OM Spring 2012 Issue by Pacific College of Oriental Medicine

Spring 2012

www.pacificcollege.edu

PCOM Launches Bachelor’s in Holistic Nursing at

New York Campus

n January 2012, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, New York launched its Bachelor of Science Completion Program in Holistic Nursing. With this program, registered nurses (RNs) can advance their careers and earn a degree that prepares them for the future of healthcare. A leader in developing highly skilled and licensed practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage and Asian bodywork, PCOM has developed the first nursing bachelor degree program of its kind within a Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) school. The new nursing program includes classes covering not only core work in the sciences, leadership, community and research necessary for the Bachelor of Science, but also classes in holistic theory and modalities for healing, health, and wellness. Designed specifically for licensed registered nurses who already have their associate’s degree, students can attend day or evening classes. With classes beginning in January 2012, students can complete their bachelor’s degree in as little as four semesters full-time or seven to nine semesters part-time.

PAID

Bolingbrook, IL PERMIT NO.932

Researching Retinitis Pigmentosa (Night Blindness) with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine By Andy Rosenfarb, ND, L.Ac.

7445 Mission Valley Rd., Suite 105 San Diego, CA 92108 www.PacificCollege.edu 800-729-0941

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

continued on page 32

ince 1998, I have specialized in treating eye disease--including retinitis pigmentosa (RP), glaucoma, macular degeneration, etc. I have treated hundreds of cases of all types of eye conditions. Results have shown that acupuncture is clearly an effective means of managing most chronic and degenerative eye diseases. Results have shown measurable improvement in approximately 70-80% of all cases treated. Over the last few months I have been invited to work with researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Maryland. We are conducting a research project on acupuncture as an effective management strategy for retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye condition. This study will run from December 2011 through early 2012. We are very excited because this will be the first major research study done in the US on the

use of acupuncture in the treatment of eye diseases. The researchers at JHU have also expressed interest in doing additional research for other eye conditions including macular degeneration and glaucoma--conditions that I have found also respond very well to acupuncture therapy. In this article, I would like to share some of my treatment strategies for treating RP in hopes that more acupuncturists come to help this desperate and hopeless population. What is Retinitis Pigmentosa? Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited genetic eye disease where retinal degeneration is caused by the loss of photoreceptor (light receptor nerve cell) function. The incidence of RP is about 1 in 4,000 and 1.5 million people worldwide have RP. continued on page 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE.... 3

OM Newspaper Essay Contest

Aromatherapy: Nature’s Magic

Top Breast Cancer Foundation Awards Grant to Hawai’i Acupuncturist

Nutritional Insights from Ayurveda

From the Trenches: The Case for Insurance

Yin and Yang, the Path to Total Health

Breast Health is the Cure

A PCOM Alumnus’ Calling: The Himalaya Project

Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Clostridium Difficile Using Four Needle Technique and Four Constitutional Medicine

Ten years later: A Perspective on Chinese Medicine Education

Pain is NOT the same for everybody?

The ‘Why’ of Chi Nei Tsang

Systematic Review: Generating EvidencedBased Guidelines on the Concurrent Use of Dietary Antioxidants and Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy

OM Newspaper Essay Contest Chooses Winner The OM Newspaper held an essay contest last summer open to all Pacific College students and alumni of the college’s three campuses. The OM has always enthusiastically encouraged publishing articles by noted authorities in the field, so the contest was held to give students and alumni an opportunity to begin creating a name for themselves in the field of Oriental Medicine. Congratulations to the winner, George Chachis, for his essay entitled, “Transplanting Oriental Medicine to the Mayan Altiplano.” As one of this year’s featured article authors, he also received a $100 gift certificate to the Pacific College bookstore and was featured in the college’s online

newsletter. Over twenty essays were submitted, and all participants are published on the Pacific College website at www.PacificCollege.edu/ omessaycontest. The OM Staff would like to thank all those who participated, making this an exciting and close contest! Missed out on submitting your essay? The Oriental Medicine Newspaper is proud to announce the kick-off of the 3nd Annual OM Essay Contest! Log onto www.PacificCollege.edu/omessaycontest and find out how YOU can get published in next year’s winter edition of the Oriental Medicine Newspaper!

Transplanting Oriental Medicine to the Mayan Altiplano By George Chachis

olunteer Oriental medicine practitioners and students are increasingly joining traditional health delivery assistance programs, reaching out to people around the world who have little or no available healthcare. Like the Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that have gone before them, the ultimate goal of these new outreach health volunteers is to engage local groups as proactive healthcare participants, not as mere passive patients. However, such commendable goals don’t always work as expected. A recent startup NGO, Healer2Healer, is developing a different approach, working with local groups in Guatemala and elsewhere to foster selfreliance from the very beginning of each project, rather than hoping to transition at some later date.

Doing More with Less Guatemala is an appropriate place to start such an effort. As a result of the collapse of international agency assistance in the last few decades, NGOs now represent the lion’s share of healthcare outreach in Guatemala. During the 1970s, international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) attempted to funnel healthcare funds through the central government. Those efforts stopped after 10 years because the political and bureaucratic channels to the poor were inefficient and not cost-effective. Effective NGOs can thus make a real difference in this country, where 51% of Guatemalans live on less than two dollars a day. Healer2Healer’s mission faces a daunting challenge in Guatemala, one of the poorest countries in Latin America. A study by University of Colorado researchers found that

traditional short-term medical volunteer work in Guatemala has a history of mixed success.1 The study found a pattern of concern that such efforts often ended up with a dependency relationship with local communities. The most frequent suggestion of those interviewed from such communities was that short-term medical work could be much improved by coordinating with existing Guatemala healthcare providers to avoid potential harm. But such coordination is complicated since in some parts of Guatemala the NGOs provide the only healthcare either available or affordable. Indeed, some of the 200 NGOs working in the Mayan hinterlands offer the only healthcare available to the local population. “Give a Woman a Fish …” Oriental medicine’s recent entry into global healthcare outreach is based on the old Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It is in this spirit that a group of indigenous women healers high in the Mayan Altiplano have teamed with New York City-based Healer2Healer to learn how to integrate Chinese and Japanese healing modalities into their traditional Mayan medicine. This joint effort in Guatemala’s Western Highlands is “teaching women to fish.” Rik Lim, PCOM-NY intern and founder of Healer2Healer.org, lived and worked in Guatemala for seven years, traveling on business to small cities and communities throughout the countryside. Rik was struck by how deeply dependent some communities became on NGOs. He decided to see if, where socioeconomic conditions were optimal, local stakeholders could be trained in Oriental medicine techniques to supplement the limited healthcare provided by NGOs and government institutions. “I see a need in rural areas for holistic healthcare

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and training as a means to reconnect communities,” Rik explains. “ I am creating avenues for a more expansive effort to bring healing technologies to areas of the world where they are not readily accessible.” Healer2Healer has been particularly successful fostering a cooperative relationship in the Guatemalan Highlands where the terrible

32 year civil war has left deep scars among the K’iche’ Mayan speakers of the Quiche Department. A small group of Mayan civic activists, the Group of Q’anil Women, reached out to Healer2Healer to build a partnership between the two groups. The continued on page 4

The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture Inc.

Proudly announces the next

Classical Five-Element Acupunture Program Beginning in September Presented by

Neil R. Gumenick M.Ac. (U.K.), C.T. (A), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

and Staff A unique opportunity for licensed acupuncturists, physicians, and students of Oriental Medicine to learn the profound body/mind/spirit medicine, as taught by the world renowned late Professor J.R. Worsley. The Program, called “life-transforming” by its graduates, meets once per month for 9 months in Santa Monica, CA. (First session Friday-Monday, subsequent 8 sessions Friday-Sunday)

Non-California residents are welcome. California CEUs and NCCAOM PDAs Pending

Become The Practioner You Always Wanted to Be Space limited. Applications now available. For information contact The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture Inc. 2926 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404 310 453.2235 • email: nrg@5elements.com Please visit our web site at www.5elements.com

SPRING 2012

Transplanting Oriental Medicine to the Mayan Altiplano continued from page 3

Mayan women have asked the New York City-based NGO back twice to continue their internship in Oriental medicine modalities. Access to traditional medical care by the rural Mayan population in Quiche is limited2, and through their relationship with Healer2Healer, the Q’anil Women are trying to fill that gap. Integrating Oriental Medicine with Traditional Mayan Healing Healer2Healer holds 4 to 10 day public clinics in communities with local healthcare stakeholder groups. Each clinic has three goals: 1) attend to the immediate needs of patients; 2) work side-by-side with the indigenous healthcare providers; and 3) teach Chinese and Japanese healing modalities both in short classes and through hands-on experience in the clinic. Depending upon the makeup and skills of the Healer2Healer volunteer team, such techniques can include ear seed and needle applications of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) technique, moxa, cupping, acupressure, Shiatsu, Tui Na, Shonishin, etc. Follow-up visits evaluate which of these techniques have been adopted and become integrated into the Mayan folk medicine practiced by the local stakeholders. Creating an Adaptive Volunteer Team The volunteer team structure is made up of licensed acupuncturists and student interns along with a cadre of less experienced volunteers who are required to complete certification in Reiki I and Reiki II. In addition, a condensed course in NADA needling is provided before the team leaves for Guatemala. Each day’s organizational structure is adapted to the needs of the patients and the stakeholders, based on the staff composition. Typically, the clinical leader is a seasoned acupuncturist such as Tom Nash, both a practitioner and PCOM-NY faculty member, who coordinates the day with Rik and a senior Reiki Master. While the experienced acupuncturists and student interns run a typical acupuncture clinic, the less experienced volunteers work as assistants in the clinic, perform NADA treatments and Reiki to waiting patients, and help with patient intake. As patients in the waiting area complete their intake diagnoses, they move to the “Reiki Circle” where they receive both NADA and Reiki treatments while queued for the acupuncture clinic. While there are no official ties between PCOM-NY and Healer2Healer, volunteers who are neither acupuncturists nor student interns are heavily represented by first year PCOM-NY students eager to apply the non-invasive Oriental medicine 4

SPRING 2012

techniques they have been introduced to in their first semesters. The clinical stints in Guatemala offer them the experience of one-on-one mentorship by professionals and senior students that typically rarely happens until they have become Clinical Assistants or Associate Interns. Reiki practitioner volunteers provide leadership in the Reiki Circle to the Healer2Healer volunteers, teach Reiki classes to Mayan healers, and mentor those providing Reiki where needed in the acupuncture clinic. Inexperienced volunteers fluent in Spanish are always also in demand because in a country where there are some 21 dialects of Mayan spoken, Spanish is the lingua franca in clinic.3

munity Acupuncture movement for its systemic effects on patients. For example, the five points are credited with reducing cravings, improving sleep, increasing energy, and lowering blood pressure.5 Healer2Healer has provided formal NADA training by a NADA certified instructor to the Group Q’anil healers for use in their own clinic. In addition, the Mayan women were taught how to make acupuncture ear seeds using readily available flexible First Aid tape and sesame seeds. Sesame seeds, an export product in Guatemala, proved to be particularly appropriate to use because they carry spiritual significance among the Maya and are used in Mayan Calendar ceremonies.

Training Mayan Healers in Oriental Medicine Modalities Training in traditional Oriental medicine takes years of study and clinical experience to master. Therefore, Healer2Healer emphasizes teaching basic Chinese and Japanese healthcare modalities that are relatively easy to learn. The NADA protocol is one such modality. This auricular acupuncture was developed to help addict populations and was originally pioneered at the Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx as an alternative to methadone treatments.4 Training and practice of auricular acupuncture extended beyond traditional acupuncture practitioners to include such professionals as social workers, psychologists, and addiction professionals. The 5-point needle protocol has been embraced by the Com-

Building on Mayan Medical Traditions Traditional Mayan medicine, including shamanism, still exists among Mayan populations in other Latin American countries such as Belize6 and Mexico. 7 In those countries, it is modernization and cultural change that have limited its scope of practice. However, in Guatemala, it was the decades-long civil war that crushed shamanistic practices8 and killed many Mayan healers who possessed knowledge of the old ways of healing.9 Thus, traditional healing knowledge was fractured in much of Guatemala, with the exception of Mayan midwifery, which now itself is slowly succumbing to modernization and acculturation.10 Mayan civic organizations, such as the Group of Q’anil Women, are

trying to reshape grassroots medicine by building upon the old traditions while adding other healing modalities with economically feasible approaches. While peace has come to Guatemala, socioeconomic issues still put traditional healthcare beyond the reach of many Mayan communities.11 Oriental medicine resonates well with traditional Mayan medicine, as both have conceptual analogs.12 For example, the Mayan medical duality of hot and cold mirrors Oriental medicine’s Yin and Yang. In Guatemala’s neighboring country, Mexico, with a large Mayan population, Yucatan Mayan healers have even been observed using some 50 points that are needled analogous to TCM’s acupuncture points. (There are no indications yet that this needling practice may have once existed among the Maya in Guatemala’s Quiche Department.) Healer2Healer is not the first NGO to bring Oriental medicine to Guatemala. It is, however, the first NGO to attempt to build partnerships in Guatemala with local healers that are hoped to lead to complete self-sufficiency by community stakeholders when Healer2Healer is long gone. Only time will tell if Oriental medicine takes root in the land of the Maya. OM

References

1 Green, T., Green H., Scandlyn, J., & Kestler, A. “Perceptions of short-term medical volunteer work: a qualitative study in Guatemala,” Globalization and Health, February 26, 2009. 2 Lewis, M.P. K’iche’: a Study in the Sociology of Language, SIL International, Dallas, TX:2001. 3 Wikepedia in print: Languages of Guatemala: Spanish Language, Kaqchikel Language, Q’anjob’al Language, Yucatec Maya Language, K’iche’ Language, Mam Language. Books LLC, Memphis, TN:2010. 4 Wager,K., & Cox, S. Auricular Acupuncture & Addiction: Mechanisms, methodology, and practice. Churchill Livingstone, New York, NY: 2009. 5 Rohleder, L., et. al. Acupuncture is Like Noodles: The Little Red (Cook)book of Working Class Acupuncture. Working Class Acupuncture, Portland, Oregon: 2009. 6 Arvigo, R. Satsun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA: 1994. 7 Kunow, M. A. Mayan Medicine: Traditional Healing in the Yucatan. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM: 2003. 8 Prechel, M. Secrets of the Talking Jaguar: Unmasking the Mysterious World of the Living Maya. Element: Boston, MA: 1998. 9 Telock, B. Time and the Highland Maya. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM: 1992. 10 Rogoff, B. Developing Destinies: A Mayan Midwife and Town. Oxford University Press, New York, NY: 2011. 11 Adams, R., & Hawkins, J.P. Health Care in Maya Guatemala: Confronting Medical Pluralism in a Developing Country. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK: 2007. 12 Garcia, H., Sierra, A., & Balam, G. Wind in the Blood: Mayan Healing and Chinese Medicine. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA: 1999.

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Aromatherapy: Nature’s Magic By Kathy Padecky, AS, CMT, Aromatherapist, CBS

any look to nature for their healing needs. Ancient cultures used herbs, plants, trees, and shrubs for their medicines. Today, we use as much of the ancient knowledge as we can to counteract disease. The World Health Organization estimates that 75-80% of the world’s population use plants as their medicine. Many of the allopathic medicines are derived from plants. Archeologists determined the Egyptians used aromatic substances as far back as 4500 BCE. In 1922, King Tut’s tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. In the tomb, they discovered 350 alabaster jars of aromatic essences of spikenard, cedarwood, myrrh, and more. In Tut’s sarcophagus, the essential oils of clove, cedarwood, cinnamon and nutmeg were used in the mummification process. The Ebers papyrus, from the 18th dynasty, details the healing properties of herbs and essential oils. In the Middle Ages, people used aromatic essences to protect themselves from the Black Plague. Research on the antiseptic and other properties of essential oils began in the eighteenth century. Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of essential oils. The oils are ex-

SPRING 2012

tracted from leaves, flowers, seeds, bark, trunk, stems, and resin, usually by a distillation process. Essential oils affect all the systems of the body. Dennis Willmont writes in Aromatherapy with Chinese Medicine that essential oils are the most potent aspect of herbs. Essential oils are the lifeblood and immune system of the plants. There are hundreds of books dealing with the plethora of aspects of aromatherapy. They detail the history, chemistry, schools of aromatherapy, safety, use of synthetics, FDA laws, as well as factors that affect the essential oil like soil, climate, elevation, moisture, chemicals, harvesting, and processing. Many countries use aromatherapy as the first line of treatment in hospitals. While there is much information worldwide on aromatherapy, there is still a controversy surrounding its use around the globe. Part of the controversy stems from the four schools of aromatherapy. They are named after each country of origin: German, British, French, and American. The German school believes that inhalation is the most effective use of essential oils. The British school believes that inhalation is good; however, all essential oils must be diluted when topically

applied. The French school (where aromatherapy was rediscovered) promotes all effective uses of essential oils including ingestion and injection. The American school believes essential oils can be inhaled, ingested, applied topically, and that only the strong essential oils are diluted. The FDA and food safety laws define how essential oils are marketed in America. The laws governing essential oils relate to safety and labeling. If you see a section detailing Supplement Facts on a bottle, this means the essential oil is safe for internal consumption. If you see the word pure on the label, by law it means only 25% of what is on the label has to be in the bottle. The rest can be related essential oils or other fillers. If you see the word natural on the label, this means it may be synthetic. The law states the word natural applies to any substance that has the same chemical formula as something grown or found in nature. Beyond these guidelines, American manufacturers of essential oils can put anything they choose on the label, such as therapeutic grade. The reality is that there are no standards or laws beyond the food laws that apply to aromatherapy in America.

Real essential oils are extremely powerful. Their chemical components in the form of molecules depend on all the physical factors of growing, harvesting, and processing the plant. These molecules consist of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and occasionally nitrogen, sulfur and other atoms. The most common method of obtaining essential oils is steam distillation. Amazing essential oils are extracted using the lowest pressure and temperature in the distillation process. Other extraction forms include crushing the rind. Citrus oils use this procedure. Some manufacturers use extraction by carbon dioxide, high temperature and pressure steam distillation, as well as solvents. Carbon dioxide processing is believed to be completely safe. We find that the aroma produced from carbon dioxide processing is very different from low pressure and temperature distillation. The use of high pressure, and temperature produces an inferior essential oil containing less unique molecular components. If you see the word “absolute” on the label, this means the essential oil was extracted with hexane or other continued on page 12

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Top Breast Cancer Foundation Awards Grant to Hawai’i Acupuncturist By Jayne Tsuchiyama, Dipl. OM, L.Ac., Honolulu, HI

magine that you’re unemployed, living in government subsided housing, and receiving food stamps. Then comes a breast cancer diagnosis and your first chemotherapy charge of $12,000. That’s just for the first 10 drug treatments and doesn’t include fees for surgery, emergency room visits, doctor’s consultations, or radiation. The brutal reality in today’s America is that there are 50 million people uninsured. Another 50 million are under-insured. Low-income cancer patients have few resources and they experience enormous stress managing the side effects of their treatment. To give just one example: in a 2008 story in The Washington Post, Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, is quoted discussing the use of a single drug, Avastin, in treating recurrent breast cancer in Medicare patients. “It costs about $55,000 a year for a Medicare patient to receive the drug,” Lichtenfeld said. “But there is a 20 percent co-pay. If a Medicare patient has insurance, it may be covered, but if they don’t have insurance, there is an $11,000 co-pay to cover--and $11,000 is a lot of money.” Since 2008, chemotherapy costs have risen significantly, averaging $15,000-20,000 for just one chemotherapy treatment I witness this reality on a weekly basis. In 2008, I launched the acupuncture program at the Cancer Center in the Queen’s Medical Center, in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The center is one of only 30 National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Care Programs (NCCCP) in the USA. Since then I have provided well over a thousand acupuncture treatments in more than 240 four-hour clinic day shifts. Hawai’i leads the country with its medical insurance system, which is the most progressive in the nation. I have been fortunate to work alongside some of the nation’s top oncologists, nurses, patient navigators, and social workers. But Honolulu is generally considered the most remote city on earth and the Queen’s Medical Center describes itself as the leading medical referral center in the Pacific Basin, so it attracts people from throughout Polynesia and Micronesia--from places like Guam, Samoa, and the Marshall Islands, where healthcare options are often limited and where cancer is the fourth leading cause of death. Even in the state of Hawai‘i itself, access to good healthcare can be a challenge to people scattered across an archipelago of eight islands. I have seen many patients coping with cancer on a very tight budget.

all, if the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure--which is considered the leading breast cancer foundation in the world--believes that acupuncture services are worthy of generous financial support, other foundations are likely to be more open when considering an application from a previous grantee.

