OM in the news this week. Check it out!
OM in the news this week. Check it out!
OM in the news this week. Check it out!
OM in the news this week. Check it out!
A recent fad has been sweeping the country: ionic foot detoxes. You may not recognize the name, but you probably have seen the infomercials about foot patches or foot baths that pull all the toxins out of your body through your feet, leaving you with a patch or bath full of brown liquid (aka the toxins). But is it all just a scam? Or is there actual scientific proof to support these claims?
I decided to try it out for myself with Pacific College Alumna and Oncology Specialist Christine Adamo, LAc, and see for myself what the scoop is all about. Christine is a supporter of “true” ionic detoxes and uses them in her practice, particularly with her cancer patients to help with the side effects of chemotherapy.
First off, I say “true” because Christine warned me upfront about the many false companies out there who claim that the brown water produced in their bath or patch is the result of toxins coming out of the body. “This is NOT true,” Christine said. The water changes color naturally because of the chemical reaction between the electricity and the salt water, not because of toxins. So, don’t be fooled by the infomercials. It’s actually, the debris that begin to form in the water that are the toxins.
Don’t just take Christine’s word for it; the scientific evidence speaks for itself. “We can do a test and you can see for yourself if you’d like?” asked Christine, before we began the detox.
“Why not!” I said. Afterall, what better way to determine a treatment’s efficacy than with a scientific experiment?
We decided to do a urine pH test before the detox and then another pH test after the detox to compare the results. My first pH test showed to be more on the acidic side of normal. I was ready to see if this detox would really change my pH level in just 30 minutes.
The main point of these detoxes is to make the body’s pH more “alkaline,” but what exactly is the importance of being alkaline?
An alkaline body is crucial to a person’s health. Diseases thrive in an acidic environment. So basically, the less acidic your body is and the more alkaline, the less prone you are to contracting a disease, such as osteoporosis or cancer, according to Christine.
The Center for Disease Control reports that up to 85% of all illness are caused by toxins and pollutants in our bodies. The human body functions best when the ions are balanced at 80% negative and 20% positive. So how do we achieve this?
What we put into our body, such as the foods we consume, have either acidic or alkalizing properties. Check out the food charts for yourself here. The more of the higher alkaline foods you can incorporate into your diet the better. An ionic detox, helps to facilitate the alkalization process through the process of ionization, which removes “free radicals” from the body.
How do ionic detoxes fit into Chinese medicine?
Traditionally, we think of acupuncture and herbal medicine as being the main components of Chinese medicine. The ionic foot detoxes we see today are a more modern invention, but magnetism itself, has been used to accompany traditional Chinese methods medicinally in China for over 2,000 years.
Acupuncturists use a variety of modern tools now adays, that weren’t invented yet back in ancient Chinese times. Tools besides the ionic detox machine, such as the electrical stimulation machine work to accompany acupuncture. Both of these tools work with acupuncture to clear heat in the body.
“Every physician has a set of tools in his/her tool bag; sometimes you have to branch out to find more tools,” Christine said.
So, the crucial question: Did it work?
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Pacific College Academic Dean Bob Damone shares his experience with us from the desert this past weekend, where he studied nature’s herbal medicines with fellow colleagues and PCOM students!
In the early 1980’s, a few years before it ever occurred to me to pursue a career in Chinese herbal medicine, I became interested in “Western” herbal medicine. I read everything I could get my hands on, including “The Way of Herbs” by Michael Tierra. I immediately devoured it, and immersed myself in its fascinating descriptions of plant-based medicines. My kitchen cupboards quickly began to overflow with tinctures, powders, and poultices of various herbs. The rich earthy fragrances, tastes, and colors of various flowers, barks, leaves, and seeds became a part of my daily life. Valerian, White Willow Bark, Chamomile, Saw Palmetto, etc., became allies in my search for health and wellness. I was hooked.
