Ageing gracefully

with TCM

Hong Hai

The Renhai Clinic 仁海堂

www.renhaitang.com.sg

24 March 2013

A talk sponsored by

the Council for the 3rd Age

What is the secret of vitality and

longevity as we reach our middle years

and beyond?

Are TCM methods compatible with those

of Western medicine for promoting health

and vitality?

彭祖 Peng Zu, longest-lived

man in history

Legend has it that Peng Zu (Shang era, circa 1500 BC) to age of 800 years (130 by modern count). He was famed for his attention to diet as a means to longevity.

The “Hall of Longevity” in Sichuan dedicated to him.

The world’s oldest showgirl, age 86 At 71, Dorothy Dale Kloss had a new career

with the Palm Spring Follies

Just half a dozen years earlier, she had overcome a bout with colon cancer. When the doctor started to warn her, “Now, Dorothy, in five years…,” she answered, “I don’t want to hear about that…When the time comes, that’s it.”

“Good times and bum times, I’ve seen them all and, my dear, I’m still here.”

Guinness World Record 2005

Shigeaki Hinohara, 100 One of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. Since 1941

at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo

“We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too.”

“All people who live long regardless of nationality, race or gender share one thing in common: None are overweight.”

Hinohara at 100 (Oct 2011)

News

Shigeaki Hinohara marked his 100th birthday on October 4 by contemplating the

potential for celebrating his 110th.

"Now I have a major goal on what to do towards 110 years old and would like to

stay healthy to see a spiritual world and a nuclear-free world realised while teaching

children [about the significance of life and peace]," said Hinohara, honorary

president and chairman of the board of trustees of St. Luke International Hospital in

Tokyo. "We can endure any sufferings if we always have an attitude to walk

looking up.”

"The fact that Japan experienced the earthquake disaster made me feel even more

that I would like to live ten years more. I want to live on to see Japan recover,"

wrote Hinohara in his latest book, "Shigeaki Hinohara, 100 Years Old."

What did these three

persons of extraordinary

vitality have in common?

A zest for life

“Mind over matter”

Spirit strong – manage their

emotions well

Disciplined life routine

The Answers…

Is there such a thing as the

“elixir of life” that enables

us to beat mortality and live

forever?

Life span is limited by two main

factors

1. Critical illnesses that eventually cause

death

1. Limited life of body organs and the

ability of cells to multiply and regenerate

in the body

Chinese secrets of longevity

Qinshi huangdi 秦始皇帝 tried to find the “elixir

of life” after he conquered all of China and

became the most powerful man on earth

He thought he could also conquer death, and

sent his physicians everywhere to find the magic

potion that would give him eternal life.They

came up with a pill that contained mercury. He

died prematurely at the age of around 50.

The elixir of life has never been found

The Chinese on Life Span

The Chinese classic Huangdi Neijing 黄帝内

经 recorded 2000 years ago that man’s natural

life span is about 100 years, unless he does not

take care of himself and dies earlier

unnecessarily of illness

Most men fall short of that because

they do not live healthy lives

14

Health Cultivation 养生 from the Yellow Emperor’s Classic 黄帝内经

上古之人，其知道者；

法于阴阳，和与术数。

饮食有节，起居有常；

不妄作劳，故能形与神俱

The ancients knew the tao and understood the way of yin and yang, and how to cultivate health: moderation in food and drink, regularity in living habits, avoidance of over-exertion, the body and spirit in harmony

15

Health Cultivation 养生

虚邪贼风，避之有时；

恬淡虚无，真气从之

精神内守，病安从来。

Know when to avoid climatic stresses, live a placid life with plain needs, maintain the defensive forces in the body keep yourself in good spirits: How then could one fall ill?

Moderation in diet

Eat 80% full

Moderate quantities of various kinds of

food

The Use of Herbs

Herbs and other natural materials in the

Chinese medicine can help to:

balance the body for health and longevity

improve flow of qi, blood and body fluids

Tonics (restoratives)

Tonics can make up for deficiencies or

excesses in the body.

