Thinking Out Loud - HVC Blog

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about the bacteria that lives in our bodies. There are quite a lot of wonderful things being discovered. I plan on writing about this topic at length in the coming months. For the time being there is this short article from the Latimes.com regarding digestion and the bacteria Helicobacter pylori.

It has been known for a long time that there are bacteria in the digestive system that aid healthy digestion. If the helpful bacteria is damaged or destroyed it creates digestive difficulties. This is a common side effect of many antibiotic medications; digestive difficulties due to the elimination of "good bacteria". To help regrow the necessary bacteria probiotic supplements or live culture yogurts are recommended. One of the many bacteria that lives in the GI system is Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori is most well known for being responsible creating stomach ulcers and stomach cancers. However, Dr. Martin Blaser, infectious disease specialist at New York University, has been researching functions of this microbe. Dr. Blaser has been finding evidence to support that small amounts to this bacteria provides a positive role in the system.

For example, two important digestive hormones leptin (signals the brain when full) and ghrelin (signals the brain when hungry) seem to react differently based on if Helicobacter pylori is absent from the body. If proven to be correct this finding would mean that the presence or lack of presence of this bacteria changes how the brain gets signals of hunger and satiety.

Even more interesting...

[In Dr.] Blaser’s own lab, researchers have discovered that children who lack H. pylori are more susceptible to asthma, hay fever and skin allergies. Others have done experiments in mice that suggest it protects against asthma.

If this line of research turns out to be clinically valid it will be a major shift in the way we think about the bacteria in our bodies. Even potentially harmful bacteria may have positive qualities. The all or nothing approach of antibiotic medications may not always be the correct path to take.

Neither of us at Healing Village Collective are scholars regarding the differences between Tibetan medicine, Chinese medicine and acupuncture. However the two traditions have an overlapping history.

This article over at thehindu.com is fascinating to read. The article is a brief interview with traditional Tibetan doctor, Dorjee Rapten Neshar. It covers some principles of the Tibetan tradition including these pieces of advice for staying healthy,

• Eat the traditional way.
• Are all that bread, butter, cheese and cakes compatible to your constitution?
• Prevent blood pressure, stay away from salt, artificial drinks, coffee and fried stuff.
• Do breathing exercises.
• Show tolerance, compassion, forgiveness

And my favorite, "Aim at becoming a better human being."

For more information about here is Dr. Dorjee giving a talk titled, "Tibetan Medical System and its role in Community Health Services"

The whole article is completely worth reading.

This is a site to bookmark and keep in mind when presented with new medical news.

Reuter's reported on a study from the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine. The published study was in regards to a traditional Chinese herbal medicine and the H1N1 influenza.

In mild cases of H1N1 influenza, a traditional Chinese herb mixture may relieve a fever about as well as the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

A study of 410 Chinese adults with H1N1 flu (also known as swine flu), those who took the herb mixture typically saw their fevers resolve after 16 hours, versus 26 hours in patients in a "control group" whose only flu treatment was acetaminophen (Tylenol) if their fever passed 102 degrees F.

Reports such as this are always great to see.

Chinese herbal preparations can be incredibly useful in combating colds and flus. The formula mentioned here, maxingshigan-yinqiaosan, is similar to the type of thing we commonly work with at Healing Village Collective.

This report touches on two important points I would like to highlight.

1. The herbs only worked in mild cases. At the heart of Chinese medicine is a very sophisticated method of diagnosing stages of a disease such as influenza. The herbs used in an early stage flu would not be the herbs used in a moderate or severe case. I suspect when Dr. Lao says, "In people with severe illness, this herb may not work. We don't know yet.", he knows that this is not a formula that is going to be very effective in severe illness. Matching the correct stage of a disease to the correct treatment is of utmost importance to Chinese herbal treatments. This is why Dr. Lao says, "Properly using the right mix of herbs...requires some knowledge."
   
   
2. The lack of availability of ephedra/ma huang. It is wonderful to have the author take the time to explain that high does of ephedra were used, "in weight-loss and body-building supplements was linked to heart attacks, strokes and deaths", leading to ban of the herb. This has been very frustrating for our profession. It is a bit like banning pain killers because some people abuse them. (I should add that none of the suppliers we use at Healing Village Collective carry this herb.)

So often reporting on acupuncture or Chinese medicine only tells part of the story it is super nice to see this report go into a little more depth.

... will come from doctors via electronic 'tattoos' to monitor vital signs.

The thin electronics could detect the electrical changes beneath the skin associated with muscle movements as the volunteers spoke. The signals were then sent through a computer algorithm, which could differentiate the signals associated with different words and allow the volunteers to control a video game with spoken commands.

(Not saying it is a bad thing, per se.)

Via New Scientist.