Body Constitution Theory
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What is Body Constitutions？
Broadly speaking,
Body Constitutions refer
to the individual
differences that exist
among us.
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We are all different!
Our gender, age,
characteristics and living
environment contributes to
differences.
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O Our growing and aging process are inevitably
affected by the natural and social
environment.
O These environmental changes also shape our
physique, physical and psychological
reactions.
O These changes manifested relatively
stable in the way we interact with the
others and the environment and form
our body constitutions.
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Physiological Basis of
Constitution
O Constitution means the relatively
constantly comprehensive characteristic in
morphological structure, physiological
function and mental activities, which is
determined by hereditary and acquired
factors in the life process of the
individual.
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Physiological Basis of Constitution
The human body is composed of
tissue organs such as the viscera,
meridians, body and orifices, and the
basic substances such as essence, qi,
blood, body fluid, which maintain
the normal life activities.
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Physiological Basis of
Constitution
O The difference in constitution
expressed through tissue organs of
human body is the actual reflection
of deviant conditions of qi, blood,
yin and yang of the viscera and
difference of functional activity.
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Physiological Basis of
Constitution
O The viscera are the center in
constituting and maintaining the
life activities of the human body.
O The difference on constitution
reflects partial or all
characteristics of various
essentials composing human
body by taking the viscera as its
center.
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Relationship between
constitution and viscera
O The kidney and spleen have more obvious
effects on determining the constitution of the
human body.
O Ample innate essence is the prerequisite for
growing up healthily and having powerful
vitality.
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Relationship between
constitution and viscera
O If the innate essence gets deficient, it will result in not
only growth retardation, but also easy contraction of
disease.
O The process of a person’s growth, development and
senility is the evolutionary process in which taking the
essence-qi of the kidney as the basic material to trigger
and propel the functions of viscera.
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Relationship between
constitution and viscera
O The spleen and stomach are the key acquired factor in
the formation of the constitution.
O A person with a shortage of the innate endowment can
improve his constitution with the aid of replenishment
from foodstuffs.
O On the contrary, although with a good innate
foundation, if a person is in lack of replenishment after
birth, he can hardly maintain his health.
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Relationship between
constitution and meridians
O The constitution is not only determined by the strong or
weak functional activities of the viscera, but also
dependent on their coordination.
O The meridians are the structural foundation that
communicate and coordinate the functions of the
viscera
O The viscera reside inside and their functions manifest
outside, the constitution shows through the exterior
morphological characteristic.
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Relationship between constitution and
essence, qi, blood and body fluid
O The conditions of the body’s essence-qi, blood,
body fluid and their distribution and circulation in
the body determine the strengths/weaknesses of
the constitution.
O Age does affect the abundance or deficiency of
essence and the constitution of the old is
generally characterized by essence deficiency.
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Geographical/Personal Factors
Climate
& Environment
Weather
Diet
Diet
Structure
Structure
Living
Living
Environment
Environment
Lifestyle
Contributes to the formation of different
body constitutions
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Factors Contributing to Different
Constitutions
O
Natural Endowment:
The condition of natural endowment is closely related
with the quality of reproductive essence of parents
such as their body constitutions, the blood relative,
age of reproduction, maternal conditions, and fetal
nourishment during pregnancy.
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Natural Endowment
1. Constitution of the parents:
O If the constitution of parents is strong, the children
constitution would also be strong.
O A mother who has healthy and vital essence, qi and
blood would likely to be conceived easily and the
baby’s constitution would also be robust.
O However, if the constitution of parents is deficient in
essence, qi and blood, the next generation would
also be weak.
O Furthermore, some hereditary diseases also can be
transmitted by the parents to the children.
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Natural Endowment
1.2 Blood relative of parents:
O Close kin-ship between parents increases the risks of
constitution defect, mental retardation, or any form of
growth defects and affect seriously the child’s body
constitution.
1.3 The marriage and reproductive age of parents:
O The constitution of a person changes with his age.
O It is advisable for the parents to marry and reproduce
when they have abundant essence, qi and blood.
O With essence gradually reduced in old age, the
constitution of their offspring may be less strong.
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Natural Endowment
1.4 Pregnancy Care:
O The maternal health condition during pregnancy
influences not only the growth and development
of the fetus directly, but also the constitution
after birth.
O Maternal diseases during pregnancy can also
influence the growth of fetus and the child’s
constitution.
O Hence, pregnant female should stay physically
and mentally healthy during the pregnancy to
cultivate health and strong fetus.
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Natural Endowment
O The specific constitution built by the innate
factor is usually deep-rooted.
O Given similar postnatal condition of cultivation, a
person’s constitution is strong or weak is mainly
determined by the natural endowment.
O Inadequate natural endowment in childhood
usually influences growth and development.
O The shortage of innate factor may also influence
life span of the person.
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Diet
O A rational and balanced dietary habit is an important
O
1.
