For a visit to the family doctor in China you need two things above all: good nerves and a lot of time. The waiting rooms are overcrowded and the noise level is reminiscent of a market hall. Regular patients leave it cold. Many of them come for acupuncture every day. Newcomers, on the other hand, are first sniffed by the doctor. Because breath and body odor play an important role in the diagnosis. If it is determined, the patient receives a prescription. But instead of getting a pack of pills from the pharmacy, he gets a mixture of plant parts, a so-called decoction. Not only the taste of this “soup”, the entire system behind it takes some getting used to for Europeans. For the Chinese, it is part of everyday life that there are always two treatment options: conventional medicine and “their” traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Table of Contents
The idea behind it
Even those who have never dealt with TCM are guaranteed to have one buzzword ready: acupuncture. Quite a few even believe that TCM is just another word for acupuncture. “It’s a common misconception,” says Dr. Christian Schmincke, medical director of the Klinik am Steigerwald in Gerolzhofen. But it has a kernel of truth: In the Shang Dynasty, between the 16th and 11th centuries BC, people were convinced that the sick were controlled or cursed by evil spirits. This is how the idea came about to exorcise these demons with needle sticks – the forerunner of today’s acupuncture. However, influential philosophers such as Confucius or Laotse then ensured with their writings that belief in demons ultimately had to make way for the two most important concepts in Chinese medicine:
They describe the core of TCM: harmony and change. All their treatment methods and teachings refer to it. Harmony means that everything always has two sides or qualities that should be as balanced as possible. The first quality is Yin: black, dark, cold and soft. The second quality is yang: white, bright, hot and hard. One and the same thing can be both yin and yang. For example, a warm pudding is yin compared to a hot soup, but yang compared to three scoops of strawberry ice cream. For our body this means: It is healthy when all its components – organs, cells, molecules – form a harmonious togetherness of yin and yang. He gets sick when the interaction is disturbed. TCM understands all metabolic processes as a change of yin and yang.
But change and life need energy. Qi supplies it. Chinese philosophy understands the movement of all things. Every TCM doctor learns: “Whatever has qi lives. What has no qi dies. Life comes from Qi.” It flows through our body on twelve main channels and two secondary channels, the so-called meridians. If everything is in flux, we are fine. If the Qi is blocked, we become ill. A TCM treatment therefore always has several goals: maintaining or restoring the yin-yang balance, releasing Qi blockages and strengthening the Qi. Of course, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The patient is constantly influenced by his environment. In addition, a TCM doctor never sees the body alone, but always includes soul and spirit, because for him the three are inseparable.
In order to describe interactions between people and the environment as well as between body, mind and soul, TCM uses the five phases of change: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Seasons and times of day, weather conditions, phases of life, feelings, directions of heaven and tastes, types of tissue and organs are assigned to each phase. Both the basic constitution and the current situation of the patient have an influence on which phase of change the doctor classifies him and his symptoms. His diagnosis(s) and treatment recommendations also depend on it.
This results in a very individual therapy. “That is the great strength of TCM,” explains Dr. Fritz Friedl, chief physician at the Silima Clinic in Riedering, Bavaria. “She looks at the individual. Every treatment has to prove itself in the individual case. There are no therapies derived from statistics like in conventional medicine.” Rather, TCM combines four treatment elements again and again: 1. Daily movement exercises such as Qigong and Tai Chi, which allow the Qi to flow in the body. 2. A balanced diet that helps the patient become and stay healthy. 3. Decoctions consisting of 10 to 20 different plant, mineral or animal ingredients and which the patient should consume regularly. 4. Methods such as acupuncture, guasha, acupressure or Tuina massages that release Qi blockages. So TCM has a lot to offer. But what is left of it when you apply today’s scientific standards?
