Qi Spot

Source: http://www.dailycamera.com/health-fitness/ci_13730372 This is an interesting article.  I will reproduce it plus add my own comments to each “myth”/

Science vs. Grandma: Debunking old wives’ tales — or not
By Aimee Heckel Camera Staff Writer
Posted: 11/10/2009 09:08:16 AM MST

This must be how it all started.

Heath Croll’s 7-year-old nephew thought spinach was disgusting. But Croll, a Boulder-based youth fitness specialist, knew how to change that.

“If you want to get big and strong like you’re uncle, you’ve got to eat spinach,” Cross told him.

The boy started eating it immediately, straight out of the bag.

Croll, who has more than 13 years working with kids and fitness, admits the Popeye-spinach connection isn’t exactly a medical fact.

“It’s not that simple,” he says. Purely popping cans of spinach will obviously not inflate muscles, not without strength-training and a more comprehensive nutritional plan.

Yet it worked for Popeye, right? Just like chicken noodle soup cures a cold, and carrots improve your eyesight, and it’s bad to swim on a full stomach.

Right — Grandma?

Old wives’ tales have been around as long as, well, old wives. And despite advances in science and doctors begging us not to believe some of them, the tales — some myths, some truths — live on. Even when they defy logic, says Michelle-Nicholle Calareso, a Longmont-based birth doula and childbirth educator.

Ah yes, the old wives’ tales around pregnancy are prolific, she says with a laugh. Any rational woman knows that the patterns of a swinging necklace can’t foretell the gender of your baby, and neither does the way an expecting mom picks up a key.

Yet we still play these games, Calareso says.

“It’s part of human nature,” she says. “Pregnancy is so unknown. Science tries to take care of it, but it’s still just a lot of unknown, so people try to explain it any way they possibly know how. We don’t like the unknown.”

The same goes for trying to control nature, she says. Gardening has its own tales: Frost is coming if you don’t see many birds.

“It makes sense, kind of,” Calareso says. “Over time, people say, ‘Hmm, yeah, I’ve seen that happen,’ and there you go. It’s your reasoning for trying to explain the world.”

And many bits of advice do seem to make sense.

Others, Calareso says, are actually true.

All of this family time with Grandma this holiday season may have you wondering: Which of her warnings hold weight? Here, we’ve pitted a variety of local experts against good ol’ Grams, to make sense of some of our favorite old wives’ tales.

1. If you carry the baby high, it’s a girl. If you carry low, it’s a boy.

Calareso: False. How a mother carries her baby is based on her physique: the length of the torso, where the baby is positioned, how it’s sitting. The gender has nothing to do with it.

“I always giggle at these myths,” she says. “Babies will sit any way they want to.”

In fact, Calareso says, there is no way to predict the gender — for sure. Darker nipples don’t mean it’s a boy. Fetal heart rate is the same for all healthy babies, regardless of gender, she says. Despite its popularity — you can even download it onto your Palm Pilot — the Chinese birth chart is bunk. Your cravings or amount of heartburn have to do with the mother and her hormones, not the baby. Even ultrasounds can be wrong.

Girls do not “steal their mom’s beauty” or cause women to have extra acne. (The amount of estrogen from a girl fetus has no real effect on the mother’s body.)

“I had skin problems, and I had two boys,” she says. “Those were my hormones. You can’t really blame it on them. You can blame other things on them, but not that.”

On the contrary, from my own experience as a physician, I find that pregnant ladies with better skin usually have girls, and that it’s the pointedness of the belly that counts, not the highness or lowness..

2. Eat chicken soup if you have a cold.

Amy Dickinson, licensed acupuncturist, of Boulder: True. Go, Grandma! Hot liquids are soothing for the throat. Onions and garlic help the lungs and have anti-microbial effects.

The Chinese version of this is hot and sour soup, which also contains vinegar, an extra “oomph” in terms of healing properties, Dickinson says.

“I am recommending this a lot at this time of year, as you can imagine,” she says. “And the cod liver oil Grandma used to force our long-suffering parents to swallow is now recommended by every medical profession I know.”

Manora Nygren, herbalist at the North Boulder Pharmaca Pharmacy: True. The minerals in the bones of the chicken help your immune system. So do the healthy fats and protein. Hot liquids can also warm up your insides if you have the shivers.

Not always, but generally yes.  But most piping hot soups… or even hot water, works in helping my patients expel phlegm.

