Chinese Medicine | MITCM

TCM is not Just Turner’s Classic Movie

TCM is known as Traditional Chinese Medicine. That phrase usually conjures up visions of a half dressed person with needles sticking out of various parts of their body. There is a more to TCM than acupuncture. TCM has thousands of years of history for some of its remedies, and it also includes the use of herbs, massage, exercise and diet.

It is widely known that many Western drugs come from plant extracts. Research has all has proven diet and exercise have an impact on health. It is no less in TCM. TCM has a holistic approach and involves a philosophy. Practitioners of Chinese medicine view the mind, body, and spirit as a whole. Treatments address all three of those areas. Health is viewed as a balance between the general principle of Yin and Yang.

What is Yin and Yang? Yin is considered female energy and is found in the solid organs such has heart, liver, or lung. Yang is considered male energy and is found in hollow organs such as intestines, gall bladder, and stomach. Illness and disease is thought to happen when the two get out of balance. TCM seeks to restore the balance. In addition, to Yin and Yang there is the idea of Qi (pronounce chee). Qi is about energy, and how your energy moves throughout your body and is used. If Qi is blocked, then illness or disease can result.

Diagnosis of an ailment involves an interview, pulse exam,and tongue examination. The interview has questions about dreams, sleep, food, and stress. Pulse exams look for six pulses in each arm. Each kind of pulse gives information about the health of the body. The tongue is considered a reflection of the vital organs and systems of the body. How the tongue looks determines the state of that part of the body.

As more Western research is done on the Chinese remedies, studies do show there is a basis in truth.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine, Traditional Medicine, Treatments Tagged With: Gallbladder, Traditional Chinese medicine, Yin and yang

Chinese Medicine and Cancer

: Image via Wikipedia

Cancer is a general name for a complex set of diseases where there is uncontrolled growth in cells. Western treatments for cancer involve chemotherapy, radiation, surgery. The side effects of these treatments can be devastating emotionally, and physically. China has a long history of treating some cancers with success using herbs. One of these treatments researched in the United States is called Fu Zhen Therapy.

Fu Zhen Therapy is used in conjunction with traditional therapies. The therapy protects and enhances the immune system of a cancer patient. Damage in the immure system is a common problem in patients receiving traditional treatment. According to the the American Cancer Society there is evidence from a set of randomized clinical trials that Fu Zhen Therapy contributes to longer survival rates, and reduced rates of cancer returning. The ACS, also, stated that more research needed to be done.

What does research evidence mean in a clinical trial? Clinical trials are where volunteers try new drugs or therapies and records are kept. They are a first step in a long process in developing a new treatment or drug. In the Fu Zhen Therapy, a high rate of success was reported and many people were helped. The therapy is not a standard therapy in the American medical system. In order to receive this treatment a patient would have to find a clinical trial or a doctor willing to give this therapy. There are Chinese medical centers in the United States with doctors, who have intricate knowledge of the use of Fu Zhen therapy. A patient could possibly create a collaborative between their doctor and a doctor who practiced Chinese medicine. These physicians are licensed doctors in oriental medicine here in the U.S.

Fu Zhen Therapy is not a cure all for cancer, but according to the evidence is viable option to explore if one is careful to use the highest quality professional in both realms of medical specialties.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Cancer, Clinical trial, United States

Chinese Herb Guide: Dandelion

: Image via Wikipedia

Dandelion is an herb that is used in a variety of different herbal remedies, especially when it comes to premenstrual bloating. Dandelion may also be capable of providing anti-inflammatory results. The best way to enjoy dandelion is as a tea. You can create a dandelion tea by steeping half of an ounce of dried dandelion leaf in a cup of hot water for a period of ten minutes. You can have as many as three cups of tea with dandelion in it per day.

For a lot of people, the dandelion is a yard pest. The truth is, the dandelion is particularly rich when it comes to nutrients. The roots and the leaves of the dandelion plant have been used for a variety of different medicines, including treatments for gastrointestinal system disorders, skin conditions, aching joints, bloating and breast illnesses. The leaves of the dandelion contain a number of vitamins including B-complex vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D and minerals such as magnesium, zinc potassium, copper, manganese, iron, choline, silicon, calcium and boron. The primary active ingredients in the dandelion plant are called germacranolide and eudesmanolide, and they are compounds that can be found only in dandelion plants.

