Chinese 5 Element Theory: How It Works

reply to post by rickymouse


That might even be considered an "allergy" ,to some practitioners . Have you tried acupuncture ?

reply to post by Bybyots


I did Kung Fu too but found it impractical in real life, I did tai chi but found that the teacher could not use this "martial art" to actually fight so was disappointed....eventually I decided to stay away from Chinese martial art and logic, Oh and the was the time I took Chinese herbal medicine and nearly got kidney failure from taking it!

I find almost all of the Chinese elemental logic....illogical.

Other example is that fire is bitter, really not hot/spicy no?

And don't get me started on "happy chi" One day I bruised my leg in class and one woman's helpful advice was that I should put my happy chi in my leg. I looked at her and was going to say something but then remembered that I should just smile and say thank you

Seriously though the Chinese elemental theory is totally lacking of logic!

reply to post by LUXUS

I did Kung Fu too but found it impractical in real life, I did tai chi but found that the teacher could not use this "martial art" to actually fight so was disappointed....eventually I decided to stay away from Chinese martial art and logic, Oh and the was the time I took Chinese herbal medicine and nearly got kidney failure from taking it!

Ah, God, it's always awful to hear stories like that. I was fortunate in that when I was of that age where I was experimenting with herbs, I had this teacher, and when I told him what I was doing he gave me the most seriously disappointed look I have just about ever seen on an old Chinese guy. Aside from occasional bouts of Gingko, I stay away from the stuff.

I think it's interesting because you and I seem to have had a mirrored experience with the boxing stuff. I had wanted to study Indonesian and Japanese systems, but I had the same issue that you did with the Chinese stuff. Then I accidentally found the teacher I had always been looking for, so I stuck to him like glue. It happened that it was a Chinese system and he was from HK.

Much later, after I got through it all with my guy, I found the awesome Silat club I had been looking for all of those years. I went to train and it was everything that I had hoped for, it was like going to boxing heaven.

But, all that other gong fu was so hardwired in that I had to cut my losses and split for good; their triangles were really #ing up my triangles.

So I just devoted myself to the Chinese systems. There's only so much time in the world, unfortunately.

I actually really can identify with how it does not jibe with you, it didn't with me either, for a long time. I couldn't find any use for it. I guess it was just a matter of duration of exposure.

Terima kasih!

reply to post by KenArten

Thank you Bybyots for refreshing and extending this philosophy. Here is my tribute to your thread, and the great Tao that is filled with so much wisdom. We forget too easily that Nature has its own way and goes about its work with far more patience and persistence that we can ever muster.

You're welcome KenArten,

Thank you for your response. I didn't realize that there could be benefits to extending and refreshing it till it was all finished. I'm grateful for that.

Have a good day,

reply to post by Bybyots



I tell anyone who is thinking of taking Chinese herbal medicine to stay well away from it, they usually say that oh well maybe you went to somebody who was not fully qualified but the truth was I went to one of the best herbalists in china town who was fully qualified, who family had been doing this for a very long time. I was young at the time and was simply taking it because I had a spotty back which antibiotics did not help with.

I was taking this stuff for a few months and it was very expensive, I had to boil up this stuff that stunk out the house. My mum would say your going to poison yourself taking that rubbish. The taste was so bad it used to make the hair on my arms stand up. A bit later I started to get an pain in my lower back, my mum noticed me rubbing my lower back and the following day when I came back to boil up my medicine my mum had burned 3 bags full of it down the garden. I was very angry with her because it was very expensive but now when I look back it was the best thing and really she saved me.

A few days later I went to my doctor about the pain in my lower back, he sent me off to the hospital for some blood tests. When the results came back my doctor nearly fell off his chair. He started examining my ankles to see if they were swollen. My kidney function was that of an old man, I was shocked. I immediately went on a fast and just drank lots of water to try to let my kidneys recover. My kidney function came back but never to what it should have been, I have what is called mild kidney damage and it does not effect me but I was very lucky my mum did what she did!

My sister in later years became a doctor and she has met people like me who were less lucky, she had to tell one patients who was taking Chinese herbs that one of her kidneys had died, as you can imagine the woman burst out crying.

I was stupid when I was young because I fell for phrase that many of these people use "oh herbs are natural so they are safer then conventional medicine"

My advice don't touch the stuff with a long stick!

reply to post by LUXUS


That's an utter crock . I don't believe a word you just said ,because I AM a Chinese herbalist . Chinese herbs ,when dispensed by a qualified practitioner have a near zero incidence report .
Look it up .
Acupuncture and herbs ,in the USA specifically ,have a less than one death a year rate . If that .
The ONLY time deaths were reported using Chinese herbs,was when someone put them in dietary forumulas,none of whom were herbalists .
People died because idiots trying to make money misused them ,and qualified herbalists were published for it .
They punished us by making the herbs completely illegal in the USA . When none of us hurt anyone using them .

There were much higher instances of deaths in Europe ,but that was decades ago .

Second,Chinese herbs are so cheap ,its not funny .
A bottle of 100 pills can be as little as 4$.
I can get a pound bag of raw herbs for 20 $ .
A pound will last me 6 months .
Compare that to any FDA approved poison .

reply to post by PtolemyII



I know what happened to me and my sister is a doctor and what she reported to me is a fact! The cost of herbal medicine is expensive, especially if you go to one of the best in china town like I did....and you might wont to read this

"Chinese medicine has caused kidney failure and even cancer: www.dailymail.co.uk...

www.deccanherald.com...

www.telegraph.co.uk...

