Chinese Album

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Friday, June 30, 2006

Number Of Hiv Infected Persons In China Increased

According to the prediction of the specialists, if the annual rate of increase of HIV infection is kept at 30 % in China, to the year of 2010 the total number of the HIV infected persons will reach one million. However, in 2001 the rate of increase of HIV infection already reached 40%! Not long ago, the responsible officers of the Ministry of Health announced that the present situation is of far apart from the objective of 10 % and reminded the urgency of further strengthening of working intensity for prevention and treatment measures against AIDS.
By the end of 2001, there were 30736 HIV infected persons reported from 31 provinces throughout the country, among them there were 1594 cases of AIDS and 684 cases died. The route of infection was chiefly blood-born transmission, accounting for 68.0% of intravenous drug users, 9.7 % in blood (plasma) collecting procedures, 1.5 % during blood transfusion or the injection of blood preparations and 7.2 % of sexual transmissions. Among the registered AIDS cases and the HIV infected, the males were predominantly 80.70 % and the females 18 % who were mainly the adolescents and those in their primes of life with the age range of 20-29 in 53.6 %. According to the accumulated data from various sources, the descending order of the incidence in the 9 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions throughout the country is as follows: Yunnan, Xinjiang, Guangxi, Guangdong, Henan, Sichuan, Beijing, Anhui and Shanghai. Some related data show that at present the HIV infected persons in the Western regions are chiefly the drug users, in the central region, the persons with past history of blood (plasma) donation and in the South-Eastern regions, chiefly the sexual transmission among prostitutes.
Throughout last year, a total of 8219 cases of HIV infections were reported all over the country, of them the drug users accounted for 59.7 %, the number of HIV infection resulted from sexual transmissions increased by 3 folds as compared to that of last year. The sum in the annual report of the whole country increased by 58.0 % as compared to the previous year. The related responsible person of the bureau of disease control, Ministry of Health, pointed out that as a result of more HIV infected cases were seen after blood collection and donation around 1995, the actual annual increase of HIV infected person last year was 40.0 %. The specialist of the of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control Center, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that by the end of last year the number of HIV infected persons was accumulated to 8.5 hundred thousand, among them there were approximately 2 hundred thousand cases of AIDS and approximately 80-100 thousand are still alive, while approximately 10-120 thousand were already dead.
Qi Xiaoqiu, Director-general of the Bureau of Disease Control, Ministry of Health said "Wen Lou village is a place of serious HIV infection in China; the health sections of Chinese government at all levels had throw into massive manpower and material resources for the treatment and salvage, for the help of the livelihood of HIV infected and their family members." According to the latest statistics of the department of health, Henan Province, up to the present, the medical expense of AIDS patients in this village in the amount of 556 thousand RMB was exempted one after another; the armamentarium and medical therapeutic articles with a total price of 255 thousand RMB were supplied which basically satisfied the medical treatment requirement of the patients in that village.

Cell phone studies find no 'consistent evidence' of cancer link

A review of cell phone studies commissioned by the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority has found no "consistent evidence" of an increased risk of cancer from usage, the agency said.
Studies have differed on whether the use of mobile phones increases the risk of cancer as the handsets have become increasingly popular and efficient.
The governmental agency asked Dr. John D. Boice Jr. and Dr. Joseph K. McLaughlin of the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville, Md., to evaluate published epidemiological research on the subject.
The review looked at nine studies since 1996 that included factors such as type of phone, duration and frequency of use and brain tumor location.
"No consistent evidence was observed for increased risk of brain cancer (or other forms)," the scientists said in the review, released Wednesday.
The agency acknowledged public concern about the issue and said many studies were still being performed and continued follow-up was needed on any possible carcinogenic effect linked to mobile phone usage.
"You can never say that something is without risk, but at least we can say that there is no scientific evidence for a causal association between the use of cellular phones and cancer," said Lars-Erik Paulsson, a radiation expert with the agency.
The review singled out research by Swedish oncologist Lennart Hardell, which said that long-term users of old-fashioned analog cell phones were at least 30% more likely than nonusers to develop brain tumors. Newer digital phones emit less radiation than older analog models of the sort studied.
Hardell, whose study was published recently in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, studied 1,617 patients with brain tumors and compared them with a similar-size group of people without tumors.
The review said Hardell's study and some U.S. research with similar findings were "non-informative, either because the follow-up was too short and numbers of cancers too small, or because of serious methodological limitations."
It contrasted those with three studies in the United States, and studies in Finland and Denmark, which Paulsson said used more reliable sampling methods and were based on medical reports rather than interviews with patients.
Those studies found "a consistent picture ... that appears to rule out, with a reasonable degree of certainty, a causal association between cellular telephones and cancer to date," the agency said
最近,由瑞典辐射保护研究所组织进行的一份研究显示,目前尚没有任何"直接证据"表明使用手机会增加癌症的患病几率。
在学术界,关于手机的广泛使用到底会不会增加癌症的患病率这一课题的争论由来已久,但一直都没能得出一致的结论。
作为政府的官方机构,瑞典辐射保护研究所从美国马里兰州罗克维尔的国际流行病研究所请来了约翰·D·布瓦斯·Jr和约瑟夫·K·麦克劳克林两位教授,对目前研究这一课题的众多出版物进行了综合性评估。
两位科学家共分析了1996年以来的9份研究报告,其中包括手机的种类,使用寿命及频率,甚至还有脑部肿瘤通常所在的位置等。
在9月16日公布的研究结果中,他们的结论是:"目前还没有发现使用手机和引发脑癌(及其他癌症)之间有任何直接的必然联系。"
考虑到民众对这一问题的普遍关注,瑞典辐射保护研究所表示,他们还将继续这一课题的研究,跟踪调查手机使用中可能产生的所有致癌物质。
研究所的一位辐射专家拉尔斯-埃里克·保尔松指出:"不能肯定这(使用手机)绝对没有危险性,但至少我们现在可以说用手机和得癌症之间没有必然的直接联系。"
这份报告中还专门以瑞典肿瘤科医生伦纳特·哈德尔的调查为例进行了分析。哈德尔的调查认为长期使用老式模拟手机的人患脑癌的可能性要比不用手机的人高至少30%。而新型数字机的辐射则要比老式模拟机少得多。
哈德尔共研究了1617名脑癌患者,并将他们的与人数差不多的非脑癌患者进行了比较。他的研究刊登在最近的《欧洲癌症预防》杂志上。
和哈德尔一样,另一些美国科学家的研究也得出了类似的结论。但研究所的分析认为,他们的调查"信息不够充分",一方面跟踪调查的时间太短,癌症患者的人数太少,另一方面调查方法也存在着局限性。
研究所的分析将他们的调查与另外三位分别来自美国、芬兰和丹麦的科学家所作的调查作了对比。认为这三位的调查进行了更可信的取样,并且是以医学报告为依据,而不仅仅是简单地采访一些病患者。
因此,研究所得出了这样的结论:这三份调查的一致结果更为可信,它们用科学的分析排除了用手机和得癌症之间的直接、必然联系。

