Introduction/Jewish traditional Medicine and TCM/dietetics

July 10, 2003

Dear Friends,

What an exciting and humbling opportunity this is to join this

group. I am in my final year of study at Dongguk Royal University in

Los Angeles, and find the information exchanged in discussions to

be enriching, stimulating and in many cases far beyond the scope of

what I am learning in my formal classes. The spirit of excellence

that pervades will raise the level of TCM practice in North America,

I am certain, and is the perfect complement to the new DAOM degree.

I want to throw open to discussion two topics:

1. If anyone is interested in exploring the healing traditions of

Judaism, its parallels with TCM, and halachic application (according

to Orthodox Jewish law) of TCM in practice, I invite you to join the

discussion group that I have started:

traditionaljewishmedicine & TCM.

2. Speaking of traditional Jewish medicine, Maimonides, as well as

Sun Si Miao, both emphasize that the first line of healing should

always be food. I have read a number of texts (including Henry Lu's

and the one by the president of Yo San University-I don't recall its

name, something like the Tao of foods) but I find that the list of

foods to be incomplete, and the energetics to be rather arbitrary. I

am absolutely convinced that we need to place much emphasis on

healing ourselves and our patients COMPREHENSIVELY with foods, using

our differential diagnoses to plan specific diet recommendations, and

not take a one shoe fits all approach, as an important complement to

herbs and acupuncture. (Of course, the importance of tuina and

tai chi/qi gong should also not be underestimated!) As an intern, my

clinical supervisors have virtually ignored diet trerapy in their

treatment plans, and the one course I took, I found interesting, but

incomplete. The experiences of students in other schools that I have

spoken to is similar. Now that I have vented my spleen (appropriate

pun, no?), does anyone have any constructive solutions to fill this

important void.

Thanks,

Yehuda Frischman

July 11, 2003

Hi Yehuda,

Here in San Francisco is the South Star Cooking Academy, Dr. Nam Singh's school of Taoist nutrition. Nam is a lineage trained practitioner from Taiwan and an OMD from the school in Taipei and then a graduate of the cooking academy in Taipei which is dedicated to Chinese medicinal cooking and nutrition. Nam indicates that the literature in the Chinese language regarding medicinal nutrition is vast though the formal training at this time in history is not so available. Through his school, Nam presents three years or levels of formal training. The training is based on Taoist and Chinese medicine nutritional theory and utilizes recipes and foods directed to needs of individuals in various seasons and with various needs. The first two levels have more general applications and are for maintenance of general health. The third level specifically addresses nutritional support for specific pathologies. I believe that Nam Singh would strongly support your contentions that nutrition and lifestyle considerations must come first before engaging in other modalities such as acupuncture, moxa, herb formulas and tui na. Perhaps there are people in your area of Los Angeles that are teaching this sort of curriculum. I've taken Nam's 1st and 2nd levels twice each. I was impressed that despite repeating the curriculum, the presentation was so rich that I learned many new things at each session. It's very much the nature of the course work that the weather of the day and the stage of the season as well as the needs of students in the class will guide the specifics of the presentation. Since you've asked for "constructive solutions," contact me off list if you want to get in touch with Nam's school.

In service,

Emmanuel Segmen

-

yehuda frischman

Thursday, July 10, 2003 1:12 PM

Introduction/Jewish traditional Medicine and TCM/dietetics

Dear Friends,What an exciting and humbling opportunity this is to join this group. I am in my final year of study at Dongguk Royal University in Los Angeles, and find the information exchanged in discussions to be enriching, stimulating and in many cases far beyond the scope of what I am learning in my formal classes. The spirit of excellence that pervades will raise the level of TCM practice in North America, I am certain, and is the perfect complement to the new DAOM degree.I want to throw open to discussion two topics:1. If anyone is interested in exploring the healing traditions of Judaism, its parallels with TCM, and halachic application (according to Orthodox Jewish law) of TCM in practice, I invite you to join the discussion group that I have started: traditionaljewishmedicine & TCM.2. Speaking of traditional Jewish medicine, Maimonides, as well as Sun Si Miao, both emphasize that the first line of healing should always be food. I have read a number of texts (including Henry Lu's and the one by the president of Yo San University-I don't recall its name, something like the Tao of foods) but I find that the list of foods to be incomplete, and the energetics to be rather arbitrary. I am absolutely convinced that we need to place much emphasis on healing ourselves and our patients COMPREHENSIVELY with foods, using our differential diagnoses to plan specific diet recommendations, and not take a one shoe fits all approach, as an important complement to herbs and acupuncture. (Of course, the importance of tuina and tai chi/qi gong should also not be underestimated!) As an intern, my clinical supervisors have virtually ignored diet trerapy in their treatment plans, and the one course I took, I found interesting, but incomplete. The experiences of students in other schools that I have spoken to is similar. Now that I have vented my spleen (appropriate pun, no?), does anyone have any constructive solutions to fill this important void. Thanks,Yehuda Frischman Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including board approved online continuing education.

