Reference; https://mbp-japan.com/jijico/articles/32360/
Modified and translated by CFJA
Is it okay to only focus on quality? The key to health is valuing quantity!
When speaking with patients, I often find that while they are eager to learn about the cause of their illness, many don’t place much importance on how to get better. When I hear from people visiting the clinic for the first time, many of them, after learning the cause of their illness at the hospital, simply follow instructions to take medication or apply patches. I often see people who have been taking painkillers for over a year or applying patches for over two years. When I ask them, “Why are you doing this?” the most common response is, “Because the doctor told me to.” The “quality” assurance that comes from the doctor seems to make them lose the motivation to engage with their own health.
When commercials promote something as beneficial, people rush to buy it without verifying the effects. Many people take more than 10 different supplements, and in our clinic, some patients were taking over 20. Since supplements can have effects similar to medications, it’s important to be cautious about taking too many. From daily conversations with patients, I strongly feel that while people tend to prioritize “quality”, they don’t give much thought to “quantity”.
Sleep deprivation and lack of exercise are prime examples of this. People seem to assume that good health will last forever. The tendency to focus on quality without considering quantity is particularly evident when it comes to diet. While quality is certainly important, every food, no matter how good, has its downsides. Even foods that are said to be healthy contain some toxins. If you consume too much, your health will deteriorate.
I always propose that when dealing with signs (symptoms) of illness, it’s crucial to focus more on “quantity” than on “quality”.
Since quantity increases gradually, it can be difficult to judge how much is appropriate. In Western medicine, tests like blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol levels can indicate when your lifestyle is putting stress on your body. However, it’s often hard to recognize our own actions, even when someone points them out to us.
Here are some examples from patients whose lifestyle habits escalated and led to illness:
• Drinking two bottles of whiskey every day
• Drinking three bottles of wine every day
• Drinking more than 10 large bottles of beer every day
• Drinking one bottle of sake every day
• Eating 23 shortcakes every day
• Eating more than 10 chocolate bars every day
• Drinking more than 10 sweet coffees every day
• Eating 20 McDonald’s hamburgers every day
• Eating 10 large pizzas every day
• Pouring a mound of white sugar over a bowl of rice and eating it
• Pouring an entire bottle of Tabasco over pasta and eating it
• Pouring an entire bottle (50g) of table pepper over ramen and eating it
These may sound unbelievable, but they are all true stories. While these are extreme examples, even if your habits aren’t this extreme, I encourage you to reflect on whether the “quantity” in your lifestyle might be an issue. Dr. Seino himself once ate 23 large rice cakes (ohagi) in one sitting when he was younger. He now laughs, saying it’s amazing he could eat that much and that today he can’t even finish two.
If you’re able to live like the examples above, in a way, you could say you’re strong and healthy.
When it comes to diet, eating too much increases body weight, but whether your food intake is appropriate depends on your body size, so it can be difficult to judge. In Japan, for example, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare provides detailed information about the appropriate intake for Japanese people. If you are interested, please refer to Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s website (mhlw.go.jp).
In areas of life other than diet, living the same way for many years can also lead to the appearance of signs (symptoms) of illness. These signs (symptoms) indicate that something is out of balance in terms of “quantity”. That’s why I encourage anyone who experiences signs (symptoms) of illness to reassess their lifestyle.
Acupuncture,Moxibustion and Cupping Treatment are optimal for treating general malaise
The various signs (symptoms) of illness are collectively referred to as “general malaise” (futei-shuso). Many people rely on medication to manage general malaise. For those who think, “I want to stop taking medicine but don’t know any other methods”, I highly recommend trying acupuncture. For those who feel unwell after medical treatments such as drug therapy (internal medicine) or surgery (surgical treatment), acupuncture, which can stimulate internal organ functions from the outside of the body (internal-external treatment), and cupping treatment (internal-external treatment) can be effective. Please consult a nearby acupuncture clinic or a medical facility with an acupuncturist on staff.
Acupuncture is effective for improving symptoms such as body-wide pain, fever, traumatic fever, eye strain, itchy eyes, blurred vision, dry eyes, mouth ulcers, dry throat, cracked corners of the mouth, nasal congestion, sneezing, runny nose, tinnitus, ear discharge, hearing loss, headaches, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, dizziness, unsteadiness, digestive issues, constipation, diarrhea, and more. If you feel discomfort, consult an acupuncture clinic right away. If symptoms have been present for about a month, continuous treatment for one week to 10 days is expected to eliminate the symptoms. Acupuncture is also effective for symptoms caused by central nervous system disorders or decreased organ function. The treatment period depends on the severity of the symptoms, so please consult with your practitioner.