Since ancient times, the desire for immortality has been a good wish of mankind. Aging is a slow and universal degradation process of body tissues and organs with the increase of age. For humans, aging is characterized by gray hair, wrinkled skin, slow movement, decreased secretion of related hormones, decreased memory function and multiple organ degeneration.

The purpose of health preservation is to delay aging and prolong life. Therefore, the understanding of aging is very important. The following is only the understanding of the aging process of Chinese and Western medicine (the mechanism of aging is not discussed), and the comparison is as follows.

Understanding of Chinese medicine health preservation on human aging

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the causes of human aging are mainly reflected in these three aspects: first, the failure of kidney qi, second, the failure of five internal organs, and third, the imbalance of yin and yang. These three aspects are interrelated and mutually causal. If we can find a way to help maintain the balance of yin and yang in the body, then we can naturally slow down the aging process of the five internal organs of the human body, delay aging in time, and achieve the purpose of treating diseases and seeking longevity. Our Chinese nation is a nation that pays attention to health, and we always hope that everyone is an "elixir of life"

1. Talking about the aging changes of men and women from the aging changes of the congenital root-kidney qi.

1. 1 Women's growth and aging

Su Wen's Theory of Ancient Naivety; "At the age of seven, women were full of kidney qi and had long teeth. On February 27th, she was in heaven, and she was a pulse. She is too impulsive, and the second month is now, so she has a child; Sanqi kidney qi is general, so real teeth are born and long; Four or seven strong bones and muscles, extremely long hair and strong body; On may 7, Yangming's pulse failed, his face began to burn and his hair began to fall; The 673 Yang pulse decays in the upper part, the face is burnt, and the hair begins to turn white; On July 7, the pulse was weak, the pulse was too weak, the sky was exhausted, and the tunnel was impassable, so the shape was bad and there were no children. "

1.2 Male growth and aging

"Su Wen Qian Gu's Naive Theory" said, "My husband is eight years old, full of kidney qi, long teeth, full of kidney qi, full of heaven, diarrhea of essence, harmony of yin and yang, so he can have children; March 8 kidney qi is general, bones and muscles are strong, so real teeth are born and long; Four or eight muscles are full of strength; 58 kidney qi deficiency and tooth decay; Yang deficiency in the upper body, hot complexion and gray hair; Seven or eight liver qi failure, muscle immobility, exhaustion of the sky, oligospermia, renal failure, and excellent health; Eight or eight times, all the teeth were sent. Kidney governs water, and water is hidden by the essence of the five internal organs, so the five internal organs can diarrhea. Today, the five internal organs are failing, the bones and muscles are falling off, and the sky is tired. So my hair is white, my body is heavy, my steps are not straight, and my ears are gone. "

2. Factors affecting the aging of "five internal organs of TCM"

Besides the senility of kidney-qi, the senility of other four organs is another important reason of human aging, and senility is also closely related to heart, liver, spleen and stomach.

2. 1 Aging and Heart

"On the Secret Sutra of Su Wenling Lan" said: "The heart is the official of the monarch ... If the master is unclear, the twelve officials will be in danger, and the road will be blocked and impassable. The appearance is a big injury and health will be disastrous. " Heart governs the blood vessels of the whole body. Deficiency of heart qi leads to weak blood circulation, and slow blood flow will gradually lead to cardiovascular diseases and accelerate the aging of viscera. In the Qing Dynasty, Jin Shen 'ao quoted the Zhu Danxi language in his book The Origin of Miscellaneous Diseases and the Origin of Eliminating Diseases: "The kidney of Tibetans is the main source, and the liver of Tibetans is the source of drainage. The two viscera are in fire, but the system belongs to the heart. Heart, fire, moves for the sense of things, heart moves for fire, and movement is fine. " We can see that the state of the heart also determines the rise and fall of kidney qi, and the rise and fall of kidney qi also affects the speed and degree of human aging. In addition, Chinese medicine believes that the heart is the official of the monarch and dominates all spiritual and emotional activities of the human body. Mental disorders can lead to mental decline, which can easily lead to physical decline. "Spirit Pivot Evil Guest" said: "The heart is the master of the internal organs, and the spirit is also abandoned. It is dirty and strong, and can be accommodated. If you are accommodated, it will hurt your heart. Pain means death. " So we can see that the mind also has a decisive influence on aging.

