To answer this question, first we have to look at how knowledge is acquired. In modern culture, it starts with a researcher noticing something unusual or unexpected and asking, ‘why?’. Then the researcher collects some more information, studies it and comes up with a theory to explain it. The theory is then tested with experiments, which either confirm or invalidate the theory.

The ancient Chinese did almost the opposite. They started by observing and recording everything they saw, be it ‘normal’ or unusual. After they had amassed all this knowledge, they looked for patterns and connections. The theories only came later, reflecting the patterns and connections they had found.

Now, excess weight is nothing new. What’s new is that the problem has become so common and widespread. But there have always been people who are overweight, even in ancient times. There are various illnesses that cause weight gain. So we can assume quite safely that ancient Chinese doctors had to deal with overweight patients.

Between dealing with these patients’s illnesses and understanding the patterns of nature, it probably wasn’t very difficult for Chinese doctors to pinpoint the root causes of weight gain. The result is that Chinese medicine has a deep understanding of weight problems and is thus capable of helping with weight loss.

There’s even an added bonus. Because it focuses on the root causes of excess weight, it treats the problem by treating the patient’s overall health, not just the weight issue. This helps prevent other health problems that weight loss programs alone do not address.

Sources:

• The Global Epidemic of Obesity: An Overview (Epidemiologic Reviews)

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Hello!

It’s been a long time since I last posted. Much has happened. Shortly after the 2009 edition of our “Chinese Almanac” was published, Dr. Zhang no longer had time to devote to Ginseng Press, so he left the company. It is very likely that we will work together again someday, but for now, it’s just me.

During the time I worked with Dr. Zhang on the almanacs — seven years — I learned about ancient Chinese philosophy and sciences, the roots of Chinese medicine, its core concepts, and especially, the principles of proper nutrition, the cornerstone of health. When Dr. Zhang left Ginseng Press, he gave me permission to teach and write about these topics.

This has now become my life’s mission. I will be writing (and soon, speaking) about these topics in depth, starting with the subject of weight loss. In the next few days, you will see an announcement about this. I will be blogging about the book as I’m writing it, telling you not only about its progress, but also providing bits of information that you can put to use immediately. I hope you will join me on this new journey!

I’m just finishing up the new website, which will go live this week. My apologies for the ‘Hello, world!’ post that was just sent out — I didn’t think it would be broadcast when I updated the feed address, but it did.

Thank you for reading this, and wishing you all the best!

— Ariel Frailich

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Researchers don’t know why this works, but as is so often the case, an explanation can be found in the ancient field of Chinese medicine. It sees cancer as being caused by an extreme accumulation of dampness, or mucus, in the body. There are many ways to get rid of dampness, but the most effective is exercise. The dampness comes out as perspiration and the activity makes our body work more efficiently.

But not all cancer patients have the energy to exercise. Excessive dampness robs the body of energy and physical strength, which makes it very difficult for some patients to even want to exercise. This is where coffee comes in. All bitter foods and drinks increase heart energy, which is responsible, among other things, for physical activity. So the coffee effectively gives cancer patients the energy to exercise.

It’s important not to overdo it, though. While a bit of coffee boosts heart energy, too much of it will, in fact, increase dampness. In general, one to two cups of black coffee a day is enough. It can be regular or decaffeinated, or it can be replaced by other bitter foods, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, dandelion, slightly charred toast or barbecued foods.

Article sources:

• Exercise, Caffeine Fight Skin Cancer (AP)
• Caffeine and exercise may help prevent skin cancer (CBC)
• Exercise and caffeine might fight skin cancer (CTV)
• Eek! Another benefit of caffeine (LA Times)
• A run to the coffee shop may prevent skin cancer (News-Medical.Net)
• Caffeine, exercise may help ward off skin cancer (Reuters)
• Study: Combo of exercise, caffeine can fight skin cancers (USA Today)

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Central to all ancient Chinese sciences, including Chinese medicine, is a view of nature called the Law of 5 elements. It’s a way of classifying things according to their main characteristics and describes how they interact. Things that have the same characteristics reinforce each other. Things that are different influence each other along specific energy patterns.

Being in serious debt is a situation that causes a lot of worry and anxiety. Because it usually goes on for a long time, chances are that the ongoing attack will eventually affect our health. While the pattern is the same for everybody, the exact symptoms vary from person to person, depending on our individual strengths and weaknesses.

