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Traditional Chinese Medicine
An insight into a two thousand
year old healing art
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Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the oldest medical
system still being used today. It is over two
thousand years old as compared to modern Western
medicine that we know today which is only about
two hundred years. How has it survived for so
long?
Unlike the Western medical system, TCM addresses
the whole body and its underlying conditions,
not just the symptoms that manifest from that
condition. Western medications just “mask”
symptoms without effectively treating them. Even
when modern medicine works well, there are still
sometimes bad side effects and liver toxicity
to contend with. It is this realization that have
made patients turn to acupuncture, herbal medicine
and other safer forms of healing therapy.
An ancient Chinese saying states
that a doctor’s patient would only pay him
when he was well and not when he was sick. This
emphasized the importance that Chinese medicine
placed on creating balance in the body to keep
all systems well and not trying to fix the problem
when a person was already ill.
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Chinese Herbal Medicine
“When the doctor has found the cause of a disease,
he should first cure it with food and only if food does not
cure, seek the help of medicine.” ~ Chinese proverb
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To the ancient
Chinese, food and medicine were the same.The Chinese
pharmacopoeia consists of hundreds of different barks,
seeds, nuts, fruits, stems and roots that can be mixed
together into formulas to target a specific condition
or a few herbs can be added to foods to maintain wellness
day by day. The most common way to take Chinese herbs
is to “decoct” or boil the raw herbs in water
to create a concentrated tea which is then taken 2 to
3 times a day. Unfortunately, this can be a time-consuming
process, so high quality powdered extract herbs are
now available in easy to mix formulas.
Chinese herbs may be added to a patient’s
treatment regimen to enhance acupuncture treatment or
may be used exclusively for the needle-phobic. Depending
on a patient’s diagnosis, Chinese patent (ready-made
pill form) or individualized powder herbal formulas
may be prescribed to treat his/her condition. Instructions
on dosage and how to take the herbs will be given along
with the prescription.
Unlike Western medications, these herbal formulas again
work on a patient’s symptoms and tries to resolve
it from the underlying condition rather than relieve
just the symptoms. When given the correct formula, the
only side effect tends to be bloating and abdominal
discomfort due to the rich nature of some herbs. This
can be counteracted with other herbs.
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Contact Four
Flowers today for more information or to schedule an appointment!
617.277.1093
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