There are lots of modern health trends out there – but are they always beneficial?
Chinese medicine is 1000’s of years old and its wisdom can be really insightful when discerning what is helpful and what is harmful.
So, in this article we are going to look at 4 modern ‘health trends’ and identify how Chinese Medicine views them.
- Ice baths / cold therapy
While there is a load of emerging scientific studies and anecdotal evidence to support the benefits of ice baths – Chinese Medicine theory suggests that you should practice caution when it comes to cold therapy.
In Chinese Medicine the body identifies cold as a pathogen (a pathogen is something unwelcome that the body needs to defend itself from because it can cause illness). In order to prevent the pathogen from entering the body the body releases kidney yang (Kidney yang can be compared to adrenaline) . This release stimulates the immune system and makes us feel amazing, strong and on top of the world. If readings are taken post cold plunge, then they will be extraordinary and show a big increase in immune activity and endorphin realise. However this release is taxing on the body, it can exhaust precious internal resources and it is empty because it doesn’t last. If the body is unsuccessful at preventing the cold (pathogen) from entering then the cold can penetrate its tissues and organs and this can lead to a whole host of issues such as joint pain, exhaustion, period problems and infertility. Some people have strong resources, and they won’t get any issues from cold plunges but others will be depleting their internal reserves and damaging their health in the long run.
- Sweating via hot yoga or saunas
Sweating might feel good and sweating therapy has a place in Chinese medicine because it opens up the pores and helps the body to release pathogens and toxins. However, there is a cost to sweating. The body fluids are considered to be extremely important in Chinese medicine and they play a significant role in the immune system and the internal energy and vitality of the body. if you are sweating regularly, you are depleting your body fluids and this may have a negative knock-on effect to many different aspects of health including immunity, periods, energy, joints, sleep and mental health. Long term loss of body fluids can cause deficiency of blood and if you follow me you should know how important blood is. Personally, I do use infra-red saunas as they have wonderful benefits but I keep them on a lowish temperature (50 degrees) get out at the point of sweating.
- Juice cleansing
Juice cleansing might feel like a healthy thing to do because fruits and vegetables are very healthy and juicing reduces the burden on the digestive system. Chinese medicine see’s juices as being cold and cold is taxing for the digestive system. Juices are also highly concentrated, often sweet (fruits and many raw vegetables are sweet in flavour) and they are fibreless – these qualities result in ‘dampness’ and / or ‘phlegm ‘ in Chinese medicine . Dampness is heavy and obstructive and might make you feel brain foggy, tired, heavy and can negatively impact the digestive function. If you must drink juices then be sure to add ginger, drink them at room temperature and keep sweet fruits to a minimum.
- Intermittent fasting or skipping breakfast.
While intermittent fasting might be appropriate for some people and might be beneficial for somethings such as weight loss, blood glucose regulation, memory and heart health for others it could be detrimental. Chinese medicine would agree that eating in day light hours is important, not eating too late at night and giving your body adequate breaks between meals is important. However, it does believe that breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day because the morning time is when your digestive Qi is at its strongest, so better to have breakfast and skip dinner if you want to intermittent fast. Fasting can weaken the spleen in Chinese medicine and lead to deficiencies. Intermittent fasting is a stressor on the body and like other stressors such as lack of sleep, emotional stress or too much exercise it can take its toll on the body and in some people this can have an impact on things such as fertility.
So in summary ,check in with your Chinese Medicine doctor to see if these practices would have a positive or negative impact for you.
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