system throughout the year.

寧可食無肉，不可飯無湯。

Rather have no meat than to have no broth with a meal.

有淚盡情流，疾病自然愈。

Express your emotions fully, then you’ll find yourself free of illnesses.

每餐留一口，活到九十九。

Reduce your appetite at every meal and you’ll live until 99.

最好的醫生是自己，最好的運動是步行。

The best doctor is yourself; the best exercise is strolling.

These nuggets of knowledge along with local wellness recipes have long been integrated into the locals’ daily lives, and many are accustomed to consulting TCM books or doctors to regulate their health on days without disease and pain. Do you agree with them? Leave a comment below and share your own healthy rituals!

It’s just that the public’s knowledge of healthcare is relatively fragmented, making them somewhat ineffective. If we can integrate and deepen the various prevention methods of both Chinese and conventional medicine and promote them systematically, much more people will be benefited globally. Therefore, we’re developing a mobile app project to integrate these concepts and make them available to everyone in the world. Complete this 3-minute survey to let us know what you think then email us to have a free 15-minute wellbeing consultation!

Last but not least…❤️

Want a more tailored and detailed TCM diet and action plan for your emotional welling? Contact a professional or email me alfiechungdesign@gmail.com for a modernised TCM Food Therapy chat! Until next time!