May 17

Studying Chinese medicine for new cancer cures

East and West No Comments »

Researchers are studying traditional Chinese medicine in order to develop western-style treatments for cancer patients.

TOAD venom is probably the last thing a Western researcher would think of in the past to treat an ailment. While the Chinese have been using this centuries-old treatment for deadly diseases, Westerners used to scoff at such “primitive” cures.

Not anymore. A leading cancer care hospital in the US, looking East for answers to cancer treatment, has been researching the use of natural resources to complement conventional medicine.

Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre have found that Huachansu, which comes from the dried venom secreted by the skin glands of toads, may slow disease progression in some cancer patients.

The centre’s Integrative Medicine Program-me director Prof Lorenzo Cohen acknowledged that “there is much that cancer experts in China and the US can learn from one another”.

The centre treats and provides cancer care to about 70,000 patients annually. More than 11,500 patients at the centre are participating in therapeutic clinical research exploring complementary treatments, making it the largest such programme in the US.

For almost a decade, Anderson Cancer Centre’s researchers and those of the Cancer Hospital, Fudan University in Shanghai, China, have been working together to study the benefits of some traditional Chinese medicines for cancer patients at the International Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine funded by the US National Cancer Institute.

“Studying traditional Chinese medicine such as Huachansu is new to American research institutions, which have been sceptical and slow to adopt these complementary treatments. However, it is important to understand their potential role in treating cancer,” Prof Cohen said at a briefing for the foreign media in Manhattan.

“We wanted to apply a Western medicine-based approach to explore the role of the toad venom compound in cancer patients and test if it is possible to deliver a more potent dose without raising toxicities or side effects.”

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Apr 24

Gwyneth Paltrow uses Chinese herbal medicine for allergies

Immune system, Traditional Chinese Medicine No Comments »

Hollywood superstar Gwyneth Paltrow has found Chinese herbal medicine in helping with her allergies as well as restoring her energy level.

It seems allergy season has hit Gwyneth hard. She writes in her latest GOOP newsletter:

This week, Adele Reising shares thoughts on spring from a Chinese medical perspective and provides tips for those of us who are suffering from allergies.

Love, Gwyneth
Here are a few of Adele’s tips for starting spring detoxed and full of energy:

- Try getting up just before dawn, when the black night sky slowly turns to blue. The sun rises in the East, and the blue color of dawn opens to our eyes and we experience the new day. Spring is like this.

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Mar 23

How to live with vigor

General No Comments »

This is an interesting article on how to revitalize your energy and live with a renewed sense of vigor as we welcome the arrival of Spring.

Spring is on its way. This is a time to feel lucky we are able to experience such a contrast in seasons.

As we welcome the birds singing in the morning and observe daylight for longer hours, we are assured that growth is inevitable and energy consolidated in the winter months will have an opportunity to bloom. We’ll be seeing robins, crocus and hyacinths soon.

Spring, in Chinese medicine, is paired with the wood element, demonstrated by plants and trees showing signs of new life.

Wood exemplifies the energy of pushing through obstacles. It’s a very active energy that allows movement and progress, both internally and externally. However, when congested or constrained, this energy creates frustration, anger and stress. We may have more energy to get moving on projects, although frustration can also be more apparent. Spring is an especially good time to work with these blockages and get things moving to access that renewed energy.

Wood symbolizes new beginnings — birth, growth and development. Don’t let this time of opportunity pass you by. You have earned it.

In Chinese medicine, the organ system that represents wood is the liver. The liver governs the muscles and tendons, the eyes and the fingernails, and plays a key role in the functioning of the reproductive system.

In the body as a whole, it is responsible for the smooth flow of mental and physical energy, and assists all the other organ systems in functioning properly. Liver qi allows for the appropriate movement of emotions.

As the liver qi starts to flow more easily in the spring, problems that bothered us in the winter often start to feel better, and we find we have more energy and vigor.

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Mar 08

How to improve blood circulation

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This article offers useful suggestions to enhance poor blood circulation and regulate qi.

