Monday, 12 Novermber 2007

The Path of Least Resistance

Greetings from Future Medicine Now!

The last newsletter ended in a matrix that oriental medicine become an influential component of our concept of medicine. In the short time since then, I've been shown what I believe is the most formidable obstacle to the fulfillment of that matrix.

Perceiving the Trap

Not long ago I traveled out of town to meet with an MD who is using medical practice software which I am considering for my own office. The software looks great, but does not include a component for selling prescriptions to clients. A representative for the software company told me that this doctor was providing products to his clients, as I do with you. So I was curious to know how he handled this function of his office.

The doctor had graciously agreed to let me spend time with his office manager to go over procedures. Since this was a day when he was not seeing clients, it was unclear to me if I would actually meet the doctor. Within minutes of my arrival, I learned from his office manager that he was selling premixed Chinese herbal formulas. What a surprise! Then I was told that he does acupuncture as well. Since he's an MD, it seemed likely to me that he might also use trigger point injections and prolotherapy — which, he does. Amazing! On the surface, it would appear that our practices are nearly identical.

As I began to probe more deeply, however, that illusion quickly fell apart. It was an enlightening experience, but by the end of my short visit (which included ten minutes with the doctor), I had ascertained the following:

  • The doctor has no training in oriental medicine. He practices what is called "medical acupuncture," a standalone, symptomatic approach to placing needles in the body. If you have a headache, then we needle this list of points. Who needs a diagnosis? (As you know, a headache is a symptom, not a cause. As such, it requires a diagnosis to be properly treated.)

  • He uses only "tonifying" herbal formulas, since his clients come to him "expecting antibiotics for anything else" (exact words). This last one just about knocked the wind out of me! This well-meaning man has no understanding of oriental medicine, nor how to offer his clients its gratifying results. He has simply cut a couple of its buzzword modalities from their context, and pasted them into a symptomatic practice of medicine.

I covered this dilemma previously, when the chiropractic board was trying to acquire the use of acupuncture without training in oriental medicine. So, you say, what's the big deal, Larry? What's wrong with an MD or chiropractor using acupuncture? Well, absolutely nothing if they are educated and licensed in oriental medicine.

Who Loses?

Let's take a look at the individual who's been using conventional medicine all her life, but begins to sense the need to dip her toe into the dark unknown of... ACUPUNCTURE. After all, acupuncture is what she keeps hearing about — who's heard of oriental medicine?

Where does such an individual begin the search? Isn't it far safer to look to an MD who offers such services than to roll the dice on the funny looking yellow page listing of... uh, people... under "acupuncturists." Certainly an MD would be more qualified and better trained in such matters, right? And then, there's the matter of payment. "I'm sticking to what insurance will pay for. I'm already paying them an arm and a leg!" Most of us tend to stick with the familiar and comfortable — the idea of acupuncture is scary enough!

Surely you know where this is going, but let's take the journey anyway.

So this adventurous soul goes to the MD for treatment. Her experience could run the gamut, but the majority of such individuals are going to experience less than spectacular results. "Well, I tried acupuncture, and it didn't work." Or, "I tried Chinese herbs, and things just got worse." Who has lost here? The client has lost. Oriental medicine has lost. And the practicing MD may or may not perceive the emptiness of his choices, but loses in the end, as well. We all lose, because one of the most brilliant medical paradigms in the world has been misrepresented, and therefore loses stature in the eyes of a world which sorely needs such a medicine.

We Have Seen the Enemy
And We Be It...

This phenomenon is not restricted to MDs practicing medical acupuncture. I see parallel events occurring with both students and doctors who are trained and licensed in oriental medicine. It would be simple to blame minds so enmeshed in a western perspective that they cannot grasp the profound value of a different world view, but that wouldn't explain the same phenomenon occurring in doctors who are oriental by birth and education.

I can't explain what I commonly see: a lack of understanding or a lack of willingness to actually practice the tenets of this medicine. But here's my best guess. Everyone remembers Frost's "road less traveled," precisely because it's rarely what we take. There is a strong human tendency to take the path of least resistance, which makes it the path "most often traveled." That path is familiar, it's easier, it's not scary, it requires no contemplation, nor time to choose — it's a habit. The most effective route to good health, however, like the road less traveled, is often not the easiest. Like most endeavors of value, it's sometimes an arduous path, faced with sacrifice, surrender, and tough choices.

