Understanding Chinese Medicine & Qi Gong
Vital Health Zone is proud to announce Kay Hutchinson, who is our resident chinese medicine and qi gong expert and who is available to answer all your questions about chinese medicine and alternative health.
Kay has a private practice and is available for distance consultation, via telephone or email.
Kay answers all your chinese medicine and qi gong questions below:
Q: My mother has a lack of haemoglobin in her blood.
Can you please tell me what should she take in meals or drinks to help her replace it?
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A: Low haemoglobin can result in anaemia and may have its roots in many factors including iron deficiency, as well as vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies. Instead of treating symptoms without knowing the cause, I would suggest screening for anaemia and nutritional deficiencies and also rule out organ disease, such as imbalances with either the liver, kidneys or spleen, which can cause low haemoglobin, anaemia and also iron deficiency.
For example, many elders with diabetes have compromised kidneys resulting in low haemoglobin which often manifests as anaemia and iron deficiency. In this case, while supplements can help, it still doesn't help the root cause which lies with the kidneys. Certain types of liver illness can also cause low haemoglobin and anaemia.
Research at Tufts University have shown that older adults might have too much iron in their bodies. So iron supplements are only appropriate if the person has been tested to see if there is truly a deficiency of iron.
The Chinese medicine approach would build the blood with custom tonics that include dang gui, di huang, bai zhu, kidney tonics such as xu duan, rou con rong, fu ling, spleen tonics such as gu ya, shan zha and liver tonics such as go qi zhi (goji berries).
Depending on her medical health and what medications she might be taking, she might be a good candidate to use pre-made herb tablets from Plum Flower or Guan Ci Tang (or other brands certified to be free of heavy metals or impurities) such as Gui Pi Wan or Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan, which are classical formulas for anaemia, low haemoglobin and low iron. Always consult a qualified herbalist to ensure that your mother receives the proper chinese medicine approach for her particular situation.
Please note that the information provided is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Consult with your medical physician regarding appropriateness of using herbs in your healing process.
Contact Kay Hutchinson, CAMQ, CAMT at Aiki Healing today for a consultation for a custom herbal formulation.
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Enjoy better health!