The dandelion plant offers numerous other benefits. For example, it has diuretic properties and is useful in purifying the liver and the blood stream. The dandelion plant can decrease the body’s concentrations of uric acid and serum cholesterol. The dandelion plant can maximize how well your pancreas, kidneys, stomach and spleen perform in your body. The dandelion plant can treat anemia, abscess, breast tumors, liver cirrhosis and boils, and can also avert the development of both breast cancers and age spots. The dandelion is also effective in treating menopause in women. It offers numerous benefits and is well worth adding to your daily regimen accordingly.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Blood, Breast cancer, Health, Herb, Herbalism, Plant, Shopping, Taraxacum

Chinese Herb Guide: Chamomile

: Image via Wikipedia

In herbal medicine, chamomile is an herb that is well known for relieving nerves, distress of the stomach, infection and ulcers. This herb can also speed up the healing process. You can take it as a tea by adding between 2 and 3 teaspoons of chamomile to a cup of hot water. Steep the tea for between 10 and 20 minutes and take as many as three glasses of the tea per day. This herb, chamomile, actually happens to be related to the daisy, and it is indigenous to several regions including western Asia and Europe. There are different types of chamomile, such as German chamomile, which is the most common type when it comes to herbal remedies.

This herb has been used for numerous centuries as a means of treating gastrointestinal system disorders and many other disorders and ailments as well. This herb is still in use today in both Asian herbal medicine and Western herbal medicine as well. The chamomile herb has been used in ancient medicine including in Egypt, Greece and Rome. These people used chamomile to treat a wide variety of different maladies including stomach pain, fever and stroke. It is also especially popular in Germany where it is used as a cure-all for a wide variety of different purposes. In the United States, chamomile is commonly used for aiding in sleep and causing soothing, relaxed feelings. German chamomile can also be used for nausea, bloating, stomach pain and other similar digestive issues.

Other benefits that are provided by chamomile include soothing flu and colds, helping abscesses and wounds heal more quickly, reducing inflammation of the gums, treating psoriasis and other skin conditions and treating a disorder known as ulcerative colitis. Chamomile can be taken in many different forms including as soaks, teas and ointments. Children can use it for diaper rash, colic, chicken pox and a number of other common maladies.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Chamomile, Germany, Health, Herb, Herbalism, Matricaria recutita, Tea, United States

Chinese Herb Guide: Goldenseal

: Image via Wikipedia

Goldenseal is primarily known for having antibiotic properties. It is native to the Eastern United States in forested areas, especially along the Ohio river. You can also find Goldenseal in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. It has a red berry that is not unlike the raspberry and a flower that closely resembles the daisy in appearance. Goldenseal can ease symptoms in a wide variety of different problems including stomach ache, indigestion, constipation, ulcers, diarrhea, canker sores, gingivitis, sore throat, vaginal irritation, sore mouth, colds, flu, conjunctivitis and ear ache.

Goldenseal contains a compound known as Berberine, which has a number of medicinal characteristics to it. The compound has anti-bacterial effects and is capable of killing germs. It fights against tape worms, giardia, yeast infections and parasites. Researchers are beginning to suspect that Berberine has the ability to activate the white blood cells which can help the body fight an infection better. Berberine also has both internal and external disinfecting properties.

The recommended dosage for goldenseal depends on the format you are taking it in. If you are taking goldenseal in a capsule form, then the recommended dosage is between 4 and 6 grams. If you are taking goldenseal in a liquid form, then the recommended dosage is between 2 and 4 ml, but you should take these dosages at least three times daily for the best results.

