Physicians of past dynasties have conducted in-depth discussions on the health-preserving thought in Huangdi Neijing, mainly focusing on the health-preserving thought that "man is related to heaven and earth and corresponds to the sun and the moon"; The mental health-preserving thought of "deficiency leads to qi"; The idea of "moderate diet" and "harmony of five flavors"; The idea of "combination of skills and numbers" in health preservation: the idea of "prevention before illness". What ideas did they express respectively? Let's describe it in simple and clear words.
Both nature and human life activities have certain laws. The greatest enlightenment of the thought of "correspondence between man and nature" to health preservation is that we should conform to the laws of nature while forming habits.
The four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter are the signs of climate change in the four seasons of nature, and their influence on all things in nature is particularly important. The changes of the four seasons in nature are regular. The climate throughout the year is characterized by warm spring and healthy spring, hot summer and long summer, cool autumn and winter harvest, but it is an inseparable whole and a constantly changing process. It is precisely because of the changes in cold, heat, coolness, growth and collection that the normal development and growth of life can be realized. The changes of four seasons, such as spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the changes of cold and summer, are the results of the movement of yin and yang in nature, which will affect the physiological activities and pathological changes of human viscera. Under normal circumstances, the time and seasonal changes between man and nature are synchronous, and the physical state of the human body will adjust itself with the movement of the four seasons.
The Huangdi Neijing records that "if there is nothing, the true qi will follow, and if there is god, the disease will always be safe", which is of great significance to guide our health care. This sentence means that if we keep our thoughts clean and clear, and get rid of bad emotions, the true qi in the body will be smooth and harmonious, the spirit will be hidden inside, and we will not get sick. Nowadays, people drink wine as water and regard indulgence as a normal way of life. They don't know how to fill their bodies with essence, and they don't use essence in moderation. They only know that they must make themselves happy, and their work and rest are irregular, so they are easy to get sick.
The idea of diet health preservation in Huangdi Neijing is mainly embodied in two aspects: "moderate diet" and "harmony of five flavors" The word "frugality" in "moderate diet" has two meanings. First, the diet should be moderate, not too hungry and not too full; Second, the rhythm, eating time should be regular, not too long nor too short, so as not to hurt the spleen and stomach.
And "harmony of five flavors" means balanced nutrition and reasonable distribution, which is the key to healthy diet. Diet is the material source for the growth and development of the body and the maintenance of human life activities, and it is the basis for nourishing the body. Su Wen emphasizes that diet should be diversified, refined and better shaped. Diet should be moderate, neither overeating nor favoring certain tastes, such as always pursuing too spicy and salty. In short, it is advisable to eat less greasy and spicy food and more rice, vegetables and fruits, which coincides with the modern concept of advocating a low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt and low-cholesterol diet.
One of the central words of harmony in Shu Shu Shu is "harmony", which means gentleness, stability, coordination and balance. The human body should maintain a state of balance and harmony between Yin and Yang. Shu Shu, the ancients refers to some health preservation methods and skills such as adjusting the mind and exercising. Some techniques mentioned in Neijing tend to wait and see, such as guidance, breathing, qigong and so on. Guidance, breathing, qigong, etc. Can exercise our will, etc. By conditioning our bodies and our spirits, we can also improve our temperament, make our character more calm and enhance our psychological control ability. Walking is also an effective way to keep fit, which has the functions of dredging qi and blood, relaxing joints, promoting digestion and conditioning air. The ancients kept in good health, paying attention to the combination of static and dynamic, focusing on static gas reservoirs and circulating kinetic energy and blood, but "dynamic" should not be excessive. We want scientific movement, that's enough.
When you are sick, it is too late to find a way to cure the disease, just like digging a well when you are thirsty and casting weapons when the battle has begun. Unfortunately, most doctors are doing this kind of thing now.
"Preventing diseases before they occur" is a strategy for preventing diseases and preserving health put forward in Huangdi Neijing, and it is the earliest strategic idea of "prevention first" advocated by medical and health circles in China so far. It has three meanings: prevention before illness, prevention after illness and prevention after illness. It is emphasized that people should pay attention to maintaining their health and improving their immunity, so that they will not get sick before illness, develop further after illness and relapse after illness. Only in this way can we better grasp the initiative of the disease and achieve the "skill" of "perfect treatment".
"Prevention of disease" also means that health care should start from an early age. For example, for a person with familial hypertension or coronary heart disease, if he pays attention to his diet from an early age, does not eat fat, and eats more foods with low salt and less sugar, the incidence of coronary heart disease will naturally decrease when he grows up. Otherwise, in old age, blood vessels have hardened, and then to control diet, often the effect is not good.
Huangdi Neijing takes various factors affecting human health and longevity as means in turn, unifies the purpose and means, and embodies the uniqueness of TCM health preservation. With the development of society, our modern health care thought has been paid more and more attention. We should master its health care knowledge and make it play a greater role in modern society.