traditional chinese medicine

Posted on Complementary Medicine

Holistic approach of nutrients and traditional natural medicines for improved health

In recent years, there has been a rising interest in combining traditional natural medicines with essential nutrients to foster a holistic approach to human health. The focus on integrating both elements reflects an understanding of health that transcends the simple absence of disease, encompassing physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This review highlights how traditional medicine systems, such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and other indigenous practices worldwide, can be harmonized with nutritional science to form a comprehensive healthcare approach. Such a combination has the potential to improve disease prevention and enhance overall wellness.
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in combining traditional natural medicines with essential nutrients to promote a holistic approach to human health.


This emphasis on integrating both elements reflects a broader understanding of health beyond simply the absence of disease. It encompasses physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This review highlights how traditional medical systems, such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and various indigenous practices worldwide, can be harmonized with nutritional science to create a comprehensive approach to healthcare.

Overview of the Holistic Approach

The holistic approach emphasizes the importance of considering multiple aspects of health—physical, emotional, and mental—while prioritizing prevention over treatment. It advocates for a shift from treating specific symptoms to addressing the root causes of health issues, recognizing that lifestyle, genetics, and environmental factors influence health. Prevention is central to this perspective, incorporating dietary recommendations, stress-reduction techniques, and lifestyle modifications to maintain the body’s natural balance and prevent illness.

The Role of Traditional Medicines

Traditional medicines have significant cultural and historical importance and provide valuable insights into healing practices developed over generations. Systems like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represent holistic approaches that prioritize balance within the body. Ayurveda focuses on achieving harmony by balancing doshas through diet, lifestyle, and herbal remedies. In contrast, TCM uses methods such as acupuncture, dietary therapy, and qigong to ensure the smooth flow of life energy, known as Qi. Other traditional healing systems, including Native American and African medicines, highlight the interconnectedness of human health and nature, utilizing local plants and spiritual practices as essential healing components.

Nutritional Foundations in Holistic Health

Nutrition is crucial for maintaining physiological balance, supporting cellular functions, and enhancing the immune system. This review section discusses how a balanced diet, rich in essential vitamins and minerals, contributes to various bodily functions. For instance, vitamins C and E provide immune support and antioxidative protection, while minerals such as iron and calcium are vital for oxygen transport and bone health. The connection between nutrient intake and factors like immune response, hormonal regulation, and cellular function highlights the significance of a nutrient-dense diet in preventing chronic illnesses.

Integration and Synergy

A key theme in holistic health is the synergistic relationship between traditional remedies and modern nutritional science. Many traditional remedies contain bioactive compounds that can improve health outcomes when combined with a balanced diet. For example, the anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin from turmeric, a staple in Ayurvedic medicine, can be enhanced by nutrients that aid in its absorption. By combining traditional medicine with these nutrients, we achieve a dual benefit: improved treatment effectiveness and reduced potential side effects.

Addressing Challenges and Moving Forward

The review acknowledges challenges to the widespread adoption of holistic healthcare, such as standardization, cultural acceptance, and insurance coverage. Nevertheless, it advocates for continued research to bridge gaps between traditional knowledge and scientific validation. By addressing these obstacles, the healthcare field can move closer to a model where integrative, personalized care is accessible to all, recognizing the interconnectedness between individuals and their environment.

Conclusions

Combining traditional natural medicines and modern nutritional science offers a promising avenue for healthcare. By integrating these approaches, individuals can attain optimal health that respects the body, mind, and spirit. This review emphasizes that we can enhance our understanding of health through ongoing research, collaboration across disciplines, and exchanges between cultures. Ultimately, this could lead to a state of wellness deeply connected to nature.

Posted on Diet

Utilizing Food as Medicine: A Modern Exploration of an Old Practice

Maintaining prediabetic status after diagnosis reduces risk of death decades later

This idea may have been typical centuries ago, but today, many societies are dealing with overfeeding and undernourishment, resulting in widespread health problems. Returning to fundamental principles could be a significant part of the solution.

“We’ve all heard the saying ‘you are what you eat,’ often used to describe the negative health effects of an unhealthy diet. However, this concept can also work in a positive way. Researchers are revisiting the ancient idea of using food to treat ailments, taking advantage of modern knowledge about genetics and metabolism to reintroduce the teachings of Yinshan Zhengyao to the public.”