BTW do you send your patents for regular blood tests to monitor their kidney function whilst they are under your treatment...if not your license should be taken from you!

reply to post by LUXUS


I've been an herbalist in nyc since 1998 . Herbs in Chinatown ,are beyond cheap . I also almost went to medical school .
Western meds kill 100s of thousands YEARLY .
Herbs kill no one . You only have to watch what you give them for interactions with other meds they may be taking .
Herbs are NEVER given indefinately .
There's no need to send them for blood tests if you know what your doing .

You usually only do a two week course ,and then re evaluate . Then you usually change the forumula.
I've never kept anyone on herbs more than 8 weeks .
Your sister has probably killed a few dozen people with the side affects from meds she prescribed .

Kamwo is one of the biggest herb stores in NYC .It's also a bit more expensive than the one I use . Lins Sister
Here's Kamwos on line store .

Most everything ranges between 3-20$ .
A bottle is usually a month supply.

www.kamwostore.com...

reply to post by PtolemyII



Herbel medicine in London china town is not beyond cheap, I think I was paying £50-60 for 3 weeks supply and then when I would go back for the formula to be changed there was a consultation fee to be payed.

Fact that you don't even send your patents for a basic blood test means you have no idea what the herbs you are given are doing.

I think your forgetting something, that is you are speaking now with somebody who has had their kidneys damaged by taking Chinese herbal medicine so its pointless you now trying to tell me its totally safe!

reply to post by LUXUS


So your one of the two documented cases of kidney damage in the UK from 1999 ?

As there are only two in the UK in the last few decades ,and I said USA .
Do you take any medications at all ? As I guarantee more people than two ,have died of every mediation ,including aspirin , since 1999,and NO ONE says any of those meds are unsafe .
Now do they ...

And if herbs are expensive ,Europe is different from the USA apparently .
Herbs are dirt cheap here,and we dont hurt anyone with them. Making a blanket statement that all herbs are bad,,is misleading .

Originally posted by PtolemyII
Kamwo is one of the biggest herb stores in NYC .It's also a bit more expensive than the one I use . Lins Sister
Here's Kamwos on line store .

Most everything ranges between 3-20$ .
A bottle is usually a month supply.

www.kamwostore.com...

No if you go to any traditional herbalist in London they don't give you a few pills, they test your pulse, eyes, tong then write out a prescription in Chinese. There is then a person who weighs out all the dried herbs and bundles it into individual packages to boil. They sens you away with a bag filled with bundles of dried herbs and you have no idea whats in it.

reply to post by LUXUS


We have no need to send ANYONE for a blood test,as we don't give unsafe forumulas .
There are no deaths ,from herbs dispensed by a Chinese herbalist ,in the USA ,in years,if ever .

As I said,the only ones I have seen ,were in Europe .
Same for most acupuncture .
Some people do stupid things,and people have been hurt ,but deaths are rare .

And I find it hard to believe anyone charged that much for herbs .
If I check prices for herbs in the UK ,will they be that high ?
I wonder. I sent one of my friends for herbs when she lived there. I will ask how much she paid .

reply to post by LUXUS


Yes I know,we do that too ,but herbal formulas are all comparable in price.
Raw herbs ARE CHEAPER than the pills in some cases .
There are few pricey herbs due to availability ,and most ginseng is pricey .

reply to post by PtolemyII


Sorry but that's rubbish Chinese medicine is now banned from sale in the UK, you cant even buy it unless you can provide proof that you have qualifications. It was banned because of people being damaged by taken it.

How can you cure something when your view of what is causing it is totally flawed, for example if someone went to you with hair loss you would probably tell them they have weak kidneys.

Mmmm,well,the prices look comparable to me . I found some raw herbs ,and are a far cry from £60 .
If this was years ago ,I suspect they would have been even cheaper .
BTW ,those two cases of kidney failure in the UK from herbs,were both woman .
The problem was the herbs were tainted with toxins . It wasn't the herb itself .
Quality control is much better now .


www.chineseherb.co.uk...

reply to post by LUXUS


Funny,these practitioners seem quite unaware of that .


www.herbsplus.co.uk...

www.chinesemedicalcentre.net...

www.brackenburyclinic.com...

Originally posted by PtolemyII
reply to post by LUXUS

 

Funny,these practitioners seem quite unaware of that .


www.herbsplus.co.uk...

www.chinesemedicalcentre.net...

www.brackenburyclinic.com...

edit on 6/19/13 by PtolemyII because: (no reason given)

If you try to make an order for Chinese dried herbs with them they will ask you to setup an account with them but before they will setup an account with them they will request you scan your qualifications and email it to them. If they do not do this they are now breaking the law and could be fined for doing this.

Whilst the price of the herbs themselves may be cheap you are forgetting that it is the doctor who takes the money and he can charge what he likes, also it would be ridiculous to compare the cost for going to one of the best herbalists in china town London and someone out of London as it would probably be half the price.

reply to post by LUXUS


You stated all herbs were illegal there. Chinese herbalists are dispensing them . I know because one of my friends got them ,and its right there on three websites.
If it were illegal ,I doubt they would advert their availability ,with their names address and credentials there.

You are making it up as you go ,just to discredit herbs .
Tsk tsk

reply to post by PtolemyII


No you talked about the price of herbs in the UK, I said you cannot buy Chinese dried herbs from a herb supplier in the UK unless you first show proof of qualification

For example:

Before you proceed with registration for a new web account, we would like to advise you that we do not open accounts directly for individual consumers. We will gladly set up accounts for Registered Herbalists, Acupuncturists, licensed health care practitioners and TCM Students.

www.maywayuk.co.uk...