 So people seem to think that traditional Chinese medicine is somehow the same as natural medicine Whatever that really means. I'm not quite so sure and people seem to be confused about what's the difference between seeing a Chinese medicine doctor versus any other practitioner of essentially alternative medicine Well in this video, I want to share the very big differences between traditional Chinese medicine or a Chinese medicine doctor and other types of alternative medicine or natural medicine Hey, I'm Alex Hein author of the book master the day current doctoral student in traditional or classical Chinese medicine Now I've included a free infographic It's the first link in the description on the five daily practices to add ten years to your life with traditional Chinese medicine So you can click that link in the first description to check it out so the first difference between traditional Chinese medicine or seeing a Chinese medicine doctor versus any other kind of alternative medicine is The traditional Chinese medical theory, which is very very different. So for example You could have a physical therapist do dry needling, which is basically just needling trigger points on the body You could have an Ayurvedic doctor give you herbs You could have a naturopathic physician give you herbs the difference is that the theory behind giving those things for example in Chinese medicine Needles herbs lifestyle meditation all of these are designed to treat specific patterns and all of them Apply to one pattern whereas for example, you know a naturopath may give you an herb for this and her for that and her for that a Different lifestyle modification for this in Chinese medicine You treat the whole pattern with the acupuncture the herbs and the other lifestyle advice It's all moving in the same direction Working towards this common goal now to be clear any great and skilled physician will tackle treating your whole life They'll treat the bigger picture of course But what I find more often than not is that many other practitioners tend to focus on more symptomatic relief or Tend to focus on very specific and narrow targeted forms of treatment So for example, we call it green medicine where for example, if a physician that's a natural doctor Ends up treating a condition just the way a conventional allopathic doctor would but they're just using an herb It's the same kind of biomedical thinking to treat the problem and is not really a difference in terms of the way you're approaching illness and health The second thing is the way that traditional Chinese medicine uses herbal formulas So for example Traditional Chinese medicine is the most advanced herbalism on the planet the the level the depth the specificity Chinese herbal formulas are like sniper bullets. They're so specific to the patient so micro-customized to the situation They're humbling in the level of just sophistication behind them and the thousands of years of Physicians writing commentary after commentary Saying we should modify this we should change that this has been my experience. This works. This doesn't work I mean it truly is humbling that in this modern era. We still have their their Experience their clinical experience now in Chinese medicine, for example, you know If you go to a conventional doctor, or even maybe a naturopathic doctor, you may find that let's say you have hot flashes You feel agitated You're having some issues with digestion some sleep issues You may get a different supplement for each one of those things if you see a Naturopathic doctor a natural doctor as well in Chinese medicine though That is a pattern that we recognize instantly and so you'd be given one herbal formula that's very customized Specifically for that pattern that these physicians noted over thousands of years And so you're getting a very specific formula that's really really stood the test of time and is incredibly customized to you As opposed to giving you all these miscellaneous pieces for all these miscellaneous symptoms So you don't need 10 different medicines these ancient physicians were smart enough to see that this pattern is all related The final difference is you have traditional Chinese medicines philosophy of health disease and healing Now for example in Chinese medicine health is all about flow So let's say for example you read a study and it says coffee is good for you You should drink more coffee But when you drink the coffee in the morning, you start to get indigestion as the reflux and in your head you're like But the coffee is good for me my doctor said it's good for me The study says it's good for me and yet the body is clearly showing Pathology it's showing illness because that symptom really is the precursor to illness in Chinese medicine We always trust the intelligence of the body which humans have made it thus far We've made it millions of years and as the modern form of somewhat human hundreds of thousands of years and trust me We didn't do it by listening to studies We did it by following the intelligence of the body, which is how all all organisms on life evolve and survive That kind of bodily intuition is what teaches an organism what to do what not to do in the absence of rational analyzing and double-blind placebo studies Chinese medicine is about flow So if coffee despite being proven to be good for you and lower your cancer risk is giving you indigestion It's not good for you That's something you in your unique constitution should avoid or should minimize So these are just a couple of the ways that the Chinese medical philosophy is different from other forms of what's called natural medicine And I hope that provides some insight into how we think how we think differently Because it really is very different in the way that we approach illness and we approach disease So I hope that helps don't forget. I've included that free download five daily habits to add ten years to your life With traditional Chinese medicine. It's the first link right there in the description box Otherwise you can check out my last two videos right there and right there