Types of digestion from the perspective of
Persian medicine
Saeed Sepehrikia 1,2,
Fatemeh Kolangi 1,2, Mahdi Zarvandi 1,2, Marzieh Qaraaty 1,2,
*
1 Clinical
Research Development Unit (CRDU), Sayad Shirazi Hospital, Golestan University
of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
2 Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian Medicine,
Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran
*Corresponding Author: Marzieh Qaraaty
* Email: dr.qaraati@goums.ac.ir
Abstract
Introduction: According to the Basic principles of Persian medicine, there are 4
digestions in the human body, which are gastric, liver, vascular and organ
digestion, and each of these digestions plays an important role in the health
of the body, soul and strength of the body. The importance of digestion in the
body is that it makes the food eaten into a part of the body.
Materials and Methods: This study is a library review that has been conducted using 40
authoritative scientific books and articles in the field of Persian Medicine as
well as through search engines SID, Magiran, PubMed, Google Scholar. Keywords
that were searched: Persian medicine, four digestions, gastric digestion, liver
digestion, vascular digestion and organ digestion. In this research, taking
notes was performed by studying the mentioned sources about four digestions
(gastric, liver, vascular and organ digestions) from the perspective of Persian
medicine, and the results are presented in this article after classifying and
summarizing the contents.
Results: According to the schools of Persian medicine, food is eaten until it
becomes part of all organs of the body, has transformed (quantitative and
qualitative changes) in four parts of the body, each of these four parts is
called a type of digestion. These four parts are the gastric (Meadi), liver
(Kabedi), vascular (Oroghi) and organs (Ozvi); respectively, and therefore they
are called the first digestion (gastric), the second digestion (liver), the
third digestion (vascular) and the fourth digestion (organ). In each digestion,
a series of useful and waste (unuseful) materials are produced, which are
separated from each other. The useful material is preserved in the body for
nutrition, The waste material is excreted from the body.I through feces in
first digestion, through urine in the second digestion and the third and fourth
digestion, are through various methods including sweat, pus.
Conclusion: Persian medicine is one of the holistic medical schools which have a
special perspective on digestion. Since digestion plays a very important role
in the health of the body, so Persian medicine’s scientists have fully
addressed both the role of nutrition in health and the factors affecting
digestion. Therefore, the health of the digestive faculty is one of the basic
necessities and principles of the health of the whole body.
Keywords: Persian
medicine, Quadruple digestion, Gastric digestion, Liver digestion, Vascular and
organ digestion
Introduction
Human nature is always inclined to eat food in different ways and
enter the body and feed on it. Nutrition is the process by which food is used
by the body. In this process, first, the food is provided and then this food
enters the body and then the nutrients are separated from the eaten food and
absorbed by the body and waste products are excreted from the body. In ancient
medical sources, attention to nutrition has been an important axis of medical
education and laws related to nutrition and type of food have played a
significant role in medical science (1). Digestion plays an important role
in proper nutrition and health (2). According to the doctrines of
Persian medicine, the choice of quantity and quality of food depends on various
factors such as age, physical condition, digestive status and climate of the
place of residence (3-5).
Medical knowledge, like other sciences, has its principles and
rules, and just as there are many schools in other sciences and each group acts
in accordance with its principles, medicine is like this and there are many
different schools in medicine, each of which has its principles, method and
system. Nowadays, when common medicine is spread all over the world, other
medical schools are called complementary medicine or alternative medicine. One
of these schools is the humoral medicine school which is known as Persian
medicine in Iran (6, 7) . This medicine is known as one of
the branches of Persian medicine is several thousand years old and the teaching
and learning of this medicine have been common in European universities for
many centuries (8-11).
