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Showing posts from December, 2010

Europe’s Plagues Came From China, Study Finds

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The great waves of plague that twice devastated Europe and changed the course of history had their origins in China , a team of medical geneticists reported Sunday, as did a third plague outbreak that struck less harmfully in the 19th century. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, via Getty Images A bubonic plague smear, prepared from a lymph removed from an adenopathic lymph node, or bubo, of a plague patient, demonstrates the presence of the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes the plague. And in separate research, a team of biologists reported conclusively this month that the causative agent of the most deadly plague, the Black Death, was the bacterium known as Yersinia pestis. This agent had always been the favored cause, but a vigorous minority of biologists and historians have argued the Black Death differed from modern cases of plague studied in India, and therefore must have had a different cause. The Black...

Advertise on NYTimes.com From China to Panama, a Trail of Poisoned Medicine

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IN CHINA At least 18 people, most of them in Guangdong Province, died in a month last year after they ingested contaminated medicine. Chemical country The Taixing countryside in eastern China, near the Yangtze Delta. Forty-six barrels of toxic syrup followed a path from a factory in the nearby small town of Hengxiang to Panama. Many of them are children, poisoned at the hands of their unsuspecting parents. The syrupy poison, diethylene glycol, is an indispensable part of the modern world, an industrial solvent and prime ingredient in some antifreeze. It is also a killer. And the deaths, if not intentional, are often no accident. Over the years, the poison has been loaded into all varieties of medicine — cough syrup, fever medication, injectable drugs — a result of counterfeiters who profit by substituting the sweet-tasting solvent for a safe, more expensive syrup, usually glycerin, commonly used in drugs, food, toothpaste and other products. Toxic syrup h...

Dinosaur Bones Used to Make Soup in China

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Chinese villagers eat dinosaur bones; Villagers in central China dug up a ton of dinosaur bones and boiled them in soup or ground them into powder for traditional medicine, believing they were from flying dragons and had healing powers. AP July 3: The heaviest dinosaur bone in Asia on display in Zhengzhou, China. Other bones from the same dinosaur were eaten by villagers. BEIJING — Villagers in central China dug up a ton of dinosaur bones and boiled them in soup or ground them into powder for traditional medicine, believing they were from flying dragons and had healing powers. Until last year, the fossils were being sold in Henan province as "dragon bones" at about 4 yuan (50 cents) per kilogram (2.2 pounds), scientist Dong Zhiming told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Dong, a professor with the Institute of Ver...

China a rising star in regenerative medicine despite world skepticism of stem cell therapies, moves to regulate stem cell tourism

China a rising star in regenerative medicine despite world skepticism of stem cell therapies Enforcing new Chinese rules for clinics may impact lucrative stem cell therapy tourism but improve international credibility, confidence This release is available in Chinese . Chinese researchers have become the world's fifth most prolific contributors to peer-reviewed scientific literature on clock-reversing regenerative medicine even as a skeptical international research community condemns the practice of Chinese clinics administering unproven stem cell therapies to domestic and foreign patients. According to a study by the Canadian-based McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health (MRC), published today by the UK journal Regenerative Medicine , China's government is pouring dollars generously into regenerative medicine (RM) research and aggressively recruiting high-calibre scientists trained abroad in pursuit of its ambition to become a world leader in the field. An...

TCM: The cure for AIDS or another crackpot with a big mouth?

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Could wolf-berry and ginseng be the answer to the AIDS pandemic or are we dealing with another wild exaggeration? A three-year medical trial at Guang'anmen Hospital , using Chinese medicine to combat HIV/AIDS, has announced a breakthrough in their studies. Concentrating their studies on 565 patients with AIDS, the patients' symptoms and immune systems have allegedly improved since the beginning of the trail in 2008. Further trials on animals ( they don't have it easy, do they? ) have shown that the unique treatment could hinder the multiplication of the HIV-1 virus. In contrast to western methods, which involve blitzing your blood of all viruses, the traditional Chinese method strengthens the immune system. However, this breakthrough failed to have the desired effect on a few critics. A staff member from a Hong Kong-based traditional Chinese medicine company argues "Government experts receive special funding from the nat...

TCM cosmetics that pass test of time

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Traditional Chinese medicine cosmetics have a history of 1,600 years but have only recently started to compete with modern international brands. Cheng Anqi delves deeper University student Lu Jing has been battling acne for the past three years, using dozens of products to get rid of the disfiguring scars on her face - all without success. Three months ago, however, a doctor prescribed her traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine in her hometown in the Innner Mongolia autonomous region. He told her to mix a mystery powder with egg white every night and apply it to the face. Now, the 25-year-old has a clear complexion free of comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) and with just a few fading scars. According to the Chamber of Beauty Culture and Cosmetics of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, foreign companies have more than half the domestic cosmetics market and rake in 80 percent of the profits. But people like Lu are increasingly turning to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)...

Herbal Gifts From The First Christmas

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As Yuletide approaches once again we mostly listen to the story of baby Jesus as well as the Wise Men who came to benefaction gifts of frankincense as well as myrrh. Why would "Wise Men" bring the baby spices as well as only what only have been frankincense as well as myrrh? Both of these spices have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 1600 years as well as have been mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Both of these tree resins, demeanour similar to small rocks but have been essentially the bleeds from trees. But not only any trees. Frankincense is the creosote of the Boswellia tree, whose roots can grow in plain rock. The trees have been eminent for flourishing in revengeful environments as well as can tarry aroused storms as well as harsh conditions. The tree is "tapped" the similar process to taping maple trees for syrup as well as the creosote bleeds out. It naturally hardens into small rocks as well as valued for its recovering abilities. Chinese ...