2.2 Aging and Spleen

Spleen is the foundation of human body, and the movement of spleen is related to the ascending and descending process of turbidity, thus affecting the survival of life. As the saying goes, "If you go in and out, the gas will disappear, and if you rise or fall, the gas will be in danger" (On Su Wen and Liu Weizhi). Therefore, in Huangdi Neijing, the relationship between the retention and abolition of stomach qi and life function is extremely emphasized, and it is especially mentioned: "People without stomach qi will go against it, and if they go against it, they will die." It shows that stomach qi has an important influence on life function, so it also plays a decisive role in aging speed.

2.3 Aging and Liver

The liver controls the rise and fall of hair, and the prosperity of liver qi affects the access of qi and blood, and plays an important role in invigorating vitality. Failure of liver qi will lead to stagnation of qi and blood, and premature aging will come. Therefore, among the five internal organs, liver qi is the earliest aging organ. "Lingshu Tiannian" lists liver-qi failure as the first of five zang-organs failure (western medicine thinks that the liver will age at the latest). Clinically, patients with chronic liver disease are often accompanied by premature aging, which is enough to explain this problem.

2.4 Aging and Lung

The lung governs the qi of the whole body, and regulates the application of Yang Qi and the promotion of clan qi. Lung-qi deficiency is full of vitality, while lung-qi deficiency is weak in qi transport and gasification. Therefore, the rise and fall of lung qi also affects the life function of human body. The lung is also an organ involved in joints and plays an important role in regulating the process of human gasification. For example, if the lung is qi-deficient, the qi will be weak, and the lung will not be cured, the physiological function of the human body will be out of balance, which will lead to the early arrival of aging.

3. Yin and Yang imbalance

At the same time, Chinese medicine believes that human life activities are the expression of the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang, and the balance of Yin and Yang is the basic condition for life and health. Under normal circumstances, all kinds of yin and yang in the human body are in a relatively balanced and coordinated state, which is also called "the secret of yin and yang" in Chinese medicine. The balance of yin and yang is not equal to the equality of yin and yang. Among them, yang is the main factor, which is of great significance to maintain the health of life and the exuberance of various functional activities. People's internal organs, qi and blood, body fluids and limbs can only play a normal role under the promotion of Yang. Only when the yang is strong can the human body be strong, resist infringement and ensure health and longevity.

Once the balance of Yin and Yang is disturbed for some reason, leading to the situation of Yin and Yang being superior, Yin and Yang being weak, Yin and Yang losing each other, Yin and Yang repelling each other, and Yin and Yang being out of harmony, various pathological states will appear in the human body. The theory of imbalance between yin and yang first appeared in The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, which recorded: "Yin prevails over Yang, and Yang prevails over Yin. Yang Sheng is hot, Yin Sheng is cold. " "Su Wen Tiaojing Lun" also mentioned: "Yang deficiency is external excess, while Yin deficiency is internal heat; It is hot outside the yang and cold inside the yin. " For example, with the development of society and the acceleration of people's life rhythm, modern people often suffer from insomnia, which is a disease that often cannot guarantee normal sleep. Chinese medicine is called "insomnia", which is mostly caused by emotional disorder, qi disorder, yin-yang imbalance, yang flourishing and yin failing, and yang failing to enter yin.

"Su Wenyin's Theory of Angelababy's Hunan University" Day: "Forty years old, cloudy and half white, and my life is declining; Fifty years old, heavy, hard of hearing; Sixty-year-old, yin flaccid, qi failing, nine orifices unfavorable, deficiency in the lower part and excess in the upper part, with tears all over. Surplus and clever eyes and ears, strong body, rejuvenation, strong people benefit from treatment. It is based on the inaction of the sage, which can restore happiness and want to keep nothing, so the life span is endless. At the end of heaven and earth, this sage is also governed. "

The detailed description of age and aging law in Neijing has guided the anti-aging practice of later doctors. For example, Zhang Jiebin put forward in Jing Yue Quan Shu Zhong Chuan Lu: "When people reach middle age, they should be overhauled and then strengthened. Dare to learn the cloud and have more experience, which is of course. "

Western medicine's understanding of aging of human organs

(timetable for aging of human organs)

1. The brain is the first organ to start aging, and it starts aging at the age of 20. When we were born, the number of nerve cells was about 654.38+000 billion, but it decreased year by year from the age of 20. By the age of 40, the number of nerve cells began to decrease at an alarming rate of 1000 per day, which affected memory, coordination and brain function. Therefore, the memory of adults is often not as good as that of children, and it is greatly reduced after middle age.