That’s what the research says
Admittedly, why health insurance companies pay for certain treatments and not others is not always understandable. Nevertheless, the fact that a therapy is a so-called standard benefit of the health insurance companies is a good indicator, because: Before that happens, the method has to prove its effectiveness in large clinical studies. Acupuncture did that in 2006. In the GERAC study, almost 3,000 patients nationwide were examined to see whether needle sticks help with tension headaches, migraines, and chronic knee and back problems. The results after six months were clear: 10 to 15 acupuncture sessions had a similar effect on all of these clinical pictures as the usual medication therapy – without any side effects (see allergy therapies, page 56)! Since then, acupuncture has been reimbursed, at least for back or knee joint pain. This now also applies to Tai Chi courses, where those with statutory health insurance also get part of the fees back. Because more and more studies show that the slow flow movements are good for you. For example, researchers at Tufts University in Boston published a study in November showing that patients with osteoarthritis who did 60 minutes of tai chi once a week for three months had significantly less pain afterwards. Almost at the same time, a study was published proving that tai chi even helps with dizziness and balance disorders, which were previously almost impossible to treat. that the slow flow movements are good. For example, researchers at Tufts University in Boston published a study in November showing that patients with osteoarthritis who did 60 minutes of tai chi once a week for three months had significantly less pain afterwards. Almost at the same time, a study was published proving that tai chi even helps with dizziness and balance disorders, which were previously almost impossible to treat. that the slow flow movements are good. For example, researchers at Tufts University in Boston published a study in November showing that patients with osteoarthritis who did 60 minutes of tai chi once a week for three months had significantly less pain afterwards. Almost at the same time, a study was published proving that tai chi even helps with dizziness and balance disorders, which were previously almost impossible to treat.
Thanks to TCM, the treatment of much more serious diseases could also become possible in the near future. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg found substances that inhibit tumor growth in 18 of 76 TCM herbs. These include, for example, the active ingredients artesiminin from mugwort or emodin from medicinal rhubarb. It is also clear why ginseng is rightly considered the “ruling herb” in TCM: numerous studies have shown that its saponins help with allergies, improve brain performance in Alzheimer’s, prevent diabetes and kill cancer cells. Saliva herb is just as effective for inflammation, liquorice root against dangerous stomach germs and astragalus root, which strengthens our immune system. Experts are not surprised. For them, TCM is still good for a surprise.
Expert Interview
“She can always support”
dr Fritz Friedl, 57, is an author and chief physician at the TCM Silima Clinic in Riedering, Bavaria
How did you personally come to TCM? I was already interested in TCM during my studies. The examination of the prehistory of medicine was neglected at the university. Then I got severe lung disease. No doctor could help me. The only way out was surgery. So I got Chinese herbs from a friend and treated myself with them. The amazing thing is that my health immediately improved rapidly. That’s how it started.
What is special about TCM? It is holistic and helps the body heal itself. In conventional medicine, on the other hand, symptoms are usually suppressed. It’s a repair medicine. TCM could compensate for this deficit. Unfortunately, conventional medicine does not admit that it has it. It’s very different in China to this day.
What diseases does TCM help with? She can almost always support, especially the chronically ill. But staying healthy is much more important to her. It illustrates important connections for healthy people and helps them to recognize in good time when health problems arise. She offers him techniques to stay sane. However, you should not order herbs on your own – often contaminated – on the Internet, but always go to a TCM doctor first.
A patient tells
“Finally they took me seriously”
Cecile Schuck, 52, sculptor from Munich
“I have suffered from fibromyalgia, a rheumatic disease, for a very, very long time. But I only know that since I was in a TCM clinic in 2005. All those years before that I was in pain. But the orthodox doctors I saw made it clear to me: This is something psychological. I would have ended up in psychiatry if a doctor hadn’t recommended the TCM clinic to me. It was only there that I was taken seriously. I finally got the right diagnosis. I did Qigong, Tuina massages, got to know the five-element kitchen and was prescribed two decoctions that I still take every day. After only four months I was able to rent a studio again. It got and gets better every day.”
Recipe against cravings:
Ginger millet with apples and raisins
The recipe tastes piquant, but in TCM it belongs to the sweet dishes that relax the body and provide a lot of energy. Ideal for chocolate cravings.
Ingredients: 1/4 cup millet (quick cooking), butter, raisins, nuts, 1 apple, ginger (about 2 slices), 1 pinch salt and cinnamon
Preparation: Briefly toss the millet and raisins in melted butter, pour hot water over them, add a little salt, nuts, pieces of apple and ginger and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Place on a plate with some cinnamon.
