@Andrew, good to see the site up and running again!

Most patients come from one of two shools: the "I've tried everything and nothing has worked, so I'll give this shit a try" camp or from word-of-mouth camp.

The new agers already tend to "know it all" anyway and are already eating their goji berries (or whatever).

Sorry this strayed so far from the book review, I'll give it a look.

@J. Stanton – Is your question hypothetical about your friend? If it is not and your truely interested, shoot me an email at doug@wellnessrenegade.com – I'll be happy to answer it.

If the question is "is TCM necessarily woo?", then I'm inclined to agree that the answer is no. However, there also seems to be a tendency among woo-inclined westerners to gravitate to "eastern philosophies" from a motivation that looks more like a craving for mystery, reactionary self-loathing, or "the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill" effect. Other underlying tendencies also tend to map rather well to most psychology of religion theories. Because of that (even if only perceived by me), my skeptic shields will remain in full-force.

Your thoughtful comments are always appreciated.

Chinese medicine has a very methodical framework. The reason I say it’s not important to understand those terms in a biomedical way is because it wont help a practitioner diagnosis and treat with-in the framework of Chinese Medicine. As I mentioned, TCM uses syndrome diagnosis.

So if you came in to see me, I would begin a whole series of questions much like the “review of systems” in western medicine. Let’s say from my questions and your complaints we determine that these are the predominant symptoms you are experiencing: fatigue, gas, bloating, loose watery stools, mild headache, poor appetite, abdominal discomfort that is better when pressure is applied, and general weakness.

Let’s say I also notice you have a pale complexion, and upon examining your tongue I notice it’s pale, puffy, and has slightly scalloped or swollen edges. After feeling your radial pulse, I determine that it has a “weak quality.”

My diagnosis would be spleen qi deficiency (would the paleo diganosis be vegetarian?). And I think almost any TCM practitioner would agree with me, as these are the classic symptoms for this syndrome. There is a common Chinese herbal formula used for this syndrome Si Jun Zi Tang (Four-Gentlemen Decoction). I can go on at length how the four different herbs in this formula both individually and synergistically affect this syndrome. In addition to herbs, I would do a series of acupuncture points that are commonly used for this syndrome.

I guess the only way you would know or not if the practitioner is “yanking your chain” is if you know what the symptoms of spleen qi deficiency are and how to treat it. The other way to know is if the treatment(s) were effective to cure your condition.

There are hundreds of syndromes and almost always a combination of a few at a time. On top of this, there are at least 500 commonly used herbs, thousands of formulas, and endless combinations depending on depending on the mix of syndromes. Same goes with the acupuncture points.

Maybe you can see why I think it’s “probably not possible anyway” to define the terms biomedically.

“It seems like TCM is just handicapping its own understanding by not working to explain its empirical knowledge in terms of biochemistry.”

Actually TCM is trying to explain it’s empirical knowledge in terms of biochemistry, but I personally hardly see the point. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of studies on how acupuncture works (some the interesting ones to me are with the use of Functional MRIs).

I think most of the herbs have had a quite a bit of research done on them also. Here is some research on one of the herbs in the above mentioned formula. Bai Zhu / Atractylodis Macrocephalae “(animals) when given by gastiric lavage in doses of 1-3 g/kg there was a two – to sixfold increase in urinary output that was sustained for six to seven hours.” “In many animal experiments, (bai zhu) increased the assimilation of glucose and lowered plasma glucose levels.”

I guess it is important that these studies are going on, maybe in the future it will help further the medicine? But, if I only knew the results of those studies, I would have never known to give that to you for your messed up digestive system.

Sorry for the long-ass answer. I hope I'm addressing what you were asking about. I’m tired, so I’ll get back to you tomorrow about your buddy that took a digger in the ditch.

Tai Chi, obviously. That'll get his chakras aligned, for maximum holistic wellness. And any competent reflexologist can accelerate his healing process by getting those darn foot toxins out. Also helps with the aforementioned chakras. Oh, and seeing a chiropractor would help, heaven knows all those strains and sprains are going to cause subluxations–if one didn't cause the accident already! Then maybe a homeopath can get him some water that 'remembers' the impression of a nice pain-relieving cocktail–and, again, more help with the chakras. After that he could check out a naturopath. I don't even know what the hell they do, but if it involves chakras, I wouldn't blink.

Also, maybe some tylenol for the pain and inflammation, assuming he's aware of the little side effects and finds it a worthwhile tradeoff. Oh, and remember, ice for the first couple days, theeeeen heat.