Mar 17

Portrait of a Chinese doctor

East and West, Traditional Chinese Medicine No Comments »


Interesting profile of Dr. Hong Hai, and the differences between Eastern and Western medicine.

Chinese medicine places emphasis on prevention of illnesses and treatment of imbalances in the body before they develop into diseases with clinical symptoms.

Do consult a TCM practitioner even if you are not clearly ill, but do not feel in the best of health and wish to improve your levels of fitness and well-being.

Western medicine has powerful tools for dealing with acute conditions that require synthetic medications like antibiotics and special procedures like surgery, and for handling life-threatening conditions like advanced
coronary heart disease, severe hypertension and cancers.

For such severe conditions, I would advise seeing a Western doctor in the first instance and using Chinese medicine only under proper medical advice.

As for common everyday conditions like coughs and colds, digestive, skin, sleep and menstrual problems, both systems of medicine have useful methods of treatment and it is up to you to find out which kinds of treatment are more suitable for you.

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Mar 17

Alternative approaches to healthcare should be more visible

Acupuncture, Alternative therapies No Comments »

This article brings out the importance that news articles should include alternative approahces to disease treatment and health management; this will enable patients to be more informed of options.

I read with interest The Journal’s two articles on ulcerative colitis on March 9, and could relate to many of the experiences of the interviewees, having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, first, then Crohn’s colitis, around 15 years ago. Mine came on quickly, and violently.

At first, my gastroenterologist told me I had six inches of good colon and wanted to cut out the rest which, would also have meant an ileostomy and having a bag). At the time, I was terrified and a shadow of my once healthy self, having lost 45 pounds with a hemoglobin reading at 58 (120 is normal) and having suffered all of the symptoms mentioned, and then some. Not the strongest bargaining position, and yet bargain I did.

I was born with a colon and wanted to die with one, indeed, for me, surgery was not an option — certainly not until I had actually given myself a chance to heal. Yet it was recommended by my then doctor as first line treatment: remove the symptoms — nice, but no thanks, if that meant removing my colon.

This illness, when acute, is brutal. As with any illness, one is propelled into another country with new currency: I had energy to make a cup of tea, or drink a cup of tea, but not both. It is hard to imagine, and frankly this level of exhaustion is difficult to convey.

After being presented with four options (have surgery and a bag, be medicated like an AIDS patient, do nothing and die, or go on a course of oral steroids and get a blood transfusion), I opted for No. 4 and got four units of blood and a 16-week run of steroids. Not a way to live for too long, but it bought me time and motivated me to deepen my investigation of alternative healing modalities. And so I did.

Slowly I recovered my health using Chinese medicine — acupuncture and Chi Nei Tsang –implementing dietary changes (eliminating gluten), suitable exercise (aquacize and yoga), and psychological and physical strategies devised by and borrowed from elite athletes (my approach) as after all, I suffered from the same complaints as mountain climbers and marathon runners at the zenith of their endeavours — electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, diarrhea, lack of oxygen to the brain, foggy thinking, lethargy and extreme fatigue.

Who cared that my marathon was getting up a flight of stairs?

Nonetheless, achieving almost anything was a celebration and provided me a decent alternative to being “less sick,” as that seemed that the best I could do in conventional medicine.

Ten years later, my new gastroenterologist was blown away to see how effective the combination of approaches had been. When he scoped me, he said that while I still have about 30 per cent of my colon implicated in active disease –which would flatten some of his other patients as it once flattened me — and that I have almost no debilitating symptoms. He was astonished and delighted, and open to reading some articles I then provided him on Chinese medicine. Nice!

I noted in The Journal article you only speak of conventional medical alternatives, which are, by their own admission, limited and only ever partially effective at providing treatment for the chronic aspects of the illness. Moreover, many treatments offered cause side-effects almost as unsettling as the illness. While conventional medicine is excellent at diagnosis and can be miraculous for acute disease, it bears up very poorly in the day-to-day management of symptoms.

The alternatives do not.

Mar 16

Tea and ovarian cancer

Tea No Comments »

A recent study has found that regular drinking of tea can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, just another reason to pick up the habit of drinking tea.