Digestion refers to a set of processes during which the nutrients
and heat embedded in food are changed in a way that allows it to become a
member (12, 13). From the perspective of Persian medicine, there are four types of
digestion in the human body. In each digestion, a number of useful materials
are produced and also there is some waste material that is removed from the
body through specific ways of each digestion (14). The need for the digestive faculty
that the force that makes food an organ is effective if it is prepared to
become a part of the body and become an organ, and this is what the digestive
faculty must do to prepare it (15). Food that enters the body until it
becomes part of all organs of the body, undergoes four transformations, each of
these four transformations is called digestion. These four parts in which the
transformation takes place are the gastric, liver, vascular and organs,
respectively, and therefore they are called the first digestion (gastric), the
second digestion (liver), the third digestion (vascular) and the fourth
digestion (organ), and in each digestion, useful materials and waste materials
are separated from each other and useful materials are preserved in the body
for nutrition and waste products are excreted from the body (16, 17). Some sources of Persian medicine
have combined vascular digestion (third digestion) and liver digestion (second
digestion) and have divided the stages of body digestion into three types (18).
Materials and Methods
This research is a library review study that has been conducted
using 40 authoritative scientific books for example Hefz o Sehe Naseri, Kholase
al Hekma, Al ghanoun, Bahr Aljavaher,Mufarrah al-gulub, Risaleye Choe Chini,
Kholasat al-Tajaro, Kamil al-Sinaa , Exir-e Azam, Tebb-e-Akbari, Al Tasrif
leman Ajz an Taalif, Khazaen al-Moluk, al-Mutaalemin Fi-al-Tib and… and
articles in the field of Persian medicine and also through search engines SID,
magiran, Pubmed, Google Scholar. Keywords searched included: Persian
medicine, four digestions, gastric digestion, liver digestion, vascular
digestion and organ digestion. In this research, by studying the mentioned
sources regarding four digestions (gastric, liver, vascular and organ
digestions) from the perspective of Persian medicine, taking note was carried
out and the results are presented in this article after classifying and
summarizing the contents.
Results
First digestion (gastric digestion)
In Persian medicine, the gastric is a very important organ and
gastric damage affects other organs of the body such as the liver and heart (19). Providing the right quality
nutrients for different organs of the body depends on the health of the gastric
(20). In Persian medicine, which is known
as humoral medicine, the gastrointestinal tract of the body, especially the
gastric, is of special importance and due to its close relationship with other
organs of the body, it has always been considered in such a way that statements
such as noble member (21), member of the partnership (22) and common treasury (23). have been used for it. The health
of the body is related to the health of the gastric. The role of the gastric in
the body, in addition to digestion, is to request food and transfer it to other
organs (22).
The Gastric Dissection
According to Persian medicine sources, the gastric consists of
flesh, nerves, vascular and artery and its shape is similar to a long neck
pumpkin, which the main part of the pumpkin is gastric and its neck is the
esophagus and the third part is antrum. The junction of the esophagus with the
gastric is called cardia and the junction of the gastric with the duodenum at
the beginning of the small intestine is called the ports, which plays an
important role in the digestion of the gastric due to the narrowing of the urethra
(4). The gastric also has two inner and
outer layers, which the inner layer has neural tissue and the outer layer has
the sarcous tissue and there are three types of longitudinal, transverse and
oblique fibers in its structure. The inner layer has longitudinal and oblique
fibers, which the longitudinal fibers have a role in absorbing (pulling) food
and the oblique fibers have a role in holding (self-control) food, and the
outer layer has transverse fibers that play a role in food excretion (14). A branch of the cerebral nerve
(sensory nerve) is linked to the cardia. There is the most gastric sensation in
this part (cardia) and this region plays an important role in perceiving the
feeling of hunger and appetite. The antrum is in the upper part of the
umbilicus and slightly inclined to the right and has fleshier layer and the
main place of digestion is in this part. From this part (antrum) the vascular
of the mesenteric is branched to the end of the gastric and intestines and its
function is to absorb the gastric ileus and transfer it to the liver (24). There is liver on the right side
of gastric and spleen on the left side of it, there are rigid muscles (back)
containing a large jumping artery and large vein in the back of the gastric,
and there is the heart with diaphragm on top of that, and the gastric is in
contact with these organs from around and the heat generated from these
proximities is helpful in gastric digestion function. The heat generated by the
abdominal membranes also aids digestion (25).
