Longevity for You

Disease Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine is different from Western medicine in many ways, and one of which is disease diagnosis. According to the Chinese health system, disease diagnosis is important from the standpoint of not only healing but also preventing disease. 

Disease diagnosis in Chinese medicine is not about taking tests, as in the case of Western medicine; it is about taking and evaluating data of a patient in terms of "yin" and "yang" as well as "excess and deficiency" The purpose of diagnosis is to find out not only the causes but also the underlying patterns of disharmony, thereby instrumental in promoting cures as well as preventing relapses in the future.

For thousands of years, in Chinese health system, disease diagnosis has been comprehensive. Diagnosis is based on the environment, the social factors, and the conditions of the patient, including food and nutrition, as well as the lifestyle. Accordingly, diagnosis  is detailed and all-inclusive. As a matter of fact, in the old days, a Chinese physician would not be remunerated if the patient became sick, because it would be a reflection of the physician's own oversight in taking care of the patient.

In Chinese medicine today, diagnosis begins with data collection through observing, asking, listening, and touching.

The first level of visual inspection and observation is at the level of shen or spirit. Shen is the spirit of the body, manifested in the consciousness, personality, intellect, and other abstract qualities. Shen disharmony results in confused or distorted thinking, heavy body motion, dull and slow response, insomnia, and other mental and psychological disorders and problems. On the other hand, good shen is revealed in good eye contact, clear skin, and healthy complexion.

The presence or lack of shen is basically the balance or disharmony of yin and yang.

The second visual diagnosis examines the colors associated with the internal organs on the surface of the skin, such as red for heart, green for liver, yellow for spleen, white for lungs, and blackfor kidneys. Chinese medical practitioners look for specific places to identify the colors associated with different body organs; for example, the skin under the eyes, the temples, the skin by the nose, the lips, and the forearms are strategic areas to identify colors for disease diagnosis.

The most important observation is that of the tongue. For centuries, the Chinese have extensively observed the size and shape (e.g. long or short; swollen or thin; cracked or smooth), the contour, the margins, and the color of the tongue to determine the presence of disease and the overall health of an individual.

The coating of the tongue indicates the absence or presence of body fluids (stomach fluids). If the coat is thick, the fluids are sluggish. A thick white coat is considered normal and indicative of a relative fluid balance. A blackish coat indicates internal imbalance.

 Heart disorder (spots)  Kidney disorder        Lung disorder    Stomach disorder

   

Colon disorder (lines)    Back ache

Another disease diagnosis is asking specific questions regarding the lifestyle of the patient, such as appetite, diet, digestion, elimination, sweat, sleep, energy level, exercise, and sexual activity, among others.

Listening and smelling are other unobtrusive methods of disease diagnosis. Listening diagnosis listens for sound of voice and quality of speech to determine the health conditions of the patient. In smelling, the physician uses body odor or quality of breath to determine the intensity of internal imbalance of the patient.

Touching is based on the fact that the pulse is a major index of the body's internal health. In Chinese medicine, there are twnty-eight types of pulses, according to their speed, width, length, rhythm. The abnormalities of the pulse indicate weakness or excess of the qi in different body organs.

In Western medicine, doctors look for one single point where disease begins, and treatment is applied to remove or suppress the symptoms associated with the disease. The diagnostic approach of Chinese medicine is much more comprehensive and extensive in that the diagnosis aims at finding an underlying pattern of disharmony and identifying the organ and meridian that are the culprits, thereby instrumental in eradicating the symptoms and curing the disease.

Vist my web page: Chinese Health and Healing.

Stephen Lau.

 

Ways To Boost Your Brain Power

To improve your memory, improve your memory skills, which are dependent on your awareness of and attention to your senses, such as sight, sound, smell, and touch. How your brain collects, stores, and processes information holds the key to a poweful memory. If you sharpen your senses, you also sharpen your brain power. Memory is no more than a learning skill, which has little to do with aging. As long as your cognitive skills are functional, you can improve memory through acquiring memory skills.

1. Perform any activity that is out of the ordinary, that is, something that you normally do not do. For example, learning a new musical instrument not only demands reading music, concentration and focus, and coordination of hands and fingers, but also involves general sight, sound, and touch. Alternatively, you can do small tasks using your nondominant-hand, such as writing your name with your left hand, if you are right-handed. According to Professor C. Katz Lawrence of Duke University, performing several nondominant-hand tasks in your everyday life will enable you to tap into a certain part of your brain you seldom use, as well as to force your brain to concentrate on doing something that you would normally breeze through. Genius Brain Power keeps your brain fit.

