DAAN Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture

Researchers in Europe have evidence that acupuncture treatments can help relieve hot flashes caused by Tamoxifen, a common drug used to treat breast cancer:

“Acupuncture reduced by half the hot flushes caused by tamoxifen in a small clinical trial involving 59 breast cancer patients after surgery. Relief was experienced both day and night, and the reduction in hot flushes was seen 3 months after the last acupuncture treatment.

These results were presented today at the European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) in Berlin, Germany, by Jill Hervik, a physiotherapist and acupuncturist at the Vestfold Central Hospital, Tønsberg, Norway. She was working with Odd Mjåland, MD, PhD, from Sørlandet Hospital in Kristiansand, Norway.

Acupuncture is being used increasingly in Western countries to treat hot flushes associated with the menopause, Ms. Hervik commented, and this study shows that it “seems to provide effective relief from hot flushes, both day and night, for women taking tamoxifen after surgery for breast cancer.”

The treatment effect seems to coincide with a general improvement in well-being, as measured by the Kupperman Index, which assesses quality of life, she told a press briefing. Acupuncture is inexpensive and does not cause adverse side effects, she pointed out. “Our results suggest that acupuncture could be used more widely for treating breast cancer patients suffering from symptoms related to their anti-estrogen medication.”"

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A recent study indicates Chinese herbs are better at relieving menstrual pain than Western drugs:

“Chinese herbal medicine appears to be more effective at relieving menstrual cramps and pain than pharmaceutical drugs, acupuncture or heat compression therapy, according to a new study conducted by Australian researchers and published in the journal Cochrane Library.

“All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, oral contraceptive pills, acupuncture and heat compression,” said lead researcher Xiaoshu Zhu, from the Center for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.

Researchers conducted an analysis of data from 39 different randomized, controlled trials that involved a total of 3,475 women. Women in these trials were given traditional Chinese herbs including cinnamon bark (rougui), Chinese angelica root (danggui), fennel fruit (huixiang), licorice root (gancao), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), red peony root (chishao) and white peony root (baishao). The treatments were carried out in a traditional way to regulate energy (qi) and blood, warm the body and improve liver and kidney functioning.

The researchers found that Chinese herbal treatments led to a significant reduction in the symptoms of menstrual cramps, and that the degree of pain reduction was higher than that from other treatments. In one study, 53 percent of women receiving Chinese herbal treatment reported decreased pain, in comparison with only 26 percent of the women receiving a placebo treatment.”

DAAN has put together some more information about herbs for menstrual pain here. Also visit our product pages for some good products for women’s health.

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Some good information about herbal remedies for early menopause:

“Herbal Remedies for Early Menopause

Magnesium: Often found in calcium supplements, magnesium is a very important calcium helper — and also appears to help fight the crashing fatigue that often comes at the beginning of premature or early menopause by boosting energy levels.

A hot flash can make you perspire - in some cases profusely - and may bring on headaches, dizziness and an increased heart rate (though it´s nothing to be overly concerned with - it´s usually just your heart trying to cope with the increase in blood flow). An effective method for dealing with hot flashes (or hot flushes depending on what part of the world you live in) is to help control your temperature by wearing several layers of clothing. When you get hot, you can always take some layers off.

Vitamin A or Beta Carotene: If you´re suffering from vaginal dryness — or if you´ve noticed a change in your skin texture, a drying or loss of elasticity, Vitamin A or beta carotene can help. Vitamin A (which is what beta carotene converts to in your body) helps maintain tissues, skin, and mucous membranes — which can help fight back against vaginal dryness and skin changes that often come with low estrogen levels.

The most powerful feature of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that it allows you to easily combine multiple ingredients to form a recipe to suit the specific need of individual. The list below are to give you an idea of why you can get the herbal remedy best for you from here with us.

Safe and Side Effect Free: All these herbs have been being used in China for thousands of years, and have been proven to be safe. In fact most Chinese herbs are tonics without side effects. “

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Couples trying to conceive are looking to Chinese medicine in addition to western methods to help them in their quest:

“Acupuncture, improved diets, herbal supplements and lifestyle changes associated with traditional Chinese medicine have increased the probability of pregnancy for many infertile couples.

Amy Teeters, 33, believes it is not only a key factor in her getting pregnant and carrying the baby, but also in her body being able to function normally.

When she and her husband, Chuck, decided to have a baby about five years ago, her doctor found her hormone levels were so low she could not produce eggs. As a teenager, she had suffered with anorexia that stopped her menstrual cycles, unless she took birth control pills.

Teeters, who is now almost 30 weeks pregnant, spent five years trying to conceive. Her journey led to several miscarriages and failed IVF attempts, emergency hospitalization from side effects of

hormone treatments and incredible emotional anguish.

At the suggestion of a friend, she went to see Dr. Judi Harrick of Acupuncture Healing Arts Medical Group. Harrick, a former critical care nurse, has extensive training in oriental medicine, including a doctoral degree from Samra University of Oriental Medicine in Los Angeles.

While in Harrick’s care, Teeters continues seeing her obstetrician, who prescribed the drug heparin to counteract her tendency to miscarry due to clotting in the placenta.