3. Don’t go swimming on a full stomach.

Croll, youth fitness specialist: True. Overeating before an activity can make you feel sick and give you a stomach ache. It’s not seriously dangerous, though; you’re not going to be overcome by cramps and drown. This wives’ tale could have been created to keep kids from throwing up in the pool.

Joe Horwat, Boulder-based USA Olympic sports performance coach: True. Cut down on the amount of protein and fat you consume one to two hours before exercising; they digest slower and can cause cramping — with any kind of exercise. If you’re feeling hungry, instead consume a simple carbohydrate, such Vitamin Water. This fills your stomach, gives you some energy and won’t make your stomach hurt.

Debbie Steinbock, holistic health counselor with Boulder-based Whole Nourishment: True. We digest better when we aren’t diverting blood flow to other activities.

Darned right!

4. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Croll, youth fitness specialist: Not exactly. A variety of fruits and vegetables will help keep the doctor away.

Dickinson, acupuncturist: Sort of. Grandma was probably referring to good nutrition, in general. Chinese medicine has always treated food as therapy. Now, biomedicine is finding a “revolutionary” connection between the digestive system and the immune system.

“All the good medicine in the world cannot reverse the effects of improper diet, and indeed the most prevalent diseases of wealthy countries today — Type II diabetes, coronary artery disease, obesity — all stem from undisciplined eating,” Dickinson says. “Another point for Grandma.”

Snopes.com: Sort of. Apples have antioxidants and flavonoids that enhance the activity of vitamin C and can help reduce the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

The problem is pesticides, and yes variety is important.  Chinese medicine teaches that if you eat the same thing over and over again you will gain too much of one flavor and that is bad too.

5. If you swallow your gum, it’ll take seven years to digest.

Croll, youth fitness specialist: False. Otherwise every time you get an x-ray, you would see lumps of gum.

Nygren, herbalist: False. Gum resin comes from the gum tree. It’s not going to digest easily, but it’s a natural component of nature.

“It doesn’t take seven years, but I don’t think that it’s the best thing for your system,” Nygren says.

Snopes.com: False. Gum is “indigestible,” meaning the body can’t break it down. But it still can pass through the body — at the same rate as any other swallowed matter.

Why seven?

6. Eating carrots will improve your vision.

Croll, youth fitness specialist: Not exactly. The beta-carotene is healthy, but same with the apple; there’s a lot more to eye health than just eating carrots.

Steinbock, nutritionist: True. Carrots have beta-carotene (a natural form of vitamin A), which supports the health of the optic nerve.

Snopes.com: False. Eating carrots will not actually improve vision. Although carrots are a good source of vitamin A and beta-carotene, which can reduce cataracts and macular degeneration, studies show it would be difficult to eat the number of carrots necessary to make a difference. Plus, large doses of vitamin A can be toxic, and too much beta-carotene can turn your skin orange.

I suddenly remember episode 1 of House.  “You’re orange you moron”

7. Spicy foods cause ulcers.

Nygren, herbalist: False. Spicy and acidic foods can aggravate an ulcer, but the won’t cause ulcers unless you already have the predisposition. Otherwise, all people in Mexico would have ulcers.

Steinbock, nutritionist: False, although some foods (refined, spicy, fried, alcohol) can cause an increase in stomach acids and aggravate an ulcer.

The Mayo Clinic: False. The cause of most ulcers is a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called the Helicobacter pylori. Excessive alcohol consumption, stress, smoking and the regular use of pain relievers may be aggravating.

TCM wise, I’d have to say yes.  Excessive intake of spicy foods without balancing foods would lead to increase in Stomach Fire and greasiness.  Hence, one reaction would be an increase in acidity relieved by food intake, as well as increased pain relieved by food intake.  Think of it as more wood for the fire to burn or else the fire starts burning the stove…

8. Shaving will cause the hair to grow back thicker.

Jamie Gordon, cosmetician at Lafayette-based Jamie Gordon Skin Care Studio: False. You have two different types of hair: pre-pubescent hair that will come back the same no matter how you take it off, and “hormonally related” hair, which is subject to hormonal changes. It is possible to kill a hair follicle after repeatedly subjecting it to waxing over a long period of time, but that follicle might have died anyway because of hormonal changes, such as menopause.

Snopes.com: False. Cutting does not stimulate growth. If it did, bald men would be shaving their heads

I’ve heard this from my wife’s relatives.  No idea if it’s true or not.