Traditional Chinese Medicine and The West


western medicine can cure my ailments
Western medicine is generally the use of synthetically manufactured single compounds that are administered to the body in highly concentrated doses.These drugs can obviously be highly effective and cure many diseases.Interestingly, many conventional synthetic compounds are derived from plant materials.Aspirin and Cisplatin (one of the world’s leading anti cancer drugs) are both derived from trees.
Chinese herbal medicine uses lower dosages of more dilute herbal extracts to help the body retain or maintain its balance in a step-by-step fashion. Perhaps the philosophy of Chinese medicine is best expressed by the writings of one 7th-century physician:Superior treatment consists of dealing with an illness before it appears.Mediocre treatment consists of curing an illness on the point of revealing itself.Inferior treatment consists of curing the illness once it has manifested itself.
what's the difference
Conventional Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine take different approaches to health and diseases. Each medicine develops its advantage in some areas, such as chronic diseases and syndromes; functional and emotional disorders; pain conditions; gynecological, neurological, muscular, and gastrointestinal problems for traditional Chinese medicine; trauma, acute conditions, and catastrophic problems for conventional Western medicine.
Traditional symptom-based approaches to disorders such as cough, palpitations, constipation, insomnia, vomiting, and pain are treated holistically using TCM internal medicine.
To determine when an herb, a food or an acupuncture point is appropriate for a patient, recognition of the right pattern from the patients’ constitutions, main complaints, general body conditions, and tongue and pulse is fundamental.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Came To The West

How did it come to the west?
There has been a record of significant interaction between Eastern and Western medical systems for several hundred years.References to acupuncture and pulse diagnosis occurred in the writings of Dutch physicians in the 17th century.
Much of what is now known as Swedish massage originated from China and there has been a long history of exchange in herbal products with Cinnamon bark being exported from China to ancient Rome and herbs such as American Ginseng being incorporated into the Chinese tradition in the nineteenth century.
The first part of the twentieth century however was very much a one way flow of information as the developments in Western medicine flooded into China and, in the spirit of “progress” threatened to overwhelm what was then perceived as a rather dated looking system of traditional medicine.
Things slowly started to change in the second half of the last century and a process of government support and medical standardisation began which has now resulted in the current situation in China and other Asian countries where TCM now operates in large teaching hospitals, side by side with the latest developments of Western medicine.
So why is it so popular now?
In Western countries TCM was relatively unknown until President Nixon’s groundbreaking visit to China in 1971 and the accounts of the use of acupuncture for pain control appeared in the New York Times.
Since then there has been a rapid growth in the awareness and use of TCM in Western countries so that currently Universities around the world are now teaching degrees in TCM and in the UK there are several thousand practitioners offering herbal medicines, acupuncture and other techniques within a Western clinical setting. (links to UK unis and colleges)
There are several reasons for this rapid rise in popularity. The initial appeal of the exotic was replaced by anecdotal and increasingly research reports indicating the effectiveness of TCM treatments. The groundbreaking studies on the successful use of Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of eczema at Great Ormond Street Hospital hit the national headlines and learned medical journals (Sheehan MP, Rustin MHA, et al. Efficacy of traditional Chinese herbal therapy in adult atopic dermatitis. Lancet 1992).
TCM is now frequently used for this and many other forms of skin disease. Alongside the evidence supporting the use of TCM there was also a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the limitations of modern medical treatments. The lack of a holistic perspective, short consultation times and the often debilitating side effects of pharmaceutical drugs have meant that more and more people are seeking additional forms of health care.
In recent years improved standards of education and professional organisation, and a new emphasis on quality control have meant that now there is a network of well qualified TCM practitioners offering the benefits of this ancient tradition to the Western public. Sen primarily works with the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine who support Government efforts on self-regulation of practitioners.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Secondhand smoke may increase risk of breast cancer

