Health Blog
Written by Dr. Heo Ji-young. Each piece takes a single symptom and follows what is actually happening in the body.
Calcium Is Not Only for Bones
Calcium brings bone to mind, but it is also the signal a cell uses whenever it starts any work at all. When a door opens and calcium comes in, whatever that cell was already for switches on. So the same door opening brings about something different in each place.
The Same Body Behaves Differently Depending on the Hour
It itches only at night, it is stiff only in the morning, it burns after eating. People pin down the *when* very precisely. It is because the body does not run on one clock.
The First Thing the Body Does Is Not Repair
You would think the body sets straight to repair when you are hurt, but there is a step before it. Noticing. And that noticing is not only a report filed after the damage is done — it sometimes comes ahead and sometimes follows behind.
A Test Looks at the Body of That Moment
There are times when it did not hurt during the test and then hurt once you got home. That is no coincidence. A test looks at that moment, in that position, at that material. Symptoms arise at another moment, in another position, in another place.
Bruising Easily When the Blood Tests Are Normal
Bruises appear on the forearm with no memory of bumping into anything. The blood tests come back normal, which makes it more frustrating. In these cases I look not at the blood, but at what used to hold the vessels up.
Why Medicine Wakes Up Where It Hurts — What Happens at a Site That Has Turned Acidic
The medicine you take circulates through the whole body. So why does it come undone precisely where it hurts? A site of inflammation turns acidic, and that acidity does two things — it loosens the barrier, and it wakes a locked compound right there on the spot.
Why the Pungency of Herbs Acts on the Body — The Compounds That Open the Cell's Door
Ginger, cinnamon, mint, Sichuan pepper. The taste and aroma of these familiar ingredients are not mere sensation. They are keys that open a "door" in the cell membrane. That door is called an ion channel.
Herbal Medicine Doesn't Press One Spot — The Doors Are Several, and They Open at Different Times
Say 'medicine' and you picture one spot pressed precisely. Herbal medicine isn't built that way. The doors it goes in by are several to begin with, they open at different times, and what opens pushes on what opened before. Here they are, gathered in one place.
The Medicine Travels the Whole Body — So Why Does It Work Only Where It Hurts?
Medicine travels through the whole body—so why can its effect feel strongest where it hurts? Rather than finding the painful spot, an ingredient may become active where acidity and enzymes in chronically painful tissue have changed.
Why I Look at Your Eyes in the Consultation Room
Why look at the eyes during a consultation? Pallor, yellowing, or swelling can offer clues about the body, but sudden vision loss, double vision, or severe eye pain needs urgent eye or emergency care.
Medicine That Replaces the Body, Medicine That Wakes the Body
Will I have to take herbal medicine for life? Some treatment may help the body resume work it can do, but not every medicine works that way; prescribed medicine comes first when blood pressure, blood sugar, or infection is uncontrolled.
Breathing does not only take in air — a rhythm that continues even while you sleep
Can breathing affect the body beyond taking in oxygen? It creates a pressure rhythm through the trunk and helps venous return, but breathing alone cannot explain several symptoms; sudden breathlessness or chest pain needs assessment first.