Predicting Illness In TCM (中醫算病)

Fates of a person can be predicted with various astrology systems; likewise the fates of nations. For example, 2014 is the year of metal horse and 2015 is the year of metal ram. As general rule, year of metal elements are pretty harsh in terms of safety of nations, share market etc. Added to that 2008-2019 is the period ruled by wood element. We all know that the metal besiege wood; hence during this year and next, many accidents that will cause injuries or death around the world.

 

You will scorned at me if I say that from the day you are born, your illnesses are already predefined; just like your fate is sealed when you first open your eyes to see this world. Well, in modern medicine, the condition of our body is determined by genes from our parents and our behaviors. However, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the conditions of our physical body are also determined by the climate of the place and time when one is born.

 

Simply speaking, when one is born in summer, then his/her body will tend to be hot based; and when one is born in winter time, his/her body will be cold based. Let’s take another example:

 

This year, 2014 (甲午) is ruled by earth element and it is an excessive year and according to “Nei Jing” <黃帝內經>:

 

“The first half of the year will tend to bias to hot while the second part of the year would be dry.”

 

Following that, people born in year of ‘earth’ such as 1959, 1964, 1969 etc. will have below characteristics:

 

“The person’s body tends to be moist, he/she would have stomach bulging, loss of appetite, vomit, diarrhea, lethargic, poor digestive system and the person tends to be overweight …”

 

Only after identifying which type a person belongs to, proper treatment can be prescribed. Again referring to the above example:

 

"This person must pay particular attention to his/her diet such as he/she needs to consume more food that can reduce body moisture, reduce foods such like alcohol, fermented food or sweets.

 

In addition persons with hot and wet bases should meditate more and perform exercises such as yoga and Tai Chi boxing.

 

Things to watch day to day: He/she must avoid working or living under hot and damp environment while sleep early."

 

We can see that our traditional medicine systems are pretty holistic and all aspects are covered; this is very different from our modern medicine where the treatment is more objective: if a person suffers from headache, then the treatment is to treat headache alone. It is quite difficult to say openly which system is superior to the other because each system has its own strengths and weaknesses. All in all, it really depends on circumstances.