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Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease / Acid Reflux / Heartburn by Alan Sher L.Ac

Original Post Date June 29, 2016 by Alan Sher When I see a patient for the first time, I try to give them some understanding of the process I use to determine precisely what is going on and which herbs are the most beneficial for their situation.  To illustrate this process, I will give a short explanation of my approach to someone presenting with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).  It is my experience that Chinese herbs plus dietary and lifestyle changes will invariably improve this condition, and frequently lead to a complete cure. GERD is commonly referred to as acid reflux with heartburn as one of the main symptoms.  According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the primary concern then is ‘upward counterflow of Stomach qi’.  All of the patterns of this dysfunction are too complex and numerous to elaborate on here, but I do want people to understand that TCM is an extremely sophisticated and detailed way of uncovering these mechanisms. So, once I ...
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Depression and Traditional Chinese Medicine: Treating the Mind and Body as One by Jordan Hoffman, L.Ac., Dipl. OM

Original Post Date: June 23, 2016 by Jordan Hoffman Case 1:  A 35 year old female presents with frequent colds and flus, allergies, has had asthma since she was 16 years of age, around the time there was a death in her immediate family, and depression. Case 2:  A 21 year old female college student complains of indigestion, recurrent yeast infections, long hours of studying, poor eating habits, and depression. Case 3:  A 43 year old male complains of high blood pressure, Hepatitis C, stress, 2:30am wake ups every night, anger and frustration over his career, and depression. Three completely different presentations, yet all three patients complain of depression.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we see the body and mind as inseparable; the health of one affects and reflects the health of the other.  We look at the patient’s collection of signs and symptoms, be they physical, mental or emotional, as indicators of organ system imbalance, and we ...
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G6PD by Gila Varis Case Study

Original Post Date: September 8, 2016 by Gila Varis A young man, age 28, comes to see me in my office. He has symptoms that include tightness in the throat, sinus drainage, and gastrointestinal symptoms. He was diagnosed with strep throat, put on antibiotics, but still has sharp pain in the throat. I put together a Chinese herbal formula for him, he recovers and I don’t hear from him until 6 months later. Using the testing methodology I learned from Matt Van Benschoten, I start testing to see if he has a reaction to foods in my test kit. The test showed that he does not tolerate beans, which is why I ask him about his ancestry. He has Native American, Serbian, and Spanish in his genetic make-up. I run signals and identify that g6pd enzyme deficiency is the reason he is not able to maintain his health. G6pd is a shortened name for “glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency. This condition is also known as Favism. In my research on this enzyme deficiency, this is a recessive ...
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