How does it work
Researchers have long touted the health benefits of Chinese herbal medicine. “Western medicine relies on scientific measurements to determine the problem, and then it provides remedies that are supposed to overcome that particular effect. Eastern medicine, on other hand, looks at the whole patient, seeking imbalances in the system rather than focusing on disease,” says Randine Lewis, Ph.D., author of “The Infertility Cure”.
Most hormonal imbalances respond to this traditional Asian method of treatment. Many patients who have been diagnosed with high FSH level, luteal phase defect, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, or who have gone through months or years of trying to get pregnant using assistant reproductive technology (ART) can be helped by complementary treatments like Chinese herbal medicine. People quite often come to us, and other acupuncturists, as a last resort, after everything else they’ve tried has failed. They become believers when they achieve a successful pregnancy, and then they become more open to traditional Chinese medicine as a whole-body prevention approach to health and well-being.
Today patients and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in this age-old healing technique for fertility issues, women’s concerns and general health. Traditional Chinese medicine has been shown to enhance hormone regulation and regular menstrual cycles, protect the fragile embryo, reduce stress and strengthen the immune system. Consider these recent findings:
Hormone Balancing
Abnormal male and female hormone levels affect up to 90 percent of women with irregular menstrual cycles and infertility. Clinical observation in Shanghai, China of patients whose ovaries were not producing eggs showed that, at a highly effective rate, after receiving a series of herbal treatments their ovaries began producing eggs. These results suggest that Chinese herbal treatment may regulate the function of our hormonal systems which means that acupuncture could influence some gene expression in the brain, normalizing secretion of some hormones, such as GnRH, LH and E2.
Chinese herbs affect many different parts of the reproductive cycle by triggering the body’s own natural processes to work better. For instance, they trigger the hypothalamus and pituitary to release hormones that stimulate the timely production of FSH and LH, two necessary hormones in preparing for ovulation.
Eggs and sperm become less healthy and of poorer quality as we age – thus women have a diminished ability to conceive. Experience has shown that if the hormonal system is in perfect working order and a woman has clockwork menstrual cycles, a healthy egg can be released on time. It then has a good chance of becoming fertilized, implanting, and making it through embryologic development to become a child. Chinese herbal therapy may help. Dr. Liu’s formulas contain the finest ingredients carefully designed and blended to be effective and synergistically balanced.
Protection of Embryo
Chinese herbal medicine appears to improve the lining of the uterus, the place where the embryo becomes embedded after conception. So herbal therapy can improve implantation and prevent some of the risk of miscarriage.
Reproductive endocrinologists have recognized that immunologic factors play a key role in habitual miscarriages. One study has shown that the process of conception and pregnancy involves a supression of the T-helper immune response so that the woman can carry the fetus to term. A 2001 study at Fudan University in Shanghai found that herbal medicine could inhibit specific immune injury, reprogram the immune system to not react to self-issue, allow the normal suppression involved in implantation to occur, and therefore to protect the women who carry children to term.
Stress Relief
Stress and the brain play an important role in fertility, because stress can prevent a woman from ovulating entirely, while a lack of stress often promotes fertility. This trend explains why women under extreme stress often stop menstruating, and why couples often conceive while on a cruise or other relaxing holidays. Chinese herbal medicine is proven to reduce stress and relax the body. Different study findings suggest that simply using herbal therapy can be as effective for relieving depression symptoms as the psychotherapy and drugs typically used in conventional therapies. Perhaps it is why Chinese herbs can help ART patients go through their procedure smoothly.
Interested?
If you would like to add Chinese herbal medicine to your infertility treatment program, please consider the following:
1. Choose our personalized herbal program.
With assistance of the experienced, qualified herbal practitioner, You will recieve:
(1) a FREE health evaluation in the view of traditional Chinese medicine (Step 1);
(2) a month of individualized herbal supplement (four bottles of herbal capsules).
Total $128 plus $5.95 shipping fee (Step 2);
(3) A Free re-evaluation after you complete the herbal supplement (Step 3).
It is important to know that everyone has different health condition. No two persons have the same body nature. The herbalist‘s experience and specialty skills to understand your fertility condition and body nature is the key to success.
2. Plan for long-term improvement
Herbs usually act gently and slowly. In pharmacological terms, herbs are said to have a long onset of action. It takes a minimum of three cycles to do the regulating and balancing work. If a woman is over 30 years old and has used birth control pills for many years or had ART procedures, elevated FSH, luteal phase defect, polycystic ovaries, endometriosis and sperm antibodies, then it usually takes longer to balance her reproductive system.
3. Modify your eating habits and lifestyle
Proper diet and lifestyle are just as important for women as for men. Eat well, exercise and supplement your diet with a natural, high-potency multivitamin and minerals.
Bibliography
1. Cai, L. R., Study on preventive and therapeutic effect of tonic and circulating formula on premature ovarian failure model. Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 21, 2, 2001
2. Guo, W.M., Comparative study on Regulation patterns of tonic and circulating formula on T-cell apoptosis related gene expression in aged rats. Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 22, 3, 2002
3. Chang, R., Role of acupuncture in the treatment of female infertility, Fertility and Sterility 78, 6: 2002