Traditional Chinese Medicine Discussion

When Dr. Francis Yu started his acupuncture clinic in California in 1970s, most of his patients were Chinese. But now, half of his patients are non-Chinese.

“More non-Chinese Americans begin to accept the Chinese way of treatment, such as acupuncture, cupping and herbal medicine. Another truth is, at least in California, nearly half of those who have acupuncture licenses and operate acupuncture clinics are not Chinese but Americans who do not know Chinese,” said Yu who owns his two-storied TCM Healing Institute in Arcadia in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Dr. Yu’s remarks echoed the recent press reports that alternative medicine is finding wider acceptance by doctors, insurers and hospitals in the US.

People turn to unconventional therapies and herbal remedies for everything from hot flashes and trouble sleeping to cancer and heart disease. They crave more “care” in their health care as more people distrust drug companies and the government.

California became the first US state to license qualified acupuncture practitioners as primary care providers in 1978. As of2004, California has licensed more than 9,000 acupuncturists. Now the figure is estimated to exceed 15,000. California constitutes nearly half of the licensed acupuncturists in the US.

Dr. Yu told Xinhua that in the early days, acupuncture was not accepted and respected by the mainstream. Most Americans did not regard acupuncture as alternative treatment. But as time goes by and when more US hospitals and research institutions set up acupuncture treatment centers, more Americans turned to the Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine to cure diseases conventional American doctors could not treat.

He said recently one American lady on her 40s came from Florida to treat her pain on the neck. But Dr. Yu told her she needed to remove her plaque in her artery. She received cupping treatment for several times and when she went back to Florida, her doctor told her the plaque was gone and she felt much better.

She then recommended her friend, a 47-year-woman, to see Dr. Yuin the hope she can get pregnant. Dr. Yu said the treatment was going on, and he was not sure whether the lady could get pregnant at her age. But those cases show that more Americans are willing to try the Chinese way in medical treatment.

In California and other states, when a doctor has an acupuncture license, the doctor can give herbal treatment to the patients. Although traditional Chinese medicine is not legal in California, doctors with acupuncture licenses can treat patients with cupping and herbal medicine.

The legal use of herbal medicine was made possible 15 years ago when the US Congress decided to allow dietary and herbal supplements to be sold without Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Since then the number of products soared, from about 4,000 then to well over 40,000 categories now.

The increasing acceptance of alternative treatment such as acupuncture and herbal medicine was also made possible by big healthcare insurances that cover expenses of patients who accept treatment of acupuncture, cupping and herbal medicine, Dr. Yu said.

Although Dr. Yu said the government regulation seemed ridiculous for doctors to have an acupuncture license first before they can practice other Chinese medicine such as cupping and herbal treatment, it legalizes the practice of acupuncture and other ways to treat patients in the Chinese way in the US.

Increasing numbers of big hospitals and institutions, including Johns Hopkins Hospital and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, have established integrative medicine units that bring together conventional and alternative approaches to care.

The alternative treatment includes stress reducers like meditation, yoga and massage besides acupuncture and cupping.

Studies show that the number of Americans willing to try alternative treatments continues to increase. A 2007 survey by the federal government found that more than one-third of adults and nearly 12 percent of children in the US used alternative therapies, including acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy and herbal supplements.

But many mainstream physicians continue to be skeptical of alternative therapies, alleging their efficacy has not been proven and their successes may be nothing more than variations of the placebo effect.

Concerns over the effectiveness and safety of herbal supplement have prompted the US FDA to issue its first guidelines for good manufacturing practices to improve supplement safety.

The US Federal Trade Commission is also filing more complaints about deceptive marketing in herbal supplements.

source: Xinhuanet

Five Chinese drug firms have so far received seed viruses of A/H1N1 influenza from the World Health Organization. These companies are striving to have the first batch of the vaccine ready to go by August.

Researchers at this biotechnology company in Beijing are busy duplicating the seed viruses of the A/H1N1 flu.

It’s a critical step before the vaccine can go into production.

Zou Yong, manager of Quality Supervision Department of Sinovac Bitotec, said, “In order to meet the demand of large-scale vaccine production, we need to duplicate the seed one thousand times. The production period is expected to last 40 to 50 days. So we estimate the first batch of vaccines will be produced as early as the end of July.”

According to the State Food and Drug Administration, or SFDA, there are a total of 11 flu vaccine manufacturers in China.

Between them, they can produce 360 million doses a year. And of those 11, five have already received seed viruses from the WHO. The rest are scheduled to receive them by Saturday.

Meanwhile, China is waiting for the WHO to decide on whether the A/H1N1 flu should be categorized as seasonal or pandemic.

The SFDA says the scale and pace of the production will be decided by the spread and development of the virus.

Source: CCTV

What to drink green tea benefits? First of all, necessary to understand the composition of green tea, confirmed by modern scientific research, green tea contains more than 450 kinds of organic compounds, more than 15 kinds of inorganic minerals, most of these components are health care, disease prevention, such as effectiveness. Therefore, green tea is known as the protector of rare.

