DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Chinese medicine is becoming popular in Australia and else where in the world, DAAN offers Chinese herbal and acupuncture consultation, please contact us.

“TRADITIONAL Chinese medicine is one of the oldest and most complex schools of medicine in the world. Developed over thousands of years and widely practised throughout Asia, TCM is rapidly gaining popularity in Australia.

Encompassing Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, dietary advice and exercise, the underlying principles of TCM are largely based on the philosophy of chi, or life energy, that flows through the body along pathways referred to as meridians.”

Tags: Acupuncture, East and West by DAAN
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Chinese medicine is making its way to the West

“IT WAS not until he saw dramatic photographs of patients before and after a clinical trial that Christian Hogg began to feel fulfilled by his work with traditional Chinese medicines.”

Tags: East and West, Culture by DAAN
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Chinese herbal medicine is used in treating depression.

“There are different types of depression, ranging from the normal ‘blues’ to mild depression (dysthymia) to major depression. Women have a much higher incidence than man. Normal depressed mood is a healthy reaction to, say a death in the family, changes in life or work, temporary financial problems etc. It often stimulates the person to make changes that will render the situation bearable. Persons with more debilitating depression have feelings of doom and gloom, despair and hopelessness. They will cry for no apparent reason, have loss of appetite, are tired and want to sleep all the time but may also have difficulty doing so. Another usual complaint is loss of interest in activities they previously found pleasurable. For some, thoughts of suicide are prevalent. People with manic depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder, have alternating bouts of depression with episodes of intense excitement and mania.”

Tags: General, East and West, Disease by DAAN
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One man’s story of how traditional Chinese medicine was able to help cure his intestinal ailments where Wester medicine couldn’t:

“Growing up, Henry Lu was skeptical about the ancient art of Chinese medicine, even though his uncle ran a Chinese herb shop. But then, as an adult, suffering from chronic digestive problems, he experienced a profound awakening to the possibilities of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

For years, he followed his own doctor’s advice by taking a daily laxative and trying different diets and exercises — all to no avail. Having seemingly exhausted all of the treatment options available to him through Western medicine, in desperation he travelled to Hong Kong and Taiwan, where he was prescribed an herbal formula and underwent acupuncture treatments. Together, they cured him of his ailments.

This inspired Lu to begin studying TCM. He subsequently left his position as a professor at the University of Alberta to open his own college, the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Vancouver, in 1986.

“I became convinced that drugs used in Western medicine do not outweigh the side effects in many cases,” Dr. Lu says. “Unlike Western medicine, which commonly strives to control symptoms, Chinese medicine focuses on the cause of the illness, and treats the cause.”

For many Westerners, TCM might seem confusing and off-putting, with its exotic terminology, peculiar diagnoses, and unconventional treatments. And yet it’s become increasingly popular, due to its emphasis on preventative health and controlling chronic conditions.

“I strongly believe that if we want to import Chinese medicine to [the West], we have to teach Western people. Chinese medicine shouldn’t just be confined to the Chinese Chinatown,” Dr. Lu says.

TCM was developed more than 3,000 years ago, making it the oldest continually-practiced system of medicine in the world. Since it was developed at a time before the scientific traditions of the West, it developed its own terminology and systems, mainly based on physical observations.

TCM is based on the concept of Qi (pronounced chee) — the “vital energy” that invisibly circulates throughout the body, along specific interconnected channels called meridians. In Chinese medicine, the smooth flow of Qi is responsible for good health, and ain or illness occurs when Qi is blocked. “Disease is thought to be caused by disharmonies within the body, or between the body and the environment,” says Dr. Lu. Chinese medicine seeks to restore a harmonious balance within the body — which is believed to be a reflection of the universe — so it can heal itself. It does this by balancing the passive yin with the dynamic yang, the opposing yet complimentary sides of nature: cold and hot, day and night, dry and wet. “

Tags: East and West, Disease by DAAN
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NBA star Yao Ming is treating his injured foot with traditional Chinese medicine:

“The decision of NBA superstar Yao Ming to head to China to seek traditional Chinese medical treatment for his stress fracture has orthopedic physicians and traditional medicine experts at odds over whether the healing techniques will do any good.
acupuncture
Basketball star Yao Ming has returned to his home country of China, reportedly to seek traditional treatments for a stress fracture in his…
Basketball star Yao Ming has returned to his home country of China, reportedly to seek traditional treatments for a stress fracture in his foot.

The 27-year-old, 7-foot-6 all-star center for the Houston Rockets was forced out of the season by a stress fracture in his left foot — specifically, a crack in the tarsal navicular bone, between the ankle joint and the middle of his foot.

Yao underwent surgery early last month when surgeons inserted a screw to stabilize the bone. Doctors involved with the surgery reported that the procedure was successful and that Yao would begin an aggressive rehabilitation program once he was up to it.

