DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

A healthy diet is discussed.
“I heard such a story.

Some Chinese farmers went to the United States to visit a modern chicken farm. They saw the most advanced coops; the nutritious chicken feedstuff which was processed according to the most advanced formula; they saw the most advanced sciences and technologies which could shorten the period of production of chicken. After returning to China, they immediately swung into action. They established standardized chicken farms, based on advanced technologies they learned of in USA. Their incomes from chickens increased twice.”

Tags: General, Food by DAAN
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Acupuncture becoming popular in the U.S.

“You’re not alone if you’ve gone outside traditional medicine to treat your aches, pains and illnesses.

It is believed that about 40 percent of the population uses alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, at least once by age 33. Baby boomers and post-baby boomers constitute the largest percentage of clients.

That’s meant more business for Dr. Brian Chee C. Loh and other alternative therapy practitioners. There are five acupuncture clinics in Stockton, two in Lodi, and one each in Lathrop and Tracy. Loh, a trained surgeon, is one of four acupuncturists at Pacific Complementary Medicine Center on Harding Way.”

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Acupuncture offers relief for Bell’s palsy
“Though most patients seek the help of Carolyn Forman, OMD, as a last resort, the licensed acupuncturist says her gentle method of treatment is often best as a first method of treatment for various symptoms, before more invasive procedures are attempted.

Forman, of Winchester, first became interested in the traditional Chinese medical technique through her personal experience with it. After being affected by Bell’s palsy, a facial paralysis that wasn’t going away, Forman turned to acupuncture, which worked”

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Some good background on what acupuncture is and how it works:

” Although acupuncture, the process of inserting thin needles into the skin in order to relieve certain ailments, developed in China more than 2,000 years ago, it certainly has relevance today, considering that it has been known to treat many different illnesses that modern medicine has been unsuccessful at treating. Acupuncture can be given in many different forms, including needles that are inserted into the skin or devices that emit sounds vibrations which are placed on the acupuncture sites, or acupoints. Another method, with or without needles, involves stimulating the acupoints with a weak electrical current.

Presently, the effects of acupuncture concerning cancer patients are being studied, although no direct correlation to the reduction of cancer tumors has yet been discovered. Nonetheless, acupuncture has been noted to treat nausea caused by chemotherapy. Cancer, however, is not the only ailment that acupuncture helps to cope with. In fact, this traditional Chinese medicinal process helps to relieve migraine headaches, as well as to treat a number of musculoskeletal diseases. Acupuncture has also been found to help people who are trying to quit addicting behaviors such as drinking alcohol or smoking. In China, acupuncture is still a common anesthetic during surgery, helping to relax and numb a particular area of a patient’s body.

The traditional process of acupuncture involves inserting needles into the patient’s skin just deep enough to keep them from falling out. The needles are placed on acupoints, which are located on regions of the body known as meridians. Meridians are the channels of the body that the vital energy flows through, and also connect various parts of the body in a system of communications. According to traditional thought, illness occurs because these meridians get blocked, causing the energy to stop flowing efficiently. When the needles are inserted, these channels get unblocked, relieving pain and promoting health. Some acupuncture practitioners in the West, however, claim that pain is relieved because the body produces endorphins which then travel to the brain to stimulate a pleasure response, thus lessening the pain. Skilled acupuncturists are able to insert the needles will little or no pain, oftentimes twirling the needle in order to enhance the therapy. ”

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Simple traditional Chinese exercises improve seniors’ health:

“Unlike some aerobic and weight-training routines, the seated class led by master Cheng-de Gu, takes principles from Chinese medicine and martial arts to focus on improving health inside the body by stimulating internal organs and blood flow.

“I find there are seniors too old. So hard to stand (for) exercise. So I designed an exercise for sit(ting) down. Sit down, to make their internal circulation. For me I call ‘wash the internal,’” says Master Cheng-de Gu.

Through small movements, massage, and some breathing exercises, the goal is to heat the body, or warm it up to get the circulation going. Staff at Dorot say what makes the technique special is that it can help with a whole host of health problems for seniors, ranging from arthritis and diabetes to improvements with memory and balance.