TCM: Control stress and Christmas 'fire'

THE weeks fly and Christmas is approaching faster with every day. Christmas is the festival of love and peace and therefore we enjoy spending these special days with our families and friends. Our holiday preparation starts early: We need to book our flights, prepare our luggage, and buy gifts. Our kids are writing their wish lists and we try to organize our busy schedules of the last days in China as well as of the celebration days in our home countries. Isn't this real stress? - Holiday stress! Once back in our home countries, we hope that the stress will disappear. However, we will notice fast that it gets worse. Everybody wants to see us; everybody wants to have some time with us - parents, brothers, sisters, friends and children's friends. Dinners here, lunches there, Christmas markets, cooking, baking, decorating. But what we need right now is just some time for ourselves! To manage this holiday stress, we need to control our "fire." Fire (in Traditional Chinese ...

The TCM Body Clock

THE best times to eat, sleep, work, do mental work and to have sex are all set out like clockwork in traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Qian counts the hours. There's a time for everything in traditional Chinese medicine, and timing and schedule are crucial to maintain health. Our bodies move like clockwork and each organ meridian has a two-hour period when qi (energy) is at its peak. The qi flows clockwise through the 12 meridians over 24 hours and shifts between yin (cold) and yang (hot) energies. Living according to the clock can strengthen health. Small practices, such as walking and massage, can help achieve a healthy schedule. Back in the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), the earliest foundational text of Chinese traditional medicine, 'Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor,' sets out a guide to healthy living, not by prescribing medicine, but a way of life in tune with the universe and the body's rhythms and cycles. That includes deep sleep. Chinese recognize 1...

Are Chinese Herbs A Better Sleep Aid Than Melatonin?

I am mostly asked this question. My answer customarily is something similar to this. Just because we have been not familiar with Chinese herbs does not meant they not as effective as a bland nap aids you've mostly heard about. Simply because Chinese disinfectant has not been a predominant form of disinfectant in a U.S. for a past 200 plus years does not annul a fact which over a billion people upon a earth rely upon this medicines systems as well as theories. The continual make use of of herbal nap disinfectant for over 1000 years, gives it both a safety record unmatched by alternative nap remedies, as well as a success rating no alternative healthy treatment can reason a candle too, together with thousands of clinical studies. In comparison , Melatonin was discovered in 1958, it took an additional twenty-five years to accumulate believe about melatonin as well as what effect it had upon both physiological as well as behavioral aspects of people. It's make use of as a nap aid p...

Mindfulness is as Effective as Anti-Depression Meds

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Since today we need a 'research study' to validate that something truly has value, here's one for you. A study just published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that depression can be treated with "mindfulness" more effectively than with an antidepressant drug or a placebo. Since according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) there are 14 million or so Americans suffering from depression, I'm doing my part in spreading the word. What exactly is "mindfulness"? Generally it refers to being in the present moment. It incorporates meditation and "helping patients watch their feelings and thoughts in a way that lets them work with them differently", said Zindel Segal of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, in Toronto, Ontario. Participants who received mindfulness therapy learned how to meditate on their own for 40 minutes a day, in addition to going to a session with a therapist. "It’s kind of like going like going...

Boost Your Immune System with This Herb, Dr. Weil Says

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Astragalus root, additionally well well known as Huang Qi or astragulus membranaceous has been used for over 2000 years to keep people healthy. In Traditional Chinese Medicine today we might call it "supplementing your Qi", possibly way it's boosting your defence complement to quarrel off stress as well as everyday germs. Add it to hot H2O for the little tea as well as we will have some-more appetite as well as enlarge your full of health immunities. Dr. Andrew Weil calls it one of the 5 supplements he recommends for the full of health defence system. This herb is additionally well well known as an adaptogen. (Check out this post for some-more adaptogenic herbs.) Astragalus is usually used in multiple with other herbs in Chinese herbal medicine. Known as Huang Qi it's commonly used to supplement our spleen as well as stomach energy. It is both protected as well as cheap as well as is commonly found in Asian cooking. You might even want to add it to homemade duck soup...

Our Herb Store Shipping Calculator is Stressing So Free Shipping For All

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Apparently, a store shipping "calculate" is stressing out from some computer bug holiday syndrome. We haven't yet found a right tool for a job. The great news is, Free Shipping for all. If which doesn't work call us. We'll make sure we embrace FREE shipping as well as a FREE gift for a call. Thanks, happy herb filled holidays to all. We've all been drinking a small more of a highlight relief herbal formula, "Body Enhancer" whilst we get by this latest bug. What do we do to get rid of highlight in your life? What's in your highlight relief tool box? Do we scream as loud as possible? Yelling can be a great release, not for a target of course, though that's an additional story. They say exercise is a great highlight reducer, though sometimes we only have some sore forgive why we can't exercise. I find a great travel in a meditative state can move down a blood vigour sincerely nicely. Sometimes I'm only to hyped to lay as well as medita...