For the few enlightened TCM believers outthere,, yes you who are here to "study" TCM (usually gullible women) and believe stuff like for curing heart disease you need to ingest plants with heart shaped leaves or to cure impotence you should eat tiger's penis. Here is a little photomentary to enjoy.
WHY is it that when anyone coming from a view/point of ignorance pertaining to TCM, people always choose something like animal parts or "heart shaped leaves" to discredit the potential of TCM (with all of the modalities used, acupuncture, herbal formulas, tua ni, qi gong/tai chi, diet modifications) to help people with their health.
Yes, traditionally animal parts have been used, but that does not mean every body uses them. Most folks in most countries who practice outside of China do not use animal parts. Animal parts that are used in China- traditionally- (as you may be aware of from your own traditions in your own country)- traditions/beliefs are very difficult to change, aren't they. Perhaps you folks could mention your country of origin and perhaps we could point the finger at some of your 'ignorant/ridiculous' traditions that you perhaps partake in. TCM's focus is to treat a problem- both the symptom and the root cause. Western medicine's focus is purely symp-tomatic. What is the point in treating acute/chronic headaches if you are not going to address the root problem.
The medical/surgery business is a muti billion multi national industry. There is more money to be made in keeping one's population in a state of dis-ease or ill-ness then there is in encouraging the population to maintain their health.
How about western birth control pills. Perpetual Pregnant mares kept in small stalls and milked for their urine /harvested. How about all the testing/research done on animals and humans for the cosmetic and medical/surgery industry. Why don't you folks post the sites/information for these finds of testing/research or obtaining "drugs" Further, any and all pharmacutical pills/injections/topical's have their beginnings from either plant, animal parts or minerals etc..
It is easy to point the finger when one believes their way is a superior way, more enlightened, sitting on your (our) high horse. Perhaps if you folks coming from the point of ignorance where to spend years in an educational program of TCM and then spend years in a clinical setting dealing with people's health problems, of which many will come to you having gotten nowhere with the western system, and lo and behold their health improves- then perhaps you can sit on your high horse.
Oh yes, the word pharmacutical- root word comes from the greek language- translated ver batum into English means- sorcerry, interesting no? Sorcerry is "black magic", interesting no?
take care, may you never develope helth problems, and if you do good luck no matter "what" system you as an individual who has to "right" to choose, chooses.
Personally, I don't really care about the animal trade issue that Danmairen brings up to discrdit TCM. There are many other ways to discredit the wholesale quackery that TCM is. All of the so called "non-traditional" modalities rely on some form of "faith" rather than proven physiological, biological evidence. Sure, hands on care can provide some form of relief. Yes, some herbs may actually have a symptom relieving or even curing effect (since many drugs are synthesized from plants to begin with), but the "practitioners" of these modalities are untrained, ignorant snake oil salesmen who con people who otherwise couldn't afford care into believing that they are actually getting care. TCM, in general, ignores most of basic human anatomy and physiology and applies some mumbo-jumbo masquerading as science.
OH, and as a follow up, I should say that the quackery is not limited to TCM. Homeopathy, chiropractic, reflexology and even so called "pain management" by M.D.'s are all questionable practices at best and down right lies at worst.
Ah human ignorance and stupidity is still among us when it comes to defining what heath is (from a latin word meaning -whole) and how to treat health/medical problems . In Canada one has to have a minimum of two years of post secondary education before enrolling into a TCM program. A TCM program can then take from 3-5 years depending on what you want to practice. You are also required to take continueing education in medical/health related courses every 1-2 years. On of the mis conception is the wording TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE. This is a term that is post communist. TCM is the merging of traditional health practice with western medicine/research.
Anatomy, physiology, aetiology, pathology is part of the education. As is western drug interaction and western drug interaction with herbs. Western medical differential diagnosis is linked with TCM differential diagnosis.
If i may relate just one story. One day a client/patient asked if there was any thing that could be done for her sister who was pregnant and was scheduled for a C- section. Yes, there could be something done. Arriving at the hospital with the surgeon present who was going to perform the C- section acupuncture/moxabustion was performed. The soon to be child's position was reversed and labour induced- and the mother had a 'natural birth'. After wards the surgeon said the following: 'Well now I have heard of this acupuncture stuff and I must say that was very impressive. But- I never want to see it again- you have just cost me xthousands of dollars'.
News flash; Western medical research has spent millions of dollars- their finding- food is good for you.
News flash- Western medical research spends milllions of dollars- their findings- clean water is good for you.
News flash; Western medical research has spent millions of dollars- their findings- clean air is good for you.
News flash; Western medical research spends millions of dollars- their findings- exercise is good for you.
News flash; Western medical research spend s millions of dollars- their findings- eating too much food is bad for you, eating to much 'junk' 'fast' food is not condusive for a healthy body and can led to things like obesity, diabeties, heart problem, breathing problems- the list goes on.
TCM teaching which is hundreds/ thousands of years old which has all been recorded- observations, treatments that worked or didn't work etc., ( western science approach), life styles that lead to dis-ease/ill-ness all recorded, teaches us; eat good healthy food in moderation, eat 2/3 full, drink clean water, maintain a degree of physical activity, stay away from alcohol, smoke nothing, maintain your health and do not wait for something to occur. TCM teaches us that we are a part of our collective environment. To maintain a state of good heath- mind/body there are certain things we must do and if things go off line there are a number of ways to address issues which include western medicine- but neither western or eastern medicine have all the answers to this increasingly complex modern word. Working together perhaps we can resolve some majour issues.
We humans in our ignorance and stupidity continue to shit in our collective nest, piss in our drinking water, pollute the air we breath, create an environment of stress and anxiety, kill our neighbour because they have something we want and they will not give it to us; and we wait and pray that modern science will save us from our ignorance. Be careful that 'modern' science has not become your 'NEW GOD'.
For "Danmairen" and "Ahmet"- - it must be marvelous to know everything!!
Cheers - - JJ
It is easy to discredit TCM if you look at every single folk belief in China as one whole system. Even the photo essay says "Strong beliefs in OBSCURE (emphasis mine) parts of traditional Chinese medicine..." Much of that is really fringe right now.
A startling amount of new drug discoveries these days are actually extracts made from old herbal medicines from places like China, India and indigenous cultures. The most effective malaria treatment today, artemisinin, has been used in herbal form in China for the exact same disease for at least 1000 years.
Yes, there is still a lot of quackery out there, but there are also university trained doctors practicing some very effective and well-documented techniques too.
I'm not saying that it's some powerful thing that can cure anything, but the focus should be on examining both sides objectively, rather than merely cherry-picking evidence to support a gut opinion.
Setting aside all the extreme claims here for and against TCM, the fact remains that very, very few TCM techniques have been proven to be at all effective in placebo-controlled blind studies. The only exception I can think of is acupuncture.
