Chinese
Medicine
ANCIENT WISDOM
An
Alternative Therapy For Better Health
Alternative
Medicine
"Surgery or Acupuncture ?
Antibiotics or Herbs ? BOTH ARE BETTER. More and more M.D.s are mixing Ancient
Medicine and New Science to treat everything from the common cold to heart
disease." said Life Magazine, Sept. 1996. Ancient Medicine is also called
Alternative Medicine, which includes chiropractic, naturopathic, homeopathic,
and Chinese therapies such as acupuncture, massage, and Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM). As the world gets smaller, people expose and understand more to
these alternative methods. The government, regulatory agencies, and medical
professionals are also paying more attention and conducting more researches on
them. In 1980, The World Health Organization released a list of 43 types of
pathologies which can be effectively treated with acupuncture. A 1993 study
found that one in three Americans had used alternative therapies. While Western
techniques are clearly better at dealing with trauma and bacterial infection,
the Ancient Medicine is more successful with chronic diseases such as asthma.
The combination of Ancient Medicine with Western science provides better healing
solutions for people looking for good health.
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Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been practiced in Asia for over 5,000
years. It is not surprising, therefore, that between 65 to 80 percent of the
world's health care services are classified as "traditional medicine." The
philosophy behind TCM is holistic health care, from diagnosis to treatment to
maintenance. TCM works to regenerate the organ functions in one's body. Health
is restored by bringing the bodily functions into balance, activating and
increasing the body's natural immune system.
In excess
of 5,000 Chinese herb have been categorized and classified according to the
various properties which they contain. Over the years, more than 25,000 formula
were created and refined for specific types of infections, illnesses and
diseases. These formula are specific combinations of herbs; most of them
discovered over a thousand years ago. The combinations became necessary and more
complex as experience shown that some herbs canceled out the effect of other
herbs. It was also discovered that the medicinal properties of many herbs
required certain other herbs to be present to act as a catalyst.
The
healing power of the ingredients found in these natural herbal formula has never
been doubted by most Asians. The difficulty in utilizing many of these ancient
formula has been determining which formula work with the individual
person/symptom-complex combination. TCM prescribes a formula based upon the
individual being treated as opposed to Western practices where treatments and
preventatives are tested for their effectiveness on a group of people.
Thus, the
effectiveness of TCM in the past was largely determined by the doctor
prescribing and administering the formula. These doctors drew upon all
of their resources in prescribing a specific formula: Physiology and
pathology of the human body, disease etiology, blood, bodily fluids,
channels-collateral, and differentiation of symptom-complexes all relate
to the physical manifestations of an illness. The doctors then interpreted
these physical manifestations through the basic theories of Yin-Yang,
the Five Elements, Zang-fu, and Qi.
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Modern Chinese Medicine
For years, the Chinese
government and the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan have put great
efforts into promoting the modernization of Chinese medicine. As a result, there
are now professionals trained in both traditional Chinese Medicine and modern
Western medicine to conduct research on the development of Chinese Medicine. The
Western Science methodologies have been employed to analyze the effectiveness of
herbs and treatment on various subjects. Many of the differences between TCM and
Western scientific practices are now being studied for their synergistic
potential. Joint research efforts with research institutes such as Stanford
University, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, and
National Cancer Institute have been made to evaluate the effectiveness of
Chinese Medicine and improve the classification and selection/prescription of
formulas. This research indicates that Chinese Medicine is very effective in
regenerating organic function and treating chronic diseases.
A modern
diagnosis technique is also used to enhance the old traditional diagnosis
method. Taking a patient's pulse has been a traditional way of detecting
illness. With new techniques developed through modern Chinese Medicine, pressure
reactions convert variances in the patient's pulse into electromagnetic waves.
These waves are analyzed by a computer and then registered on a screen. This
represents the combination of modern scientific precision with the art of
traditional Chinese Medicine. It opens up a new world of medical diagnosis and
treatment.
Western
methodologies are also making the formula of TCM available globally.
Originally, these ancient formula once prescribed were taken home and
slowly boiled into soup to be consumed. This four-hour process was done
twice daily and the soup often smelled and tasted unpleasant. Modern
technology has finally enabled the potent essence of these healing herbs
to be extracted in their natural state for delivery to people in need
around the world.
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Human Organ Restoration
Theory
The
Human Organ Restoration
Theoryis a
combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Scientific
methodologies. Initially, pathology, symptommatology and clinical therapeutics
in the East and West were studied to bring about the best treatment possible.
With the precision of western technology, the exact combination of herbs was
determined and its effectiveness was evaluated. The restoration of organic
function is done by using Chinese medicinal herbs. These herbs are formulated to
regulate physiologic functions while at the same time repairing the dysfunction
of the pathologic organ. With the help of modern technology, the effectiveness
of TCM can be verified through analysis. Once the effectiveness of the treatment
is determined, the normal physiologic metabolism is restored.
The
Advantages of TCM
For most of its
history Western medicine has approached health and a well being from a very
different perspective. It has been reactive, rather than proactive. Symptoms and
science have been the drivers. Western medicine examines and dissects to
determine what is not working in the body and attempts to introduce external,
often synthetic, chemical compounds to compensate. TCM, on the other hand, asks
why the body is not functioning properly and attempts to use individualized
organic herbal formula to rejuvenate and to restore the body to its natural
state.
For
example, Westerners determined that people with
Diabetes
Mellitus lack sufficient insulin and/or the ability to regulate the amount of
insulin that their bodies produce. So they created an industry to allow
diabetics to externally monitor and regulate this function by testing their
blood and by injecting themselves with manufactured insulin. TCM instead focuses
its treatment on restoring the natural balance and functionality of each
person's organs. TCM, more specifically, has developed formulawhich
help to restore the pancreas and to revitalize natural insulin production and
regulation within the body.
TCM offers
many advantages and can be used safely on its own or as a complement to Western
pharmaceuticals. The most significant advantages of the TCM approach are:
- Thousands of years of
classification, testing, and refinement of herbal formulas.
- Few, and often no
side-effects due to natural ingredients.
- Individualized
treatment
- No chemical residues,
unlike many Western pharmaceuticals.
- Treats the why (from
the root), not the what (from the symptoms).
- Rejuvenates the body's
organs to correct symptoms at their root causes.
- Revitalizes the body's
natural immune system.
- Long-term results.
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