[Abstract] Objective To provide scientific evidence for TCM health maintenance. Methods To clarify the principles and common methods of TCM health maintenance from ancient TCM texts, and to verify each method of health maintenance using the free radical theory. Results 1. Chinese medicine believes that the natural life span of human is above 100 years. This paper uses evolutionary theory, social surveys and laboratory studies to verify the results, which all show that the theory of TCM is reliable. 2. The general principle of TCM health care is “return to the basics”, and TCM believes that primitive people are in a half-full state, which is good for health. Modern research confirms that the level of free radicals is lower in the half-full state, supporting this theory of TCM. 3, TCM believes that the recipes of primitive people are healthier. Modern research suggests that ice age recipes contain more anti-free radicals and unsaturated fatty acids, which are most beneficial to health.4. Primitive people engaged in moderate physical activity during their daily foraging, and TCM advocates emulating such moderate physical activity. Animal experiments have proven that this can improve the body’s ability to scavenge free radicals. Zhang Denghua, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University Conclusion: The theory of free radicals supports the theory of health maintenance. 【Key words】Free radicals; Chinese medicine; prevention The relation between traditional Chinese Regimen and Free Radicals Zhang Denghua Inner Mongolia medical school affiliated hospital High pressure oxygen treatment center, Inner Mongolia, Huhhot 010050 【abstract】Objective To provide scientific evidence for traditional Chinese Method: to find TCM principles and common methods from classic TCM books; to verify every Chinese regimen by using free radical theory. In this paper, the theory of evolution, social surveys, and laboratory studies have been used to prove that human being’s natural life span should last longer than 100 years. In this paper, the theory of evolution, social surveys and laboratory studies have been used to prove this theory, and results show that this TCM theory is reliable. 2. The general principle of TCM is “Return to Innocence”. Chinese medicine practitioners believe that primitive men were always being half starved and it’s beneficial to health. Modern researches found that the level of free radicals is lower when human body is half starved. 3. Chinese medicine practitioners claim that the recipe of Researches show that the recipe in the Ice Age contained higher anti-free radicals and unsaturated fatty acids which were most conducive to our health. The primitive completed moderate physical activity in their daily feeding. Animal experiments have proved moderate physical activity would Conclusion the free radicals theory supports TCR [Key word】 Free radicals; TCM; Regimen 1.Chinese medicine principles of health maintenance 1・1 The original intent of TCM health care “Suwen – general evaluation of the theory of deficiency and reality” said: “Where the treatment of elimination, servant strikes, partial withering, ……, sweet and fat nobleman, then the disease of the anointed beam also. In the “Su Wen – Shang Gu Tian Zhen Lun”, it is said: I heard that the ancient people, spring and autumn are a hundred years old, but the movement does not decline; today’s people, half a hundred years old and the movement are declining. In the ancient times, people were disciplined in their food and drink, and they lived in a normal way, and they did not make delusions of labor. Therefore, their food was beautiful because they had a leisurely mind and less desire, a peaceful heart and no fear, and a laborious form and not tired. The people of today are not the same: to wine for the syrup, to delusion for the regular, ……, contrary to the joy of life, up and down without regulation, so half a hundred and decline. 1・2 Translation of the original text Ancient Chinese medicine scholars found that cerebrovascular disease, the main symptom of hemiplegia, was mostly found in the rich and noble class who ate sweets and were obese, and that the natural life expectancy of people at that time was shorter than that of primitive people (natural life expectancy is the maximum number of years one can live except for trauma and infectious diseases). It is necessary to imitate 3 aspects: eating a limited diet, eating rough food, and moderate physical activity. The elements of health maintenance mentioned in the Chinese Medicine “Nei Jing” include are: five grains, four seasons, cold and heat, happiness and anger, and residence. The scope of nourishment in this thesis includes only these, which are equivalent to primary prevention in Western medicine, i.e., prevention of disease by means of improving lifestyle and environment. The Nei Jing does not contain medicine for health maintenance, equipment for health maintenance, or physical health maintenance, and therefore these are not included in this study. 