01 Introduction: Understanding Illness

We have emphasized the importance of vital yuanqi in maintaining our health. Now, let’s discuss the culprits that make us sick: the evil spirits. In herbal medicine, the battle between vital yuanqi and evil spirits is key to good health.

In traditional herbal medicine, the human body is a battlefield between vital yuanqi and evil spirits. Vital yuanqi exists before birth, and once a person is born, they begin to be eroded by various evil spirits. From birth, our vital yuanqi fights against these evil spirits throughout our lives.

What are evil spirits?

There are six types:

• Wind
• Coldness
• Heat
• Dampness
• Dryness
• Fire

When we are young, our vital yuanqi is strong and can suppress these evil spirits, so we appear healthy. As we age, our vital yuanqi weakens and cannot resist the invasion of evil spirits, leading to illness.

People often say, “old age brings more illnesses.”

However, whether we get sick or not is not solely dependent on age but on the strength of our vital yuanqi.

When qi and blood are full, all diseases will not arise; when qi and blood are out of harmony, all kinds of diseases will arise.

Huangdi Neijing

In this context, qi and blood are different from vital yuanqi. To distinguish them, we refer to the qi in qi and blood as lung-qi and the blood as liver-blood. Lung-qi governs the outside, while liver-blood governs the inside, and they work together.

Lung-qi acts as the frontline troops, directly fighting against evil spirits, while liver-blood provides support, like logistics troops. They work together to keep our bodies healthy, forming the Vital Yuanqi Circle. The core of this circle is the spleen-stomach subsystem. Liver-blood corresponds to the spleen, and lung-qi corresponds to the stomach.

By strengthening the spleen-stomach subsystem, replenishing vital yuanqi becomes easier. With sufficient vital yuanqi, we can expel evil spirits.

02 Illnesses Due to the Six Evil Spirits

Evil spirits cause different damage to the body depending on their location. A professional herbal medicine practitioner uses four techniques to diagnose the patient and identify the type and location of the evil spirit, then prescribes the appropriate remedy.

Since birth, vital yuanqi and evil spirits are in constant battle. The body relies on the spleen-stomach subsystem to transform nutrients from food into vital yuanqi, maintaining our health. Evil spirits are negative energies harmful to health.

For example, if the environment is too hot, we say the fire-evil is present. If it’s very cold, the cold-evil is around. If it’s too humid, the dampness-evil is present.

There are also internal evil spirits, such as anger, anxiety, fear, sadness, and knotted thinking, which produce evil spirits inside our bodies.

There are times to avoid evil spirits and harmful winds. Be calm and void, and the true energy will follow.

Huangdi Neijing

We must avoid both internal and external evil spirits. The vital yuanqi of the body is like a country’s army. In youth, vital yuanqi is strong, like a prosperous country with strong defense and no invaders. As we age, vital yuanqi decreases, and the ability to resist evil spirits weakens. For example, we may catch a cold more frequently after the age of thirty.

Medicine helps treat illness by acting as external aid to fight the enemy. However, repeated minor illnesses leave residual evil spirits in the body, which can lead to chronic diseases in the future.

Aging starts with the spleen and stomach. As we age, these organs weaken, and vital yuanqi decreases, reducing our ability to resist evil spirits. Residual wind, coldness, and dampness accumulate in the body, causing harm.

For example, if evil spirits occupy a joint, it can lead to arthritis. If they occupy the liver, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems may arise. If they occupy the lungs, breathing difficulties, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema may occur. If they take root in the heart, coronary heart disease and angina pectoris may develop.

A skilled herbal medicine practitioner can determine the type and location of evil spirits through diagnosis. Historical figures like imperial physician Huang Yuanyu could predict serious health issues before they manifested, thanks to their extensive medical knowledge and experience.

Of the six evil spirits, two of them cause the most harm, leading to various illnesses. They are the coldness-evil and the dampness-evil which we will examine below.

03 Illnesses Due to Coldness

If a patient is afraid of cold or heat, they may be invaded by the evil spirit known as coldness. Patients afraid of coldness have cold limbs even in hot weather and cannot warm up overnight. Those afraid of heat sweat excessively and feel the need to cool down constantly. Both types of patients exhibit cold syndromes, indicating cold evil invasion.

Coldness causes contraction, leading to muscle and tendon contraction. This can result in rheumatic joint pain, angina pectoris, gastrointestinal spasms, stroke, and other conditions caused by tendon contraction due to coldness.

04 Illnesses Due to Dampness

Dampness has two main characteristics: a sense of being wrapped up and stickiness. Patients with heavy dampness feel tight, heavy, and lack energy. Their bodies become sticky after sweating, and their stools and urine may also be sticky. Severe dampness can indicate serious health issues like protein in the urine or high blood sugar, requiring immediate medical attention.

Coldness and dampness often coexist, as dampness can lead to coldness and vice versa.

05 Your Health Application

In order to revitalize your health, you should pay particular attention to the coldness-evil and the dampness-evil lurking in your body, and you should get rid of them as soon as possible.

How do you check coldness in your body?

Coldness-evil Characteristics:

• 
  Coldness causes contraction.
• 
  Patients with coldness are afraid of cold and heat.

How do you check dampness in your body?

Dampness-evil Characteristics:

• 
  Dampness is heavy.
• 
  Dampness is sticky.

Coldness and dampness drive downwards, causing discomfort in the lower parts of the body. For example, patients may feel heavier on the side they sleep on, leading to conditions like hemiplegia. Crossing legs can provide temporary relief from dampness in the feet.

Early detection and treatment of coldness and dampness are crucial. Protecting the spleen-stomach subsystem ensures sufficient vital yuanqi to fight against these evil spirits. Dampness particularly harms the spleen, leading to spleen-deficiency and other diseases.

Tongue observation can help detect dampness, as patients with heavy dampness often have fat tongues with tooth marks.

Everyone has some level of coldness and dampness, but strong vital yuanqi prevents disease. Strengthening the spleen-stomach subsystem enhances vital yuanqi, eliminating evil spirits.

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06 What Is Next?

In the next issue, we will discuss the liver meridian and ways to maintain and revitalize our joints and meridians. Stay tuned.

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