The perfect follow up to my Chinese medicinal wine article is the topic of
herbal aphrodisiacs. An aphrodisiac can be anything that arouses or intensifies sexual desire. Throughout the centuries Chinese emperors had concubines to keep happy, or was it the reverse? Either way preserving one’s stamina and sexual vitality was of the utmost importance to one’s health and herbs were considered a source for the proverbial “fountain of youth”. The Chinese have worked on perfecting herbal formulas for sexual enhancement over the last two thousand years.
Ginseng is probably the most well known of the herbs used throughout the centuries. Yet a Chinese herb formula with ginseng will often be more potent than any given single herb. A formula for sexual improvement is always designed to build both yin and yang energy from a
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By Cathy Margolin
on January 21, 2010
Another study, I found this one most encouraging. A survey of 1784 current U.S. medical students from around the country said knowledge of Complementary and
Alternative Medicine could help them as Western doctors do a better job. (51% of U.S. medical schools participated). The survey’s overall objectives were to discover how many future doctors are using Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies and which therapies and to assess medical students’ attitudes toward CAM. CAM therapies include, Acupuncture,
herbal medicine, yoga, massage and other non-traditional healing modalities.
There is certainly a need for emerging physicians to integrate Complementary and Integrative Medicine into their medical practices. Medical schools are recognizing this and have taken steps at restructuring their curriculum to incorporate CAM educational opportunities. It’s been my privilege to be personally involved with one such school, the USC
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By Cathy Margolin
on January 14, 2010
25 years ago it was TM.
20 years ago it was Chiropractors.
15 years ago Ayurvedic Medicine and Yoga.
10 years ago it was Acupuncture.
5 years ago it was Chinese
herbal medicine and Homeopathy and now? The best definition may just be all of the above plus: Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Spiritual Healing, Qi Gong and Tai Chi, massage, raw food diets and just about anything else you can imagine.
Today the different possible ways to find health and wellness are as creative and as they are unconventional. The U.S. Government funded National Institute of Health is spending millions of dollars every year funding studies on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, so they must believe the tides are shifting from our “conventional
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By Cathy Margolin
on January 5, 2010
The Struthers Parkinson's Center in Minneapolis teaches a form of Tai Chi and both The Cleveland Clinic and the Stanford School of Medicine recommend Tai Chi for Parkinson’s sufferers. This healing art, or should I say
Chinese medicine, developed over a 1000 years ago are a series of slow, flowing movements that can help maintain flexibility, balance and coordination.
I enjoy it because Tai Chi requires you to combine mental poise and concentration into movement. Tai Chi movements rotate the human body nearly all possible ways the body can move. In fact, it is one of the most coordination enhancing exercises. “Use it or Lose it”, that’s the way it goes. What better way prevent the debilitating loss of movement from a gradually progressive disease such as Parkinson’s. Tai Chi helps can benefit not only Parkinson’s sufferers
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By Cathy Margolin
on November 23, 2009
A heart felt thank you to all our troops oversees who will miss their families this Thanksgiving. We salute you and say God Bless.
In recent years, Complementary and
Alternative Medicine (CAM) has shown an increasing presence in the US health care system as well as in Canada, Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. The number of visits to
practitioners of alternative therapies and total expenditures have increased, rivaling or exceeding visits and expenditures for conventional medical care. A study done on the use of CAM by the US military was consistent with patterns in the US civilian populations. 37% of a healthy US Navy and Marine Corps population who participated in this study reported the use of at least one CAM treatment in the previous 12 months.
While CAM therapies such as chiropractic
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By Cathy Margolin
on October 20, 2009
Botany of Desire
Four common plants, a weed, a flower a root and a fruit. We think we control them …. but what if they really control us? They have learned to satisfy our desires. Look at nature like never before. Can these plants be considered herbal medicine because they fulfill our desires?
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan.
I only wonder what the millions of other plants we use everyday from Ginseng to all the other Chinese herbs and plant medicinals would say about these four being selected for the program? How very jealous they must be.
By Cathy Margolin
on September 4, 2009
Here’s a great article for baseball fans and anyone who might want to consider a Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture treatment after their own weekend warrior workout.
The San Franciso Giants, the L.A. Lakers, the NY Mets and NASCAR all have their own Acupuncturist to treat their athletes on a regular basis. Acupuncture Today just published a story on the SF Giants and their acupuncturist Haro Ogawa. Head Trainer for the Giants, David Groeschner had this to say “The players love him and love the treatments. In our game, we are out there every day, so the players
