TCM: Aging and its causes

 

Aging is the natural law of normal human vital activities. Reasonable health preservation measures may delay the occurrence of physiological aging, block the progress of pathological aging so as to prolong human life span. Premature aging mainly includes the following causes.

• Deficiency of essence and qi - Essence is stored in the kidney. "The kidney is the congenital base of life." If renal essence is deficient, life will age prematurely. The deficiency of essence and qi originates mainly from congenital insufficiency, excessive sexual life, exhaustion of diseases, physical strain, etc.
• Malnutition - The diet is the source for the human body to obtain nutrients. Malnutrition includes the two aspects of insufficient ingestion and malabsorption. Insufficient ingestion is seldom seen in modern people while malabsorption is more common. If the nutrients required by the human body cannot be instantly supplemented, this will affect the health of human body, speed up aging, even result in death.
• Impairment of the five zang organs - The heart stores spirit and controls blood circulation. It is the dominator of vital activities. If the heart suffers from diseases, it will affect blood circulation and mental functions, consequently accelerating aging. The liver stores blood, governs smoothing and regulating the flow of qi and blood, regulates emotions, promotes digestion as well as regulates blood volume. If the liver suffers from diseases, it will affect various physiological functions of blood, emotions, digestion, etc., accordingly giving rise to aging of the human body. The lung dominates qi of the general body. Deficiency and impairment or obstruction of the lung qi may affect the functions of the general body. In these cases, aging manifestations like endurance to physical labor, gradual functional decline of respiration and blood circulation will occur.

• Excessive emotional stimuli - If persistent emotional stimuli or sudden violent psychic trauma occur beyond the range of adjustment of physiological activities of the human body, it will cause disorders of qi and blood inside the human body, functional disturbances of viscera, meridians and collaterals, thus speeding up aging.
• Maladjustment of work and rest - Strain and insufficient rest are both harmful to health. The so-called strain refers to not only excessive and heavy mental labor and physical labor, but also abnormal life style such as frequent sexual life, excessive food ingestion and recreation, etc. On the contrary, excessively comfortable life is not good for health and longevity, either.
• Heredity - Aging is closely related to heredity. Good heredity results in strong physique full of vigor are insusceptible to aging. Conversely, poor heredity brings on wan and sallow complexion and listlessness. Consequently, aging will occur early or accelerated.
• Social environment - Dramatic changes in social position may bring about mental and physical impairment to people. Thus, premature aging will appear. Besides, rich life is replaced by poverty or respectable status is followed by low one, both of which may result in premature aging, even death at a young age. Also, irrational social systems, unhealthy social customs, backward ideology, intense and acute competition for existence as well as complicated interpersonal relationships may all result in metabolic disorders of the human body, giving rise to premature aging. 
• Living conditions/environmental factors - Residents in mountainous areas with cold climate possess relatively long life; dwellers have relatively short life in flat lands and low-lying lands as well as in the south with high temperature throughout the year. Besides, environ¬mental pollution in cities is more serious than that in rural areas, this can affect health and promote premature aging.