Reseña del libro "Food Cures and Manipulative Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (en Inglés)"
In the past century, Western medicine has made such tremendous progress, particularly in diagnostics and surgery that it has become indispensable to human health. Unfortunately, one thing gets in the way of Western medicine as a medical science: individual physical conditions. Individuals do not share the same physical conditions; some people feel unusually cold, which means that they have a cold physical condition; others feel unusually hot, which means that they have a hot physical condition; still others feel unusually fatigued, which means that they have a weak physical condition; still others feel unusually thirsty, which means that they have a dried physical condition; to mention only a few types. If you have a cold physical condition, you need to warm your body; if you have a hot physical condition, you need to cool your body; if you have a weak physical condition, you need to strengthen your body; if you have a dried physical condition, you need to moisten your body. Each physical condition needs different things and should avoid different things. This is a fundamental principle of health and healing, which runs counter to the scientific principle of Western medicine. A drug in Western medicine targets a disease that may attack many thousands of individuals, and the same drug treats them indiscriminately. This is one important reason why drugs used in Western medicine cause so many side effects, because it takes a dim view of different physical conditions. A renowned Chinese doctor in the 17th century put forward the following points of view., The attack of pathogens affects a victim in the same way that intoxication affects a drunk. A drunk will normally display a flooding and rapid pulse, being in high spirits, feeling hot sensations in the body, with a red color of the face and pink eyes, which apply to average persons. However, in some cases, a drunk may act like a wild animal, and he will forget everything after sleeping off a drunk. Another drunk may remain normal in thought and spirit; still another may display a pale color of the face; still another may appear stronger than usual; still another may shiver with chills; still another may get intoxicated easily and sober up quickly; still another may not be easily intoxicated, nor can he sober up quickly; still another may yawn and sneeze; still another may feel dizzy and headache. Thus, people have different reactions to intoxication, due to their differences in physical conditions. By the same token, when people are under the attack of pathogens, normally they will display a fever day and night, which reduces at dawn; they will have headache and body ache, a white layer of coating on the tongue, gradually feeling thirsty; such are normal patterns. However, some people under the same attack may vomit or feel dry in the throat, or discharge phlegm from the mouth, or have only fever, or, have fever with chills, or have fever after chill. Thus, people have different reactions to the attack, due to their differences in physical conditions. To be sure, Western doctors know very well that intoxication affects different people differently, which is why they maintain that the amount of alcohol present in the blood does not provide completely valid information about the degree of intoxication. Why not? It is because of the ability of the central nervous system to adapt to alcohol. Since each individual has a different central nervous system, it logically follows that intoxication affects different individuals differently. This is very true indeed, but the inherent fallacy is that a doctor should take each patient's central nervous system into serious consideration, instead of shrugging off the individual difference and treating all patients with the same drug for the same disease.
