What we see now in our patients are modern diseases, stemming from modern ways of eating and a lack of nutrition that is impacting your effectiveness as a practitioner. You can treat these modern diseases – hypoglycemia, insulin-resistance, diabetes, food intolerances, adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalances – but when the patient is malnourished (which is much more often than you can imagine), the treatment time is much slower.

For example, kidney deficiency is very closely related to adrenal fatigue in Western medicine. We prescribe herbs and acupuncture, and perhaps some lifestyle changes such as meditation. However, did you know that one of the major causes of adrenal fatigue is blood sugar imbalance, which is impacted not just by what the person is eating, but how frequently/infrequently they are eating? When the practitioners in my practice started prescribing specific nutritional supplements and Chinese herbs to support the adrenals, and prescribed a specific style of eating, we saw a dramatic improvement in our patients’ kidney deficiency. Furthermore, their improvement continued even when they stopped taking herbs. Why? Because we had given them nutrition that actually restored their kidneys/adrenals, as well as the tools to help manage it at home.

But why should you be talking about nutrition? Because your patients are already talking about nutrition, even if you aren’t. They’re reading about it, seeing segments on TV, talking to their friends and looking desperately for some magic pill to help them feel better. They’re taking some drugstore multi-vitamin, which is not only synthetic, but has approximately the correct amount of bioavailable nutrition for a gerbil. They’ve probably already been asking you questions about supplements – what to take, is this effective, what will help this condition. You might be having a hard time answering some of these questions because we didn’t learn any of this in TCM school. Your information about modern nutrition is often coming from the same sources as theirs, and while you might know whether or not some of the supplements they’re taking are helpful, you don’t really know how or why.

The ability to build qi and blood is directly related to the nutritional health of a patient. Herbs can improve the body’s function with what nutrition it has. While that can be effective, the molecular building blocks for blood and tissue (amino acids, vitamin complexes, essential fats) comes from what we eat. You may have some people who eat their vegetables or know enough to eat organic vegetables. However, did you know that vegetables harvested these days are as much as 40 percent less nutritious than they were 50 years ago, even organic ones? Did you know that omega-3s used to be widely found in meats, but because most animals are no longer grass-fed, they are sadly deficient, and then so are we? Or that besides vegetables, the most nutrient-dense food that exists is organ meats?

Even if patients ate perfectly, they would oftentimes still be deficient, and that’s where having some understanding of nutrition and supplementation will help. Patients love nutrition; they know they’re deficient and don’t eat well, and they are already interested in taking supplements. Having an understanding of nutrition, combined with your background in herbs, will allow you to help correct them if they are self-prescribing. Since you may be the only doctor they’re seeing, you will be able to see interactions between drugs, herbs and supplements. If you start prescribing nutritional supplements that make a difference the patient can clearly see, you will not only have very high patient compliance, but those patients will return again and again for more supplements. They don’t do that nearly as often for herbal prescriptions. In our practice, we have a full Chinese herbal pharmacy, yet at least half of what we prescribe is nutritional supplements. Why?

Most elementary school-aged kids are familiar with the healthy after-school snack known as “ants on a log.” Comprised of a celery stick filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins, this nutritious delight does indeed look like ants walking upon a log. I like celery but only when accompanied by creamy peanut butter and I am also picky about eating celery salt only sprinkled on cottage cheese. However if learning more about the health behind the different parts of the celery plant will cause me to indulge a little more and branch out of my food barriers, I might as well give it another taste. .

•Food allergy herbal formula-2. Known as FAHF-2, this pill (not available in stores) is based on a 2,000-year-old Chinese remedy. It contains nine botanicals, including ginseng and oil made from cinnamon tree bark. It is being tested for peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish allergies.

Building tolerance can take a year or more, and parents with children in the studies must drive them to a research center every other week. For a few, the round trip is hundreds of miles — a small price, in parents’ eyes.

“They will do anything humanly possible” to overcome their children’s food allergies, says Stacie Jones (no relation to Charles Jones), an Arkansas Children’s Hospital allergy specialist who helps lead several trials. “It is a testament to their commitment.”

Serving nourishing herbal meals that have been specially formulated to help the body ward off the winter chill and welcome the arrival of winter is a deeply rooted Chinese tradition. The Chinese firmly believe that adding Chinese herbs to produce nourishing dishes is absolutely guaranteed to keep oneself healthy and balance the body’s yin and yang and improve blood circulation.

The Westin Taipei’s Liu Yuan Shanghainese Restaurant Executive Chef Qiu You-Bin has specially selected various herb ingredients that include the deer antlers of a young stag, erxian jiao, Hua Qi ginseng and other nutrient Chinese herbs.

Over 10 various kinds of Chinese herbs are used in the “Warming Winter with Chinese Herb Set Menu” including lobster, soft-shelled turtle, eel and prepared in the most authentic Shanghainese cooking. The Westin Taipei welcomes guests to sample this nutritious Chinese herb set menu offered at the price of NT$2,500 + 10% per person.

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.

The proper amount and flow of qi, or life energy, constitute the foundation of health, according to TCM. Digestive complaints are signs of imbalance, commonly due to either insufficient qi or a compromised flow of qi. Poor diet or working too much can lead to too little qi, while stress is a common cause of improperly flowing qi.

Acupuncture is a technique used in TCM that utilizes hair-thin needles inserted at precise locations to manipulate the body’s qi and remove blockages, allowing it to flow more freely. Clinically, acupuncture successfully alleviates many digestive complaints by increasing your body’s digestive energy.

