CTM kicks Western Medicine's butt

[Chukada1]

How many times a day do you take a pill? Got a headache? Take a pill. Got a sore throat? Take a pill. Are you feeling sad? Take a pill. Today there seems to be a pill for just about everything, but none of these actually fix the problem. Why is that?

I find that in my amature observations, I noticed that Western Medicine seems to focus mostly on the symptoms, rather then preventing the cause. For example. Acne. That devil we all hate. Whenever I turn on the tube, I always see these commericals, blabbing about how thier product digs deep into the pores and erradicates the dirt which causes pimples.

This is wierd. Because dirt doesn't cause ance. Nor does it cause pimples, but we all know dermatologists are idiots, so we'll ignore that incorrect assumption from the 80's.

The point is that Western medicine will try and cleanse the skin, and stop pimples. Which is a symptom of acne. [pimples] Acne is actually caused by free radicals in the system, stress, poor immune system, mind power, and lack of exercise + fresh air. What happens is that the amount of toxins in your body, exceed your bodies capacity to eradicate those toxins. Then you end up with Acne.

I find that Chinese traditional medicine is all about stopping the cause, and cleansing the body. The philosophy is that, a healthy balanced body, will maintain harmony. When we get sick, we're inbalanced. The solution is then to regain that balance, in this case, becomming healthy again.

This can either be done through stress relieving Acupuncture, proper breathing techiniques (which have proven to eradicate free radicals in the system - they hate clean oxygen), or dietry changes, like drinking green tea (a powerful anti-oxident), eating ginger (a powerful anti-flammatory), or consuming goji berry (a super-duper powerful anti-oxident).

The Western approach never ever ever ever stops acne. But the balancing of the body seems to be a sure bet. This is just once example. Western medicine has done good in the past, for example Polio. But in the modern era, where most diseases have been eradicated. Chinese traditional medicine might be the best course.

The big guy today is cancer. Western medicine is flawed in it's fight against this beast. For one thing. We believe the sun causes cancer. This is false. Sunlight provideds the body with a 90% ressistance to skin cancer. The problem lies when you get sunburned, because it destroys your skin, and that can cause the cancer cells to activate. Heck, have you read what's in sunscreen? I would trust the sun more then I trust this crap I'm letting seap through my skin.

A good way to prevent cancer is to maintain proper health. In essence, to balance your body. Only through perfect balance can we achieve good health, and only through good health, can we prevent disease.

Thoughts?

[Antissa]

Thread moved to the "Athenaeum."

[Saturn]

I agree with the whole symptoms thing. I try to avoid medicine and drugs as much as I can. Anything that plays with my heart rate or senses is a big no no. I cringe at the thought of altering my body's normally functioning paterns.

On a side note, look at all the acne banner ads!

[eddy_purpus]

I have mild acne what can i do ?

[Chukada1]

I have mild acne what can i do ?

I don't have enough time to post tonight, but tommorow after school I can share some secrets. Acne is part of growing up, it's a hard lesson in life, but it has taught me all I need to know about the human body.

I'll post tommorow.

[MaximiIian]

I have mild acne what can i do ?

Wash your face for once?

you could as well pray to Zeus for rescue.

Why would you pray to a god of thunder and kingship to help you with disease? He'd either lightning your face off, or send tax officials.
Apollo, Asclepios, or his daughter Hygienia would be a better choice. All three are gods of health, medicine, and hygiene.

Not as a replacement of medicine, mind you. That'd be supremely stupid.

[Winter]

I noticed that Western Medicine seems to focus mostly on the symptoms, rather then preventing the cause. For example. Acne.

Your study of western medicine has focused on acne?

Acne is actually caused by free radicals in the system, stress, poor immune system, mind power, and lack of exercise + fresh air. What happens is that the amount of toxins in your body, exceed your bodies capacity to eradicate those toxins. Then you end up with Acne.

This, along with a lot in your post, is mostly untrue in a scientific sense.

Acne is caused by a blockage of the pores leading to a buildup of commonly occouring bacteria, which in turn causes inflammation. It's not about balance or toxins.

The reason many people think acne cannot be cured is that they experience acne during puberty, when their hormone levels are through the roof. These hormones result in an excess production of some of the oils causing acne, as well as a number of other causes. Because you can't stop puberty, you can't cure this acne completely, be it by medicine or chinese tradition.

This can either be done through stress relieving Acupuncture, proper breathing techiniques (which have proven to eradicate free radicals in the system - they hate clean oxygen), or dietry changes, like drinking green tea (a powerful anti-oxident), eating ginger (a powerful anti-flammatory), or consuming goji berry (a super-duper powerful anti-oxident).

Acupuncture and deep breathing don't cure diseases. Sticking needles in your back won't make your meningitis go away.

Western medicine has done good in the past, for example Polio. But in the modern era, where most diseases have been eradicated.

This is untrue. Only smallpox has been completely eradicated, polio and a few others have been all but eradicated in advanced nations. That's not exactly most diseases. \

We believe the sun causes cancer. This is false....The problem lies when you get sunburned, because it destroys your skin, and that can cause the cancer cells to activate

Skin cancers can be and are caused by the sun. Your second explaination is actually close. Ultraviolet rays are a form of radiation that damages DNA. If the DNA in the skin cell is damaged severely enough, it can begin to grow out of control, which is the beginning of skin cancer. There's no other way around it, that's how it happens.

Sunlight provideds the body with a 90% ressistance to skin cancer.

I'm fairly certain you made this up. If you're talking about Vitamin D, however, you are partly true.

Studies have shown that Vitamin D does go a long way in preventing certain skin cancers. I'm not sure where you got the 90% figure however, and I wouldn't take the risk of not using sunblock and instead hoping that vitamin D protects you.

