Post Date December, 02 2023
The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic tells us, "When a person exceeds forty, their Yin and Qi will naturally halve. The meaning is that by the age of around 40, the essence in the kidneys has decreased by half, and here "yin qi" refers to kidney qi. Starting from the age of 40, whether you are willing or not, you should start paying attention to health preservation.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the kidney governs water and is the foundation and innate root of the five organs. This means that a person's kidney qi at birth determines the rise and fall of their five organs and the length of their lifespan. In addition, 'forty' is an imaginary number. Male kidney qi declines around the age of 40, while female kidney qi begins to decline around the age of 35, manifested as hair loss, withered teeth, and burnt complexion.
Kidney qi includes kidney essence, kidney yin, and kidney yang, so there are three types of kidney qi damage.
After the age of 40, some people begin to exhibit symptoms of deficiency fire, such as fever in their hands and feet, dry mouth and tongue, low back pain, and yellow urine. Such people suffer from kidney yin damage and need to nourish yin. It is common in women and should eat less spicy and hot foods such as scallions, garlic, chili peppers, alcohol, etc. It is recommended to practice Tai Chi and take a walk under the shade of trees. In terms of dietary therapy, they can choose sea cucumber, turtle, mushrooms, mulberry, black fungus, black beans, goji berries, ligustrum lucidum, etc. For severe cases, use Zhibai Dihuang Wan; If accompanied by dizziness, Qi Ju Di Huang Wan can be used for conditioning. Some people, on the contrary, exhibit symptoms of yang deficiency, such as excessive nocturia, fear of cold, cold limbs, and heavy cold and dampness. They can take the Golden Chamber Kidney Qi Pill. Some people may experience kidney essence deficiency due to excessive sexual activity or excessive use of the brain, manifested as dizziness, soreness in the waist, dull complexion, lack of essence, and fatigue. They can eat more beef and mutton, and traditional Chinese medicine such as deer glue, purple river carts, cooked glutinous rice, and goji berries. Gouqi yam beef soup has a good tonifying effect on kidney essence, which can be boiled alone, or added with Huangjing or cooked ground. It is suitable for both men and women. The effect of soaking wolfberry and mulberry in water instead of tea is also good.
The kidney is responsible for human reproduction. After the age of 40, the reproductive function of the kidney is completed, and the remaining kidney qi is mainly used to maintain a person's lifespan. Therefore, in order to prolong life and delay aging, it is necessary to protect the kidneys and strengthen the foundation. Firstly, it is necessary to prevent overwork and excessive use of the brain; Secondly, it is necessary to exercise abstinence. The ancients said, "At the age of 40, one ejaculation occurs on the 16th." This means that after the age of 40, sexual activity should occur once every two weeks and should not be excessive to avoid damaging kidney essence; Finally, we should actively treat chronic diseases. Hypertension and diabetes are mostly due to liver and kidney yin deficiency, which will accelerate the loss of kidney qi, so we must pay attention to it.
Many modern lifestyles are accelerating the depletion of kidney qi, such as indulging in alcohol and sex, indulging in excessive libido, overeating, staying up late for a long time, and excessive brain use. Some people take some wrong measures in order to "retain their youth", such as men abusing aphrodisiacs and women using cosmetics containing hormones, which can cause greater damage to the body and even increase the risk of cancer.