As fellow practitioners are well aware, acupuncture can be extremely beneficial in alleviating some of the side effects of allopathic cancer treatments. It has been used to treat pain, hot flashes, nausea, peripheral neuropathy, dry-mouth, insomnia, and anxiety, to name just a few. Treating these symptoms with acupuncture, in a complementary regimen, can allow an oncologist to reduce prescription of palliative drugs at a time when patients’ systems are already stressed with chemo and other powerful Western therapies. Most of my patients have had significant improvement in their side effects. In a 2009 patient survey administered at the Queen’s Cancer Center, 68% of acupuncture patients experienced a self-reported 50-100% improvement in their chief complaint. However, in the state of Hawai’i, acupuncture is generally a non-covered expense, so the majority of my patients pay out-of-pocket. That leaves out many other patients who are frequently curious about acupuncture or feel they would benefit from treatment, but cannot afford it due to their limited economic circumstances. So, when I heard about the grant opportunity from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure foundation, I was immediately interested. I applied for funding in 2009. However, as a newcomer to the arcane world of grant writing, I did not craft a proposal that adequately addressed all the needs and requirements of the foundation, and my application was turned down that year. Undaunted, I reapplied in 2010. This time I wrote a thorough, detailed, well-researched proposal that addressed all the foundation’s requirements. I was rewarded with a grant to

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cover the full amount of my proposal and, I am proud to say, I am the first acupuncturist in the state of Hawaii to receive an award of this size. The grant will enable me to provide 300 acupuncture treatments to low-income breast cancer patients and survivors with a discomfort level greater than #2. Patients funded by the Komen grant must meet one of the following criteria: • Unemployed • Uninsured • Food stamp recipient • Subsidized housing From the point of view of further establishing our medicine alongside the allopathic system, this grant provides more than the obvious benefit to indigent patients. There are numerous outreach, marketing, and publicity benefits. For example: • Financial support from a major national healthcare foundation reinforces the credibility of our profession. • The media likes to cover news about effective alternative health treatments. This creates a great opportunity to generate press and PR coverage to spread the word about the efficacy of acupuncture for conditions other than muscle pain--such as cancer care, hypertension, neurological and immune system disorders and more. • It draws attention to the benefits of Oriental medicine and acupuncture in general. • It forces the Western medical community to take notice. • It sets a precedent. Receipt of one grant should prove a steppingstone in seeking other grants. After

From a personal standpoint, I believe a grant of this sort allows me to support my professional interest and to explore treatment and research strategies in greater depth. Another benefit is that grant work generally involves collaboration with groups you might otherwise have never been involved with. It creates a great opportunity for integration and new synergies. So, I’m already thinking of my next project – a grant application to the Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA – Hawaii’s biggest health insurer) to explore the effects of acupuncture on Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN). In conclusion, I would encourage Oriental medicine and acupuncture practitioners to explore and research what grants are available in your areas of interest. There are many national and local foundations looking to provide funding to worthwhile causes. You may find one that sparks your interest and furthers your career. For further information, contact Jayne at jt@imoahu.com. OM Jayne Tsuchiyama is a licensed acupuncturist in Hawaii and board-certified in Oriental medicine, acupuncture and chinese herbology, Jayne is an advocate of integrating traditional and complementary medicines. She has spoken at major hospital pain symposia in New York City and Honolulu. Jayne was a participating acupuncturist in a study examining the “Effects of Acupuncture during Labor and Delivery” at Lutheran Medical Center, New York. Recently, she led the fight against SB1507 and testified at the Hawaii State Health Senate Committee, opposing a bill that would allow MDs to practice acupuncture with minimal regulation and training (the bill was NOT passed). She is the first acupuncturist in the state of Hawai’i to receive a grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Jayne practices acupuncture in the Cancer Center and the Women’s Health Center at the Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu,HI. She also maintains a busy private oriental medicine practice where she specializes in women’s health, cancer care and pain management. She received her Master’s in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College, NY in 2004. She is certified in cancer care acupuncture by Memorial Sloan Kettering (NY). SPRING 2012

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e have our health in our own hands. Ayurveda emphasizes how to adapt with nature so that the disease process does not start and health is maintained. It offers three basic pillars: diet, sleep, and exercise (yoga). We will only focus on ‘eating’ for this article! In one of my favorite scenes from the movie Ratatouille, a food critic goes to the restaurant. When asked what would he like to eat? He asks to serve him ‘a perspective’! Confused, the server babbles and then offers him the chef’s best dish. It instantly takes him to his childhood memory of the similar food made by his mother. Now that’s a perspective! How nice it would be if we could also get some perspective from the food we eat every once in a while, if not with every meal! So how does such perspective taste, where can we look for one, and know when we find it? Ingestion is a very broad term in Ayurveda. It’s not just limited to the ingestion of food, but the experience, which takes our body and mind in a certain direction. Food is prescribed as the number one preventative medicine. Each individual’s psychophysiology is taken into account and then he or she is offered a proper diet plan. According to Ayurveda, diet should support your physiology and lead to a strong mind. This strong mind then promotes clear thinking. Clear thinking always produces useful activity, which ultimately leads to the fulfillment of your desires. This is how good eating habits can promote the greatest happiness and satisfaction in life, and that is why we, as adults, have to start all over again (de-learn) and relearn how to eat right. Many intelligent and goodhearted parents either have busy lifestyles or a poor understanding of what their child should eat. This results in choosing the wrong food for their child most of the time and promoting poor eating habits. What we have now is a complete distortion of the meaning and purpose of food. The unhealthy, nutrient-lacking food ingested mainly to satisfy your taste buds is going to produce a weak mind. This weak mind is going to produce cloudy, unclear thinking that is going to make wrong choices in every aspect of life. This now sets up the vicious cycle of a lifetime pattern involving improper diet, and poor lifestyle and eating habits. Breaking this cycle is the first step towards achieving a health goal and, by extension, life goals. SPRING 2012 8

Our innate ability to choose right, listening to our body... the built-in cues about what it actually needs vs. what we want, is often overridden by the conditioning of wrong choices we make over time. In Ayurveda, this condition is very properly described as, ‘Prajñāparādha’ aka ‘Mistaken Intellect’. Prajñā means wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, discrimination, or judgment. Aparādha means offence, transgression, fault, or mistake. Erroneous judgment or a lack of discernment between what is good and what is not leads to unwholesome thoughts, speech, and actions. We all know cigarette smoking or drinking too much is harmful to health, but we see some doing it anyway! This is very good example of ‘Mistaken Intellect’: deliberate, willful indulgence in unhealthy lifestyles due to faulty understanding. Reconditioning our mind is needed to reawaken our innate biological intelligence and free it from the influence of evil ‘mistaken intelligence’. One way to achieve this is to get control over the Mind to find that disconnect. How do you do this? You can get control over the Mind through practicing yoga, meditation, and gaining spiritual awareness. This brings us to another important term described in Ayurvedic texts called as ‘Oka Satmya’. It refers to the suitability of a particular food or lifestyle developed over time through practice. Whatever food or drink an individual takes in regularly becomes suitable to them due to its constant intake. It is very well developed for things that are ingested lifelong. A good example of Oka Satmya is various grains such as wheat, rice, and corn, which constitute staple diets in our culture. A not so good example of Oka Satmya is the habitual drinking of coffee or tea at certain time of the day, especially in the morning. It helps some to have a bowel movement, but can also make us think we will not be able to have one without it. So we tend to think it is well suited for us, and, therefore, it must be good for us. It is also said in Ayurveda that some degree of suitability can be developed after a couple weeks of daily intake. You may not think or want to know that what you eat has anything to do with your chronically stuffed nose, stiffness, and inflammation in your joints, or both at once. You also

continued on page 17

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From the Trenches:

The Case for Insurance

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continued on page 18 SPRING 2012 9

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house helped somewhat, but again, lots of rebilling and denials. Don’t get me started about the hours on hold verifying insurance coverage, since most payers at that time were not online. Even now, ancillary care is often not included in the online portion of verifying patient coverage and requires a phone call. In my 4th year (and to strains of the Hallelujah chorus) I hired a biller and hired some student interns, and slowly began to get my life back. But a biller alone did not solve all the problems, since the American medical system and insurance companies, in particular, operate with a profit motive which includes unscrupulous practices to deny payment for any reason. Most medical doctors, unless they run a solo practice, are completely protected from this since they rarely, if ever, have to deal with billing issues. But for the small solo practice, the nuisances of navigating the insurance billing world leave many clinicians and patients furious and frustrated. Frankly, I was ready to retire by year 5. Lest you feel dismayed, there is light at the end of the tunnel, at least in terms of insurance billing. I would like to share a few tips, things I wish I had known in the beginning. 1. Take a billing class ASAP, as soon as you graduate, if not before. Why this was not discussed in my practice management class is beyond me, and I lost 4 years trying to navigate this maze blindly. This is something I tell my students as soon as they are licensed: regardless of whether you plan to take insurance or not, at the very least you need to know how to code a super bill, how to discuss claim forms with clients, how to phrase things so that your clients will be reimbursed, and how to discuss diagnosis codes with other clinicians. You are no longer an intern in the school clinic and “We don’t make a Western diagnosis in TCM.” You must learn how to make a Western diagnosis in order to participate in the medical system and since most intern clinic time is focused on TCM pattern differentiation, learning the ropes of effective coding will save you about 5 years of pain and thousands of lost dollars. The changes coming next year with the new ICD-10 codes will make taking a new billing class mandatory.

0711-AAC-OM

By Jennifer Moffitt, L.Ac, MSTOM, Dp.OM

his article is in response to an article in the Summer 2011 OM Newspaper, which discussed the pros and cons of whether acupuncturists should accept and bill insurance, a topic of some discussion when I was in school over a dozen years ago. At that time, the reigning consensus was that cash was king, and most wanted to be a cash-only practice, under the radar so to speak, without the hassles of paperwork and coding. As romantic a notion as that was then, after practicing for almost a decade, I would venture to say that it is almost impossible to make a living wage in our profession without accepting or billing for certain types of insurance. A cash-only practice excludes Workers Compensation, personal injury (PI), and certain generous PPOs, which have better fee schedules. In this economic climate, the question is not whether we are to accept insurance and bill for it, but how to do it efficiently and in such a way as to avoid the burnout that frequently drives away otherwise talented clinicians from private practice. It also requires that we become knowledgeable about coding and speaking with physicians and their staff about how to navigate the insurance maze effectively. For most newly licensed practitioners of course, the difficulties and wait times associated with insurance make it difficult in terms of managing cash flow. My own chronology was that I had a cash only practice for the first 2 years, after which I got my first Workers Comp case. I think it took me 6 hours to navigate how to even print the Health Care Financing Administration (HFCA) form and line it up with my printer. At that time, my business was slow enough that I was still unacquainted with the idea of time-formoney. The fact that it took 6 months and 40 phone calls to get paid was offset by a nice check, although if you include hours worked on the case I think I averaged $4 an hour. Well into my third year, I began to bill paper claims for some providers, and spent more than 10 hours each weekend doing so, for cases as little as $25, the going fee schedule for many payers (and sadly still is). The number of cases that required rebilling was staggering, sometimes for an error as trifling as a misspelled street name. At that time, paper claims were not processed in under 60 days, and my average wait time for $25 was 4-8 months. Switching to electronic claims and a clearing

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Yin and Yang, the Path to Total Health By Ted Kardash, PhD, MFT

very practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is thoroughly familiar with the principle of yin and yang as the foundation of their medicine. This principle plays a primary role in the diagnosis and treatment of all diseases, and its concepts of wholeness, change, and balance provide the basis for optimal health and well-being. However, this principle also has a much wider application than only treating disease. Fully understanding yin and yang and integrating that knowledge into one’s daily life can have a direct and powerful impact not only on one’s immediate health but also on one’s total being--on how one lives and experiences life. This, in turn, leads to a spiritual awareness that transcends the purely physical and that can be characterized as complete or total health. The idea of yin and yang comes to us from the teachings of Taoism, the Chinese philosophical tradition whose origins date back to the 6th c. BCE and whose principles deeply inform TCM. The main ideas of Taoist thought are most clearly articulated in the works of legendary Taoist sages, Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching) and Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters). Taoist teachings function as a guide to daily living. Their purpose is to assist us in cultivating and strengthening our own process of self-exploration, growth, and transformation, so that we experience our essential nature as inseparable from that of the cosmos or Tao. An important first step toward attaining this sense of interconnectedness is to recognize and align ourselves with the movement of life itself. This is achieved primarily through a deep comprehension of yin and yang. Yin and Yang Yin and yang constitute the two essential and interdependent energies of life. Yang is characterized as creative, assertive, positive, and light, while yin is receptive, yielding, negative, and dark. It is important to note that these attributes are only descriptive and do not carry any judgmental or moral value. It is also critical to recognize that, though opposite in nature, yin and yang are to be perceived and experienced not as diametrically opposed, but rather as complementary and relative to one another. They arise from a common source, the Tao. Yin and yang literally make the world go round! Our entire physical reality is based on the relationship between these two energies. Whether it is the structure of DNA, 10

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with its positive and negative strands, the transmission of neurons in our brains, from a positively charged sender to a negatively charged receptor, the function of the earth’s magnetic fields which regulate the ebb and flow of the ocean tides, or the makeup of electricity with its positive and negative currents - all of these processes take place because of these two opposing energies. Their interaction creates all manifestation. It is through them that the Tao reveals itself. The interplay of these two polar opposites represents the deeper underlying unity of life.

Primal Unity

This image, called the Tai Chi Tu, or Supreme Ultimate Map (sometimes referred to as the “yin-yang symbol”), represents this unity of opposites. The two energies are depicted as equally proportional, harmoniously balanced. The small dot signifies that as each energy reaches its fullest expression it already carries the seed of its opposite. And the curved line suggests a flowing dynamic between the two - they are constantly changing, literally flowing into each other and becoming one other. TCM is often referred to as a “total” medicine, treating body, mind, and spirit. The entire human energy system is perceived and treated as a unified whole. While organ systems and energy pathways are classified according to their yin or yang qualities, they are still managed as part of the larger structure. Everything is interconnected and any one element of the system affects all other parts. Just as within the human energy system, in life neither of these opposites is to be excluded, nor is one superior to the other. Lao Tzu reminds us that one polarity cannot exist without the other. He writes, “Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.” If there is no “light”, there is no “dark”, no “up” without a “down”. There cannot be health without disease. Chuang Tzu cautions us to be

aware of the limitations of value judgments that prevent us from perceiving this underlying unity. He states that depending on your point of view, “Everything can be a ‘that’; everything can be a ‘this’. Therefore, ‘that’ comes from ‘this’ and ‘this’ comes from ‘that’ - which means ‘that’ and ‘this’ give birth to one another. When there is no more separation between ‘that’ and ‘this’, it is called being one with the Tao.” Being “one with the Tao” allows us to see all things as part of the greater whole and to understand them at their deepest level. All opposites - thoughts, views, opinions, interpretations, phenomena - all spring from a common source. Life is both yin and yang; it contains “good” and “evil”. It is how we respond to these energies that determines the quality of our existence. Change The health of the human organism depends in large part on its adaptability to change. It must accustom itself to changes of season, of climate, to different emotional states, and to various conditions of stress. The life force of the body, the qi, must flow freely for the system to operate effectively. The “Supreme Ultimate Map” is literally a chart of how life manifests through the interaction of yin and yang. First, there is continuous transformation. It is this flowing change that allows the two energies to harmonize and balance themselves. Secondly, as these two forces interact, the process of change moves through recognizable, cyclical patterns, like the alternating of day and night or the turning of the seasons. When one energy becomes full and complete, the other begins to grow and ascend. “That which shrinks must first expand. That which fails must first be strong.” Lao Tzu tells us that life is a process with a natural expansion and contraction on both the most minute and grandest levels. It is the breathing pattern of life itself. Change is constant. Taoist texts speak of “living life in the round”. The “round” refers to the circle that encompasses the yin and yang energies (the Tai Chi Tu). “Living life in the round” means being at ease with the flow of energy as it passes through one phase and then the other. It means being able to embrace both yin and yang, to expand and contract. Knowledge of the cyclical process of events liberates us from a rigid view of the world and allows us to adapt and flow.

Balance TCM seeks to help bring the body’s yin and yang energies into a state of dynamic equilibrium. We might say that the definition of good health from this perspective is harmonious balance. The Tai Chi Tu presents the yin and yang energies in a balanced state. Any point on the circle is balanced by a point on the opposite side. By learning to keenly perceive these two energies and their patterns of change, we learn the skill of maintaining balance in any given situation, at any point within the transformational process. The ancient Chinese martial art, Tai Chi Chuan, or Supreme Ultimate Boxing, takes its name from the Tai Chi Tu precisely because it embodies many of the principles depicted by this symbol, primarily that of balance. Practitioners of Tai Chi learn to relax and be one with their experience (the Tao), to move smoothly from one posture into the other (flow with change), and to maintain stability in a variety of positions, including standing on one leg (balance)! Our language expresses the importance of balance in our lives through such terms as balanced diet, a balanced or even-handed approach, and, of course, a balanced checkbook. Daily Living What implications does all of this have for us on a personal level? How can we apply the concept of yin and yang in our daily lives? And how can this help us to attain “complete health”? If we wish to enter the circle of Tao, to live life in the round, we must be ready to move beyond limiting judgments that prevent us from experiencing the totality of life. We must be willing to flow with what arises. By attuning our awareness to the patterns of change, we have the potential to be a harmonizing force ourselves. If we remain unaware, then at best, we are swept along by the current, often fighting it in a futile manner. Cultivate an awareness of things as they truly are – interconnected and part of the larger whole A conventional view of reality is based on a perception of the universe as made up of separate objects, of irreconcilable opposites. Our two sages advise us to move beyond this view with its apparent and limiting contradictions. All is Tao! Both yin and yang are Tao. Good luck is Tao, bad luck is Tao. Illness is Tao, good health is continued on page 15

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Breast Health is the Cure By Lara Koljonen, LAc

hether you want to prevent breast cancer, currently have breast health issues, or have or already have had breast cancer, practicing breast health on a daily basis is your path to wellness. Being a busy female acupuncturist, stress is easy to find while time is not, and those pink ribbons still make me think about breast cancer. Science tells us that the thoughts we hold create emotional responses that bio-chemically either stress or relax our nervous system. What we really need is a symbol that reinforces personal health, something that inspires us to integrate one of the many ways to create breast health into our daily lives. This will help change the consciousness we need as a society to prevent breast cancer. There is no shortage of “cancer awareness” campaigns and events, but education and information about creating breast health, the very thing that eliminates the problem, is challenging to find. If we want breast cancer to

be a rare occurrence, we need “health awareness.” Breast health needs to be common knowledge, promoted everywhere and popularized. What is breast health? Breast health is the same as creating every day health, but putting specific focus on the breasts. For example: choosing exercises that focus on moving the lymphatic system, such as breast massage, push-ups and jogging, and eating foods that are loaded with indole-3 Carbinol, like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. You can promote your own breast health when you are conscious and aware of keeping your thoughts inspiring to you, keeping the foods you eat simple, fresh and organic, reducing stress and toxic products, and regularly exercising and moving your body throughout the day. The combination of these lifestyle choices reinforces the energy movement in the meridian and lymphatic systems. The lymphatic system is like the sewage system of the body, it’s one

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of the body’s primary ways to flush out toxins and it plays a large role in keeping our breasts healthy. The underarm area is a highly concentrated area of lymph nodes, making it an important area to move and keep decongested. In addition, it’s the main location where we eliminate toxins via sweat. The lymph system only moves when we move, so if there is a lack of exercise, restrictive clothing, and or dehydration, toxins that the body can’t expel can build up and congest the breast. The meridian system is the energy map of our body. When there is consistent energy flow in the meridians, the body is healthy. When there are blockages of flow in one or more meridian, disease and pain begin to manifest. Like the lymphatic system, the meridian system needs movement and flow in order to stay healthy. The underarm is similar to a freeway on-ramp. When there is enough lymphatic movement and energy flow in the local meridians, there is little “traffic” and congestion. On the

contrary, if we are not exercising, not doing acupressure, not eating pH balanced foods, not feeling relaxed, and/or using antiperspirant and deodorants made with aluminum (almost all are, even the natural “crystal” ones have it listed as “alum”), the body starts having “traffic buildup”. This “traffic” allows the buildup and accumulation of toxins that can’t be sweated out. Over time, this chronic lymphatic congestion pollutes the breast and body, creating energy blockage, breast disease, and cancer. There are so many different types of treatments (some familiar, some not) and ways to promote healing, that it can seem overwhelming to know where to start, how to get all the well-rounded, valid information and then, how to implement it into everyday life. Essentially Pink is making breast health more readily available and is here to gather all the important information regarding breast health treatments, foods, exercises, continued on page 36

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Aromatherapy: Nature’s Magic continued from page 6

solvents. This is used for jasmine and neroli, to name a few. The theory is that the solvent evaporates without any residue or harmful effects. The most drastic forms of essential oils are the synthetics. France exports 200 times more lavender than it grows. Chemists try to duplicate the scent and molecular structure of an essential oil molecule. They have the same chemical formula (natural) yet they are unable to duplicate the structure of the molecule. The atoms are like bricks, and there are multiple ways to build a molecule. The saving grace of all these issues is your nose. Your nose is the most effective way to discern whether an essential oil is real, synthetic, or adulterated. The nose always knows. There are people called trained noses, who can tell you the breakdown percentages of the molecular components of an essential oil merely by smelling it. This is an amazing accomplishment, considering the molecular complexity of an essential oil. All of this information is important to assist one to make informed choices as a consumer. I view aromatherapy as one of the most amazing facilitators for healing. I use my nose to determine which essential oils are the best. However, my friends tell the real story. In my years of practice and teaching aromatherapy, I have observed many incredible healings. This is why I call aromatherapy nature’s magic. I will start with my husband. When I told him I was an aromatherapist, he was skeptical. I think he viewed it as the power of wishful thinking. Like many, he had no knowledge or experience with aromatherapy. One day he smashed his thumb with a hammer. I heard his scream even though I was inside the house. He said the thumbnail was instantly blue, and his only thought was that he was going to lose the nail. His hand was numb. I walked into the garage with the essential oil helichrysum (Helichyrsum italicum). I think he stared at me as if I was crazy. Although, at that moment, he was open and willing to try anything.

