Differences
The Major Differences Between Chinese Medicine And Western Medicine
The Major Differences Between Chinese Medicine And Western Medicine
Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau Chinese medicine is one of the most sophisticated medical systems in the world. It has been enhanced through thousands of years of experience and research. Its unique difference from Western medicine is that it focuses on “health” rather than on “healing” because Chinese medicine promotes overall wellness of an individual, as opposed to the approach of Western medicine in treating the symptoms of an illness. As a matter of fact, in ancient China, a physician would not be remunerated for treating his patient who had fallen ill, because it was his first duty to keep his patient from illness. Essentially, Chinese medicine is “heal-all”, while Western medicine is “cure-all.” Another major difference between Chinese medicine and Western medicine is that Chinese medicine focuses on plants as remedies. Plants are essential to life. In fact, nearly all the food you eat comes from plants or animals who eat plants. Accordingly, to the Chinese, plants enhance health. In Chinese medicine, the number of plants used as medicines is greater than the number of plants for food. In Chinese medicine, there is not much distinction between a food and a medicine. Even thousands of years before Christ, the Chinese believed that every single plant on earth has its specific function in the well-being of an individual. For this reason, Chinese physicians have always been on the lookout for a remedy in any herbal plant. Not until recent decades and the opening of China to the Western world, little of traditional Chinese medicine was known to the Western medical community. Initially, Western doctors and scientists were skeptical of the potency of Chinese medicine, which is based on herbal cures and remedies. This is not surprising because in the beginning of the 20th century, Western medical science had dismissed even traditional Western plant remedies as folklore medicine – concoctions only for grandmothers but not for professionally trained doctors. With the emergence of the pharmaceutical industry, Western scientists began to focus almost exclusively on chemical drugs to treat different diseases with different symptoms. A case in point is human cancer. In the early 20th century, cancer was relatively unknown, but the number of cancer cases soon began to explode exponentially. With the growth of the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry and the need to validate the potency of these chemical drugs, more research studies have to be conducted. Given that Western medicine aims at treating the symptoms rather than eradicating the causes of a disease, and that chemical drugs often generate many adverse side effects, more new chemical drugs have to be developed to treat those new symptoms. Until fairly recently, after many years of concern at the pervasive side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, is there an interest in Chinese herbal remedies and medicinal foods. Such plants include aloes, garlic, feverfew, and licorice, among others. Another major difference between Chinese medicine and Western medicine is that Chinese medicine often incorporates Western medicine into the medical system. For example, in Beijing hospitals, a doctor may carry out surgery in the Western manner with state-of-the-art equipment, while the anesthetist may use acupuncture and herbal preparations for preoperative and postoperative treatments. The Chinese are using the best from over four thousand years of experience to complement Western medicine. Results have proved that traditional Chinese medicine works even though it may not always conform to the current Western scientific theories. According to the Okinawa Centenarian Study, Okinawa, Japan, and Hong Kong are the top three areas of the world in life expectancy. They all share an important common characteristic of incorporating both Eastern and Western approaches to healing in their health care systems. The use of natural or herbal tonics in these populations far exceeds that of North America. Get the best of both Chinese and Western medicine so that they complement each other to give you the best health to enable you to become younger and healthier for longer.
Stephen Lau is a researcher and writer. He has recently published a 300-page e-book entitled “YOUNGER AND HEALTHIER FOR LONGER – A Handbook for Both Men and Women” which focuses on the physical, the mental, the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual aspects of the SELF to attain anti-aging and longevity. For more information on how to become younger and healthier for longer, go to: http://www.youngerandhealthierforlonger.com
The Differences Between Cosmetic And General Dentistry
The Differences Between Cosmetic And General Dentistry
To read about both types of dentistry, and the difference between them, please enjoy the following article.
While some say going to the dentist is never fun, others would disagree. This could be due to the fact that there are a lot of dentists out there, and many sorts of services they offer. What you may know about dentistry could be solely general dentist work, but there is a whole other specialty within that world: cosmetic dentistry. Not all dentists perform cosmetic dentistry, as not all dentists can. To read about both types of dentistry, and the difference between them, please enjoy the following article.
General Dentistry:
General dentist can take care of all your basic tooth repairs and cleaning. This includes removing cavities, fillings, caps, braces, root canals, bridges, and many others. To be a general dentist you have to have an education and a license to do dental work. However, general dentist training doesn’t prepare a dentist for additional cosmetic treatments that they may or may not teach them in school.
Cosmetic Dentistry:
Cosmetic dentistry is not for pain or cleaning, but for appearance and glamour. You would see a cosmetic dentist if you were looking to get veneers, dental bonding, caps, teeth whitening, etc… To achieve this sort of expertise, a cosmetic dentist has additional training that not all general dentists do. They are usually also trained to do general dentistry, and offer cosmetic dentistry as well.
The Difference:
While general dentistry is more about tooth pain and functionality, cosmetic dentistry is more based on the appearance of the teeth. Some general dentists may boast they are also cosmetic dentists, but in fact they are not. This is because cosmetic dentistry, although certainly a skill, is not a legally recognized specialty. Due to this, cosmetic dentistry does not get the sort of reputation it deserves. On the other hand, some people who do not require cosmetic services prefer to see a dentist who deals exclusively with similar clients.
We know going to the dentist isn’t your favorite thing, but at Caring Dentistry of San Rafael we make visiting a more pleasant experience than you’ve ever imagined!