Having two cups of black tea or one cup of green tea a day can help cut down risk of developing ovarian cancer in women, says a study .

Researchers at the University of Washington studied 2,000 women and noticed a 54 per cent risk reduction in those who drank one or more cups of green tea a day, the Daily Express reported.

A second study by the National Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm discovered that those drinking at least two cups of black tea daily slashed the risk of ovarian cancer by nearly 50 per cent.

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Mar 15

Alternative medicine gaining popularity

Acupuncture, Alternative therapies, Traditional Chinese Medicine No Comments »

Alternative medicine is finding a place in many traditional practices in United States, this means more options for individuals who want more choices in healthcare delivery system.

Jan Lucht always has been sensitive to medications. As a result, the Appleton woman leaned more toward herbal remedies, meditation and other practices that allowed her to calm down without dosing up.

“I went through a time period where I was quite sick myself so then I needed to explore even more of those avenues, and it was very interesting to me and actually a very good experience and growing period for me,” Lucht said. “I can’t really say I’m glad it happened, but I’m glad it happened.”

Those experiences led her to become a certified holistic health practitioner. Simplicity Healthworks is her home-based business. Although she offers services such as raindrop therapy and reflexology, her special focus is on reiki (ray-key), a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

Reiki is one of many forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. CAM is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.

In December 2008, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Center for Health Statistics released findings on Americans’ use of CAM, based on information from 23,393 adults 18 and older and 9,417 children 17 and younger. According to the study, about 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children are using some form of CAM.

The medical community also has embraced the integrated approach to treating patients.

“Not every patient falls neatly into a category that can be fixed with traditional medicine,” said Dr. Amber Post, obstetrician/gynecologist at Women’s Care of Wisconsin with locations in Neenah and Oshkosh. “Utilizing techniques that can give a patient more comfort without additional medications can minimize side effects and medication interactions.”

Mar 14

Acupuncture and back pain

Acupuncture No Comments »

Acupuncture has found to be effective in treating back pain as this article indicates.

When performed properly by trained practitioners, acupuncture has proved to be an effective therapy for back pain. Several studies have found that acupuncture can help reduce chronic back pain and improve daily function.

Acupuncture for back pain involves inserting very thin needles to various depths into strategic points on your body. This is thought to balance the flow of energy or life force — known as qi or chi (pronounced chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body.

Scientists don’t fully understand how or why acupuncture affects the amount of pain you feel. Several studies have found that acupuncture causes the same effects as sham (minimal or simulated) acupuncture used in some studies for comparison. Sham acupuncture involves tapping the skin with a toothpick at the same strategic points used in acupuncture to simulate the insertion of a needle. Sham acupuncture may not be an accurate way of studying the benefits of acupuncture, however, because it’s possible that acupuncture points can be stimulated by even surface pressure. Both acupuncture and sham acupuncture showed improvement over usual medical treatments.

Acupuncture is generally recognized as safe if done by a competent, certified acupuncture practitioner. Possible side effects and complications can occur, which include soreness, bleeding, infection or bruising at the needle sites.

Mar 13

Acupuncture to the rescue

Acupuncture No Comments »

This article details how acupuncture brings relief to this patient’s ailments while modern medicine have failed.

My husband the sports writer calls it “Team Reimer,” and he says it has more members than the supporting casts behind any Olympic athlete he’s ever covered.

I tell him that if I was as young and fit as the athletes he writes about, I wouldn’t need a team to keep me on the road.

But I’m not, and so I have a yoga trainer, a massage therapist, the best hair-colorist in my town, a manicurist, a general practitioner to whom I am devoted and an aesthetician. Not that my husband knows what an aesthetician is.

Now there is a new member of Team Reimer. My acupuncturist.

Traditional medicine – from podiatrists to orthopedic surgeons – has failed to relieve the pain in my joints caused by years of wear and tear, so I followed the advice offered by too many of my friends to ignore.

I made an appointment with an acupuncturist.

His diagnosis? “Fifty-year-old knee; 50-year-old hip; 50-year-old shoulder.” Add to that, 50-year-old hands aching from shoveling 50 inches of snow.