I would trust the sun more then I trust this crap I'm letting seap through my skin.

This is a personal choice, but a foolish one. There has been no medical association ever that has published guidlines reccomending against the use of sunscreen. It has been proven on many occasions to absorb UV rays and prevent certain malignant skin cancers.

only through good health, can we prevent disease

One of the few things we do agree on.

I used Wiki as well as various other websites like WebMD to find some info here in case you're wondering.

[Hounf of Culan]

I stopped reading after you said free radicals in your system.

[Tiwaz]

Chinese medicine is little better than homeopathy. Both are "make believe" medicine, but CTM has some working solutions in it (I guess all those centuries of practicing it have led to few accidental successes).

Western medicine does aim to cure the disease, but sometimes disease cannot be cured. Only it's symptoms helped.

Headache? Can be result of multitude of problems, most of which are harmless and will pass away shortly. Instead of running every headache patient through series of brainscans and whatnot, better take a pill and bother doctor if headache keeps coming back.

Psychological issues? Well, perhaps something in your life is just messed up. Doctor can't change your family for you, but they can give medicine which will get you back on track long and well enough to fix your family issues yourself.

Fevers etc? Virus based diseases have no efficient cure. All we can do in most cases is try to make bearing the disease as comfortable as possible, try to prevent situation where life is in danger and let immune system do it's thing.

Sticking needles in you won't make appendix go away.

By the way, you proved your lack of knowledge in this field when you said that free radicals hate "oxygen"...

In human body, most free radicals are.... OXYGEN! Even the name of substances used to "combat" these atoms and molecules hints. Anti-oxidant... Anti-oxygen, because free radicals are oxygen based.

Superoxide which is only oxygen anion, hydrogen peroxide 2 pairs of hydrogen and oxygen atoms togehter, hydroxyl radical....

[Chukada1]

Your study of western medicine has focused on acne?

This, along with a lot in your post, is mostly untrue in a scientific sense.

Acne is caused by a blockage of the pores leading to a buildup of commonly occouring bacteria, which in turn causes inflammation. It's not about balance or toxins.

This is not the cause of acne. This is the cause of pimples. Acne is a condition, as is obesity a condition, you do not get obesity from being fat, you get obese from lack of exercise and poor diet. Likewise, you do not cure acne by getting rid of pimples.

The reason many people think acne cannot be cured is that they experience acne during puberty, when their hormone levels are through the roof. These hormones result in an excess production of some of the oils causing acne, as well as a number of other causes. Because you can't stop puberty, you can't cure this acne completely, be it by medicine or chinese tradition.

The reason many think acne cannot be cured, is because it is indeed true. You cannot cure acne because it's not a disease, but a reflection on the state of your overall health. Curing acne is like curing obesity. You don't cure it, you get fit.

Acupuncture and deep breathing don't cure diseases. Sticking needles in your back won't make your meningitis go away.

Of course it won't cure diseases. This is because it is only a peice of the puzzel. CTM teaches that the body must be balanced in order to maintain good health. Acupuncture relieves stress, which may be the only problem with your health. If you have a poor diet and too much stress, acupuncture will bring back the balance of stress, but you still have the diet to contend with.

Skin cancers can be and are caused by the sun. Your second explaination is actually close. Ultraviolet rays are a form of radiation that damages DNA. If the DNA in the skin cell is damaged severely enough, it can begin to grow out of control, which is the beginning of skin cancer. There's no other way around it, that's how it happens.

I'm fairly certain you made this up. If you're talking about Vitamin D, however, you are partly true.

Studies have shown that Vitamin D does go a long way in preventing certain skin cancers. I'm not sure where you got the 90% figure however, and I wouldn't take the risk of not using sunblock and instead hoping that vitamin D protects you.

I'm sorry. I don't have a medical degree, but I was indeed talking about vitamin D.

This is a personal choice, but a foolish one. There has been no medical association ever that has published guidlines reccomending against the use of sunscreen. It has been proven on many occasions to absorb UV rays and prevent certain malignant skin cancers.

Sunscreen isn't naturally occuring in human contact. It takes thousands of years for the human body to adapt and evolve, we have only been using these compounds for what? 80-100 years? The problem is that skin is very pory. Anything and everything that you lather on it, goes directly to your bloodstream, and then your liver.

I used Wiki as well as various other websites like WebMD to find some info here in case you're wondering.

Wikipedia's information is determined by democracy. The knowledge you will get from wikipedia is from the mainstream community, which is the majority of human populance, and we're all taught the same things. Which is this "Take a pill mentality." WebMD is funded by the big honchos of the medical community. PhD's, etc. I don't trust people who tell me that Acne has to do with blockage of the pores, and that if I apply this acid to my face, I'll be cured.

Chinese medicine is little better than homeopathy. Both are "make believe" medicine, but CTM has some working solutions in it (I guess all those centuries of practicing it have led to few accidental successes).

The most important thing we can learn from CTM is the philosophy of healing. This is why it's much better then homeopathy.

Western medicine does aim to cure the disease, but sometimes disease cannot be cured. Only it's symptoms helped.

CTM aims at preventing illnesses from happening in the first place. Aside from that, your body is your most powerful weapon in the fight against disease. We usually pack our bodies full of anti-biotics when we're sick, this is so we can erradicate bacteria. However, we forget to improve our general health along the way.

Headache? Can be result of multitude of problems, most of which are harmless and will pass away shortly. Instead of running every headache patient through series of brainscans and whatnot, better take a pill and bother doctor if headache keeps coming back.

I had headaches every day last year. Since then I have balanced my body. Stress, Diet, Exericise, and Mind have all been re-alligned. I have not had a single headache since.

