Time Magazine on Placenta Consumption

Here's a humorous article about eating your own placenta from Time Magazine.

For more information on placenta, take a look at our previous post, Human Placenta Consumption, from April 16th.

Chinese Rice Wine

Ever tried Chinese rice wine? Apparently some of it is pretty good! This company imports high-quality rice wine for drinking (not cooking or degreasing engine blocks) from China.

I don't remember when I first tried 白酒 bai jiu, but I remember that it takes some getting used to. First of all, it's usually 100 proof or more. The kind I'm familiar with has an acrid, sharp smell that feels like it's going to make your eyes bleed if you're exposed to the fumes.

Bai jiu, it should be noted, can be made from a variety of different grains, typically sorghum or barley. Although the characters can be translated as "white wine", a more accurate description would be Chinese-style vodka. It's very useful for making herbal liquor - the higher proof helps to extract the active ingredients of the herbs.

Someday I'll have to try the rice wine this guy is selling. I wonder if it's at Ranch 99.

123TCM.com

Here's an interesting website of original TCM products. The company is based in Hangzhou, China.

Besides the usual product descriptions, there are also stock quotes and the local weather in Hangzhou. Here's a highlight:

You wanna order our products?

Please before you do send us an email for which kind of desease you want to use.

Send us your clinical picture discribe your symtoms as good as possible your complete health situation. Why? We want make sure which products are the best for your way back...........

Enjoy.

Dao of the Day - Preventive Medicine

Tackle difficulties when they are easy.
Accomplish great things when they are small.
Handle what is going to be rough
when it is still smooth.
Control what has not yet formed its force.
Deal with a dangerous situation while it is safe.
Manage what is hard while it is soft.
Eliminate what is vicious
before it becomes destructive.
This is called
"attending to great things at small beginnings."

A tree so big it can fill the span of a man's arms
grows from a tiny sprout.
A terrace nine stories high
rises from a shovelful of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step.
Thus, one of integral virtue
never sets about grandiose things,
yet he is able to achieve great things.

-Dao De Jing, Capter 64
From The Complete Works of Lao Tzu, translation and elucidation by Huaching Ni.

Summer Drinking

Nothing says booze and summer like the Fourth of July. Why not make yourself a nice, refreshing alcoholic infusion with herbs? It could prove to be delicious and nutritious!

The infusion above was made with 薄荷 Bo He, 生姜 Sheng Jiang and 枸杞子 Gou Qi Zi, popularly known as mint, ginger, and goji berries.

Yumbo!!

Be merry, be safe, and enjoy the holiday.

Viral Meningitis and TCM

Here are some FAQ's about viral meningitis from the CDC:

Q:What is viral meningitis?
A:Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes ("meninges") that cover the brain and spinal cord. Viral infections are the most common cause of meningitis; bacterial infections are the second most common cause. Other, rarer causes of meningitis include fungi, parasites, and non-infectious causes, including those that are related to drugs.

Q:Can I get viral meningitis if I’m around someone who has it?
A:If you are around someone with viral meningitis, you may be at risk of becoming infected with the virus that made them sick. But you have only a small chance of developing meningitis as a complication of the illness.

Q:Is viral meningitis a serious disease?
A:Viral ("aseptic") meningitis is serious but rarely fatal in people with normal immune systems. Usually, the symptoms last from 7 to 10 days and the patient recovers completely.

Q:How is viral meningitis treated?
A:There is no specific treatment for viral meningitis. Most patients completely recover on their own within 2 weeks. Antibiotics do not help viral infections, so they are not useful in the treatment of viral meningitis. Doctors often will recommend bed rest, plenty of fluids, and medicine to relieve fever and headache.

No specific treatment... that's too bad.

But wait! I hear the sweet, sweet voice of Zhang Zhong Jing telling me that there must be a way to alleviate the symptoms and encourage faster recovery from such a painful disease process.

I had to find out for myself. Really.

Two days of a splitting headache with the sensation of my neck and back wanting to explode, and I found myself in the care of Dr.Yu Hong Chen at the Yo San University Clinic. She's pretty much the most awesome person on Earth. As an intern, I was witness to her genius when she constructed custom formulas for patients that brought them back from hopelessness into well-being. Now it was my turn to be the patient, and she did not disappoint.

The diagnosis? Tai Yang he Shao Yang Bing. Straight from the Shang Han Lun.

The formula? Gui Zhi Tang Jia Xiao Chai Hu Tang, with Ge Gen and a couple of other herbs to address my secondary symptoms.

I also got an amazing acupuncture treatment, working on the Du and Gallbladder channels, followed by some bleeding-cupping along those channels and the Urinary Bladder. Worked like a charm. I feel mostly human again! Life is great!

Ban on Popular Pain Killers

A federal advisory panel to the FDA is advising a ban on Vicodin and Percocet, two of the most widely used pain killers in the world. The vote made yesterday stems from concerns that use of the drugs cause irreparable liver damage. The combination of a narcotic with acetominophen, or Tylenol, is the problem. Since people in chronic pain end up having to take higher and higher doses of these drugs over time in order to get the same results, they put themselves at risk of overdose and liver failure.

In 2005, American consumers bought 28 billion doses of products containing [acetominophen].While the medicine is effective in treating headaches and reducing fevers, even recommended doses can cause liver damage in some people. And more than 400 people die and 42,000 are hospitalized every year in the United States from overdoses.

The panel conducted 11 votes in total, including one that suggesting a ban on all combination products that includes acetominophen. The panel voted against that ban, saying that consumers saw the products as valuable. My question is, isn't it their job to ensure that the products are safe? Consumer trends should not dictate whether or not a drug would be allowed on the market, considering that popular products usually become popular due to factors such as marketing and advertising, as opposed to safety and efficacy.

Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in the treatment of pain and has little to no side effects. It is generally affordable and can be administered in virtually any setting. Next time you throw out your back, try acupuncture!