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(21) How Color, Health, Direction and Emotion Relate to Your Saju

By Janet Shin Starting this week, some summarized charts showing the factors of each segment will be provided. Some information, such as how Oriental medicine classifies the five elements, will be added, since these are helpful when reading one's destiny. For many people, health is a major concern. In order to help better understand the five elements in relation with stems and branches, please see the chart below for summaries. *Season: Although the seasons are classified as four in the chart, it is just one set of classifications. You don't have to adhere to the season classification for specific regions. Desperate Saju of a North Korean Defector Now we will take a look at the saju of a 50-year-old woman. She was born at 7 a.m. (myo) on the 20th day and fourth month of the Lunar calendar (sa) in 1959 (hae). The day master for representing her is gi (yin earth). As we learned, gi is a field where people grow plants, flowers and trees. It is the earth, with moisture and nutrition. Gi people are naive and of few words. She is a North Korean defector. She had l

Male Climacteric Serious Here

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Many people may think ``climacteric " only affects women before their menopause but a recent survey suggests that seven out of every 10 men here also suffer from it. Lack of testosterones is said to be the main cause of male climacteric, leading to decreased sex drive, fatigue, lack of concentration, increased body fat and decreased muscle mass and strength. Testosterone tends to decrease by 1.2 percent every year from age 40 and by 70 one has lost 35 percent of it. According to multinational pharmaceutical Bayer Healthcare's survey on 1,000 males from Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, about half of men (53 percent) aged over 45 have suffered from climacteric. However, the figure rises when it comes to Korean men ― 76 percent said they have experienced it. The Korean Society for Aging Male Research, which participated in the survey, also suggested that 20 percent of middle-aged men complain of fatigue due to climacteric. Regrettably, only 30 percent said they consult doctors about health issues and only 11 percent we

Finger Key to Detecting Large Intestine Cancer

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Large intestinal cancer used to be considered ``Western'' as it was rarely detected among Koreans. However, it ranked second among cancers diagnosed here following stomach cancer, according to Ministry for a Health, Welfare and Family Affairs report. Prof. Park Jae-gahb of Seoul National University Hospital sees the change in diet as the main contributing factor. ``Of course family history's important. However, these days, more people without such family records are diagnosed with the disease. I suspect excessive calorie intake through fatty foods and meat are the main reasons. We are eating too much,'' he says. Park says eating habits are intruding on modern Koreans' lives. ``In the old days, large intestinal cancer was one of the least common diseases. But throughout the 1990s it became one of the most rapidly growing ones,'' he says. The large intestines consist of mainly of the rectum and colon. The colon is only about 15 centimeters long and at the entrance of the anus but accounts for two-thirds of cases of the disease. Park

(20) How to read the fate

By Janet Shin Based on your knowledge of yin yang, five elements, 10 celestial stems, 12 terrestrial branches and 12 animal signs, you will be able to analyze the four pillars on your own. Let's see how you can read the fate by looking at actual saju examples from now on. Here is the saju of a 70-year-old man. He was born in the year of tiger (In-1938), the month of Sin (seventh month of lunar calendar) and his birth time is Chuk (2 p.m.). The person can be described as a big rock or unrefined metal because gyeong metal is a day master, which can represent him. Accordingly, he is a man of a great resolution. He wants to be recognized as a great person. He is loyal and taciturn. Let's take a closer look at his saju from different perspectives. If you reviewed the other elements besides the day master, there are many friend stars (same element as a day stem) that mean he was born with strong energy. With many earth elements that generate the metal, he has his own opinions that will not be changed by others' advice. You will learn in later columns about the meani

Laughter Is Better Treatment in Cases

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Laughter can do more than just make one feel good ― it creates acetylcholine which helps fight against cancer and other deadly diseases, said Keith Goh, chairman of ``Make

(19) Terrestrial Branch Hae

By Janet Shin Now we are going to learn about Hae water, the last branch of the 12 terrestrial branches. Hae, the year of the pig, along with Ja (rat) and Chuk (cow) make the trine of water. As previously discussed, water energy has diplomatic, charming, intuitive, compassionate, sensitive, and creative personalities. It represents the time from 9 p.m. when people rest at home and go to bed. See what elements and branches your four pillars have, which can describe you. For example, if you were born in April 1973 at 10a.m., you have Chuk (cow) as your year branch, Jin (dragon) as your month branch and Sa (snake) as your time branch. We can get the day branch using the 60-year calendar (lunar calendar). In order to get your full four pillars easily, you may search the Internet for the 60-year cycle or visit my Web site. Hae water (The live place of wood) Inclusions: mu earth (7 days), gap wood (7 days), im water (16 days) Birth year: pig (1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995) Birth time: 9 p.m. ― 11 p.m. Month: November (tenth month of the lunar calendar) Property: both

How to Keep Teeth and Gum Healthy

By Dr. Ha Hyun Periodontitis is the most common gum disease among those aged 40 to 50 years. In general, "pungchi" is a bacilli-caused inflammation of the bones and ligaments that surround the teeth (paradentitis), commonly referred to as gum disease. Many think that it is easily cured with medication advertised on TV. However, many unfortunate patients have teeth extracted because they don't pay attention to warning signs or take appropriate medication. This is comparable to taking painkillers after breaking an arm. As mentioned above, the cause is bacilli. Most bacilli that give rise to periodontitis are in food remnants and tartar in the mouth. There would be less gum disease if people removed these. People should keep their mouths clean by brushing their teeth well and visiting clinics regularly for cleaning. However, more than 90% of middle-aged adults in Korea already have gum disease and don't know it. Once they feel severe pain or loose teeth, they must visit dental clinics for extraction. There would be no extractions, less pain and an especially high success

(18) Sin Yu Sul

By Janet Shin This week is about sin, yu and sul, the years of monkey, chicken and dog respectively. Sin, yu and sul make up the trine of metal. Although sul itself is earth energy, but as previously discussed, earth takes the role of balancing the energy between the seasons so we put earth energy in each season. Think about the five elements and their properties that we learned in previous months. Metal has the qualities of determination, self reliance, unyielding, strong, persistent and forceful. These three branches represent 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. of the day when people wrap up their daily work and finish for the day. It is also harvest season, when it is time to collect the fruits and crops. Imagine what people do at this time of the day and what is most needed for harvesting. Go and get your own four pillars to know your year, month and time branches. Sin metal (a place with water) Inclusions: mu earth (7 days), im water (7 days), gyeong metal (16 days) Birth year: monkey (1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992) Birth time: 15 ― 17 Month: autumn (seventh month of the lunar

(17) Sa O Mi

Infertility Treatment Marks 80 % Success

By Bae Ji-sook Staff Reporter Infertility is painful for many couples trying to start a family. The infertility clinic market continues to expand at a great pace, but still many couples express anguish at not being able to have a biological child. When a couple has regular sex without any contraception for a year and there is no pregnancy, doctors regard it as infertility. ``The chances of getting pregnant after a year is a mere 5 percent,'' Kim Seok-hyun of Seoul National University Hospital says. Infertility prevalence was more common in Western countries, but nowadays, Korea is seeing a rapid increase. Doctors suspect diet and other environmental factors. Women getting married later and wanting to have babies later in life could be one reason_ the best age at which to have a child is 24 ― eating a lot of floury, greasy foods could also be a reason. Having experienced a gynecologic disease could also be a huge influence, with endometriosis or ovary removal increasing among young women here. Taking oral contraceptive drugs for a long time might also affect on