Psychological issues? Well, perhaps something in your life is just messed up. Doctor can't change your family for you, but they can give medicine which will get you back on track long and well enough to fix your family issues yourself.

Please. My sister took anti-depressents, and do you know what happened? She got more crazy. I didn't take anti-depressents, and do you know what happened? I got more crazy. But I didn't have to deal with the withdrawal when I was healing. You cannot supress depression, but you can get rid of it by balancing your body & mind.

Fevers etc? Virus based diseases have no efficient cure. All we can do in most cases is try to make bearing the disease as comfortable as possible, try to prevent situation where life is in danger and let immune system do it's thing.

White blood cells. They are the most efficient cure on this planet. Instead of sitting back eating pizza, why not help your body a little, and stop taking in so many toxins?

Sticking needles in you won't make appendix go away.

Well Duh. This is like saying exercise won't heal that giant bleeding gash in your leg.

By the way, you proved your lack of knowledge in this field when you said that free radicals hate "oxygen"...

In human body, most free radicals are.... OXYGEN! Even the name of substances used to "combat" these atoms and molecules hints. Anti-oxidant... Anti-oxygen, because free radicals are oxygen based.

Superoxide which is only oxygen anion, hydrogen peroxide 2 pairs of hydrogen and oxygen atoms togehter, hydroxyl radical....

I'm sorry. I don't have a medical degree. I was actually thinking of bacteria when reffering to oxygen. Bacteria hate oxygen.

Now, I chose acne because it is a serious condition that is ignored. It is perhaps one of the most destructive conditions of the human body. When we're told it has to do with blockage of the pores, and we apply this acid, and it doesn't work. We suffer. Because we can't seem to get rid of it, the situation becomes hopeless, and stress mounts. Causing more acne. It is a wonderful example for the (sometimes) idiocy of western medicine.

Pimples should not be confused with Acne. Acne is the condition of the body. Your body in incapable of preventing visible signs of it's grim condition. The sebum producing glands in the skin overproduce it's oil, because the body is incapable of preventing overproduction. The liver is too weak to keep the balance of your health. In essense, the bacteria in your body overuns your defenses. The free radicals are produced faster then your body can eliminate them. Thus you get pimples. Your acne was always there, but your body was capable of killing it's menace, faster then it could produce it.

Here are some words of wisdom. Don't you think it's in the pharmicudical's best interest...to sell their pharmicudicals? Suffering is the best market. Those who suffer will pay anything to be relieved of their suffering.

[Tiwaz]

The most important thing we can learn from CTM is the philosophy of healing. This is why it's much better then homeopathy.

What philosophy? "Exercise and eat well and do stuff in moderation and thou shall be healthy"? Guess what western medicine tells to people. The same bloody thing.

CTM aims at preventing illnesses from happening in the first place. Aside from that, your body is your most powerful weapon in the fight against disease. We usually pack our bodies full of anti-biotics when we're sick, this is so we can erradicate bacteria. However, we forget to improve our general health along the way.

Western medicine does the same. When I showed up at checkup with high bloodpressure and slightly increased cholestrol but no actual diseases guess what my doctor told me...

More exercise, try to occupy mind with something less stressful etc.
Why? To prevent illness that might come from high cholestrol and excessive blood pressure!

Wow... Imagine that!

I had headaches every day last year. Since then I have balanced my body. Stress, Diet, Exericise, and Mind have all been re-alligned. I have not had a single headache since.

And what would your western doctor have told you if you had gone there? To reduce stress and exercise.

But what would your CTM have done if you would have had tumor in your brain causing the headache? Qi it away?

Please. My sister took anti-depressents, and do you know what happened? She got more crazy. I didn't take anti-depressents, and do you know what happened? I got more crazy. But I didn't have to deal with the withdrawal when I was healing. You cannot supress depression, but you can get rid of it by balancing your body & mind.

This is handled already.

White blood cells. They are the most efficient cure on this planet. Instead of sitting back eating pizza, why not help your body a little, and stop taking in so many toxins?

You know, western doctors know and do all this. And MORE. If there is something wrong, they will fix it. If there is nothing wrong but you look like you are in risk category, they give advice to prevent it.

So western medicine is far superior to chinese. It actually does everything chinese does, with less mumbo jumbo, and more.

Well Duh. This is like saying exercise won't heal that giant bleeding gash in your leg.

Well duh. How does CTM fix it?

Pimples should not be confused with Acne. Acne is the condition of the body. Your body in incapable of preventing visible signs of it's grim condition. The sebum producing glands in the skin overproduce it's oil, because the body is incapable of preventing overproduction. The liver is too weak to keep the balance of your health. In essense, the bacteria in your body overuns your defenses. The free radicals are produced faster then your body can eliminate them. Thus you get pimples. Your acne was always there, but your body was capable of killing it's menace, faster then it could produce it.

Don't be foolish. Nearly everyone gets some level of acne during their puberty. It has nothing to do with radicals. It has everything to do with pores of your skin getting blocked. See, there is constant amount of fat produced by your skin, to keep it soft and smooth. If the pores which deliver it to your skin are blocked, they keep producing the fat. But it has nowhere to go, thus it will swell. And you get a pimple.

Here are some words of wisdom. Don't you think it's in the pharmicudical's best interest...to sell their pharmicudicals? Suffering is the best market. Those who suffer will pay anything to be relieved of their suffering.

Do you think CTM practitioners have your interest in mind or your money in mind?

And pharmaceuticals are controlled by government agencies.
Medicine has to be thoroughly tested and proven before accepted. Chinese fake doctor can feed you any crap they want.


As for Simetrical, it is accident when CTM finds something that work.
They tried different stuff, and when someone noticed that something worked (by accident as they experimented) it became norm. That's it.

They stumbled more or less blindly to their few successful cures.