Situated amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Taipei on ZhongXiao Road, the restaurant’s bright green shop sign bearing the Chinese inscription “Shih-Tsao”, inviting passer-bys to retreat into a dining environment that provides a feast on pollution-free Chinese medical herbs. The restaurant offers meat and seafood, but everything except for the meat is totally made of herbs, including tea, salad dressing, pot soup, dipping sauces, noodles, desserts, and even the wines.

The leading role in the restaurant is played by herbs, and many of them are said to be beneficial to one’s health if a certain amount is taken regularly.

The main dish that comes with each hot pot is a huge bowl of herbs that consists of big chunks of more than ten different herbs, including Chinese toon, a herb said to lower hypertension and blood sugar; heartleaf houttuynia herb, which enhances the upper respiratory tract; centella asiatica, a great help in fighting diarrhea, hypertension, and hepatitis, etc. Each of the herbs gives off a distinctive aroma. Heartleaf houttuynia herb, in particular, has a smell that might temporarily remind you of salted fish.

The hotpot soup is entirely made of matrimony-vine, a Chinese medicine that is generally believed to improve eyesight. The soup has a refreshing, slightly sweet flavor that distinguishes itself from other shabu shabu hot soups. After sipping the soup, it is time to try the herbs.

Swish the herbs in the boiling soup for 10 to 20 seconds as instructed by waitresses in order to keep the sweetness of the herbs, then dip them in the Chinese toon sauce and chow down.

For centuries, the Chinese have understood the homeopathic benefits of herbs in helping to maintain a healthy body, says Richmond’s Dr. Louise Demorest, acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist.

“Herbs have been used for thousands of years to treat all sorts of ailments and conditions,” says Demorest. “There is a continuum between what is considered medicinal herb and what is considered food. For example, mint is a very common flavouring; however, mint in itself also has medicinal purposes.”

Herbs have never gone out of style. Today, herbs are used as beauty products, home decor accents, pesticides, medications and flavourings.

As herbal infusions, chamomile and calendula (a flower grown locally) are calming drinks that can also be used externally to treat skin problems.

“You can also put either one in a bath to soothe itchy, dry skin and redness,” says Demorest, who has been practising herbology for more than 14 years. “Lavender has grown popular because it’s a wonderful tonic used to ease anxiety and insomnia.” For sleeplessness, many people swear by placing crushed lavender flowers in a sachet and sleeping with it by their side.

Herbs are generally safe for use; even so, Demorest cautions clients about mixing certain types of herbs together. “Although ginkgo biloba is sold over the counter, it would be good to have a herbalist’s advice because it does increase blood circulation to the brain,” she says. “So, if you had a brain tumor or you are on blood thinners you don’t want to take it.”

The risks associated with taking herbs are low compared to pharmaceuticals, says Demorest. That’s because herbs are natural and are easily assimilated in the body. One of the side benefits of herbs is that they also contain nutrients, vitamins and minerals. “In ancient times, people didn’t have vitamins,” she says. “For example, people ingested rosehips because they are very high in vitamin C.”

You may be wondering what a spice that has long been associated with the kitchen has to do with promoting good health. Cinnamon (Cinnamon verum) has played an important role in medicinal healing and as a culinary spice.

The Bible makes reference to the use of aromatic cinnamon in Proverbs 7:17-18 where the lover’s bed is perfumed with aloe, myrrh and cinnamon. In Songs of Solomon 4:14, the author describes the beauty of his beloved, cinnamon scenting her garments like the smell of Lebanon.

Cinnamon was used in Egypt as an embalming agent, a product that was considered more precious than gold. Its warming qualities made cinnamon essential to traditional Chinese medicine and its energy-based medical systems.

As its popularity grew, mediaeval Europe heavily relied on cinnamon. It was a product in great demand and became one of the first commodities traded regularly between the Near East and Europe.

Diabetics

Type Two diabetics will be happy to know that cinnamon may significantly improve their ability to respond to insulin, normalising their blood-sugar levels. Studies are currently under way by the United States Agricultural Research Service to demonstrate that less than half a teaspoon per day of cinnamon reduces blood-sugar levels in persons with Type Two diabetes. Several persons in Jamaica have already experienced the benefits of reduced blood-sugar levels by using cinnamon.

Some persons question the toxicity of regular use of cinnamon. However, results of a study published in the December 2003 issue of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice reported that cinnamon enhanced muscle cells for better insulin utility.

Another study reported in the January 28, 2004 issue of the same magazine that including cinnamon in the diet of Type Two diabetics will see a reduction in blood-sugar levels, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and other risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Head for Yip’s Kitchen in Kepong if you are missing mum’s cooking.

LIVING in the city is fun but there are times when one gets a little homesick for mother’s cooking. In Kepong, diners need only hop over to Yip’s Kitchen to enjoy traditional dishes that they don’t know how to prepare or are too tedious to make.

Yip Kee Dry Curry Chicken is a house specialty.

Yip’s Kitchen, which started as Yip Kee Restaurant in Kepong Baru, serves authentic Chinese herbal cuisine such as its signature dish, Hakka Stewed Pork. “The pork is marinated with Lam Yee (preserved beancurd), and slowly boiled with deep-fried preserved beancurd and celery,” said restaurant owner, Shirene Liu. “The slow cooking brings out the flavours.”

A chicken raiser in southern China has been making big bucks by feeding his livestock with medicinal liquor.

The raiser from Jiangxi province has been feeding his chickens with medicinal liquor, mixed with 30 types of herbs for three to seven months, reports the China Daily.

Due to its medicinal value, these chickens sell from 64 to 776 yuan per Kg, and the raiser has been making a profit of 60 yuan on each sale.

The chickens, which are sold mainly to deluxe restaurants, are said to have a unique taste.