A Unifying Theory of Aging between Modern Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine ()
ABSTRACT
With the increasing aging population around the
world as a result of birth rates and advances in medical technologies, there is
an urgent need to unravel the primary cause of aging, in the hope of developing
a rational approach to retard the aging process. This is crucial to reduce the
societal impact of aging. Although modern medicine and traditional Chinese
medicine view the process of aging from different perspectives, this article
aims to develop a common understanding between these two distinct medical
systems in relation to the aging process. As such, a unified approach can
hopefully be developed to effectively slow down the aging process. Modern
medicine has proposed the “mitochondrial theory” of aging, which implicates a
causal relationship between the rate of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species
generation and lifespan as noted in a wide spectrum of primate species, while
traditional Chinese medicine views aging as the result of a gradual depletion
of congenital primordial Qi, which can be spared by the sufficient generation
of postnatal pectoral Qi. By amalgamating the knowledge of modern medicine with
that of traditional Chinese medicine in relation to aging, it is suggested that
while Chinese tonifying herbs can be used to restore the balance of body
functions enabling the generation of sufficient pectoral Qi, active ingredients
isolated from Chinese tonifying herbs or other plant sources capable of
inducing mitohormesis and mitophagy, as well as senolysis, can be used to
retard the aging process.
Share and Cite:
Cheung, K. , Leung, H. and Ko, K. (2020) A Unifying Theory of Aging between Modern Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine,
11, 105-112. doi:
10.4236/cm.2020.112006.