O
O
guarantee in maintaining and improving the
physique.
As people vary from people, the living condition and
the dietary habit are difference and would give rise to
different constitution
Over-hungry and over-eating: both undesirable dietary
habits would affect a person’s constitution.
Overconsumption of fatty, sweet and oily food肥甘厚
味would cause a person’s body constitution to have
phlegm retention.
Simple diet likely to avoid developing a biased body
constitution.
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Diet
2. Imbalanced Diet: refers to excessively indulging
in certain food, prefer hot or cold food or addicts to
one of the five flavors or adopting a irrational and
imbalanced diet structure.
O Such a dietary structure in the long run would
cause biasedness of the body constitution.
O For example, indulging in taking sweet stuff
would generate phlegm and dampness and
prone to developing a phlegm-dampness body
constitution and such a constitution is more
prone to developing diabetic.
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O
Factor of Gender
-Male and Female have vast differences in terms of
visceral structure, physiological, psychological
characteristics and sexual differences.
- Male mostly shows disorder of qi and female shows the
disorder of blood.
-Female’s constitution also change during menstruation,
pregnancy and etc.
- The defect of constitution in male mainly show them
more susceptible to pathogens, contract diseases and
with more pathological changers and higher mortality.
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O
Factor of Age
- Constitutions change with the changes of age.
- Children easily get deficient or excess syndrome
and cold or heat syndrome in pathology.
- Youth is the stage of strong physique, powerful
viscera functions, sufficient qi-blood and low
sufferings from disease.
-As age increases, normal constitutions become
abnormal/biased types of constitution.
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O
Emotional Factor
-A harmonious emotional activity makes the circulation
of qi-blood smooth, visceral function coordinated and
the constitution strong.
- A drastic or prolonged emotional stimulus that
exceeds one’s physiological regulatory ability will cause
impairment of qi-blood and dysfunction of the viscera,
resulting in negative influence on the constitution.
- Qi-depression and Qi-Stagnation are situations of
undesirable mental and emotional states.
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Geographical Factors
O “In each region people there have their own
special characteristics”.
O People in different regions adopt different
lifestyle and habits and among them, dietary
habit has the strongest impact.
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Social Factors
O Over wealth or over poverty influence body
O
O
O
O
constitutions.
Economic developments bring forth prosperity and
also environmental pollution.
Changed thinking affects life and value system.
Nature of occupation, work environment, labor
intensity, income, social status do play a part in
influencing one’s body constitution.
Environmental pollution, incidence of epidemic
diseases and eruption of war and natural disasters
also lead to changing of body constitution.
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Disease, Acupuncture,
Medicine and other factors
O A disease can accelerate the change of
constitution as it can impair the body’s qi, blood
and yin-yang balances, especially the chronic
diseases.
O Improper application of acupuncture, medicine
and other treatment methods will aggravate the
damage of constitution, resulting in bias qi-blood
and yin-yang balances.
O Late marriage ,child-birth, indulging in sexual
pleasures, improper exercise also contribute to
changing of body constitution.
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The 9 Different Body
Constitutions Types
Blood-Stagnation
Type瘀血质
Damp-Heat
Type湿热质
Phlegm-Damp
Type痰湿质
Balanced Type
平和质
Qi-Stagnation
Type气郁质
Qi-Deficient
Type气虚质
Yin-Deficient
Type阴虚质
Yang-Deficient
Type 阳虚质
Allegic/Congenital Disorder
Type过敏质/先天缺陷
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Recent
Classifications
Yin-Deficiency
PhlegmDampness
YangDeficiency
DampnessHeat
Qi-Deficiency
Qi-Stagnation
Balanced
Allegic/
Congenital
Disorder
Blood
Stagnation
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Summary of Balanced Body
Constitutions
Adequate
essence
Balanced yinyang, qi and
blood
Vitality
Strong
qi
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Characteristics of QiDeficiency Body Constitution
Short
breath
Lassitude
Insufficient
Original Qi
Excessive
perspiration
Easily
frightened
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Yang-Deficiency
Intolerant to cold
Aversion to
cold
Insufficient Yang
qi
Prefer stillness
and quiet
flabby
muscle
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Yin-Deficiency
Dry
lean
Insufficient
Fluid
Hot
Shorttempered
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Phlegm-Dampness
Potbellied
Obese
Sticky
tongue
coating
Accumulation of
phlegm and
dampness
Steady
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Phlegm-Heat
Acne
Oily
complexion
Accumulation
of phelgm and
heat
Bitter
mouth
Agitated
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Blood Stasis
Bruises
Dullcomplexion
Blood
stagnation
Pain
Agitated
37
Qi-Stagnation
Low
spirit
Worried
Qi-Stagnation
Bloated
sensatio
n
Anxious
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Allergy/Congenital Disorder
Sensitive
reaction
Heredity
abnormal
Physical
handicap
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