9. You should sweat out a cold.

Dickinson, acupuncturist. Depends. Chinese medicine differentiates between the colds you get in winter and in the summer. For the common winter cold — with the chills, lack of sore throat and body aches — you will feel better if you drink hot liquids, use diaphoretic herbs, wrap yourself up in blankets and sweat out the pathogen. On the other hand, a cold with feelings of heat and rapid heart rate could get worse with sweating.

Nygren, herbalist: Depends. If you have a fever, some herbs (osha root, yarrow) can raise your temperature, help kill the bacteria and cause the fever to “break.”

“Sometimes your body needs a fever,” she says. “Breaking it can be helpful — if it’s ready to break.”

Very very true, the “it depends” part.

10. Toads give you warts.

Nygren, herbalist: False. This myth probably stems from ancient women who had knowledge of plants, who were labeled “witches.” These women used to create an ointment out of boiled skins of certain toads and rub it on their skin. The ointment had “mind-opening” (hallucinogenic) qualities. These women were often old and therefore had warts.

“It might have gotten confused that women who had warts play around with toads,” Nygren says.

The Mayo Clinic: False. Warts come from contact with the human papillomavirus.

What if the frog had HPV?  Maybe they couldn’t afford gardasil!

11. Standing on your head after sex can help you get pregnant.

Calareso, doula: False.

“I hear lots of interesting things people try: standing on your head, lying in all kinds of different positions, not eating spicy things,” she says. “They’re ridiculous things.”

Whereas the position does not matter, men should be careful not to overheat their scrotum, which can slow down the mobility of the sperm.

Parents Magazine: False. It doesn’t matter to the sperm and egg what position you use.

Didn’t work for me!

12. Drinking two glasses of Gatorade will relieve a headache.

Croll, youth fitness specialist: Depends on why you have a headache. If you’re dehydrated with low energy, the electrolytes in Gatorade can help relieve some symptoms. It won’t help a migraine, though.

Horwat, personal trainer: Depends. If you have a headache after a big training day, it could be due to lack of sugars, liquids and carbs in your diet. Gatorade could help, although it’s basically sugar water.

Steinbock, nutritionist: Depends. Hydration can help some headaches, but the excess sugar and food coloring in Gatorade can make a headache worse. Stick with water.

And will make you fat.

13. Put toothpaste on a burn or acne.

Nygren, herbalist: Maybe. If the toothpaste contains baking soda, it could help balance out the pH of your skin. I wouldn’t put baking soda directly on a burn, but toothpaste could help soothe and cool a small burn temporarily.

Gordon, cosmetician: Maybe. Baking soda can be anti-inflammatory, it helps absorb oils, exfoliates and draws out toxins, so it makes sense. But remember: Toothpaste has been so reformulated since this myth probably originated. Much of today’s toothpaste also contains dyes, whitening agents and all kinds of ingredients.

Instead, put Vaseline on a burn to temporarily relieve pain. It seals out the air.

What my wife does is put Watermelon frost powder on toothpaste and THEN use it on a burn.

14. Put honey on a blemish and cover with a Band-Aid overnight.

Nygren, herbalist: Probably. Raw honey has strong antibacterial components to it — “although I’ve never actually done it or heard or anyone doing it,” she says.

Gordon, cosmetician: True. Raw honey is often used in face masks. She references the “Beauty by Nature” book by Boulder herbalist Brigitte Mars: Honey is mildly antiseptic and holds water; helps draw impurities out of the skin; and can soothe, heal and nourish the skin.

TCM wise, I agree with Mars.

Seriously, again we find “news” expounding on something that we practitioners have known for millenia.  Tai Chi helps arthritis.  Here’s the article: “Tai Chi has major benefits for arthritic knees“  Note two things: the title says “MAJOR BENEFITS”, not just fringe “I feel better” benefits.  Second, this study is to be published in the Nov. 15 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism, a major trade mag.

In a study, researchers found that practicing the Chinese mind-body exercise led to improvements in pain, function and even mental health for people with osteoarthritis of the knee. Some of these benefits persisted for a full year after the study began—months after people had stopped doing the exercises.

If this is placebo effect, I want my share!

“The Tai Chi group seems to have developed a general sense of well being, suggesting that there may be synergy between the physical and mental components of this discipline,” note Dr. Chenchen Wang of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and colleagues in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. “These findings are promising because there are few efficacious long-lasting treatments for knee osteoarthritis.”