2. Enhance your brain power through relaxation to remove undue stress and rejuvenate brain cells for optimum performance. Deep Zen Meditation is the effortless way to recoup your brain power through total calm and peace of mind.

3. Aromatherapy activates your mind and harnesses its potentials through the scents of basil and rosemary. Research shows that inhaling these scents increases beta waves that heighten the awareness of the brain. For hundreds of years, healers from all over the world have applied aromatherapy to stimulate the nervous system to boost brain power or improve memory.

4. Boost your brain power with your green thumbs. Gardening is a good exercise for  for the brain: knowing the plant names and their growth characteristics, the soil conditions, and abstract spatial thinking,a mong others. Why don't you start your own Organic Food Garden to enhance both your physical and brain health?

If you wish to increase your brain power, you can. If there is a will, there is a way. Don't let forgetfulness get you down as you get older! Your brain has over 100 trillion cells, and you use only five percent of them. So, the more connections you can make between your brain cells through seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling, the better and more efficient your brain becomes in collecting, storing, and processing information. Aging cannot slow down the brain, but non-doing will.

Visit my web page: A Healthy Brain.

Stephen Lau 

Flexibility Stretching To Live Longer

To live long, keep your body supple and flexible. Flexibility fitness is a key factor in maintaining good posture, both of which are critical to longevity.

1. Without good posture, you cannot breathe optimally. The importance of optimal breathing cannot be overstressed: optimal breathing provides more oxygen and nutrients to different parts of your body for optimum health. In addition, optimal breathing avoids short and rapid breaths; research studies have shown that rodents, one of the fastest-breathing animals, have the shortest lifespan. For more information, read The Yoga Science of Breath.

2. Good posture prevents muscle stiffness and muscle tension, both of which are sources of pain as you age. Muscle pain and muscle inflexibility in the elderly are responsible accidents and falls.

What is flexibility fitness?

Many people exercise for fitness, strength, and endurance. Flexibility fitness exercise, on the other hand, focuses on stretching to improve coordination, that is, to reduce the time taken to send messages from the brain to the muscles. In other words, your brain tells you to move certain muscles, but your muscles do not respond appropriately or soon enough. This lack of muscle coordination is responsible for accidents and falls, which are too common among the elderly. Use Balance Exercises for Fall Prevention for better balance to avoid falls.

Flexibility stretching facilitates joint mobility, which is critical to joint health and mobility.  There are two types of flexibility stretching: "static" flexibility stretching, and "dynamic" flexibility stretching.

1. In "static" flexibility stretching, you stretch a muscle for a certain length of time, and there is little or no movement involved. This is good for muscle flexibility and joint health.

2. In "dynamic" flexibility stretching, you use slow movements to stretch your muscles into different stretched positions, as in yoga. This is ideal for muscle coordination and muscle strength.

Use it or lose it - this applies to muscle health, and flexibility stretching holds the key to good maintenance and preservation of your muscles. If you wish to live longer without the aches and pain and without having your life cut short due to accidents and falls, keep stretching your muscles.

Visit my web pages: Good Posture, and Exercises.

Stephen Lau

Your Heart Health and Your Mind

Your heart is not just a circulatory pump. Your emotions, expressed in words, affect positively or negatively the beating of your heart, and hence your heart health. Your mind and body create an optimum environment for cardiac fitness. What is good for the mind is also good for the heart.

The high risk factors for coronary disease (CHD) are: smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and family history. Other than the genetic factor, lifestyle choices can significantly reduce your high risk factors for heart disease.

William Harvey, a celebrated physiologist, was the first scientist to establish a link between the heart and the mind. According to William Harvey, "every affection of the mind that is attended with either pain or pleasure, hope or fear, is the cause of an agitation whose influence extends to the heart."

Yes. your emotions can have an impact on your heart health in terms of regulating blood pressure, as well as heart rate and rhythm.

In addition, your mental states, such as anger and frustration, can affect your cardiovascular system through the release of hormones, such as adrenaline and non-adrenaline, which can cause blood clotting as well as hardening of arteries. Studies have shown that stress can create enough pressure - physical, chemical, emotional, or electromagnetic - to cause the increase of adrenaline in the blood, elevation of blood sugar, and insulin. All these damage your heart health.

For a healthy heart, control your emotions through meditation, relaxation techniques to defuse your negative emotions, and use physical exercise to de-stress your body and mind.