(A) of the efficacy of green tea have a radiation protection
Who regularly drink green tea to use computers to supplement the specific plant nutrients, the elimination of computer black eye caused by radiation. By the concentration of green tea contain polyphenols, can inhibit the free radicals on the skin to support the fiber damage is recognized the most effective anti-free radical factor. Low-caffeine drink green tea not only removes the black eye, which contains catechins, which help the body fat metabolism, but also help to sleep, sleep quality can not only stability, but also make people less likely to have the feeling of fatigue.

(B) beauty detoxification effect of tea
Whether foreign, tea has proved to be a healthy drink, compared to coffee, but also by the size of welcome young and old, although a cup of tea every day, but not everyone is a tea expert, it is necessary to have a healthy drink tea, in fact, will also contribute greatly to knowledge , especially in Western-style tea, you may be most frequently in touch with more than tea bags. However, leisure time, may wish to stress that serious red tea pot, tea detoxification beauty at the same time more effective, than any building even more drinks.

(C) can beautify a person with more green tea
Green tea can even more beautify a person, no doubt! Because it is not only rich in vitamin C, flavonoids, of which vitamin C can enhance the efficacy of the antioxidant, which is also a valuable nutritional flavonoids … the main ingredients of propolis, so it is the maintenance of skin whitening, the young can be said to have rare-class results.

(D) the efficacy of green tea has weight loss
The caffeine in tea, inositol, folic acid, pantothenic acid and aromatic compounds and other substances to regulate fat metabolism, especially the tea on the protein and fat have a very good role in the decomposition. Tea polyphenols and vitamin C can reduce cholesterol and blood fat, so drink to lose weight.

(E) green tea to cancer prevention
The ingredients contained in green tea polyphenols and caffeine, both arising from the combined effects, in addition to play a pick-me-up, the effect of repose, but also have the ability to enhance the body’s immune and anti-cancer effect. In recent years, the Federation of American Chemical Society found that tea not only to the digestive system have inhibited the effectiveness of cancer, but also skin and lung, liver cancer is also inhibited. After scientific research confirms that the organic tea anti-cancer substances are mainly tea polyphenols, theophylline, vitamin C and vitamin E; tea anti-cancer elements in the main inorganic selenium, molybdenum, manganese, germanium, etc.. Chinese, Japanese scientists believe that the catechin polyphenols in the best anti-cancer effect

Tui na is a form of Chinese manipulative therapy often used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxibustion, fire cupping, Chinese herbalism, tai chi and qigong.

Tui na is a hands-on-body treatment using acupressure that is a modality of Chinese medicine whose purpose is to bring the body into balance. The principles being balanced are the eight principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.The practitioner may brush, knead, roll/press and rub the areas between each of the joints to open the body’s defensive chi and get the energy moving in both the meridians and the muscles. The practitioner can then use range of motion, traction, massage, with the stimulation of acupressure points and to treat both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, as well as many non-musculoskeletal conditions. Tui na is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is taught in TCM schools as part of formal training in Oriental medicine. Many East Asian martial arts schools also teach tui na to their advanced students for the treatment and management of injury and pain due to training. As with many other traditional Chinese medical practices, there are several different schools with greater or lesser differences in their approach to the discipline. It is related also to Chinese massage or anma.

Tui na has fewer side effects than modern drug-based and chemical-based treatments. It has been used to treat or complement the treatment of many conditions; musculo-skeletal disorders and chronic stress-related disorders of the digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems.

The words Tui Na translate into ‘push-grasp’ or ‘poke-pinch’ in Chinese. Physically, it is a series of pressing, tapping, and kneading with palms, fingertips, knuckles or implements that help the body to remove blockages along the meridians of the body and stimulates the flow of qi and blood to promote healing, similar to principles of acupuncture, moxibustion, and acupressure. Tui na’s massage-like techniques range from light stroking to deep-tissue work which would be considered too vigorous or too painful for a recreational or relaxing massage. Clinical practitioners often use liniment, plasters, herbal compresses and packs to aid in the healing process, which should be used with caution on sensitive skin. Tui na is not used for conditions involving compound fractures, external wounds, open sores or lesions, phlebitis, or with infectious conditions such as hepatitis. Tui na should not be performed on the abdominal portion of a woman in menstrual or pregnant periods, and it is not used for treatment of malignant tumors or tuberculosis.

In a typical adult tui na session, the patient wears loose clothing and lies on a massage table or floor pad. After answering some brief questions about the nature and location of the health problem as well as basic questions about general health, allergies and other existing conditions, the practitioner will concentrate on specific acupressure points, energy trigger points, muscles and joints surrounding the affected area. Occasionally, clothing is removed or repositioned to expose a particular spot that requires direct skin contact. The patient should always be informed before this act, and no inappropriate or unexpected contact should ever be made in a professional session. Treatment sessions last from 10 minutes to over an hour. Patients often return for additional treatments for chronic conditions.