Gastric Temperament
In some sources of Persian medicine, the natural temperament of the
gastric has been described as cold and dry due to the predominance of nerve
tissue(26) . In some sources, such as the law
book, different natural temperaments are mentioned for the gastric with special
symptoms(18) . Also, in some sources, such as
the “Kamel-alsanaye” book, three methods have been used to determine the
natural temperament of the gastric, including examining its actions and
function, examining the level of thirst and the factors that enjoy or irritate
the gastric, which based on this, the natural temperament of the gastric
includes 8 states: hot, cold, wet, dry, hot and dry, hot and wet, cold and wet,
cold and dry (25).
The first digestion or gastric digestion begins with chewing food
in the mouth and ends with the exit of the smooth and straight part of the
gastric ileus through mesenteric veins and the movement towards the liver, and
food form is not destroyed in this digestion (4). Digestion is such that what is
deliberately chewed inside the mouth is absorbed by the absorptive faculty of
the gastric and pulled towards the gastric and held inside the gastric by the
retentive faculty (27) and when food enters the gastric,
administrative nature of body, along with instinctual heat and digestive
faculty, decompose this food and the water that is eaten after the food is
mixed with the food and fully cooked by the heat of the gastric (28) and breaks the typical face of the
food and makes it into a thick paste, which is a physical change, but the food
does not undergo a chemical change, and this is called first digestion or ileus
digestion (4). And then the digestive faculty
separates the dirty part of the ileus from the clear part, and what is pure,
smooth and clean from this digestion moves to the mesenteric by the expulsive
faculty of the gastric, and it is absorbed by the liver through absorptive
faculty in port of liver (27), and what is dirty is not
completely digested by changing force and it should be excreted from the body
in order to maintain the health of the body (29) and sent to the intestines by the
expulsive faculty of gastric, which are feces and excreted (27). The heat of the gastric alone is
not enough in this digestion and the heat of the adjacent organs that are in
contact with the gastric helps in the digestion function of the gastric so that
the food is fully cooked and ileus are formed (28). In order to gastric digestion or
the first digestion is done correctly, different factors and organs of the body
must participate in this work and different faculties of the body, including
vegetable force, vital force and even perceptual-stimulatory force, must have
proper function. Otherwise, gastric digestion function does not conduct well
and at its best state (4).
Second digestion (liver digestion)
From the perspective of Persian
medicine, the liver and gastric have a special place in the body and the
gastric is a noble organ of participation and the place of the first digestion
and the liver is the main member and the place of second digestion and
production of humors (20). The role of the liver is to
produce blood through the transformation of ileus. It should be noted that the
liver also produces other humors, but the most important is sanguine humor
(sanguine) (14). Any disturbance in the function of
the liver leads to the loss of balance between the humors and the creation of
various dystemperament and abnormal humors, which also cause other diseases and
dysfunction of other organs of the body (20). The result of the second digestion
is the preliminary moisture of the four humors (16).
