So accurate!
He can even tell that I like eating cold things.
Wu Zengshuang, surprised, quickly asked, "Then what should I do?"
Lu Jiu said, "Isn't it obvious? You have to change your eating habits. First of all, you can't eat cold things, especially ice cream and the like."
"These things are not only cold, but the pigments and artificial sugars in them turn acidic once inside your stomach, both cold and sour. How can your Spleen and Stomach stay healthy?"
Wu Zengshuang scratched the back of his head, "I just like that taste usually; without it, everything seems tasteless..."
"That's not a preference; that's greed. Liking to eat and gluttony are two different things. One is fulfilling your body's needs; the other is fulfilling what your eyes see. The more refined the substance, the easier it is to get addicted, especially refined sugar. If you can ignore your Spleen and Stomach to eat these things, addiction plays a big part of it, so you need to learn to control yourself," Lu Jiu said.
Wu Zengshuang curiously asked, "Is this stuff really addictive?"
Lu Jiu nodded, "If you've ever tried natural sugars, like sugar, you'd notice a clear difference. Those sugars don't keep you thinking about eating them again. Anything that makes you ignore your health and desperately want to eat more is addictive. It's just not as addictive as drugs, and its harm is minimal but can't withstand constant eating."
Milk tea is the most typical addictive drink.
However, in today's society, additives have become a necessity. Many foods need additives to taste good, so you don't need to be too resistant to them.
Compared to additives, overeating is the biggest culprit.
Wu Zengshuang tentatively asked, "So I shouldn't eat them often, but having some now and then is okay?"
Lu Jiu said, "Of course not. Healthy people should avoid cold foods as much as possible, let alone when you have issues with your Spleen and Stomach. Until you fully recover, you must quit cold drinks."
Ah?
Wu Zengshuang hesitated a bit.
"How long will it take to fix my digestive system?"
Lu Jiu laughed, "That depends on you."
Depends on me?
Isn't that the doctor's responsibility?
Though unsure inside, Wu Zengshuang didn't voice it. Seeing his expression, Lu Jiu explained, "The body's self-repair ability is stronger than any medicine. Similarly, the body's self-destroying power is stronger than the medicine's repairing capability."
"Chinese medicine doesn't kill germs. It adjusts the balance of the Five Viscera. If your lifestyle doesn't change and you keep destroying yourself, even a divine healer can't cure you."
"Of course, if you change your lifestyle immediately, combined with medication, the recovery speed will be incredibly fast."
Many people misunderstand Chinese medicine, thinking it cures the illness when really Chinese medicine doesn't act on the disease at all.
It simply regulates the Five Viscera to expel illnesses from the body, not creating a battleground within the body to fight against pathogens.
That's why there is no resistance developed against Chinese medicine.
It doesn't kill viruses, so viruses don't bother with Chinese medicine, or one might say, viruses don't even know Chinese medicine is at work, thinking it's failing against the Five Viscera.
"How fast?" Wu Zengshuang still wanted a timeline.
"It depends on how well you change. If you follow my advice, conservatively, one month, at most it won't exceed two months for a full recovery." Lu Jiu tried to extend the time frame. Based on Wu Zengshuang's current condition, it shouldn't take that long for a full recovery, but just in case.
A month?
Wu Zengshuang felt relieved, thinking it would take a year or more.
"Alright, doctor, just tell me how to change!" Wu Zengshuang readily agreed.
"But let me warn you, if you agree now but I find out later you didn't follow my instructions, I won't treat you. Don't think you can fool me; your mouth can lie, but your body won't." Lu Jiu said.
Rather than earning from Wu Zengshuang, Lu Jiu valued his reputation more.
He explained upfront to prevent Wu Zengshuang from blaming him if he didn't fully recover later.
Hearing Lu Jiu's words, Wu Zengshuang dared not question.
He had already witnessed Lu Jiu's pulse-checking skill.
Trick him?
How to trick someone who seems to have a surveillance camera on you?
"Definitely, definitely, I promise to follow!" Wu Zengshuang promised sincerely, almost swearing an oath.
"Hmm," Lu Jiu was satisfied with Wu Zengshuang's attitude, "What's your occupation?"
Wu Zengshuang said, "Streamer, game streamer."
"If your time is relatively flexible, why do you reverse day and night?" Lu Jiu asked.
Wu Zengshuang scratched his head, "More people watch at night. After streaming, I feel energetic and like scrolling through my phone. Before I know it, it's two or three in the morning."
Lu Jiu nodded, "Then starting today, finish streaming by 10:30 PM, and be in bed before 11 PM, no playing with your phone. In the morning, get up at 7 AM and have breakfast. You can eat anything as long as it's not to the point of being full. For the next few days when you eat, be sure to chew slowly and thoroughly to reduce the burden on your Spleen and Stomach."
Chewing food thoroughly helps digestion; this is something many people know.
Modern medicine believes saliva contains digestive enzymes that aid in stomach digestion and absorption; Chinese medicine is similar but more complex.
In Chinese medicine, the term Spleen does not refer to a specific organ but includes its functional manifestations.
When food enters the body and transforms into clear and turbid energy, it undergoes four processes. The first is in the mouth with saliva, the first step of digestion. When food mixed with saliva enters the stomach, gastric juice performs the second digestion. Then, the food goes to the duodenum, where bile from the gallbladder and pancreatic juice from the pancreas complete digestion. Finally, the food reaches the small intestine for the final separation of clear and turbid substances.
This entire digestive process is what Chinese medicine refers to as the Spleen, as the Spleen governs transportation and transformation—transporting and transforming substances. The Stomach mainly receives and stores; it has no digestive function but serves to store and purify.
If there are issues with the Spleen, either food isn't sent to be digested properly, meaning the four processes aren't completed, or there are issues with digestion—maybe insufficient gastric juice, bile, pancreatic juice, or a problem with the small intestine.
This essentially shows the different perspectives of Chinese and Western medicine, and thus they see different problems.
Western medicine starts from the actual organ, identifying issues in specific organs, while Chinese medicine starts from function, where a functional issue can affect other functions—what's called a disturbance in the balance of the Five Viscera and Six Bowels.
Moreover, the functions defined for the Spleen in anatomy aren't what Chinese medicine refers to!
This insight came to Lu Jiu after combining Western medicine knowledge with Chinese medicine.
"Doctor, do I really have to sleep this early?"
For Wu Zengshuang, sleeping before 1 AM is early. Being asked to sleep before 11 PM seemed impossible!