All Posts tagged general topics

In the days before canned food, surplus crops and seasonal fruits were dried or preserved to make them available year round. Fruits such as plums, kumquats, olives and ginger were dried and pickled with a variety of spices and preservatives, and eaten as inexpensive snacks. Frosted or treated with syrup,…

In western medicine, excess weight despite decreasing food intake and increased exercise may be attributed to a genetic predisposition or metabolic disorders. Similarly, TCM concludes it can be caused by constitutional influences. In TCM, there are five different types of physical constitutions: neutral, yin and cold, yang and hot, phlegm…

According to the lunar calendar, winter starts on November 7 and lasts until February 4. During the cold, many living things slow down to save energy; some animals go into hibernation. It’s also the season when humans conserve energy and build strength for spring. In the Suwen (Book of Plain…

Good liver health is often overlooked, unlike the well-known relationship between cardiovascular heath and hear attacks. And in the lead-up to Christmas, some livers may not be as well looked after as they should be. Diseases that aren’t easily cured such as hepatitis and liver cirrhosis severely affect liver function…

Endurance exercise such as next week’s Trailwalker in Hong Kong pushes the body to the extreme. It’s demanding on muscles, but also determines how long the body can tolerate the build-up of non-recyclable waste chemicals while avoiding the depletion of essential chemicals such as water and sodium. Extreme exercise has…

Although many people are familiar with acupuncture, it’s useful to understand its root in traditional Chinese medicine – although this won’t shed light on how it works. According to ancient Chinese medical theory, the life force, or chi, flows through the body via invisible channels called meridians, which were mapped…

When seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, there are ways to ensure an accurate diagnosis. The diagnostic technique in TCM – referred to as the four examinations – entailing looking, listening and smelling, touching, and history-gathering. These techniques are critical for the practitioner to recognise disharmony or a syndrome. Following…

When a Chinese medical practitioner prescribes a herbal decoction, you might be surprised by how many herbs are mixed together to create it. But these formulas are chosen carefully for specially therapeutic effects. There are eight fundamental strategies in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments and these dictate the choice of…

One general therapeutic strategy in traditional Chinese medicine is to replenish deficiencies and remove excesses of yin or yang. This focuses on holistic regulation in the body and employs an important concept: dual modulation. This generally refers to both the body or herb’s abilities to regulate a specific physiological function.…

Someone not familiar with traditional Chinese medicine might be surprised by the lack of equipment in a TCM practitioner’s office. Stethoscopes, urine test strips, X-ray screens, lab tests or even thermometers aren’t traditionally used by TCM practitioners – although more are incorporating western diagnostic data into their patient-assessment procedures. In…

Obesity rates have risen dramatically in developed countries over the years. It’s well-known that inappropriate high fat and unbalanced diets are partially responsible for the diseases that rank among the top killers – such as heart disease and certain cancers. In Chinese culture, food is taken seriously and is considered…

In traditional Chinese medicine, the meridian system is a network of channels and pathways for transporting and carrying chi and blood through the body. Chi is the vital life energy in the body, while blood flows around blood vessels, providing nutrition. Both chi and blood and body fluids are all…

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), all forms of life are regarded as being animated by an essential life force or vital energy called chi. Human chi is either inherited from parents or derived from substances in nature such as air, food and water. But chi has various definitions in Chinese…

As responses to external stimuli, emotions affect not only your psychological state, but your physiological functions, and can play a role in disease development. TCM regards emotions as manifestations of physiological functions in the organs, mainly the heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidneys. Emotions are adjustments the body makes to…

In 576BC, when most of the world believed that diseases were caused by evil spirits, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, Yi He, suggested that an imbalance of six factors (yin, yang, wind, rain, night and day) could explain how ailments occurred. From this, physicians developed six key climatic influences: wind,…

Last week, we talked about the characteristics of the five elements – wood, fire, water, earth and metal. This week, we look at the rules that govern the relationship between the five elements and the way they can be used to diagnose an ailment. The general rules that govern the…

According to ancient Chinese philosophy, harmony surrounds the human body and the ever-changing universe. They noticed how the seasons change cyclically. They saw how their crops germinated and grew. They saw how landscapes varied. Such observations were integrated into the holistic ancient Chinese philosophy such as yin-yang, and led to…

Yin and yang represent two opposite yet complementary aspects of objects. Because the relationship between yin and yang is always opposite, interdependent and interactive, it keeps them operating in a dynamic balance. The ancient Chinese incorporated the yin-yang concept into medical practice by using it as a tool for comparative…

There are many terms used for Chines medicine: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), alternative, complementary, integrative, mind and body, and complementary alternative medicine (CAM). May people think of specific aspects of Chinese medicine such as acupuncture or herbal remedies, but it encompasses a total lifestyle the integrates many area. Acupuncture, qigong,…

Is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) health care? And do you believe it works? These are two of the most common questions about TCM. People ask them because there are still misconceptions about TCM in the western world, fueled in large part by a dearth of information in English. A common…