feature // 12

Sraditional Chinese
medicine and the

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Photos by Elliot Chan

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  

 

grew up with Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

My mother has always been an advocate of it. On
various occasions, my house would reek of a bitter, yet
familiar odour. On the kitchen stove would be a large pot
of miscellaneous herbs, while my mom hovered over it
performing Chinese alchemy. Hours later, after the dark
tea had stewed for long enough, she would insist that
I drink it because (1) it would help me see better, 2) it
would give me energy, 3) it would improve my joints, or
(4) because she said so. The concoction tasted awful—
always—like the Orient’s version of Buckley’s. I'd be
coaxed a few more times before I either downed it all or
abandoned it.

Many years later I still wonder if it did me any good.

Did it make me healthier? Did it really work?

The history of buaddtional medi

Over 2,000 years ago, before Advil and Pepto-Bismol
were available to combat headaches and upset stomachs,
ancient Chinese doctors found remedies in a practice
that continues to this day. To call them doctors would be
incorrect, though: during the Shang Dynasty (14th-uth
century BC), there weren’t any doctors, only those seeking
solutions to ailments.

The Chinese saw illness as disharmony between
the human form and the world around it. Instead of
approaching sickness as a chemical imbalance the way
Western medicine does, TCM seeks cures by looking at
the functionality of the body. Inspection, auscultation,
olfaction, inquiry, and palpation are the five main
methods used to diagnose patients. The practitioner does
not hone in on one area of the body, but rather attends to
the failing functionality in relation to external elements
(wind, cold, fire/heat, dampness, dryness). The human
form is one entity and any deficiency pertains to the whole
body, not just the stomach or the arm or the brain.

Sweet, sweet herbs

You've probably passed by Chinese herbal stores at malls
and China Town promenades. Odds are you haven't had
a reason to enter any of them, except to alleviate your
curiosity. You've peered inside and seen their shelving
units and jars upon jars of mystery herbs, extracts,
containers of macerated remedies, and fossilized animal
carcasses. Such an establishment seems pulled out of the
middle ages, just leasing real estate in modern society.
Although the effectiveness of herbal therapy is still
relatively unproven in 2014, many people live by it.
“People choose traditional medicine because it’s the
natural solution,” said Kitty Tsin, employee at the Wa Fung
Medicine Company. “You can never be sure how much of
what is in pills or capsules. You can’t even be sure what
it is. The capsules themselves are made out of gelatine,
which isn’t healthy either. The Chinese tradition is that
we boil medicine every day and drink the soup as a whole
family to improve health. Capsules, tablets, and pills are

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only meant for individuals.”

TCM comes in a wide variety.
and function only as delicacies. O1
and have been known to enhance
addition to aiding the sickly.

Some common medicines are
many forms to provide energy, red
and even treat erectile dysfunctior
a property that helps treat arthriti
pressure), and fritillary bulb (can
remedy coughs).

Rarer medicine can often cost
thousands—of dollars, and they n
Examples include hasma, the fallo
(known to revitalize internal orga
complexion); and cordyceps, a hig
also known as the caterpillar fung
effects of asthma, reduce the risk «
out a person’s yin and yang).

The Chinese notion regarding
the importance of illness mitigatic
While Western medicine tends to
TCM approaches well-being as a li

Hokey- Pokey

In 2010 I sprained my MCL playin;
off the ice for six weeks and the re
agonizing. I re-aggravated the inju
and thought it would never heal. |
chiropractors, and when I exhaust
consulted an acupuncture therapi
lie, I was quite skeptical—and per
the process. After all, lying down i
needles and cups sticking out and
my ideal day.

My acupuncture practitioner,
punctured a hole in my injured la
glass cup and placed it over the op
(from what I remember) was to su
my knee so that the healing proce:
At first the procedure seemed a bi
the family doctors and chiropract«
wear a brace and stay off my leg. It
solution cured me in the end, but
skating just fine.

“The skin acts as a meridian tc
Bonalife Acupuncture and Herbal
David Kuo. “I don’t touch the orga
meridian; I use this meridian to ac

Acupuncture stems from the 1
technique that addresses the hum
the flow of “qi” or life-energy. Qi it
circulation, the capability of the li
pathogenic factors, the emission o
sweat, blood, etc.), and the intake
water, etc.). By recognizing the bo
the practitioner can effectively cor
restore the flow.