glasses with minimal tremors where previous to his taking herbs this was completely impossible. Yet another example is that of his using herbs with acupuncture to successfully treat panic at- tacks and anxiety. Finally herbs can also be an important treat- ment along with acupuncture in the treatment of pain. He has successfully used herbs with acupuncture to deal with a wide variety of pains including back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, headache and migraine pain, hip pain, abdominal pain, frozen shoulder, knee pain, ankle pain, hand pain, leg pain, buttocks pain, elbow pain. Herbs increase the effectiveness of pain treat- ments and can often treat pain effectively by themselves, as can acupuncture alone. It is also possible to increase efficacy of pain treatments when using herbs in combination with acupuncture. These are just a few examples that show the wide range of ef- fectiveness of Chinese herbs. Michele recently used a modified version of an 800 year old formula to treat chronic fatigue. The female patient who has had chronic fatigue for several years has seen excellent results in that she has improved energy and stamina, does not get sick as fre- quently, and when she does get sick she is able to rapidly re- cover. She also used another modified 800 year old formula to treat a woman who is a serious runner with asthma, post-nasal drip, and sinus issues who believed she would have to stop run- ning previous to her herbal intervention. Now she is symptom free, off herbs and has an improved running time and increased distance thanks to her herbal formula. In a last example, Michele used another classical formula, many hundreds of years old, to treat a 17 year old with severe menstrual pain, insomnia, and anxiety who is now symptom free and off of herbs. This illustrates that herbs can effectively resolve long standing and serious health issues that affect quality of life. Please note that these clients were
also under the care of allopathic doctors and often came to us with a western diagnosis from a doctor. We always advocate that our clients also continue under the care of a doctor. When Chi- nese medicine and western medicine are combined we find that the outcomes are improved.
In conclusion, both our observations in China and our per- sonal experiences here illustrate that herbs are often useful for the treatment of difficult and complex diseases. Chinese medicine has the distinct benefit of being grounded in thousands of years of empirical and recorded history. Today there is a growing body of scientific research showing the effectiveness of Chinese herbs and acupuncture to treat a variety of health conditions. The Chinese research literature documents the successful use of herbs to treat a wide and broad range of health conditions. Recent western examples from Australia and the U.S. address the effectiveness of herbs in treating women’s health issues and pain management. Chinese herbs can be used safely and effec- tively to treat a wide range of diseases, as well as in conjunction with allopathic treatments to enhance the results and to safely mitigate the side effects of allopathic pharmaceutical treatments. Although not widely known in the US, Chinese herbal medicine offers an alternative that can greatly enhance quality of life.
Both Andres Vergara, licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and teacher of tai chi and qi gong, and Michele Collins, registered clinical herbalist, practice at the Naturopathic Health Clinic in Winston Salem, NC and at Awaken Wellness in the town of Elkin, NC. Call Andres Vergara,
L.Ac, 336-508-1121 or andresfvergara@
gmail.com or Michele Collins RH (AHG), MPH, 336- 624-6727 or
michele@spiritrisingherbs.com.
Natural Triad Magazine
DECEMBER 2012
35
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