Saliva, commonly known as saliva, is very precious in the eyes of Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine has always attached great importance to the maintenance of body fluids. It has been recorded since ancient times that "body fluid is the foundation of human beings". It is believed that frequent swallowing of saliva can moisten dryness, nourish spleen and stomach, nourish five internal organs, smooth joints, replenish brain and prolong life. Therefore, among the ten methods of TCM health preservation, there is the method of extending Tianjin. The specific method is to press your tongue against the upper jaw every morning, or lick the upper jaw with the tip of your tongue, such as saliva, and swallow it several times.
The method of swallowing body fluid was first seen in Huangdi Neijing. It was mentioned in Suwen Acupuncture. "Kidney disease has been going on for a long time, facing south on cloudy days. Meditation is not chaotic. Hold your breath for seven times and swallow it, such as swallowing something hard. After seven times, the bait on the tip of the tongue is full of gold. " People secrete 65,438+0 to 65,438+0.5 liters of saliva every day, and body fluids are like spring water, so there are many nice names, such as Golden Ginger Fish Liver Shame, Tianchi Water, Jin Yu Jin Liquid, Shenshui and so on.
Saliva is only 3 ml, but often swallowing saliva consciously is equivalent to nourishing the trachea, esophagus and stomach. Cheng Zhongling called this method "the supreme magic prescription for treating yin deficiency" in Medical Principles. He said: "The water in the pond is the liquid of the body. Apply it to the five internal organs and then inject it into the kidney. Lick your mouth with your tongue and pour the pool water into your mouth. Word for word, count to ten. The so-called true water fills the true yin, like-minded, and inevitable. " Gong Zhongzhong of Ming Dynasty pointed out in On the Code of Cracking. "Swallow it, turn blood into the heart, improve eyesight in the liver, nourish the heart in the spleen, help qi in the lung, and produce sperm in the kidney". It can be said that the five internal organs can play a role in maintenance.
Modern medicine believes that saliva is secreted by glands around the oral cavity and contains protein, amino acids, amylase, enzyme bacteria, peroxidase and other components. It has the functions of cleaning oral mucosa, moistening, helping digestion, repairing gastric mucosa, preventing corrosion and softening blood vessels. Saliva can also eliminate free radicals that are harmful to human body, and has certain anti-cancer effect.