on alternative medicine research

A big question arises in the scientific realm whether alternative medicine is actually helpful or not. Whereas alternative medicines like Chinese Medicine (CM) are bottom-up treatments (individually custom) with top-down (holistic) theories, western medicine is typically bottom-up theory (molecular and chemically based) and top-down treatment (applying the law of averages to individuals). This is the main problem of designing randomized controlled double-blind trials to a holistic theory medicine like CM. In western medicine, it is usually fairly straightforward to come up with a diagnosis for a common disease; there is typically a physical marker such as a blood count, antibody, or hormone level that can be tested and isolated outside of the body. But in CM such an isolation does not exist, and as a result we can see 5 patients with prostate enlargement and have 5 different reasons why each patient developed the enlargement. Moreover, the treatments will be completely different depending on the CM diagnosis.

In a recent article on alternative medicine research, the problems that are addressed don't even distinguish this important point. Instead of looking at the diagnostic criteria of an alternative medicine, most studies use conventional diagnoses and alternative treatments to measure effectiveness. Because of this very basic error in study design, the studies are largely unreliable. Most of the studies designed by practitioners of CM even miss this point, in an effort to try to "legitimize" their medicine. It is a difficult situation with no easy answers, because in actuality the 5 patient with prostate enlargement could see different doctors and have different diagnoses. This further complicates the problem in terms of designing studies in the typical western fashion, but what it does for the medicine is make it extremely powerful and potent. In CM we have individuals with particular lineages and viewpoints treating individuals with customized diseases. In conventional medicine you have individuals treating individuals according to the law of averages and statistics. Both are useful, but measuring the effectiveness of something like CM with western methods is not fruitful unless these differences are understood and taken into account when the study is designed. Until such a study is designed, it seems that case-based studies are our best avenue of information in CM.

the rhythm of life and light

Just read an interesting post about circadian rhythms and the classification of people into 3 categories: Hummingbirds (those that follow the normal sleep wake cycle of the sun), Larks (those that wake up very early and are at their best before noon), and Owls (those that don't peak until about 6pm or later). Apparently there are health benefits and risks associated with each group, the genetic factors of which largely contribute. But an important factor is exposure to light, especially sunlight:

" In brightly lit offices, the light levels are some 200-300 times less than they are outside on a sunny day. Even a cloudy day is some 20-30 times brighter."

So even though those fluorescent lights at work seem bright, they are still not cutting the mustard in terms of conditioning. When we add Vitamin D synthesis into the mix, the modern office worker is coming up short on two very big counts.

The article also discusses familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) which is a genetic disorder where people fall asleep around 7:30pm and wake up around 3-4am. Though genetic, Chinese Medicine has a lot to say about such a disorder. The time of 5-7pm is considered the time of the Kidney in CM. This is the time when the yang qi is held by the yin qi for sleep (hexagram 12). If a person is yang deficient, they are going to be somnolent during this time: the yin qi is too great. At 3-4am we have hexagram 11, which is associated with the Lung. Here the opposite is true. Because the yang qi was deficient, the yin qi is not engendered at night causing a yin deficiency leading to early waking with up-rushing yang qi. So this type of a pattern could be a mixed deficiency picture of yin and yang, also known as yin and yang not communicating. The formula Si Ni Tang instantly comes to mind.

Immortal Combat

Firewater

The New York Times has been hitting the bottle pretty hard in the health section recently (here, here, and here). And for good reason. Everywhere we turn these days it is easy to see just how integrated drinking is with our lives. Whether it's the after-work drink to unwind or the weekend party the firewater presents a slippery slope of enjoyment and gradual destruction. I know for myself, and especially in my mid-twenties, I would frequently bust my ass all week working for high-pressure start-ups in silicon valley and sitting in traffic for two hours a day. The way I coped with the stress was to drink myself into the occasional blackout every saturday. I would spend sunday recovering and do it all again the next week. I think this is common, and although I have some pretty funny stories to go with the times that I can remember, the effects on my health were extreme. This could have continued, and might have, had I not been struck with my own version of a meltdown that caused me to re-examine my life. In my case, I was using the drinking as a crutch, as an avoidance of my lack of happiness. I didn't like my job, even though I was told I was good at it. My heart was missing something: a direction and purpose in life that was bigger than what I was living. I drank to ease the pain of this misdirection.

One of the above articles mentions to look for signs of alcohol abuse before it actually becomes alcoholism:

1. Repeatedly drinking more than self-set limits.
2. Having a persistent desire to quit or cut down.
3. Drinking and driving.
4. Spending too much time drinking.
5. Having hangovers or a sleep disorder.