Directly affected is the digestive system. It belongs to the same group as worry and anxiety. When we worry, we increase the energy of the digestive system; eventually, digestion becomes overstimulated. It works harder than it should, which can trigger all kinds of digestive problems.

Indirectly affected is the heart. It’s responsible for physical and mental activity, for joy and happiness, and provides energy to the digestive system. But when the digestive system is overstimulated, it drains energy from the heart. Our overall energy goes down, our activity diminishes, we can’t focus or produce, we feel down, even depressed. And, of course, we’re at greater risk for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In addition, low heart energy can easily upset our sleeping and make us gain weight.

These are the most common symptoms, but by no means are they the only possible ones. The excessively high energy of the digestive system increases lung energy and diminishes kidney and liver energy, all of which have their own associations, illnesses and symptoms. Both Chinese and Western medicine agree that stress can cause or trigger all kinds of health problems. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to protect our health in times of great stress, in addition to stress management and other coping systems.

• Worry and anxiety can be diminished with anger and grief. Sad books and movies, stories about injustices and hitting a sand bag are all useful.
• Sweet foods and drinks, beef, fruits, dairy products and eggs increase the energy of the digestive system. It’s best to reduce them as much as possible, but without eliminating them completely.
• Bitter foods, such as coffee, cabbage, broccoli, etc., provide energy to the heart, but it’s likely to be drawn into the digestive system. It’s better to eat vegetables (particularly leafy greens) and sour foods: these nourish the liver, which not only provides energy to the heart but also diminishes the energy in the digestive system.
• Spices and pungent foods can draw energy away from the digestive system.
• Fish, seafood, tofu and other soy products, summer vegetables (cucumbers, etc.) and, if allowed, some salty foods, all help restore energy to the kidneys.

It’s best to experiment with these suggestions and adjust them as needed. Listen to your body; use what works and feels good and eliminate what doesn’t. And with a bit of luck, you’ll be able to weather the stress until the debt problem is solved.

Article sources:

• In Over Your Head? Ask Your Body (Washington Post)

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If these products truly delivered what they promise, if calories truly were the only yardstick by which to measure the effect of sweet foods on the body, then a simple test would show the superiority of artificial sweeteners. Take some people eating something made with sugar and some people eating the same food but made with a sugar substitute, follow them for a while, and compare the results. Without a doubt, the second group would be healthier. That’s exactly what researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine did (see article sources below). They tracked some 9,000 people for several years and compared the health of those who drank regular sodas and those who drank diet sodas.

To everyone’s surprise, the two groups had roughly the same risk of heart disease. Only people who drank less sodas altogether, whether regular or diet, were at lower risk. Clearly the artifical sweeteners fared no better than sugar. And the experts have no explanation—only theories.

An explanation can be found in Chinese medicine. The flavour of a food, among other things, determines how it affects us. For example, a cheese sandwich, a ham sandwich and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich affect our body differently, even if the sandwiches are adjusted to have the same caloric value.

Sweet foods have the characteristic of lowering heart energy. Over time, a diet that’s high in sweets is likely to cause heart problems. It doesn’t matter whether the sweetener is sugar, honey or an artificial substitute, the result will be the same. The only difference is that refined and manufactured sweeteners are more concentrated than most natural ones, so their effect is stronger.

There are a few easy steps you can take to minimize the risk to the heart:

1. reduce the amount of sweet foods and drinks in your diet;
2. choose foods that are less sweet; in general, naturally sweet foods are better than foods made with concentrated sweeteners, such as refined sugar and sugar substitutes;
3. eat more sour, spicy and pungent foods, if they agree with you; they counteract sweetness;
4. eat beans; they help sluggish digestion, which is often the cause of the craving;
5. learn to listen to your body’s signals; it will usually tell you what your body really needs.

If you try any or all the suggestions above, chances are that you’ll soon be giving up artificial sweeteners for good—and improve your health and well-being in the process.

Article sources:

• Study: Diet Soda Linked to Heart Risks (AP)
• Diet, sugary sodas alike linked to heart disease factors (CNN)
• Diet soda, metabolic syndrome linked (LA Times)
• Cut out the sodas – cut down the metabolic syndrome risk! (News-Medical.Net)
• No safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks (Reuters)
• Soda linked to increased metabolic risk (Reuters)
• Soda linked to increased metabolic risk (Reuters)
• Study: Diet soda linked to heart risks (USA Today)

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According to Chinese medicine, cancer is caused by a condition called “excessive dampness”. A diet appropriate for cancer patients would be high in foods that reduce dampness and very low in foods that increase it. Vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables, reduce dampness. So do sour fruits, but sweet fruits increase it and are best minimized.