“Yinshan Zhengyao is the world’s first authoritative nutritional treatise, compiled by Hu Sihui, a dietitian of the Yuan dynasty. This work embodies the traditional Chinese medicinal concept of

‘homology of food and medicine,’ rich in the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation,” said, Min-Hui Li, researcher and author of the study. Yinshan Zhengyao comprises 174 medicinal plants across 55 unique plant families and 111 genera. These plants are indispensable to the culture of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Another highly important piece of this traditional Chinese text is the power of the mind and mood over the human body. Cheerfulness and tranquility are aspects that are emphasized in Yinshan Zhengyao, as the mind-body connection can be as important as the fuel taken in by an individual.

“In Yinshan Zhengyao, dietary therapies are particularly interesting for their effects on regulating digestion, respiration, endocrine, and nervous system functions, as well as protecting and regulating various organs,” said Li. The foundation of this text is to provide treatment (and prevention) for chronic diseases through the use of plants, as well as to instil the importance of quality food in society. By viewing food as medicine, greater emphasis and care are put into preparing and consuming food by “putting the food to work” not only as a source of energy but as a source of longevity.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), diseases are thought to result from imbalances in the body. For instance, the kidneys are considered to be closely linked with the reproductive system and the regulation of fluid metabolism. Recent research has revealed that, apart from their role in the urinary system, the kidneys are also involved in maintaining fluid balance and endocrine function. Treating a specific part of the body can have unexpected effects elsewhere, such as lower back pain or weakness in the limbs due to kidney issues.

“With the Yinshan Zhengyao text dating back to the early 14th century, modern medicine and therapies can be used in conjunction with the plant and diet information available from this early work on diet, health, and nutrition. Professor Min-Hui Li and his team propose integrating modern information to explore and analyze the healthcare use of medicine and parallel food sources.”

By studying modern applications of health and medicine, such as the human genome, metabolism, regulatory networks, and their relationships, researchers aim to continue enhancing human health and promoting the concept of food as medicine in a broader, more contemporary context.

3 Comments Posted on Natural medicine

Why you should try cupping? A guest post from Mandy Wang – a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine




Cupping -is a traditional chinese form of healthcare

Cupping -is a traditional chinese form of healthcare

Why Try Cupping?

I was a mess.
I felt sick and listless. I constantly felt like I had a fever (even when I didn’t). I found it hard to focus. My husband and children found it very hard to be with me in these times. I felt my life at home was falling to pieces. My doctor could do nothing. Can you imagine how helpless I felt? Then, I discovered cupping.




Or I should say: I rediscovered it.

Cupping is not new. It’s a very old traditional Chinese practice.  It’s been helping people for thousands of years. I decided to go to my traditional acupuncturist who also advertised cupping. It was very strange at first, but I got used to it. I was so glad I went!

Within three weeks, I felt like a new woman. I started thinking of the many other men and women my age who complained of feeling the same way. We’re only forty-five or so, but we sometimes feel like we are ninety! I decided to tell you more about cupping, in hopes that it can help you if you feel the way I did back then before I rediscovered cupping.

What is Cupping?

Cupping is a very simple practice with effects that aren’t well understood.

A cupping therapist carefully cleans the skin on the affected parts of your body. This could be your back, arms, legs, or even your bottom. Then, 99% alcohol is placed on your skin.  With a glass vessel (also known as a cup) held over the skin, the therapist lights the alcohol on fire. The cup is then quickly placed against the skin. The air is sucked out of the cup as the fire goes out, and pulls the underlying skin up with it into the cup.

It’s at this time in my story when I hear people scream, or I see them make a scary face. Cupping sounds far worse than it really is: It feels good! However, it can look terrible to people from a distance. Your skin is pulled up into the cup and it turns red or even purple due to the pressure.

The feeling to the patient isn’t bad at all. It’s a feeling of warmth and pressure, combined with the sense of a gentle tug on your skin. It’s not painful. In fact, there are new methods of cupping that don’t even require the use of fire.

After a period of about three minutes or so, the cups are removed. The therapist rubs some moisturizing lotion on the area.

That’s the complete cupping experience. Sounds simple, no?

How Cupping Works

It’s very hard to answer the question “How does cupping work?” Many sources complain cupping has no scientific validity, but that often only means that scientists haven’t studied it closely enough, or are using methods based on reduction rather than the larger, holistic picture.

Ancient Chinese tradition states that cupping creates a vacuum on the skin that gets your stagnant blood and lymph moving. It’s said this improves the flow of qi through the body. The ancients were very big on the idea of energy flowing through the body at all times. This sounds strange to the modern ear, but really “energy flow” and “ciriculation” aren’t entirely different concepts. Cupping essentially promises to improve ciruclation and make it work in an optimal way throughout your body.