Liver dissection
The shape of the liver is
crescent-shaped and has a concave part and a convex part. The liver is located
behind the free ribs of the right abdomen and is connected to the intestines
from the concave part and the concave part of the gastric and to the diaphragm
from the convex part (30). The liver is a body composed of
flesh, blood vessels, arteries and membranes that cover the liver. Liver flesh
is red like solid blood (14). The mass of the liver has no
sensation and the benefit of not having this sense is that the liver is immune
to the sharpness of humors, but the membrane that covers the liver and
preserves its shape has a great sense and some elements of this membrane penetrate
the appearance of liver flesh and lead to sensation in the liver. In addition
to protecting the liver, this membrane connects it to the gastric, intestines,
diaphragm, and posterior ribs (31). The flesh of the liver is red like
solid blood. The liver is the source of the inelastic vessels that are called
these vessels as veins. Two veins are separated from the liver, one by a convex
side called the empty vein and the other by a concave side called the port. The
branches of the empty vein move towards the kidneys, causing food to reach the
organs and excess water to escape, and the branches of the port, called
mesenteric, move towards them to absorb ileus from the gastric and intestines (14). There are finger-like protrusions
on the liver by which the liver is located around the stomach. These
protrusions are two in someone and five in others (4). are attached to the larger
appendages and protrusions called bile. On the concave side of the liver, which
is located above the port, there is a hole towards gallbladder to expel bile
and also a hole towards the spleen to expel soda (melancholy humor), and there
is a vessel called an arterial vein between the liver and the heart.
The liver is located on the right side of the body and its convex
part is connected with the dorsal rib and its concave part consists of the
gastric and the head of the liver starts from the side of the breast diaphragm
and the bottom of the liver reaches to the lower part of the antrum (14). Mesenteric vascular, which in
Persian medicine are even referred to as an organ, are narrow, strong, hard,
and without empty vessels containing eight branches of the port vein, which
after leaving the liver, it branches from it and moves to the gastric,
duodenum, small intestine and large intestine (32) .
Liver temperament
The liver is the warmest and
most moist organ of the body because it acts as the most important factor in
the growth and nutrition of the body and the growth and increment of the body
is caused by sufficient heat and moisture (33).
The second digestion or
liver digestion that takes place in the liver is the transformation of ileus
into humors (22), which begins in mesenteric and
comes to the liver and ends to the vascular from the liver, and in this
digestion, the form of food is completely destroyed and becomes humor (4), in such a way that the pure,
smooth and clean part of the gastric ileus moves to the mesenteric by the
expulsive faculty of the gastric and is absorbed by the absorptive faculty of
the liver towards the liver and thereby the existing faculties and in the same
way as described in the first digestion in the liver (in the same way as the
first digestion of the actions of the mentioned faculties (27) and the heat capture of the liver
in it (4) are matured and the second
digestion is created, which is called chyme. In this digestion, food is
transformed into four humors according to its elements (27). In this heating and maturity, the
slightly clean elements are separated from dirty and medium heavy elements and
four things are obtained: what is mild, clean and thin like the foam and yellow
on the top, is called bile humor and what is heavy, dirty and thick like black
sediment, is called soda humor and what is found in the middle and fully heated
and matured and its concentration is moderate and its color is red, is called
sanguine humor and what is not heated and matured and its color is white, is
called phlegm (4).
Humor is fluid and moist thing that occurs as a result of changes
made in food in the gastrointestinal tract and during the second digestion in
the chyme function(13, 33). The balance of these four humors
plays an important role in maintaining health and causing disease. If the
created humors have a moderate amount and high quality, it causes the health of
the body, and if they have a more than normal amount or poor quality, it causes
diseases (34). When the liver temperament is
moderate, the blood is clear and the bile and soda produced with it, are
normal, and when the liver tends to warmness, it produces more bile, and when
it is very hot, it produces burnt bile, which is called soda, and when the
liver is cold, it produces phlegm, and when it is very cold, it produces
pressed phlegm, which is also called soda (35).
Each of these humors is considered as one of the four elements and
similar to its nature, so that bile as fire and its nature are hot and dry,
sanguine as air and its nature are hot and wet, phlegm as water and its nature
is cold and wet, and soda as earth and its nature is cold and dry. Each of
these humors is natural and unnatural (4). To create each of these humors
four causes are necessary: material cause (primary matter that the body comes
into existence of it), active cause (a factor that affect matter ad create the
object), formal cause (body design and shape) and ultimate cause (application
expected of objects) (33).