[Ruin]

I know this post has been answered... twice, but in case there was anything missed that he could confuse with agreement:

This is not the cause of acne. This is the cause of pimples. Acne is a condition, as is obesity a condition, you do not get obesity from being fat, you get obese from lack of exercise and poor diet. Likewise, you do not cure acne by getting rid of pimples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acne#Causes_of_acne
Just in case you find youself ever in need of actually knowing what acne is.
Obesity is being fat, pimples are acne. Just because they happen to be physical manifestations of a disease or lack of health does not mean they are not the disease themselves. That's like saying you can't cure an infected cut by removing the infection using maggots. Of course you can, the disease is the symtoms in these cases, they are one and the same.

The reason many think acne cannot be cured, is because it is indeed true. You cannot cure acne because it's not a disease, but a reflection on the state of your overall health. Curing acne is like curing obesity. You don't cure it, you get fit.

Wrong.
Someone who pays absolute attention to their health, regular exercise, washing, a strict healthy diet, will still get acne during their teenage. It is simply a fact of life. They can control the extent to which it emerges using special face creams etc.

Of course it won't cure diseases. This is because it is only a peice of the puzzel. CTM teaches that the body must be balanced in order to maintain good health. Acupuncture relieves stress, which may be the only problem with your health. If you have a poor diet and too much stress, acupuncture will bring back the balance of stress, but you still have the diet to contend with.

CTM is not the only medicine in the world to realise everyday good health is a good thing. ALL doctors will advise their patients to undergo regular exercise, have some chill out time and eat well, every single one.

I'm sorry. I don't have a medical degree, but I was indeed talking about vitamin D.

Which cannot be obtained through burning yourself. This only increaces the possibility of developing a skin cancer. Being in the sun, with efficient protection, can cause an accumulation of vitamin D, but so can eating fish.

Sunscreen isn't naturally occuring in human contact. It takes thousands of years for the human body to adapt and evolve, we have only been using these compounds for what? 80-100 years?

Millions actually.
And you will also note that nowadays we vaccinate our children, why you might ask? We've had thousands of years to evolve without them. Just because our species survived does not mean we did not suffer without them.

The problem is that skin is very pory. Anything and everything that you lather on it, goes directly to your bloodstream, and then your liver.

Absolute rubbish. The pores in your skin are essencially dead ends.

Unless what you place on your skin is some form of acid, capable of boring through to the cells, it will go nowhere. Our skin is waterproof, if it wasn't, we'd all die of dehydration within hours. Creams you rub on it will not go straight to your liver, they may be absorbed into your epidermis, but no more.

Wikipedia's information is determined by democracy. The knowledge you will get from wikipedia is from the mainstream community, which is the majority of human populance, and we're all taught the same things. Which is this "Take a pill mentality." WebMD is funded by the big honchos of the medical community. PhD's, etc. I don't trust people who tell me that Acne has to do with blockage of the pores, and that if I apply this acid to my face, I'll be cured.

Acne = infection of pores. Deal with it. The creams tend to be anti-inflamatories (reduce inflamation after infection), cleansers (clean out pores) or anti-bacterial agents.

CTM aims at preventing illnesses from happening in the first place. Aside from that, your body is your most powerful weapon in the fight against disease. We usually pack our bodies full of anti-biotics when we're sick, this is so we can erradicate bacteria. However, we forget to improve our general health along the way.

CTM cannot prevent you catching HIV, I can assure you of that. As with most other diseases. CTM is not just good boldily health, that's just common sense, not CTM.

I had headaches every day last year. Since then I have balanced my body. Stress, Diet, Exericise, and Mind have all been re-alligned. I have not had a single headache since.

Not CTM, just being careful.

White blood cells. They are the most efficient cure on this planet. Instead of sitting back eating pizza, why not help your body a little, and stop taking in so many toxins?

Because I LIKE Pizza!
Pizza ingredients: Flour, water, salt (dough), tomatoes, cheese, ham (topping). Would you oppose any of these on their own? No, not in the quantities on a pizza. Pizza is not jam packed full of toxins like you would have us believe, it is simply carrying a lot of fat, which in moderation, is harmless.

I'm sorry. I don't have a medical degree. I was actually thinking of bacteria when reffering to oxygen. Bacteria hate oxygen.

Rubbish, many bacteria need oxygen, those who don't aren't effected at all, else they could not survive in plain air, which surprisingly, they must do otherwise they wouldn't get to you.

Now, I chose acne because it is a serious condition that is ignored. It is perhaps one of the most destructive conditions of the human body. When we're told it has to do with blockage of the pores, and we apply this acid, and it doesn't work. We suffer. Because we can't seem to get rid of it, the situation becomes hopeless, and stress mounts. Causing more acne. It is a wonderful example for the (sometimes) idiocy of western medicine.

It is one of the least destructive and least important...
I got rid of mine through simply washing my face reguarily, using exfolients and being generally careful not to spend too much time with dirt on my face and suchlike, things that can block pores and cause the buildups which result in acne. And guess what? It worked.

Pimples should not be confused with Acne. Acne is the condition of the body. Your body in incapable of preventing visible signs of it's grim condition. The sebum producing glands in the skin overproduce it's oil, because the body is incapable of preventing overproduction. The liver is too weak to keep the balance of your health. In essense, the bacteria in your body overuns your defenses. The free radicals are produced faster then your body can eliminate them. Thus you get pimples. Your acne was always there, but your body was capable of killing it's menace, faster then it could produce it.

What is your obsession with free radicals? Most bacteria have nothing to do with free radicals! Nor do any of your body ailments.
Acne is not an endemic disease to the body, mostly it is wiped out by the time you reach your early twenties simply because your hormones have returned to normal and you no longer produce such vast amounts of oil. Healthy living does not regulate hormones, puberty does. Can CTM prevent puberty?

