You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: Chinese Pseudoscience: Is there any proof of Qi Energy?
We have studied it... extensively. In fact after 3,000 large and in depth studies on acupuncture , groups started to call for the research to be stopped because after so many thousands, not a single strip of eviidence reliably concludes it's more than just a placebo. I'dd say 3,000 is plenty...
Anyone who calls for research to be stopped has issues. There are tens of thousands of practitioners in this country alone - never mind in China. Your Big Pharma buddies are the ones doing the 'research'. No wonder it was inconclusive
Eh... Before you start defending your already established position before you even read this, perhaps you should read this post, but also make sure to read the entire series that this is only the most recent episode on. I've delved into the research and the practices for months now in great depth. It's not inconclusive.
Groups are calling research to be stopped because its a literal waste of financial resources. Would you want research to continue on how many eyes humans have? I assume not, because it's already pretty well establishedd that a regular healthy human has 2 eyes. Or maybe you're a proponent of the third, mind's eye and suggest we research that, too.
To be helpful, I'll start you off:
The history of TCM and acupuncture: Chinese scholars and emperors for thousands of years have written it off as nonsense, only brought back during the Mao Zedong era for political reasons
Looking at some of the actual research into acupuncture, in which poking people with toothpicks was proven just as effective as 'real' acupuncture, but also acupuncture in random spots around the body was just as effective as in 'qi points'
Animals worldwide being rendered extinct for their horns and other sources of keratin that apparently have hundreds of health effects, despite keratin just being fingernail material
How TCM is dangerous and full of corrupt lies that go unchecked despite extreme and perpetual bias
How, even if TCM was legit, the industry is so corrupt and unfiltered that you are likely consuming a random concoction of poisons and other unrelated toppings worldwide
Adding the mysticism of Qi doesn't justify the mass and constant failings of their medical practices, I'm afraid. Saying we just can't detect it yet doesn't negate any of the above, all of which are built entirely on the philosophy of Qi
I can see your point, but you have to admit that health insurance companies paying for acupuncture says a great deal about whether or not it works in practice.
An excellent book on this subject is called Spark in the Machine, written by a western practitioner who also does acupuncture. After successfully treating ER patients with needles he was asked by his superiors to stop because they were afraid he'd undermine confidence in the western treatments.
I have been treated with needles, both successfully and not. I was impressed how well it worked, so I started borrowing books from my practitioner to find out why it worked. Most of them were a joke, but Spark in the Machine discusses the piezoelectric properties of the collagen component of the organic fascia tissue. It's a breakthrough idea that deserves more attention. It even explains why our facial bones (and others) develop the way they do, and it explains why motion therapy can be so beneficial.
The book also mentions how Mao decided to lump acupuncture in with TCM where it had been a separate discipline in the past. TCM is an institution now and you're right - it shouldn't be blindly trusted because it's managed for profit.
Nor should it be coarsely dismissed. All the really effective drugs we have are analogs of naturally occurring treatments. Aspririn, SSRIs and opiates wouldn't exist without Willow trees, St. John's Wart and poppy flowers.
Spark in the Machine follows the course of a single human ovum cell dividing into two, then four cells before eventually producing cells that distinguish themselves (bone cells vs skin cells vs muscle cells) from each other in order to shed light on the unseen aspects of our biology as an introduction to Qi.
The piezoelectric quality of collagen, which is a major component of the organic fascia tissue is likely affected by the needles in a way that stimulates healthy cell functions, and that's the best explanation I've seen for why acupuncture works. If research scientists can't corroborate this effect - its because they don't really want to