In the chief organs of the liver, there are three nourishing power,
growing force and production force, of which the nourishing power has three
roles. The first and most important is the conversion of food into humors, the
second role is to make humors look like the essence of the body and the third
is to attach the humor to the relevant organ. The growing force causes growth
and increment in the triple diameter of the body to the extent of natural
proportion. The production force affects the humor created by the nourishing
power and turns it into semen. It also transmits the ability to form organs in
the form of a force to the semen (36). In this digestion, like the first
digestion, there is something left that the changing force has not digested and
it is obligatory to excrete it in order to maintain the health of the body, and
this excretory matter in urine (29).
Third digestion (vascular digestion)
This digestion starts from the outflow vascular of the liver (14) and beginning in the convex
vascular of the liver and its end is the secretion of secondary moisture in the
minor vascular connected to the organs (4). The third digestion is in the
vascular and involves the transformation of the humor into the organs according
to temperament (22). In this digestion, the blood and
any humor that enters the vessels with the blood is digested and heated there
again (35). This digestion completes the
process of producing humor (37). The third digestion is near the
organs, where the blood is converted into food through the changing force of
each organ (38). This digestion is the
transformation of the preliminary moisture into the secondary moisture so that
the clean and dirty elements of the secondary digestion, i.e. chyme, are
separated from each other after the formation of blood and the dirty part is
divided into 3 parts, a part enters gallbladder
called
bile, a part enters the spleen called soda and a part enters the kidney called
the urine and the soft part enters the vascular and is called the preliminary
moisture and matures inside the vascular so that its constituent elements
according to the temperament of each organ to which it is attributed is
susceptible and dependent and this is called secondary moisture (27).
Vascular dissection
From the perspective of Persian medicine, vascular are divided into
two groups: jumping vascular which are called arteries, and non-jumping
vascular, which are called veins. Arteries are double nerve bodies that grow from
the heart and are hollow and lack sense and movement in their nature. In the
space of the arteries, there is more energy carrier (roh) and less blood, and
the role of these arteries is to deliver the vital force from the heart to all
the organs of the body. They also cause to promote (perfume) the heart and
energy carrier (roh) and release smoke shaped steam due to their expansion and
contraction. The arteries grow from the empty spaces on the left side of the
heart because the empty spaces on the right side of the heart are close to the
liver and are used to absorb food. The importance of hollow and empty arteries
is that more energy carrier (roh) is included and reaches the organs. The
benefit of having double and layered arteries is that the vital force, which is
the principle and substance of life is more secure and the benefit of being
none-sense is that the arteries are not exposed to the heat of energy carrier
(roh) and blood and the movements of humors. Veins are nerve bodies that have a
class and originate from the liver and have no sense or movement, in which
there is more blood and less energy carrier (roh). Veins are not all
blood-secreting ducts, and some veins are used to absorb food, such as
mesenteric, and some are for defecation, such as a vein between the liver and
kidneys (bladder). The role of the veins is to carry the blood produced in the
liver to all the organs. Angry arteries and veins mean that, like nerves, they
are soft to the touch and hard to rupture, not a branch of a nerve composed of
them. The volume of the vein is much smaller than the volume of the artery. The
veins are all one class except the arterial vein which comes from the liver to
the heart or is nourishing to the heart and lungs (14).
Vascular temperament
The temperament of vascular and veins are hot and dry (33).