2 Scientific basis of health maintenance 2・1 Evolutionary theory Recent studies have concluded that 100,000 years ago, the earth was in the glacial period and most of the hominids living in high latitudes became extinct. At this time, humans lived in the waters of Kenya, Africa, swimming and wading in the water to make human body hair degradation, the lower limbs developed. The physiological metabolism was suitable for eating aquatic products, and the fat intake contained more monounsaturated fatty acids and Omega-3 fatty acids. Evolutionary principles tell us that it takes more than 1 million years for a given species to adapt to environmental changes [1]. Humans have entered civilization only 10,000 years ago, the physiological and metabolic needs of modern humans are the same as those of primitive humans, and physical evolution is far from catching up with cultural progress, which leads to a body that cannot fully adapt to modern life, manifesting itself in suboptimal health and affluenza, etc., and living less than its natural lifespan. The transition from aquatic to terrestrial life inevitably leads to physiological maladaptation, the most important of which is the difference in fats: fish, shellfish and plants contain unsaturated fatty acids, while the fats of terrestrial animals contain saturated fatty acids, which can lead to maladaptation of the body. If we revert to the original recipe, that is, replacing terrestrial animal oils with fish and vegetable oils, the benefits are the following: prevention of coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, strengthening of the body’s immunity, reduction of breast and colon cancer, etc. [2]. Shellfish have the unique effect of inhibiting cholesterol synthesis in the liver and accelerating cholesterol excretion, which leads to a decrease in cholesterol in the body. Shrimp is rich in magnesium, which can reduce blood cholesterol content and prevent atherosclerosis, and also dilate coronary arteries, which is good for preventing hypertension and myocardial infarction; crab meat has good effect on hypertension, cerebrovascular disease and hyperlipidemia. 2・2 Social survey and laboratory research Western medicine has found that 50% of the causes of death are related to lifestyle, which is summarized as four cornerstones: reasonable diet, moderate exercise, smoking cessation and alcohol restriction, and psychological balance. The four cornerstones are very close to the above-mentioned TCM approach to health, and the four cornerstones support the TCM approach to health. Laboratory studies in Western medicine have concluded that the natural life expectancy is 110 to 175 years. Lifestyle accounts for 37.73% of the top 10 causes of disease in China [3]. In the 10 years between 1991 and 2000, chronic diseases in China increased from 73.8% to 80.9% [4]. The results support the above understanding of longevity in TCM. 2.3 Free radical theory 2.3.1 Dieting can reduce free radicals Research has found that animals have a “conservation gene” that stores more energy in the form of fat for use when food is scarce. The appetite is stronger than the physiological needs, and the energy intake is three times more than what is needed for survival. Due to the constraints of external conditions, primitive people generally can only ensure that the minimum energy intake needs, stored energy can rarely be met, often in a state of hunger, in other words, the physiological needs of energy enough will also appear when hunger. Primitive man lived to the end of his life precisely because he was often in a state of hunger [5]. Numerous studies have confirmed that food restriction can significantly extend the life span of many animals, reduce the incidence of diabetes, tumors, cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases, and slow down the aging process [6-7]. This experimental result is known as the “Mecca effect”. According to Western medical research, people who eat a full meal have mutated cells and lost their motility, and the genes that inhibit cancer cells are less active, which can lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer. The opposite is true for people who eat eight full meals. Dieting can produce endogenous healing factors, the body’s immunity is enhanced, the body stimulates many corresponding endogenous drug factors, and dieting can promote cell renewal. The body’s metabolic capacity increases exponentially, the cells absorb nutrients particularly vigorously, and the person is able to regain his or her youthful vitality. This active natural treatment has a certain therapeutic effect on the human body. Free radicals are derivatives produced during the metabolic process in the body and can bind to nucleic acids, nucleoproteins and fatty acids, denature and disable them, causing aging and lesions [8]. Dieting removes free radicals from the body. A variety of diseases occur when the level of free radicals in the body exceeds the load of the body’s ability to scavenge them. Because starvation compulsorily cuts off the source of nutrients, it can be an effective method for scavenging free radicals in the body. Food restriction can reverse the neurotoxic effect of D-galactose, significantly improve the learning and memory ability of brain aging mice, increase the activity of anti-free radical enzymes such as SOD and GSH-Px in brain tissue, and enhance the defense ability of brain tissue against free radical oxidative damage. Given that brain aging is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, this anti-brain aging or neuroprotective effect of food restriction would be useful for further prevention of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease [9]. These findings are consistent with the understanding of dieting in Chinese medicine. The cause of the increase in free radicals is energy, i.e., fat, starch and protein, so it is considered more appropriate to replace dieting with “energy restriction”, which does not include vitamins, minerals and other antioxidants. 