East West Medicine

Hai Piao Xiao Good for Stomach Acid?

Medical researchers in China found that Fu Zheng therapy (or Fu Zhen therapy) helped to  protect the immune system  from damage resulting from chemotherapy or radiation. This, in turn, helped to increase cancer survival rates. Fu Zheng therapy also helps to control pain, improve overall quality of life and has, in some cases, stopped the spread of cancer within the body. Here are some of the key  Chinese herbs  used in Fu Zheng therapy: Astragalus  is noted for its  immune-building effects . Atractylodes  increases white blood cells. Codonopsis  enhances the growth of red blood cells, assists in T-cell formation, and increases the level of antibodies in the blood. Ganoderma  strengthens T-cell and macrophage function (both are types of white blood cell). Ginseng  may be responsible for  killing cancer cells . Ligustrum  is used in cases of rapid deterioration of the body. According to several studies carried out in China,  Western cancer therapies  prove to be more

Chinese Medical Theory and Autoimmune Diseas

PRACTITIONER RESOURCES Here are a handful of resources I’ve developed that may be of use to medical practitioners in the clinic. Some are specifically for practitioners of Chinese medicine, others for healers in general. My emphasis (since I made these for myself) was on condensing information into something I could scan very quickly while developing a treatment.

A Practising Acupuncturist Speaks

No more “poking” fun at acupuncture !

A Top Hospital Opens Up to Chinese Herbs as Medicines

14 Things Acupuncture Can Help You Achieve in 2014

People tend to be unaware of the extent to which acupuncturists train to become licensed in their profession. Many assume becoming an acupuncturist is similar to becoming a massage therapist or Reiki practitioner or yoga instructor. Not so much. At minimum, a licensed acupuncturist in the United States has been to three years of graduate school. Four years is more common. They hold master's degrees. Some acupuncturists with doctorates have studied at the graduate level for five-plus years. Upon graduating from an accredited school, all acupuncturists must pass multiple board exams to become licensed in their state. In addition to the academic and state requirements for practicing acupuncture, many acupuncturists seek hands-on training and mentorship in the form of apprenticeships and continuing education seminars.

Chinese herbal remedy as good as methotrexate for treating rheumatoid arthritis, study finds

UCLA launches joint venture with Chinese firm to open sophisticated lab in Shanghai

Relief for women: Hot flash fixes

Acupuncture as effective as drugs in treating pain, trial shows

Britain looking to integrate traditional Chinese medicine with NHS

Vitamin A —found in sweet potatoes and carrots—can reverse pre-cancerous cells such as DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), one of the most common early warning signals of breast cancer. Retinoic acid, a form of the vitamin, makes pre-cancer cells in the breast healthy again, although it cannot reverse full-blown cancer, say researchers from Thomas Jefferson University. They tested the vitamin on four different lines of cancer cells, at various stages of the cancer’s life, from pre-cancerous—which is the stage when DCIS is diagnosed—through to aggressive and spreading (metastatic). The retinoic acid, which is one of the chemicals that the body converts vitamin A into, turned pre-cancerous cells healthy in terms of their shape and genetic signature.  The cancerous cells, however, didn’t respond to the vitamin. (Source: International Journal of Oncology, 2014; doi: 10.3892/ijo.2014.2354)

    It helps relieve stress on the heart, especially during times when it has to work harder, such as during cold weather, researchers at Florida State University have found. They discovered the extract “significantly” reduces blood pressure when they tested it on a group of 13 overweight people who were suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure). Their hearts had to work harder when their hands were put into freezing water of 39 degrees F (4 degrees C) each day for six weeks while they were given 4 g L-citrulline and 2 g L-arginine, both watermelon extracts.  During the study period, they stopped taking any antihypertensive drugs, and were told not to change their usual exercise habits or diet. (Source: American Journal of Hypertension, 2014; doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpt295)

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a 3000 years’ history of human use. A literature survey addressing traditional evidence from human studies was done, with key result that top 10 TCM herb ingredients including  Poria cocos ,  Radix polygalae ,  Radix glycyrrhizae ,  Radix angelica sinensis , and  Radix rehmanniae  were prioritized for highest potential benefit to dementia intervention, related to the highest frequency of use in 236 formulae collected from 29 ancient Pharmacopoeias, ancient formula books, or historical archives on ancient renowned TCM doctors, over the past 10 centuries. Based on the history of use, there was strong clinical support that  Radix polygalae  is memory improving. Pharmacological investigation also indicated that all the five ingredients mentioned above can elicit memory-improving effects in vivo and in vitro via multiple mechanisms of action, covering estrogenlike, cholinergic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, neurogenetic, and anti-Aβ a

Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part I): A Case of Mistaken Identity Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part II): Origins of the Energy Meridian Myth Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part III): The “Energy Meridian” Model Debunked Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part IV): A Closer Look At How Acupuncture Relieves Pain Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part V): A Closer Look At How Acupuncture Relieves Pain Chinese Medicine Demystified (Part VI): 5 Ways Acupuncture Can Help You Where Drugs and Surgery Can’t

Thalamic neuron theory: meridians = DNA. The genetic and embryological basis of traditional Chinese medicine including acupuncture   

Pregnancy acupuncture is super-safe Researchers from Kyung Hee University have looked into the safety of  acupuncture in pregnancy . They found that adverse events associated with post-partum acupuncture are very mild and transient. Serious adverse events are very rare. Furthermore, after analysis of data from 25 studies, the researchers found these adverse events to be unlikely to be caused by the time-proven therapy

Cancer development theory in Chinese medicine is complimentary to that of conventional medicine in many ways; there is agreement in the belief that genetics and environment toxins all contribute and predispose t o cancer development. However, Chinese medicine regards cancer, as the end result of multiple long - term, chronic body imbalances from both external and internal causes not a single end - stage event. These imbalances can result from genetic abnormalities or weakness (poor Kidney jing ), invasion by external pathogenic factors, exposure to environmental toxins, chemicals, drugs, chronic infections or inflammation, internal pathogenic factors (multiple organ dysfunction) and psychological stress. In brief, tumor s are considered to develop from a deficiency of Qi. Qi deficiency eventually leads to deficiency and stagnation of Qi and Blood and the development of Damp, Phlegm and Toxic Heat. Eventua lly there is an “entanglement” of Qi,

What Does Acupuncture Feel Like One of the biggest misconception about acupuncture has to do with the word "needle". Most folks think it's going to hurt, and in reality, most people hardly feel it if they feel anything it's usually not pain, but a variety of other sensations.