The Wisdom of Prevention

Chinese medicine emphasizes on prevention as much as cure, if not more. The concept of prevention was first introduced in the “Book of Interior”, or “Nei Jing g“” circa 300 B.C. It says, “The superior healer is one who can successfully check diseases before they develop.”

Everybody talks about cutting costs in health care. How many are really serious about prevention? There is a direct link between prevention and health care costs. We’ll be surprised how much savings prevention can achieve and how easy it can be done, if we put our mind to it.

What do we mean by prevention?

• Prevention does not mean free from illness, or no death due to illness.

• Prevention should be pursued out of a desire to stay healthy, rather than out of fear of a particular disease or death.

• Prevention should be your own responsibility, for it’s your self-interest.

The doctor should help with advices and encouragement.

• Prevention means minimizing the occurrence and intensity of illness.

• It means cultivating a healthy habit, lifestyle, and state of mind.

• It should give us a sense of purpose like a long-term investment.

• Preventive methods promote good health, peace of mind, and fulfillment.

• Prevention should not be expensive, but it requires a sustaining effort.

• It involves basically strengthening body and soul.

Some simple rules to remember:

• Practice moderation in whatever you do.

• Preserve some regularity in your life regarding eat, work, and sleep.

• Exercise daily. At least do some walking, or just moving your limbs.

• Remain active. Don’t be a couch potato or TV bum!

• Throw your bad habits out the window. This one is really tough !

• Maintain a healthy diet. Don’t burden your mind with what to eat and what not to eat. If you manage to eat a reasonable diversity of food every week, you’ll have gotten all the nutrition your body needs. The keyword is diversity. Vegetarians can also find a diversity of non-meat products.

• Don’t follow strange and complicated rules that don’t make sense. They are probably commercialized preventive methods.

• Don’t over-emphasize preventing a dreadful disease at the expense of marginalizing many others that can possibly hit you. To make prevention enjoyable, you should only do a general one with the goal of making your body more robust.

What you eat and what you do everyday determine how good is your health and your preventive method. However, your personal condition may require an herbal supplement. Chinese herbs are especially suited for prevention because of their strengthening and balancing effects. An herbal prescription should focus on the following areas:

1) Strengthen overall

Ren Shen

Dang Shen

Bai Zhu

Fu Ling

2) Nourish blood

Dang Gui

He Shou Wu

Chi Shao d

3) Enhance Qi circulation

Huang Qi

Tian Qi

4) Detoxification

Di Huang

Bai Hua She Cao

Chuan Xin Lian

5) Reduce excess heat

Zhi Mu

A total of 13 herbs are used.

Drink one cup (8 oz) of herb tea a day, preferably in the morning to allow for dissipation of excess heat generated by the strengthening herbs. You don’t need the herb tea for consecutive days. Drinking 10 to 20 cups of herb tea within a month will suffice normally.

This is just one formula with countless variations depending on:

* How accurate the herbalist can pinpoint your weak organs.

* How weak is your body initially.

* What specific conditions you have initially.

* How does your body respond to the herbs.