The method of third digestion or vascular digestion is such that
after the second digestion, blood, along with other humors, enters the empty
vein from the liver and then enters the vein which is separated from the liver,
and then enters large venous-vascular bifurcations and then it enters medium
vascular- venous branching, and following that, it enters small vascular-venous
branches, and finally, it enters the capillaries, which is the end of the
vascular and is spread in the skin and organs. Heating and digestion take place
in all these vascular, and temperament similarities and proportions are created
with each organ in this part and then it is secreted into the organs (17). The third digestion action is to
create secondary moisture. This moisture is either voyeuristic or
non-voyeuristic. In case of voyeuristic, it is removed from the body and if it
is non-voyeuristic, it plays four roles in the body, one is that there is in
the capillary network for watering and hydration and blood supply to the
organs. The second is that it is transformed according to the essence of each
organ in terms of its temperament and is ready to become an organ, and the
purpose of the third digestion is this stage. Third, it is spread in the organs
as dew, and in the absence of food, it has the ability to nourish the organs,
and fourth, it causes healing and adhesion of the organs (16, 27). In this digestion, like other
digestions, there is something left that has not been removed by the changing
force and it is obligatory to excrete it in order to maintain the health of the
body (29), and the excrements of this
digestion is the elements of moist phlegm with little bile, which are infected
with pus and mucus through steam and sweat (4) and some through pus, some through
ear and nose pores, and some become food for nails and hair, and some become
semen, and some are absorbed into the organs and become inflamed, and some
become milk and move towards the breast and some menstruate and excrete from
the uterus (17).
Fourth digestion (organ digestion)
This type of digestion is in the organs and it means the conversion
of moisture and matter distinctive in terms of shape and aspect into organs (22). When the material resulting from
vascular digestion reaches the organs, digestion takes place in each organ
again, and this type of digestion is called the fourth digestion(35). The onset of fourth digestion is
from secretion of blood from the vascular opening (15).
Organs dissection
The organs of the objects resulting from the initial composition of
the humors are suitable and are divided into two categories, singular and
compound. A singular organ is a member whose element is common in its entirety
in name and definition, and a compound organ is a member whose element is not
common in its entirety in name and definition (25). The number of single organs has
been stated by some physicians as 14, some as 16, some as 13, and some as 9,
and in this regard, there is disagreement among physicians, for example,
singular organs, according to Hakim Arzani, include bone, cartilage,
nerve, chord, ligament, muscle, artery, vein, membrane, skin, hair and nails,
while single organs according to Sheikh Al-Ra'is include: bone, cartilage,
nerve, chord, ligament, muscle, artery, vein, parenchymal, visceral fat,
membrane and skin, hair and nails, while the singular organs according to Sheikh
al-Ra'is include: bone, cartilage, nerve, chord, ligament, artery, vein,
membrane and parenchymal (14). Organs are divided into four
groups based on accepting force (receiving) or sending force (sending), capable
(receiving force) and mutilated (force sending) organs such as brain and liver,
capable and non-mutilated organs such as flesh, non-capable and mutilated
organs such as the heart, and non-capable and non-mutilated organs such as bone
(25). The classification of organs in terms
of functions includes two categories: chief organs and non- chief organs.
Injuries to the chief organs cause damage to personal survival or type of
survival and are therefore very vital and important. The chief organs include
the heart, brain, and liver in terms of personal survival and the testes and
ovaries in terms of type survival. The non-chief organs are divided into two
categories: the servant chief and the non- servant chief. The servant chief
organs include the arteries, veins, nerves, and ducts of the semen. The non-
servant chief is also divided into two categories: the kidneys, gastric,
spleen, lungs, and non-chief including bones and cartilage (33). Other organs are divided according
to the type of matter, which is divided into two semen groups (composed of
semen) such as singular organs except for flesh and tallow, and sanguine
members (composed of blood) such as flesh and tallow (25).
Organs Temperament
Each organ has a temperament that is worthy and appropriate for
that organ, some of these organs are hot, some are cold, some are dry, or wet (33). The temperament of some organs,
such as flesh, is close to the temperament of sanguine humor, and because of
the similarity between them, as a result, there is no need for any changes in
the sanguine humor produced in the body to feed them; while the temperament of
some organs such as bones is far from the temperament of sanguine humor and
therefore due to the lack of similarity between them, as a result, it needs too
many changes in sanguine humor to be similar to the essence of that organ (25).
