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Traditional Chinese Medicine 中国医药

There was a story broadcast on CCCT4's Chinese Medicine Program a week ago. A young Chinese lady wanted to reduce her body weight so she went on diet. She did not eat breakfast and also skipped lunch. For dinner, she only ate a very small portion of vegetable and fruit. When she was hungary, she ate all kinds of snacks.

After a period of time, she started to have constipation. At beginning, she just took a stool soften pill over the counter and the constipation was gone, but not for too long. When it came back, she took pill again. In the end, the pill did not work for her anymore. She felt a lot of pain when she went to bathroom and sometimes she spent over a hour to relieve.

The doctors told her the drug to help bowl movement should not be taken frequently. Every time she used it, the drug disrupted her own intestine's function of movement. Eventually her intestine's function was almost completely lost. In order to solve her problem, the doctors used Chinese traditional method "Acupuncture". They inserted needles in her belly and helped her bowl movement.

Also they suggested her to eat food with high fiber such as lots of cereal and many vegetable as well as meat. For quick results, drink a special juice made by squeezing a cucumber into a bowl and mixing with a Chinese herb with a spoon of honey for a couple of days.

Another simpler way to relieve constipation is to drink prune juice and also a certain amount exercise everyday also helps the intestine's movement.

In summary, traditional Chinese Medicine treatment includes the following six branches: 1. Massage therapy, 2. Acupuncture, 3. Chinese herbal medicine, 4. Chinese food therapy, 5. Qigong and other breathing and meditation exercise and 6. Tai Chi Chuan and other Chinese martial arts. Unlike the doctors in the Western world who are most likely suspicious about the effectiveness of these treatment, the Chinese doctors feel much more comfortable to conduct such treatment to patients.

Most Chinese in China do not see traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine as being in conflict. In cases of emergency and crisis situations, there is generally no reluctance in using conventional Western medicine. At the same time, belief in Chinese medicine remains strong in the area of maintaining health. To put it simply, you see a Western doctor if you have acute appendicitis, but you do exercises or take Chinese herbs to keep your body healthy enough to prevent appendicitis, or to recover more quickly from the surgery. Very few practitioners of Western medicine in China reject traditional Chinese medicine, and most doctors in China will use some elements of Chinese medicine in their own practice.