This past weekend, I had the excellent fortune of sharing with several Pacific College students a medicinal plant study excursion to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park led by Sylvan Botanical Institute. Sylvan—a company co-founded by PCOM alum, accomplished herbalist, and author Thomas Garran—is devoted to teaching knowledge of herbal medicine in part by empowering practitioners to locate, identify, and harvest local medicinal plants. Among the several knowledgeable and approachable herb teachers on the trip, were Christopher Hobbs and Michael Tierra. I had not met Christopher before, but found him to be a veritable walking encyclopedia of ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, and botanical identification. As I mentioned above, Michael Tierra—whose book I had cut my teeth on in my herbal infancy—was also in attendance. If I have any heroes, he is certainly among them. What a thrill to meet and hang out with the man who had initially inspired my interest in herbal medicine!
My interest in Western herbal medicine eventually expanded to Chinese herbal medicine. Yet, I never lost my fascination with Western herbs. A number of Western herbalists in fact have followed a similar path. Many regard the solid empirical and theoretical foundation of Chinese herbal medicine, with its unbroken historical and textual record, as the most viable model for an integrative and globalized modern form of herbal medicine. This has sparked a very interesting dialogue, which was palpable during the duration of this desert trip: How can the theoretical foundation of Chinese medicine be applied to the study of Western herbs? Is there a benefit to using Western herbs according to the principles of Chinese medicine?
The resounding response to the latter question from the Western herbalists present in the desert this weekend was undoubtedly yes. And I tend to agree. I had the clear sense this past weekend that the zeitgeist now indicates a heightened readiness to engage in this important and necessary dialogue. I look forward to more trips with Sylvan and I hope to inspire the Pacific College community to engage in communion with the beautiful and rich natural world around us, which teems with medicinal plants.
Check out the video slideshow here!
OM in the news this week! Check it out!
As an Oriental medicine student, you have a variety of career opportunities you can choose to pursue after graduation. As you begin to think about which path you’re going to take, let’s look at a few of the options. Of course, there are the popular venues: private practice, hospital setting, community-style…spa? Ok, you’re probably confused by that last one and you’re thinking: I can’t practice medicine at a spa! Au contraire, you can, and as a bonus, you’ll be introducing people to Oriental medicine who have never experienced its benefits. Sound like a rewarding opportunity?
If you’re not convinced yet, check this out:
It should come as no surprise, that even during the current recession, one market has continued to thrive: the spa market. It makes sense when you think about it; when people are stressed about life, where do they go? To the spa of course! Spas are known for their tranquil abilities to transport a stressed-out person to an island of relaxation, pampering, and overall wellbeing.
If you don’t believe us, the numbers speak for themselves: In 2011 alone, there were 156 million spa visits in the U.S., an increase of 4.1 percent compared to 2010, which was a 4.7 percent increase compared to 2009, according to the International Spa Association. It’s clear that Americans are not cutting down on their spa days.
In evaluating this data, how exactly does Oriental medicine (OM) fit itself into the rising demand for the Western “spa” atmosphere? The answer is simple: Transformation. This does not mean altering the medicine itself in any way, but rather, evolving the presentation of the medicine to fit the spa mold. Eventually, as a direct result of this small change, the spa itself will become transformed as well.
So, what does this transformation look like? Pacific College Alumna Jenelle Kim, LAc, MSTOM, shared her spa transformation experience with us.
Kim is co-founder and formulator of Jadience Herbal Formulas and the Jade Spa Collection. The evolution of her skin and body care products has been a journey. Kim described the transformation that the products had to undergo, before entering the Western spa world, as “forming a bridge” between East and West.
Forming a bridge isn’t something that comes naturally. The ability to integrate herbal formulas into a Western spa setting involves a different way of thinking for most practitioners of Oriental medicine.
As Kim explained: “In the beginning, if we were to try to bring these formulas to the Ritz Carlton, and here they are: yellow, sticky, smells like herbs, well of course, we think ‘this is amazing,’ but it’s hard to try to convince people of this.”
It was Kim’s desire to “break down the doors of the retail and spa industries,” she said, but it wasn’t going to happen by forcing the Jadience products onto the shelves in their natural state. The revamped Jadience line is now promoted in high-end spas including resorts like Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons.
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