SPRING 2012

I put a drop on his thumb and told him to rub it around the nail and area of impact. Within a minute, he exclaimed the pain was gone. Within fifteen minutes, he said the thumb felt like he just hit it and I put another drop on his thumb. Twenty minutes later, he came back for another drop. Thirty minutes after that I applied another drop. In total for the day, he had seven drops. When he awoke the next morning, the thumbnail was normal except for a blue spot about the size of a pin. His hand completely recovered from the trauma. My husband understands essential oils through experience. Many years later, my husband was making home fries in the oven. When he opened the oven door to take the tray out, his glasses fogged over from the moisture. As he moved the tray, it hit something, and 360-degree olive oil spilled on his wrist and the back of his hand. There was blistering. His knowledge of essential oils told him to apply lavender (Lavendula augustifolia) and helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum). The pain was severe. He repeated the applications of these essential oils for the next hour. He then applied my skin lotion blend. The lotion plus the lavender and helichyrsum proved miraculous. After an hour, he was completely free of pain. Over the next two weeks he applied lavender to ensure there is no scarring. His wrist and the back of his hand went

from blistered and dark red to normal without scarring. Lavender is considered the universal oil for a multitude of remedies such as acne, allergies, bee stings, bronchitis, bruises, cold sores, cuts, dandruff, flatulence, headaches, herpes, insomnia, migraine headaches, nervous tension, skin rashes, stretch marks, and more. Lavender is so gentle it may be applied neat or undiluted. There is one exception in the lavender plant family: lavendin. Lavendin is a hybrid of two species of lavender and it contains camphor. It will burn the skin if applied topically without dilution. Years ago, a friend accidentally touched her face with a hot curling iron. She immediately applied lavender (Lavandula augustifolia) to the area. Everyone told her she would be scarred. Three days later her office workers noticed the area was healed and without a scar. One of the best health oriented deodorants is lavender essential oil. Our family uses lavender (Lavandula augustifolia or Lavandula officinalis) as an underarm deodorant. Lavender is analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic. It is soothing to sensitive skin. It eliminates the bacteria and you smell great. A friend, John, related the following experience. He went to pay his respects to a friend who was dying. When he got there, his friend had been unconscious for three days and they expected him to die at any moment. The reality was that they had to strap the man into the metal hospital bed. It was as if the spirit was unable or unwilling to leave the body. His friend was actually moving the bed around the room as his body violently resisted something. John had extensive experience in aromatherapy and knew how frankincense (Boswellia carteri) was considered a spiritual oil. John asked his friend’s wife if she was willing to try an experiment that will do no harm. John asked the wife to apply frankincense to her husband’s heart, solar plexus, and forehead. Within five minutes after the application, the struggling

ceased and the look of pain left his face. Within a half hour, his friend passed serenely. A hospice volunteer related the following experience. He went to meet his new client and found him with a pillowcase over his head. His client was depressed and noncommunicative. He refused to speak, and the volunteer decided it was just best to leave. Before he left, he decided to mist the area around the client with an orange (Citrus sinensis) essential oil and water mixture in a glass mister bottle. Within a minute, the client slowly removed the pillowcase and said hello. Over the months, they established a beautiful and uplifting relationship. On one visit, his client was on the patio visiting with his estranged daughter. The daughter came up to hospice volunteer and thanked him for his care and restoring her father’s relationship with the family. Essential oils have a powerful effect on easing emotions, stress, and tension, and they boost selfconfidence. Inhalation is the quickest way to benefit from an essential oil. The olfactory nerves extend into the brain. Aroma molecules connect with receptor sites in nasal cilia extending to the olfactory bulbs. The olfactory bulb is an extension of the limbic system. The limbic system evaluates sensory stimuli, smell, taste, and touch. Emotional feelings are often associated with aromas. Humans can detect over 10,000 different aromas. We have over 50 million receptors on the nasal cilia. As a clinician, always ask your clients if they have allergies to any aromas. Your nose is the truest test of whether an essential oil is compatible to you. The use of aromatherapy is subtle yet powerful. When you wear pleasing aromatic substances, it affects the people around you. Many clients are stressed and overwhelmed with today’s responsibilities. The effects of essential oils in reducing stress and anxiety are dramatic.

continued on page 29

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If you would like to join this esteemed group, enroll in Pacific College’s Doctoral Program DAOM Capstone Projects The list below is of those who have successfully defended their dissertations: Validation of Point Prescription for Radiation Prostatitis, by Pierre Aurelien Invitro Effect of 350 Chinese Herbs on the P450 CYP3AA Enzyme, by Lily Chang Dr Jiao’s Herbal Medicine for Rheumatiod Arthritis, by Ay-ying Chen The Efficacy of Simultaneous Use of Massage Therapy and Acupuncture Treatment (SUMTA) for Patients Undergoing Pain Management, by Mei Chou The Efficacy of Electro-Acupuncture in Treatment of Schiatica Due to Intervertebral Disc Herniation, by Michael Corradino The Critical Review of Acupuncture’s Effects on Relieving Symptoms Due to Prostatitis Radiation, by Elisebete DeSouza Comparisons of CD4 Count and HIV Viral Load in Patient Treated with Point Injection Therapy, Acupuncture and Glycyrrhizin Tablets, by Uchenna Egwuonwu Evaluation of Required Elements of Fully Integrated Pocket Clinic Manual, by Daniel Hsu Precision Using Chinese Herbal Medicine for Optimal Efficacy in the Treatment of Various Microbial Pathogens, by Steve Jarsky Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment on Alzheimer’s Disease, by Brian Kouo The Effects of Acupuncture on Weight Loss in Overweight Adults Over 40 Years Old, by Ed LaMadrid An Evaluation Study Designed to Improve the Evaluation Process of Clinical Supervisor Skills, by Gina Lepore Evaluation of Miriam Lee’s Rotation Method as a Primary Needle Manipulation in the Treatment of Pain, by Leslie McCoy A Critical Review of Etiology, Pathology and Treatment of Pediatric Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Oriental Medicine, by Karen Pan Response of Blood Glucose Levels to Acupuncture in Type II Diabetes, by Don Snow Systematic Analysis of Electronic Health Record Software for the Oriental Medical Clinic, by Greg Sperber The Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs on Reducing the Vasomotor Symptoms of Climacteric Women in the United States, by Robin Tiberi The Effectiveness of Anatomical Acupuncture vs. Anatomical Plus Scalp Acupuncture on the Voluntary Movement of the Flexion and Extension of the Dysfunctional Arm in Post-Stroke Patients, by Toan Truong

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Researching Retinitis Pigmentosa continued from page 1

“ As your MIEC Claims Representative, I will serve your professional liability needs with both steadfast advocacy and compassionate support.”

Night blindness and peripheral vision loss (tunnel vision) are the major clinical manifestations and usually affects both eyes. RP is clinically divided into two types: typical RP and atypical RP. The disease occurs more in the offspring of carrier parents. Some patients or relatives may accompany with high myopia, mental disorder, epilepsy, deaf-mutism (Usher’s Syndrome). Research has shown that at least 60% of people with RP have a family history of autoimmune disease. There is currently no effective conventional-medical treatment for RP. Gene therapy is being explored and may be helpful in the future, but can take years before trials are done on humans. Until that time, conventional Western medicine has absolutely nothing to offer people with RP.

作为您MIEC 的诉讼代理, 我会给予您最强有力的辩护和充满同情心的支持。 Senior Claims Representative Michael Anderson

Service and Value 服务与价值

Announcing New Lower Rates for California in 2012 2012 年保费大幅度降价！ MIEC takes pride in both. For over 12 years, MIEC has been steadfast in our protection of California Acupuncturists. With conscientious Underwriting, excellent Claims management and hands-on Loss Prevention services, we’ve partnered with policyholders to keep premiums low. MIEC 骄傲地提供最佳的服务与价值。在过去的12 年里， MIEC 给予针灸医师最稳固的保护。我们以认真勤勉的风险评估，优秀的诉讼管理，实地的损失预防服务，与投保人联手保持低价格的保费。

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Dividends with an average savings on 2011 premiums of 27.5%*

在2011 年分得红利可降低27.5%的保费

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www.miec.com Call 800.227.4527 Email questions to underwriting@miec.com

* (On premiums at $1/3 million limits. Future dividends cannot be guaranteed.) （1百万/3百万保费标准计算。将来红利不能保证，随市场浮动）

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Retinitis Pigmentosa & Chinese Medicine Traditional Chinese medicine calls the disease “Gao feng nei zhang”, also known as “Gao Feng or “Bird Eye” in the classic book of “Standards for Diagnosis and Treatment “ (Zhèng Zhì Zhŭn Shéng). The ancients considered that the cause of RP was “debilitation of yang that cannot confront yin”, due to a congenital Jing deficiency, thin and astringent vessels and collaterals result from lack of spirit light (Shen-Qi). Gao Feng is an internal ocular disease that is characterized by night blindness, gradual vision loss, and progressive narrowing constriction of the visual field. There are many clinical treatment methods of treatment, but none have shown to be ideal for RP. We are hoping that more research will help to identify the best acupuncture points and point combinations for RP. Each case is different, but certain acupoints seem to have the same effect on the majority of people. Identifying the most effective points using diagnostic imaging could help to establish a solid base point prescription. This base point prescription can then be modified according to each case and underlying pattern. Chinese herbal medicine can have a positive effect on RP, but we will not be conducting research on herbs at this time, only acupuncture. I will, however, provide the key formulas for the most commonly seen TCM patterns. Generally, TCM treats RP with methods of supplementing yang and boosting qi, regulating blood, nourishing the liver and strengthening the kidney.TCM may stabilize symptoms, arrest and/or delay the progression of blindness, but this is not a “cure.” In my experience, Chinese medicine and its related therapies (acupuncture, herbs, Qi Gong) are presently the absolute best management strategy for RP and the only thing that can really offer these people a ray of hope.

Clinical Manifestations 1. Night blindness: patients cannot see in the twilight, darkness, or dimly lit places. Dark adaptation is decreased. 2. Narrowed visual Field with a “ring” that can be seen in visual field examination: Central vision is normal or near normal in the early stages, but if/when the macula becomes affected, the loss of central vision can cause central vision blindness. 3. Fundus (interior eye) examination typically shows vascular stenosis (hardening from plaque), in the retinal arteries. In early stages, scattered bone-like pigments appear in the equatorial parts. As the disease progresses, yellow wax shows up more abundantly, which is believed to be the result of poor detoxification of metabolic waste products. 4. ERG (electroretinograph) – gold standard for diagnosing RP. Treatment 1. Insufficiency of Kidney Yang Syndrome characteristics: night blindness, progressive constriction of visual field (tunnel vision), deep feeling of cold and cold limbs, limp aching low back and knees, pale tongue with thin white coating, deep thready pulse. Treatment Principle: warm kidney yang & nourish liver blood Representative formula: Yòu Guī Wán (Right-Restoring Pill) Ingredients: See Table 1 Modifications: add hóng huā (Flos Carthami Safflower) 10g, jī xuè téng (suberect spatholobus stem) 10g, niú xī (two-toothed achyranthes root) 10g to enhance the effects of nourishing and promoting blood circulation.

2. Liver-Kidney Yin Deficiency Syndrome characteristics: night blindness, progressive constriction of visual field (tunnel vision), dry and gritty eyes, dizziness, tinnitus (Usher’s Syndrome), deafness, insomnia and dreaminess, red tongue with little coating, thin rapid pulse. continued on page 22

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Clinical results typically show that patients respond with different degrees of improvement in visual acuity, visual fields, acuity, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and ERG testing. RP is very slow to respond and requires many treatments and long-term maintenance. The most important consideration in long-term treatment is vision preservation. I’ve had many patients with RP that I have been treating for 3, 5, and even 10 years. A typical RP case will lose vision 3-6% per year and become legally blind by age 60. Based on our objective findings, we have successfully slowed and arrested the degenerative process in many RP cases.

12/6/11 10:57 AM

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Yin and Yang, the Path to Total Health continued from page 10

Tao. Rather than rigidly choosing one side against the other, we are urged to perceive the two sides in their relatedness, to experience how one creates the other. In so doing we are best able to reconcile or harmonize these opposites, we “blunt the sharpness and untangle the knot,” as Lao Tzu writes. To heal ill health we must first recognize it, accept it is there, and learn how to work with it. By staying in relationship with it we learn from it and restore balance. People often talk about gaining value from their encounter with illness. Even those who succumb to a disease will express gratitude for how they have grown from the experience. Recognize change in its various stages. Learn how to flow with change When we become attuned to cycles and patterns of change, our actions become more skillful, more in step with these phases. Just as with physical illness we can recognize and deal with problems in their early stages. Our natural wisdom, our connection with the Tao, lets us know when and how to intervene and when to yield. Much of our struggle in life arises either out of our failure to acknowledge change or out of our resistance to it. By flowing with the ongoing patterns of change we harmonize with them. We learn to not cling rigidly to our own values and interpretations when they prevent us from accepting what is occurring or seeing it in its totality. By not holding tightly to one polarity or the other, we experience how “bad” luck can become “good” luck, and even come to understand how these terms are relative to one another. Crisis can contain the opportunity for growth. Choosing to harmonize with the unity of opposites means accepting all facets of our existence, “good” and “bad,” as the natural flow of the Tao. Become an agent of balance by partaking in the reconciling of opposites All opposites exist as part of the natural order, the ever-changing, ongoing process of life. In nature, these opposites enhance and complement one another. We do not label nature “bad” or “wrong” because of natural disasters even though we may suffer from them. Hopefully we can learn to live more wisely with these powerful forces, just as we can learn from illness, and even find what may be “good” in it. There are “two sides to every story”. Listening to both sides and making an effort to appreciate them allows us to be empathic, to understand another’s experience, to connect with them. Then we see that while there are two “sides” - yin and yang, there is one “story”--Tao. Rather than trying to win or be “right” at the expense of

TCM seeks to help *bring the body’s yin and yang energies into a state of dynamic equilibrium. another, we regard another’s experience or opinion as different without making it categorically “wrong”. This allows balance to be achieved. Contemplations • Are you willing to explore and try to understand another’s viewpoint that is opposed to yours? Can you find the dot of yang in the sea of yin? • Can you sense when energy shifts or changes direction? Are you comfortable with change? • Are there areas of imbalance in your life? Do you work too much? Do you feel emotionally balanced? Conclusion We do live in a world where yin and yang manifest as “yes” and “no”, “light” and “dark”, and “good” and “evil”. Our challenge is to see beyond these opposites, to the underlying unity that they express. There are times when we will feel deeply that we are in harmony with the forces of change and that we must assert our position or vision. Yet even when we are aligned with the ascendant, or harmonizing energy, we can also remember our connection to the whole, remember that we are, in some way, part of “the other side” as well. Then resolution will be more harmonious and will lead to a true balance and an outcome that benefits all. A skilled mediator enacts this principle by looking beyond “right and wrong” and by seeking what is common and beneficial to all sides in a dispute. This is reconciling opposites, finding the common ground of the Tao. “What goes up must come down.” “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Our own language echoes the wisdom found within the concept of yin and yang and encourages us to embrace these opposites, to see them as relative and changing, and to remember that, ultimately, all is Tao. By following the path of acceptance and responsiveness to change, we can become, in the words of Chuang Tzu, true women and men of Tao. He writes, “The true person of Tao is not always looking for right and wrong, not always deciding ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The true person has no

continued on page 33

Santa Cruz,

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

SPRING 2012 15

A PCOM Alumnus’ Calling: The Himalaya Project By Lori Howell, L.Ac., DAOM Fellow

hen Mark Sobralske graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Chicago and went to Kathmandu to volunteer in an integrative medical clinic, he anticipated gaining acupuncture and herbal medicine experience, deepening his Buddhist meditation practice, and certainly finding a little adventure. Mark didn’t anticipate founding a Tibetan medicine school for youths in the remote Nepali mountainous region of Dolpo. When you mix medicine, mountains, and meditation, many things may happen, what is anticipated, and especially what is unanticipated. After volunteering for three months at the Shechen Clinic and Hospice in Kathmandu, Mark accepted an invitation from his friend Lhakpa Dondrup to visit his “hometown” in the mountainous and remote region of Dolpo in western Nepal. Before embarking on the trip, Mark met with Amchi Namgyal Rinpoche, who told him of his improbable dream to

SPRING 2012

create a Tibetan medicine school in Dho-tarap Valley. Dhotarap Valley lies in the heart of the Dolpo region of western Nepal, adjacent to the Tibetan border. Tibetan pastoralists have inhabited this valley since the 8th century. Here, everything, every breath, is infused with Tibetan Buddhist culture. Fortunately, Mark brought a supply of acupuncture needles with him to Dolpo. Due to the scarcity of medical care in Dolpo, Mark continued his volunteer work by treating the local Dolpopas. In all of Dhotarap Valley there are only two amchis (Tibetan medical practitioners) to treat the entire population. People suffer and die needlessly from treatable disease due to this desperate lack of healthcare. Mark developed a deep love and understanding for the Dolpo people and their way of life. He carried Amchi Namgyal’s improbable dream of creating a Tibetan medicine school with him and once there, he saw the dream’s potential to manifest as reality.

Back in the States, with the support of the Dolpopas and Amchi Namgyal and local amchis from different areas of Dolpo, Mark embarked on an altogether different and difficult trek, navigating through the formalities and legalities of starting a non-profit. Himalaya Project was created on January 08, 2011 with the goal of providing Tibetan medical education and healthcare to underserved communities in the TransHimalayan region. The non-profit is headed by Sobralske and includes six other volunteer members. The volunteer board meets monthly and communicates regularly with advisors in Nepal. Himalaya Project endeavors to educate and train 14 children from age 12-13 for a period of five years. Two children from each of the surrounding seven villages will be admitted with the goal that at the end of their education they will return to their village to provide healthcare. To this end, healthcare will be more accessible in the Dolpo region. The

healthcare provided, Tibetan medicine, is that which is desired and understood by the population, allowing the region to remain self-sufficient without relying on expensive Western medication and foreign trained physicians. Be a part of manifesting the dream. Donations are gratefully accepted to help provide room, board, and tuition for Dolpo’s future amchis. Fostering and preserving traditional Tibetan medicine in Dolpo directly benefits the people of the Dolpo region and benefits our world by keeping traditional medicine alive and relevant. For more information about Himalaya Project and how you can help, please visit: www.himalayaproject.org. OM

Lori Howell, L.Ac., DAOM Fellow is a faculty member of PCOM, Chicago and maintains a private practice in Evanston, IL. She is a board member of Himalaya Project who believes that access to healthcare is a human right and traditional medicines should be valued and preserved.

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Nutritional Insights from Ayurveda continued from page 8

don’t want to believe that it has anything to do with why are you feeling so bored and directionless sometimes, or why you had a fight with your dear one for no particular reason. But it does. By studying the whole health principles so perfectly described in this ancient medicine, you can gain insight on this body-mind connection. And if you are able to apply them in your daily life, you can pursue better eating habits life long. The main Ayurvedic nutritional insight: Food is Medicine or diet as a therapeutic modality. Eating the right food in the right amounts at the right times in the right way is the answer to all your health concerns. The main cause to most diseases is not the external biohazards, but our own weak body and mind that invite them into our bodies. The most common Ayurveda proverb that I find interesting is, “Without proper diet, medicines are of no use. With proper diet, medicines are of no need”. Ayurveda describes six tastes of food. They are nutritionally important and each taste has its own physiological effect. In this culture, we are so familiar with three main tastes--sweet, sour and salty, the main cause of diaPCOM- OrMed-10.0625x7.5 - H

betes, heart disease, hypertension, and obesity so prevalent in Western society. Ayurveda describes three more tastes--pungent, bitter, and astringent. Unlike nutritional labels for protein, carbohydrates or minerals, the six tastes naturally guide us toward our body’s nutritional needs. Each taste feeds our mind, body, senses, and spirit in its own unique way. From a modern nutritional perspective, the six tastes satisfy each of the major dietary building blocks. Sweet foods, for example, are usually rich in fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and water, whereas bitter and astringent foods are generally high in vitamins and minerals. The brain sends the body signals when it requires energy in the form of food. By incorporating all six tastes into each meal, we ensure that these signals are adequately met, thus avoiding food cravings or the over-consumption of certain foods. Leaving out any one of these will create a craving, which then sets up the cycle of overindulgence. You never feels satisfied if you not nourished completely. If our lunch is composed of all six tastes, not necessarily in equal amounts, then we will notice that our desire to snack is reduced significantly.

