Three thousand years ago, when the system of health care now known as Oriental Medicine was developed, the Chinese obviously didn’t know of the existence of DNA. Still, they understood the nature of genetics and its effect on the body.
The ancient text known as the Nei Ching, or The Classic of Internal Diseases, states that if one’s prenatal jing, or “prenatal essence,” is damaged, then that person’s body is more likely to develop disease. Western science would call this prenatal jing deficiency a congenital abnormality, constitutional weakness, or genetic predisposition to a particular disease such as high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, or even ulcerative colitis. In Chinese medicine, this person with a weak constitution would catch colds more easily, would require more sleep to feel rested, and would be physically less substantial. According to Chinese medical theory, however, even when one has a weak constitution, taking care of one’s postnatal jing can offset disease.
This can be accomplished by eating more nutritious foods, breathing cleaner air, maintaining healthy relationships, and so on. Western medicine would refer to this as a process of reducing “environmental stressors.” Indeed, some three thousand years after the advent of Chinese medicine, we are now proving scientifically what the Chinese have known to be true for centuries – that environmental stressors can, in fact, contribute to the disease process. For example, in a landmark study done at UCSF in 1988, Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrated that heart disease could be prevented and even reversed in patients with a familial (i.e. genetic) history of heart disease by following a program that reduced environmental stress. He is now applying that data to cancer studies.
It seems then, that the Chinese understood the concept of genetics long before Watson and Crick discovered the existence of Deoxyribonucleic Acid, DNA. Today, research at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard University, UCLA, UCSF, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Indiana University, suggests a direct correlation between the onset of cancer and existence of identifiable mutations in a person’s DNA. In other words, the likelihood that a person will develop cancer is tied directly to that person’s genetic makeup. More importantly, however, research funded by other renowned institutions such as the National Brain Tumor Foundation and the National Institutes of Health demonstrates that diet, complementary medicine modalities, and lifestyle changes contribute directly to the likelihood that one can and will survive cancer, as well as prevent recurrence of the disease.
Since it will be many years before we will be able to adequately test for predispositions to cancer, it seems a good idea to use the ancient knowledge of the Chinese to insure a healthy life by learning to identify our prenatal jing deficiencies and how to offset them by taking care of our postnatal jing.
I liken these prenatal jing deficiencies to minefields imbedded within our DNA. The weaker one’s constitution, the more bombs there are, and larger they are likely to be. Thus, the more time we spend playing in the minefield, the more likely we are to set off a bomb. How do we “play” in the minefield, you ask? By eating food that isn’t good for us, breathing air that isn’t clean, maintaining relationships that aren’t healthy, refusing to set boundaries with other people at our own expense, continuing to do things even though they don’t make us happy – in other words, having too many “environmental stressors.”
Sometimes, if we’re paying close attention, we can see the mine as we’re approaching, and can change paths to avoid it, but this requires careful attention to one’s inner voice, and a willingness to swiftly make changes in one’s life. Other times, we may see it coming, but simply can’t muster the strength to make the changes we need to. Still other times, we may be so preoccupied and oblivious that we simply never see it coming.
Consider the following patient, for example. He works at a job he hates, has a relationship that causes him stress, eats poorly, and drinks heavily. One night, he awakens at 3AM with a cardiac arrhythmia. One version of this patient meditates, and in doing so realizes that he is unhappy. The following day, he sets about finding another job, decides to leave the relationship, alters his diet, and stops drinking. The arrhythmia disappears. Another version of the same patient meditates, comes to the same realization, and changes his diet only. He struggles for many years and eventually develops high blood pressure, which leads to arteriosclerosis, and ultimately requires medical intervention. Still, a third version of this patient never has a clue that anything is wrong with his life, continues on without making any changes, and one day dies of a massive heart attack at the age of 45.
We’ve all seen it happen. There is no constitutional difference between the three versions of the above patient. The only thing that differs is how each version takes care of his postnatal jing. We cannot fix our congenital weaknesses or prenatal jing deficiencies. However we do have the power to make choices about how to take care of our postnatal jing, which can in some cases mean the difference between life and death, whether dealing with cancer or another chronic degenerative disease.
So I implore each and every one of us, doctor and patient alike, to examine our lives, take stock of what works and what doesn’t, and take full advantage of this autumnal season to let fall away those things in our lives, be they physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, which no longer serve us. In doing so, we create an environment for our body to do that which is its natural inclination – to heal.
Evan Ross, L.Ac., DOM., is a graduate of Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine in Los Angeles. He is board certified by the state of California as a Licensed Acupuncturist and by the state of New Mexico as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. He is also a Diplomate of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. A two-time cancer survivor, he has authored numerous articles about his own experience with illness, and has been featured in several international publications and on network television.
As an advocate of complementary medicine research, he has lectured throughout the country on the integration of Eastern and Western Medicine, and is the Complementary Medicine Advisor to the National Brain Tumor Foundation. He is also on the Professional Advisory Board of The Center for Integrative Health, Medicine, and Research in Los Angeles.