Did you know that what TCM calls Qi or energy has many different kinds? Just to name some: Primordial Qi, Clear Qi, Murky Qi, Essence Qi, Evil Qi, Defensive Qi, etc.

Defensive Qi is the particular type of energy that is responsible for what the western medicine calls our Immune System. The system that protects us from the outside, foreign invaders. The stronger the Defensive Qi that one has, the sooner that someone could recover from foreign invasions such as the common cold (Evil Qi).

You need to understand that Traditional Chinese Medicine is a unique system of medicine that is separate and independent from the modern day western medicine. It really is like comparing apples and oranges. When patients come in with the western diagnoses of auto-immune diseases, TCM uses its own understanding of the body to assess the problem. Properly trained TCM practitioner will deploy the protocols that are appropriate for the unique challenges of each individual patient.

  • If the “Defensive Qi” in the body is not weak, then the body will perceive any external stimulation as a threat (Evil Qi). An appropriate response needs to be initiated if pollens were actual threats to the body. But are they? Are you suffering from:

    • sneezing / itchy nose

    • Runny nose

    • Nasal congestion / sinus headaches

    • Red / itchy eyes

    • Swelling around the eye

    • Dry or teary eyes

    These are inappropriate reactions that should not occur if the body’s “Defensive Qi” were strong and intact. Do you want to stop your reliance on Antihistamines or similar medication? Come to my clinic, so I may help your body to boost its natural “Defensive Qi.”

  • TCM is so simple and yet so elegant in explaining how the body works. It may sound too simple at times, but everything boils down to Yin & Yang.

    Patients with thyroid issues have many symptoms because the thyroid gland has far reaching effects in the body. But to summarize these myriad of symptoms, it’s hot or cold: feeling hot all the time with excessive sweating and hot temper vs feeling cold and lethargic with depressed mood. Fast metabolism vs slow metabolism.

    These two opposing aspects of the body is exactly what Yin-Yang is in TCM. Tipped balance of Yin & Yang in the body is the root cause of thyroid problems. The goal would be to restore the balance of Yin & Yang.

  • In TCM, your gut is compared to a field where you would sow your seeds to grow your harvest. Keeping your soil healthy would allow you to grow healthy crops (your health). Chronic stress would be spraying fire on to your field instead of giving water. Eating unhealthy food would be like dumping trash into your soil instead of giving it organic fertilizers.

    Stress induces heat in the body, more specifically, “Liver Fire” gets agitated. When Liver fire is not resolved properly, it passes that unhealthy fire to its neighbor, which is the stomach (digestive tract). This mechanism leads to inflammation of the gut. Chronic gut inflammation makes the inner lining of the gut more porous. Increased permeability of the gut leads to absorption of things that were never meant to be absorbed.

    The bottom line is that we need to heal the gut. We need to reduce the over-raging liver fire. We need to reduce the inflammation so that the gut lining would becoming less porous. Then we could get rid of abdominal pain, loose stool, mucus or blood in the stool and sensitivity to certain kinds of food. Listen to your gut feeling!