But she credits Harrick with getting her healthy enough to have her first nondrug-induced menstrual cycle in 16 years last summer.

Harrick uses acupuncture to restore the flow of “Qi,” (pronounced “chee”), which is your body’s essence and energy. Needles are placed at key points practitioners say are linked to reproductive and other organs.

Although they are not sure how it happens, many doctors of Western medicine now believe acupuncture increases blood flow to the uterus and ovaries and also stimulate hormones involved in conception.”

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Alternative treatments, such as acupuncture, herbs, and yoga are some of elements that can be used to help relieve the symptoms of PMS:

“Since women’s health is such a huge topic, I have chosen to concentrate on one aspect of women’s health which continues to be an issue.

There are over a hundred symptoms associated with PMS. Unfortunately, because each woman is different, there is no agreed upon cause or treatment for the effects of PMS within the medical community.

What they do all agree on is that a regular menstrual cycle is a sign of good health. Isn’t that special? Doesn’t help to know you’re healthy if you are in pain or having mood swings that cause you to have to make the decision to stay home for a day rather than risk the chance of having to call your best friend for bail money.

Well, conventional medicine can offer pain pills, water pills, and hormonal therapy, but alternatives to these forms of comfort can be more relaxing and have fewer side effects. And while I for one am not going to “run with the wolves”, I would like to achieve some sort of balance between seeing cramps as a medical “problem” and a “gift of mother earth.” Give me a break, I just want to not cry or punch out people at the drop of a hat for a week out of each month. Let’s explore those options:

Acupuncture relieves pain and stress, and can leave you feeling so relaxed that you’re feeling too good to punch anyone out. Same goes for massage, and your massage therapist can show you self massage to do on your lower abdomen any time you need to relax cramps. No medicine is involved, and both of these alternative therapies are non-invasive.

Chinese medicinal herbs are used in concocting teas and poultices for the relief of PMS symptoms. These include Kava Kava Chai and ginseng teas. The top recommended teas are made from Viburnum and help with cramping, irritability, and swelling. Dandelion helps with swollen breasts, muscle spasms, and acne. Your herbalist can recommend the appropriate combination of herbs for your individual symptoms, as well as bath soaks and foot rubs.”

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Studies suggest Chinese herbal remedies can be better than drugs for relieving menstrual cramps:

“Australian researchers have found that it is better to take Chinese herbs than drugs, acupuncture, or heat compression for the relief of dysmenorrhea that includes menstrual cramps.

Dysmenorrhea is a condition that causes cramping and/or painful menstruation in women. It involves menstrual periods that consist of intermittent-but-sharp pain or aching-but-dull pain in the lower abdominal and/or pelvic regions of the female body.

Their study (“Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhoea”), found in the October 18, 2007 online issue of the journal Cochrane Library, involved 3,475 women in 36 studies in China, and one study, each, in Taiwan, Japan, and the Netherlands.

The results from the researchers, headed by Xiaoshu Zhu from the Center for Complementary Medicine Research (University of Western Sydney, Australia), conclude that Chinese herbal medicines are superior to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), acupuncture therapy, and heat compression with a hot water bottle. ”

DAAN’s staff includes two female practitioners, and we specialize in women’s health. Contact us if you’d like more information on treatment options.

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A company in Emeryville, CA, is conducting a study to see if a drug derived from Chinese herbs can be effective in treating breast cancer:

“The Chinese herb Ban Zhi Lian may not be in everyone’s lexicon, but to the 80 women with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, who are participating in the second phase of the BZL101 clinical trials, it represents hope and life.

For Bionovo, the drug discovery and development company in Emeryville, Calif., that’s behind BZL101, there’s hope too. The trial is the first FDA-validated clinical study of a potential cancer drug derived from a Chinese medicinal herb, says Dr. Mary Tagliaferri, a co-founder of the company, former practicing acupuncturist and a breast-cancer survivor. “Sixty-two percent of chemotherapy drugs come from natural products, and plants have been the basis of almost every new class of medication,” she says. “It makes sense that these plants can act as anticancer agents.”

Tagliaferri’s interest in Ban Zhi Lian, which has traditionally been used to treat swellings, sores and fever, was sparked in 1996 by a fellow acupuncturist, Isaac Cohen, who would later become a co-founder of Bionovo. At that time, Cohen had been treating, for a decade, women who were battling breast cancer with conventional medicines and had run out of treatment options. “In their exhaustion and desperation, they were trying to find an alternative treatment that was not so harsh,” says Cohen, who often prescribed herbs to be prepared as teas to ease the side effects of chemo and hormone therapy. But the patients’ oncologists, says Cohen, discouraged them from trying anything new. “They’d say Chinese medicine was quackery and that there was no evidence it worked,” he says. Still, Cohen observed that many of the women to whom he gave Chinese herbs, including Ban Zhi Lian, responded well to the herbs and even experienced a relatively good quality of life. “At first I chucked it to luck,” he says. “But then you see it’s not just luck. And then you ponder why.”"