2. The lungs begin to age at the age of 20. Many athletes' golden age is in their teens, and many have to retire around the age of 20, because their lungs begin to age at the age of 20. At the age of 30, the average man will inhale about 950 ml of air every time he breathes; By the age of 70, this number has dropped to about 473 ml, which is just half.

3. The skin begins to age at the age of 25. As the production of collagen slows down, the elasticity of elastin, which can make the skin rebound quickly, decreases or even breaks, and the skin begins to naturally age around the age of 25. Dead skin cells will not fall off quickly, and the amount of new skin cells may be slightly reduced, which is the reason for wrinkles.

At the age of 4.30, muscles began to age. After the age of 30, the speed of muscle failure is greater than the growth rate. After the age of 40, muscles began to decrease at a rate of 0.5% to 2% per year.

5. Hair begins to age at the age of 30. Men usually have weak hair growth ability and less hair after the age of 30. When most people reach the age of 35, the activity of melanocytes in their hair gradually decreases and some white hair grows.

6. Bones begin to age at the age of 35. Children's bones grow rapidly and can be completely regenerated in only two years. Adult bone regeneration needs 10 years. Before the age of 25, bone density has been increasing. But at the age of 35, the bones began to lose and entered the aging process. The decrease of bone size and density may lead to the decrease of height. The bone in the middle of the vertebrae will shrink or break.

7. Eye muscles will become weaker and weaker, and eyes will begin to age: 40 years old. Presbyopia appeared earlier than we expected, and the average person became "hyperopia" from the age of 40. This is because with the increase of age, the eye muscles become weaker and weaker, and the focusing ability of the eyes begins to decline.

8. The heart begins to age at the age of 40. Since the age of 40, the efficiency of the heart to deliver blood to the whole body has been greatly reduced. This is because blood vessels gradually lose their elasticity, and arteries may become hard or blocked. These changes are caused by the accumulation of fat in the coronary artery.

9. Teeth begin to age at the age of 40. When people get older, the amount of saliva secretion will decrease. Saliva can wash away bacteria, reduce saliva and make teeth and gums more prone to decay. After periodontal gingival tissue is lost, the gums will shrink, which is a common condition for adults over 40 years old.

10. The kidneys begin to age at the age of 50. The renal filtration volume began to decrease at the age of 50. Renal filtration can filter out waste in the blood stream. In this way, people lose the function of holding urine at night and need to go to the toilet many times. The renal filtration capacity of a 75-year-old man is half that of a 30-year-old man.

1 1. The prostate begins to age at the age of 50. Prostate tends to increase with age, which causes problems including increased urination times. A large amount of testosterone absorbed by the prostate will accelerate the growth of prostate cells and cause prostatic hyperplasia. This is benign prostatic hyperplasia, which afflicts half of men over 50.

12. Gastrointestinal aging began at the age of 55. If there is a balance between harmful bacteria and beneficial bacteria in the intestine, the stomach is healthy. After the age of 55, people often feel uncomfortable with their stomachs. This is because after the gastrointestinal aging, the intestinal environment began to deteriorate, which is not suitable for the survival of beneficial bacteria, and the number of beneficial bacteria decreased year by year.

13.55 years old ears began to age. From the age of 55, the "hair cells" in the inner ear began to decrease. Hair cells can receive sound vibrations and transmit them to the brain.

14. The tongue and nose begin to age at the age of 60. After the age of 60, taste and smell gradually decline. At the beginning of a person's life, there are about 10000 taste buds on his tongue. This number may be halved when you get old.

15.65 years old bladder began to age. At the age of 65, we are more likely to lose control of the bladder, which will lead to more frequent trips to the toilet, especially the decrease of muscle flexibility, which will make the urine in the bladder unable to be completely emptied, which will lead to urinary tract infection.

16. The voice is getting old: 65 years old. As we get older, our voices will become soft and hoarse. This is because the soft tissue of the larynx becomes weak, which affects the sound quality, loudness and quality. At this time, the woman's voice is getting hoarse and the sound quality is getting lower and lower; And the male voice is getting weaker and weaker, and the sound quality is getting higher and higher.

17. The liver begins to age at the age of 70. The liver seems to be the only organ in the body that can challenge the aging process. Hepatocytes have strong regenerative ability. After a liver is surgically removed, it will grow into a complete liver within 3 months. If the donor does not drink or take drugs, or has not suffered from infectious diseases, then the liver of a 70-year-old man can also be transplanted to a 20-year-old man.