Traditional Chinese Medicine and Bone Health


Ten million Americans over the age of 50 suffer from osteoporosis. In addition, 34 million are at a serious risk for developing this debilitating bone disease. The severe loss of bone mass and breakdown of the architecture of the bone are results of osteoporosis, which thins the bones to a point where a mere cough can cause a fracture. Twenty percent of those suffering with osteoporosis will die within a year after sustaining a broken hip. Within 15 years, half of all Americans over age 50 will be at risk for osteoporosis-related fractures, according to the Surgeon General.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a holistic approach to preventing and eradicating the source of bone disease. TCM theory states that "The kidneys are in charge of the bones." Essentially, the skeleton's growth, development, and repair are closely related to the kidneys. These organs promote the growth of marrow and flow of vital energy (qi) through the skeleton.

Post-menopausal women experience both bone loss and kidney weakness. Studies performed at the Traditional Medicine Research Institute in China have found that the increase of bone mass in amount and density and the increase of age have a close relationship with the abundance of, or decline of, kidney qi.

The second factor that contributes to bone disease is blood flow. Promoting blood circulation may remove such stasis and encourage the production of new bone material. Like Western medicine, TCM promotes vigorous exercise for general well-being, and weight exercises for bone strength and health. An American study concludes that athletic and active women maintain bone mass longer later in life.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has developed time-proven remedies and formulas that strengthen health and longevity. Some formulas originating in the Yunnan province focus on strengthening the qi, the kidneys, and the bones. Ancient Chinese remedies address the wide range of bone disorders plaguing our country. These herbs, as prescribed by a herbologist or acupuncturist, combined with regular exercise may help overcome osteoporosis and encourage health, vitality, and longevity.

Be My Valentine: How love can protect you against heart disease
Here’s a good message for everyone on Valentine’s Day: feeling loved can be one of the best protections against coronary heart disease. It even works if you have a health problem, or if you’re depressed.
Scientists discovered the importance of love when they tracked the health of 6,025 men and women without heart disease for 15 years.

Overall, 1,141 participants developed heart disease over the lifetime of the study, but those who had a positive outlook, and who were in a loving relationship, reduced their risk considerably.

The researchers assumed that the effect was due to the possibility that people with a positive outlook might adopt good health habits, but the same protective qualities were enjoyed even by those who did little to maintain a good health regime.

Cancer: Now they want to stop you taking vitamins

The American cancer industry has got vitamins in its sights. The first salvo has been an exploratory paper, funded by the National Cancer Institute, which has investigated the health habits of people after they have been diagnosed with cancer.
Not surprisingly, around 10 million cancer patients in the USA are regularly taking vitamin and mineral supplements – and yet 68 per cent of their doctors are not aware they are doing so.

Up to 32 per cent of cancer patients initiate their own nutritional regime after diagnosis without consulting their doctors, the paper says – and the most likely patient to start taking vitamins is an educated woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In the 32 papers the researchers analysed, vitamin usage among cancer patients was as high as 81 per cent, while up to 77 per cent use a multivitamin.

But, ask the researchers, are the vitamins doing more harm than good, and are they making their conventional therapy more toxic (as if)?

Watch out for a ‘doctor knows best’ health message any time soon.

Relieve Work Stress and Tension with Four Dahn Yoga Exercises


Does sitting at the computer for hours make your body ache and your mind tired? After lunch, do you feel drowsy sitting at your desk? Do long meetings wear you out and drain your energy? You are not alone, people in offices across American experience this daily. The good news is that there is something you can do to get relief – Dahn Yoga.
At times like these, Ilchi Lee ([Englishpractise.NET] Guest users may not see the links,So you need toRegister or Login
), president of the University of Brain Education, located in South Korea, recommends, “Try a few simple Dahn Yoga ([Englishpractise.NET] Guest users may not see the links,So you need toRegister or Login
) energy-restoring exercises. They can generate vitality in the body, bring clarity to the mind, and develop the mental stamina for long periods of clear and creative thinking.”

Lee offers four exercises from the Dahn Yoga body-mind fitness system, which he created, that are good for releasing the mental stress and physical tension that office work produces.

To follow the exercises, simply start here:

1. Abdominal Breathing. Take deep breaths with your abdomen to provide your body and brain with sufficient oxygen. This releases the spine’s tension, relaxes the central nervous system, fills the brain and body with vitality, facilitates digestion, and eases drowsiness.

