A blog by Pacific College
34 posts tagged chinese medicine
Congratulations to PCOM-Chicago alumnus Stephen Semptimphelter, EAMP, LAc, on his
Acupuncture Today article—Chinese Medicine: The Natural Way to Children’s Wellness
!
Also see the printed December 2014 issue.
Katy visited our center with a seemingly disparate collection of symptoms that were causing her distress. She described a pattern that was episodic in nature and involved abdominal bloating, belching, acid reflux, loose stools, shallow breathing, and palpitations.
Bio-medically, I felt as if her pattern could be explained by looking closely at the vagus nerve.
Your eyes are two of the most complex organs in your body, but can often be taken for granted. Chinese medicine can help your eyes more than you know. It’s never too late to start taking better care of your eyes.
People with cataracts (which includes nearly all adults over the age of 65) are told there is nothing that can prevent the growth of cataracts and therefore to wait until the cataract “ripens” (gets more opaque) and then have it removed surgically, according to acufinder.com
This is a Western medicine approach, but in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), so much more can be done than surgery. READ MORE
Pacific College has some exciting news to share – another step toward Chinese medicine going mainstream. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) granted the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) New York campus $670,000 dollars for the project titled Evidence Informed Practice: Faculty and Curriculum Development . The grant focuses on training acupuncture faculty and students to utilize research so that clinical acupuncture practice can be informed by evidence – optimizing the quality of patient care. We are proud to join a small and elite group of Oriental medicine colleges that have been successful in receiving NIH funding.
The grant went into effect on September, 2013 and will span five years. This project is a collaboration with Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU), as well as Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, where principal investigator Dr. Belinda Anderson is an Assistant Clinical Professor. PCOM-NY and Einstein have collaborated before and are currently in their 6 th year of an inter-professional student education exchange program.
The grant’s principal investigator, our very own Dr. Belinda Anderson, is Academic Dean and Research Director at PCOM’s New York campus. Dr. Anderson has a rich history as a researcher. With a PhD from the University of Sydney (Australia) her earlier work in the field of molecular biology resulted in the first genetically engineered veterinary vaccine. Dr. Anderson holds a master’s degree in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and specializes in fertility and women’s health. Dr. Roni Evans (Dean of Research) at NWHSU, an internationally recognized expert in Evidence Informed Practice, and Dr. Paul Marantz (Associate Dean for Research Clinical Education) at Einstein will assist Dr. Anderson with undertaking the grant.
We could not be more excited about this grant and the opportunity it offers us to participate in the progress of Chinese medicine research and efficacy.
Oriental medicine in the news this week:
Jennifer Lopez – The 43-year-old mother of twins told OK! magazine she used acupuncture therapy to drop 15 pounds.
Sheryl Crow – In 2006, Crow was treated for breast cancer and went on to raise awareness about the importance of early detection. She also said her treatment was supported by the use of acupuncture treatments and herbal formulas.
Jennifer Aniston – After heeding the advice of long-time friend, Sheryl Crow (see above), Aniston decided to use acupuncture while preparing for motherhood. An insider said it “reduced her stress, made her skin glow, helped her with weight loss and made her happier,”
Kim Kardashian – A photo posted to Instagram earlier this year shows a beautifully made-up Kim Kardashian with a dozen or so needles in her face. The photo read, “Oh just relaxing….”
Sandra Bullock - The star told the BBC in 2002 she requires acupuncture as a contractual perk before she agrees to take part in a production.
Matt Damon – In 2008, a photograph of this celeb hit the net, raising questions that were eventually answered by his rep: “Matt had a terrible spasm in his neck/back and he had to have acupuncture, those are acupuncture needles in his ear.”
Celine Dion – In 2004, CNN reported Dion was 14 weeks pregnant with twins – a result the couple credited to supplementing the IVF treatments with acupuncture..
Robert Downey, Jr. – This Hollywood stud attributes his two-decade run of good health entirely to Chinese medicine .
Penelope Cruz – According to ABC News , the actress was sporting acupuncture seeds in her ear at the premiere of her new movie, “Venuto Al Mondo”.
Mariah Carey – Another believer in acupuncture for fertility, Daily Mail reported Carey used daily treatments to battle stress and personal difficulties that contributed to her inability to conceive.
Natalie Portman - In 2011, Daily Mail said the actress told Marie Claire magazine that she used acupuncture to supplement her exercise routine and overcome stress during her pregnancy.
Stephen Collins – This movie star frequently raves about acupuncture on Twitter, including this post from last April: “Acupuncture! Like a little vacation in my day…for those who’ve never done it, you’ be AMAZED.”
The official day of the fall season kicked off Sept. 22. While fall weather can vary dramatically by location, one sign of autumn is common in every climate: it’s dry.