July 11, 2003

Thank you,

sounds exactly what I am looking for, just that for now I'm pretty set in

LA.

Let me of any seminars that he might offer.

Yehuda

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July 12, 2003

Yehuda

Re your #2 post about dietary/food

Should you wish to make your mark on the TCM scholarly tradition and

layman's interest with a TCM niche that is definetly needed, I would

strongly suggest you write a book about TCM nutrition/diet. If you start

now, with your enthusiasm for the topic you will be able to master your

topic and have had the time in years to have first hand experience of your

exploration. I studied under Henry Lu and his books are a brief intro to the

topic. His main interest for the last thirty years has been the Nei Jing.

Bob's Flaws has a couple of books. Paul Pitchford's " Healing with Whole

Foods " is a standard text for this topic and a new book by Rebecca Wood

called " the new whole foods encyclopedia " with a forward by Paul Pitchford

is helpfull in talking about individual foods. Davirick Leggett has a chart

" A guide to the Energetics of Food based on the traditions of chinese

medicine " is a benefit in writing out a script plus Vol 2 " Clinical Handbook

of Internal Medicine: Spleen Stomach " has about 40 pages of good information

at the end.

What your book should entail is how to rectify the compulsive nature food

has in our lives. Why western civilization has a diabetic pathology. How

access to excess with the efflugence of yin fire and unfullfilled desire

contribute to our need to get stuffed. You will of course spend many hours

going over this with patients who are obese and will find food as comforting

as any narcotic craving with it's attenuating denials. As your own spleen

declines from age and worry about how you should practice what you preach

you will look to the long and lean Z'ev Rosenberg's of this venerable

tradition of TCM and whose word's of wisdom will tell you and echo within

you that a " clear and bland diet " is the first and ultimately guiding

principle.

Rod

> " yehuda frischman " <

>

> Introduction/Jewish traditional Medicine and

>TCM/dietetics

>Thu, 10 Jul 2003 20:12:58 -0000

>

>Dear Friends,

>

>What an exciting and humbling opportunity this is to join this

>group. I am in my final year of study at Dongguk Royal University in

>Los Angeles, and find the information exchanged in discussions to

>be enriching, stimulating and in many cases far beyond the scope of

>what I am learning in my formal classes. The spirit of excellence

>that pervades will raise the level of TCM practice in North America,

>I am certain, and is the perfect complement to the new DAOM degree.

>

>I want to throw open to discussion two topics:

>

>1. If anyone is interested in exploring the healing traditions of

>Judaism, its parallels with TCM, and halachic application (according

>to Orthodox Jewish law) of TCM in practice, I invite you to join the

> discussion group that I have started:

>traditionaljewishmedicine & TCM.

>

>2. Speaking of traditional Jewish medicine, Maimonides, as well as

>Sun Si Miao, both emphasize that the first line of healing should

>always be food. I have read a number of texts (including Henry Lu's

>and the one by the president of Yo San University-I don't recall its

>name, something like the Tao of foods) but I find that the list of

>foods to be incomplete, and the energetics to be rather arbitrary. I

>am absolutely convinced that we need to place much emphasis on

>healing ourselves and our patients COMPREHENSIVELY with foods, using

>our differential diagnoses to plan specific diet recommendations, and

>not take a one shoe fits all approach, as an important complement to

>herbs and acupuncture. (Of course, the importance of tuina and

>tai chi/qi gong should also not be underestimated!) As an intern, my

>clinical supervisors have virtually ignored diet trerapy in their

>treatment plans, and the one course I took, I found interesting, but

>incomplete. The experiences of students in other schools that I have

>spoken to is similar. Now that I have vented my spleen (appropriate

>pun, no?), does anyone have any constructive solutions to fill this

>important void.

>

>Thanks,

>

>Yehuda Frischman

>

_______________

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July 13, 2003

What your book should entail is how to rectify the compulsive nature food has in our lives. Why western civilization has a diabetic pathology. How access to excess with the efflugence of yin fire and unfullfilled desire contribute to our need to get stuffed. You will of course spend many hours going over this with patients who are obese and will find food as comforting as any narcotic craving with it's attenuating denials. As your own spleen declines from age and worry about how you should practice what you preach you will look to the long and lean Z'ev Rosenberg's of this venerable tradition of TCM and whose word's of wisdom will tell you and echo within you that a "clear and bland diet" is the first and ultimately guiding principle.Rod

Thank you, Rod. A fabulous post indeed! I would add to your "diabetic pathology" part to say that our American diet is so rife with processed high glycemic index foods and so far away from "foods that look like what they are" - from our Jack LaLayne comments earlier this year. Seems like the talk these days is about various presentations of insulin-resistance and how high blood concentrations of insulin result in various pathologies. Your post is a bull's eye!

Emmanuel Segmen