Tufts… last I heard that was a WESTERN medical school.  Nice to know they’re looking into this for real!  Let’s see how they did it:

To investigate further, they randomly assigned 40 people with knee osteoarthritis to an hour of Tai Chi or an hour of wellness education and stretching exercises twice a week for 12 weeks. Study participants’ average age was 65, and three-quarters were women. Most were overweight.

No patients dropped out of the study and those in the Tai Chi group attended 85 percent of the sessions, while the control participants went to 89 percent of the sessions.

At 12 weeks, pain scores had improved by 75 percent, on average, for the Tai Chi group, while function had improved by 72 percent—57 percent and 46 percent greater than for the control-group patients, respectively.

The Tai Chi group also showed significant improvements in quality of life, “self-efficacy,” and depression and anxiety compared to the control group, and the improvements in self-efficacy and depression persisted at week 24 and week 48. Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief that he or she can accomplish a goal.

Pain scores and others may be subjective, but I’m hoping “function” was measured using objective scales.  Will be looking forward to this when published!  But wow, gotta say it: more than double the effectiveness!

Now one might wonder how can what appears to be standing around and waving the arms while dancing can actually improve joint pain and degeneration.  Here’s my take on it: firstly, tai chi isn’t just about meditation, it’s about making Qi flow more efficient.  If Qi flow is more efficient, then there is better Blood flow.  (Note that I capitalized Blood here – indicating TCM Blood as opposed to western blood.)

In Chinese medicine, Blood has three functions: to nourish, to house the mind, and to moisten.  If Qi flows better, more Blood flows to the joints, and thus the joints are more moistened and have less friction and dryness, at least according to the theory.

Western medicine wise, circulation is improved, leading to more nourished cartilage, I presume.

Either way, the stuff works.

Tammy Cohen, in this article, talks about the impending ban on unregulated or unlicensed herbal medicines in the EU.  Now, many of my comrades in the “alternative” medicine field are up at arms regarding this.  It does indeed look like a big bad Pharmacorp conspiracy to drive natural remedies underground.  However, I am reminded of the fact that there is truly a need to regulate the “herbal medicine” industry.

Why is this so?  This is because there are unscrupulous dealers and “healers” out there who are merely trying to make a quick buck.  They can be considered guilty of the very “crimes” we accuse Big Pharma of.  I for one have seen cases in our hospital (the Philippine General Hospital) of renal failure from an overdose of herbs like ginseng.  The whole renal-failure-due-to-ephedra in that weight loss clinic a few years back was not so much because the herb was bad, but because some wannabe herbalist was using it against it’s intended purpose.  He was using Ma Huang (Herba ephedrae)’s diaphoretic and diuretic properties to effect weight loss DESPITE the fact that any cursory glance at a Chinese herbal textbook would let one know to stop Ma Huang intake once perspiration occurs lest yin deficiency (excess fluid loss) occurs.  A toxic “off label” use, so to speak.

Chinese Herbs: Safe and Effective When Used Properly

Now for some commentary on the article:

Today, with the ease of the internet, you can self-diagnose, order next day delivery, and even learn how to make your own.

Sigh, if only it were that simple.  Chinese Medicine prides itself in customization of the treatment to an individual patient.  Two people with seemingly similar symptoms might get totally different treatments based on pattern discrimination.

But renewed debate about the safety of these remedies was sparked last week following the news of an EU crackdown on herbalists and Chinese medicine practitioners who operate unregulated at present. Under the new law, from 2011 sales of all herbal remedies except for a small number of products for minor ailments will also be banned. Regulators warn that many of us believe that “herbal” is synonymous with “safe”, whereas herbal remedies can be deadly.

Now this is not good.  The answer to unregulated herbal remedies should be obvious: regulation.  Yet the proposed solution is similar to the Ma Huang incident in America: do we censure the idiot herbalist wannabe or ban the misused herb? We ban the misused herb because it is easier, more convenient, and possibly more profitable for (fill in the blank).

“Research we conducted last year found a significant proportion of people believed ‘herbal’ means ‘benign’,” says Richard Woodfield, Head of Herbal Policy at the Medicines and Health care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). “That means people are more liable to self-medicate, and to neglect to inform their doctors, even though there’s a risk that the herbal remedy will react with any prescription drugs. They’re also more vulnerable to fraudulent, even criminal operators who put products out which are heavily adulterated with dangerous pharmaceuticals.”

