In my book, Are Your Health and Finances Linked? A Christian Entrepreneur’s Quest (released in 12/2022), I talked about strategies to maintain my body. Here is an excerpt from the book.
As a biochemist trained in the Western scientific tradition, I used to object to anything related to Chinese medicine and alternative healing, until a trip to Shanghai changed my perspective.
During a visit to our family in Hong Kong a few years ago, we detoured to mainland China, which had just opened to tourists. While our tour group went to Shanghai, one of my teeth began to give me trouble. The pain became more intolerable by the minute. To our surprise, a sign advertised that a doctor specializing in reflexology resided within our hotel.
“I’ll give it a try,” I muttered to Ken, gritting my teeth in agony. “It can’t get any worse, anyway.”
I entered the doctor’s office and caught sight of a large, middle-aged woman sitting alone. She gave me a questioning glance but didn’t utter a word.
“I—I—” I spoke in Mandarin and grimaced with wry amusement, feeling foolish.
“Can I help you?” Her voice was gentle, unlike her impressive frame.
I swallowed my embarrassment. “I’m here for my toothache.”
She gestured for me to take a seat. “Please remove your shoes and socks.”
I did as she commanded. She wiped my right foot thoroughly with alcohol and pressed along the length of my sole. At one spot, she paused and raised her head. “You had bronchitis recently?”
My jaw almost dropped to the floor. How did she know?
She moved to my other foot. After a moment, she looked at me again. “You have a diabetic family background.”
I couldn’t control my curiosity anymore. “You can tell from examining my feet?”
“Yes.” She uttered one simple response and went back to work. “Which tooth is giving you trouble?”
I opened my mouth and pointed to the culprit.
She nodded. “Be prepared. As I press hard on one of your toes, it’ll hurt like crazy, but your toothache will subside.”
Serious doubts crept into my mind. Then she pushed down on the second toe of my right foot, and I almost jumped up from the chair.
“How does your tooth feel?” she asked in a calm and kind tone.
Tears gathered behind my eyelids. I didn’t know if the pain in my toe distracted me or if my toothache had disappeared. “It worked.”
“Good. The pain will return, though. Next time when it starts, just massage this point.” She showed me the exact spot on my toe. “By the way, you can delay the onset of diabetes by pressing here.” She pointed to a small area on my sole.
I walked out of her office, bewilderment bubbling up in my heart. As I entered our room, I couldn’t help blurting out, “Ken, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve experienced.”
After I told him the story, he shook his head. “I don’t believe it. It sounds like magic.”
I crossed my arms. “Why don’t you go check it out yourself?”
“But I’m not sick.” He scratched his head. “Did you say it only cost twenty Chinese yuan? Well, that’s not even five U.S. dollars. I’ll go.”
Thirty minutes later, Ken returned with a disbelieving expression on his face. “She studied my feet and told me I had appendicitis before. She also asked me why I wanted to see her since my health is excellent.”
Astonishing, isn’t it? Do a Google search, and you’ll find over 485,000,000 results on this subject. You can easily purchase a simple foot massage tool for a few bucks. Some books give elaborate illustrations about where to massage, etc. I think the simplest way is to massage your whole foot, bottom, top, and toes. If you make it too complicated, you’ll give it up sooner or later. Keep it simple and make it a daily habit.
Since my encounter with that amazing doctor, I’ve been massaging my feet every morning. My mother had her diabetic onset in her forties. I passed that age more than two decades ago and still haven’t developed diabetes. Maybe foot massage does delay the onset of that horrid disease.
While in high school, I used to go to the library, read every book on one shelf, and then move on to the next. Reading and writing are very important to me. It seems I have a longing that can’t be satisfied by reality. I love to escape into books and become someone graceful, witty, and popular.
Currently, I work for a small biotech company and have published 120+ scientific books and papers (under a different name). I’m a latecomer to creative writing. So far, I’ve published three books. Here are the links for my books:
I’m married to my wonderful husband, a retired pastor who encourages me to pursue my dreams. We served together at three different churches from 1987 to 2020.
I would love to connect with you. You can drop me a note anytime at ruthforchrist.com. The following are my gifts to anyone who sends me a request note.
- Free article about relationship per request:
- Free handmade Christian bookmarks per request: The bookmarks are embedded in articles on my website (e.g., see “THINK: Your words matter” under Blog – previous articles). I’ll pay the shipping fee (U.S. only).