Chinese medicine is shown to be effective in treating menopause
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine is a safe effective and drug free way to treat uncomfortable menopausal symptoms such as night sweating and Hot flashes. Over the last 5,000 years the Chinese have developed acupuncture and herbal medicine to activate the natural, self healing ability of the body. With such intense study and development, acupuncture has helped billions of people regain and maintain their health.
Improving digestion with Traditional Chinese Medicine
Healthy food choices and good digestion are the building blocks to good health and well-being. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that food is a form of medicine. Daily meals are an opportunity to nourish, build and heal our bodies. To benefit from wholesome food choices, however, the body has to digest those foods properly. Fatigue, gas, bloating, constipation and loose stools are signs that your body is out of balance and unable to acquire the full benefits of your diet.
A very interesting article about Chinese pulse diagnosis and how it is becoming more popular:
Two thousand years ago, during the Han Dynasty, everyone from rulers to peasants paid doctors to keep them healthy with the pulse diagnosis and treatments first described in the Nei Jing (“inner classic”) circa 100 BCE. Eastern medicine, like Eastern philosophy, has always subscribed to the idea that the whole is found in its parts. In China, this is the basis of therapies like foot reflexology, tongue reading (in which the tongue’s colour, texture and markings are attributed to conditions in the body) and pulse diagnosis. Acupuncturists trained in this subtle method say you can tell the condition of every body function by feeling the rhythm and qualities of the pulse at different positions on the wrist.
The spot on your right wrist at the base of your thumb, for example, reveals something — though not everything — about your lungs, especially their condition in the past. If a student of Chinese medicine feels a narrowing there, your lungs aren’t expanding enough. If it feels slippery — like pebbles rolling on a plate — it may indicate evidence of a bacterial infection, past or present. And if it feels choppy — like scraping bamboo with a knife — there’s probably some toxicity.
Typically, a doctor of Chinese medicine uses other tools of the trade, like tongue diagnosis, alongside pulse readings. Treatment involves regular stints on a massage table, with needles inserted anywhere from your eyebrows to the balls of your feet, and tonics brewed from herbs to strengthen the body’s healing process. Western medicines and medical techniques are also suggested when appropriate.
Historically, these techniques attracted little attention in the West. But during the Communist takeover of China after World War II, some Chinese masters fled to the U.S. and Europe. One of these was John Shen, and Hammer knew when their paths crossed in 1974 that he’d found his teacher. For eight years, he spent weekends with the acupuncturist at his practise in New York City. There, he learned to lay his fingers on the wrist in 28 positions, varying the pressure to feel some 80 pulse qualities.
The University of Chicago Medical School will study whether ginseng can fight cancer:
Researchers at the new center will apply scientific techniques to the study of herbal medicine. They will study the anti-tumor effects of different preparations of the herbs American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and notoginseng, Panax notoginseng, which are widely used but little-studied herbal therapies for a variety of ailments, including prevention and treatment of colon cancer.
“At least one-third of adults in the United States use some sort of dietary supplement and many of them take herbal remedies, such as ginseng, to supplement or substitute for conventional pharmacotherapy,” said center director Chun-Su Yuan, M.D., Ph.D., the Cyrus Tang Professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago, “yet we know very little about how, when or even if these products are beneficial.”
Scientific investigation of herbs is “still in its infancy,” he said, lagging far behind current trends in biomedical research. “Considering their widespread use, the time has come to apply contemporary research principles and techniques to the study of botanical medications.”
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. If detected early, it can be successfully treated, but patients with advanced colon cancer have a poor prognosis.
Acupuncture can help pregnant women in crippling pain to go about their daily lives, according to a new study.
Up to one in five mothers-to-be suffer pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during their pregnancy, which can leave them struggling to do simple tasks.
The condition, which can be made worse by standing, sitting or even turning in bed, can be constant or involve a stabbing sensation or shooting pains down the back of the leg.
Around seven per cent of women struggle with the pain even after they give birth, leading many to take time off work.
Acupuncture can improve one’s well-being
It never ceases to amaze me that I practice a form of medicine that has been in use for more than 3,000 years. Oriental medicine was, in fact, developed and practiced in ancient China as a primary health care system. It was, and is still today, used to diagnose and treat illness, prevent disease and improve overall wellness.
The practice of Oriental medicine includes several different modalities of healing. Chinese herbs and acupuncture, diet therapy, exercise (tai chi and qi gong), and bodywork (accupressure and shiatsu) are all examples of Oriental medicine that are based in specific ancient healing principles.
As China modernizes, traditional Chinese medicine lost some of its popularity. Now, it’s making a comeback:
Steeped in thousands of years of history, culture, and practice, the ancient art of traditional Chinese medicine is based on a belief system that doesn’t immediately sit well with modern science. Its focus on bodily fluids and energies grates with today’s high-tech hospitals and treatments, and its emphasis on exotic ingredients and handfuls of toxic herbs contravenes the West’s increasing dependence on stringent clinical trials and endless lab research.