The method of the fourth digestion is such that the material
resulting from the third digestion is secreted to the organs and there, it is
matured and digested again and becomes like a target organ and similar to that
organ (17). In this digestion, the secondary
moisture resulting from the third digestion is transformed in the organs in
terms of shape and aspect, that is, from the clean part of the third digestion,
each part that fits any organ of the body reaches that part and then the
shaping force make each element look like the same element. In this case, all
the forces act in the same way as mentioned in the first digestion, and the
dirty part is separated from the clean part, and the clean part is pulled by
the production force to the hard area of the body (back and kidneys) to
become semen and the dirty part becomes soluble (replaces the decomposed part) (27). In this digestion, like other
digestions, some excrements are not digested by the changing force and it is
necessary to excrete them in order to maintain the health of the body (29). The excrements of this digestion
are a small amount of dilute moisture with a little bile and soda to smoke
shaped steam (4) and like the third feces, some are infected with pus and mucus
through pus, some through ear and nose pores, and some become food for nails
and hair and some become semen, and some are absorbed into the organs and
become inflamed, and some become milk and move towards the breast and some
menstruate and excrete from the uterus (17).
Discussion and Conclusion
Traditional medicine is a set of knowledge, skills and practices
based on the indigenous experiences of different cultures that are used to
maintain health or treat physical and mental illnesses. Persian medicine is one
of these types of medicine. Familiarity with important topics, which is called the (seven) naturals (Omur-e-tabieieh), is necessary
to know Persian medicine, and the scientists will always need to know and
recognize this theory at any time to diagnose and treat, as well as to provide
health advice. The (seven) naturals are,
temperament (Mizaj) (quality obtained from the composition of body
organs), humors (Akhlat) (raw material obtained from the conversion of
food in the human body), organs,
(tissues and organs of the body), Energy carrier (Ruhe Tebbi) (clean bodies resulting from the humor transformation), forces (Gova)
(ability to perform the major functions) and functions (Afaal)
(the state of the main functions of the body) (39).
According to the principles of Persian medicine, there are 4
digestions in the human body, which are gastric
(Meadi), liver (Kabedi),
vascular (Oroghi) and organs (Ozvi( digestion
(40),
and each of these digestions has the main role on the healths Disruption or
elimination of any of these four digestions and failure to excrete their feces
causes disease. Since digestion of food is effective in proper nutrition and
health, disturbance in it leads to indigestion.
Persian medicine is one of the holistic medical schools that, with
the support of millennial experiences, has special views on this issue and has
extensively addressed both the role of nutrition in health and the factors
affecting indigestion. Hippocrates stated that activity, eating, sleeping
and waking should all be done with care and in a natural order. Galen
also stated that Knowledge of the properties of foods t is one of the most
useful sciences, because the need for food is permanent, whether in health or
illness because food is one of the most important necessities for living (41). Therefore, it is necessary to
avoid all the factors that cause indigestion, such as hard movements after
eating, simultaneous eating of several types of food, nutrition during satiety
and in a bad mood, lack of attention to digestion and habit, consumption of
food in excess of gastric capacity and drinking plenty of water.
Hippocrates states that if it is difficult for a doctor to diagnose
the disease, it is enough to arrange the patient's four digestions and four
excretions, and the patient will return to full health. The cause of most
diseases found in people is that there is a defect in these four digestions or
four excretions.
It is not possible to have direct access to correctly diagnose each
stage of digestion, but it is possible to know the correctness and health of
that stage by recognizing and examining the characteristics of the excrement of
each stage. Therefore, the health of the digestive faculty is one of the necessities
and principles of the health of the whole body.
Author contributions
SS and
MQ contributed to the design and implementation of the research, FK
and MZ contributed to the edited the manuscript comprehensively. All
authors confirmed the final version of the paper.
Funding
The
authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or
publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to thank Golestan University of medical
sciences.
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