I once had a 70 year old patient who was also my friend. He was very friendly honest and nice. One day he had a car accident. The car was terribly damaged but luckily he was ok. The only problem he had was controlling his urine. He started seeing me for acupuncture treatments. After the treatments he felt much better and was able to control his urine again. Checks in the hospital also showed he was fine. Unfortunately though he started forgetting things a little while after the accident and it got progressively worse. He has two daughters. He forgets their names and doesn’t know what they do. The problem was diagnosed as Dementia. When watching him I noticed he was making very small steps, leaning forward, using the front of the feet, head down reminding me of a rocking doll.
One of my other students has an older neighbour who used to be very active and happy. One day she was robbed on the street which was a great shock to her. Very soon after this incident she was diagnosed with Dementia. The shock had brought on the dementia. In Chinese medicine we say the kidney controls bones, marrow, brain and also fear and shock. When people get shocked the kidney Qi gets destroyed and cannot carry the energy to the brain and the marrow. We say the brain is the sea of the marrow. Therefore the brain very much depends on the kidney energy. When the body gets older, Qi deficiency is natural. Especially in the kidney, the life energy becomes deficient. This is natural to a certain extent. When we get older we are already deficient but having a shock is tragic and Dementia can easily happen.
How to protect kidney energy
Good nutrition, avoid shock and play safe. Fear and shock is normal to a certain degree and not harmful. But having fear for a long time can destroy kidney energy. One of my patient’s mother lived in fear for all her life. One member of her family was very sick and the husband was very controlling. Those many years of fear gradually destroyed her kidney Qi, very similar to a great sudden shock. It’s very important to find out the reasons for your fear and getting rid of it to strengthening the kidney energy. Exercise is also very good, so is good nutrition, avoiding being frightened and shocked. It’s also very important to see a doctor regularly. Walking, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and yoga are good exercises. For prevention of Dementia needs to be done early and you should start thinking about it after the 45th year of your life, especially if there have been cases of Dementia in the family. It is also important to remove any kind of fear.
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by Angela Zhu, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi instructor.
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2010
YMMD with that aneswr! TX
Cancer is the least attributed to deatibes of all your options, although some researchers have argued that deatibes may also increase your risk of cancer.We *know* that uncontrolled deatibes can cause cardiovascular disease, blindness, and kidney disease/failure. Cancer is just the most controversial of all those in your list.
I feel so much happier now I unrdestand all this. Thanks!