Here are some words of wisdom. Don't you think it's in the pharmicudical's best interest...to sell their pharmicudicals? Suffering is the best market. Those who suffer will pay anything to be relieved of their suffering.

Do you think they could sell them... if they didn't work? It's a tough market, hundreds of different companies. The ones who sell are the ones who can prove that they work.

[Chukada1]

What philosophy? "Exercise and eat well and do stuff in moderation and thou shall be healthy"? Guess what western medicine tells to people. The same bloody thing.




Western medicine does the same. When I showed up at checkup with high bloodpressure and slightly increased cholestrol but no actual diseases guess what my doctor told me...

More exercise, try to occupy mind with something less stressful etc.
Why? To prevent illness that might come from high cholestrol and excessive blood pressure!

Wow... Imagine that!




And what would your western doctor have told you if you had gone there? To reduce stress and exercise.

But what would your CTM have done if you would have had tumor in your brain causing the headache? Qi it away?

That's right. If you go to a western doctor with no actual illness they will tell you to excercise and eat right. Go with an infection, they will tell you to take anti-biotics, and nothing else. Your body is what fights the infection.

You know, western doctors know and do all this. And MORE. If there is something wrong, they will fix it. If there is nothing wrong but you look like you are in risk category, they give advice to prevent it.

So western medicine is far superior to chinese. It actually does everything chinese does, with less mumbo jumbo, and more.

Mumbo jumbo? I understood it quite easily. I'd reason that western medicine is plagued with this problem, not CTM.

Don't be foolish. Nearly everyone gets some level of acne during their puberty. It has nothing to do with radicals. It has everything to do with pores of your skin getting blocked. See, there is constant amount of fat produced by your skin, to keep it soft and smooth. If the pores which deliver it to your skin are blocked, they keep producing the fat. But it has nowhere to go, thus it will swell. And you get a pimple.

I'm sorry. Half of everyone gets some level of acne during their puberty. I know quite a lot of people who got the lucky end of the stick. Acne has nothing to do with the pores on your skin. Acne is what generates your pimples. If you have bad acne, then your condition is worse.

Do you think CTM practitioners have your interest in mind or your money in mind?

Since you pay for the services, and not prescribed mass produced tablets, I'd have to disagree with this statement. CTM advocates things which are readily accessable to the greater population. Ginger, Goji Berries, Tea, etc.

And pharmaceuticals are controlled by government agencies.
Medicine has to be thoroughly tested and proven before accepted.

Pharmaceuticals are controlled by the industry which creates them, not the government, unless you live in a communist country. Instead your governments regulates the drugs in question, which is very different from controlling it.

Chinese fake doctor can feed you any crap they want.

If by crap you mean proven alternatives, then yes. Would you call acupuncture practitioners a hoax?

As for Simetrical, it is accident when CTM finds something that work.
They tried different stuff, and when someone noticed that something worked (by accident as they experimented) it became norm. That's it.

They stumbled more or less blindly to their few successful cures.

That must have hurt figuring out acupuncture. Ouch!

I know this post has been answered... twice, but in case there was anything missed that he could confuse with agreement:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acne#Causes_of_acne
Just in case you find youself ever in need of actually knowing what acne is.
Obesity is being fat, pimples are acne. Just because they happen to be physical manifestations of a disease or lack of health does not mean they are not the disease themselves. That's like saying you can't cure an infected cut by removing the infection using maggots. Of course you can, the disease is the symtoms in these cases, they are one and the same.

Wikipedia is a poor source for acne information. Not much exists to contradict the usual prescribed written garbage we hear on TV, because nobody takes it seriously as a condition.

Wrong.
Someone who pays absolute attention to their health, regular exercise, washing, a strict healthy diet, will still get acne during their teenage. It is simply a fact of life. They can control the extent to which it emerges using special face creams etc.

They will get acne yes, but they won't get large painful blemishes all over their face and back. Acne is a part of growing up, but you can control the severity of the condition. I did.

CTM is not the only medicine in the world to realise everyday good health is a good thing. ALL doctors will advise their patients to undergo regular exercise, have some chill out time and eat well, every single one.

However it is the only medicine in the world that stress balance above all things. This means you must be healthy in all categories, not just diet or exercise.

Which cannot be obtained through burning yourself. This only increaces the possibility of developing a skin cancer. Being in the sun, with efficient protection, can cause an accumulation of vitamin D, but so can eating fish.

I already said getting sunburns were the culprit. You're safe from sun exposure until you exceed your skin's capacity of ressistance. For dark skinned people, the risk of getting sunburns is lower to those who have pale skin. Thus they can endure sun exposure for longer periods of time without being at risk. It's like radioactivity, radioactive material alone is fine, but when it's concentrated to a level your body can't handle, does it become dangerous.

Millions actually.
And you will also note that nowadays we vaccinate our children, why you might ask? We've had thousands of years to evolve without them. Just because our species survived does not mean we did not suffer without them.

We vaccinate our children with the disease, which is made up of normal compounds found in the vicinity of mankind. The problem lies when we apply these man-created chemical agents to our bodies.

Absolute rubbish. The pores in your skin are essencially dead ends.

Unless what you place on your skin is some form of acid, capable of boring through to the cells, it will go nowhere. Our skin is waterproof, if it wasn't, we'd all die of dehydration within hours. Creams you rub on it will not go straight to your liver, they may be absorbed into your epidermis, but no more.

They will be absorbed by your bloodstream, which is then dumped into your liver.

Acne = infection of pores. Deal with it. The creams tend to be anti-inflamatories (reduce inflamation after infection), cleansers (clean out pores) or anti-bacterial agents.