But even beneficial foods can have a negative effect if overdone. Too much of a food with a desired effect causes the opposite effect. Excessive amounts of vegetables and sour fruits may thus increase dampness, rather than reduce it. Moderation is the key.

Article sources:

• Fruits, Veggies Don’t Stop Cancer Return (AP)
• Extra fruits, veggies fail to prevent breast cancer’s return: study (CBC)
• Low-fat, high-produce diet doesn’t cut breast cancer return (CNN)
• No Cancer Shield Found in Fruit and Vegetable Diet (New York Times)
• Good Diet May Not Help Breast Cancer (Time)
• Intensive Vegetable-Fruit Diet Shows No Effect on Breast Cancer Return (Washington Post)
• Fruits, Veggies Don’t Stop Cancer Return (Washington Post)

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According to Chinese medicine, cancer is caused by a condition called “excessive dampness”. It so happens that many staple foods of the Western diet increase dampness. Over time, a diet that centres around beef, sugar, wheat and dairy products can raise the risk of cancer.

Fortunately, it’s easy to reduce the risk. Most vegetables naturally diminish dampness; have some at every meal. Sour foods also reduce dampness. All spices and pungent foods have a drying effect. Physical exercise and sweating help rid the body of excess dampness. And, of course, it’s a good idea to cut down on foods that increase dampness.

See also:

• Western diet and cancer in Korea.

Article sources:

• Cancer Risk Higher With Western Diet (AP)
• Western diet risk to Asian women (BBC)
• Western diet linked to breast cancer in Asian women (CBC)
• Western diet increases breast cancer risk in Asian women (News Medical)
• Western diet ups breast cancer risk among Chinese (Reuters)

The post How to make a Western diet act more like a Chinese diet appeared first on Ginseng Press.

According to Chinese medicine, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease have the same root: they are both caused by low heart energy. It’s interesting to note that Western medicine is starting to see this link; in the article mentioned above, a professor is quoted as saying “There are very similar underlying pathologies for heart disease and dementia”, and a 2006 study links heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease.

See also:

• Heart failure and dementia

Article sources:

• Obesity to fuel Alzheimer’s rise (BBC)

The post Heart, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease appeared first on Ginseng Press.

According to Chinese medicine, an ideal diet consists primarily of foods that grow locally and in season. This makes the Mediterranean diet perfect for the Mediterranean region, but not necessarily elsewhere.

Here is my own prediction. Because the study takes place in Spain — a country in the Mediterranean region, therefore ideally suited to the Mediterranean diet — the final results, due in 2010, will prove conclusively that the Mediterranean diet reduces heart disease. Whether researchers in other parts of the world will try to duplicate the study — and, especially, whether they will get similar results — remains to be seen.

See also:

• Exploring the Mediterranean diet
  

Article sources:

• Mediterranean diet beats low-fat regime for heart health: researchers (CBC)
  

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In the mean time, we can look at how Chinese medicine views the matter. Weight is regulated by the interaction between the heart and the kidneys — or, more specifically, heart energy and kidney energy. When these energies are in balance, our weight is normal. When heart energy is low, we’re likely to gain weight.

According to the Law of 5 elements, worry and anxiety — more or less the equivalent of ‘stress’ in Chinese medicine — decrease heart energy, as do most fast foods.

Occasional worrying and infrequent fast-food meals aren’t likely to do much harm, but continuous worrying and a steady diet of fast food will eventually reduce heart energy to the point of not being able to balance kidney energy, leading to weight gain in most people. The exceptions are those who thrive under pressure and can eat anything they want, yet remain thin. Such people generally have excessive heart energy, which is balanced by stress and fast foods.

A more technical explanation for the interested reader. Worry, anxiety and most fast foods increase the Earth element, which has the effect of overworking the digestive tract. This automatically drains Fire, or heart energy.

See also:

• How heart and kidneys are related

Article sources:

• Way to Shrink, Grow Fat Is Found (Washington Post)
• Scientists Discover How Stress Causes Obesity And How Fat Can Be Removed Using A Simple Injection (Medical News Today)

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