12-08-11

Studies on animals have shown that they choose food that supplies them with nutrients they are lacking. They rely on their primal sense of taste and smell. If we, too, choose to follow our instinct, we will make the right choice. To make the right choice we can rely on our natural spontaneous desires, relying on our body-mind to guide us to achieve balance in the body. But, the choice must be innocent. We are so influenced by media and advertisements, the medical community, researches funded by giant food companies, other outside sources, as well as our family eating habits. No wonder we answer our hunger signals with a bag of potato chips or brownies, or if we are feeling guilty then worst yet… reduced fat chips and low fat, low sugar brownies! Ayurveda also gives us insight into food preparation. Can you tell the difference between the food prepared by your loved ones and the food from a fast food restaurant, or any noisy restaurant? If a home-cooked meal is prepared in a pleasant, calm, and clean atmosphere by a cook who is healthy, happy, and strong, it can offers you so much more in terms of quality of the food. It not only tastes

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best, it nourishes you best. Always prepare food as close as possible to the time when you will eat it. Also prepare food from scratch as often as you can. This way, you can control every aspect of it, ensuring its purity and freshness. Avoid old, stale, leftover food. It is considered low quality, lifeless, or dead food. A few general eating rules to consider according to Ayurveda: * Eat the heaviest meal at noon. It is the time of the day when digestive fire in our body physiologically is strongest. Studies have shown that we can eat higher calories earlier in the day and not gain weight as much eating a high calorie content in the evening. * Eat a lighter evening meal by 6-7 pm if possible, as our digestive fire slows down as the day sets down. Eat even lighter if eating after 7pm. It will also help you to sleep better. * Eat lighter if ill or under stress, as digestive fire is low because the body is focused on dealing with stress and can get overwhelmed by too much food.

continued on page 24

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SPRING 2012

From the Trenches: The Case for Insurance continued from page 9

One expensive lesson I learned the hard way is that I simply don’t code for internal medicine. I have found that many carriers try the “Acupuncture for this diagnosis is considered experimental.” In truth, 100% of my clients have pain, whether musculoskeletal or headaches. I may code for additional issues so that I am in compliance with my charting, but my #1 issue will always include pain of some kind. If the patient comes in with another complaint, particularly fatigue, endocrine issues, etc., it opens the door for balance billing to cover aspects of the treatment associated with their other condition, rather than for pain. 2. Consider using a free electronic billing service such as Office Ally. I did not begin to use them until this year, when I opted to be in network with several HMO based fee schedules where the remuneration was so poor that it didn’t make sense to have my biller do the cases. Office Ally has some amazing features, not the least of which is that if you have an error on the HCFA form it will not be accepted for processing. I have

SPRING 2012

only had to rebill a few cases with this amazing software. And, as I said, free for the user. 3. If you have an expanding practice, consider hiring an insurance biller sooner rather than later. I waited too long for this step and so did several of my colleagues. In fact, most of my colleagues wish they hired a biller sooner. What I did not know at the time is that I only have a certain amount of qi, and if I am wasting 15 hours a week trying to bill $25, then this is not an effective use of my time. Better to use my talent in generating income (e.g. treating), and let someone who is an expert in terms of billing navigate that. A biller brings the benefit of being current in coding and HIPAA changes that we may not know about as solo practitioners. In addition, a professional biller is far more knowledgeable in verifying insurance, finding the loopholes, hidden deductibles, etc. This has saved tremendously in terms of billing cases where the patient, in fact, had no coverage. Be advised, billing for ancillary care such as acupuncture is DIF-

FERENT than billing for Western medicine, and a biller will have his/her own learning curve in terms of billing for acupuncture. It took my biller and I about a year to work the kinks out--who required chart notes, who was most likely to deny payments, wait times, etc. It was admittedly scary that someone was now getting 15% or more of the take, but my own acupuncturist found that when she hired a biller, the service paid for itself in a few months. As your qi is freed up from the drain and frustration of billing, it becomes available to treat the new clients who are waiting. My own practice expanded about 30% after I hired a biller, sort of an if-you-build-it-they-will-come scenario. Had I not had this billing relationship in place, I would not have been ready to see such a high volume of patients. 4. Don’t get greedy. This was a great piece of advice from my beloved chiropractor prior to billing my first Workers Compensation case. He said “Don’t get greedy, don’t over code.” His advice to me was to never code for more than three procedures in any one visit lest

you run the risk of being redflagged by the insurance carrier. I have seen some acupuncturists bill PI cases at over $400 per session since PI still tends to pay at 100% of the fee schedule for a period of time. This is completely unethical and depletes the patient’s med-pay, to say nothing of creating bad impressions for us within the industry. Some chiropractors are reaping the rewards of greed and over billing now, so let’s learn from their mistakes. With regard to the myth of the Workers Comp cash cow, that being that that you make more money from Workers Compensation and can “code up,” it is patently untrue. When you factor in the additional cost and time for additional chart notes, medical reports (which are paid almost nothing), staff, rebilling and calls to recalcitrant payers, to say nothing of the headache of treating what are sometimes more challenging patients emotionally, I net more from cash clients. The benefit is a broader income stream from several sources. continued on page 28

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Clostridium Difficile Using Four Needle Technique and Four Constitutional Medicine By David Lee, Ph.D., L.Ac.

Chief Complaints and Symptoms This patient is a female, age 52, and is a bank teller. The classic fibromyalgia symptoms made her one of the first to be diagnosed 25 years ago. Lupus erythromatosus was diagnosed two years ago. She took five medications of immunosuppressants and steroids every day. There was so much tension and so many knots throughout the body that a light touch on the sternum, limbs, neck, shoulders and any place on the trunk elicited severe pain. She had temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and multiple joints pain throughout the body. She drank 10 to 15 cups of coffee a day to help deal with the pain. Red meat made the fibromyalgia worse. There was no edema or water retention. She had menopausal symptoms of waking up every night with profuse sweating and then chills followed. But the patient did not sweat easily during the day. Bowel movement was 2~3 times a day, loose. Urination was once every hour from drinking coffee. Appetite was normal and there was no complaint of indigestion. Mouth was dry. Tongue had red papillae. Five Element Diagnosis: Hourglass Trunk Shape

Measurement 1st line 33.7 cm 2nd line 33.8 cm 3rd line 32.0 cm 4th line 31.4 cm 5th line 33.7 cm

This patient was diagnosed as having excessive wood and water elements, and as well as deficient fire, earth, and metal elements. There are many physical, physiological, and psychological manifestations to help assess the five element states.

The following stood out the most in identifying the constitution. The hour glass shape of this patient is confirmed by the width of the fifth line being longer than the third line, which means the patient has deficient fire, deficient earth, and excessive water elements. She was diagnosed as having excessive wood and deficient metal elements because she does not easily get motion sick and can read books in a moving vehicle. Excessive wood and deficient metal means she has a Greater Yin (not the same meaning as the six pathogenic influences) constitution. Excessive water and deficient earth means she has a Lesser Yin constitution. Her deficient fire indicates that she is primarily a Lesser Yin constitution. All the various four needle techniques are designed to specifically treat her five element imbalances. Lesser Yin Constitutional Herbal Formulas These two formulas are specific for the Lesser Yin constitution from Dr. Jema Lee’s Sasang Four Constitutional Medicine. Cinnamon Twig, Pinellia, and Fresh Ginger Decoction (sheng jiang, gui zhi, ban xia, bai shao, bai zhu, chen pi, zhi gan cao) for the Clumping of the Chest in Taiyang Exterior Syndrome. Regulate the Interior Decoction with Evodia and Aconite (Ren Shen, Bai Zhu, Gan Jiang, Rou Gui, Bai Shao, Chen Pi, Zhi Gan Cao, Wu Zhu Yu, Xiao Hui Xiang, Bu Gu Zhi, Fu Zi) for the Jueyin Interior Syndrome. Treatment Progress and Result The visit frequency was at twice a week in the first 10 weeks. At the first session, the patient was given a Large Intestine tonification on the right side of the body. 25 minutes needle retention gave a significant reduction of pains. She took Cinnamon Twig, Pinellia, and Fresh

sedate

tonify

sedate

Liver sedation

LR8 (earth)

LR2 (water)

SP9 (earth)

KD2 (water)

Heart tonification

HT3 (earth)

HT8 (water)

SP9 (earth)

KD2 (water)

SP5 (fire)

SP2 (water)

HT4 (fire)

KD2 (water)

Lung tonification

LU5 (earth)

LU9 (wood)

SP9 (earth)

LR3 (wood)

Kidney sedation

KD10 (earth)

KD3 (wood)

SP9 (earth)

LR3 (wood)

Gall Bladder sedation

GB34 (earth)

GB43 (water)

ST36 (earth)

UB66 (water)

Small Intes. tonification

SI8 (earth)

SI2 (water)

ST36 (earth)

UB66 (water)

ST41 (fire)

ST44 (water)

SI5 (fire)

UB66 (water)

Large Intestine tonification

LI11 (earth)

LI3 (wood)

ST36 (earth)

GB41 (wood)

Urinary Bladder sedation

UB40 (earth)

UB65 (wood)

ST36 (earth)

GB41 (wood)

Spleen tonification

Stomach tonification

Left side of the body wood (jing-well) → fire (ying-spring) → earth (shu-stream) → metal (jing-river) → water (he-sea)

Liver

excess

gall bladder

excess

heart

deficient

small intestine

deficient

spleen

deficient

stomach

deficient

Lung tonification

Lung

deficient

large intestine

deficient

Kidney sedation

Kidney

excess

urinary bladder

excess

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

continued on page 38

tonify

Heart tonification

Yang Meridians

was an increased sense of well-being and energy. By the end of two and half months of treatment, she had the symptoms improved by at least 90%. At the 10th week, the patient reported progressively worsening of the bowel movement, which she did not mention because of the excitement from multiple improvements. She was having bloody diarrhea 5~12 times a day, especially a few minutes after each meal. She had increased flatulence and felt bloated. In the next four and a half months, the patient checked into an outpatient hospital. After MRIs, CT scans, stool sampling, and blood tests, she was diagnosed with three problems in the intestines: diverticulitis, clostridium difficile, and collagenous colitis. Several courses of

Right side of the body metal (jing-well) → water (ying-spring) → wood (shu-stream) → fire (jing-river) → earth (he-sea)

Liver sedation

Lesser Yin - Greater Yin Constitutional Acupuncture Yin Meridians

Ginger Decoction in the next 4 weeks because her chronic qi and blood stagnation required herbal medicine to assist the recovery more effectively. At the second visit two days later, the patient reported a maintained improvement. The patient was given a wood (jing-well) → fire (ying-spring) sequence Lung tonification on the left side of the body. At the third visit the patient reported further maintained improvement and an increased lung capacity. She was able to breathe in deeply without eliciting the extreme pains. On the following visits, she was given one of the left or right side treatments, all of which gave an additional reduction of fibromyalgia and TMJ pains. The bilateral treatments also were equally helpful. The improvement progress was linear and smooth. There

Spleen tonification

tonify

sedate

tonify

sedate

LR3 (earth)

LR8 (water)

SP3 (earth)

KD10 (water)

HT7 (earth)

HT3 (water)

SP3 (earth)

KD10 (water)

SP2 (fire)

SP10 (water)

HT8 (fire)

KD10 (water)

LU9 (earth)

LU11 (wood)

SP3 (earth)

LR1 (wood)

KD3 (earth)

KD1 (wood)

SP3 (earth)

LR1 (wood)

SPRING 2012

Ten years later: A Perspective on

Chinese Medicine Education By Jason Blalack

en years after graduating from Pacific College, I returned last weekend to attend the annual Pacific Symposium and to visit the campus. It was very exciting to see classmates and how well they were doing. I spoke to current teachers and students and was happy to hear about recent PCOM advancements in the classroom and clinic, and plans for the future. Many things have changed: the curriculum has evolved; Bob Damone, one of the best teachers when I went to school, is now the Academic Dean; and from my observation, the quality of teachers continues to improve. After graduating, I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I have been fortunate to have a busy fulltime practice. My education at Pacific College enabled me to successfully enter a very difficult practice market. In addition, I have traveled to China eight times, and have studied extensively with multiple famous doctors. As a result, I was able to translate and write a book with one of these doctors, which documented the clinical methods of one of the most influential physicians and teachers in Chinese medicine: Qin Bowei. My education at Pacific College provided me with the foundation necessary to demonstrate to doctors in China that I knew what was “going on,” which helped open doors to many opportunities. Although I am not currently affiliated with any school, I have given quite a bit of thought to the state of Chinese medical education in the West, as well as in China. After seriously considering (and foregoing) a PhD from a Chinese university in China, I can assure you that many of the challenges faced by students of Chinese medicine in the West are also faced by their counterparts in China. This is partly because of the diversities in the vision and ways of practice of Chinese medicine, as well the historical impact of some fairly severe turbulence in the field within the last 100 years. Given this, I hope to discuss in this brief essay my experience with Chinese medical education, some of the modern challenges of a Chinese medicine education anywhere in the world, and to discuss the excellent (and from an historical perspective) somewhat rare opportunity that is in front of you. In the early part of the 20th century, Chinese medicine schools in China were shut down and the profession was foreseen to become extinct. In the 1950’s Chinese medicine, under the direction of Mao Zedong, 20

SPRING 2012

became institutionalized and was essentially saved from oblivion. Ever since, there have been vociferous debates about curriculum, teaching material and methods, clinical training, and the necessary quantity of biomedicine. There are strong arguments on all sides, thwarting any immediate resolution. Nevertheless, schools in the West as well as in China continue to evolve. Pacific College, as well as all other Chinese medicine schools outside of East Asia, is still a small institution. In comparison, many Chinese medi-

cine universities in China have a student population of 10,000 or more. Despite its smaller size in relation to its Chinese cousins, Pacific College is among the better-developed Chinese medicine schools in the West; thus, it attracts high-level teachers. In contrast, many non-Asian countries have minimal formal Chinese medicine educational opportunities. For example, Germany, which has a fair number of Chinese medicine practitioners and hosts the largest symposium on Chinese medicine in the West, does not offer many such opportunities.

Thus, I have met numerous Germans that must travel often to China to obtain a satisfactory Chinese medicine education. While attending Pacific College, I had my share of complaints, actually probably more than most. I remember many complaining that the tests are too hard, that they are too easy, that we are not learning enough, that we are learning stuff that is not relevant, and where are the classics? The list goes on and on. No doubt, there were real concerns and many that I am proud to say that I voiced. My subsequent studies in China though, have influenced my attitude towards my Chinese medicine education. In China, one must build relationships with doctors, clinics, hospital administrators, etc. Without doing so, it is very difficult to penetrate into the culture and to find people who open up and share their deeper knowledge. In China, paying the tuition and fees just gets you into the door, and usually only grants you superficial observational experience and knowledge. My experiences led me to feel less entitled to a certain amount of knowledge—because I pay tuition—and more motivated to cultivate relationships with the teachers and administrators who were trying to provide the students with a solid and genuine foundation in Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine is a vast field and we all have things we are interested (and not interested) in. Consequently, any educational institution will inevitably leave holes in one’s “desired” education because of the diversity and complexity of the material to be delivered. However, schools such as Pacific College do provide students with a solid TCM education with ample exposure to various other modalities. Therefore, students today do have a great opportunity. You have access to a wealth of knowledge and to people willing to teach you. I want to encourage you all to make the most of this opportunity. If you are diligent in your studies, you will gather more than sufficient educational and clinical experience upon which you may base your life-long practice. OM Warm Regards, Jason Blalack

Schools such as Pacific College do *provide students with a solid TCM education with ample exposure to various other modalities

If any students who read this want to further this conversation, please feel free to email me at jblalack@chinesemedicinedoc.com.

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Pain is NOT the same for everybody? By Haunani Chong, Dipl. O.M., L.Ac., E-RYT, AWC

he recent NPR article, When it Comes To Pain Relief, One Size Doesn’t Fit All is exciting for me as a scientist at heart and sociologist by training. “Researchers now confirm what many pain specialists and patients already knew: Pain relief differs from person to person.” Duuuh! I mean, yaaaah, finally! Imagine me, driving along the highway, listening to Morning Edition on NPR, the biggest smile on my face, cheering for science and the latest research, as I hear modern science backing up the biological proof of “individual differences” and “one size doesn’t fit all.” Yeeehaw! If you are a holistic minded person, someone who is fascinated by humans and their patterns, medicine, or science, you already know this: everybody, or every body, is different and responds differently to our surroundings and stimuli, including medication. Then I hear, “If the first painkiller a patient tries doesn’t seem to be working, then a doctor should look to find an alternative reliable drug and see if it is more effective in that individual patient.” Huh?! Noooooooo. My optimism crushed.

It’s not that I’m against pills. Not at all. Honestly, life would probably be a lot easier, maybe not as fulfilling, but definitely easier if everything came in pills: my meals, my water, my computer, my schedule, my life. Pop, swallow, done! My instinct, gut, intuition, whatever you want to call it tells me otherwise. It has since I was a child and this is why I’m talking to my radio again. “It’s not just about the pills and the band-aid quick fix. It’s about understanding the nature of pain and how to treat pain differently. Come on! Tell me, what are people’s other choices for pain besides a pill?!” If I could call-in, I would. Thankfully, the piece finishes with a little more Truth, motivating me to blog. “More is not necessarily better, and certain high doses of individual medications as well as certain combinations of pain drugs can be toxic to the liver and kidneys. That’s reason enough to check with your doctor first about safe doses and safe combinations of pain medications.” OK, better. Kind of. If pain pills aren’t one size fits all, then maybe researchers should ask,

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W then outhe we weighun the one is bu es when sy with is forderst itional scal g assume it i- anding a the trad we use trad and watchin of class clinic year ortant: and be RMACY, ited. waiting on is more imp designed tolim af ical fo , HERB PHA tion. Patients c reas rmula ter year, on you tweight T OUR dly set; s can a prescrip rue, but the basi . They are ligh rapi for be s as can herb becam e’s quickly is not unt convenient desired weight for old e myo e twice as e, which er and more icin tion the for med crip spectacl rum pic was the mulas”. Wh es are fast eable fulc e, and fill a pres a bit like Chinese so a lot of tional scal with the mov is It ern, Han Lu logic and int at Dr Huang g at onc es. By mod and goin scal new Sharo n elligen opened carried, of them lcrum Western shiny and just keep the formu (Discussio n We ce beh us to ate and e several n of las. izenb ind can hav with the fixed-fu ys is up-to-d old medicine and aum thorou One cou Cold-Induce the Shang ada ld ld ghl you cou ything good now to throw out that ial: as uses for y how to un say he tau d Disorders ul. cruc nice ) ght us der the old EN JIN darn usef itself: ever k it would be ul, we are nce There formu stand and wasn’t so G TA e than usef in order to bala of utilise more De people thin that old one fact mor ls Huang have been sevlas. the old formu coction) 1 has NG (Warm only ely needed we are in phic leve Huang eral art la of one … if the Me always ever that that is desperat ety to catastro human hisinclud mi in icle how hu ne. rs rec ndr s ing nse been I have eds of s Ed one int ent issues written abo thinking led human soci rather new in ght occu a fav rt time pro tim dy when e The thou es of a type of tedly sho I begin es. A formu bably prescr ourite hav and Micha erview with of The La ut udes are s that hav tativ nte la becom and it these attit in an unpreceden of certain idea to feel Dr Hu e done el Ma ibed it mptions represen is x I ang. 2 rn, restingly, , a ess rse s and assu Chris think remarkably know exactly es a favourite diagnosis good job of and Dr Hu attitude n and waste. Intetheir destructiven speaking of cou ion, production of effe ang him by bod descri ans am rm ptio the bin how ma Wen Jing Tan ctive. How how to use y onstrated an lifetimes. I r unlimited exp d and short-te consum it I presentation type and trea g the metho self I have g over ny of us a have dem side hum would com in with with the the yea d of ting by ked to gree coupled with t to con tory, but three or four like to dysme think of it; re; rs is pro e to sen the Wes tegy. Lin norrhe of blo contin formula. In matching wh se — less thanthat have driven a survivable stra st in human natu al societies, they od ue a due to en a patien bably loo of Dr Hu es as ition wor ang’s tea to fill ou this article diagno deficiency I t comes king cold on and valu n and discard appeal to the ed in trad , t the sis is chings es develop ptio Wen Jing at how he right, use Wen Jing a backgroun and per reader’s consum e ideas and valu raint previously ing magical. uses the effe Tan d view, a feel are a clin Yet, as can ct is rap g. When the lectures, Tang. I wil one par ticu spective by term vision, thosdiscipline and rest e. er l hap ic bas lar for a id ced) a long mu We in TCM potent year after yea pen when one and almost informatio case from e this on loss of the around the glob ial of Dr Hu la, , until sedu precariousness. Dr Hu n from r, ad is my had Fan bus spre thi (or myopi ang’s g ang’s y his s classic understa have s have their own c clinic nding with Chine (The Ten Ma book Zh formu al societie istic view of menst in that I tho ong Yi and of ition se la jor the real trad rua Me e bec ught of Shi For Most ame rat from my dicine) 3 a mor hasis on and Str tion from it onl . Finally mula Categ Da Lei nce, and her n Sha s, with an emp the vast col ow ate for bala ori ron We field I will such as gies lists ind d. The fac y for painfu have nev n clinic for ss to izen presen es in prated t tha er giv ge acce wh l dry lips ctisenc ication and its rela ing oura baumthis be via and s for We t Formulas yourself the en Wen Jing ich I would t a case medicine nes ther has been theseand warm aim is to Chiwhe pre efficac n of Chinese to clinic. Our 24 yea palms mouth, low with rs lth, e medicking focuse y of thi Tang. You wil viously journal grade Jing Tang and wor ine for oring heaand has lect vance d on its tern is a s approa erationured al perspecand restthe US. In gen l see for Wen Jin ability soles went ove fever at dus and its rele The Lan Th around own 1998 she trad ntaining ition ch. k g Tang to trea ic is past ite Pin y, but itional view preserving, mai s fromWhour t pain r my head; e Healinthefoundecal presen the trad of d and cosm a small gro autumn I ervation tre man and obs are logi ition I or es g travel s tation trad Arts, a col The We niqu dedicat al, meteoro up of Huang centurie s in this cenThe tech and tea socied practit led to Nan d. to Hu resource of works of past ioners view is n Jing Tang variability. reflection, of the ching the practice of a pre ang. Wen ons to stu Jing with eniable presen of Asian a sub Sharon Jing ed a translati their und me is in-a-r ut scription for Tang is jus dy with Dr In fact, We category of tation in part, inde es, with . Schola also a France dicine. Dr t n Jing the Gu an integral techniqu that view (Cinn r at Mt s Tang is with exp thinking wa which my one examp i Zhi pre Huang’s human as wish to foster amon Holyoke Perkins where le lim ma tive of the . We she Co we we anded pos s put back ited, stuck- Wen Jing Twig Decoc de up of Gu sentation. ains one her tea has been tran llege sib re i Zhi Tan Zhi (Ci Tang patien tion) with matrix rem che Huang impressed ilities. Durin on the roa g t will add nn gynaec r’s book on slating d and ope am g mo the cou omi Ra means inspir ned ou ology. herbal stly app itions. The fang ed by r mi the wa rse with they will gen mulus) bod ear as a Gu Jing. Yet , or classic nds to the fine y y i Dr ly textur erally be typ way of formu this wa las, ed ski deficie e, which the jing s not 1. From n. They nt a simple of Zhang 2. The here sim will be and thin case of Zhong- 3. Hu Lantern: Vol ply refe sensiti “new rred to um ve to uses Majorang Huang (199 e 4-1 and 4-2. as Wen Jing 5) For

