Guest guest Posted April 8, 2005 Report Share Posted April 8, 2005 Hi! I discovered this only yesterday and this is my first post. I am not sure I know how to navigate properly (being computer illiterate) and maybe I missed something, but I wanted to comment on this problem of dampness that someone was suffering from. Someone replied to him that maybe he may just have to stop starches, wheat & dairy (whether he likes it or not). It seems to me, speaking from experience, that if you are seriously deficient in one way or another, it may be well nigh impossible to " just say no " to certain foods. It is like telling someone addicted to alcohol or tobacco to just stop. It does not work that way, it seems to me. The deficiency has to be taken care of first, before you have the will power to eat an appropriate diet. It was suggested that maybe there is a psychological aspect here, which there probably is; but I understood that TCM makes no distinction between mental trauma, etc. and physical aspects; it is all of a piece, as they say. It would seem to me that if TCM can be effective in helping this person, he should not have to go for any kind of psychological help first. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Am I missing something here? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Chinese Traditional Medicine , " chosenbarley " <chosenbarley> wrote: > > > Hi! I discovered this only yesterday and this is my > first > post. I am not sure I know how to navigate properly (being computer > illiterate) and maybe I missed something, but I wanted to comment on > this problem of dampness that someone was suffering from. Someone > replied to him that maybe he may just have to stop starches, wheat & > dairy (whether he likes it or not). It seems to me, speaking from > experience, that if you are seriously deficient in one way or > another, > it may be well nigh impossible to " just say no " to certain foods. It > is like telling someone addicted to alcohol or tobacco to just stop. > It does not work that way, it seems to me. The deficiency has to be > taken care of first, before you have the will power to eat an > appropriate diet. It was suggested that maybe there is a > psychological > aspect here, which there probably is; but I understood that TCM makes > no distinction between mental trauma, etc. and physical aspects; it > is > all of a piece, as they say. It would seem to me that if TCM can be > effective in helping this person, he should not have to go for any > kind of psychological help first. > > Does anyone have any opinions on this? Am I missing something here? Possibly an understanding of how Chinese medicine views `dampness', deficiencies and other imbalances. Certain foods, especially dairy and wheat, `cause' damp in the spleen. You can't clear up the deficiency unless you eliminate them or cut down on them in your diet. Then the spleen is strengthened and able to tolerate them better. There can be a psychological aspect, though whether that is the result or the cause of an imbalance can be hard to say. TCM treats body, mind and spirit wholistically; an improvement in one can result in an improvement in another. Go to the earliest posts in the archive and search for spleen deficiency, damp/dampness and that may help your understanding. sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Hello, Chosenbarley: What we eat becomes what we are. Chinese medicine regards diet as medicine, and medicine as diet. If a certain food is causing an imbalance, then one needs to stop eating that food immediately. Continued eating of that food will just prolong the imbalanced condition. For example, if I consume too much sugar, this leads within a day or two to asthma, which makes it extremely difficult to breathe. Should I continue to eat sugar, to the point where I can barely breathe? Chinese medicine distinguishes between a root condition, and the tips, which are akin to symptoms. Ideally, one tries to address the root problem. More often than not, there is an emotional factor behind illness and disease. Addressing the physical manifestations, without also looking at emotional, environmental and lifestyle influences, may help the patient in the short term, but won't work for the long term. The core problem remains. Regards, Jack --- chosenbarley <chosenbarley wrote: > > > Hi! I discovered this only yesterday > and this is my > first > post. I am not sure I know how to navigate properly > (being computer > illiterate) and maybe I missed something, but I > wanted to comment on > this problem of dampness that someone was suffering > from. Someone > replied to him that maybe he may just have to stop > starches, wheat & > dairy (whether he likes it or not). It seems to me, > speaking from > experience, that if you are seriously deficient in > one way or > another, > it may be well nigh impossible to " just say no " to > certain foods. It > is like telling someone addicted to alcohol or > tobacco to just stop. > It does not work that way, it seems to me. The > deficiency has to be > taken care of first, before you have the will power > to eat an > appropriate diet. It was suggested that maybe there > is a > psychological > aspect here, which there probably is; but I > understood that TCM makes > no distinction between mental trauma, etc. and > physical aspects; it > is > all of a piece, as they say. It would seem to me > that if TCM can be > effective in helping this person, he should not have > to go for any > kind > of psychological help first. > > Does anyone have any opinions on this? Am I > missing something here? > > Thanks. > > > > > > > " The ills of the flesh are unknown to the man who absorbs and distributes prana with accuracy. " http://www.geocities.com/mojavecowboy/clinicgz.htm Guangzhou Clinic, China Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 Patients ask me what they should eat or if they should avoid this and that during herbal therapy. -thinking/meditating about these matters uses up 'spleen'-energy, damages the 'spleen' -getting caught up in contradictions (Eat raw food!... Are you crazy? Eat porridge!) blocks the liver energy Just recently I told a patient: " I am going to tell you something that might disturb you or make you angry: This morning I had a bowl with oatmeal, poured milk over it and heated it in the microwave. " She replied:Funny, my TCM dietary helper said no to all of the above! (I diagnosed a cold-damp-slime-blood blockage on top of a kidney- deficiency, 'stop drinking milk' will hardly cure her, I'd rather repair her lower body so she can digest dairies the way northern europeans do) My psychological advice was to get her out of the 'thinking-disease', to not put a magnifying glass on tiny bad things, to listen to her own inner voice etc etc. I say: the herbal medicine might change your diet automatically, that's why I don't give dietary advice like 'no this or never that'. You will automatically crave for certain food (of course only if the diagnosis and the recipe was correct) that your body needs to help the herbals. f.e. the craving for fat and salty food or sweet and greasy food is a try to gain energy, The bodies energy producing factory are hindered/damaged/blocked, so this person needs more easier to digest calories. I see the psyche like a body part, just like the nose, on an equal level with other body parts. Not lower or higher.(in terms of diagnosis and herbal treatment) A chinese doctor once fell asleep when a western medical tried to explain the difference between body and psyche. Cow-Milk and wheat (triticum aestivum) is actually used in chinese food therapy with clearly defined chinese therapeutical actions. Quite contradictary to western modern sayings.... Thinking about it uses up my spleen energy, afraid of falling sick uses up kidney... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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