The acne medication never worked a tad on me, unless irratating the skin with super hot acid burning agents causing my acne to worsen, was the true purpose? Believe it or not, there are plenty of natural anti-inflamatories found in certain foods. Ginger for example.

CTM cannot prevent you catching HIV, I can assure you of that. As with most other diseases. CTM is not just good boldily health, that's just common sense, not CTM.

Nothing can prevent you from catching HIV.

Because I LIKE Pizza!
Pizza ingredients: Flour, water, salt (dough), tomatoes, cheese, ham (topping). Would you oppose any of these on their own? No, not in the quantities on a pizza. Pizza is not jam packed full of toxins like you would have us believe, it is simply carrying a lot of fat, which in moderation, is harmless.

Yes I would. Flour, salt, cheese and ham, are all bad for you. The fat you consume from a pizza is a fat your body doesn't know how to get rid of. Pizza is bad for you, but it isn't as bad as other alternatives.

Rubbish, many bacteria need oxygen, those who don't aren't effected at all, else they could not survive in plain air, which surprisingly, they must do otherwise they wouldn't get to you.

The bacteria that grows in your stomach from undigested food, hates oxygen.

It is one of the least destructive and least important...

It makes you feel like crap, and stops you from enjoying life, not only that but it's the perfect market to exploit, and boy is it exploited.

I got rid of mine through simply washing my face reguarily, using exfolients and being generally careful not to spend too much time with dirt on my face and suchlike, things that can block pores and cause the buildups which result in acne. And guess what? It worked.

It worked for you because you were lucky. Hygene was your only problem. Next time you see someone with acne, why don't you tell them they need to wash their face?

What is your obsession with free radicals? Most bacteria have nothing to do with free radicals! Nor do any of your body ailments.
Acne is not an endemic disease to the body, mostly it is wiped out by the time you reach your early twenties simply because your hormones have returned to normal and you no longer produce such vast amounts of oil. Healthy living does not regulate hormones, puberty does. Can CTM prevent puberty?

Acne is not an ednemic disease because it is a reflection of your overall health. Puberty makes you sick in the sense that a peice of the puzzle is jumbled. Hormones and stress, being the major two factors during puberty, but in some cases there are other culprits. Diet and Exercise.

Do you think they could sell them... if they didn't work? It's a tough market, hundreds of different companies. The ones who sell are the ones who can prove that they work.

Wrong. Acne victims will try anything to cure their affliction. If acne products truely worked, then they wouldn't sell anymore of their products, would they? They get you paying a monthly fee, just like MMO's.

I'm going to let this website inform you about the truth of acne, since this can better explain it.

http://www.natural-acne-solution.com...dult-acne.html

It relates to adult acne, but the fundementals still apply. I brought my acne down to perfectly reasonable conditions with his help, and I didn`t even have to buy a book. I`m happy with my situation today, if you want to ignore it though, that`s your choice.

In the end. I find that the taoist ideal of duelity is infinite in it`s wisdom, because I live my life with that ideal everywhere I go. (I only said CTM was superior to stimulate discussion.) I think the greater belief is to take the best from both sides, and that is what I do. I consume the Goji, the tea, the ginger, and balance the body, but I do this from a logical western perspective. This stuff won`t cure tumours (we have surgery for that,) but it is an excellent way to go on living life. For tumours, I`ll call to the west. For acne, I`ll call to the east. But I will never only rely on one perspective.

[Cluny the Scourge]

That's right. If you go to a western doctor with no actual illness they will tell you to excercise and eat right. Go with an infection, they will tell you to take anti-biotics, and nothing else. Your body is what fights the infection.

Anti-biotics fight it better.

Acne has nothing to do with the pores on your skin.

Yes, it does. It's difficult to know how to make this medical consensus more clearly stated. Acne is an inflammation of the sweat glands caused by bacterial activity in the pores, and that bacteria thrives best in the oils that are produced by the hormonal imbalances during puberty. The preposterous quackery that you seem to prefer isn't going to cut any ice in the West.

Since you pay for the services, and not prescribed mass produced tablets, I'd have to disagree with this statement. CTM advocates things which are readily accessable to the greater population. Ginger, Goji Berries, Tea, etc.

And which have no beneficial effect except as a placebo. They can work if you have the kind of gullible personality that believes absolutely what it is told, to such an extent that it psychosomatically influences their own perceptions of their illness.

Pharmaceuticals are controlled by the industry which creates them, not the government, unless you live in a communist country. Instead your governments regulates the drugs in question, which is very different from controlling it.

You are confused. Government regulation of drugs decides whether they are safe and may be made available to the public in the first place. Then it decides whether they have to be prescribed by a qualified doctor or are available to buy over the counter. Regulation is control.

If by crap you mean proven alternatives, then yes.

There is no evidence whatsoever that CTM, homeopathy, or any of these other alternative remedies are effective except via the placebo-method.

Would you call acupuncture practitioners a hoax?

Yes. It is a conscious, entirely intentional hoax.

Practitioners tell patients that it works, and if they have the right kind of mind then it will work - because their subjective perception of their symptoms will change.

Acne is a part of growing up, but you can control the severity of the condition.

Agreed. Simply by forcing yourself not to touch the skin with your fingertips you will find an improvement over a few weeks, because the bacteria on your fingers will not get into the pores. Add a simple anti-bacterial skin-pad scrub and you will as good as cure your problem, if you are disciplined with it. I did.

However it is the only medicine in the world that stress balance above all things. This means you must be healthy in all categories, not just diet or exercise.

What other categories are there to be healthy in? Harmonising your magical chi energy? Perfecting your communion with the voodoo gods?