California regulators became the first in the U.S. Thursday to classify tobacco smoke as a "toxic air contaminant", a move
that could toughen state regulations on cigarette smoke.
Being exposed to secondhand smoke may increase the risk of breast cancer for women under 50, study found.
The unanimous decision by the state Air Resources Board relied on a September report that found a sharply increased risk
of breast cancer in young women exposed to secondhand smoke.
The report also links drifting smoke to premature births, asthma and heart disease, as well as other cancers and
numerous health problems in children.
"If people are serious about breast cancer, they have to deal with secondhand smoke," said Dr. Stanton Glantz, director
of the Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.
The report was done by scientists at California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
Its key new finding is that women under 50 exposed to secondhand smoke had a 68% to 120% greater risk of breast cancer
than women who weren't exposed. Women past menopause, however, were not at significantly higher risk.
The report also found that secondhand smoke concentrations in vehicles with smokers is 10 times higher than in the homes
of smokers.
Major cancer groups, including the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute, said evidence that
secondhand smoke causes breast cancer is inconclusive. The disease kills about 40,000 women in the U.S. each year.
Tobacco companies, in public comments filed with the board, said the report gave too little weight to studies that found
no link to breast cancer. Chinese album.

FDA approves Pfizer drug treating stomach, kidney cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved the Pfizer drug Sunitinib that treats a rare stomach cancer
and advanced kidney cancer.
The FDA said the drug, to be sold under the name of Sutent, is the first cancer drug to simultaneously win its approval
for two conditions.
Sutent, which received a priority review and was approved in less than six months, works by depriving tumor cells of the
blood and nutrients needed to grow. It is meant to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and advanced kidney cancer.
The FDA said Sutent should be used by GIST patients whose disease has progressed or who are unable to tolerate Gleevec,
the current treatment for GIST patients. Studies show Sutent slows the growth of tumors in those patients.
The agency based its approval for Sutent in the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) on its
ability to reduce the size of the tumors.
The FDA said it worked with Pfizer to make the drug available to patients not involved in the clinical trial before
approval. Currently, more than 1,700 patients are being treated with the drug, it added.
The most commonly reported side effects of Sutent included diarrhea, skin discoloration, mouth irritation, weakness, and
altered taste.Chinese album.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Traditional Chinese Medicine

The roots of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) date back more than 2000 years. Its rich history tells of the many influences on its development, including the Japanese, Europeans, and the Communist revolution. The changes that followed these influences explain why both terms--Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Oriental Medicine (TOM)--are seen in the literature. Although these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, TOM generally refers to the system of Chinese medicine practiced until the early 1900s.
Before western medicine had been brought in modern China, the Chinese people knew only one system of medicine; Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). With a practiced history as long as the Chinese civilization itself, this was the sole means of treatment for countless people and generations. Its tried and true methods are found at the core of our modern treatment principals. The using of Chinese medicine is the treasure of our traditional culture. With a history of 2000 to 3000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has formed a unique system to diagnose and cure illness. The TCM approach is fundamentally different from that of Western medicine. In TCM, the understanding of the human body is based on the holistic understanding of the universe as described in Daoism, and the treatment of illness is based primarily on the diagnosis and differentiation of syndromes.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive system of medicine based on thousands of years of knowledge and understanding of the human body and mind. It joins the power of acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and energetic exercises to right imbalances found in the body. This not only allows the body to heal itself but also prevents further illness from starting. It is accepted around the globe as a safe, effective and holistic complement to conventional western medicine.

Dark chocolate may help reduce blood

Natural yoghurt beats bad breath
Dark chocolate -- but not white chocolate - may help reduce blood pressure and boost the body's ability to metabolize sugar from food, according to the results of a small study.
Investigators from the University of L'Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate every day for 15 days, 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin, an important factor in metabolizing sugar.
In contrast, eating roughly the same amount of white chocolate for the same period of time did not affect either blood pressure or insulin sensitivity.
This is not the first study to demonstrate potential health benefits of dark chocolate, which contains high levels of a kind of antioxidant called flavonoids. Research shows that flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
Dr. Claudio Ferri and co-investigators explained that flavonoids help the body by neutralizing potentially cell-damaging substances known as oxygen-free radicals, which are a normal byproduct of metabolism.
However, despite dark chocolate's apparent benefits, Ferri urges caution when interpreting the results. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, but also a lot of fat and calories, Ferri said, and people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain.
He added that each 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories.
Other research validates that when it comes to chocolate, type does matter. One study found that eating milk chocolate did little to raise antioxidant levels in the blood, perhaps because milk interferes with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate.
Another study showed that elderly people with high blood pressure experienced a drop in pressure after eating dark chocolate bars, but not white chocolate, which contains no flavonoids.
Ferri and colleagues asked 7 men and 8 women, all healthy, to eat 100 grams of dark chocolate or 90 grams of white chocolate every day for 15 days. The subjects consumed no chocolate for the next 7 days and then switched to the other chocolate type for 15 days.
"The identification of healthy foods and the understanding of how food components influence normal physiology will help to improve the health of the population," Dr. Cesar G. Fraga of the University of California, Davis, notes in an editorial.