Visit my web page on: Heart Health.

Also, visit my website: Are You Healthy?

Stephen Lau

All About Stephen Lau

Multitasking Is a Stressor in Contemporary Society

The advancement of technology does not simplify life: it makes life multi-faceted, requiring multitasking. It is not uncommon that we are performing two or more tasks concurrently. As a matter of fact, contemporary views it as a good sign - a positive sign of productivity. If there is a problem, someone comes up with an idea to facilitate the process of multitasking.

Yesterday, I was watching a commercial on TV about a new kitchen gadget that enables you to prepare your meals in just a few minutes: it does all the chopping, blending, processing - a multitasking kitchen ware with one-year limited warranty. Well, we are no more different from that kitchen ware, and our limited warranty is shorter lifespan

In our high-wired, fast-pace world, there are so many distractions and interruptions that give us alternative other than performing multitasking if we wish to be deemed productive, capable of accomplishing more in less time. Maybe by so doing, we could earn more and gain more respect from our peers and coworkers. But we accomplish multitasking at a price - stress! Multitasking is a stressor, a silent killer in contemporary society. Stress shortens lifespan.  Stress elevates adrenaline and cortisol levels, and thus instrumental in damaging brain cells. Unlike most other body cells, brain cells do not regenerate. Therefore, the effects are subtle and long-term.

Some of the drawbacks of multitasking are as follows:

1. It diminishes your effectiveness in performing your tasks.

2. It makes you more vulnerable to mistakes.

3. It increases your stress response in the brain, with long-term damage to brain cells.

To me, the greatest price you pay for multitasking is: you lose the present moments of life. We live only in the present moment: the past is gone and the future is uncertain. Therefore, we should be mindful of every present moment we are living. Mindfulness is the key to health, wellness, and ultimate happiness in life. Mindfulness is focusing on the present moment. Drive when you are driving - not talking on the cell phone. Mindfulness is simplicity living at its best.

Visit my website: The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (the wisdom on healthy living)

Stephen Lau

About Stephen Lau

 

The Antidote to Stress

Stress is the common denominator of all diseases and illnesses.

Hans Selye was the first physician to introduce the concept of stress. Scientific studies have documented that stress can create enough pressure - physical,  chemical, emotional or electromagnetic - to cause the increase of adrenaline in the blood, elevation of blood sugar and insulin in the body to cause distress, which is the initial stage of disease. After repeated exposure to the same stressor, stress reaction no longer occurs. It is this adaptation to stress that lowers the threshold for new stresses. This vicious cycle will ultimately cause the individual to "burn out" or to snap.

The antidote to stress is its exact opposite. If you are tense, then relax through relaxation techniques, such as natural sleep, meditation techniques, aromatherapy, and color therapy. If you are pressed for time, then learn better time management. If you find yourself too focused on the self, then be mindful of others. If your heart always beats fast, then do some breathing exercises, and learn how to breathe right. 

Visit my new website on healthy living: The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Stephen Lau

About Stephen Lau

Liver Health - From the Chinese Perspective

In Chinese medicine, liver health is longevity health. The liver is responsible for promoting the smooth flow of "qi" (which is internal life energy) and "blood" throughout the body. Hence, a healthy liver is extremely important for the overall wellness of an individual.

In Chinese medicine, "qi" is the invisible energy that flows through the universe, and the human body is a microcosm of the universe. If the flow of "qi" is disrupted for any reason, virtually any of the body system will be in jeopardy.

In Chinese medicine, "blood" is quite different from that observed in Western medicine. To the Chinese, "blood" serves three major functions in the body system:

1. It nourishes the body by providing nutrients. After your food and drink are digested in you stomach, they are extracted by your spleen and transformed into blood.

2. It moistens and lubricates the body by giving it movement and flexibility.

3. It anchors the mind, making your thoughts clear and stable.

In Chinese medicine, a healthy liver regulates the amount of blood circulation. If you are active, you liver will produce and release more blood, and your blood flow will be strong and flexible. If our liver is impaired, your blood flow will be disrupted. Liver disharmony, due to liver damage, often leads to emotional disharmony, such as anger and outbursts. Emotional problems are often stress-related. People suffering from mental depression often have a weak liver constitution.

Because liver function also affects your blood, liver problems also have an adverse impact on tendons, that is, your movements and flexibility. Liver problems are manifested in your nails and your eyes. Nails are seen by the Chinese as tendons. Good liver health is indicated by strong nails, and liver problems result in pale and brittle nails. Your eyes, considered by the Chinese as "windows" of your internal health, require nourishment of your liver. A health liver gives you good vision, while liver damage results in inability to see clearly, both visually and mentally.