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Science mula Catego Zhong Yi Shi and Tec Da Lei ries in Michae l Max hnology Pres Chinese Me Fang (The Ten to be pub dici s. lished (Now bein ne), Jiangsu g : by Eas tland Pres translated by s.)

feature

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tern

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Gua Sha

ping out the

Smoothly scra

Classical essays

featur e

Wind Four of the Crook s

sha

can even be

gh light performed throu g sha). ion of raisin

A case

udy on ut the intent atopic titioners at clothing (witho gua sha prac By Ma eczem zin Alwith expert (China), a the term Khafa has studied ese Medicine Meaning of ji Bruce Bentley research Traditional Chin “coining” or Hospital of d a 12-month it as “spooning”, age the Shanghai he WA n he complete You may know these recent English langugua whe ical Lee Med g s do all all Tran ing that titled Folk ing”, but can alw MY LAsT in and with Mr PATien Government r proved “scraptutes fall short of the tidy meanterm gua sha call her my power ays mu rian latte it had The Victo T, and The ity. to get ster substi bee se language. altho door exact words her project for the means se Commun head off n a gruelli an interest sha has in Chine cters. The first, gua, n Ma on about the Vietname in a new ugh I ing she mumb , but as she better. I do mati ng in ho the infor chara with day n’t led eyes tha me. No sha, is zin Practices to gain rare comprises two the second, ated ing Al-khafaji question and I was case, cal worth it. A we something walked out ret made scrape, and dottin acupun opportunity graduto of I red kee led to hist ing or of felt abo me rub n tand type Budd to a shudd cture at inte surto ut ctive tell me ek later her about nothi the wa an outs n as the tional to the distin inc skinrna ng beMerci them, er run ke up and it, it was her colleg the name given a lineage know fully it that she had onsolable appears at the Medicine or do pay from that som ore e wn ion sha wh of orient mo att theref , eng taken is eth tion. gua They Gua shaatte and discolourat her ow ther had hau ing ver y simmy spine. I ention. the en Anne wa rare that al k medical tradi nded a land in 198 after treatment. mon I n and lke had g the see y nte 3, ilar ering d durin we pos see in passag d me face such eye life. , many re aga wand in na these tgradu n wit ever e of in. She at the end yea ate s, cam g, h to rub out sha. italicisenjin method, and

Ancient case histories

since, r rs time had but course ch means e flood and alt ago. tire widespread was 31 yea of my day, , I will no longe this witmuch ina and the rs ho ato fac Sixtee ing back aga faded the For this reason the real meaningmois so h intensive followed ley n impac ugh ery e and nec pic eczem old and suf re studie , as n andto sederterms 20s had years earlier in. k fere thema a. s in t, it all Chinese words when left as Chine medic at the , punct were covere Almost her d er al sions yed Anoth Taip spread walked into a young woma d uated ei Langua chinese where better conve on vernaincular. my ecz by ero with a dry enTaiwan. in she ation skin PERFORMED become part of the comm rural popul unfor tun ema. The ecz practice wit n in her ear ded, exc sca he ear ge institute ly Aro in an attem had dug her IS TYPICALLY h severe oriated ly the ned the used by the sino-Britis ema wa ate wo ed instruout only e UA SHA th-edg res nai comm pt “scrap un h , firs ma smoo to wid s t sch lels dee to qu d her so int a in the t a term n cou emeaning internal ounceolad rship by rubbing skin surface where (pron medic is gua feng, itching day. Not on ld not sle ense that the that betray ears I cou ell the unrele p into her ineisat to study call it caocogio ld the ep When China wo ly llegwind” . This the sha e of Tra ance resides. hopeless rn her do had the yea at night no dicating ed recent exu clearly see nting itch. . The Vietnamese scrapemeout ment across ditithe localis yel wn and “to injury or imbal reddening of the wind” r rs onal ch nghai dicine gy of plight, ed infect dation of ser low crusts yor”) meaning scaly subcutaneous ctive alongs convin of incessant empty eye ine the etiolo but the ski ous it specifiesden ide ion s she a posi- “gow ced her effective, distin held ine se ts and lly being ved. This is sting because treatment is Instea n condemned stigma of gradua ch se stuof her thickened and had darken . Around her fluid, inlast- intere d of d – windchtypica hav as sha, is obser teds inese Me unitie desper ing of swoll comm m being treate traditional immediate and skin, known had bee leaping int her to a lon ing dry red and scratc dicine as Doctor of and brings the reducing heat and proble o adult hing tha en from the the skin tha ate n a nig ely exi . in 198 in rural or his return Th illness nsible on tive response iso e t was 7. life htm to ste wind, con oed respo t con comm lated since , her nce. are dispelling and releasevery type ofin private england he two dee ema around tinued eve stant rubbin ing benefit of poraries. and unable as she becam teenage yea has bee practic ating coldness, r levels of for just about g n her p in elimin rs to in lin e n, 199 e n eye in Brig her 1 hend s was and deepe inflammatio life and She had str socialise wit increasingly canthi aro es that ran hton. accent sleep. l back and wo grou return the superficial uggled fro un h her uated rical and socia rk in the der ed to china ing pain from treat many acute contem called De d the lower m just bel eyes, wh her grip wa by ment of s slip for alm sha is used to ing colds and flu, Histo matolo ow nn borde guagysha to ces, the body. Gua practi r of her the inner me, we en she muste ping. I cou ost her entire the more ie-Morgan al the departms includ Aff medic joint proble , na iliat ional re long sev lin ld eye injury d njin ed ho es, so ere g, folk metho many tradit chronic health dizziness, betray empty and red the cou see that her areas of spi charac s, the so indigestion, is also Like lishedas aand subseq her fac cases of ato ing yea rage to lacked backtal in teristic bly performed dates uen flam The pic fever, headache, and heat exhaustion. It proba e which rs fer tha tly loo was tha ing, ma of des eczem ing. Th g of t were record skin clinic ion.est It abyalgia perate t indefinabl k at outer tion were tight and achin before its first writtenment of der not livi a. The few se tradit for tre pain, fibrom ciated is sparkle, unnat and ano e glint, the Chine matolo aspect med to relax atd red e. The withinch ago wit wh ura prehis with d 700 years ess and fatigu commonly perfor al toric ine back ingic live, wa h motivatio ich I have nymous suf red macul s of her arm lly pale. Bo to relieve tiredn points and chan- aroun been discovered wayse herbal me disorders eve th inn inar pap - ria n, s s were the muscles and have er ule dicine. ted histor utterly abs fulfilment r since ass of gua sha to cement may o- pec scratch ma r lesions, wit also covere and y and , stroking action writte ent. Having and the wil d wit as a health enhan to the rks t of her h n the l to tak be practised door, forearms . Scattered acr the telltale exc h as with nels can also my hea prescript en a full cas oss feature oI no ion the rt hea vy, det , I ushered e sions cou area aroun ted pustular the outer asermine her d her ear les on the ld be seen d I wo s, yellow ions, and, spr do uld cruste fingers rsum of her ead around a multit her wr d lehan ists and ude of ds. Betwe en vesicle s were most of her appare nt, sur -

By Bruce Bent

Practical techniques Embodied theory

Vol 4–2

feature

The Lan

tern

Daoism & yang sheng ion l palpat Practica

Qi trans

continued on page 28

formatio

in the Sh

ang Han

l use of Clinica zhen rth the fou

Lun

n theor

pulse is Then the ent of elling. nem and-sm n or refi journal listening- a confirmatio ters of few wri rences in theby Liu used for Du-Zho ition. The d refe ntu one’s pos palpation cite palpation, poi eon of neverth articles other forms Det lving to there but ion tha lis classics ases here or into the ress , which hael El the theories phr the imp by Mic clear-cut English ing to state ofthat is shake of the Sha pattern easy or ing to assessing the s of Chi- rich and rew the diff fail ays ng in arding. alw nt cou less to of the wor erentiation dev Top of the Han Lun reveal comes s and era n is not velopme es – and r hasld call “the the elop ld-view s a field when it st school of the exteriotheorie k of de list palpatio ory of qi mo regards of Chinese ed as a result tag lac by in er, s , van tive hea transforma would be what medicin . Howev s of six qi (liu interior ine, palpation on its use s the ad Diagnosi lains its rela influential ven and man we e that or role (bia tion”, wh re-ben 1 dic l qi), six sta l discus ctical pointers min me exp as o era e ly wil I ps sev nes tive ich takes h ges the six metorganism. It uses one mutually perha article ad- ) as a guide the rela shi fting wit er pra the retme trea the influen eoro ratu for six sta (liu jing), and bra is . In this played and off lite n ure ion nt. as tio lish rat ce of ress the foun logic qi on the the nch ge pattern lpa lite this imp ns to the Eng evidence of s – of pa identificat and root Its establis dation to differen human body disitio n tori ling add s. der t his pel difficultie hm ion and tiate patt osi its cen com ent as in mo the crys ion and ed as fu diagn g that g more tallisation a theory means erns. TeLLin invariably list the vancin channel palpat ting more com l in zang iTe that [to of the esse put it of ugh advoca nabdomina T is qu palpation is nce of pro it is utility e, and – as tho s, and Liu Du-Z accept]. into terms Mao gress hou (abo , the cussion of the si zhen nal diagnostic cal precedenc of channel 200 In ally ist scholars ve, 19171) was Na d actu itio use analyse developing our rth n can a wor the trad dicine courses prehensive the clinic. An exp view a the fou ld-renow URING THE g Shu and me ificant of ned in commu situation carefull s, we should is in the and . Itteac the Lin ert ject QING DYN nist trad least sign In my Chinese ion per se, - palpation ry was studsub ition], rath y [in the best looks into y of the pal- hing and pat the AST careless ly and ponents very well known; Y, this theomethods. no unit on pal cussion of sub - deeper one one finds on (Dis ence of Shang Han Lun risk thro er than generalise re included dis with the the abscussion an its major wing the the mo nam An, Zha there was se taking no I can recall. Cer bath nt that withbee n moofreCold Damage baby out ng Ling-Sh es such as Zha prot num pul bal Jing oming appare In the orig -water. cal ), erous boo ork has ng Yinbeyond instruction tha died on her ao and Che More ks on the subjofect. its histori inal pref I stu the bec ion from coursewection Lun recently, or ts He n ace of ce , Xiu was tex Zha to -Yu a stan regardin refl editor also e of the palpation g the theo however, kno an. phases ng Zhong-Jing the Shang Han stic pat rsight than a of the edu the main exte tainly non recommended of the diagno ry of qi the Sha wledge wrote “the cational textboo ng t tran do ove the ten nd throughout k Zho ence. five medicine channels as par reference to of alm Han Lun has fade sformation in heaven, thousand promin (Basic The ngyi Jichu Lilun ost disa effecting or stateme mes. d to the the odd ories in TCM e ppearin tissues nt shows forms” and syndro [due to point g. Som with Mao aside from abdominal se taking in practic was the teac the deeper re). He book: the e scho her ing process, pun “metaph ist influence] pul ofctu Palpation intentio this mechan lars a num of Shang acu erentiat even crit ysic gnosis, ent, n of the ism of qi sis ber Han Lun Japanese icise it as “Through the with diff a pillar of dia final assessm is damnin al” [which in transfor experts ng empha w, the whodhave cha stro dia gh a and a Mao kno g]. nne the h hou as lectured ls, collater mation. points, yin ist context ine Alt ed d wit As we In my opin in maintaover the als, orga por tray be approache and yan means past few Australia of one’s tradition has ion, how ns lt g is often to that mov resu ht year ever, this n, s. as a t oug channels, all the aspects e in concert” method one tha forming g, observatio a. coll of the of in already nin body, 4 active yin- aterals, organs questio agnosis and poin Vol 6–2 . yang link hensive through ts, are age, and compre man It is qui to the heavens. this extends te clear that Zha ng Zho ng-Jing

Vol 6–

NOW IN

Yang Sheng

TABLET

Walking th e road

FORMA T!

By Xiaoyao

home

Xingzhe

ing. Some of the path s do that goal, it is true, and not lead very far towa many are so rds now impo ChoRD IS ssibl overgrown STRuCk it sanely. Afte e to proceed down wIThIn You interest is them safel is r a certain y and , your garden a point on further into piqued, and you guide the route decide to the to this look ers, but guid is necessary for almo Almost imm life practices of es who have st all wayf ancient Chin ediately you artrave choice. a. and returned are over whe are few, and rsed the whole path lmed — with adve they seldo “Should I rtise. m — if ever learn Taich i, or type? I like Furthermore, Zen stories, Qi Gong? If so, wha if one is start Chan? Wha t place (like but is that ing t And I have about Kung Fu? Or the same as bygone a different culture, from a different or seen some is it Gong era) class Fu? ent cour the path will natu the mindset of a ments that rally follow they called es with yoga-like mov se. This is a diffe Yi Jin or Hua Tuo why, every e- been a need to re-fo so often, there rWu Qin Xi. Jing, or Ba Duan Jin, changing class, and rge pathways But then has they I saw anot terrain. for new feet her there! Shou didn’t do anything and : they just ld I study Lao Zi discu stood the Yi Jing, learn Feng sses this idea, Shui? Wha ter of his or Lao Zi, in the very Dao De Jing, t should I healthy, or first chap do, if I want or One may maybe wise which says speak of “a to be r than I am in paraphra to imagine, path” but right now I know)?” there is no se: (hard unvarying “Path”, any singl If all one more nam e than there e for an obje wants is a is only one ct. You can weekend hobb in the worl venience, name thing d y, s, for conan introduct now offer classes that most areas If you but over time those are stuck names ion to at least can But if you some of these serve as the Ten Tho on the name, you will change. want to go are trapped usand Thin activities. deeper, any path leadi reality wher in gs. Look of these can ng one towa beyond, to e there is rds be a sire for the inner the core of Daoi that secret garden objects and no name. Cut away that your sm you of being that is and Budd hism: a unity you from everything will see how they sepa deis ultimately ; when there supportive rate and nourish- objects (and the satis is no desir factions e for begin to obse rve Subtlety! they bring), you will

www.thelantern.com.au n Xiaoyao Xingz himself a caref he considers ree wandering grim, havin pilg lived over the world and worked all , including profession dancing ally, teaching banjo in China, waiti ng tables in florida, and lecturing in Sydney. 44

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Researching Retinitis Pigmentosa continued from page 14

Treatment Principle: Nourish the Liver and Kidney Representative formula: Mīng Mù Dì Huáng táng (Bright Eye Rehmannia Decoction) Ingredients: See Table 2 Modifications: For cases with stasis papules on the tongue, and thin retinal vessels, add chuān xiōng (Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Sichuan lovage root) 10g, jī xuè téng (suberect spatholobus stem) 10g, niú xī (Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae, two-toothed achyranthes root) 10g to strengthen the effect of quickening the blood and opening the collaterals. For cases with dry mouth and constipation, add zhī mŭ (Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, common anemarrhena rhizome)10g, huā fĕn, Radix Trichosanthis, trichosanthes root)10g, xuán shēn, Radix Scrophulariae, figwort root ) 10g, jué míng zĭ , Semen Cassiae, cassia seed) 15g to eliminate heat by nourishing yin, loosen bowels in order to relieve constipation. 3. Spleen Qi Deficiency Syndrome characteristics: night blindness, progressive constriction of visual field (tunnel vision), white face and fatigued spirit, loose stool, heavy limbs, reduced eating and general fatigue, pale tongue with white coating, weak pulse. Treatment Principle: Strengthen Spleen and Boost Qi Representative formula: Modified Bŭ Zhōng Yì Qì Tāng Ingredients: See Table 3 Modifications: Add chuān xiōng Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Sichuan lovage root) 10g, dān shēn (Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae, danshen root) 15g, jī xuè téng suberect spatholobus stem) 10g, niú xī twotoothed achyranthes root) 10g to enhance the effects of nourishing and moving the blood. Acupuncture Therapy: Local acupoints include EX-HN5 (tài yang), BL 2 (cuán zhú), ST 1 (chéng qì), BL 1 (jīng míng), GB 20 (fēng chí) , SJ 23 (sī zhú kōn), GB 1 (tong zi liáo), EX-HN7 (qiú hòu), EXHN4 (yú yāo), GB 14 (yang bái). Distal points, include BL 23 (shèn shù), BL 18 (gān shù), GB 37 (guāng míng), LI 4 (hé gu), ST 36 (zú sān li), SP 6 (sān yīn jiāo), Lv-8, K 10, K-7. For cases with congenital deficiency, debilitation of the life gate fire, add RN 6 (qì hǎi), DU 4 (mìng mén), BL 23 (shèn shù). For cases with liver blood deficiency, and deficiency of kidneyessence, add BL 17 (gé shù), BL 26 (guān yuán shù), RN 4 (guān yuán), KI 3 (tài xī). For cases with spleen-stomach deficiency, insufficiency of essential Qi, add BL 21 (wèi shù), RN 12 (zhōng wǎn), ST 36 (zú sān li).

