TCM and health maintenance
Wang Ching-chiung emphasizes that TCM not only offers therapies, but is also part of general health maintenance, which is a rare healthcare model anywhere in the world. For example, the TCM prescriptions for sore, watery eyes (a frequent problem among the elderly)—ji ju dihuang wan (pills containing lycium, chrysanthemum, and rehmannia), and mingmu wan (“eyesight-improving pills”)—have both therapeutic and health maintenance functions.
One of the principles of TCM is that the internal organs correspond to “meridians” that run through the body. When the functions of a certain part of the body fall out of balance, various methods can used (including scrape therapy, cupping, qigong, and acupressure) to enable the qi and blood to flow more freely through the meridians and restore the body to health and harmony.
Wang Ching-chiung states that masseurs at health massage facilities in Taiwan pay particular attention to accupressure points. When giving a massage, they explain to clients the internal organs that correspond to certain pressure points. For example, to relieve headaches they massage the pressure points called the taiyang xue (on the temples, at the sides of the head) and the hegu xue (in the flesh between the thumb and index finger of each hand). This is a practical example of how TCM has been incorporated into health maintenance.
Su Po-hsuan adds that while beauty salons in Taiwan give head, neck, and shoulder massages when shampooing hair, the head, neck, and shoulder massages and foot massages provided by wellness centers are based on the principle of pressure points. In addition, soaking at a hot spring can promote circulation of qi and blood and achieve the goal of health maintenance. Taiwan has well-known hot springs at locations such as Beitou in Taipei City, and Jiaoxi and Su’ao in Yilan County.
TCM emphasizes changing with the seasons and choosing a healthy diet suited to each part of the year. In spring, food should “nourish the liver”; in summer, one should eat things that “clear dampness” and “dissipate heat”; in autumn it is best to consume foods that “nourish the lungs” and “moisten dryness”; while in winter, tonic foods like ginger duck in rice wine, mutton hotpot, and sesame oil chicken are taken to keep warm. Su adds that people can first have their individual physical condition determined by a TCM doctor and then, based on this assessment, choose tonic foods with “warming,” “cooling,” or “balanced” properties to maintain their health in accordance with the seasons. In this way one can stay healthy naturally.
Tu Su-chen, director of the Management Department at Chang Gung Health and Culture Village, says the village offers a spacious wooded hillside environment and comprehensive services, and many people seek to reserve places there even before retiring. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
The concepts of health maintenance and healthy aging are moving with the times. The supply of residences at the Chang Gung Health and Culture Village can’t keep up with demand. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
The Shin Kong Group has set up Jasper Villa Banqiao in New Taipei’s Banqiao District, offering serviced apartments suitable for long- and short-stay medical tourism visits, including by foreign professionals stationed in Taiwan.
(courtesy of Jasper Villa Banqiao)