一項小規模研究的結果表明,黑巧克力可能有助於降低血壓、促進人體對食物中的糖分的代謝能力,而白巧克力則沒有這些功能。
義大利拉奎拉大學的調查者們發現,在連續15天每日食用100克或3.5盎司黑巧克力之後,15名健康的受試者的血壓有所降低,而且對胰島素更為敏感--胰島素是促進體內糖分代謝的重要成分。
相比之下,同樣在15天中食用大致相同數量的白巧克力對血壓和胰島素的敏感性並沒有影響。
這已經不是有關黑巧克力可能有益健康的第一項研究。黑巧克力富含一種叫作類黃酮的抗氧化劑,研究表明類黃酮有助於保持心臟的健康和血液迴圈的暢通,並減少可能導致心臟病和中風的血栓。
克勞迪奧·費裏教授與他的合作者們解釋說,類黃酮能抑制對細胞有破壞能力的氧自由基(新陳代謝的副產品)的產生,從而有利於人體健康。
然而,儘管黑巧克力具有以上種種顯而易見的好處,費裏教授在解釋研究結果時還是勸告人們提高警惕,他說,黑巧克力含有抗氧化劑,但也含有大量脂肪和卡路里,因此希望在飲食中添加巧克力的人們需要從其他食物中“扣除”等量的卡路里,以免體重增加。
他補充說,每100克黑巧克力包含大約500卡路里。
其他的研究也證實了不同種類的巧克力確實功效不同。一項研究表明食用牛奶巧克力並不能增加血液中的抗氧化劑,這也許是因為牛奶阻礙了巧克力中的抗氧化劑的吸收。
另一項研究結果表明,患有高血壓的老人在吃了黑巧克力棒後血壓下降,但是不含類黃酮的白巧克力則沒有這個功效。
費裏教授和他的同事們找了七名健康的男性和八名健康的女性,讓他們連續15天每天食用100克黑巧克力或90克白巧克力。受試者們在隨後的七天內沒有吃任何巧克力,然後在接下來的15天內轉而吃另一種巧克力(白巧克力或黑巧克力)。
“對健康食物的定義以及對食物成分如何影響正常生理功能的理解,將有助於改善人口的健康狀況。”加里佛尼亞大學大衛斯分校的愷撒·G·弗拉革博士在一篇評論中寫道。

Cola not coffee linked to blood pressure

Women who love drinking coffee can keep on loving it, researchers say.
BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Drinking coffee will not result in high blood pressure in women, however, there is a link between hypertension and colas consumptions, said a new study on Tuesday.
"We found strong evidence to refute speculation that coffee consumption is associated with an increased risk of hypertension in women," said the study, which was published in the Nov. 9 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
In fact, women who consume the most coffee may even get a protective cardiovascular effect.
However, there was an association found between hypertension and consumption of caffeinated colas, independent of whether the soft drinks were sugared or diet. The current study did not look at non-cola soft drinks.
"We speculate that it is not caffeine but perhaps some other compound contained in soda-type soft drinks that may be responsible for the increased risk in hypertension," wrote study author Wolfgang Winkelmayer of Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.
"This is good news for women who enjoy drinking coffee," said Dr. Winkelmayer. Enditem

