Health for All says
In recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards and medical conditions, people's attention to health has also increased. One of the most talked about topics is why some people are prone to cancer when they don't catch a cold for a long time. This seems to contradict our conventional wisdom that we often think of a good immune system as a barrier against various diseases. So, can TCM theories provide us with a scientific explanation for this phenomenon?
Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the harmonious balance between the inside and outside of the human body, and believes that the occurrence of diseases is closely related to the imbalance of yin and yang within the human body. From the perspective of TCM, the function of the immune system is closely related to the body's immunity. In addition to being related to the autoimmune response, the body's immunity is also affected by the physique. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the constitution of the human body can be divided into different types, such as peaceful constitution, qi deficiency constitution, yang deficiency constitution, yin deficiency constitution, phlegm dampness constitution, and damp heat constitution. Different constitutions will also have different adaptability to the external environment, which may lead to different disease sensitivities.
We all know that a cold is a respiratory infection caused by a viral infection, which usually manifests as symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, fever, etc. And the body's immunity can play a role in defending against the invasion of viruses. Therefore, if a person does not catch a cold for a long time, it may mean that his immune system is dysfunctional and cannot properly cope with the invasion of the virus. However, the phenomenon that some people who do not catch a cold for a long time but are prone to cancer is contrary to our understanding.
In TCM theory, cancer is classified as parenchymal stasis. Parenchymal stasis refers to the poor flow of qi and blood in the body, resulting in the inability of substances to circulate in the body, thus causing diseases, and cancer is one of them. In the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, there are many famous prescriptions to regulate the stasis of essence, such as "Taibai Drink", "Sanhuang Mo" and so on. Through the effect of activating blood and removing blood stasis, these prescriptions can improve the circulation of qi and blood in the body, promote metabolism, and achieve the effect of removing blood stasis.
So, why are some people susceptible to cancer when they don't catch a cold for a long time?From the perspective of TCM theory, this may be related to the parenchymal stasis in these people's bodies. Due to the poor circulation of qi and blood in the body, some basic processes of generating, apoptosis and repairing cells are abnormal, which can easily lead to malignant changes in cells. Therefore, if you don't catch a cold for a long time, you may have a strong immune system on the surface, but in essence, there is a certain amount of stasis in the body.
In addition, modern research has found that the relationship between immunity and cancer is very complex. Rising immunity may bring about some inflammatory responses, and chronic inflammation is one of the important causes of cancer. In other words, the enhancement of immunity may have a positive effect on cancer prevention and**, but it may also lead to other problems. Therefore, it is incomplete to look at this issue purely from the perspective of immunity.
To sum up, the phenomenon that people who have not caught a cold for a long time are prone to cancer can be explained by the theory of traditional Chinese medicine as well as modern research. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that parenchymal stasis is one of the important factors of cancer, and long-term absence of colds may be related to parenchymal stasis in the body. In addition, the relationship between immunity and cancer is complex, and the enhancement of immunity may bring other problems. Therefore, in terms of cancer prevention, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the improvement of immunity, but also to the balance and self-repair ability of the body.
Thank you for taking the time to read our article. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. I wish you all the best!
References: 1] Wang Zhiming, et al. Research status of immune conditioning pathways and mechanisms in traditional Chinese medicine[J].Journal of Clinical Chinese Medicine, 2019, 11(3): 114-117