Needle Technique: • Local acupoints are combined with distal and selected according to the underlying pattern. • Select 30-32 1.5-2 inch acupuncture needles for the local ocular acupoints. Perpendicular insertion is suggested, slowly insert the needle and obtain a qi sensation. • Use a neutral needle-manipulation technique and retain the needles for 30 minutes. • Treat once every day. There are 10 treatments in a course of treatment. Patients may take a rest for 3-5 days between two courses, and 2-4 courses of treatment may be needed. Wearing Protective Sunglasses RP patient should wear sunglasses regularly in order to protect the eyes and reduce the UV stress that may cause accelerated degeneration of the outer segments of the retina. The best lens colors for sunglasses are shades of red, purple, or violet. For RP patients, I do not suggest wearing blue-black, brown, or green color sunglasses. Stress and the Eyes As with all chronic health conditions, it is advised to manage and avoid excessive or prolonged mental and emotional stress. Under stress, the blood catecholamine levels increase, causing the choroid blood vessel to constrict; reducing the blood flow to the retina. Reduced blood flow will result in reduced oxygen and essential nutrients like glucose, fats, and antioxidant vitamins and minerals to the eyes. It will also impair the ocular detoxification process. Accumulated wastes will speed up the degenerative process of the retinal cells and result in accelerated vision loss. Qi Gong can be used to adjust the cerebral cortex stress response and has a systemic relaxing effect on all organs of the body. By learning to strengthen and use one’s own intention (mind power), we can increase qi and blood flow to the eyes. In my first book, Healing Your Eyes with Chinese Medicine, I have specific eye exercises. A good basic Qi Gong exercise for RP is to first relax the body and mind completely. Then, gently visualize the energy building in the lower Dantien (Ren 6 area) for 10 minutes. Next, visualize the bright-white energy rising up to the eyes for the next 10 minutes. If one willingly perseveres with Qi Gong practice, it is possible to arrest the degenerative process completely. In my clinical practice, I have not been very successful in getting my patients to do Qi Gong religiously. I continued on NEXT PAGE

SPRING 2012 22

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Table 1

Table 3

shú dì

20g

Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata

prepared rehmannia root

shān yào

15g

Rhizoma Dioscoreae

common yam rhizome

shān zhū yú

10g

Fructus Corni

Cornus

gŏu qĭ zĭ

10g

Fructus Lycii

Chinese wolfberry fruit

tù sī zĭ

10g

Semen Cuscutae

dodder seed

dù zhòng

10g

Cortex Eucommiae

dāng guī

10g

ròu guì zhì fù zĭ

huáng qí

20g

Radix Astragali

milk-vetch root

tài zĭ shēn

20g

Radix Pseudostellariae

heterophylly false satarwort root

dāng guī

15g

Radix Angelicae Sinensis

Chinese angelica

bái zhú

10g

Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae

white atractylodes rhizome

eucommia bark

chái hú

10g

Radix Bupleuri

hare’s ear root

Radix Angelicae Sinensis

Chinese angelica

shēng má

Rhizoma Cimicifugae

black cohosh rhizome

Cortex Cinnamomi

cassia bark

chén pí

10g

Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae

aged tangerine peel

10g

Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata

prepared aconite root

gān căo

Radix et Rhizoma Glycyrrhizae

liquorice root

Table 2

shú dì

15g

Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata

prepared rehmannia root

shēng dì

15g

Radix Rehmanniae

rehmannia root

shān yào

10g

Rhizoma Dioscoreae

common yam rhizome

shān zhū yú

10g

Fructus Corni

Cornus

zé xiè

10g

Rhizoma Alismatis

water plantain rhizome

mŭ dān pí

10g

Cortex Moutan

tree peony bark

chái hú

10g

Radix Bupleuri

hare’s ear root; bupleurum; thotowax root

fú ling

10g

Poria

Indian bread

dāng guī

10g

Radix Angelicae Sinensis

Chinese angelica

wŭ wèi zĭ

Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis

Chinese magnolivine fruit

do believe that if they did, this alone is the best thing they can do for their eyes. Of course, a healthy diet and exercise is critical as well. Summary Historically, acupuncture and Chinese medicine have been treat-

ing degenerative eye conditions like RP for thousands of years. Western medicine currently has little (if anything) to offer people going blind from these conditions. I believe that this is mostly because the conventional Western model rejects the holistic concept that all eye diseases are

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systemic problems, not isolated eye conditions. Currently all people diagnosed with RP are told by their ophthalmologists that there is nothing that they (or anyone else) can do for them. True, there is no drug or surgical procedure that can help RP, but there is a world beyond drugs and surgery. The integrative approach poses one solution for helping patients with RP to manage their condition. Doing research that may demonstrate efficacy should help raise awareness and help get more people under TCM care. In addition to getting the word out that acupuncture can be very helpful for people with RP, it is my hope that our research study will be a catalyst to generate more interest and research in Integrative Ophthalmology. OM

Andy Rosenfarb, ND, L.Ac. is the author of “Healing your Eyes with Chinese Medicine” and co-author of “Ophthalmology in Chinese Medicine.” He is in private practice in Westfield, New Jersey. www.acupuncturehealth.net.

SPRING 2012

Nutritional Insights from Ayurveda continued from page 17

* Yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, and stored or over-fermented cultured buttermilk should be avoided after sunset. * Try to eat your meals at about the same time each day. * Consider fasting with liquids that include fresh fruit juices, light soups, or pureed vegetables once a month or once a week if your body constitution allows it. Consider a partial fast, which includes a regular lunch and liquids for your evening meal. This gentle kind of fasting provides lightness in the body and clarity of the senses. It stimulates digestive fire and increases energy. DO NOT fast for more than twenty-four hours without a physician’s guidance. Charaka Samhita is the most important and authoritative of the ancient writings of Ayurveda on Internal Medicine. It is believed to be the oldest of the three ancient treatises of Ayurveda, written sometime around 400-200 BCE. It is still central to the modern-day practice of Ayurvedic medicine.

The following are the ten basic principles from this famous classic, from the chapter about the quantitative dietetics. This chapter describes in detail the various attributes of food, its ingredients, preparations, and the effect on the human body: * Eat your food hot, or at least warm. Cold food and drinks decrease the digestive power. Our digestive enzymes function well at body temperature. Lowering stomach temperature with cold food lowers the rate and efficiency of the digestion. Warm food not only maximizes the efficiency of the digestive enzymes, but will also bring out the flavor that uncooked food may not have. * The food should be moist and unctuous. Slightly oily food gets disintegrated quickly and also helps the downward movement of vata, an air energy in the body (same as qi), which strengthens the senses, promotes strength, and improves complexion. * Eat food in the proper quantity, which is actually 3/4th of your capacity. Don’t eat till you become completely full. Leave some room

for the action of vata, the mix of food with digestive enzymes. Do not drink water right after you eat. Sip in between if your food is dry, but more importantly, drink about an hour later to help with the digestion. * The food should be eaten only after your previous meal is digested. Allow at least 3-6 (depending on your constitution) hours between meals. You can take a cue from your body to know if the previous meal is digested if there is some lightness in the body and a clear sensation of hunger. This way, we know that it’s true hunger and not just the emotional desire of food, which can lead to overeating and extinguishing your normal digestive fire. * The food ingredients should not be contradictory in their potency. An example of potency opposites is milk, which is of cold potency, and salt, which is hot potency. The mixing of opposite food items leads to the formation of a toxic substance that dampens digestive fire, disturbs digestion, and causes skin diseases.

* The food should be eaten in a pleasant atmosphere with the required accessories. If not done so, emotional strain will occur and may cause anger, anxiety, and confusion affecting digestion. * The food should not be taken in excessively fast. Take at least twenty minutes to finish your meal and sit for few minutes after your meal. Do not eat on-the-go. You will not enjoy the flavors, and also might not notice any contaminants like dust or hair etc. in the food. * The intake of the food should not be too slow. It will not give you complete satisfaction, and you will eat more as a result. The food will become cold leading to irregularities in the digestion. While eating, one should only concentrate on eating. You should not talk or laugh excessively while eating. This includes not eating while you work, watch TV, or read. Not only might you choke, but also you will not enjoy the flavors, and you will not know how much you ate. continued on page 33

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The ‘Why’ of Chi Nei Tsang By Scott Stone, LMT

completely integrated mind, body, and shen are necessary to experience true health and live a complete and comfortable human experience. Through the course of our lives, we accumulate a variety of situations and experiences that create obstacles to the correct synchronized operation of our wonderfully complex being. Emotional blockages can stem from various traumatic scenarios, or stem from fears we encounter. These obstacles manifest in the organs, and create significant impediment to the operation of the body as a whole. They can last a whole lifetime, and prevent us from enjoying all the blessings reserved for us. In the practice of Chi Nei Tsang, we are able to resolve these various blockages using qi (life energy). Addressing these blocks using the body’s own energy allows us to free the body to heal itself. Our natural energetic tendency is to strive toward balance, toward health and fullness. Health is the birthright, the divine inheritance of everyone. In order to efficiently target the most significant blocks, we can utilize how the navel pulls as a diagnostic tool. The navel will reflect the associated emotional and energetic state of being, accurately describing a roadmap of past transgressions and allowing us to confront fear and injury to ourselves; real or imagined. Its relationship to the Tan T’ien, or spirit seat, gives us a look at what energies are clamoring most for attention and lets us address these blocks and dissolve them with true love. The spleen and stomach (SP/ST) energetic system is responsible for processing our food. It assimilates the qi from food and fluid, and governs the descending action of qi in our body. The SP/ST system is also where we store our emotional contact with the earth. Our relationship with earth energy gives us our capacity to be practical and grounded. It’s responsible for our walking in the light of balance and abundance, it allows us to love ourselves and to be sympathetic and to provide and care for ourselves and others. Blocks in this system can manifest in ulcers, heart burn, nausea, vomiting and a host of other digestive problems. Emotionally speaking, blocks and deficiencies in the ST/ SP system will reflect excessive and unfounded worry of survival issues; it can cause us to become obsessive in thought and often makes the client/ student feel overwhelmed. It can produce addictions stemming from fear of not having what you thinks you need. It can become a severe block in your ability to love yourself.

Additionally, the relationship between the SP/ST will also affect the pancreas, which is responsible for transporting and transforming the qi into usable energy for the rest of the body. Also related to our earth connection, the spleen and pancreas help us find our spiritual foundation and purpose, allowing us to seek the nourishment for our shen, as our shen is also hungry and needs to be fed. Experiencing general worry, confusion, and an emotional heaviness and lack of spiritual direction points to a blockage in the spleen and pancreas area. This can also produce low immunity, muscle cramping, edema, hernia, and, of course, diabetic issues, to touch a few. We can see this blockage in the navel, as these problems tend to give the navel a distinct upper left pull, distorting the rim of the navel. Pulling down to the lower right, our navel can tell us there is a block in the small intestine (SI) system. This system separates the pure from the impure in our bodies; it digests and absorbs the essential substances. It is one of our connections to the fire element, and it’s the seat of our intuition. It’s where we house our will power and inner guidance. When this particular system is blocked, we can expect to see constipation, diarrhea, allergies and other digestive problems. Emotionally, we will be fearful of our own intuition and instincts. Suffering from this type of block can rob us of our ability to navigate life with assurance in ourselves, living a life full of inhibition and fear of trusting what we believe and how that can set our feet in the right place at the right time to receive blessings the universe has promised us. Unfortunately, this can result in many ill-timed actions, propelling us into uncomfortable situations and adding to the blockages already present. Intuition, instinct, and will power correctly utilized lead us to light and health.

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Keeping us close to the wood element, our liver and gall bladder LV/ GB defend our body against rough and hampered qi flow. It stores and purifies our blood. The liver generates a growing, moist, warm and nurturing energy. It’s where we house our compassion for others and their place in life. It allows us to take our life lessons to a productive, positive place and continue to grow in the face of setbacks and problems. It allows us to forgive ourselves and others. Our LV/GB fosters our development by allowing us to access new insights and see our position from a more productive point of view. Pulling to the upper right, the navel will reflect the blockages of the LV/GB. We can also expect to see toxicity of the body and its systems. When this system is in distress, we will also see hormonal imbalances, eye and vision problems (the liver opens into the eyes) cysts and tumors as well. Emotionally, anger is related to blockages of the liver; rage and frustration too. One of the most insidious emotional poisons, resentment, stems from this malfunction as well. Resentment can prevent us from forgiving ourselves and others. It can imprison us in a horrible cell of bitterness and anger and destroy our ability to connect with our fellow man in a loving, caring and nurturing way. Resentment can keep us from growing into a fully realized human. It can literally destroy you. The lungs and the large intestine (LU/LI) connect us to metal. The ancient Taoist referred to this energy as gold, being the most precious and refined of metals. This reflects the importance of the job of the lungs; it is the body’s energy forge, our generator. The LU/LI are responsible for taking air qi (kong qi) and food qi (gu qi) and combining it with our original pre-natal qi (yuan qi) to produce two separate types of qi; nutritious and defensive.

The lungs control our rhythmic actions, regulates water passage, dominate kong qi and control our respiration. Courage, our sense of justice, our ability to be joyful in our present situation and the excitement felt at creating and participating in positive change reside in the lungs. Excess of grief, sadness, and fear of any type of change can come from a block in the lung system. It can also express itself as fear of an unknown future. This will bring about respiratory issues, frequent colds and flu, and all types of breathing problems. The lungs will manifest in a lower left pull but can also appear with an upper pull. Our large intestine receives and forms waste, excretes it and also takes advantage of the remaining fluids, salts and minerals passed on from the small intestine. It holds our courage and our personal power. When our LI system is unencumbered, we can expect to flow through changes with dignity and grace; to struggle no more than appropriate. We will be capable of letting go of those things that are unnecessary, emotional or otherwise, and to be fully present and able to provide what the moment requires of us. Pain of loss. Pain of separation. Fear of letting go. Greif. Sadness. All these negative, prohibitive emotions stem from blockages of the LI system. As I stated earlier all of these negative emotional states of mind, and all the other ones previously addressed, stem from illusionary fear. The fear you are not going to get what you want, and the fear you are going to lose what you think you possess. If the L. intestinal system is blocked, we can also expect to see various bowel problems, constipation, diarrhea, colitis etc. The navel expresses this blockage with a lower left pull of the navel. These are just of a few of the systems in your body, and just an introduction of their interrelated nature to emotional operation. A path of truth and light leads to health and a full expression of the wonderful gift of humanity. Complete and full, we have the opportunity to live and give and receive a never-ending celebration of blessings. Chi Nei Tsang can give us the chance to revisit some of the events in our life that would stand in the way of us being completely ourselves. OM

Scott Stone is a massage therapist living and working in the San Diego area concentrating on therapeutic techniques targeting mental health and addictions.

SPRING 2012

Systematic Review: Generating Evidenced-Based

Guidelines on the Concurrent Use of Dietary Antioxidants and Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy

By Karen Alladin

ecent studies show that an increasing number of Americans are seeking complementary and alternative Medicine (CAM) (1,2). Cancer patients are among those interested in CAM to improve their disease status and quality of life. Many cancer patients use dietary supplements with antioxidants during or after conventional cancer treatment attempting to enhance the benefits of treatment, prevent or alleviate side effects, or maintain or improve general health and well-being (3-5). Cancer patients do this regardless of a relative lack of high-level evidence of antioxidant’s safety, efficacy, or benefit when combined with conventional cancer therapies. Antioxidants are widely viewed by patients as safe, healthy means to protect cells and tissues from damage caused by free radicals, thus providing a preventive measure against the onset of cancer and side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Antioxidants act to quench free radicals or prevent the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive chemicals with incomplete electron shells, making them chemically volatile and prone to taking electrons from other molecules (e.g., lipids and nucleotides), which can lead to damage of cell membranes or DNA. Dietary antioxidants take part in cellular redox reactions and can act as either antioxidants (electron donors) or prooxidants (electron acceptors), depending on the physiological environment, their concentration, or general oxidative state, working to protect cells and tissues from damage (6). There are conflicting arguments regarding the concurrent use of dietary antioxidants while a cancer patient is undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. One side of the argument posits that antioxidants help protect and repair healthy cells that are damaged as a consequence of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which can result in fewer or less severe side effects. Proponents of this argument also assert the ability of the antioxidants to directly induce apoptosis, or cell death, in malignant cancer cells and to enhance antitumor effects of chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo (7-10). The other side of the argument is concerned that antioxidants directly oppose the mechanisms of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, working to repair and protect cells from oxidative damage, while many cancer treatments aim to destroy cancer cells by causing oxidative damage (11, 12). 26

SPRING 2012

Many published studies have reported the effects of antioxidants as an adjuvant therapy for cancer patients while undergoing conventional cancer therapy. Recent reviews have come to divergent opinions about the appropriateness of recommendations for (9, 10) or against (13, 14) the concurrent use of antioxidants with either chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Although questions about the risk-benefit ratio have apparently been adequately answered for some, intriguing results from various studies have prompted many to call for more research (13, 15-18). A systematic review was conducted of the published clinical trials examining the effects of dietary antioxidants taken concurrently with chemotherapy or radiation therapy in an attempt to (a) characterize the research and clinical questions under investigation in these studies, (b) determine what further research would be necessary to strengthen efforts at clinical guidelines and development, and (c) identify areas of promise for future research. After extensively filtered literature searches of MEDLINE, via PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, fifty-two clinical trials were found that investigated the concurrent use of diet-derived antioxidants with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. The most popularly investigated antioxidants were glutathione or reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin E, and Nacetylcysteine (NAC). A smaller number of studies researched vitamin C, selenium, coenzyme Q10, and zinc. The studies investigating GSH reported varying levels of dosage of GSH administered to patient, and no dosage study was found regarding the optimal dosage of GSH. In two studies observing GSH used in ovarian cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (19, 20), researchers found less toxic damage to the kidneys and improvement in kidney function, as well as significantly better quality of life in the treatment arms receiving GSH versus those receiving placebo. One of the studies’ results, however, was not statistically significant. In a colorectal cancer trial, patients receiving GSH were found to have significantly reduced nerve damage compared to the control group with no reduction in activity of the chemotherapy drug oxaliplatin (21). Vitamin E was studied mostly for its effectiveness at reducing the side effects of conventional cancer therapy. One study observing head

and neck cancer patients showed a lower rate of mucositis, or painful inflammation and ulceration of mucus membranes in the group receiving vitamin E versus the control group (22). However, another study showed that the group of cancer patients receiving vitamin E supplements showed a higher rate of second primary cancers or recurrences of the original cancer during the time of supplementation, but lower rates after discontinuing the supplements (23). In addition, they did observe less acute adverse side effects to the radiation treatment in those receiving vitamin E versus those receiving placebo. Two other studies reported less nerve damage in those receiving vitamin E, and another study on lung cancer patients showed those receiving vitamin E displayed less radiation-induced lung toxicity as well as enhanced survival (24,25). The studies measuring the effects of NAC on preventing treatment-related side effects showed less nerve damage and cardiomyopathy, or deterioration and damage to the heart muscle in patients receiving the antioxidant supplements versus placebo (26,27). The NAC studies observing its effect on tumor-outcome-related endpoints in lung cancer patients did not report any statistically significant benefit for the antioxidant groups (28, 29, 30). Based on the existing clinical trials, it is difficult for both physicians and patients to make confident decisions in weighing the risks and benefits on concurrent use of antioxidant supplementation and conventional cancer therapy. Many of the trials studying these combinations are small-sized trials, and lack statistically significant data to provide definite answers to questions regarding the safety and efficacy of these antioxidant supplements when combined with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Our systematic review identified a wide array of antioxidants under investigation, including glutathione, vitamin E, NAC, vitamin C, selenium, coenzyme Q10, and zinc, as well as some combinations of antioxidants. The studies also lacked consistency and failed to provide reasoning behind the dosages of the antioxidants. Many studies used different forms of the same supplement, especially those studying vitamin E, which was administered in various isomeric forms and with differing methods such as orally or intramuscularly. The studies also failed to state why they chose their particular combination

between the antioxidants with the form of conventional cancer therapy or the specific type of cancer. Several steps are needed in order to optimize the chance for ongoing and future research endeavors to lead to a satisfactory evidence base for development of clinical practice guidelines for the concurrent use of dietary antioxidants and conventional cancer therapies. First, a community of interested researchers must come to a consensus and focus efforts on one, or a small number of antioxidant and conventional cancer therapy combinations and specific research questions. Initial efforts should focus on a rational approach to selection of the antioxidant and chemotherapy or radiation partner. Second, studies are needed that reveal the mechanism(s) of action of specific combinations of antioxidants and conventional cancer therapies. Next, a concerted effort should be made to determine the optimal formulation, dose, and schedule of the antioxidant under investigation in combination with a specific chemotherapy regimen through appropriately designed, dose-escalation studies. Finally, given these important inconsistencies between reports, we suggest that journals considering future articles on this topic require authors to adhere to a few basic criteria, which would improve future summary analyses on this topic. Perhaps, it is also the lack of understanding regarding the pathways involved in the cytoprotective and therapeutic augmentation effects of dietary antioxidants with specific cancer therapeutics that may be one reason the combinations have not been more thoroughly studied. OM Nakayama A, Alladin KP, Igbokwe O, White JD. “Systematic review: generating evidence-based guidelines on the concurrent use of dietary antioxidants and chemotherapy or radiotherapy.” Cancer Invest. 2011;29(10):655-67.

References

1. Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, Van Rompay M, Kessler RC. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990–1997: results of a follow-up national survey. JAMA 1998;280:1569–1575. 2. Tindle HA, Davis RB, Phillips RS, Eisenberg DM. Trends in use of complementary and alternative medicine by US adults:1997–2002. Altern Ther Health Med 2005;11:42–49. Author’s Note: To finish this article, please view it in its entirety on our website at www.pacificcollege.edu/ antioxidants

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From the Trenches: The Case for Insurance continued from page 18

5. If you decide to accept insurance, put some office policies in place that you stick to without fail. For example, I lost a great deal of money deferring to patients who insisted they had coverage when they did not. Now, in my office, regardless of the amount of coverage my biller determines, it is office policy that patients pay in full the first visit or two until we receive back the first EOB (Explanation of Benefits) and see what their insurance pays. In truth, you don’t know WHAT a carrier pays until it is billed the first time. Often, even if a patient has met their deductible, a carrier will find some reason to deny a payment or two. If a patient argues with me over this point prior to the first visit, then I refer them to another provider. Period. 6. Consider using an Advance Billing Notification (ABN) for balance billing. An Advance Billing Notification is one way to not only protect yourself from unpaid claims, but allows the patient to determine which additional services they want for their session and to bill accordingly. For some acupuncturists who practice community acupuncture or more of a TCM style, an HMO fee schedule may be fine. But how do you reconcile yourself to $40 for a 5-elemental or Japanese style acupuncture which usually is a longer, 2-sided treatment, involving moxa and fukushin? The truth is, you don’t. My own acupuncturist said it best: “I am sick of filling the holes in the US healthcare system and not being compensated for it.” In truth, many of us are practicing far beyond our original scope of practice, becoming primary

care providers, including counseling, ordering labs, nutritional assessment, massage, managing toxic poly-pharmacy, and other skills that we learned at the post -graduate level. Ninety percent of this is NOT included in an HMO/ PPO fee schedule. The ABN was what allowed me to finally accept some of the HMO based fee schedules and build an a la carte practice. Many of my HMO patients opt for higher co-pays to enjoy the benefit of kyutoshin, massage, or nutritional assessment, none of which is covered by their HMO. I let the patient decide what aspects they wish to pay for and treat accordingly. When all else fails, remember a few things 1. You will make mistakes that cost you money, sometimes quite a bit. This is a PRACTICE--you will learn as you go. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. No amount of money is worth your peace of mind. The longer I am in practice, the better I get at letting things go. Nothing, in my experi-

ence, uses up the desire to serve more than doing it constantly without compensation. 2. You will not get paid on many cases. In my practice, the reality is that I write off a few thousand annually in unpaid claims, due in part to mistakes, unscrupulous companies and their practices, and clients who skip out of payments. I won’t deny that this has been a difficult journey, saying c’est la vie to a case when I don’t get paid, but I get better at it every day. Releasing the bad case opens me to the next client who pays fully and gratefully enjoys all that I have to offer. 3. Billing is a SERVICE that you are not obligated to provide. Many of my patients pay my full fees, regardless of their coverage and I bill for them as a courtesy, particularly if their chief complaint is internal medicine or fertility and we know a carrier will not cover treatment. For carriers who are problematic, I issue a superbill and let them deal with it. In the end, the patient has a relationship with the insurance company, not me.