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

How to use Korean ginseng

Ginseng, known in many Asian countries as the king of all herbs, is a knobby root light tan in color. Occasionally the center part of the root is said to resemble the human body as string like shoots stem off from the root and can be seen as arms and legs.
Due to Korean ginseng's unique appearance, herb doctors who lived centuries ago interpreted this perception to mean that ginseng was a cure-all for the entirety of human illness; subsequently many cultures do use ginseng to treat almost anything. Ginseng is also used by the Chinese culture to not only cure nearly everything, but also as a symbol of longevity, strength, and wisdom to its users.
The ginseng plant is identified by its leaves that form a circular pattern growing around its straight stem. Yellowish-green flowers bloom in the center of the plant and produce red berries from their umbrella-like blossoms. It is important to note that the age of the plant can be identified by counting the number of wrinkles around the plant’s neck, seeing as the ginseng root is only ready for use once it has completed approximately 4-6 years of maturity. Panax ginseng, commonly known as adaptogen, is a substance that offers some assistance in helping individuals who are dealing with physical and/or emotional stress. Ginseng, the traditional cure-all, has been said to relieve almost every ailment from anxiety to cancer and panax, according to traditional Chinese medicine. At present, several Asian countries are prescribing this particular type of Ginseng as treatment for several illnesses, including heart conditions and to enhance overall health.
Studies of Western herbal medicine show that panax ginseng’s ability to regulate the immune system has potential advantages in effectively preventing colds, flu, and some forms of cancer. Case studies show that panax ginseng proves effective in lowering the sugar content in the blood and cholesterol levels. Consequently, panax ginseng may prove beneficial when used in connection with type 2 diabetes and those suffering from high cholesterol. All potential uses of the ginseng root have not been fully defined; however, in both laboratory studies of humans and animals, panax ginseng proved successful in relaxing the muscles of the lungs. By relaxing the muscles of the lungs that control the airway, ginseng may be able to provide some relief for the symptoms associated with asthma, constriction of the airways, and other lung diseases. Further studies show that a combination of panax ginseng and gingko may increase memory capacity and enhance the thinking processes. However these are merely possible effects that are undergoing more research at present.
Panax ginseng can be given orally or topically. Direct application to the male genitalia may prove beneficial in treating erectile dysfunction in men. One large study involving the oral application of panax ginseng resulted in the increase of sperm count, quality, and movement, ultimately improving male fertility. An exact and thorough explanation for panax ginseng’s ability to improve fertility in males has yet to be determined. However, it is hypothesized that the chemical make up of panax ginseng helps activate certain hormones in the body leading to induced or increased production. This theory has led to the addition of panax ginseng in popular sports drinks or supplements in an attempt to increase athletic performance, despite the fact that no substantial evidence has been given to supports this use.
Ginseng supplements are mostly made from the ginseng root’s long, thin offshoots called root hairs. The main chemical ingredients in Asian ginseng are the ginsenosides (Rg1 as marker); glycans (panaxans); polysaccharide fraction DPG-3-2; peptides; maltol; and volatile oil.
Korean Ginseng Dosage Recommendations
The suggested dose for Korean ginseng is 1,000 to 2,000 mg of fresh root, 600 to 2,000 mg of dried root, or 200 to 600 mg of liquid extract daily. If you are healthy and are using ginseng to increase your physical or mental performance, to prevent illness, or to improve resistance to stress, you should take ginseng at the recommended dosage in cycles. For example, take 1,000 to 2,000 mg fresh root, 600 to 2,000 mg dried root, or 200 to 600 mg liquid extract daily for 15 to 20 days, followed by two weeks without taking ginseng.
For help recovering from an illness, the elderly should either take 500 mg twice a day for three months and then stop or take 500 mg twice a day for a month, followed by a two-month break. Repeat if desired.
When taking ginseng, use only standardized products. Standardization is the only way we have of assuring quality in herbal products. Choose white or red ginseng, standardized to 1.5 percent ginsenosides, designated as Rg1.

Ginseng


Ginseng is probably the most famous chinese herb. It has been used in Asia for more than 5,000 years. In China, ginseng has been treasured since the dawn of written history. In the Qing Dynasty of ancient China, ginseng was prized more than gold.
Ginseng is available in literally thousands of tonic formulations and it is featuring the most of the traditional preventative herbal remedies. Many people seeking to improve energy and vitality use ginseng daily.
Ginseng requires about six years to mature, but it is difficult and expensive to grow. Its value is found in its stained root which contains a complex mixture of carbohydrate compounds, nitrogenous compounds, fat-soluble compounds, vitamins and minerals. The curative powers of ginseng are unique in the way they affect the whole body. Ginseng has also been recognized as a potent immune system tonic by modern researchers.
There are several types of ginseng available: Asian ginseng, also called panax ginseng, American ginseng, Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus), and Japanese ginseng (Panax japonicum). Panax ginseng, which is grown especially in Korea, China and Japan, is the most widely used. American ginseng grows commonly in wooded areas from Quebec to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Oklahoma. Siberian ginseng grows in forests of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Only Asian and American ginseng are known for their exceptional curative properties. These two species of ginseng look very similar and have also similar chemical compositions. These days, North American Ginseng is cultivated in British Colombia, Ontario, and Wisconsin, and is a valuable export. North American ginseng is often considered the most valuable and beneficial.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Breastfeeding may lower women's diabetes risk: Study

BEIJING, Nov. 23 -- A US study has found that the longer women nursed the lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The new study, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, involved 157,000 nurses who participated in two long-running health studies. They filled out periodic health questionnaires and were followed for at least 12 years. Researchers found that women who breast-fed for at least one year were about 15 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who never breast-fed. For each additional year of breast-feeding, there was an additional 15 percent decreased risk. "We took into account diet, exercise, smoking status, whether or not the women took multivitamins -- which is a marker of whether they are health-conscious or not -- and we still found that 15-percent benefit," said Dr. Alison Stuebe, the study's lead author and a researcher at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Beyond 15 years after the last birth there wasn't so much of a benefit, but for at least the first 15 years there seems to be some long-term association that protects women from diabetes," Stuebe added. The researchers say breast-feeding may change mothers' metabolism and these metabolic changes may help keep blood sugar levels stable and make the body more sensitive to the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Breast-feeding has numerous health benefits for babies, too, so encouraging mothers to nurse "is kind of a win-win from a public health standpoint," Stuebe said. Enditem

Non-Drug therapy---Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Massage, Cupping.

