中醫笑談快樂養心之道

The author of "Nourishing the Mind with Joy," who is also a guest host on TVB's "City Leisure," is known for his ability to transform traditional Chinese medicine culture into relatable essays. This time, he specifically collected many amusing dialogues between patients, polishing them into jokes and including them in the book.

"We spend a third of our lives working, and if work is monotonous and boring, life loses much of its luster. How can we make work more interesting?" In the public's impression, doctors' daily work is mostly serious and rigid, and the author deeply agrees. So, a brilliant idea struck him: "Why not collect interesting conversations between patients, add some humorous embellishments, and write them into jokes? This can not only exercise my creativity but also share joy with everyone." Perhaps, the author published this book to alleviate the dullness of his own profession, and to achieve the effect of entertaining others and himself by sharing with others.

One particularly eye-catching dialogue between a patient and a woman, titled "Grandma Has an STD," is both striking and slightly sentimental. The old woman says, "I heard on the radio last time that one in three elderly people in a family has an STD?" It sounds terrifying! After further questioning, the author, Dr. Chai, understands that she was referring to common ailments among the elderly like heart disease and hypertension—not STDs, but rather chronic… STDs!

Another seemingly robust patient told the doctor, "My uterus hurts!" At that moment, the author felt like they were in a scene from a Stephen Chow movie—like the classic scene in *Forbidden City Cop* where Lau Yee-tat dresses as a woman to see Stephen Chow for a gynecological problem. In reality, this male patient was simply experiencing a gout attack, causing excruciating pain in his "big toe." Behind this absurd joke lies practical knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine: "Gout is common in middle-aged men, especially those with poor lifestyle and dietary habits—frequent consumption of fatty and sweet foods, and a habit of staying up late, easily leads to the accumulation of dampness, obstructing the joints of the lower limbs; furthermore, excessive alcohol consumption can trigger blood heat. Symptoms are more likely to flare up in humid weather, causing unbearable pain." In short, "poor blood circulation leads to pain."

The concept of "blood and qi" is not limited to traditional Chinese medicine; Western medicine also holds similar views. The late Japanese novelist Junichi Watanabe, a former doctor, discussed this concept in his novel...Happiness ExpertThe book explains the secret to happiness: the human body is constantly engaged in a busy blood circulation. If vital organs such as the heart (responsible for blood transport and recycling) and liver (responsible for detoxifying and excreting harmful substances) malfunction, the "efficiency of blood flow" will be hindered, causing the entire body system to become disordered. This not only leads to various illnesses but also makes it difficult to experience happiness. Junichi Watanabe believes that "a healthy state is one where blood flows smoothly throughout the body," and "the most important thing to grasp happiness is health. A healthy body is the foundation for feeling and experiencing happiness."Seize happinessAn indispensable basic condition.

Why are some people able to maintain good habits and a healthy physique, while others knowingly make mistakes? This is a question worth pondering. The author knew an elderly woman who passed away last year at over 100 years old. Throughout her life, she was in excellent health and never even needed hospitalization for a serious illness. According to her family, this woman was extremely disciplined, going to bed early and waking up early every day, eating very light meals, mostly consisting of vegetables and fruits—a habit she maintained for most of her life. In other words, living to 100 isn't necessarily difficult; maintaining self-discipline for 50 or 60 years is quite sufficient.

However, one of the grandmother's sons was quite unfortunate: after entering the workforce, he struggled with his job, clashed with his elder brothers and other elders, and around the age of thirty, he developed emotional problems due to alcoholism, eventually becoming unable to care for himself and requiring long-term hospitalization. Why was this unfortunate son unhappy? Why couldn't he control his drinking? Couldn't he live a healthy and simple life like his mother, instead choosing to create his own troubles? This question is as difficult to answer as the chicken-and-egg dilemma.

Junichi Watanabe once tried to explain: "However, even if one is in perfect health, if..."gloomy and twisted personalityEven if one can feel happiness, it's difficult to get close to it. It turns out that personality is also a key factor in health, a problem that medicine alone cannot solve, but is closely related to psychology and socio-cultural factors. A society that fosters negativity and depression can give rise to many personality and psychological problems; an environment of alcohol and drug abuse is often accompanied by numerous economic and social injustices.

We've strayed a bit from the topic, so let's talk about some basic common sense about gout treatment. The author points out that the primary focus of gout treatment is clearing heat and promoting diuresis. "Traditional Chinese medicine commonly uses herbs such as Dioscorea hypoglauca, Achyranthes bidentata, Plantago asiatica, or Lycopodium clavatum, sometimes combined with herbs like Salvia miltiorrhiza or Spatholobus suberectus to promote qi and blood circulation. In addition, acupuncture may also be used to enhance the therapeutic effect."

Another point that many male readers will likely find interesting is the statement in "Men's Health II" that "Men's back pain, avoid bending over, it's a sign of kidney deficiency." If you're also worried about your performance, you might want to buy the book and see if it applies to you; the solutions the author offers are quite valuable and constructive.