Hi Everybody
We’ve spoken on this subject a bit before, but in Oriental Medicine, there are basically two causes of diseases and disorders. Those that come from outside the body (external) and those that grow from inside the body (internal).
INDIVIDUALITY IS KEY- In Oriental Medicine, including Chinese Medicine, Korean, Japanese and Indian Medicine, where the disease or disorder originates and how far it has infiltrated the body makes a difference in the type of treatment you receive.
In addition, how your body is responding to the disorder also makes a difference in the type of treatment received. Individuality is a very large part of Oriental Medicine.
You may have 100 different people with a “cold” or the “flu” that would receive the same treatment in Western Medicine. In Eastern Medicine though, you could have as many different treatments as there are people, depending specifically on how your body is reacting.
EXTERNAL CAUSES OF DISEASE- External diseases include things like injuries, snakebites, spider bites, and so on. It also includes “colds” and “the flu”. These are instances where something external has come in and overwhelmed the body’s defenses, causing disorder within.
Even though these are considered externally caused disorders, the strength of the body’s defenses still comes in to play. The stronger the body, the less likely you are to get sick or very ill from an external invader. The weaker the body, the more likely you are to get colds and flus, or to die from a snakebite or spider bite.
So even in external causes of disease, the stronger the body, the better. Still, if the body is weakened through an unstable environment (wide ranges in temperature, barometer, etc), stress, or other things that lower immunity, even the strongest body may need help fighting off an invader. In that case, treatment depends specifically on how your body is reacting to the invasion.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DISEASE- Internal diseases are diseases caused from within the body. These disorders require an entirely different group of treatments than externally caused diseases and disorders. And like External Diseases, the treatments are highly individualized. Just because two people have a disorder with the same name does not mean they will receive the same treatment. It all depends on just how their body is reacting to the disorder.
Excess emotions, poor diet, lack of rest, too much rest, overwork and excessive sexual activity are all examples of generators of internal diseases. In these cases, internal machinations cause the body to malfunction long enough that damage occurs. An example is continual, ongoing stress causing continual release of stress hormones from the adrenal glands. Not only does this wear out the adrenal glands, but it causes the body to increase blood flow to the muscles of “fight or flight” and reduce blood flow to the vital organs that keep us alive. The vital organs then go malnourished and all manner of disorders may develop.
Often, if these causes are corrected, the body will simply heal itself. If the causes have been going on too long though, it may take an intervention to return the body to healthy functioning.
Hope this helps,
Dr Matt and Dr Robin
http://barneschiropractic.wordpress.com (newsletter archives)
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This email is courtesy of Matthew Barnes, D.C. and Robin Barnes, D.C. Neither this nor any of our emails are intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as such. They are opinion and are for informational purposes only. None of the nutrients discussed here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.