There is a standardized extract that you can take approximately 3 times per day with between 250 and 500 mg of goldenseal per dosage. The extract will generally contain between 8 and 12 percent alkaloids. You should not use this extract for more than a period of three weeks and you should stop using it for at least two weeks before you begin to use it again. You can also take this herb as a tea, with between 1/2 and 1 tsp of powdered goldenseal per cup of tea.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Abdominal pain, Berberine, Canada, Eastern United States, Goldenseal, Health, Pacific Northwest, White blood cell

Chinese Herb Guide: Garlic

: Image via Wikipedia

There are a wide variety of different Chinese herbs that are used in medicine and medical treatments for ailments on all sides of the spectrum. Garlic is an example of such an herb. Garlic has strong antibiotic properties when it is chopped up or chewed. It can help to reduce bad cholesterol and can lower the risk of having a heart attack because it works to prevent blood clot formation. Garlic also has distinct anti viral properties. It is easy to use in a wide variety of different ways including garlic tea or using it in food as a seasoning. If you want to make garlic tea, steep six cloves in cool water for at least six hours and drink as needed.

Garlic is grown all throughout the world, and many herbalists believe that it is one of the more essential and one of the more useful herbs available for herbal medicine purposes. There are cultures all over the world that have benefited from the use of garlic in food and medicines over the course of several centuries.

Garlic is considered by many to be a miracle herb because it is used to prevent colds and flu, to ward off menstrual pain, to prevent high blood pressure, to relieve cough and to prevent atherosclerosis, gastrointestinal issues, bronchitis, fungal infections, bacterial infections, viruses, intestinal parasites and more. Garlic is also perceived to be an antioxidant, and so it may be effective in preventing cancers like colon cancer while boosting the immune system and its effectiveness.

The most popular use for garlic has to do with its effectiveness in cardiovascular wellness because it is an effective treatment for high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, triglyceride levels and respiratory infections. The primary ingredient that is found in garlic is called Alliin, and this chemical is similar to an amino acid called cysteine that gives garlic its many health benefits.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Alliin, Chinese herbology, Garlic, Herb, Herbalism, Hypertension, Infection, Thrombus

Chinese Herb Guide: Slippery Elm Bark

: Image via Wikipedia

Slippery elm bark is a common herb found in throat lozenges and in cough drops, but you can use it for a variety of other purposes as well. This herb is capable of providing relief for coughs, sore throats and upset stomachs. If you want to buy it in bulk rather than in a cough drop or a lozenge, then the best route for you to take is to boil it and simmer the slippery elm bark in a powdered form in a cup of water. Between one and three teaspoons of the herb is best for 8 ounces of water and you can have as many as three cups of the herbal tea per day.

The herb slippery elm bark comes from elm trees and these trees are primarily native to the Appalachian mountains which are in the eastern United States. The elm leaves have been dried and used to create tea and skin washes. Natives haven eaten the inner bark of the tree because it offers high carbohydrate levels and can be digested easily. The inner bark can be used for many other purposes as well. You can use slippery elm bark to relieve a number of gastrointestinal conditions as well as respiratory irritations, sore throats and ulcers. There are also external use benefits for slippery elm bark including the treatment of skin conditions, hemorrhoids and vaginitis. Some people recommend the use of slippery elm bark as a cough medicine or for use to soften and smooth out the skin.

You can take a 500 mg capsule of slippery elm bark three times daily to benefit from its numerous health advantages. You may also combine one part slippery elm bark to ten parts of water in liquid form or one part of slippery elm bark powder to eight parts of water in order to take advantage of the health benefits offered by this herbal supplement.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Alternative, Cough, Elm, Health, Herb, Herbalism, Shopping, Ulmus rubra

Chinese Herb Guide: Ginseng

: Image via Wikipedia

Ginseng is a popular herb used in Chinese medicine as well as Western medicine. Ginseng is primarily used in order to increase stamina, to provide protection to the liver from harmful substances and to provide stimulation to the immune system. When ginseng was used in animal testing, their sexual activity was increased. No matter how you are using ginseng, it is important that you follow the directions on the package, whether you are using tea, tablets, tinctures or capsules.