(P = 病人 D = 医生)
(P = patient D = doctor)
医生:你好,史密斯先生。今天感觉如何?
D:Hello, Mr. Smith. How are you felling today?
病人:好多了。谢谢!今天我可以坐直了。针灸的确很棒。
P: Much better, thank you! I can sit straight today. The acupuncture is really great.
医生:不错。中医有五千年的历史。它对疾病的发生,发展和治疗都有着完整的理论体系。针灸只不过是治疗像你的椎骨侧突疾病的一种最有效的方式。
D:Yes, Chinese Traditional Medicine (TCM)has a history of more than 5,000 years. It has a complete theory about the occurrence, development and treatment of diseases.
Acupuncture is only one of the most effective ways to treat diseases such as your pleurapophysis.
病人:尽管如此,我的许多同事对中医还是有些不解。你能否多给我讲点?
P:All the same, many of my colleagues feel much puzzled about TCM. Would you please tell me more about it?
医生:没问题。根据中医理论,疾病的发生是阴阳失调所致。而疾病的治疗就是阴阳的平衡。
D:Sure. According to TCM theory, the occurrence of diseases is the incoordination between Yin and Yang and the treatment of diseases is the reestablishement of the equilibrium between them.
病人:嗯,什么是阴阳?
P:Oh, what's Yin and Yang?
医生:它们是中国古代哲学的两个概念并代表一切事物的两个对立面。中医学运用阴阳理论来解释人体的生理和病理现象。同时, 阴阳也是诊断和治疗疾病的法则。
D:They are the two concepts from ancient Chinese philosophy and they represent the two contradictories in everything. In TCM theory, Yin and Yang are used to explain physiological and pathological phenomena of the body. They are also the principles of diagnosing and treating diseases.
病人:那么你们中国医生是怎样用这一理论来给病人治病的呢?
P:Then how do you Chinese doctors treat your patients by using this theory?
医生:大体说来,中医有两种治疗方式:药物治疗和非药物治疗。
D:Roughly speaking, there are two common ways of TCM curing diseases: drug therapy and non-drug therapy.
病人:真有趣。你们通常都用什么药?
P:That's very interesting. What drugs do you often apply?
医生:至于药物治疗, 中医常用草药,矿物质,动物药等。
D:As for drug therapy, traditional medicines are used such as herbs, mineral, animals, etc.
病人:那非药物治疗呢?
P:And how about non-drug therapy?
医生:非药物治疗包括针灸,按摩,拔火罐等。
D:As for non-drug therapy, there are acupuncture and moxibustion, massage, cupping.
病人:关于针灸和按摩,我略知一二。拔火罐是怎么回事?
P:I know a little about acupuncture and massage. What's cupping?
医生:拔火罐就是把一个真空的杯子放在皮肤上引起局部充血的一种治疗方法。通常,医生把一个点燃的酒精棉球放在杯子里一会儿以排出里面的空气使它成为一个真空杯,接着快速地把空杯子放在选定的皮肤上。
D:It is a congeted treatment using a vacuum cup sucked firmly on the skin. Usually, the doctor fires an alcohol sponge and puts it inside the cup for a short while to make the cup a vacuum one, then he places the vacuum cup instantly over the selected spot of the skin.
病人:有效吗?
P:Is it effective?
医生:就像我们治疗你的病用的针灸一样有效。但是拔火罐特别适合痛症。
D:Just as effective as acupuncture which we are using to treat you. But cupping therapy is specially good for pains.
病人:太绝妙了。
P:That's really fantastic.
医生:实话告诉你,据资料统计,与西医相比,中医更擅长于病毒感染性疾病,免疫系统疾病,心脑血管疾病和神经系统疾病的治疗,而且无任何副作用。
D:To tell the truth, according to statistics, Traditional Chinese Medicine is better for the treatment of diseases of viral infections, immune system, cardio-cerebrovascular system and nervous system without causing any side-effects compared with western medicine.
病人:非常感谢!医生。我现在对中医的理解要好点了。
P:Thank you very much! Doctor. I've got a better understanding of TCM now.
Related Sentence
Is there any relation between the pain and the weather?
疼痛和天气变化有关吗?
The pain becomes more intense when the weather is bad.
天气不好时,疼痛加剧。
Acupuncture may cause a little pain, and it also causes a certain feeling of numbness and distention.
针灸可能有点痛,而且也会使你感到有点麻木和发胀。
Acupuncture may have effect, but a prolonged treatment is needed.
针灸可以有效,但需要长期治疗。
Insomnia can be cured by massage and the cure rate is very high.
按摩可治失眠症,且治愈率很高。
Your disease should be treated with combined therapy of traditional Chinese and Western medicine.
你的病应该采用中西医结合治疗方法。
1. The acupuncture is really great. 针灸的确很棒。
2.Chinese Traditional Medicine (CTM) has a history of more than 5,000 years. It has a complete theory about the occurrence, development and treatment of diseases.
Acupuncture is only one of the most effective ways to treat diseases such as your pleurapophysis.
中医有五千年的历史。它对疾病的发生、发展和治疗都有着完整的理论体系。针灸只不过是治疗像你的椎骨侧突疾病的一种最有效方式。
3.According to CTM theory, the occurrence of diseases is the incoordination between Yin and Yang and the treatment of diseases is the reestablishement of the equilibrium between them.
根据中医理论,疾病的发生是阴阳失调所致。而疾病的治疗就是阴阳的平衡。
4.They are the two concepts from ancient Chinese philosophy and they represent the two contradictories in everything. In CTM theory, Yin and Yang are used to explain physiological and pathological phenomena of the body. They are also the principles of diagnosing and treating diseases.
它们是中国古代哲学的两个概念并代表一切事物的两个对立面。中医学运用阴阳理论来解释人体的生理和病理现象。同时,阴阳也是诊断和治疗疾病的法则。
5. There are two common ways of CTM curing diseases: drug therapy and non-drug therapy.
中医有两种治疗方式:药物治疗和非药物治疗。
6.As for drug therapy, traditional medicines are used such as herbs, mineral, animals, etc.
至于药物治疗,中医常用草药、矿物质、动物药等。
7. As for non-drug therapy, there are acupuncture and moxibustion, massage, and cupping.
非药物治疗包括针灸、按摩、拔火罐等。
8.Cupping therapy is a treatment using a vacuum cup sucked firmly on the skin. Usually, the doctor fires an alcohol sponge and puts it inside the cup for a short while to make the cup a vacuum one, and then he places the vacuum cup instantly over the selected spot of the skin.
拔火罐就是把一个真空的杯子放在皮肤上引起局部充血的一种治疗方法。通常,医生把一个点燃的酒精棉球放在杯子里一会儿以排出里面的空气使它成为一个真空杯,接着快速地把空杯子放在选定的皮肤上。
9. Just as effective as acupuncture which we are using to treat you. But cupping therapy is specially good for pains.
就像我们治疗你的病用的针灸一样有效。但是拔火罐特别适合痛症。
10.To tell the truth, according to statistics, Traditional Chinese Medicine is better for the treatment of diseases of viral infections, immune system, cardio-cerebrovascular system and nervous system without causing any side-effects compared with western medicine.
实话告诉你,据资料统计,与西医相比,中医更擅长于病毒感染性疾病、免疫系统疾病、心脑血管疾病和神经系统疾病的治疗,而且无任何副作用。