Yang tonics,

yin tonics for the kidney, liver, heart, lung

and digestive system

These must be customized to your

current body state constitution

Tonics

In TCM, one man’s meat (tonic herb) is truly another man’s poison:

Ginseng: Korean ginseng, Chinese ginseng人参 and American ginseng 西洋参are all different and can cause harm if used incorrectly

Cordyceps 冬虫夏草 is a “kidney yang” and lung tonic, but there are better (and much cheaper) alternatives for most people

Wolfberry seeds 枸杞子are mild yin tonics for the kidney and liver, hence also good for the eyes

Huang qi (astragalus) 黄芪 is an excellent qi and blood tonic suitable for most people

Chinese herbal supplements

The pi 脾 and shen 肾 are the organs most directly related to cultivating longevity

Pi vulnerable to si 思 (contemplation, or anxiety) and irregular/oily diet.

Decline in pi leads to deterioration of qi and shen

Shen is vulnerable to fear, overstrain and a detriorating pi

Tonics for qi, shen and pi are the most commonly used in TCM

Common Qi tonics

American ginseng 西洋参

Chinese ginseng 人参

Dangshen 党参

Astralagus 黄芪（北芪）

Shanyao 山药（淮山）

Sheng mai san 生脉散

Buzhong yiqi tang 补中益气汤

Some common pi and shen tonics

Pi 脾

Si jun zi tang 四君子汤

Xiangshi yangwei wan 香砂养胃丸

Shen lin baizu san 参苓白术散

Shen 肾

Cordyceps 冬虫夏草

Wolfberry seeds 枸杞子

Liuweidihuang wan 六味地黄丸

Shen qi wan 肾气丸

Regularity Be in harmony with natural (yin-yang) cycles in the body. Go to bed and rise at regular times, but sleep longer in

winter and less in the summer (follow the sun)

During the morning, yang is rising – the

body can put in the most

physical and mental activity

In the afternoon, yang

is declining; activities should

gradually slow down

Evening is a time to relax as

yin rises: no strenuous

physical mental activity

Evening Noon Morning

Yin

Yang

Night

Avoid over-exertion

Work stresses

饮食男女 “eat drink, man woman”

Retention of essence

Prevention of life-threatening

diseases

Coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes

Peace of mind, diet and exercise are the keys to reducing chance of serious illnesses (common to both Chinese and Western medicines)

Differences in emphasis, and on what constitutes good exercise and diet, and how to achieve peace of mind

What kind of diet ?

Meat versus plant-based food (vegetables,

fruits, cereals)

TCM prescribes balance

But balance depends on the person’s

constitution

What kind of diet ?

In Western nutritional science, there are many schools

of thought, most directly conflicting

“Atkins diet” suggests diet low in carbohydrates and

high in protein, including meat proteins

Mediterranean diet

Vegetarian diets (Dean Ornish, Colin Campbell, and

Caldewell Esselstyn) – are recommended as the best

protection against heart disease, stroke, cancer.

TCM diet is guided by the person’s constitution

TCM Classification of

Constitutions

1. Balanced and Peaceful 平和体质

2. Qi deficiency 气虚体质

3. Yang deficiency 阳虚体质

4. Blood deficiency 血虚体质

5. Yin deficiency 阴虚体质

6. Phlegm-Dampness 痰湿体质

7. Damp-Heat 湿热体质

8. Qi stagnation 气郁体质

9. Blood stasis 血瘀体质

28

Examples

Qi deficiency: weak (shortness of) breath, fatigue, less desire to speak, sweating, tender and swollen tongue with tooth imprints

Qi stagnation: often emotionally-induced. Appears introverted, slight depression, sensitive, usually thin in physique, irritable, fullness in chest, poor sleep, excessive sputum, lightly red tongue with thin fur

• Yang deficiency: cold body and limbs, weak muscles, aversion to cold, preference for hot food, pale lips, sweating, loose stool and excessive urine, impotence.