Improved circulation can do things like improve your energy, cause sicknesses to be more brief and less-severe, and increase your overall chances at improved health.

Cupping Traditional Chinese Medicine

Cupping Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Olympic atheletes competing in Brazil recently caused a great stir when their cupping marks showed on TV. There was a big controversy over the use of this ancient practice. However, in China and most of Asia, it appeared very normal.

Should You Try Cupping?




There are some good reasons to try cupping. I was a very good candidate for cupping, it turned out. However, there are some conditions that won’t be helped by cupping, and for which you should see a qualified medical doctor.

Here are some strong reasons to try cupping:

General malaise: This describes my original problem that brought me to cupping. I wasn’t sick, but had very minimal energy. I found cupping was a wonderful help to me in this regard.

Poor concentration: Many of us find it hard to focus on any task long enough to complete it successfully. I found my concentration improved greatly after my first two or three cupping sessions.

Persistent headaches: It’s frequently reported that cupping helps resolve headaches that don’t seem responsive to any other treatment.Arthritis and other chronic conditions: This is more problematic, but if you have minor arthritis and have tried other treatments, it’s possible that cupping can really help reduce pain and increase mobility.

Here are some conditions under which you should avoid cupping:

Lesions: If you have a cut or lesion or other skin condition, it’s not a good idea do do cupping over that area.

High fever: If you have a real fever, you should visit a medical doctor. Cupping can’t help in this case. Get to an emergency room if you can.

Easy bleeding: Even cupping without fire can sometimes cause capillaries to burst. Severe bruising can result. If you bleed easily, cupping is probably not for you.

Pregnancy: It depends on the area, but cupping definitely isn’t recommended for pregnant women in the areas of the belly or lower back. Best not to risk it while carrying the little one.

Cupping Might Be For You!

I believe cupping can really help people who are feeling listless and unfocussed as I did back then. I think that applies to many millions (or even billions) of us around the world. I would love for people who felt as I did to try cupping on for size and see if it helps. It’s really relatively low-risk, and many (including Olympic athletes like swimmer Michael Phelps) swear by it. It’s been in use for centuries, and is only recently being rediscovered by modern people.

If you have tried cupping or plan to try it, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Thank you for reading!

Sources

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/09/05/commentary/world-commentary/cupping-long-interesting-history/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/what-are-the-purple-dots-on-michael-phelps-cupping-has-an-olympic-moment/

 

Author bio

Mandy Wang is a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor in China. She always loves to share useful methods to help people who are suffering from different disease. In addition, She is also good at cooking different Chinese foods. You can find all her recipes on her website IKeepHealthy.

1 Comment Posted on Multiple Sclerosis

Invitation to a free webinar “My Journey to Wellness” with MS warrior Amanda Campbell – hosted by GeneFo- March 21st, 2016 5PM EST/ 21:00 UK

Amanda Campbell and Multiple Sclerosis

Amanda Campbell and Multiple Sclerosis


At age 24 Amanda was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and in 2009 suffered a major attack that left her paralyzed. At the time, she was given a 50% chance of ever walking again. With the help of a Kinesiologist and Physical Therapist she stunned her doctors by not only walking but running in 6 weeks!

This prompted her to swap a fast paced career in the fashion industry to research how she achieved such rapid recovery.

She went back to school to study for a Diploma in Sports Kinesiology, a practice akin to physical psychology, which endeavors to unravel the connection between our mind and our body utilizing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) techniques.  As an accredited Sports Kinesiologist, Amanda now spends her days helping a wide range of people recover their health and rebuild their lives.

Register today at www.genefo.com/webinarms (if you cannot make the session, please feel free to register and you will automatically receive the recording)

Registering for the webinar unlocks many other great features for MS patients and caregivers, delivered on GeneFo:

GeneFo is a free patient crowd sourcing platform that innovates by going beyond matching patients that have the same condition, and actually classifies & matches them according to their specific Multiple Sclerosis type.

Patients and caregivers can use GeneFo to

  • Track their condition via personal health management reports
  • View and compare real-time stats on what works for others with a similar medical profile
  • Register to get matched to clinical trials according to location and profile
  • Consult with an in-house medical team
  • See unbiased reviews of medical & alternative treatments and providers

 

And the best part?  No more sifting through endless posts and web pages – All of these features are perfectly organized and delivered in one screen!

Multiple Sclerosis Information

Multiple Sclerosis Information