 Some people who end up doing the same daily rituals as they see everyone else doing, they eat the same things, they don't exercise as much, or they have the same sleep, but they always end up getting sick. And they might wonder, well, why is it that I'm doing the same thing as everyone else, but I keep getting sick. In this video, I thought I would share a very specific kind of constitution that I see clinically, and why this person keeps getting sick. Hey guys, I'm Dr. Alex Hine, doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine and author of the health book, Master of the Day. Now, before we jump in, I've put together two very important links right below this video. The first is for a free guide, four daily rituals that could potentially help you idealize your life with traditional Chinese medicine, and the second is if you'd like to become a patient locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, there are links right below this video to reach out to my clinic in practice. In college, I went to undergrad at Clemson to study biology, environmental science and pre-med. I had a classmate who was sort of the classic archetypal constitution in Chinese medicine, which is why I want to share this story. I remember sitting down with her one day and she was perpetually perennially with tissues because she always had a runny nose and she was always getting colds. And she said to me one day, she's like, I don't get it. I don't eat terribly. I don't work out that much, but I sleep OK. And I don't seem to be doing anything different from the other people around me. And yet every time a colder flu goes around, I get it. So basically once a season, I can always count on getting sick. What gives? Now, her example is a really good example of a specific kind of constitutional or genetic weakness. Right, I use this term constitution because it's the most important aspect of healing, for sure. Now, for her, we look at these other objective measures that she had, right? She tended to be thin and pale. She ran cold. She had a pale complexion and in general was often complaining of, you know, some funky digestion or food sensitivities, food allergies and also respiratory problems, right? Not just catching things, but tendency towards post nasal drip, a runny nose and that sort of thing. And this is the textbook constitution that I want to talk about here. Now within Chinese medicine, classical herbalism in particular, this constitution is sensitive and weak and has their Achilles heel in two main organ systems. The organ pair is considered the lung and the spleen pancreas. So this spleen deficiency constitution is sounds weird to the lay audience, but what it is in Chinese medicine is most often what I see the classic textbook presentation would be someone who is visibly tends toward being thinner, paler and more cold with a pale complexion and physical sensitivity to cold. They tend towards cold hands and feet. So not a lot of body warmth. They bundle up more than the average person. And in terms of the symptoms or in terms of the actual susceptibilities, they are prone towards digestive problems and prone towards really respiratory problems. So within Chinese medicine, the lung and the spleen or pancreas have a shared root, which means that in the same way that I can give an herbal formula that will treat, let's say, food allergies and bloating, but it can also treat chronic runny noses, post nasal drip, chronic sensitivity to colds and flus. They share the same root within our field. So most often the pattern would be someone tend towards bloating, low appetite, looser bowel movements, gas, food allergies, that kind of thing. And on the upper respiratory side, again, phlemi would be a stereotype, would be the classic textbook. Always clearing the throat, post nasal drip, that sort of thing. So the mucus membranes tend to be quite damp in this person, which is why in Chinese medicine, we call this that they have issues with dampness. Now another interesting feature is that this constitutional type not only is sensitive internally towards foods, for example, they also are sensitive in an immaterial way. So this constitution is very often sensitive to, for example, sounds, to light, to people. They tend not to want to be around a lot of people. They're sensitive towards getting shots, sometimes even sensitive towards getting acupuncture. They tend to be sensitive to general stimulation in the environment, right? Whether that is the noise of a coffee shop or it is having to talk to so many people, they can get tired easily from that sort of thing. They're prone to light or fragmented sleep, right? They need earplugs or they need an eye mask, all of that to have the best quality sleep. But obviously the ultimate question here is really, well, what do I do about it? If you've just told me that this is some kind of constitutional or genetic weakness, what can I do about it? So there's the obvious bucket and the not obvious bucket. The obvious bucket is, I tend to find clinically that people who eat basically a Mediterranean diet on a day-to-day basis, who sleep eight hours and who exercise or work out four days a week will dramatically and clinically see a major decrease in how frequent they get colds and flus. And it's clinically proven that these three factors by themselves will increase immunity, will regulate the immune system. So for many people, exercise is the clue, is the missing key. When they're exercising four days a week, they have greater immunity, they sleep better, they're much more energized and they don't get sick. Now, what if you're already doing that? Because if we're being honest, if you clinically come to see me as a patient, I'm not going to necessarily even recommend any of those things, I'm just going to treat you. And very often what I'm using is internal medicine, which is these Chinese formulas. I found out to be the single most common thing that clinically will improve your immunity so that you don't get sick during those seasons where you're weak. One example of this is I tend to have a good level of immunity. I don't tend to get sick easily. And during COVID, I had seen patients, some who I didn't know had COVID because they didn't tell me, some who were before COVID, who were coughing in my face without a mask. We weren't wearing masks then when COVID had just started. Some people I had treated where I live or back at home, who I later found out the next morning had COVID and never once did I get COVID until that big Omicron wave in January. And the main reason, most likely, was that I was constantly taking formulas every single day for two years. Now, I've also seen, and people I know, friends and family, where they know they're the person who gets sick in their family and they get scared because when their kids get sick at school or when their husband or spouse gets sick, they know that they're about to get sick because they always drop. And I've had them on certain formulas that I've written for them and they've come back to me and they said, the most incredible thing just happened the first time in my adult life. Everybody got sick in my house besides me. So, I see it not only anecdotally, it also is clinically men's study. That is a distinct kind of constitution that I see as susceptible to colds and flus. So, usually upper respiratory viral infections. Now, I hope that helps you guys. Give a little overview of this constitutional type, some basic lifestyle advice and ultimately that I treated with formulas. It's usually for at least three months before the season where they're about to get sick. Before you guys go, check out those links right below this video and I'll see you soon.