• Yin deficiency: can be induced by overwork, loss of blood, excessive sex. Marked by body thinness, internal heat, feverish sensation in palm and soles, dry mouth, preference for cold drinks, red tongue with scanty fur

29

What kind of exercise?

Cardio-vascular exercises (vigorous

jogging/swimming) – can improve quality

of life (more alert and feeling of well

being) but effect on longevity and

prevention of serious diseases

Walking

Chinese exercises

Less emphasis on vigorous cardio-vascular

exercises

Taiji and qigong analogous to engine

tuning for your car

Balancing mind and body

Hua Tuo – the door that is opened

regularly does not rust. “Use it or lose it”

Chinese exercises for the mind

and the spirit

Calligraphy, painting, qin (plucked

stringed instrument), and chess

Mahjong

Qigong (c.f. yoga)

Preventative Medicine - Western

Regular medical examination to detect early signs of cancer, cardio-vascular disease, diabetes etc. Everyone over 40 should undergo a yearly check up

Of particular importance are colonoscopy for detection of colon cancer or pre-cancer, chest X-rays, blood tests for cancer markers, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, sugar level test for diabetes, breast and cervical examination for women, prostate gland examination for men

Preventative Medicine - TCM

Detection of imbalances by TCM diagnosis

These imbalances may not have manifested themselves in clinical disease symptoms, but a person may not feel in the best of health (sleep and digestive problems,, tiredness, etc)

Sometimes known as “sub-health”; sub-clinical illness might be a better term（亚健康)

In old Chinese tradition, pay your doctor less money if he treats you for illness and more if he finds you healthy

Western ways of slowing ageing

Eating less (70-80% full) (Chinese medicine recommended this thousands of years ago)

Difficult to practise this in Singapore

People in farms and rural areas who eat plain food have found it more feasible - and live longer

A new drug Resveratrol is in the market – claims to achieve similar effect as calorific restriction to promote anti-ageing

How we age Recent advances show that human cell

has a portion called the teleomere which is the cap of chromosomes

Cells have limited lives and must divide and reproduce themselves to continue living. As the body ages, the teleomere gets shorter.

When they become too short, they stop reproducing themselves, and begin to die

Teleomerase – the elixir of life ?

Scientists from Harvard medical school

discovered that an enzyme in the human

body, teleomerase, slows down the

shortening of teleomeres.

As we age, the amount of teleomerase

decreases, and ageing progresses to death

Stress can depress teleomerase levels in

human beings, hence accelerate ageing

Rediscovering past wisdoms

A drug T-65 containing teleomerase is now in the

market. Under clinical trials.

The common Chinese herb Astralagus contains the

teleomerase molecule

Further research may well reveal that other Chinese herbs and

prescriptions – and some Chinese exercises -- can also increase

teleomerase levels

Advances in Western Medicine

versus TCM common sense

Advances in medical research, esp. molecular biology, discover immediate causes of disease

Challenge is how to translate that into promoting vitality and longevity

◦ Eg. Singapore scientists discovered that plaque in the brain causes Alzheimer’s*. But what caused those to appear in the first place?

*Nature Cell Biology Journal (March Reported in the Singapore Straits Times, 13 March 2008, H6.

Conclusions: Back to Basics

Both Chinese and Western medicine agree on stress

as a major cause of coronary heart disease, strokes

and cancers

The most important factor for vitality and longevity

is the one you need to spend least money on:

cultivating your mind and spirit, and being in

harmony with your environment

Appropriate diet, supplemented by herbs, is also of

prime importance

Living Habits and Cancer

Pancreatic cancer are related to living style and smoking.

Irregular meals causes the irregularity in pancreatic secretions;

nicotine from smoking can enter the digestive track and reach

the pancreas.

Some fermented foods related to esophagus and nose-throat

cancer

Stress is a strong causal factor for all cancers

Foods rich in fats thought to increase risk of prostate and

breast cancer

For more information, refer to Yu and Hong: Management of

Cancer with Chinese Medicine

Selected slides from the presentation may be

viewed in the near future at the website of the

Renhai Clinic 仁海堂:

www.renhaitang.com.sg