Ginseng is a famous Chinese herb that has seen use in medicine for more than 5000 years. In Ancient China, especially during the Qing Dynasty, ginseng was worth more than gold was. Ginseng is used in a wide variety of different formulas for the production of energy and vivacity. Ginseng is one of the most commonly used herbal remedies for this purpose. Ginseng contains a number of different vitamins, minerals, fat soluble compounds, nitrogenous compounds and carbohydrate compounds in the root. The ginseng herb is not easily produced and is so quite costly, since it requires six years before the plant reaches maturity. Researchers have labeled ginseng as being a strong tonic for the immune system that is capable of affecting your entire body in unique and beneficial ways.

There are a number of different types of ginseng including Japanese ginseng or Panax japonicum, Asian ginseng or Panax Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng or Eleutherococcus Senticosus and American ginseng. The Asian form of ginseng tends to be considered the most popular of all forms of ginseng, and it can be found in China, Japan, Korea and Russia. American Ginseng is primarily found in forested areas of North America ranging from Quebec to Oklahoma, and from Minnesota to Georgia. Both American ginseng and Asian ginseng are similar in appearance and in their chemical composition, and they are the forms that are believed to have the greatest healing powers.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: American Ginseng, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Ginseng, Immune system, Medicine, Qing Dynasty, Traditional Chinese medicine, United States

Chinese Medicine: A look at the Body

: Image via Wikipedia

Chinese medicine has long been a practice of ancient medicine that has been practiced more many centuries. Although it has widely been practiced throughout China, it does not carry a uniform standard to it. While many of the ideas of Chinese medicine can be similar to each other, it can widely vary from person to person and family to family. While there might be a lot of variations on Chinese medicine there is one element that is very similar and that is the idea of the body when it comes to Chinese medicine.

When it comes to Chinese medicine it is believed that they look at the body as a small universe that is to itself. Within this universe the body is made up of energy called the qi. It is believed that the whole body has a complex system of smaller universes that make up the body and keep it running healthy and at full power. These five systems derive from the five elements such as earth, air, wind, fire and water.

It is believed that when one of these systems has an internal or external factor that causes it to not operate smoothly that the body falls apart and can cause illness, mental illness or disease. Only be restoring these systems can the body safely operate at its full potential.

It is believed that under this structure the Chinese are able to treat not just one small element of the body but it treats the body as a whole and can allow the mind, body and soul to be treated as one element something that many believe modern medicine does not look at all.

The body is a very important fundamental element of the Chinese medicine system. It is what they go back to in order to figure out what is wrong with a person and what must be restored for a person to be whole again and healthy.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Alternative, China, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Health, Herbalism, Medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine

Chinese Medicine: A Look at Diagnostic Practices

: Image via Wikipedia

When a health system such as the ancient Chinese medicine is looked at one of the most intriguing factors is that of whole doctors and practitioners worked as a whole in order to diagnosis elements. Today’s health care system requires a lot of tests, x-rays and various other diagnostic tools, that it is hard to imagine a system that is less complex but at the same time offered the same amount of treatment.

Chinese medicine uses a system of diagnostics largely based off of the observation method. These observations can come in a wide form of types of observations. A practitioner can sit down and observe human behavior, physical symptoms and various other visual aspects of the disease. They can also observe auditory, sensory and physical types of elements. These involve running a few elementary tests and seeing how the patient reacts. Another huge element of the diagnostic process involves questioning. This can range from asking about types of symptoms, when they started, how a person feels, etc. The last area of observation that comes under Chinese medicine is that of touch. Touch is very important when diagnosing illnesses and conditions and learning the right areas to prob and look at takes a lot of skill and knowledge as many conditions can have over 5 areas to touch to see if something is wrong.

Those that practice Chinese medicine practice the art of observing and diagnosing illness for a number of years. It does not come naturally to a person and could take over two decades to learn. Because of this it takes extreme skill and patience to learn to practice in Chinese medicine. It does not happen over night and it takes a number of years to develop the knowledge and ability to be able to diagnosis a number of illnesses and conditions that can be treated by Chinese medicine.

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine Tagged With: Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Alternative, Education, Health, Herb, Large intestine, Medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine