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From Dr. Ma
The Natural “Yin-Yang” Transformation inside the Body
Li-Jun Ma. M.D.
O
besity is increasing worldwide, with 66% of
adults in the US overweight, and 33% obese
(1). The prevalence of childhood obesity in the
United States has also increased substantially.
Approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children
and adolescents from 2 to19 years of
age are obese. Obesity is an important
risk factor for development of
diabetes, hypertension, kidney
disease, cardiovascular disease, and
even cancer. Body weight is a big deal
to us. Some people spend a lot of
money on diet pills. However, it is
not just body weight or “fat” that
matters. “What is inside the fat”
matters the most.
In 2003, scientists reported that in
response to obesity, macrophages, the
key cell component in the immune
system, migrated and accumulated in the fat. These fat
tissue infiltrated macrophages play an important role in
adipose tissue inflammation and systemic insulin
resistance (when your body responds poorly to insulin
signaling, and therefore, the organs like skeletal muscles
and liver can not use glucose to generate energy,
therefore, your blood glucose levels rise up). Thus,
obesity is not only a metabolic disease, it is also
recognized as a state of low-grade inflammation.
Scientists recently discovered that there are, in general,
two populations of macrophages: one is “bad” (yin), and
the other one is “good” (yang). Those macrophages that
migrate into the fat from the blood in response to the
obesity state or the high-fat diet are “bad” (or proinflammatory)
macrophages. However, those
macrophages, which reside inside the fat when we are
lean, are “good” (or anti-inflammatory) macrophages.
These good macrophages generate anti-inflammatory
molecules, including interleukin 10, and act to counteract
the effects induced by bad macrophages. Interestingly, at
certain conditions, some of the bad macrophages can be
transformed and changed to good macrophages (2).
Therefore, it is not just the amount of fat that influences
one’s health, it is what's inside the fat, the balance of a
pro-inflammatory versus an anti-inflammatory state (or
the balance of Yin versus Yang), determines the local or
systemic impacts by obesity.
The macrophages transforming from
one state to another state during
obesity is just one example of how
natural Yin and Yang inside the body
works, how the existing inner healing
power in the body plays its protective
role. I have been working in the fields
of healthcare and medical research for
over 25 years. In our long-term battle
with many diseases including kidney
diseases, cancers, diabetes and
obesity, scientists have been
developing medicines that can inhibit
or reduce the fibrosis and/or inflammation, in order to
slow down the progression of the underlying diseases. In
the last decade, especially the last few years, it is very
inspiring and exciting to witness that scientists are
starting to uncover the robust intrinsic regenerative
capacity of the human body. New terms such as
“reparative macrophages”, “myocyte death and renewal”,
“coordinated signaling pathways”…. appeared frequently
in scientific articles and news papers. This indicates that
many “secret” inner healing molecules, cells or pathways,
which already exist in the body, are being increasingly
recognized and identified by scientists, researchers and
clinicians. This new development in medical research
reinforces the critical importance of the “Yin-Yang”
theory of balance which was developed in China
thousands of years ago. According to the principals of
Chinese medicine, when we treat a disease, we should not
only try to eliminate or suppress the “xie” (or Yin), but
also need to enhance or cultivate the “Zheng” (or Yang),
and induce the transformation occurring through the inner
healing system.
January, 2012 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 37