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Chinese Medicine and Autoimmune Disease PDF Print E-mail


By: Roberto G. Guerrero, Lic.Ac.

    ImageIn this article I will try to explain how Chinese Medicine looks at the human body, the body’s energy, and how imbalances of this energy relate to disease.  I have broken this discussion into four sections that will show how this energy relates to the formation of diseases, primarily autoimmune diseases.

1.    The origins of the Qi (pronounced “Chee”) energy.
2.    The consequences of the imbalance of Qi
3.    Its role in the development of allergies and autoimmune diseases.
4.    The treatment of allergies and autoimmune diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The Origins of Qi
    Chinese medicine theory is based on the premise that the human body posses an innate energy. This energy is called the Essence (Original Qi). We inherit our Essence from our parents. If our parents are healthy at the time of our conception our Essence is strong. But if their Qi is weak or they suffer from a disease our Essence can be weakened. We don’t use our Essence for our daily living because once our Essence is depleted we die. When we are born our Essence is replenished daily by another energy called Qi (Postnatal Qi). The Qi originates from the foods we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Every organ of the body gets some of this energy to perform its daily functions. One form of Qi circulates in the interior of the body and is called Nutritional Qi. Nutritional Qi energy is the moving force behind the circulation of blood, and the nourishment of the internal organs. Defensive Qi flows close to the body’s surface keeps our skin moist and is responsible for the strength of our immune system. When Nutritional Qi and Defensive Qi are balanced they keep us warm, healthy, and protect us against disease. When they are off balance disease enters our body or we develop symptoms leading to allergies and autoimmune diseases due to the internal energy imbalance.

Consequences of the Imbalance of Qi
    Our Qi can be weakened by many factors such as poor dietary habits, exterior pathogens, excessive alcohol drinking, excessive sexual activity, stress, repressed emotions, trauma, overwork, worry, grief, lack of sleep, age, multiple births, excessive exercise and many others.  When our Qi is weak our immune system suffers and we are susceptible to disease. When we fight disease with a weak Defensive Qi, our Nutritional Qi must take over and do the fighting for us. This in turn weakens the body’s Essence, and if this happens too often our lives are shorten. Continuous weakening of Qi leads to damage of the Organs and their respective Qi.
    This phenomenon is seen more often in women. A woman is more susceptible to have her Qi damaged. Due to women having to endure a menstrual cycle their Qi is continuously compromised. Every month during their menstruation women lose blood and along with blood loss, the body’s Qi is weakened. It is not unusual for a woman to contract a cold or have allergies act up at the same time that she is menstruating. It is also not surprising that it is women that suffer the most with autoimmune diseases.

Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases.
    Autoimmune diseases are simply allergies against oneself. Examples of these diseases include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), dermatomyositis/polymyositis, systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), scleroderma, myasthenia gravis, Sjögren's syndrome, Crohn's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (a type of hypothyroidism), endometriosis (due to autoimmune ovaritis), chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome (CFIDS) and fibromyalgia. A common complain of Qi deficiency is fatigue, and most of these autoimmune diseases present fatigue as one of their main symptoms. Another common symptom is depression, whether the weakened Qi causes the depression, or vise-versa is up for debate, but the existence of depression is a fact. Qi depression and Qi stagnation cause imbalances between the energies of the organs, which manifest itself in specific symptoms such as pain, inflammation, irritation, vomiting, diarrhea and migraines to name a few. If the depression, stagnation, and imbalance of Qi is prolonged the symptoms become more severe. Symptoms such as: loss of sensation on the extremities, loss of muscle control, paralysis, changes on the anatomy and structure of the bones, blindness and deafness, and extreme pain.

Treatment with Chinese Medicine
 In Chinese medicine when we treat this type of disease, we not only strive to provide relief from the main symptoms, but also to treat what we believed to be the root cause of the disease; a weak and damaged Qi.  Often it is a Qi deficiency complicated by either Qi stagnation, a major imbalance between the energies of the internal organs, or a combination of all three that creates the disease. Patients with autoimmune diseases often have a long history of allergies, and they often present complicated patterns, which cause their treatment to be long drawn. In order to improve their Qi, the patient must be willing
to make changes to their lifestyle such as: reduced stress levels, make dietary changes, and learn relaxation techniques.  In the Chinese Medicine tradition we use acupuncture to bring the person back into balance, relieve stress and pain. Herbal supplements are used to nourish the organs that need it, and to extend the effects of the acupuncture treatments. We also provide dietary advice that is suited to the individuals needs. In our modern world with our hurried life styles, the foods we eat, and the high levels of stress we endure, allergies and autoimmune have become prevalent in today’s society. But these diseases do not have to rule our lives; we can avoid them, or bring them under control by making a few changes to our lifestyle, watching what we eat and getting. All that together with Chinese Medicine, makes these diseases more manageable.


Roberto G. Guerrero is a licensed acupuncturist, a Chinese herbalist, and a National Board Certified Practitioner of Oriental Medicine with a practice located in San Antonio, TX.
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