I have learned that patients have no understanding of their own insurance coverage. Southern CA, where I practice, is the most heavily infiltrated region in the country with regard to HMO coverage, and there is a great deal of entitlement for some patients who have been lured into thinking that every aspect of their care requires nothing more than a $10 co-pay. They have little understanding of the time, effort, and expense associated with trying to bill for their care. That is fine, but I no longer feel obligated to provide this service for free. As practitioners, it is vital to protect ourselves from resentment, whether from clients or insurance companies. Resentment is an emotion that eats away at satisfaction, regardless of clinical success. Most of us are extremely idealistic and altruistic in regard to helping patients achieve wellness and it can hurt when some patients have no more commitment to you than a co-payment. I have learned to set boundaries that protect both my cash flow and my peace of mind, and it has ultimately resulted in both more joy and financial abundance in my practice. I hope more of you will take the plunge into the insurance maze, with the vision that both your own practice and our profession prosper medically and financially. OM

Jennifer Moffitt, L.Ac, MSTOM, Dp.OMis a magna cum laud graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Formerly a Clinical Instructor in Family Medicine at UCSD, she continues to lecture and serve as an academic advisor for graduate student research in complementary and integrative medicine. She maintains a bilingual acupuncture practice in San Diego. You can reach her at jmoffitt@acunut.com.

Pain is NOT the same for everybody? continued from page 18

“Is pain one size fits all?“ According to Chinese medicine and Ayurveda (a whole system of medicine from India that pre-dates Chinese medicine), pain is just as varied as medication. As you might have felt, headache pain feels different from a burn, different from a needle prick, different from chronic arthritis, and different from a “thrown out back.” If there are different types of pain sensation, why don’t our general physicians prescribe medications specific to the type of pain we are experiencing? Novel idea, right? I wish I knew the answer. Perhaps modern research hasn’t proven or approved this idea into their accepted point of view. Just saying. The good news is this concept is not so revolutionary if you’re an acu28

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puncturist or work in some form of holistic medicine. In Chinese medical school, we study the different types of pain extensively. We learn about sharp pain, dull pain, pain that comes and goes, burning pain, radiating or tingling pain, numb pain, weather contingent pain, etc. We also spend years learning how to treat and manage these variations in pain at the root level. Your licensed acupuncturist might use specific herbs (internal or external), acupressure or acupuncture, manual therapies like gua sha, cupping, and stretching, diet changes, heat or cold therapy, and even certain exercises to help reduce and alleviate your pain. So if you’re one of the millions of people out there asking what are your options other than popping pain kill-

ers, or you are sick of your meds not working, or maybe you’re sick of the side effects, look into visiting your local acupuncturist. I bet you’ll find another option and some relief. After all, you’re unique and amazing and you deserve to be treated as such! OM

Haunani Chong, Dipl. O.M., L.Ac., E-RYT, AWC graduated among the top of her class from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, receiving a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine. She is certified and licensed by the California Acupuncture Board and designated as a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). While interning at Pacific College Clinic, Haunani participated in many semester-long internships, including the Pacific College Clinic in New York City, the University of California

San Diego’s Integrative Clinic in downtown, Rady’s Children’s Hospital Oncology and Chronic Pain department, and UCSD RIMAC Sports Medicine department. As a recognized physician of Oriental medicine in the State of California, she integrates her additional studies in athletic training, Ayurveda (Holistic Medical system of India), Hawaiian Healing, and yoga to allow for a deeper understanding of each client, a person’s condition and how to approach the treatment plan from a truly whole-person perspective. Haunani also holds a B.A. in Sociology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. You might also recognize Haunani from teaching yoga classes, leading workshops on holistic health, or volunteering her time with non-profit organizations in the San Diego and North County areas. She is an active leader and proponent for integrated, person-centered care that allows people to be treated as the unique individual that they are, rather than their disease.

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Aromatherapy: Nature’s Magic continued from page 12

citrus essential oils such as tangerine, orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and neroli alleviate depression and stress. One of the most effective ways to use aromatherapy in your practice is inhalation. Simply have your client inhale the scent from the bottle or diffuse an essential oil in the room before the client enters. Spruce (Piceae mariana) essential oil helps a person to communicate. You can implement essential oils to strengthen, detoxify, and balance the body, as well as to protect you from environmental toxins. A friend in my old condominium complex was a nurse and she told me she had an ovarian cyst. I asked her to apply frankincense (Boswellia carteri) over the area. Within a week, her cyst was gone. The best frankincense comes from the deserts of Oman. The aroma is incredible. My spiritual mother fell and hit her head. She refused to go to the hospital and when we got her into the house, she had a large hematoma on the side of her head. I applied the essential oil helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum), within minutes, the blue areas began to disappear, and the swelling reduced.

My own experience was similar to my spiritual mother’s. I was playing touch football with my family. I tripped and hit my head and I could feel the area begin to swell. I asked my brother to get the helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum) out of my purse and put in liberally on my head. The pain soon left and the swelling disappeared with repeated applications. The last experience I’ll share is from a friend who got on a delayed and full plane. Everyone was complaining and some had anxiety about connections. After the plane was in the air, he went into the bathroom and put lavender (Lavendula augustifolia) in the palm of his hand. He rubbed his palms together and inhaled the aroma. His anxiety soon left and he returned to his seat. He noticed that within 10 minutes the noise and complaining ceased. Everyone was soon quiet. The aroma of the lavender circulated throughout the plane. He realized everyone benefited from his lavender. These are a few examples of the amazing effects of organic and 100% pure essential oils. All essential oils are amazing. Every essential oil has

what I call a specialty. Something it does well quickly. The highest quality essential oils produce dramatic results. Be aware that these powerful oils can have safety issues and contraindications. These are listed at: http://kalasgems.com/safety.html. OM

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and techniques mentioned are for educational purposes only. The information provided is in no way intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prescribe or prevent any disease. The decision to use any of this information is the sole responsibility of the reader.

“Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favor compared with the products of nature, the living cell of the plant, the final result of the rays of the sun, the mother of all life.” ~ Thomas Edison

Kathy Padecky, AS, CMT, Aromatherapist, CBS teaches Advanced Massage Modalities and Aromatherapy at the Pacific College San Diego campus and International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) and School of Healing Arts in San Diego. Kathy has thirty years of experience in the holistic sciences. She has an Associate of Science in Holistic Studies from the International Professional School of Bodywork. She is certified by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and is a Certified Massage Therapist by the California Massage Therapy Council. She is a member of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals and the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy. She received her aromatherapy certification from the American College of Healthcare Sciences. Kathy is a Certified Biofeedback Specialist by the Natural Therapies Certification Board. She is the author of a complimentary monthly aromatherapy newsletter entitled Sacred Scents ©.

References

http://www.rainforesteducation.com/medicines/PlantMedicines/rfmedicines.htm Nature’s Medicine Joel Swerdlow, Ph.D The Art of Aromatherapy Robert B. Tisserand Aromatherapy with Chinese Medicine Dennis Willmont Aromatherapy for Massage Practitioner Ingrid Martin

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Toll-Free 1.800.729.8509 Email info@gfcherbs.com SPRING 2012

Top 10 for Integrative Medicine Policy and Action in 2011 By John Weeks, Publisher and Editor, Integrator Blog News & Reports

As seen on The Integrator Blog and the Huffington Post

he year was a good one for integrative medicine. Many of these developments grew out of the mandated inclusion of integrative and complementary and alternative medicine practices in the Obama-Pelosi Affordable Care Act. Here is the Top 10 for Integrative Medicine Policy and Action for 2011. (Those interested in highlights for the years since 2006 will find links here.)

of integrative medical doctors led by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine announced a plan to establish a formal board specialty in integrative medicine through the American Board of Physician Specialties. The move is controversial. But it appears to be certain, for better and for worse, that integrative medicine will within two years have a formal, recognized guild as a guiding force.

1. Reports capture growing complementary and alternative medicine use. The summer months saw a trifecta of reports showing continued uptake of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States. A July Consumer Reports article headlined “Alternative Treatments: More than 45,000 readers tell us what helped” was re-published widely. A month later another media wave hit after publication of a study showing health care workers use integrative therapies and practitioners at higher rates than regular consumers. The conclusion that “personal CAM use by healthcare workers may influence the integration of CAM with conventional healthcare delivery” appeared prescient a month later. The American Hospital Association published a report that 42 percent of responding hospitals offer some CAM, up from 26 percent in 2005. The trend-lines are steady. This consumer-led movement is not going away.

4. Institute of Medicine’s pain “blueprint” is an integrative strategy. A pain initiative buried in Obamacare led to the June 2011 publication of “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming, Prevention, Care, Education and Research.” The plan was developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The document, from a committee that included Rick Marinelli, ND, LAc, the first naturopathic doctor or licensed acupuncturist ever appointed to an IOM committee on a regular medical topic, advocates an integrative, interdisciplinary strategy. The recommendations are laced with references to complementary and alternative approaches such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, mind-body and yoga. A broad alliance being organized to keep the blueprint from languishing on a shelf is similarly integrated.

2. U.S. health promotion effort linked to integrative practices. Integrative practitioners see themselves as focused on prevention and health promotion. Now for the first time a National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy of the U.S., announced in June, includes references to integrative care. In addition, President Obama’s appointees to the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, Integrative and Public Health include an integrative practice contingent that includes The Huffington Post contributor Dean Ornish, M.D., Janet Kahn, Ph.D., LMT, Sharon Van Horn, M.D. and Charlotte Kerr, RN, MPH, LAc. The public health-integrative care alliance is finally forming. 3. Integrative M.D.s announce plan to establish specialty board. Is “integrative medicine” a campaign to transform all of medicine toward a more holistic approach? Or is it an effort to establish a new specialty? In September, a coalition 30

SPRING 2012

5. “Integrative oncology” becoming the norm. An NPR spot in Seattle advertises a cancer center where naturopathic doctors and M.D. oncologists work sideby-side. The government of British Columbia announced that it is investing to make the integrative oncology model of InspireHealth the provincial norm. In the U.S., Francis Collins, M.D., director of the National Institutes of Health, headlined the annual conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SOI). Even the conservative American Society for Clinical Oncology included at its annual meeting for the first time an integrative medicine track in 2011. Featured were a multidisciplinary group including Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Gary Deng, M.D., Ph.D. and Columbia University’s Heather Greenlee, ND, Ph.D. 6. New integrative medicine clinical pilot projects explore cost savings. While integrative center operators argue their services will be costsaving, data are wanting. New pilots were announced in 2011 that will

help us find answers. The Institute for Functional Medicine, led by The Huffington Post contributor Mark Hyman, M.D., engaged a Florida Medicaid-backed program that expects savings via reduced ER visits and hospitalizations. A Grand Rapids ER doctor created a Center for Integrative Medicine that he anticipates will annually save Medicaid $150-$250 million once rolled out to eight hospitals. The Adolph Coors Foundation is giving Maricopa County employees access to integrative medicine services to test a model of payment for “sustainable wellness” through a program led by Andrew Weil, M.D. Key data may finally be forthcoming. 7. New plan from NIH center (finally) focuses on “real world” and “disciplines”. Missing data may also be forthcoming via the National Institutes of Health. Ask integrative practitioners to declare for the optimal research models and they will say look at the whole of what we do. This was the mandate from U.S. Senator Tom Harkin when he created the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in 1998. With a new 2011-2015 strategic plan, NCCAM is getting on track. One priority is “real world research.” Another is to look at whole disciplines, such as acupuncturists or chiropractors. This priority is linked to the comparative effectiveness research movement that was enshrined in Obamacare’s Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Integrative practice researchers see PCORI as a philosophical ally. This movement plays to integrative medicine’s strength. 8. Accountable care organizations potentiate integrative models. Leaders of the accountable care organizations (ACOs) and patientcentered medical homes (PCMHs) prompted by Obamacare believe these new models will potentiate integrative approaches. A CEO of a major health system announced that when the Affordable Care Act “kicks in that supports keeping people healthy ... integrative medicine will be an asset.” Integrative medicine adopters of PCMHs are excited with the move away from fee-for-service payment to “unassigned dollars.” This fosters development of integrative medicine teams. A physician leader in Minnesota underscores the way ACOs promote a health-focus: “In-

for the first *timeNow a National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy of the U.S., announced in June, includes references to integrative care. tegrative medicine supports self-efficacy.” For the first time, the way we pay for care is aligned with healthfocused, integrative principles. 9. Medicine’s move toward collaborative teams opens doors. Integrative health care at its best is team care, using medical doctors, acupuncturists, chiropractors, counselors, coaches and others as appropriate. So a May announcement by Obama’s administrator for the Health Resources Services Administration Mary Wakefield, RN, Ph.D. was a great step forward. She celebrated how a historic collaboration of academic organizations for M.D., nurses and four other disciplines published the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. They committed to promoting an inter-professional education (IPE) model. Participation in a biennial IPE conference doubled. Meantime, five integrative practice fields (with which I am involved) announced a similar set of collaboratively produced competencies. These twin rivers point toward convergence. Not a moment too soon for our aging population! 10. Your choice -- what’s missing? What have I missed? As is my practice with these top 10 lists since I first published one in 2006, I leave a spot for reader suggestions. I personally am struck by the influence of Obamacare. ACOs shift payment toward creating health in a population. Academic medicine elevates team-care. Research engages the real world of what patients care about. The IOM’s brain trust delivers an integrative-oriented pain blueprint. Integrative leaders are included in the national health promotion strategy. These broad arcs of substantive change are each linked to the Affordable Care Act. Together they made 2011 a surprising opening to integrative medicine’s potential for U.S. healthcare in 2012 and beyond. OM

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

PCOM Launches Staff Acknowledgment Program Pacific College has launched its new Staff Acknowledgment Program. As of January, 2012, Pacific College will be featuring shout-outs in each issue of the OM Newspaper to its amazing staff members, noting the length of time each has been with the college. Incentives ranging from certificates to vacation time and gift cards will be awarded to employees as they hit specific milestones. “We realize we have a lot of very loyal employees, some who have been with us for many years, and some who have just joined our team with enthusiasm.

We want to make sure they each know how much we value their service and passion for what we stand for.” Says Elaine Gates-Miliner, Vice President of Operations and San Diego Campus Director. PCOM is grateful for its motivated and talented staff members, many of who have been with the college for over a decade, and looks forward to growing its PCOM family over the many successful years to come. PCOM plans to feature staff milestones in each OM Newspaper issue going forward.

San Diego Name years

Name years

GATES-MILINER, JOAN E.................24

ZAKARIA, ROLAND L.........................6

POSTON, KYLE C...............................2

MILLER, JACK..................................23

HANSEN, TIFFANY V...........................6

MURYASZ, WALTER.............................2

DAMONE, ROBERT..........................16

KORNSWEIG, JAIME M.....................5

SPERBER, GREGORY R......................2

BAXLEY, GINA ANN.........................14

MLEKOWSKI, CHRISTINE....................4

GOMES, STACY L.............................14

RI0S, LINH T........................................3

KAFKA, STACEY L...............................2

CRENEY, SHANNA J.........................14

CARO, BRENDA.................................3

FLOYD, CINDY M............................12

APOLONIA, JENNIFER.......................3

HALL, TROY W..................................11

VOGT, GAIL A....................................3

BROERING, NAOMI C.....................10

ROGERS, JASON L............................3

KHAN, AHMED..................................7

LEVYA-PADILLA, BRENDA..................3

ELDER, FRANK L (BO)........................1

CORONA, NAYELI.............................7

DAVIES, DEBRA..................................2

RUSHALL, KATHLEEN K.......................1

SMITH, JOELLA A...............................7

ROBBINS, TRACY ANN......................2

HOLDWICK AIMEE C........................1

HINES, PATRICIA A.............................6

CUSTODIO, LESLEY A.........................2

Rodgers, Jason............................1

TRUONG, KEN...................................1 FLOYD, CHARLES W...........................1 RIGGERT, BRIDGET............................1 EBLAMO, JAM G...............................1

New York

Chicago

Name years

MC INTYRE, TAMMI D.................................................... 13 Garwood, Shana....................................................... 12 SANTANA, JOAQUIN...................................................... 10 NEIPRIS, CYNTHIA............................................................ 9 LAIKEN, AMY.................................................................... 8 LEPORE, GINA A............................................................... 8 TORRES-VELEZ, EDITH....................................................... 5 Anderson, Beau............................................................ 5 HUSBANDS, SHELDEANE.................................................. 5 Ferdy, Jim........................................................................ 5 MACCHIA, MARIA E........................................................ 4 JACKSON, DARRYL.......................................................... 3 JOSEPH, JENNIFER........................................................... 3 MARTINEZ, CLAUDIA........................................................ 3 MUSICK, ALLISON K......................................................... 3 AGUILAR, ELISSA C........................................................... 2 KOHLMANN, ALLYSON ................................................... 2 WILSON, SHAREEN P........................................................ 2 MOY, AILEEN 0.................................................................. 1 CATHEY- CASINO, MICH.................................................. 1 Banjany, Alana............................................................. 1 Brown, Nyasha............................................................. 1 PARISI, JOSEPH................................................................. 1 TORRES, AMANDA G....................................................... 1 QUINONES, JESSICA........................................................ 1

SCOTT, FRANK................................................................ 11

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

ARMSTRONG, DAVID J.................................................... 8 MEJIA, MARIA DELORE.................................................... 6 LEVY, RUTH A.................................................................... 5 GUILLAUME, KEVIN J....................................................... 4 MERCED, CONRAD P...................................................... 4 MATTSON, BRENDAN E.................................................... 3 SHELDON, LYNN E............................................................ 3 VOUDRIE, JENNIFER......................................................... 3 KARSTEN, SUZANNE M..................................................... 2 INDA, GREGORY W.......................................................... 2 LAMADRID, EDWARD....................................................... 2 SWENOR ,CHRISTOPHER.................................................. 1 SPRING 2012

PCOM Launches Bachelor’s in Holistic Nursing at New York Campus continued from page 1

The program launches at a critical time in the nursing field, as New York and many other states consider a proposal requiring all registered nurses to achieve a bachelor’s degree or higher within the next 10 years. Indeed, in light of rapidly expanding clinical knowledge and mounting complexities in healthcare, the Institute of Medicine report on the Future of Nursing and a number of national nursing associations, including the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recommend the baccalaureate degree as the minimum educational requirement for professional nursing practice. “PCOM’s unique new program offers RNs the opportunity to earn the increasingly important bachelor’s degree, with a focus on integrative care that is fast becoming the standard for healthcare today,” said Dr. Carla Mariano, past-president of the American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) and a leader in developing national standards for holistic nursing education, practice and certification.

SPRING 2012

Dr. Mariano, who developed the curriculum for PCOM’s holistic nursing program and serves on the program’s advisory committee, also initiated the country’s first master’s nurse practitioner program in holistic nursing at New York University. Holistic nursing was recently recognized by the ANA as a distinct specialty in nursing at the bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. Reflecting the rising interest in holistic approaches to healthcare, the latest studies indicate that 65 to 80 percent of the world’s population and approximately 38 percent of all Americans use CAM. An increasing number of medical centers now offer integrative services. According to a recent survey by the American Hospital Association and the Samueli Institute, a nonprofit research group focusing on complementary medicine, 42 percent of the 714 hospitals that responded offered at least one such therapy in 2010, a significant jump from just five years earlier, when 27 percent of hospitals offered such treatments.

