Health and Sex in Traditional Chinese Medicine and in day to day life

Sex for health is a method of improving health through sexual activity. Ancient Chinese physicians attached great importance to the role of sex in health preservation. Despite the asceticism advocated by Buddhism and the Taoist idea of "less desire," the art of health preservation through sex has been passed down from generation to generation.

1. Sex and health

Record of Rites (Confucius 551-479 B.C.): "Food, drink, and man and woman are the major desires of a human being."

Man and woman here mean sexual acts between a man and a woman. In other words, food, drink and sex are essentials of human life. It regards sex as indispensable as food and drink and discusses the place of sex in maintaining health. Men and women marry and they must have a sex life, otherwise, they will fall ill.

Sun Simiao (AD 581-682), a great physician of the Tang Dynasty, believed that sex is valuable and essential to health. In his Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold he says: "A man must have a woman, and a woman must have a man. If he has no woman, he thinks wild, if he thinks wild, it injures his mind, and if it injures the mind, it injures his health."

Even men at or over the age of 60 should have a moderate sex life. Sun says in the book that a strong man over 60 can have sex once a month, and if he is very strong physically, he can have sex any time he has the desire. Do not suppress it, he points out, and says that the older people should not have sex as frequently as the young, but they should not totally stop or suppress it.

When they mature sexually, men and women have sexual desires, although sometimes this is not considered "politically correct". This is a natural instinct of human beings. If a person reaches the proper age without getting married, or is divorced without remarriage, and cannot have their sexual desires gratified, they may easily become lovesick. Its manifestations are an unstable mood, irritability, unquiet sleep, lack of appetite, a sallow look, thinness and dejection.

A man may have nocturnal emissions while a woman may dream of intercourse, menstrual disorder or general hormonal lack of balance. Some people even become mentally deranged because of a broken marriage or love affair, the loss of a spouse, or the failure to have intercourse with the opposite sex.

Regular and harmonious sex helps make married couples physically and mentally healthy, deepen their love, and increase family harmony, thus benefiting health and long life. Many investigations have shown that lack of regular and harmonious sex is an important cause of worsening family relations and broken marriages. Worsening family relations or broken marriages, in turn, give rise to a bad state of mind, not only affecting health, but also shortening life.

2. What harm does overindulging in sex do to health?

Appropriate and moderate sex not only is harmless, but is beneficial to health. However, excessive sex may harm one's health.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the term "sexual strain" refers to internal lesions caused by excessive sex. According to Chinese medicine, among the internal lesions caused by overexertion, "sexual strain" is the most serious one. Therefore, physicians in all dynasties took great pains to warn people against a greed for sex and against excessive sex.

Modern researches indicate that sex has a major affect on the human body. Apart from the discharge of semen by men, both men and women will discharge a large amount of fluid and various hormones from the sex glands.

These substances are produced within the body at a high cost, and greatly affect health.

Excessive sex brings great losses of these precious substances, thus harming both men and women, but even more harm to men. The fluid discharge by men is a mixture of semen, prostate fluid and sex hormone, products of the testis. Excessive sex and excessive ejaculation naturally increases the burden on the testis and accelerates their atrophy. Atrophy of the testis and the decreasing secretion of the sex hormone accelerate the decline of the body.

This is why excessive sex leads to early decline and early death. It also explains why the theory of "excessive sex injures the kidneys" in traditional Chinese medicine is scientifically founded.

The short life of many emperors in all dynasties was largely caused by their unrestrained sexual activity.

To conclude, both the prohibition of sex and its excess are harmful to health. Only proper and moderate sex is good for health and beneficial for along life.

3. Sex for middle-aged and older people

What is moderate sex? The physical strength and energy of most middle-aged and older people gradually become weak, and their sexual function also weakens. They should reduce the number of times for sex.

Traditional Chinese medicine attaches great importance to the effect of "kidney semen," and believes that excessive sex does damage to the kidney semen and injures the body.

Therefore, specialists in all dynasties have exhorted the people to control their sexual activity. It is appropriate for people in their forties to have sex once a week, people in their fifties once every two weeks, and people in their sixties once a month. People in poor health should have even less sex. Sick people should stop sex for the time being and restore sex after recovery. People with chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and senile chronic bronchitis should, apart from reducing sex, not be too excited or stimulated so as to avoid accidents.

When sexual activity reaches a climax of excitement, the heartbeat speeds up to 120-180 per minute and the rhythm of breathing also rise to 60 per minute, and blood pressure rises. Sexual intercourse is not a very strenuous activity, but it presents a threat to those suffering from hypertension and coronary heart disease.

An old Chinese saying goes: 'The affair in the bedroom can either kill people or give births. If used properly, it helps to improve health. If not used properly, it can cause death immediately."