“Mr. Gu has been very creative in terms of really making these exercises so the seniors can learn them, do them and benefit from them,” says Director of Health & Nutrition Services Karen Fuller.

Gu’s students say while the moves are simple, they have quite an impact. 88-year old Victoria King has been attending Gu’s classes for more than a decade and credits the wellness program for keeping her healthy.

“It has helped my immune system. I haven’t had the flu for about six or seven years. I may get the sniffles now and then, but that’s about it,” says participant Victoria King.

The same goes for 91-year old Edna Fischman who has been one of Gu’s students for years.

“Mr. Gu is interested in the inside of our body, not the outside,” says Fischman. “He doesn’t care what you look like on the outside. He wants the inside of your body new and he understands the body, he knows the connection between the organs and it just works.”

These seniors say it’s an alternative approach they’ll continue to live by. “

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A study shows promising results for ginseng in relieving the fatigue associated with cancer treatment:

“North Central Cancer Treatment Group (http://ncctg/) (NCCTG) researchers, based at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., have generated preliminary data suggesting that a form of American ginseng provides greater improvements in fatigue and vitality in patients who receive the highest doses tested, compared to lower doses or no treatment.

The results of their scientifically rigorous pilot study, the first to evaluate the Wisconsin species of American ginseng as a possible therapy for cancer-related fatigue, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Many cancer patients face extreme fatigue after diagnosis and during treatment. Getting more sleep or rest often does not relieve the fatigue, nor is it related to activity levels. Other than exercise, there isn’t a good solution available for these patients.

“We hope that Wisconsin ginseng may offer us a much-needed treatment to improve our patients’ quality of life, and we look forward to further evaluation,” says Debra Barton, Ph.D. (http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/staff/barton_dl.cfm), a registered nurse, Mayo Clinic cancer researcher (http://cancercenter.mayo.edu/) and the study’s primary investigator.

“Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most profound and distressing issues patients face,” she says. This unique type of fatigue can have dozens of causes, and for patients who have completed cancer therapy, fatigue is among their foremost concerns, second only to fear of disease recurrence.”

Traditional Chinese medicine and current understanding of ginseng’s function both point to its characteristics as an adaptogen — a substance that helps the body overcome the effects of environmental stress. Since cancer patients have stressors ranging from the psychological stress of diagnosis to the physiological stresses of chemotherapy and radiation, if ginseng helps, the researchers think it would be a valuable addition to currently available therapies.

“With animal data indicating the possibilities of ginseng with respect to increased swimming endurance, and the availability and verified product quality of Wisconsin ginseng, we decided to move forward with a pilot study,” says Dr. Barton.

The investigators enrolled 282 patients in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, averaging 71 patients per each of four arms, with between 39 and 48 patients in each arm completing the eight weeks of treatment. Treatment arms consisted of placebo, and three different daily doses of Wisconsin ginseng — 750, 1,000 and 2,000 milligrams.

Of the four treatment arms, patients receiving the placebo and the lowest dose of ginseng reported very little improvement in fatigue or other areas of physical or psychological well-being. The patients receiving the larger doses showed improvements in overall energy levels, reporting higher vitality levels and less interference with activity from fatigue. They also reported an improvement in overall mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.”

Tags: Ginseng by DAAN
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Importation of Chinese herbs into the US is booming:

“t is all part of a global trend, said Dr. Edmund Lee, a Hong Kong-based consultant on the development of biotechnology and Chinese medicine.

“Chinese medicine, with 4,000 years’ worth of literature on the treatment of illnesses, provides a good opportunity for evidence-based research and development of natural products, dietary supplements, botanicals, and medicines by scientific researchers.”

Those researchers have made groundbreaking discoveries; for example, wild ginger and soy have been shown to inhibit cancer. As a result, the Western medical community has become more accepting of herbal remedies, says Mel Drisko, of the University of Colorado’s Center for Integrative Medicine in Denver.

“It’s not just word of mouth, or media exposure,” he said.

“We have seen over these last few years a pretty dramatic sea change. Some of the most conservative physicians have seen some of their patients improve from the use of traditional Chinese therapies. These physicians have become some of our best sources for patient referrals.”

…

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