Eat healthy for a healthy liver. Do not damage your liver with alcohol. If you have a drinking problem, stop alcohol addiction right away. From the Chinese perspective, the liver is more than just an organ for detoxification. Asian Detox Secrets shows you how to detoxify your body the Oriental way.

For more information on Chinese health and healing, visit my web page: Chinese Health and Healing

Stephen Lau

All About Stephen Lau

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Miracle Drink for the Diabetic

My wife was diagnosed with diabetes last year. In the first few months, her blood sugar level was high, and in spite of the medications, it fluctuated on the higher end.

Recently, her blood sugar level has come down dramatically with a miracle drink recommended by her friend.

Here is the recipe for that miracle drink for the diabetic:

1 bitter melon (obtainable at any Chinese supermarket).
1 cucumber.
1 green pepper.
2-3 stalks of celery.

Chop all ingredients, and put them in a powerful blender. You may juice them. But I prefer to add one cup of water, and place them in a powerful blender. You get the fiber as well.

This potent drink is excellent for diabetes.

She drinks 2 cups a day, and her blood sugar is now normal without any drugs. Bitter melon is such a potent vegetable that its extracts are now available in supplement and sold over the Internet. My wife has not tried the supplement. I think the natural vegetable drink is much better, especially the celery for controlling high blood pressure (often a symptom of diabetes).

For more information on diabetes, go to The Diabetes Miracle Breakthrough.

Stephen Lau

Younger and Healthier for Longer

Is Alcohol Good For You?

According to CNN (21 April 2009), recent studies show light drinkers are healthier than those who abstain. But they also have higher rates of liver disease.

Alcohol research can be baffling and confusing, with one finding contradicted by the next.

Is alcohol good for you?

"One drink a day for women and no more than two for men is thought to be good for coronary heart disease," said Dr. Samir Zakhari, director of the division of metabolism and health effects at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

And is beer good for you?

Beer may cause your blood sugar to drop drastically, thus stimulating you to eat more.

Beer has about 7 calories per gram of alcohol, which may go right to your stomach, leading to weight gain. One 12-ounce serving of beer every night may add up to an extra 10-15 pounds per year, if you do not burn those extra calories.

Your liver, in the process of detoxifying excess quantities of alcohol, may become filled with fat, resulting in a characteristic “beer belly.” Typically, fat distribution shifts to your belly and trunk, and some men may even grow “female breasts” as estrogen accumulates in their system. If you want to retain your body shape, simply drink less.

If you have problems with alcohol, maybe it is time to quit the addiction.

Stephen Lau

Younger and Healthier for Longer

The Emotional and Psychological Changes of a Calorie-Restriction Diet

Calorie restriction can bring about unfavorable physical changes that may impact your long-term health at the expense of weight loss..

In addition, a calorie-restriction diet may bring about emotional and psychological changes, which may lead to eating disorders.

If you are consuming 3,000 calories a day, you start slowly and gradually reduce your caloric intake to about 2,500 calories. That’s OK. However, any drastic and dramatic reduction in weight loss will damage your health. Do not let your diet becomes a “starvation” diet with less than 1500 calories.

Research studies have documented emotional and psychological changes resulting from a calorie-restriction diet. These changes include:

• Personality changes: such as loss of ambition, a narrowing of interests, decline in intellectual pursuit

• Lack of concentration; inability to perform daily tasks

• Decrease in sexual interest and loss of libido

• Extreme sensitivity to noise

• Poor judgment, inability to make decisions
• Irritability and moodiness, and even depression
• Deterioration in personal appearance and grooming
  
• Increased preoccupation with food (especially food talk and food thoughts)
  

Calories are important to weight loss. Without reduction in calorie intake, there is no weight loss. However, too drastic and too dramatic reduction often leads to eating disorders.

Just beware! You need to know How To Eat Less.

Stephen Lau

Younger and Healthier for Longer

The Physical Changes of a Calorie-Restriction Diet

Calorie restriction can bring about longevity in animals. Calorie restriction can help you lose weight.

But a calorie-restriction diet may bring about physical changes that affect not only your weight, but also your physical being, in fact your overall wellbeing.

If you are consuming 3000 calories a day, and you start slowly and gradually reduce your caloric intake to 2500 calories. That’s excellent. You kill two birds with one stone: you lose weight and you improve your overall health.