But when the newest member of my team took my pulse, he was alarmed. It was running pretty high. About as high as my level of anxiety, I would guess. I’m not a big needle person.

So I shut my eyes as the needles went in, and I kept them shut until he told me, 30 minutes later, that the needles were out. My imagination is vivid enough without visuals.

And I have to say, I barely felt a thing.

There were 15 needles – acupuncturists usually work in batches of five. Some went in around my 50-year-old shoulder, more around my 50-year-old hip and more around my 50-year-old knee. But others went between my toes, at the base of my skull and spine, and in my scalp.

The needles inserted for pain, he explained, would promote the release of endorphins, the brain’s natural painkiller. The others would address my sleeplessness and my anxiety, which he called my “restless mind.”

(My husband said I’d need a knitting needle to shut down my “restless mind.”)

My acupuncturist promised I would feel a little better each day after the treatment. After five weekly visits, we would know if acupuncture was working as well for me as it had for so many of my friends. He gave me two kinds of Chinese herbs, and I was on my way.

To take a nap.

Mar 12

Acupuncture can boost body’s innate healing process

Acupuncture, Disease No Comments »

Acupuncture, along with other integrative medicine, can help cancer patients better cope with pain.

Nancy Amicangelo, hoping to beat the odds of the five-year life expectancy she was given when her breast cancer spread to both lungs in 2008, knows the benefits of acupuncture, massage, energy healing and naturopathic medicine — even if those benefits lasted only days, and even if she can no longer afford them.

Amicangelo, a 62-year-old Gold Coast resident who is unemployed because of her Stage 4 cancer, still considers herself lucky to have received some relief — albeit temporary relief — from the integrative oncology services offered by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

The integrative services, offered at 150 E. Huron, are part of a larger 360 Care Program aimed to address cancer patients’ needs through treatment extending beyond conventional medicine and cutting-edge diagnosis and treatment to therapies that include counseling, stress management, integrative medicine and integrative services.

“Our goal is to treat the whole person, not just their illness,” says Dr. Melinda Ring, medical director of Northwestern Memorial Physician Group’s Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness.

“Research suggests that a holistic approach can alleviate stress and anxiety, as well as the physical pain and discomfort patients often experience while undergoing cancer treatments by activating the body’s innate healing process,” explains Ring, a native Chicagoan.

Amicangelo, diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and metastatic breast cancer in April 2008, knows firsthand the benefits of acupuncture and massage. Ironically, the drugs that keep Amicangelo alive have caused nerve damage in her hands and feet — pain so acute that some days she is unable to even hold a pencil, pain so acute she only finds relief from acupuncture and massage.

When, under a new grant, all patients under the care of a Northwestern Memorial Hospital oncologist became eligible to receive a limited number of free integrative medicine services as part of their treatment, Amicangelo was one of the first to sign up.

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Mar 11

The amazing green tea

Tea No Comments »

Many have touted the health benefits of green tea and recent studies have concluded that regular consumption of green tea can lead to a longer and healthier life.

Green tea, red wine and dark chocolate — three colourful solutions that may help you live longer
IS there any other food or drink that has as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about its medicinal benefits since ancient times and they use it to treat everything from headaches to depression.

In her book, Green Tea: The Natural Secret For A Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor writes that green tea had been used as medicine in China for at least 4,000 years. Today, scientific research in both Asia and the West is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with green tea.

For example, in 1994, the Journal Of The National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of oesophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60 per cent.

University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

There is also research to indicate that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

The great thing about green tea is that it tastes great and does not call for milk or sugar.

So in reality, it’s a zero-calorie drink! Harvard researchers speculate that the health benefits of green tea are largely due to its high content of flavonoids — plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants.

Green tea is also the best food source of a group of compounds called catechins. In test tubes, catechins are more powerful than Vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties.

Mar 10

Acupuncture and chemotherapy

Acupuncture No Comments »

Acupuncture has made cancer patients lessen the pain and discomfort from chemotherapy.

It’s the last thing a child wants — a needle, actually multiple needles. But a young cancer patient says it’s exactly the shot she needs to get through treatment.