Saturday, June 17, 2006

A story of cinnamon bark

Today, we'll tell the story of paris. The herb was related with a pretty and brave girl and her seven brothers who had given their lives for the ordinary people in fighting the big boa. So, people named the herb "qiye-yizhi-hua" (one flower with seven leaves), i.e., paris. Now have a look at the story… Once upon a time, there lived an old couple in a small village called East Mountain in Yunnan. They had seven industrious and brave sons and a beautiful and pretty daughter. The family lived a very happy life by planting and breeding. The villagers all felt envy at them. One year, there appeared a big boa in the village. It was very fierce and cruel and often goes out to eat the sheep as well as the human, which made the people live in terror and uncertainty. In order to rid the people of an evil, the brave brother decided to wage a life-and-death battle against the boa. But they all lost their lives during the struggle against the boa unfortunately. The little sister was so sad that she made up her mind to avenge her brothers. So she got up very early and went to bed very late to practise martial arts. One day she wore her clothes weaved with the embroidery needles and went to struggle with the boa. She consumed all her strength and was swallowed by the boa at last. But the boa died the next day. It was because that the clothes the girl had on were weaved with the embroidery needles which stabbed the boa through its viscera. So the village was calm ever since. Some days had passed and a strange plant appeared where the big boa died. It had one flower on its top supported with seven pieces of leaves. While pounded and applied on the wounds or decocted and taken orally, it can treat swelling sores and the one who was bitten by poisonous snake. In order to make people remember the seven brave brothers and their sister, the villagers termed it
今天,我们将讲述七叶一枝花的来历的故事。它是一个关于一家七兄弟与他们的妹妹为保护家乡百姓而献身的故事。看一看吧……
1、相传,很久以前在我国云南有个名叫东山的小村庄,住着一对老年夫妇。他们有个美貌又聪明的女儿和七个勤劳勇敢的儿子。
2、一家人耕地播种,采桑摘茶,日子过得很幸福。村民们都非常羡慕他们。
3、有一年,小村里突然出现一条大蟒蛇,十分凶残,夜间常出来捕羊吃人,弄得村子里人心惶惶,鸡犬不宁。
4、勇敢的七兄弟决心为民除害。但在与大蟒蛇搏斗中,兄弟七人个个丧生。
5、妹妹为此悲痛万分,一定要替哥哥们报仇。她天天起早摸黑练习武艺,然后穿上绣花针编织的衣裤与蟒蛇拼搏,由于体力不如蟒蛇,最后也成了蟒蛇的腹中物。
6、但在第二天,蟒蛇也丧命于草丛里。原来是姑娘衣裤上的绣花针象万支利箭刺伤了蟒蛇的五脏六腑。从此,小村庄又恢复了昔的平静。
7、过了一些日子,人们发现在在蟒蛇葬身之处长出了由七片叶子托着朵鲜花的奇异植物。把它捣烂外敷创口或煎水内服,可治毒蛇咬伤,疮疖痛肿。为了纪念为民除害而献身的七兄弟及妹妹,乡亲们把这种奇异的植物取名“七叶一枝花”。

Friday, June 16, 2006

The Same Age Next Year


A grocer once had a daughter born to him. One day a friend of his made a match for his babygirl, and told him the future husband was only one year older than she was. The grocer discussed this marriage in private with his wife. "Our daughter is just one, the boy's
age is the double of hers; when she is twenty and gets married, her husband will be forty," be said. "How do we have the heart to marry off our daughter to such an old husband?" His wife smiled and said, "You're really dumb. Our daughter is now one year old, in one years time she'll be the same age as the boy, now won't she?"