2.3.2 The original recipes can reduce free radicals. “Su Wen – Zang Qi Fa Shi Lun” says: “Five grains are nourishing, five fruits are helpful, five animals are beneficial, and five vegetables are sufficient.” From the ranking, we can see that the recipes advocated by Chinese medicine are based on grains, and meat and eggs are in the third place. Regarding what kind of diet structure is most reasonable, modern Western medicine has the following understanding: the ancestors of primitive human beings collected wild plants from nature for food, often with rough taste. The result of evolution makes the body dependent on the nutrients in coarse foods. Modern humans pursue good taste, which is a trap with the following hazards: the outer skin of food with more cellulose and poor taste is often abandoned, resulting in the loss of many important nutrients, for example, wheat skin contains B vitamins and trace elements; grape skin contains alizarin, which has the effect of lowering blood lipids, anti-thrombosis, preventing atherosclerosis and enhancing immunity. The skin of purple eggplant contains anthocyanins. Unprocessed food tastes poor, processed and cooked food tastes good but has a large loss of nutrients, for example, vegetables after cooking by a large loss of vitamin C. Meat foods taste good and have a tendency to replace plant foods, making the body acidified and detrimental to metabolism. Recent studies in Western medicine have concluded that plant foods contain many antioxidant substances such as flavonoids [10], polysaccharides, polyphenols, vitamins, lycopene, carotenoids, etc. Especially purple foods, which contain a class of substances called anthocyanins, have 50 times the antioxidant capacity of vitamin C. Recent studies on such have proved that the anti-free radical effect implies anti-aging, and experimental results proved that licorice flavonoids can enhance SOD activity in aging mice and slow down the aging process [11]. From the above discussion, it is proved that restoring the original recipe is more beneficial to health. 2.3.3 Moderate physical activity can stabilize free radicals Chinese medicine advocates that normal activity is “no delusional labor” and “form labor but not tiredness”. This is exactly what Western medicine refers to as light to moderate aerobic activity. Exercise is beneficial to almost every organ: it enhances the peristaltic ability of the intestines, increases the speed of food passing through the internal organs and reduces the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases; regular exercise reduces the incidence of cancer and diabetes; increases the amount of HDL in the blood, thus stopping atherosclerosis and helping to control hypertension; exercise enhances the contractility of the heart muscle, increases the blood output of the heart and inhibits vascular spasm, make the blood flow smooth, improve the blood supply of the whole body, so that the incidence of cardiovascular disease is reduced. Exercise can play a powerful role in helping sleep and enhancing memory. Walking for one hour a day can extend life expectancy by two hours, and on average, each person extends life expectancy by two years. When over-active, the brain produces fatigue, which serves to block activity, a protective signal. Vigorous activity can produce a large number of free radicals, beyond the body’s ability to remove them, and the level of free radicals rises, which is detrimental to health. Experiments have demonstrated that moderate exercise can improve the ability of rats to scavenge free radicals [12]. From the above discussion, it is proved that the amount of activity advocated by TCM is correct. 3.Conclusion With regard to the issue of natural longevity and the impact of lifestyle on health raised by TCM, it is believed that the natural life span of human beings in civilized societies has been shortened. Western medicine has further understanding of this issue with new evidence, and its conclusion is basically the same as that of Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine has proposed a general principle of disease prevention: it is to simulate the human state of life, called “return to the basics”, which includes simulating primitive recipes, dieting and moderate physical activity. This paper uses theories such as free radicals as a basis for health maintenance to make it more convincing, and proposes two improvements: one is to simulate the original recipes before the fourth ice age, and the other is to change “dieting” to “energy restriction”. References [1] Richard Leakey (USA). The Origin of Man [M]. First edition, Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 2006: 23 [2] Joan Carper (USA). Food for Better Health [M]. First edition, Beijing: Beijing Publishing House, 2011: 20-21 [3] Zhang Qinguo. Preventive Medicine [M]. First edition, Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 2011: 79 [4] Fu Yuhua. Preventive Medicine [M]. First edition, Beijing: People’s Health Publishing House, 2011: 266 [5] Mitsuo Koda (Japanese). The Amazing Method of Health with Less Food [M]. First edition, Beijing: Beijing Science and Technology Press 2007: 13-26 [6] Lipman RD, Dallal GE, Bronson RT. Effects of genotype and diet on agerelated lesions in ad libitum fed and calorierestricted F-344, BN, and BNF3F1 rats [J]. J Gerontol, 1999, 54A:B478-491. [7] Yanai S, Okaichi Y, Okaichi H. Long-term dietary restriction causes negative effects on cognitive functions in rats [J]. Neurobiol Aging, 2004, 25(3):325-332. [8] Zhang YW. Correlation of pharmacological activity and structure of chalcone [J]. Foreign Medical Pharmacology Branch, 1996,8(23):218-223. [9] Zhang SH, Xiao ZX, Chu JH et al. Protective effect of food restriction on anti-free radical enzyme activity in the brain of D-galactose brain-aging mice[J]. Journal of Toxicology 2010, 24(1):55-58 [10] J. N. Zhang, J. Yang, J. Advances in the biological activity of flavonoids [J]. Journal of Yili Normal College. 2009,6(2):29-31 [11] Ye Huaiyi, Gong Binlan, et al. Study on the anti-aging effect of licorice flavonoids [J]. Journal of Harbin University of Commerce, 2004,20(1):93-95 [12] Wen Jianfei, Liu Yuxian, Wang Haitao, et al. Study on the effect of different intensity exercise on free radical metabolism in rats [J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2009, 24(12):1080-1082 Biography: Zhang Denghua, male, born in 1963, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Han nationality, B.S., Associate Chief Physician, B.S. Address: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical College, No. 1, Passage Street, Hohhot, China Zip Code: 010050 Home Phone: (0471)6638899 Unit Phone: (0471)6636724