Longevity, Jing, Dr. Mao, and Munger's Models

This is another quote from Dr. Mao Shing Ni's book "Secrets of Longevity." It concerns one of the key concepts in Chinese Medicine, jing. The topic of jing is a Chinese Medicine mental model that, in part, echoes the Munger model of "inverting" or avoiding what you don't want to get what you want.

Ancient Formula Strengthens Your Essence
According to Chinese longevity philosophy, jing, or essence is the basic substance of life. Innate essence is inherited from parentage and can be refined through practices such as tai chi, qigong, and meditation, while a second kind of jing acquired during your life can be replenished through diet, nutrition and longevity herbs. A formula for enduring youth passed down in our family medical tradition contains such essence-building herbs as Chinese wild yam, ligustri fruit, schizandra berry, sesame seed, eucommia bark, he shou wu root and cistanches root. Studies of all these plants confirm their positive effects on the hormonal, immune and metabolic systems.

What he doesn't mention are the things that can harm your jing, childbirth without sufficient rest, drugs, excessive alcohol, illness. So avoiding these are over half the battle against aging. The crucial aspect of jing is that it can be supported throughout life with wise and balanced living, but once destroyed is extremely difficult to replace. This fits nicely with the Munger model, that in avoiding destructive habits or avoiding "where you are going to die so you don't go there" is a key concept in Chinese Medicine.
The formula I recommend for longevity and an overall health tonic is Astra Essence from Health Concerns. The "Astra" in "Astra Essence" is for astragalus an herb that nourishes the lung function and, indeed, can keep you from getting ill, especially with respiratory illnesses, colds, flu etc... It has been studied in conjunction with telomeres and has been shown to decrease cellular aging also.
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