Kahla Harper, Cancer Patient: “The first couple of times, you don’t want to do it at all.”

Kahla Harper recalls the first time she went through chemotherapy.

Paul Kent, Pediatric Oncologist, Rush University Medical Center: “In general, kids handle it, chemotherapy and radiation, better than adults on the one hand. On the other hand, we give much higher doses than our adult counterparts and much more intense therapies.”

And it takes a toll … in the form of anxiety, nausea and fatigue. Then after months of treatment Kahla’s bone cancer spread to her lungs. Now she needs more chemo. But this time doctors suggested something new.

Kahla Harper: “Get poked and prodded with enough so it was like, now I’m gonna volunteer myself to get poked and prodded.”

But after a little prodding and some educating, Kahla decided to try acupuncture.

Kahla Harper: “I didn’t jump off the table like I thought I would.”

Side effects of cancer treatment are the main reason adults run away. Acupuncture is proven in studies to help ease the experience. So now at Rush University Medical Center, they are trying it on kids.

Angela Johnson, Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Rush Cancer Integrative Medicine Program: “Without a doubt acupuncture, at the very least, helps patients feel more relaxed, less stressed and less anxious.”

Kahla Harper: “I felt really good afterwards. I can’t explain the feeling but it was kinda like ‘whooo.’ Like you feel not so stressed out, not so worried about things.”

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Mar 09

TCM and infertility

Acupuncture No Comments »

Traditional Chinese medicine has helped many infertile couples conceive and with it, the joy that comes from having a baby!

Baby joy via TCM

SOME couples struggle to conceive, especially when infertility might be an underlying problem.

And besides undergoing Western fertility treatments, some are turning to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for help.

TCM treatments include herbal remedies and acupuncture, which are meant to bring the body into balance and thus facilitate conception.

But those who turn to TCM should know that TCM isn’t a quick fix, said physician Loh Kim Gek, 55.

As with Western medicine, a substantial amount of time and patience may be required before a couple sees a successful result.

With TCM, couples need to undergo at least nine to 12 months of consistent treatment, said Ms Loh, who is one of four physicians at the fertility unit in free clinic Singapore Thong Chai Medical Institution.

Ms Loh, who has more than 20 years of experience, added: “I feel a sense of satisfaction when my patients bring along their babies to meet me. It makes me very happy.”

She has helped about 30 per cent of some 900 couples to conceive.

She said that the success rate could have been as high as 50 per cent if some of those couples had stuck to their treatment without giving up halfway.

Although women are traditionally blamed for fertility problems, Ms Loh said that, in seven out of 10 cases, the problem actually lies with the male.

She will give a talk on Saturday to explain how TCM can help to boost fertility, and how one can improve one’s constitution. my paper gets her to answer some questions from readers.

Why would TCM be better than Western medicine in fertility treatments?

MS JOEY GWEE, 25

Ms Loh: TCM treatment for gynaecological problems has a long history in China, and has proved to be effective.

To me, TCM and Western medicine serve complementary needs. TCM treats the root problem, while Western medicine tackles the symptoms.

For instance, if you have ovulation problems or problems with the quality of your ovaries, TCM treatment – which comprises Chinese medicine as well as acupuncture – can improve the function of the ovaries. TCM can also help strengthen men’s sperm to enable a higher chance of conception.

But if you have problems such as a blockage in your fallopian tube due to ovarian cysts, then I would recommend Western treatment to remove them. My wife and I have been trying to have a baby for two years.

What can we do to improve our chances of conceiving?

MR J. Y. QUEK, 31

Ms Loh: Firstly, you should learn how to be free of worry. When people are anxious, it will affect the quality of a woman’s ovaries and the effectiveness of sperm. In my talk, I will share some simple methods for relieving stress.

Secondly, you need to build up your constitution and prevent development of illnesses. Illnesses during the ovulation period can greatly affect conception.

You can improve your general health by drinking teas, such as chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, boiled dried longan, American ginseng and red dates, or wolfberry and lily tea with some brown sugar. But do consult your TCM physician to see if these are suitable for your condition, and seek treatment as soon as possible.

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