*Snort of contempt*

I already said getting sunburns were the culprit. You're safe from sun exposure until you exceed your skin's capacity of ressistance. For dark skinned people, the risk of getting sunburns is lower to those who have pale skin. Thus they can endure sun exposure for longer periods of time without being at risk. It's like radioactivity, radioactive material alone is fine, but when it's concentrated to a level your body can't handle, does it become dangerous.

It isn't "like" radioactivity. It IS radioactivity. Specifically radiation on the UV wavelength. Sun-cream blocks this. And saying "it's sun-burn, not the sun" is meaningless - sunburn is caused by over-exposure to UV. What point do you think your argument has?

We vaccinate our children with the disease, which is made up of normal compounds found in the vicinity of mankind. The problem lies when we apply these man-created chemical agents to our bodies.

Vaccinations are developed from refined, laboratory-cultivated growths of the disease agents. Not "normal compounds found in the vicinity of mankind", like gingko, or tiger's liver, or rhino-horn, or whatever other garbage you are peddling.

Nothing can prevent you from catching HIV.

They're called condoms.

In the end. I find that the taoist ideal of duelity is infinite in it`s wisdom, because I live my life with that ideal everywhere I go.

It's nice to have something to believe in. No matter how baseless.

But I will never only rely on one perspective.

There is only one perspective - that which can be demonstrated by the scientific method - by deductive reasoning. Anything else is little more than magic powers.

[Ruin]

Wikipedia is a poor source for acne information. Not much exists to contradict the usual prescribed written garbage we hear on TV, because nobody takes it seriously as a condition.

And where else do you think we should gather our information? Should we rally uneducated back-street homeless and ask them their opinions on the matter? Or should we listen to educated experts in the field who have dedicated their lives to studying the issue. Your choice.

They will get acne yes, but they won't get large painful blemishes all over their face and back. Acne is a part of growing up, but you can control the severity of the condition. I did.

The two are one and the same. If you have no pimples, you have no acne, simple as that.
I also controlled it, I washed and took care of my skin. I ate rubbish and did no exercise.

However it is the only medicine in the world that stress balance above all things. This means you must be healthy in all categories, not just diet or exercise.

Wrong, western practitioners also fully emphasise the need for such balance, especially less mainstream ones, those not qualified as doctors or suchlike, or specialising in such fields. I would prefer to go to a health specialist then a CTM practitioner any day.

I already said getting sunburns were the culprit. You're safe from sun exposure until you exceed your skin's capacity of ressistance. For dark skinned people, the risk of getting sunburns is lower to those who have pale skin. Thus they can endure sun exposure for longer periods of time without being at risk. It's like radioactivity, radioactive material alone is fine, but when it's concentrated to a level your body can't handle, does it become dangerous.

This has actually no basis on what I was saying at all. I was making the point, quite simply, that burning your skin can be prevented using sun screens, and has nothing to do with vitamin D, which is what you were saying.

We vaccinate our children with the disease, which is made up of normal compounds found in the vicinity of mankind. The problem lies when we apply these man-created chemical agents to our bodies.

Why? What harm are they doing?
Normal compounds? Vaccination is done either by using a controlled amount of the virus/bacteria or a dead or harmless strain. This is all done using lab, man made equiptment.

They will be absorbed by your bloodstream, which is then dumped into your liver.

And do nothing...
I work in a pharmacy, I know the ingredients of suncream, even if you were to smear it directly into an open wound they will do you no harm, just maybe sting a little.
No, placing things on your skin does not cause them to be absorbed into your blood stream.
My point on the matter, and something you seem not to appreciate:
Skin is waterproof! That also means that it will not absorb liquids!

The acne medication never worked a tad on me, unless irratating the skin with super hot acid burning agents causing my acne to worsen, was the true purpose? Believe it or not, there are plenty of natural anti-inflamatories found in certain foods. Ginger for example.

Which is one of the many things pharmacies provide for such cases... pharmacies selling exclusively things proven to work by western medicine. Nothing can be sold in a pharmacy before being proven to work.

Nothing can prevent you from catching HIV.

But there are things that can delay it's onset, keep you alive for years after contracting AIDS, CTM wouldn't stand a chance, and the man would likely be dead in weeks. You however failed to answer my second point.

Flour

Present in almost all mainstream meals in some way or another, especially italian food, which in general is good for you.

salt

In moderation is no harm whatsoever.

cheese

Has many elements very good for you. The fat is the only downside here.

ham

Good for your health, packed with proteins and good fats with very little bad effects. You could eat vast amounts of ham with no side effects.

The fat you consume from a pizza is a fat your body doesn't know how to get rid of. Pizza is bad for you, but it isn't as bad as other alternatives.

Do you know anything about dietary elements and their effects on your body at all? There is no such thing as a fat the body cannot get rid of. The liver however is not a perfect machine, and can only process so much at once. Thus indulging in it is bad, otherwise, in moderation not an issue.

The bacteria that grows in your stomach from undigested food, hates oxygen.

Do you have any idea what you're talking about or do you actually make it up on the spot? There are thousands of different bacteria in the gut, many of which are aerobic, and can only live with the help of a plentiful supply of oxygen.

It makes you feel like crap, and stops you from enjoying life, not only that but it's the perfect market to exploit, and boy is it exploited.

Are you one of the type of people that thinks that Bush used FBI agents to hijack the 11/9 flights?

It worked for you because you were lucky. Hygene was your only problem. Next time you see someone with acne, why don't you tell them they need to wash their face?

It wasn't a problem, I am a hygenic person. It just so happens that many just don't have the common sense to actually be more careful when they hit puberty, and end up with horrendous scarring.

Acne is not an ednemic disease because it is a reflection of your overall health. Puberty makes you sick in the sense that a peice of the puzzle is jumbled. Hormones and stress, being the major two factors during puberty, but in some cases there are other culprits. Diet and Exercise.

