What is Traditional Chinese Medicine and why is it so important?

Coming from a Chinese ethnicity, I am proud to say that Chinese medicine is a very holistic medical system that has been practiced for thousands of years, based on the idea that health depends on the balance of Qi and regulating internal bodily functions rather than short-term pills to fix our health. You may have heard of Yin and Yang before, and this is one of the core principals of Chinese medicine!


Unlike western medicine which often focuses on treating symptoms, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) aims to address the root cause of the illness — while some methods like acupuncture and herbal medicine have gained huge amounts of scientific recognition, other methods have remained controversial due to limited clinical evidence. 


TCM stretches back to over 2,000 years when the emperor Shen Nung, known as the ‘Father of Chinese Medicine’ is said to have studied herbs extensively and initially developed herbal medicine. In the 20th century, the Chinese government integrated TCM with Western Medicine and still plays a growing role in modern healthcare systems now. Many clinics incorporate acupuncture and herbal medicine alongside traditional medicine, especially in pain and stress management or chronic disease treatments where Western medicine has limitations to. 


Amongst the most popular methods of TCM are acupuncture, herbal medicine and dietary therapy. When I had eczema from a young age, I tried everything — pills, injections, creams, but nothing worked until I consulted a Chinese medical practitioner. She put me on a very strict diet consisting only of pork, rice and vegetables (I had to cut out my favorite sweets!) and daily cups of medical herbal tea, but after a few months the eczema that had stayed on my face for years had completely gone! 


Have you had a similar experience? I highly recommend anyone struggling with chronic health conditions, pain or stress management to give a visit to a TCM practitioner!


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