However, an individual needs 2000 calories for optimum health maintenance. If you reduce your calories to 1500, you have put your body in a starvation mode. The diet becomes a starvation diet.  Worse, if your caloric intake falls below 1500 calories to 1000 to 1200 calories

With a reduction of calories, and accompanied by vigorous activity, you can lose up to 20 percent of your body weight. This is what most weight watchers would go for.

However, research studies have documented physical changes resulting from a calorie-restriction diet. These changes include:

• Weight loss of 20 percent

• Decrease in body size, especially in the upper thighs and upper arms

• Reduction in heart volume by about 20 percent, followed by diminished work output of heart per minute by as much as 50 percent, as well as a slower pulse rate

• Reduction in body temperature

• Accumulation of body fluid in the ankle and the wrist.

• General fatigue

• Decline in sexual activities

• Thinner and drier hair

• Frequency of urination

Calories are important to weight loss. Without reduction in calorie intake, there is no weight loss. However, too drastic and too dramatic reduction will have adverse effects on the body. Beware! You need to know How To Eat Less.

Stephen Lau

Younger and Healthier for Longer

Can Calorie Restriction Stop Aging?

Research on animals has indicated that calorie restriction can prolong life.

But is this applicable to humans? Can calorie restriction really stop aging? Scientists do have any consensus opinion, let alone definitive answers.

What is calorie restriction?

Calorie restriction is eating less than what your body needs to maintain health.  Your caloric needs are based several factors, including your height, your weight, and metabolic rates (i.e. the amount of your physical activities.

Say, if you need 2000 calories a day, and you consume only 1600 calories, you are on a calorie restriction diet.

The key question here is not whether it will prolong life. Consuming fewer calories will definitely reduce weight, and weight maintenance is an important factor in longevity, as evidenced by centenarians who are never overweight.

The crucial questions are: Is calorie restriction safe? Do you get adequate nutrients to maintain health for longevity and anti-aging living? How much less should you eat?

Nobody has the answers because your constitution and makeup are uniquely yours. Only you can tell what your body needs. The bottom line is: simply eat less. As for anti-aging and longevity, leave that to your Creator.

Stephen Lau

Younger and Healthier for Longer

Why Routines Are Important to Longevity Health

Routines are an integral part of longevity living, and hence critically important to longevity health.

Why is that?

Routines put you in a positive state of mind: it makes you not only more mindful of what you are doing, but also more likely to become more disciplined. Without discipline, it is difficult in this day and age to have a healthy lifestyle leading to longevity, given that we are living in a society of excess and indulgence.

When you wake up in the morning, what do you do? And how do you spend your time? Be mindful of what you do. If you have no real control over the various things you do regularly, you most probably have poor time management.

Learn to organize your daily routines, making doubly sure they contribute to your longevity health, such as exercising and having a nutritional breakfast. Other things like reading the papers and checking your computer are not important to your daily routines, especially in the morning.

Changing your habits is setting good routines for longevity health. Routines prepare your mind for what is ahead of you in the day. Depressed individuals often lack routines in their lives. Learn to control your mind in order to control your body. Rethink your thinking to become younger and healthier for longer!

Stephen Lau

All About Stephen Lau

Green Tea Makes You Younger and Healthier for Longer!

Scientific studies have shown that polyphenols in green tea, in particular EGCG and ECG (which are naturally occurring compounds in plants to protect them from damage due to free radicals, bacteria, disease, and insect), help you look younger for longer. Green tea is loaded with polyphenols.

 Looking younger requires healthy skin. The sun, the gravitational pull of the earth, free radicals from the environment, and a poor diet may affect how your skin may look. The beauty and health of your skin is determined by collagen, a protein substance in your skin responsible for giving structure and support of the outer layer of your skin.

 As you age, your skin produces less elastin, a substance that controls your skin’s elasticity and smoothness.

 To keep you forever younger, drink green tea daily – and make you own green tea. Remember, not all green teas are created equal. Go to Green4Tea, where you will get everything you need to know about green tea (including weight loss, healthy heart, cholesterol and blood pressure control etc.) to make you younger and healthier for longer. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols – the Chinese have been drinking it for thousands of years to keep them younger, just as they have been using ginseng to make them healthier.

 To keep you younger and healthier for longer, you need knowledge, and knowledge is empowering. Go to: Younger and Healthier Super Store to get digital information on every aspect of health – physical health, mental health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health –  to make you younger and healthier for longer.

 Stephen Lau

 All About Stephen Lau