Far from dying out, however, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is experiencing something of a renaissance. Thanks to an injection of cash and resources from the Chinese government, and a revived interest in alternative healthcare in the West, demand for TCM treatments and products is the highest it has been in a century. According to China-based consultancy Anbound Information (安邦集团), the production value of the domestic TCM market has exceeded RMB 100 billion (USD 14.6 billion), and exports of TCM products and ingredients are worth as much as USD 100 million. In the UK, one of TCM’s largest overseas markets, demand is growing on average 20% a year, with annual sales amounting to some GBP 150 million (USD 276 million), according to data published in a British government report earlier this year.
This resurgence of interest in traditional Chinese medicine has provided a tremendous opportunity for practitioners and manufacturers in China. But as TCM’s reputation blossoms, so does demand for greater checks and controls. China’s TCM industry, largely unregulated and lacking central organization, faces the task of re-inventing and modernizing itself if it is to reap the rewards on offer.
Complementary treatments, like acupuncture, can increase the effectiveness of radiation treatment for cancer:
Acupuncture used with cancer and radiation therapy is well-researched and has several benefits. One is enhanced immune function. Specific acupuncture points can increase red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Acupuncture also may stimulate steroid levels and other hormones, such as melatonin, that could have anti-tumor activity.
Many randomized controlled studies have confirmed that acupuncture calms nausea and vomiting. Furthermore, some acupuncture points increase the anti-emetic effect of drugs before and after surgery, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Acupuncture can be effective in managing pain in cancer and during radiation treatment. Acupuncture may also be helpful for post-radiotherapy contracture of the jaw muscle. Acupuncture can also be effective in managing edema. Additionally, acupuncture may help in the treatment of fatigue and body wasting through the modulation of cytokines and hormones.
Dry mouth from head and neck radiation therapy can cause loss of taste, difficulty speaking and swallowing. Acupuncture has been found to reverse those effects by increasing blood flow to the salivary glands. One study found an increase in salivary flow rate in all patients after acupuncture treatment and six months’ follow-up. After three years, those patients who chose to be treated with additional acupuncture demonstrated a consistently higher salivary flow rate.
In between late September to January, when temperature and humidity begin to drop, one is susceptible to an overall feeling of dryness in the nasal passages, throat, and skin. For some people, drinking that extra glass of water doesn’t seem to do much in getting rid of the dryness. In Traditional Chinese medicine, this is explained by the Five Element theory. As autumn arrives, mother earth is ready to harvest all of its crops by lowering the temperature and the humidity in the air. With this overall drying effect, the respiratory system is the most sensitive to this change. Thus, dry throat, dry cough, and dryness in the nasal passage are common complaints during this season.
Loquat (found in products like Fei Yi Chin Pai Yi Kaw), Lo Han Guo, and pear are fruits commonly consumed in this time of the year to lubricate one’s respiratory system. These fruits are in season, and according to its herbal properties, they all correspond with the “lung channel” in the acupuncture meridian theory.
With the meridian theory and autumn in mind, herbs like American ginseng and Frittillariae (Chuan Bei Mu) are also great choices for this time of the year. For these two herbs, we recommend they be made into an herbal tea (by simply mixing it with hot water) and can be drunk through out the whole day.
Since this overall dryness is what we are trying to avoid (especially in this season), foods that are barbecued, fried, and seasoned with hot spices are not recommended. For those who cannot live without these types of food, instant herbal teas like Xia Sang Ju Natural Herbal Beverage and Ban Lan Gen instant herbal tea are used to “put out the heat” in these potentially drying foods.
Living in accordance with the seasons is one of the main principles in Traditional Chinese medicine. It is how we achieve harmony and wisdom from nature. Often times we are so caught up in this fast paced world that we forget we are still a part of nature. Listen to your body, and open up to what mother nature offers.
Acupuncture and herbs can help relieve some of the side effects of breast cancer treatments:
The American Cancer Society recently reported that acupuncture is effective in relieving symptoms associated with radiation, chemotherapy and certain drugs. Kirk Mann, M.Ac., L.Ac., who’s been practicing Chinese medicine in Ventura for 14 years, says the treatments he offers don’t only help to mitigate symptoms, they also contribute to a positive outcome in fighting the disease.
According to Mann, cancer patients tend to turn to Chinese medicine and other alternative modalities when they feel they’ve lost hope in traditional methods. He stresses that the earlier he can begin treatment, the more help he can offer.
“They can use these methods at the beginning,” he said. “They don’t have to use one exclusively.”
Mann uses acupuncture and moxibustion (heat is used instead of needles) in tandem with Chinese and naturopathic herb formulations to strengthen and support the immune system, but noted that patients also respond very favorably to “compassionate touch, empathy and therapeutic care, which are often lacking in the Western medical system.”
