Acupuncture and Western Diagnosis – My Thoughts

Chinese acupuncture and oriental medicine (CAOM) for those of you that don’t know, has a very different methodology when it comes to diagnosing their patients.  For example, if you go to a medical doctor and get diagnosed with the flu, an acupuncturist might say that you have external wind invading the lung. 

The process of coming to a CAOM diagnosis is simple to learn, but hard to master.  In some cases, it’s very common sense: If the patient is physically cold, there must be a cold pathogen in the body.  Sometimes it is very difficult, especially when the patient is seeing symptoms of several different disorders. 

When I was learning how to diagnose in CAOM class, I found it a little unnerving that some of my classmates would simply ignore or not even care about getting to a Western diagnosis since the Eastern diagnosis is very different, but what they can treat.  Is it possible that practitioners today hide behind this technicality and in essence give poor or completely wrong (Western) diagnosis to their patients?

I think acupuncture and oriental medicine is a great thing and hey, it’s been around for thousands of years.  I can understand that there shouldn’t be a problem of different methods of diagnosis, especially if it has been shown to effectively treat conditions commonly seen today.  I do have a problem however, if an obvious and deadly Western diagnosis, such as cancer or a heart attack, is missed due to an acupuncturist sticking plainly to their Eastern diagnosis, and then the patient has a misfortune.  It is also true though that Western doctors miss these key diagnosis too, which is another problem.  Moving forward, I feel that it is very important to ask your acupuncturist for a Western diagnosis to compliment the Eastern one that they are going by.  As a student of the Eastern arts, we are still required to maintain certain standards and we should still be able to answer that question.  If you haven’t, also try to ask the Eastern diagnosis as understanding the Eastern side can readily help you prevent future occurrences as well as speed up your recovery.

Product Review: Medi Herb’s Gymnema – How to Defeat a Sweet Tooth

What is Gymnema?

While not usually considered a stimulant, sugar is THE most addicting substance known to man.  Millions of Americans thus can’t keep their hands off of sweets, which is a major player in the obesity endemic this country is experiencing.  For those that have want to kick the habit however, there is hope!  Medi Herb has a product named Gymnema, created from the crushed leaves of the gymnema plant which works against your sense of taste to temporarily make you despise the taste of sugar!

The gymnema plant has been used for a very long time in traditional Ayurvedic medicine from the country of India.  The herb’s name comes from the Hindu word “gumar” which is translated into “sugar destroyer.”  It has been commonly used to help patients with diabetes since they should limit their amount of sugar intake.  I am not sure how it works exactly, but I have been told that it anesthetizes the taste buds in your mouth that are can sense sweetness.

Does it Really Numb Your Taste Buds?

Before taking this supplement, I was very interested to see what would happen if my sweet taste buds went “numb”.  I personally don’t have a sweet tooth problem, but I know many that do (my issue is more salt cravings).  Medi Herb offers two different versions of this product, one in pill form and one in liquid form.  To take the liquid form, all you need to do is swish it around in your mouth to get the desired results.  If taking pill form, sucking on the pill for a minute and maybe chewing it will do the trick.

Experience:  Let me be the first to say that gymnema is a nasty tasting herb!  When it was in my mouth, I had no problem understanding how sugar would taste bad.  In fact, I thought EVERYTHING would taste bad!  It was very difficult to suck on for a minute, but I managed.  Other of my classmates had very similar experiences with their pills.

Results:  I tested my sweet taste buds by eating an Andes chocolate mint.  A little to my surprise, it tasted like chalk; it was as if there was no flavor to what I was eating!  It was hard enough to wash the taste of the gymnema, which might have had an effect.  To test this, I ate arare snacks, a Japanese rice cracker covered in soy sauce (it’s very salty).  While it didn’t taste as good as normal due to the remnants of the gymnema, it still tasted good and salty.  I tried eating the Andes mint again, and it still tasted like chalk.

30 minutes later, I tried to eat another Andes mint to see what would happen (imagine if I lost the sense of sweetness for my entire life!).  Thankfully, I could taste some of the sweetness, but there was still a bad after taste.  Needless to say, I believe that taking gymnema would be a great supplement to take for one who wants to break the sugar habit.  If you are interested in trying your own gymnema for yourself, you can contact your local chiropractor or nutritionist or find your Medi Herb representative.

Do Fast Food Restaurants Serve Trans Fats?

National fast food fries should not have trans fats, but is this true for all of their food?

The history of trans fats in fast food chains

In 2002, McDonalds announced that they would be changing the oils they use to deep fry their foods in to reduce the amount of trans fats contained.  Several years later, probably due to public trends and pressure, they announced the plans to totally remove the trans fats from their deep frying business.  This switch sent a shockwave in the fast food industry in which almost every national chain followed suit for “the sake and health of the American people.”

The voluntary action of fast food chains however was not enough for some cities and states however and laws started banning trans fats being sold in restaurants, requiring the national chains to change their recipes if they hadn’t already.  Seattle and NYC were quick to initiate the ban and beginning in 2010, California restaurants will not be able to sell trans fat containing food anymore.  In an effort to phase out the trans fats, you’ll notice that almost all french fries do not contain trans fats anymore.  Does this mean that trans fats do not exist in fast food chains any more?

The resounding answer sadly is NO!

It’s not in the fries anymore…it’s in the beef!

Yes it’s true that most chains have cleaned up their oils, but if you look at the nutritional facts for any chain, you’ll see that the trans fats are in the beef!  For most people, that means they eat at least a gram of trans fat every time they pass through teh drive through, if not more.  While they aren’t deep frying their burgers, the fats are used for preservation and allows them to cook them quicker on the grill.  Here is just a sample of the trans fats dosage for some of your favorite burgers:

• Big Mac (McDonalds): 1.5 grams
• Quarter pounder w/ cheese (McDonalds): 1.5 grams
• Whopper (Burger King): 1.5 grams
• Beef Burrito Supreme (Taco Bell): 2 grams
• Footlong Meatball Marinara Sub (Subway): 2 grams
• The Baconator (Wendy’s): 2.5 grams

In addition to the burgers, here are some other items that may surprise you:

• Triple thick shakes (McDonalds): 2 grams
• Java Chip Frappachino w/ Whipped Creme (Starbucks): 0.5 grams

Finally, BEWARE companies that don’t disclose trans fats:

• Carl’s Jr – how many trans fats do you think is in the 6 Dollar Burger?
• Dell Taco – a potentially dated nutrition facts viewed in Oct 2009 showed that Dell Taco’s fries still contain trans fats – 9 grams per small serving!