The path of least resistance is a trap in waiting for each of us, each moment of the day. And our conscious choices (or lack of them) determine the reality we encounter in the next moment.

I'd like to salute that small handful of courageous MDs who have demonstrated the curiosity, intelligence, humility, and diligence to obtain an education in oriental medicine before attempting to bring that medicine to their practice. Perhaps there will be enough like-minded souls — doctors, students, health care consumers and caring individuals — to turn us aside from the path of least resistance, and to make a difference in what health care becomes.

 

Time to Tonify

Speaking of tonifying herbs, this is the season for using them! It's time to build up our strength and reserves — our immunity, in western terms — to make it through the long winter in excellent health. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, "tonification" adds qualities to the body which it may be lacking, the chief ones being qi, blood, yang and yin. You don't need to know what yin or yang are to benefit from this principle. These qualities need to be abundant and balanced for good health, and building them up before winter is good insurance that you'll be warm, strong, and healthy, with plenty of reserves to weather adversity in these cold, dark months.

As you may know, autumn holiday meals in the orient are not only delicious, but the family quite often splurges on medicinal herbs, such as a fine quality ginseng root, to add to the stew. The line separating herbal medicine and "food as medicine" is not so distinct in Asia, as it is here. LIkewise, awareness of the season's significance and taking appropriate preventative measures are not so common in the west, but you can proactively switch your health regimen to one of tonification during this season. (If you're living, as I do, in New Mexico, it's a little difficult to imagine that winter is even going to come this year, but there are lots of potent flu varieties circulating, if you have any doubts.)

This might be a good time to dispell a common western misconception regarding tonification. When one already has a cold or flu is not a good time to tonify (as in the use of something like echinacea). Such practice can drive the pathogenic influence deeper into the body, resulting in the illness lasting longer than necessary — or worse. I see this in practice all the time. Tonify before sickness knocks at your door, not after it's already present.

If you'd like to prepare yourself this year, please come in for a reassessment of your current health picture for a personally tailored recommendation on what aspect of your health most needs attention, right now. Simply call 505.266.5681 or email me for an appointment.

 

Autumn Recipes

I'd like to share a couple of recipes to "beef up" your autumn tonification endeavor: chicken broth and Buffalo Joe. I'm all too aware that these names aren't likely to inspire a salivating frenzy to get the the recipes, but don't be fooled. If you try these, you're likely to be glad you did.

Chicken broth, for sure is a sleeper, but it is included for the following reasons:

  • Broths, more specifically bone broths, are highly regarded in oriental medicine for their ability to strongly tonify essence, blood, kidneys, bone, and tendons.

  • They are the basis for many other recipes, and their quality determines the depth of success such recipes enjoy.

  • Having the freezer full of pint sized containers of chicken broth, gives us the opportunity to quickly add nutrition and satisfying flavor to drinks, soups, grains, baked goods, or anything else requiring liquid.

  • I rarely add water to a dish which is too dry, and I tend not use water for cooking. I may use wine or a stabilized wine, like Madeira. Sometimes I use a grain or nut milk, like amasake or hemp milk. Most often, however, I go for a container of home made broth from the freezer.

  • And, lastly, this recipe is included because it so far outshines the abysmal store-bought versions — in both nutrition and flavor.

Click here, to see what you're missing.

Heads up, blood type Os! Joe's special is an old restaurant standard. I was introduced to this hearty and delicious blend of eggs, ground sirloin, and spinach at Thirteen Coins in Seattle when it was in its heyday, back in the early '70s. Buffalo Joe is its current incarnation at our house. Definitely a tonifier!

Enjoy the winddown days of autumn, my friend. Get out for leisurely strolls in the crisp, colorful air with a loved one. Catch a few extra catnaps, and contemplate the events of the year. It's a marvelous time.

Much Love,
Dr. Larry Horton