Unfortunately this paragraph rings true, as I mentioned before.  The last statement in particular can refer to unscrupulous Chinese patent medicine manufacturers who include steroids or valium in their so-called “Chinese medicines”.

The actress Sophie Winkleman is reported to have taken aconite, or monkshood, found in some ‘herbal Valium’ last month to calm her nerves prior to her wedding to Freddie Windsor….

The plant while relatively harmless in licensed homeopathic remedies in which it is rigorously diluted, can be extremely dangerous, in herbal remedies, even lethal.

Aconite, or fu zi in Chinese medicine, is known to be toxic which is why it is usually prepared first by stir-frying with fresh ginger.  Even then it is still used with other medicinals to reduce toxicity and enhance therapeutic effects.

The article describes many more instances, but I won’t mention them anymore here.  The next few paragraphs are important (because I obviously agree with them)

The MHRA believes regulating the herbal medicine industry is the best way to limit abuses and ensure consumers are aware of potential dangers. All herbal medicines sold over the counter in the UK should according to the law be licensed. The MHRA assesses them on safety, quality and patient information. By 2011 a new scheme, which is currently being rolled out, will be in place.

“Check for products which have the THR (Traditional Herbal Register) or Product Licence (PL) number on the label,” advises Richard Woodfield.

Many herbal practitioners want even further regulation.”We want to be registered,” says Dee Atkinson, spokesperson for the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and herself a qualified medical herbalist. “Herbs are not harmless, they are drugs, just as pharmaceuticals are drugs and as such they should be prescribed by a qualified, registered practitioner.

I wish I could emblazon that last paragraph in gold lettering, plug it to Christmas lights and put a mariachi band to announce it.  It is SO SO SO SO TRUE!!!  Especially for Chinese medicine.

From Personalliberty.com (http://www.personalliberty.com/news/research-uncovers-anti-inflammatory-properties-of-ginseng-19422913/) posted October 30, 2009.

According to the results of a new study, the herb ginseng—which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia—may be a natural anti-inflammatory agent.

The news comes from the University of Hong Kong where scientists isolated seven ginseng compounds, called ginsenosides, which they say show strong immune-suppressive effects.

Using human immune cells, which they treated with extracts of ginseng, they discovered the seven ginsenosides had the ability to selectively inhibit expression of the inflammatory gene CXCL-10.

Allan Lau, lead researcher on the team, says the beneficial effects of ginseng may result from the combined effects of ginsenosides which appear to target different levels of immunological activity.

However, he added that “further studies will be needed to examine the potential beneficial effects of [the herb] in the management of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases in humans.”

Ginseng is a perennial fleshy plant native to cooler climates of eastern Asia, including northern China, Korea and eastern Siberia. Extracts and nutritional supplements containing ginseng are available in many health stores across the U.S.

Now for my usual commentary.  The article speaks pretty much for itself, but is missing a few crucial pieces of information:

Firstly, people should know that siberian ginseng is not a true ginseng in that it does not contain the said ginsenosides.  It has a similar range of function to true ginseng but was only called a ginseng as a marketing tactic.

Secondly, American ginseng, while a true ginseng, has a slightly cooling nature compared to chinese and korean ginseng.  What does this mean? It means that it is more suitable for warm climates as too much “heat” inducing foods and herbs will be detrimental to one already constantly exposed to heat.  Hence, in my native Philippines, I believe that american ginseng is more suitable.  That is, unless the patient also has pathogenic cold that requires heat to counter it.

Ginseng Root

Thirdly, while this stuff is beneficial AND can be taken by itself, it is still OVERDOSEABLE (if there is such a word).  In the Philippine General Hospital, I have heard some cases of people taking too much Korean Red Ginseng (VERY firey, see statement two…) and ending up with Kidney failure.  From a TCM point of view this makes perfect sense – too much fire consumes the water (kidneys).  Hence, we should NOT tolerate the idea that “supplements” are not drugs and are thus safe or that herbal medicines are natural and hence there is no such thing as an overdose.

And fourthly, look at the Ginseng root.  It is called renshen (man root) in chinese because it looks like a human being with hands and feet .

And Happy All Saints’ Day!

Source:

Personal Liberty News Desk. “Research Uncovers Anti-inflammatory Properties Of Ginseng” personalliberty.com. 30 October 2009.  accessed 1 November 2009 <http://www.personalliberty.com/news/research-uncovers-anti-inflammatory-properties-of-ginseng-19422913/>