Southern Write - Contrarian commentary on issues African and global.

Believe me. Dodgy bark and resin mined from the clutches of the Orient fell well short of anything I had ever deemed to be medicine.

A dreadful human rights record, infamously dirty industrialisation- not to mention a language which makes Greek look mildly appealing. Our Eastern brothers are making their mark. Cocooned in a bubble of medicinal comforts, our country is duped by Western medicine’s numerous limitations. Dreadful side-effects and absurd expenses seldom covered by medical aid schemes are only a the tip of the ice-berg. A manner of psychological medicinal reform is necessitated, the way consumers approach issues of health is in dire need of a shake-up.

Drug companies would far rather keep us alive and milk us dry than actually cure us. A man on the moon, atomic bombs and the internal combustion engine, yet no vaccine for HIV. I am surely not expecting too much. Look not to dictators like Stalin and Amin as mass exterminators, the worst culprits of human suffering are the same capitalist swines we keep in business via the most prolific disease of them all- hypochondria. Otherwise known as psychologically induced illness. Feeling queasy? Tired? Run down? Take this load of BS and we’ll chuck in a month’s worth of true codswallop. The drivel from the likes of Aspen Pharmacare is never-ending, government’s biggest ARV supplier may not be curing HIV but at least the share price is looking good. It makes me sick.

Chinese medicine doctors are financially rewarded when their patients are healthy; would you fire your investment broker when the market is up yet your portfolio is lagging? Of course it would be a consideration. On the other hand, he may well be in line for a bonus if the situation is reversed, why are you not applying this very thinking to your health? Doctors charge obscene amounts for “highly specialised” consultations (rheumatologists ask no less than R850 an hour), profiting from your ill health- these guys should be working around the clock to keep you OUT of their waiting rooms.

Instead of zooming in on specific frailties and treating the effects thereof, a paradigm shift is required.  The root cause is treated holistically. The body is an oil guzzling locomotive, requiring constant maintenance and tweaking- treat yourself via keeping healthy, avoiding the melancholy associated with hypochondriacs and their petty “ailments.” Keeping the body in tune is key, easily achieved by Chinese medicine.

The herbs. Smelly, dry and rather odd looking scraps of vegetable matter.

To say that I was putt-off by the prospect of drinking herb stock for 10 weeks at 600ml a day was putting it rather lightly. 9 weeks later and the results are plain to see, if it works for me it should work for you.

Whatever your qualm, chuck those pills away and visit a Chinese medicine doctor, I have never looked back.

The conservative South African mindset requires a shake-up, immerse yourself in a drastically differing approach- you have nothing to lose besides a narrow-mindset.

• Posted on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
• 6 comments