We caught up with Pacific College faculty member and acupuncturist, Dong Ji, OMD, PhD, L.Ac., at our San Diego clinic to find out what this season change means for patients.
“We see a lot of patients with ailments related to dryness: dry skin conditions like eczema, dry eyes, dry lung issues like coughing, and even symptoms of dryness in the digestive system such as constipation,” Ji says.
Why?
In Chinese medicine, fall is associated with the large intestine and lungs - which, when out of balance, are tied to skin conditions. Seasonal fall symptoms often manifest in these parts of the body.
Acupuncture - the strategic placement of ultra-thin needles in specific locations that correspond to a particular condition (called “acupoints”) - can help prevent some seasonal ailments.
The goal of an acupuncture session is renewing the healthy flow of qi (a life-force energy) and restoring the body to balance.
To prevent ailments caused by fall weather, PCOM faculty member, Barry Xin, OMD, PhD, recommends a defensive qi treatment.
“We want to amp up the ‘wei qi’ in order to best defend the immune system before symptoms occur,” Xin says.
Acupuncture can boost immunity while addressing each patient’s specific areas of susceptibility.
Another tip to prevent illness is slowing down.
According to The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine , a Chinese medical text, it’s best to move your bedtime an hour or two earlier and to rise an hour earlier. This corresponds with the time change and shorter days.
"It’s ideal to go to bed when it’s dark and rise when it’s light," Ji says.
“We don’t recommend people start large new endeavors in the fall, or travel a lot. In Chinese medical theory, fall is a time to withdraw focus from the outside and to focus on daily life.”
Oriental medicine practitioners may make nutrition recommendations to treat health complaints.
Xin suggests sweet potatoes as an immunity booster during the fall season. He also recommends moist foods, such as pears, to address dry skin. Green pears can also improve breathing issues and dryness in the lungs.
Acupuncturists can prescribe herbal formulas to treat health and immunity issues during autumn. These all-natural treatments are typically prescribed to suit the individual patient, as each herb has its own purpose and is assigned to treat a particular symptom.
Xin says he and his colleagues often use “mai men dong” and “chuan bei mu” to prevent dryness caused by fall weather.
As with all treatment options, some patients are not as inclined to open their minds to herbal remedies.
Xin has a solution:
“Often in the fall we see very young patients - kids - who have a bad dry-cough, but are hesitant to try the traditional herbal remedies,” Xin says.
"…Try steaming pears with a bit of the herb ‘chuan bei mu’ and add rock sugar. They don’t seem to mind eating that. They will get the benefit of the pears to fortify their lungs, and both the pears and the herb will prevent dryness.”
Ji suspects there may also be benefits to having that bit of sugar.
“Traditional Chinese cuisine does not involve many sweets,” says Ji - who grew up in Lanzhou, a large city in Gansu Province in Northeast China.
"In China, we don’t usually have dessert. But we do believe that sweets can nourish the Yin,” he elaborates.
In traditional Chinese medical theory, many of the “dry-symptom” ailments tackled in fall are often related to an imbalance of a person’s Yin energy.
In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival occurs at the first full moon between September and October - the onset of fall. The Chinese celebrate by gathering with family and friends for a reunion, spending night time outside under the full moon, indulging in a number of sweets such as dried fruits and sweetened nuts, and baking and eating the traditional “mooncake.”
“In TCM, the moon represents Yin in nature (the sun is Yang), so by watching the moon, you can absorb some of that Yin,” Ji says of the Festival, which, at its heart, actually relates to health.
Ji says, while Chinese culture does not usually embrace sweets, “on this day, we do. And throughout the month we eat fruits, sugared nuts, and, of course, mooncakes, which are actually made of different types of nuts and duck egg yolk.”
Since ducks spend their time in water, the eggs are thought to absorb more Yin than those of a chicken.
So really, the ingredients in a mooncake, the consumption of sweets, and the time spent under the full moon, all contribute to nourishing Yin.
Ji also points out that the Western holiday of Halloween - which takes place at roughly the same time - shares many of the same attributes.
Feel your best this fall and enjoy the festivities with these Chinese medicine insights in mind.
“Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine is not always a quick fix. As it is healing the root of the ailment and not just the symptom, it can take a few sessions,” Linquist said. “I found myself spending far too much time dealing with paperwork in order to be paid by the insurance companies, and was often unable to treat my self-paying clients as effectively as I wanted to due to financial issues.
“I knew there had to be a better way of ensuring that acupuncture was accessible to everyone,” he said.
Last day of Naturopathic Medicine Week is Sunday. Are you celebrating?
#awareness #naturopathic #medicine #october #legislation #nature #naturopath #science #alternative #traditional #health #fit #hashedout
Last Day. Happy Naturopathic Medicine Week, y’all!
(via serenitynaturalhealth )