Su Nu Jing (or Classic of the virgin), first classic Chinese treatise on sexuality published almost 2,000 years ago suggests that to maintain health, a man should have a certain amount of ejaculations according to his age and health. The ancient text states that the balance for a healthy sexual life is the most important thing. The text is writen as a dialog between the Emperor Hunag Di and his doctor Su Ni:

Huang Di asks Su Nu "I am feeling a lack of energy and a disharmony in my body. I am sad and apprehensive. What shall I do about this?"

Su Nu replies: "Men are likely to make a mistake during lovemaking. Women conquer men as water conquers fire. Those who know the art of lovemaking are like those who know how to mix the five flavors in a cooking pot to produce a good meal, and like those who know the way of yin and yang and enjoy the five pleasures. Those who are ignorant of this are die young, without enjoying the pleasures of life…. A man must know how to control his emissions and also take medicine. He cannot enjoy life if he is ignorant of the art of love. Men and women are like Heaven and Earth, whose eternal nature lies in their unity…Those who understand the principle of yin and yang will experience immortality."

The classic text suggest even some guidelines for the optimum frequency of ejaculations.

Age      Good health          Average Health    Minimum
20         2x Day                 1X Day               Every 4 days
30         1x Day                 Every other day  Every 8 days
40         Every 3 days         Every 4 days      Every 16 days
50         Every 5 days         Every 10 days    Every 21 days
60         Every 10 days       Every 20 days     Every 30 days

However the ancient text has many real recommendations for women too. We may discuss those in a future article.

4. Sex hygiene

Middle-aged and older people should not have sex when they feel tired, and old people who cannot manage their own day-to-day life should avoid sex altogether. If they are completely exhausted or suffer from serious diseases, sex can be very harmful.

People should avoid sex immediately after meals, drinking (after banquets in particular) or bathing, or when they are very nervous. Sun Simiao said: "There should be never intercourse after a long bath, when tired after travel, after meals or when drunk, in great joy or in great sorrow, when man or woman have a fever (flu), or when a woman has menses or has just given birth."

If you are attacked by wind (common cold) after sex, this may easily cause facial paralysis and even cerebral stroke. If you sleep in the open air after sex, you may easily suffer from rheumatic arthritis, aching muscles and bones, and spasms. Do not eat cold food or drink cold water or take a cold bath, because this may cause violent abdominal pains, the shrinkage of the vulva, and even death.

5. Secrets of better sex

These better sex secrets don't require special techniques or mail-order potions - most of them are simple things you can try at home. This is just because that nowadays we have more problems to have better sex than having too much.

a. Take care of yourself

Keeping your body in top-notch condition can help you enjoy a better sex life. Here are some easy steps to help you get there:


- Exercise. It improves stamina and helps with blood circulation (needed for a healthy erection). And you'll look fitter and more toned too!
- Eat a healthy diet. Healthy foods will help you maintain your weight, and also give you the fuel you need for all of your daily activities, including sex.
- Quit smoking. This will improve your health (and give you fresher breath... and sex).
- Get help with health problems. If you have sexual health problems such as low desire, erectile dysfunction, or premature ejaculation, see your doctor. These conditions can be treated. Finding and treating other health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections (also known as sexually transmitted diseases), and problems with the nervous system or blood vessels, can also help improve your sex life.
- Take your medications as directed.
- The last but not the least, prevent rather than correct health problems using complementary medicine resources: massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy, reflexology, herbal supplements.

b. Communicate with your partner

Communication is the key to great sex:
- Talk. Even though talking about sex may feel awkward at first, it's worth it.
- Be honest. If you don't like something your partner is doing, or if you're uncomfortable with what's going on, let your partner know.
- Focus on the positive. If your partner does something you like, tell them.
- If you're feeling shy, use non-verbal clues. By moving and making noises, you can let your partner know how you feel without having to say a word.
- Let your partner know what you enjoy in bed, and find out what they like.
- Don't hide STDs. If you have a sexually transmitted infection (also known as a sexually transmitted disease [STD]), tell your partners so they can protect themselves.
- Don't hide sexual problems. If you're struggling with a sexual problem such as low desire, erectile dysfunction, or premature ejaculation, talk to your partner about it. This will help them understand it's not their fault, and help them help you.

Good communication can help take your sex life, and your relationship, to new heights. Try it tonight!

c. Shake it up, baby

Sex is supposed to be fun! Strangely enough, it's easy to forget that. Put the fun back into your sex life with a little experimentation:
- Trade fantasies. Find out what your partner would like to try in bed, and share your own desires.
- Add to the wardrobe. Buy your partner some new lingerie or other sexy bedroom clothes.
- Vary the scenery. Try having sex in a new, unusual place.
- Pencil it in. Too busy for sex? Put it in your schedule. Make a date for sex, or plan a sexy getaway. Sex doesn't have to be spontaneous to be good.
- Daydream. Take a few moments throughout the day to think about sex - it keeps the engines stoked.







Sources:
- "China's Traditional Way of Health Preservation" - Zeng Qingnan & Liu Daoqing
- http://www.confucius.org/main01.htm#e
- "Images of Women in Chinese Thought and Culture" - Robin R. Wang

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