This morning when I came into the clinic, my colleague Dr. Lorne Brown (founder of Acubalance wellness centre) and I got into a conversation regarding some of the differences and similarities between western alliopathic medicine and Chinese medicine. Lorne had just returned from the Pacific coast reproductive societies annual conference in Palm Springs, where he had spoken on the topic of the integration of western and Eastern medicines. Lorne mentioned that "a big difference between the two medicines is that the body map of Chinese medicine is already complete, whereas the western map is still being discovered". I explained that I love it when the western map catches up to the eastern map and the two maps point to the same place. I guess this is how building blocks are formed, allowing for the integration of the two medicines.

The recent study/ hypothesis that I posted last week called remission of rosacea induced by reduction of gut transit time, really shows how the western map is, in some ways catching up to the eastern one. What the study says is that intestinal bacteria creates inflammation in the gut which aggravates a series of nerves leading all the way to the face, aggravating the blood vessels there. This in turn leads to the flushing and redness so characteristic of rosacea. When a purgative, or medicine to promote a bowel movement, was given the rosacea symptoms decreased. In other words, a problem in one part of the body was leading to a problem in a very distant part of the body.

This is what Chinese medicine has thought for thousands of years. The body cannot be separated into segregated parts, but is whole and performs in a united way. Chinese medicine has always paid special attention to the health of the bowels, believing that if there is build up in the stomach and intestines, heat will be generated and this heat will over flow onto the skin as differing types of rashes- including acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, ect. By keeping the bowels regular and even in a state of "comfortable diahrea", the inflammatory reactions happening in the intestines and the skin will be reduced.

So another pat on the back for Chinese medicine by the western research, whether those western Doc's acknowledge it or not! LOL. May western science continue to prove that the body map of Chinese medicine is very real and true.

Trevor