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Having Cakes


A man was very hungry, and went to buy cakes at a snack bar. When he finished a cake, he found he hadn't had enough, and so ate a second one. He felt so hungry that after eating six cakes in succession, he still hadn't satisfied his hunger. Not till the seventh cake was eaten up, did he feel satisfied. Then, suddenly, he had a feeling of regret.
"Ah, if I had known this before, I would have eaten the seventh cake first and that would have been enough and there would not have been any need to eat those six others."

Thursday, June 08, 2006

A story of one of the four beauties in ancient China---Xi Shi

It is special to treat swelling sore of the throat with cinnamon bark. The cinnamon bark has the actions of invigorating primordial yang, warming spleen and stomach, eliminating cold accumulation, and making the meridians through. It contains cinnamic aldehyde which has apparent sedation action to the central nervous system. The compound aconite and cinnamon bark can treat renal hypertension. The cinnamic oil it contains has strong sterilization action and is especially effective to the gram-positive bacterium. If used by application, it can treat stomachache, flatulence, etc. and if taken orally, it can invigorate stomach and expelling wind.
肉桂用于治喉间痈疮,属特殊情况。但它确有补元阳,暖脾胃,除冷积,通血脉之功。肉桂中含有桂皮醛,对中枢神经系统有明显的镇静作用;附子、肉桂复方对肾性高血压有降压作用;所含桂皮油有强大的杀菌作用,对革兰氏阳性菌效果尤佳。外敷可治胃痛,胃肠胀气等;内服可用健胃和驱风剂。

It was said that Xi Shi, one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China, suddenly felt pain in the throat when she sang the Falling Leaves of Phoenix Tree. It was difficult to drink.1、相传中国古代四大美人之一的西施,抚琴吟唱自编的《梧叶落》时。

So she took large amount of heat-clearing and fire-purging drugs. The symptoms were relieved after taking the drugs but reoccurred if she stopped taking them.2、忽感咽喉疼痛,饮漱难下,遂用大量清热泻火之药,症状得以缓和,但药停即发。

She had to invite another famous doctor to treat her. After examining her, the doctor found that her four extremities was cool, the urine was clean, and the pulse was deep and thin, so he prescribed 1 jin (about 800 g) of cinnamon bark. 3、后另请一名医,见其四肢不温,小便清发,六脉沉细,乃开肉桂一斤。

The shopkeeper of the drugstore also knew the disease condition of Xi Shi. After seeing the prescription, he laughed grimly and said, "Xi Shi is suffered from swollen pain throat which pertains to heat syndrome. How can the cinnamon bark which is pungent and warm cure her?" So he didn't give the retinue the drug. The retinue had to return empty and reported the situation accurately. Xi Shi said, "The doctor was famous for his medical skill and he should be seriously. And I have no choice at present. I will take small amount of cinnamon bark at first to find whether it works."4、药店老板对西施之病略有所知,看罢处方,不禁冷笑:“喉间肿痛溃烂,乃大热之症,岂能食辛温之肉桂?”便不予捡药,侍人只得空手而归,如实回报。西施道:“此人医术高明,当无戏言。眼下别无他法,先用少量试之。”

Xi Shi took small piece of cinnamon bark at first and felt it sweet-smelling and delicious. After taking half jin of the cinnamon bark, she felt her throat painless and could take foods as usual. When the shopkeeper heard of that, he had to ask for the doctor's advice sincerely. The doctor said, "Xi Shi was suffered from pain throat which pertains to vacuity fire due to yin deficiency and it can be treated only by directing fire to its source." 5、西施先嚼一小块肉桂,感觉香甜可口,嚼完半斤,疼痛消失,进食无碍,大喜。药店老板闻讯,专程求教名医。名医答曰:“西施之患,乃虚寒阴火之喉疾,非用引火归元之法不能治也。”

Saturday, June 03, 2006

A story of crataegus (4)


Tang Xuanzong half believed and half doubted him. But the imperial concubine's disease was cured unexpectedly after taking the medicine for half a month
7、唐玄宗将信将疑,谁知用药半月之后,贵妃的病果真痊愈。






The crataegus was sweet and sour in taste, and warm in property. It has the actions of dispersing food accumulations, dissipating blood stasis, expelling tapeworm, and decreasing blood-lipid and activating blood. It is indicative for food accumulation of meat-type, dysentery, lumbago, hernia, and intestinal wind, especially for postpartum persistent flow of lochia, infantile feeding accumulation and hyperlipemia.
8、棠球子,就是今日所说的山楂。其味甘酸,性微温,有消食积,散瘀血,驱绦虫,降脂活血之功效。主治肉食积滞、痢疾、腰痛、疝气、肠风。对产后恶露不尽,小儿乳食停滞以及高血脂等效果尤佳。

Thursday, June 01, 2006

A story of crataegus (4)


So, he prescribed ten crataegus and 15 g of malt sugar for her and then swaggered off.6、于是,挥毫写出:“棠球子十枚,红糖15克,熬汁饭前饭用,每日三次。”然后扬长而去。

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