Recognizing these trends can stop a problem before it manifests, which is truly what preventative medicine is all about. For myself, I was definitely guilty of some of these during those days. I still notice a trend in myself, that when the going gets tough, the tough makes martinis (maybe not tough enough: malt liquor?). What is interesting is the relationship of alcohol and the Liver in chinese medicine, and how alcohol in small amounts moves the Liver Qi which can counteract depression, but in larger amounts consumes the Liver Yin (the Blood). This can lead to a vicious cycle that ultimately ends in total dependency, tragedy, and often death. What one of the articles doesn't realize is the ironic co-morbidity of depression and alcoholism. In my opinion, and in my case, the former often times leads to the latter.

I grew up with a family where alcohol was just part of everyday life, but the perils of its abuse were unspoken.

I think its time to speak up.

The fourth month and Hexagram 1

I was mistaken in some of my previous posts when I was talking about the months and the corresponding hexagrams. As it turns out, the hexagrams and months are more appropriately tied to the cycles of the 24 jie qi as opposed to that of the moon. This makes sense actually, because the hexagrams have many agricultural interpretations that are more relevant to the jie qi.

So this means that the fourth month started on 立 夏, "the beginning of summer," which was on Tuesday May 5. This month will include this seasonal qi as well as the next one 小 满, "lesser (grain) fullness" which begins on May 21 and continues until June 4. During this time, we also experience the energy of the auspicious hexagram 1, 乾 which is often translated as "The Creative" and is all 6 yang lines.


The Yi Jing text:
大哉「乾元」，萬物資始，乃統天。

Great! The beginning of all material things, all are ordered under heaven. 



雲行雨施，品物流形。

Clouds move and rain falls, giving rise to the movement and form of all things.



大明終始，六位時成。

Great brightness from beginning to end, 6 positions of successful times. 



時乘六龍以御天。

It is time to ride the cart pulled by the 6 heavenly dragons.



乾道變化，各正性命。

Qian is the dao of change and transformation, supporting the correctness and truth of every life. 



保合大和，乃「利貞」。

Safely coming together ensures great harmony, auspicious. 



首出庶物，萬國咸寧。

Every creature's head emerges, and all nations are peaceful.

Of all the hexagrams this is the most auspicious, most grand, most promising. Under normal circumstances this is a time when all things can be achieved. However, at this particular moment in time there are some crazy western astrological trends afoot that indicate that we should be a little cautious. If you tend to be a bit lazy (like me recently) this month things will generally be a bit easier for you to get things done, meet new people, and proceed on some goals you have set. If you're a busy little bee that tends to not rest, relax, or find your center on a regular basis, this could be a month of burnout of both the mental and physical. But because of the way these things work, you probably won't notice the fallout or rewards until sometime in June. In a phrase: stay balanced, but enjoy the precious creative movement forward.

Stephen Karcher translates Hexagram 1 as "Dragon" or "Inspiring Force"

Force or Inspiring describes the situation in terms of primal power of spirit to create and destroy. Its symbols are the inspiring power of Heaven, the light of the sun that causes everything to grow, the fertilizing rain and the creative energy of the Dragon that breaks through boundaries. You are confronted with many obstacles. The way to deal with them is to persist, for you are in contact with fundamental creative energy. Take action. Be dynamic, strong, untiring, tenacious and enduring. Continue on your path and don't be dismayed. Ride the power of the Dragon and bring the fertilizing rain. Your situation contains great creative potential. It can open up a whole new cycle of time.

Concentration and your higher self

In recent studies on concentration, researchers have determined that all the noise and chatter that our visual and auditory cortex is constantly subjected to is filtered by a coherent firing of neurons in the frontal cortex, called gamma waves. In information processing, most models posit some form of bottom-up construction of the external world in our brain, but in this case there is a significant ability to affect the visual field in a top-down fashion. That this over-riding mechanism of attention occurs in the new (evolutionarily speaking) area of the pre-frontal cortex should come as no surprise. This area of the brain is often equivocated to the 6th chakra, Ajna Chakra, which is responsible for balancing the energies from Shiva (object) and Shakti (subject) to create a sense of psychic knowing or 'seeing' through this 'third-eye.' In this light, the research is interesting because it reveals physical evidence of both form (visual stimulus) and function (our ability to attend to it or not). Practicing meditation trains this part of our brain for concentration and allows us to focus on that which we want to focus on instead of what assaults us on a daily basis. In Chinese Medicine, this visual stimulus is associated with the Stomach network where the outside world is internalized and integrated into our self. Just as we can choose our food, we choose what we attend to. Just as we can be driven mad to the point of indifference with our choices of food (Thai? Indian? Burgers? Pizza? Italian? Nepalese?) we can become comfortably numb to the chaotic cacophony that is city life.