“There is growing demand for economically feasible and compassionate health options grounded in holistic ideals,” said Dr. Mariano. “Consumers and even insurers are seeking out and expecting healthcare professionals who can focus on the whole person and incorporate an array of conventional and holistic therapies to enhance healing and cultivate wellness. PCOM nursing students will be prepared in holistic theory and therapies for health, healing, and wellness as well as leadership, community, and research.” According to the 2009 National Health Statistics Reports, 38.1 million adults made an estimated 354.2 million visits to practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine in 2007. Experts see integrative medicine as a key to successful healthcare reform, as it puts the patient back into the driver’s seat of his or her health. One of the foundations of CAM therapies is the focus on preventative care and lifestyle choices that keep people healthy and can reduce the number of return hos-

pital visits for the same issue. Approximately 75% of all healthcare spending in the US is currently for the treatment of chronic diseases, many of which can be avoided by self-care and a healthier lifestyle. PCOM’S Bachelor of Science in Nursing program aims to provide nurses with the ability to impart the key principles of prevention and healthy living to each patient, enabling a patient to continue healing long after they leave the sick room Consistent with the standards set forth by the AHNA, the PCOM program in holistic nursing takes an integrative relationship-centered approach, emphasizing the interconnectedness of self, others, and the environment; the promotion and maintenance of health and well-being, not simply the absence of disease; and a commitment to professional self-reflection and selfcare. The holistic nurse is educated as an advocate, collaborator and partner with the patient, his/or her family, the community, and other health disciplines, striving to identify and treat the root cause of illness. Classes include core courses such as nursing leadership, research, health assessment, issues and trends in healthcare, as well as courses in theories of holism and holistic integrative modalities. Electives are offered in Chinese medicine, nutrition, herbology, essential oils, and Asian Bodywork. “PCOM has a history of excellence in educating outstanding professionals in traditional Chinese medicine through our unique approach to integrating Western and Eastern approaches to healthcare,” said Dr. Gina Lepore, campus director at PCOM’s New York Campus. “Our deep experience in CAM and ability to offer some of our current courses as curricular and co-curricular options make PCOM a perfect venue for a bachelor completion program in holistic nursing.” The PCOM Bachelor of Science Completion Program in Holistic Nursing is approved by the New York State Education Department Office of the Professions (NYSED) and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). PCOM is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). (ACCSC’s scope does not extend to PCOM’s doctoral programs). PCOM’s master’s and doctoral degree programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). OM

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Nutritional Insights from Ayurveda continued from page 24

While overseeing my cooking, my grandmother once told me that I over-handle my food. I would open the lid, add the ingredient, stir it, and taste it too often. “How do you know everything is perfect or if it tastes good?” I would ask. She said, “Be confident. Add all the ingredients--including your soul. Stir it once, cover it, and then when the aroma fills the room, you will know it’s done.” She also said that with experience, you will know if there are too much or too little spices and salt, and if it’s undercooked or overcooked! Well, I am still learning that, but I learned a valuable lesson: Too much handling or processing takes away the vitality of the food and can make it lose its flavor. According to my grandmother, no secret ingredients are needed. The same ingredients can produce very different dishes, but will always turn out good if handled much like the “Goldilocks” approach--just adding them in the right amounts. Anyone who has eaten even once from her knows that she had a simple but sophisticated style of cooking that would always produce something tasty that smelled simply delicious.

Yin and Yang continued from page 10

By incor*porating all six tastes into each meal, we ensure that these signals are adequately met, thus avoiding food cravings or the overconsumption of certain foods.

mind to fight Tao and does not try by her own contriving to help Tao along. All that comes out of her comes quiet, like the four seasons.” When we learn to embrace life, to understand it, and relate to it in all its dimensions, then it may be said that we have gained total health. We attain the highest state of well-being, unity with the Tao. OM

References

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. (Feng & English, Trans.). New York, Vintage Books, 1972 Chuang Tzu. Inner Chapters. (Feng & English, Trans.). New York, Vintage Books, 1974 Ellen M. Chen. Tao Te Ching. New York, Paragon House, 1989

The topic of food is just not complete without mentioning her. Like the food critic in Ratatouille, my “perspective” is linked to childhood memories of my family traditions and roots, which mainly revolved around food. Just some food for thought...eating or serving ‘perspective’ is not that abstract of a concept at all--we just have to connect to ourselves: body and mind. OM

2012

Sarita Vighne, L.Ac. (M.S.T.O.M.), B.AM.S. is a practitioner of two of the mainstream Eastern medical systems -- acupuncture and Ayurveda. She earned her Masters of Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in December 2009 and is certified and licensed by California Acupuncture Board. In her practice she focuses on various different disorders with the help of acupuncture and Ayurveda using herbs as well as diet and lifestyle interventions.

Ted Kardash, Ph.D., has been on the San Diego faculty of PCOM since 1990 where he heads the Clinical Counseling program and also teaches Tai Chi Chuan. He is an ordained Taoist Priest and has taught various classes at the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego including a 24-week course of his own creation on Taoist Philosophy. He also maintains a private practice as a Marriage Family Therapist.

2012 Save the Date November 8-11, 2012 General Session November 6-7 Pre-Symposium

November 12-13 Post-Symposium

www.PacificSymposium.org Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

SPRING 2012

Gluten-Free for Good By Jessica Law, LAc, Personal Trainer

ould you believe me if I told you that eliminating wheat and gluten transforms lives? If you haven’t noticed, the food industry is finally paying attention to gluten sensitivity. Because of this, gluten-free products, menu items, and supermarket advertisements are showing up everywhere. Is this yet another trend, or is there a connection that people have finally made between their diet and their health? My gluten-free lifestyle is not something that happened overnight…but rather over the course of a few years. Even with my heightened awareness, I may still come across a gluten-exposure hidden in food. While I was studying at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, I paralleled my studies with the mission of achieving optimal health. I was dealing with numerous issues ranging from skin problems to fatigue to digestive disorders, and once I applied a gluten-free lifestyle, everything began to improve. My practice has allowed me to witness the improved health of numerous patients suffering from fatigue, anemia, GI issues, infertility, diabetes, arthritis, bone loss, seizures, cold hands and feet, mental disorders, and autoimmune diseases. The recommendation most often made to my patients, with successful results, is to remove the gluten from their diets. Gluten is a type of protein that gives foods a sticky or chewy texture. It is found in wheat products and various other grains (bulgar, rye, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut, and some oats). Gluten is broken down into gliadin and glutenin. Gliadin is the protein portion of the molecule, while glutenin is the sticky portion. Gliadin is broken down into different portions: alpha, beta, gamma, and omega. It is only the alpha portion of the gliadin molecule that is tested today for “gluten sensitivity” or celiac disease. You cannot find most cases of gluten sensitivity by only looking at gliadin antibodies. Many people can have a sensitivity to what is systematically overlooked. In a susceptible person, gluten causes inflammation and intestinal damage by eliciting activity by various cells of the immune system. These cells, in turn, harm healthy tissue in an attempt to destroy what they perceive to be an infectious agent. So what is the path then to diagnosis and treatment? Scenario 1: Patient goes in with an array of complaints and will never even be tested for gluten sensitivity. Scenario 2: Patient is administered a gluten sensitivity test and the results come back negative, when, in fact, they haven’t even been tested 34

SPRING 2012

for the entire gluten molecule. With this news, many patients are told they can continue eating gluten. The danger here lies in the fact that this patient could return in the future and have full-blown celiac disease. There is no degree of sensitivity that can be identified by your physician because their standards have to meet certain criteria, so from their perspective, you either have no issue with gluten or you have full-blown celiac disease. Scenario 3: Patient has positive results for gluten sensitivity and, only then, the doctor will sometimes order a biopsy of the patient’s intestines to see if the villi of the intestines are flattened. Once all these criteria come back positive, then the patient is diagnosed with celiac disease. Yet, if the biopsy comes back negative then they could still be told that they can consume gluten. The gluten we consume today is not what our ancestors or even our grandparents were exposed to in their diet. This modern commercial gluten that is found in our meals today has changed dramatically due to human intervention--not through natural causes, like drought or disease. With the discovery of seeds, humans learned to domesticate crops and ultimately crossbreed different grass plants to create the modern staple grains that we see today. This advancement, however, came at a dear price: the emergence of an illness now known as celiac disease. In Dr. William Davis’s Wheat Belly, he notes, “When compared to centuryold strains of wheat, modern strains express a higher quantity of genes for gluten proteins that are associated with celiac disease.” Identification of gluten as the trigger occurred after World War II, when Dutch pediatrician WillemKarel Dicke noticed that a war-related

shortage of bread in the Netherlands led to a significant drop in the death rate among children affected by celiac disease--from greater than 35 percent to essentially zero. He also reported that once wheat was again available after the conflict, the mortality rate soared to previous levels. (Surprises from Celiac Disease, 2009 Scientific American, Inc.) If the consumption of wheat and gluten is being linked to a neverending list of symptoms and diseases, then shouldn’t practitioners be eliminating gluten from the diet as the first step to restoring health in patients? Educating and empowering patients and people so they become aware of the nutritional quality of the foods they choose to use to nourish their bodies is paramount. In the world of Eastern nutrition, food is medicine. The processing and hybridization of grains today makes it no longer safe to say that these grains should be used as part of a healthy diet. People are sick, tired, and broken and looking for a quick fix. It is likely that there are some elements of their diet and lifestyle that are just at odds with their genetics and a gluten-free regimen can be the fix that they’re seeking to arrive at optimal health. This is not just about glutenfree for celiac patients, but glutenfree for everyone! Who wouldn’t want to look, feel, and perform at their best? Additional information to be aware of: “Wheat-free”: Do not make the common mistake of confusing the term “wheat-free” with “gluten-free.” A food can contain no wheat and still have a high gluten content. Cross-Contamination: Avoiding cross-contamination is the biggest challenge of living gluten-free…but it

can be done! Oversee food preparation, ask a lot of questions, read all labels carefully, educate those around you about how cross-contamination works (e.g. separate utensils: the same knife used to cut bread should not be used to cut fruit). Hidden Sources of gluten: soy sauce, beer, bacon bits, and other imitation bacon products, imitation seafood, blue cheese, brown rice syrup (made from a combination of brown rice and barley malt), flavored and instant coffees, deli meats (make sure they say “glutenfree”), licorice (except pure licorice is gluten-free, salad dressings and marinades/gravies, seasonings and spices (in their pure form, these are gluten-free), soup bases (read labels on commercial bouillon cubes), food starches, modified food starch, food emulsifiers, emulsifying agents, food stabilizers, artificial food coloring, malt extract, flavor, syrup, dextrins, the word “starch” (seen in a lot of drugs), additives (too vague!), “natural flavor”, “smoke flavor”, softener, germ, brewer’s yeast, glucose syrup (generally made from corn, potatoes, or wheat…check the source!). Fast Facts: • About half of adults with the condition do not suffer from diarrhea at diagnosis. • For every 1 person in a population that has the antibodies for Celiac disease, there are 24 that have antibodies to gliadin that may not have Celiac disease. • In the past 50 years, Celiac disease has gone from 1 in 700 to 1 in 100. Those with the greatest mortality were identified as having ‘silent’ Celiac disease. • Schizophrenia is frequently found in people with Celiac disease and Celiac disease is frequently found in people with Schizophrenia. ■ In cultures where gluten grains are rarely eaten, Schizophrenia is rare or nonexistent. OM

Jessica Law, L.Ac has a unique approach of combining Eastern philosophy with cutting edge Western techniques as she applies them to improving the wellness of her clients. With over 10 years of experience working in the health and wellness field, she truly invests in her clients and is committed to achieving results. She has an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences and Nutrition from James Madison University. Recently graduating from four years at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, Jessica has been practicing as a licensed acupuncturist. Her collective training experience further helps her clients achieve their goals. She currently practices in San Diego and can be contacted directly at 757-831-4778 or jessicaalaw@yahoo.com

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

M ade

in the

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Kan Herbals l Kan Traditionals l Kan Singles l Sage Solutions l Gentle Warriors l Chinese Modular Solutions l MycoHerb l Alembic Herbals

Chinese Herbal Products You Can Trust 380 Encinal Street, Suite 100, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 800.543.5233 831.438.9450 www.kanherb.com Our distributors in the U.S.

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Breast Health is the Cure continued from page 11

products, etc. and compile it into an easy-to-learn and easy-to-share format that can be utilized by everyone. What is Essentially Pink? Essentially Pink is an integrative breast health campaign with a mission to make breast health common knowledge. We are rooted in the philosophy of prevention and are here to popularize all the integrative practices that create breast health. Essentially Pink uses a tulip shape as its symbol for breast health. This tulip shape is created by “connecting the dots” between the acupressure points around each breast that, when stimulated, promote breast health. We say breast health is S.E.X.Y. S.E.X.Y. is an acronym to categorize all the over-whelming information so we can access it and easily remember it and teach it to others. This is just some of the information to get us started. S- Self-Breast Massage/ Acupressure E- Emotional/ Environmental Connection X- Out Stress Y- Yes Foods Here are a few quick breast health tips from each of the S.E.X.Y. steps.

SPRING 2012

For more in depth information, please check out www.essentiallypink.com. Additional information – “S” In addition to standard acupressure points for general health, such as liver 4, pericardium 6, and heart 3, we recommend doing the tulip tap. The tulip tap consists of stimulating the following 6 acupressure points: lung 1, spleen 21, liver 14, ren 17, kid 24, and stomach 15, around each breast. Visualize a tulip flower outline around each breast, and then tap those points and connect them together, just as you would a connectthe-dots game. For more information and a visual demonstration see the “Breast Health Video” on www.essentiallypink.com. Additional information – “E” For emotional wellbeing, reciting a self-love affirmation (such as the “I am love” affirmation found on Essentially Pink’s website) to oneself on a regular basis can help to balance emotions and serve as a reminder to take the time to nurture one’s / self. In regard to the environment, always do your best when cooking, eating, and drinking out of plastic and canned items, to use products that are BPA-free. In addition to drinking out of glass and BPA-free water bottles, try to use aluminum-free natural

deodorants, eco-friendly/natural laundry detergents, dental care, beauty and personal care products. Additional information – “X” Practice “Dragon Fire Breathing”: Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, hiss the anger and frustration out of your body, like a dragon. Deep breathing and aromatherapy are great ways to de-stress. Aromatherapy in conjunction with deep breathing helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”), and keeps the system activated, while the essential oils help to guide breathing. Try using a bergamot or peppermint essential oil to energize and benefit breast health. Use a 4-5 second inhale, followed by a 4-5 second exhale as a part of your aromatherapy practice. Additional Information – “Y” Indole-3-carbinol, primarily found in cruciferous vegetables, is very important in maintaining breast health. Snack suggestion: pair broccoli and cauliflower flowerets with an organic hummus dip. Add a teaspoon of dill (a flavorful herb that helps clean the liver) and/or turmeric (anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer) to the hummus dip for an enhanced breast health dish. In 2011, thanks to sponsorship

and funding from the Keep-A-Breast Foundation and Emergen-C, Essentially Pink was able to conduct a breast health research study, which provided vital information about incorporating breast health into every day life. With that information, Essentially Pink is in the process of creating a “breast health road map” manual so we will have a fun and easy way to learn, organize, and integrate the important ways to keep our breasts and bodies healthy. Creating and maintaining your health is both your responsibility and the greatest gift you can give to yourself, the people in your life, and planet earth. Essentially Pink is leading the breast health movement - join us! Look for our upcoming 2012 TV video blog series at essentiallypink. com/news. OM Lara Koljonen is a licensed acupuncturist and co- owner of Herbin Acupuncture and Wellness in San Diego. She is also the founder of Essentially Pink. Essentially Pink is a breast health and cancer prevention organization and was created to provide the world with fun, easy to integrate and important breast health information based on the principles of Chinese Medicine.

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

Celebrate the

Year of the Dragon!

he Year of the Dragon has arrived! The date of the Chinese New Year varies every year, as the Chinese Zodiac is calculated by the lunar calendar. Each month usually begins on the darkest day, and New Year celebrations typically last until the moon is brightest. This year, on January 23, 2012, the Year of the Dragon began. In ancient China, the Dragon represented the emperor. The Dragon has always been a symbol of power. Today, it is seen as an auspicious symbol of success, happiness, and good fortune. The Chinese calendar is the oldest known calendar system, and the longest chronological record in history. A complex timepiece, its parameters were set according to the lunar phases as well as the solar solstices and equinoxes. This 2012, the Year of the Dragon represents year 4710 in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese New Year is the most social and economic holiday in China. As important a tradition as it is longstanding,

people in China often take a couple weeks of holiday to prepare for and celebrate the New Year. Ancient rituals and traditions help bring the current year to a close and manifest good fortune and wellbeing for the year to come. For example, at Chinese New Year celebrations, people often wear red. Poems are written on red paper, fireworks are lit, and “lucky money” is given to children in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire and is thought to drive away bad luck. Fireworks are rooted in similar customs. In ancient China, people would light bamboo stalks, and the resulting twinkling light was thought to drive away evil spirits. Cleaning house is one of the most customary ways to ring in the New Year. The Chinese believe a thorough house cleaning, even repainting doors and windowpanes, will sweep away any traces of bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year and make room for good luck.

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

The New Year is a time to honor household deities, ancestors, and family. Family reunions and reconciliations are a priority. All past grievances should be put to rest before the New Year begins. Family members gather at each other’s homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year’s Eve. Legend has it that Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality. People born in the year of the Dragon are innovative, confident, brave, enterprising, and can be shorttempered. The Dragons of the zodiac are free spirits. They do not like restrictions and must feel free and uninhibited in order to create their best work and pursue their passions. Dragons are extroverts, and everything they do is on a grand scale. ‘Go big or go home’ is their motto.

This fearlessness in the face of a challenge often means that Dragons find success in whatever they set out to accomplish. People born in the sign of the Dragon also like to lend help where they feel it’s needed, and they are loving and reliable friends. Dragons can have trouble accepting help for themselves due to their pride. This year of the dragon began on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. Past years of the Dragon include 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, and 2000. Celebrating the Chinese New Year is the perfect time to put the past behind you, to dismiss resentment or any past misfortune. Regardless of how each person honors and celebrates the New Year, the goal is always to have a fortuitous and happy year. The Chinese New Year is truly an illumination of the rich culture and values of the Chinese. Now it is time to honor the past, spend time with family and friends, enjoy yourself, and ring in the Year of the Dragon! OM

SPRING 2012

Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Clostridium Difficile Using Four Needle Technique and Four Constitutional Medicine continued from page 18

RIGHT SIDE yin meridians

yang meridians

yin meridians

earth

water



fire

metal



wood

earth

water



fire

metal



wood

earth

various antibiotics relieved some of the bloody stool and frequent bowel movement. But her diarrhea was still averaging at 10 times a day, which made the severe fatigue even worse. The fibromyalgia pains through this ordeal still remained less than prior to initial acupuncture treatments. The patient returned to this clinic and resumed treatments at twice a week visits in the first 3 weeks and once a week thereafter for 2 months. She was given wood (jingwell) → fire (ying-spring) sequence Lung tonification on the right side of the body. There was no lessened pain after 25 minutes of needle retention. The needling was then switched to a metal (jingwell) → water (ying-spring) sequence, after which there was a significantly lessened pain. Thereafter, the new right side acupuncture treatments for yin meridians were administered at each visit, and there was a consistent improvement. Her improvement rate this time was as quick as the initial sessions. The irritable bowel symptoms were eliminated with a two-month 38

SPRING 2012

LEFT SIDE

course of Regulate the Interior Decoction with Evodia and Aconite, which addressed both the fibromyalgia and the clostridium difficile. Currently, the patient is on acupuncture maintenance once every two weeks. Discussion The positive improvements through both acupuncture and herbal medicine demonstrate the possibility of using a common theory as an umbrella under which the two separate disciplines can be applied. Constitutional medicine can be used as a common link between acupuncture’s meridian theory and herbal medicine’s Zangfu theory. The combination of both acupuncture and herbal medicine made the treatment process faster. The improvement was quicker and deeper, therefore, there was a lasting effect. Acupuncture alone is very helpful in reducing fibromyalgia pains, but the compelling role of herbal medicine in adequately balancing yin and yang cannot be overlooked. This patient’s right side yin meridians had a different flow of five element energies on the five transporting points of the limbs. It demonstrates the necessity of giving acupuncture one side at a time until both sides are known. Syndrome differentiation was crucial in bringing the treatment efficacy higher. Cinnamon Twig, Pinellia, and Fresh Ginger Decoction contains many herbs that treat Spleen deficiency, but its indication for a Taiyang Exterior Syndrome addressed the musculoskeletal pains but did not address the irritable bowel syndrome. Regulate the Interior Decoction with Evodia and Aconite addressed both the irritable bowel syndrome and the musculo-

skeletal pains because it treated at the deeper root level, which was the Jueyin Interior Syndrome. Lesser Yins have a tendency to not do well with antibiotics. The cold nature of antibiotics makes the interior cold of the Lesser Yins more frigid, leading to a further break down of the internal balance. Often, there is a delayed improvement. What would normally take one or two days, may take up to one week for a positive response to occur. At the worst, there will be side effects and allergic reactions. The antibiotics will wipe out the harmful bacteria flora it is designed to eliminate, but they also inhibit the Lesser Yin body’s ability to recover. OM

Reference

1. Kim, Joseph K (2001). Compass of Health: Using the Art of Sasang Medicine to Maximize Your Health. New Page Books: New Jersey. 2. Lee, Jema (1894). Longevity and Life Preservation in Eastern Medicine. Seoul, Korea. 3. Lee Sang H, Hahn SK (2009). Saam Five Element Acupuncture. Jimoondang Press: Seoul, Korea. 4. Song Il B (2005), An Introduction to Sasang Constitutional Medicine, Jimoondang Press: Seoul, Korea.

David Lee, L.Ac, Ph.D. in Oriental Medicine. David received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from and studied pre-medicine at the University of California, Irvine. He completed an externship at Daniel Freeman Hospital in the city of Marina del Rey and at the University of California Los Angeles Student Health Center. He received his doctorate of philosophy in Oriental Medicine from the American Liberty University in Fullerton, California in 2006. He is a professor in doctorate of Oriental Medicine. Dr. Lee has been practicing since 2000 in Thousand Oaks, California.

Oriental Medicine • www.PacificCollege.edu

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