The immune system in Traditional Eastern Medicine 1 – A digestive system is the essential matters for the immune system-
Energy is a protection system in the body
In Traditional Eastern Medicine (TEM), there are five essential organs called the liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney. Lung associates with the respiratory system and also a production of the energy which is circulating in the body. A strength of this energy is critical in TEM. It is not only nourishing the body but also working as the protection of the body; thus, when people’s energy is vibrant, his/her immune system is strong as well. How to support the strong immune system? For the answer, a digestive system contributes a significant role in this energy strength.
The feature of the lung
In TEM, the main function of the lung is breezing, which is taking the outside air into the body. This air combines with the material from the spleen and then transforms into the energy. There are two types of energy that are circulating in the body. The first is delivering the essential substance for maintaining body functions, which runs at a certain level of the depth of the body. The second is working as a protection of the body, which protects outside pathogens’ invasion. It runs more superficial level of the body than the first one. This second one is the main subject of today’s topic.
Wei-Qi: protection of the body
This protection is named Wei-Qi in Chinese, which means protective (=Wei) energy (=Qi). As long as this protection is working properly, the body can reject the invasion. When this energy barrier is not working well, it allows pathogens to get into the body. When a pathogen gets into the body, Wei-Qi fights against the pathogen. They combat each other under the skin, which is the most surface on the body. As a consequence, this fight creates heat, which is a fever at sick. It is a standard process when a person gets ill and has a fever. However, some cases are going in different ways.
A weak defensive line
One of the cases is by the weakness of the spleen, which is charging for digestion in the body. When the spleen can’t work properly to provide enough materials for making the energy in the lung, the final product, Wei-Qi is not as strong as it should be. Thus, the defensive line is weak that allows the pathogen to go straight to the deep level. In this case, not only fever but also digestive issues such as diarrhea, nausea, vomit, or less appetite occurs at the same time. This case is more dangerous. Building up the digestive system is the first to make a more robust defensive line. When the spleen is able to send more materials to the lung for reinforcement, the defense line retrieves the power against the pathogens.
Reviewing the eating habit for your immune system
In recent modern medicine, the small intestines, which is a part of the digestive system, became in the spotlight as the most significant immune system in the body. Meanwhile, TEM already has known that the digestive system plays a vital role not only for digestion but for immune system. Because as long as the spleen can make and provide the nutrients to the other organs, they can build up a firm foundation as protection, maintenance and reinforcement. Therefore, even for acute febrile disease, the herbs, which help digestion, are included in the herbal formula. Nowadays, under this Covid-19 crisis, it is the best timing to review your eating habits. People tend to eat more food despite of fewer activities, and the choice of food would not always be healthy. Therefore, try to eat the food, which is comfortable to digest to take care of your digestive system. Eating cooked vegetable is better than raw not only for hygiene but digestion. Warm food such as soup, braised, or stewed dish is good as well. If you put a bone in it, you can have a bone broth that is very beneficial for our immune system (of course, taking the bone broth itself is excellent). Ginger, scallion, and garlic are a good source for strengthening your stomach. Besides, their pungent property helps to promote lung function that enhances the energy circulation. It would not be quite fast that you can see the result as you wish how much your immune system has boosted up like taking a magical pill. However, if you start to have a good eating habit from now, it will help to build up a strong immune system for the next cold season. Your body is made by what you eat. The small daily steps bring more significant annual leaps.