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Acupuncture can be a good alternative to traditional, Western fertility treatments:

“To encourage women/couples to use Chinese Medicine FIRST and to conceive naturally, Dr. Lucas has created the new Your Healthy Fertility Choice program. This program uses acupuncture, herbal prescriptions, nutritional recommendations, and potentially other therapies in Chinese Medicine to:

* Improve you overall health
* Increase blood and positive Qi energy flow to the reproductive organs; the uterus especially needs a healthy blood flow to assure implantation
* Improve the function of the ovaries to produce better quality eggs
* Regulate the menstrual cycle
* Reduce stress by relaxing the patients and improving energetic and emotional balance
* Affect the autonomic nervous system which can make the lining of the uterus more receptive to receiving an embryo
* Balance hormones

Traditional Chinese Medicine should be your healthy and first choice for fertility success, according to Dr. Lucas. It replaces hormone therapy and invasive procedures that can be painful and are well known for creating mood swings, weight gain and other uncomfortable and potentially unhealthy side effects. She would like couples to use the healthy safe fertility opportunity that Chinese Medicine offers FIRST when trying to conceive.”

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One woman’s story about using herbs and yoga to conceive a child:

“She first got worried about her fertility when she had been off the birth control pill for 15 months but was still experiencing cycles as long as 84 days.

In a step recommended by local fertility expert Dr. Stephen Hudson, she drank many a “disgusting concoction” of 10 to 15 Chinese herbs such as dang gui to normalize her menstrual cycles. She also underwent several months of acupuncture treatments at Elements of Health costing $70 apiece.

The 31-year-old childcare consultant was initially skeptical, but open enough to try it. Last fall she became pregnant.

“Part of me thinks it’s hocus-pocus, but it also worked. I’m a believer now and I’ve recommended it to other people.”"

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Herbs for relief of PMS symptoms:

“The use of natural herbs and herbal remedies for PMS can help relieve many of the symptoms accociated with PMS; as herbal PMS supplements naturally balance hormonal fluctuations in the woman’s monthly cycle.

The term, premenstrual syndrome or PMS, incorporates a variety of symptoms that occur in the two weeks before a woman has her monthly period.

Most women at some time during their reproductive life will experience the discomfort associated with premenstrual syndrome. The most popular medicinal herbs for PMS relief are listed below:

Natural Herbs for PMS Relief

Chaste tree berry (Vitex agnus castus)

Chaste tree is widely considered the most important herb in treating PMS. Since the days of Hippocrates, 2500 years ago, chaste tree has been used to treat a variety of gynaecological complaints in women. Many herbalists today prescribe chaste tree to relieve symptoms of PMS, specifically painful breasts prior to menses, oedema, depression, diarrhoea/constipation and headache associated with PMS. Studies into this plant’s safety and effectiveness have been numerous in recent years, where chaste tree has shown itself again and again to be a safe, effective treatment for PMS. One recent German study of over 1600 women experiencing PMS, showed 93% had a reduction or cessation of their PMS symptoms, after taking chaste tree. The principal action of chaste tree is in regulating ovarian hormones by stimulating the pituitary gland.

Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)

Black cohosh is well documented and is becoming increasingly popular as a herbal treatment for PMS when combined with chaste tree to act as a hormonal balancer. The anti spasmodic action of black cohosh is helpful in relieving menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhoea).

Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) is high in an essential fatty acid, called gamma linoleic acid (GLA). Women who are low in GLA are known to be more sensitive to the hormone, prolactin, which is believed to cause breast tenderness (mastalgia). Supplementing with EPO is effective in reducing the symptoms of PMS, however, it is advised that symptoms may reduce gradually for some women over two to three cycles.

Borage/Star Flower Oil (Borago officinalis)

Star flower oil is not as well known as evening primrose, but gram for gram has significantly higher concentrations of gamma linoleic acid (GLA).

Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis)

For centuries dong quai has been prescribed for hormonal imbalance. In traditional chinese medicine(TCM), dong quai is called “Women’s Ginseng”, and is considered to be an overall tonic for women’s sexual health. In relieving symptoms of PMS, dong quai is often helpful in relieving pre menstrual migraine.

Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa)

The phytosterols found in wild yam also help precursors to oestrogen and progesterone in the body. It is thought that some of the symptoms of PMS are associated with a dominance of oestrogen in the second half (luteal phase) of the menstrual cycle. In treating PMS, the progesterone in wild yam is helpful in addressing this imbalance.

St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

The small yellow flowers of this ancient herb reflect the mild action of this antidepressant. St John’s wort is also a gentle sedative that assists with moderate depression, anxiety and insomnia. The St John’s wort’s flowers contain hypericin, and hyperforin both considered to be vital components in this herbs mood lifting action.

The Use of Herbal Supplements for PMS Symptoms Relief

Herbal supplements for PMS essentially act as hormonal balancers. And in addition to using herbs for PMS relief, diet and nutrition can help ease the severity of PMS. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) and Vitamin E combined with a quality Multivitamin that includes magnesium and chromium help combat fluctuations in blood sugar.

Essential Fatty Acids can also be added by using flax seed (linseed) oil and by taking star flower oil or evening primrose oil capsules. A good herbal PMS remedy will include vitamins and minerals to assist with relieving PMS symptoms. ”

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