Oct 04
An important article about an online forum about breast cancer and Chinese medicine:
“Tweet: What is the standard for treating breast cancer in traditional Chinese medicine? Is the cure rate the same or different from in the west?
Dr. Chang: This is assuming that Chinese medicine has the same protocols as Western medicine. It does not. There is no standard regimen. It’s not like conventional Western medicine, with a limited number of standards.
Chinese medicine depends highly on the individual practitioner and the patient. In a way there is no standard of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine for breast cancer. Therefore I think it’s difficult to talk about cure rates for breast cancer in general. Maybe a response rate, but again I think the person raising the question may expect too much from medicine. I don’t think we can quote a particular rate for Chinese medicine because it’s so individualized. A lot of things we assume in the West like clinical trials and standardization of care do not yet exist in Chinese medicine.
Traditional Chinese medicine goes back a few thousand years and breast cancer was rare, even a hundred years ago. Cancer was rare. If you look at traditional Chinese medicine textbooks, it hardly appears. It is sometimes called, “a hardness,” a “firmness,” a “lump.” There are whole textbooks devoted to salmonella or typhoid, but nothing on breast cancer. So, there’s no standard as you would expect. It’s not a disease that affected hundreds of thousands of people.”
Read the entire article.
Oct 04
An interesting article chronicling one woman’s experience with acupuncture:
“So the question remains: how, exactly, does acupuncture achieve and maintain healing?
“Acupuncture points function something like a valve system on a machine,” explains Neil. “At certain times there might be an excess or a deficiency of energy in certain channels of the body, and by accessing these physical ‘valves’, we can regulate the flow of energy between the individual and the environment.” Although the body should be able to do this naturally, there are times when things get so out of wack that it needs a bit of external aid. Depending on the specific condition of the individual, needles can be manipulated according to reinforcing or reducing techniques to restore harmonious energy flow, or are simply employed to open the ‘valves’ so that the body can achieve regulation on its own.
A far cry indeed from the scientific approach of western medicine, and it is small wonder that modern medical devotees have a hard time swallowing such an alternative, albeit ancient, approach. But despite the dubious opinions of some, acupuncture’s very existence in the contemporary world is a sign of the power behind the pin prick. The survival of this healing art – over thousands of years and through banning in its country of origin during both the Manchurian Qing and Kuomintang eras – speaks for itself.”
Oct 04
Some good tips for boosting your immune system. The top 5:
” 10 easy steps to boost your immune system
1. Nutrition – think variety. Eat a wide range of different fruit and vegetables as the different colours indicate different compounds. A typical immune-boosting diet will include the following per day: five servings of fruit and vegetables, seeds, cold pressed oils, garlic, rich protein foods and whole grains. Make sure you include enough fish in your diet as it contains high quality protein necessary for cell growth and repair. Saltwater fish provide not only protein, but also omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines, trout, herring, tuna, butterfish and yellowtail are good sources. Research indicates that fish oil reduces inflammatory reactions and thereby regulates immune function. The strength of your immune system depends on the quality of your food. Eating small meals every few hours minimises excessive intake and will boost your energy levels. Many herbs and spices such as turmeric, origanum, coriander, basil, mint, rosemary and cayenne pepper have antioxidant properties.
2. Exercise and light – exercise supports the immune system by decreasing stress hormone production. You can start by walking for 30 minutes a day. Exercising outdoors increases your exposure to natural light. Natural light is not just important because it makes vitamin D. In the book entitled Boost Your Immune System, nutritionist Patrick Holford and immunologist Jennifer Meek say, ‘In the skin there are cells which produce a very powerful immune-boosting substance called interleukin-1 (IL-1). This rapidly increases the number of T-cells by encouraging them to reproduce. IL-1 is stimulated by natural daylight’.1
3. Sleep – a good night’s sleep is an elixir and helps one cope with a stressful lifestyle. Quality sleep helps us cognitively and emotionally.
4. Drink water – without it your system becomes sluggish to say the least!
5. Avoid – certain environmental hazards can trigger autoimmune diseases. Toxins can either suppress the immune system, or cause it to overreact. Asthma and allergies are signs of an overactive immune system. As far as possible choose organically grown foods, and read the labels on the rest!”
Read the whole article.