2. Exhale through the Mouth. Our breathing deepens when we have adequately exhaled the air in our lungs. In eliminating stagnant energy with each exhalation, your body and brain relax.

3. Spread Arms to Open Chest. Sitting at your desk, your shoulders can become stiff and head warm. Unable to circulate throughout the body, energy stagnates in your head. Spreading wide your arms makes your energy pass through your chest and go throughout your body, which revitalizes your brain.

4. Neck Rotations. Neck and shoulder stiffness hinders the blood and oxygen flows to the brain, keeping you from having a clear head. By slowing rotating your neck, you refresh your neck and spine, and stimulate your central nervous system.

Leaving the office to go exercise sounds great, but isn’t always the easiest of options for people. Doing these simple Dahn Yoga steps will help relieve aches, pains, stress, and keep you going until the five o’clock whistle blows.

Acupuncture Provides Cost-Effective Relief For Asthma Patients


Any kind of ailment can be costly to treat, and asthma is no exception. Inhalers are increasing in price, and consumers are looking for more cost-effective methods of dealing with such respiratory disorders. Asthma affects more than 15 million people in the United States, and the strain of living with asthma has been compounded by inflated average wholesale prices.
Acupuncture, a 5,000-year-old Chinese medical practice, is proving to be one way for some asthma patients to manage their symptoms without over-paying. In a study conducted by the University Hospital of Vienna, over 70 percent of patients with long-standing asthma reported a significant improvement in their symptoms after 10 weeks of acupuncture treatment.

Bronchospasms associated with asthma result from over-stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Stimulation of acupuncture points can relieve both physical and emotional stress because they trigger the release of endorphins in the brain. Asthma sufferers can therefore experience both a physical release from bronchial constriction, and also an emotional or psychological release from the fear of constriction and suffocation.

Acupuncture is also more cost-effective than many Western drug therapies. In 1990, costs related to asthma were estimated at $6.2 billion. According to the American Lung Association, the average cost for one hospital stay for a child with asthma is $4,000. Acupuncture, by contrast, costs an average of $85 per session and can eliminate the need for emergency hospital visits and Western drugs. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of the nation's insurers covered acupuncture treatments in 1996, making it an even more viable option for those with asthma.

Fluoride: It’s a health hazard, and it can affect thyroid function


At a time when the UK government is pressing to have the public water system fluoridated, 900 doctors, dentists and environmentalists in the USA are urging Congress to stop water fluoridation until its safety has been established.
The group cites new scientific evidence that suggests fluoridation has serious health risks. "Fluoride can harm bones, teeth, kidneys, the brain and more," says lawyer Paul Beeber, president of the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.

Fluoride in the water supply, even at the supposedly ‘safe’ levels, can also affect the thyroid gland. America’s National Research Council says that people who are iodine deficient are especially vulnerable, it says in its first ever report into the safety of fluoridated water.

"A low level of thyroid hormone can increase the risk of cardiac disease, high cholesterol, depression, and, in pregnant women, decreased intelligence of offspring," says the NRC’s Kathleen Thiessen, co-author of the report. Robert Carton, an environmental scientist who worked for 30 years for the US government, says: "Fluoride has detrimental effects on the thyroid gland of healthy males at 3.5 mg a day. With iodine deficiency, the effect levels drop to 0.7 milligrams a day for the average male."

The amount of fluoride in most water supplies is 1 mg per lire.

Despite these health concerns, the UK government is pressing local water authorities to start introducing fluoride into the public supply.

Diarrhea: Zinc makes it better quicker

Zinc can be a powerful antidote to diarrhea, and can even stop a severe attack. Researchers discovered the power of the mineral when they were researching ways to treat cholera in Bangladesh.
They found that it was just as effective as an antibiotic in helping children recover. Those who were given the supplement were better eight hours sooner than a child not given zinc.

Their findings mirror earlier studies from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh that have shown zinc reduces the duration of diarrhea by 15 per cent.

Weight Training: It keeps those mice healthy


If you want to burn body fat and keep diabetes at bay, weight training down at the gym could be as effective as endurance exercises such as long-distance running and jogging.
But before you renew your membership to the local gym, we have to stress that this is certainly true – for mice.

Researchers decided to test the theory on genetically-modified mice. They discovered that muscle groups that are designed for heavy lifting also help control whole-body metabolism.

It’s not clear why they didn’t test human subjects. Perhaps they had just received a large consignment of cheese.