Absolute rubbish.
Diet has practically no effect on acne at all, there are very few things which will have any effect, one is dairy products, which otherwise are good for you. Exercise also has no effect. Hormone are almost the sole culprit, with stress having small, temporary effects.

Wrong. Acne victims will try anything to cure their affliction. If acne products truely worked, then they wouldn't sell anymore of their products, would they? They get you paying a monthly fee, just like MMO's.

Pharmacies can't sell anything which hasn't been proven to work, on the other hand, CTM shops can sell anything they like. Which is more likely to have working solutions?

It relates to adult acne, but the fundementals still apply. I brought my acne down to perfectly reasonable conditions with his help, and I didn`t even have to buy a book. I`m happy with my situation today, if you want to ignore it though, that`s your choice.

What's quite amusing is that reading through the front page causes, nowhere does it mention exercise something you seems obsessed with making the primary cause of acne. It also places far too much of a focus on the effects of free radicals. A paragraph on radicals:

Some free radicals arise normally during metabolism. Sometimes the body?s immune system?s cells purposefully create them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. However, environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals.
Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age.

You will also note with age acne becomes less common and the main way to prevent damage caused is by eating your fruit and veg, nothing to do with CTM.

In the end. I find that the taoist ideal of duelity is infinite in it`s wisdom, because I live my life with that ideal everywhere I go. (I only said CTM was superior to stimulate discussion.) I think the greater belief is to take the best from both sides, and that is what I do. I consume the Goji, the tea, the ginger, and balance the body, but I do this from a logical western perspective. This stuff won`t cure tumours (we have surgery for that,) but it is an excellent way to go on living life. For tumours, I`ll call to the west. For acne, I`ll call to the east. But I will never only rely on one perspective.

I will rely on the perspective with is the most proven and informed. That just so happens, in terms of medicine, to be overwhelmingly the west.

[Captain Kirk]

I had headaches every day last year. Since then I have balanced my body. Stress, Diet, Exericise, and Mind have all been re-alligned. I have not had a single headache since.

And any good doctor would have told you the same thing. Most injuries are caused by over-exertion

Well Duh. This is like saying exercise won't heal that giant bleeding gash in your leg.

Actually, exercise helps wounds to close up nicely

But, as you said yourself, you obviously don't have a medical degree.

[Basileos Leandros I]

The reason many think acne cannot be cured, is because it is indeed true. You cannot cure acne because it's not a disease, but a reflection on the state of your overall health. Curing acne is like curing obesity. You don't cure it, you get fit.

How can acne be a reflection of your overall health?!?!?!?!?!

I have acne for like 3 years, its annoying me like hell, but now it started to go away slowly. I cannot show the state of my health at all. I never had any major diseases (the most problematic one was a powerful cold which kept me in house for one week, and it happened 5 years ago), I have a balanced diet, I am far from being overweigth (Im 1.80m and 72kg, so im perfectly proportional) and my blood tests always end up being jokingly considered for the Book of Records, because I have normal levels in everything.

So, bust. Acne is the overall condition, pimples are caused by bacteria. But in time as the hormone levels and testosterone levels settle down and your body goes ok, acne dissapears too...

[Chukada1]

How can acne be a reflection of your overall health?!?!?!?!?!

I have acne for like 3 years, its annoying me like hell, but now it started to go away slowly. I cannot show the state of my health at all. I never had any major diseases (the most problematic one was a powerful cold which kept me in house for one week, and it happened 5 years ago), I have a balanced diet, I am far from being overweigth (Im 1.80m and 72kg, so im perfectly proportional) and my blood tests always end up being jokingly considered for the Book of Records, because I have normal levels in everything.

So, bust. Acne is the overall condition, pimples are caused by bacteria. But in time as the hormone levels and testosterone levels settle down and your body goes ok, acne dissapears too...

Your health is more complicated then just being dietry. Your health is mental, physical and hormonal.

I didnt say that it does. I am just saying that in my opinion ginger doesnt count as some form of alternative medicine. Its just healthy to eat it. I dont even think it could actually cure anything so its not even technically medicine. Maybe you didnt even mean that ginger counts as alternative medicine, But i got the impression that you did. In my opinion its more of a form of common sense to eat it then medical, though personally i find ginger disgusting.
Edit: Please dont take this to mean i think that ginger is in some way only a placebo, Im sure it has positive effects, its just not a cure to anything as such, It just may prevent certain diseases. But it isnt medicine.

Sorry I called you a dickwad.

Food is the best medicine. Most of our pills are derived from natural ingredients. If you're having flamatory problems, (which lead to things like acne and infections) ginger is a good way to fight it, as its a natural anti-inflamatory. It's not a cure in any way, it's simply part of the equation. If you consume it not because you're hungry, or want to get big, but because you're trying to calm some part of your body, then it's medicinal.

[Steel of Fury]

Good thread Chukada1. I myself am appalled the way many people resort to medicine over the slightest body inconveniences.

The best cure for the body is a quiet mind. - Napoleon

[chriscase]

I worked as a massage therapist for about 7 years and this is the sort of medical advice you are likely to get from one.

It boils down to the same old good/evil dichotomy.

"Western Medicine"
= "Allopathic Medicine"
...
= Bad

"Anything Else"
= "Chinese Medicine"
= "Holistic Medicine"
= "Alternative Medicine"
= "Ayurvedic Medicine"
= "Traditional Medicine"
= "Herbal Medicine"
...
= Good

Yet if we are seeking holism, why have we brought in, at the core of the discussion, a good/evil duality? Are we really reinventing ourselves, or perhaps we are trotting out the same tired dualism we Westerners have been raised with, and dressing it up in new clothes. One cannot escape one's acculturation by running away from it. It goes with us, wherever we go.