The surgery carries with it a normal downtime of four months. But it appears Yao is also looking to traditional Chinese medicine — a system that includes acupuncture and herbal remedies — to help speed his healing. On Friday, the Associated Press reported that Yao had arrived back in his home country to consult with the nation’s top experts. “

Tags: East and West by DAAN
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A research institute in Shanghai is developing drugs based on traditional Chinese medicine:

“Next month, the Shanghai Innovative Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a research and development institution for the modernization of traditional medicine, will apply to conduct clinical trials in Finland for its new antidepressant medicine extracted from herbs.

If the drug is approved, the center will be among a handful of companies that are launching therapeutic drugs derived from TCM onto the global market. “After seven years of study, we have extracted a single active ingredient from ginseng herbs. The pre-clinical trial has showed that this drug is safe and effective,” says Jiang Hongquan, an official with the center.

“The efficacy of this drug is very close to Eli Lilly’s Prozac, or fluoxetine, but the cost is much lower,” notes Jiang, adding that the active ingredient, extracted from ginseng herbs, is a brand-new ingredient that had not been previously identified. The development is a breakthrough for herbal medicine innovation and modernization, according to Jiang, who says that the center is also considering applying to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trial approval. Meanwhile, given the renewed global interest in TCM-derived drugs, the new medicine remains a closely guarded business secret.

The Shanghai Innovative Research Center is not alone in its effort to introduce Chinese herbal medicines into the mainstream market. Other companies have been doing the same thing for years, including Hutchison MediPharma (the R&D subsidiary of London AIM-listed Hutchison China MediTech), and Tasly Pharmaceutical Co., one of China’s largest TCM manufacturers.”

Tags: East and West, Herbs by DAAN
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British Columbia start to offer public funds for acupuncture treatments.

“B.C.’s new health program began on April Fool’s Day but it was no joke.

The province will be the first in Canada to offer public funds for acupuncture treatments for its Medical Services Plan (MSP) recipients, announced the health minister on Sunday

Acupuncture, the practice of inserting needles into the skin to treat pain, will be available to anyone earning less than $28,000 per year, said George Abbott.”

Tags: Acupuncture, East and West by DAAN
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Scientists are studying whether traditional medicines for possible treatments for cancer:

“Curing cancer with natural products — a case for shamans and herbalists? Not at all, for many chemotherapies to fight cancer applied in modern medicine are natural products or were developed on the basis of natural substances. Thus, taxanes used in prostate and breast cancer treatment are made from yew trees. The popular periwinkle plant, which grows along the ground of many front yards, is the source of vinca alkaloids that are effective, for example, against malignant lymphomas. The modern anti-cancer drugs topotecan and irinotecan are derived from a constituent of the Chinese Happy Tree.

Looking for new compounds, doctors and scientists are increasingly focusing on substances from plants used in traditional medicine. About three quarters of the natural pharmaceutical compounds commonly used today are derived from plants of the traditional medicine of the people in various parts of the world. The chances of finding new substances with interesting working profiles in traditional medicinal plants are better than in common-or-garden botany.

Tags: East and West, Disease by DAAN
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Two well known doctors debate the alternatives to western medicine:

“In separate interviews, the doctors gave a preview of what’s to come:

Weil: We spend more per-capita on health care than any people in the world, yet by every measure of health outcomes, we’re at or near the bottom compared to other developed countries. What we call health care is intervention and dependent on expensive technology … that’s why our health care system’s on the verge of collapse.

The integrative medicine I teach is really training doctors and other health professionals to focus on health maintenance, prevention of disease and low-tech intervention such as dietary adjustments.

Everybody should take 2 to 3 grams of fish oil a day – it’s a protection against depression, cancer, heart disease all the diseases of aging and optimizes mental function. I also recommend vitamin D-3 (to help prevent many cancers and multiple sclerosis).

Reduce consumption of refined, processed and manufactured foods. Practice stress management, exercise and breathing. Inhale through the nose for the count of four, hold the breath for the count of seven, exhale through your mouth for the count of eight, four cycles twice a day. You can do it sitting at a red light.

Breathing changes the tone of the involuntary nervous system and other imbalances at the root of disease, This affects cardiovascular function, blood circulation, digestion, mood and energy.

Wilkes: I’m skeptical. There may be a placebo effect, but if breathing actually resulted in people being healthier and living longer, we would have evolved in a way that allowed us to breathe that way. Let’s have an independent group study where half get taught to breathe the way Weil does it and see how they do after three months or six years.

And there’s no data that vitamin D does anything for most people. In the absence of data that show it would work, save your money. He’s gotten to be such a wealthy man, put some of that money into clinical trials and see if that stuff works or not.

Medical schools have done a systematically poor job acknowledging this whole field of complementary alternative medicine. Americans spend billions on this. Patients go to see complementary doctors for all of our failures – for needs we can’t meet with Western medicine, and if they don’t feel listened to.”

Tags: East and West by DAAN
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Celebrate Chinese New Year!

“Thursday, Feb. 7, marks the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the rat. According to www.infoplease.com, the Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008.

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.”

Tags: East and West, Culture by DAAN
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