Ways to regulate qi and blood to handle poor blood circulation.

THE human body cannot function without blood. Not only is blood responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients to each of the trillions of cells in the body, it is also responsible for carrying toxins and waste out of the body. Blood also plays a vital role in stabilising body temperature and acidity (pH).

Poor blood circulation can leado various health conditions, from muscle spasms, poor immunity, sluggish memory, lack of stamina, and circulatory disorders such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, to serious ailments such as heart attack and stroke.

Since its early beginnings, traditional chinese medicinal practice has recognised the importance of blood circulation to overall good health. In this third installation of a four-part series, I’ll share with you the various Chinese medicinal herbs that can improve blood circulation.

Traditional Chinese medicinal prescriptions compose of herbs that treat blood “troubles” and have the effect of regulating qi and blood to treat poor blood circulation.

Although a very common condition, poor blood circulation is wide in scope and complexity. The methods of treating poor blood circulation include enriching the blood and promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis.

Herbs that improve blood circulation are categorised by four general functions:

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Dec 21

Time to recharge your battery

Alternative therapies, General, Health and fitness, Herbs No Comments »

The everydays stresses of daily life, especially now around the holidays, can make you tired and lethargic. But Chinese medicine can help boost your energy and your spirits.

DAAN’s Ginseng products that can help you refuel and get ready for the new year!

Lack of energy is one of our most common complaints.

According to Oriental medicine, the cold months of winter are the time to recharge your battery and generate vital energy — or Qi — in order to look and feel your best.

The ancient Chinese believed in adjusting the lifestyle with the natural cycles of nature. The cold and darkness of winter encourages a slow down and reflection on health, energy and strength.

Ruled by the water element, winter is associated with the kidneys, bladder and adrenal glands. Water, from a psychological and emotional perspective, is linked to fear. People plagued with phobias, or lack of will, may have an imbalanced kidney energy system. An overabundance of fear can weaken this system.

In Western Medicine, the adrenal glands, sitting on top of the kidneys, respond to fear and stress by initiating the sympathetic nervous system.

Constant stress triggers the immune- suppressing responses, which can compromise the normal functioning of the body. Workaholics, or individuals with an excessive will or excessive fear of failure, may suffer from nervous burnout.

The kidneys are considered the source of our inherited energy — or original Qi. They store the reserve energy we need to handle stress and change. This is used to heal, defend against illness, and age with grace.

Staying healthy this winter
Seasonal changes affect the body’s environment. With the wind, rain and snow comes the colds, flu and aches and pains. Here are a few tips to staying healthy this winter.

Be nourished and warm the body’s core by eating warm hearty soups, whole grains and roasted nuts. Go to sleep early, rest well, stay warm and expend a minimum amount of energy. Hydrate with room-temperature water.

Practice a method to release the stress and pressure of life. According to Chinese Medicine, unresolved stress can throw your immune system off, allowing pathogens to enter your body.

Acupuncture works to build the immune system with the insertion of needles in key points along the body’s energy pathways. Known for strengthening the circulation of blood and energy, as well as the defensive layers of the skin, these treatments support the body’s natural power to resist infection.

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Nov 23

Traditional Chinese herbs can increase your immunity

DAAN, General, Immune system No Comments »

WaterfallTraditional Chinese herbs can enhance your immunity especially during the cold and flu season.

DAAN’s Immune Booster is a great product that can raise your immunity against diseases.

HERBAL tonics fight flu As the world battles H1N1 and seasonal flu, it’s important to stay healthy and boost your immunity. Herbal potions, hot ginger foot baths and rubbing your belly and knees can help. Zhang Qian prescribes.

By boiling 10 herbs into a potion to boost qi — and thus immunity — Trisha Lin hopes traditional Chinese medicine therapy can prevent her family from catching H1N1 flu.

She just started brewing this herbal soup from scratch because she read the recipe on the Internet and through SMS. She concocts the mixture every two days.

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