Chinese Medicine & Gut Health. Find Balance with Ancient Wisdom.
Who knew your gut is affected by more than what you eat? Actually the Ancient Chinese Texts written nearly a century ago, specifically the one written by Li Dong Yuan. But what’s even cooler is that current science is finally catching up!
A 2013 study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers found a direct connection between the brain and the immune system, made by vessels that were previously thought not to exist. As a matter of fact, the micro-biome is more than just a family of bacteria, they are varied in type and location and impact not only the gut but our emotional status. Gut microbiota interacts with both innate and adaptive immune systems, playing a crucial role in maintenance and disruption of gut immunity. A dialogue between the mucosal immune system and endogenous microflora favors mutual growth, survival and inflammatory control of the intestinal micro-system. This study and others show the relationship our immune system has to our emotions, just as Li Dong Yuan had described.
Dong Li Yuan, one of the four great masters of the Chinese Jin Yuan dynasty (about 800 years ago) wrote a classic text focusing on the digestive system as central to all disease. He explained how our digestion as well as our emotions are the main determinant of chronic disease. This discovery mimics much of what we now understand as the micro- biome, its diversity and connection to disease. Current research shows that just like optimal soil conditions necessary for seeds to grow, our bodies' cells require an optimal bio-diversity of microbes in our gut and digestive tract for proper nourishment. Li Dong Yuan believed the cause of damage to our gut occurs as a result of three main factors:
Over-indulgence in eating and drinking (especially too much of of cold, raw, fatty or unclean foods)
Overwork - Leads to Exhaustion
Excessive/Habitual Emotional Expression - This agitates the body and consequently weaken digestion.
George Oshawa who created the Macrobiotic diet, drew his inspiration indirectly from the work of Dong Li Yuan.
Our digestive system is a microcosm of the macrocosm we live in, and disruption to the earth’s soil and water systems are pervasive. There are thousands of additives used to flavor, color, preserve, extend the shelf life and to flavor foods as well as various herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers that are routinely used on crops. These eventually find their way into the water supply and to affect all life exposed to it. When we drink milk, eat chicken, eggs and the flesh of animals raised industrially and with antibiotics to prevent disease, we contribute to our own antibiotic resistance and gut dysbiosis.
Now we can’t go nuts and isolate ourselves from society, but we CAN make conscious choices with the food we buy, eat and the companies we support. In this way, we can do our part to nurture our bodies AND nurture our earth.