The comparison of Eastern and Western medicine

The comparison of Eastern and Western medicine

European people are used to taking medication with no good reason at all. Doctors approve of this kind of behavior, as the majority of them believe in the power of medication and do not seek for the help of complementary medicine.

Surely, traditional medicine is able to do a lot. Nobody doubts that. But we use different kinds of medication too often and with no good reason, and so we harm our organisms. It causes allergies, dysbacteriosis, different unwanted side effects, even anaphylactic shock, also people get used or even addicted to medication.

We tend to think that medication influences some concrete disorder chain as "patch" makers. So widely used chemical medication in the Western medicine does not affect directly the cause of the disease, except the antibacterial preparations and not many other kinds of medication. Symptomatic treatment with medication does not eliminate the cause of the disease, only stimulates the further progress of a disease and makes the process chronic.

Recently developed countries have been actively looking for alternative healthcare methods. Obviously in this field the leader's position is taken by Eastern medicine methods and measures, among which Chinese medicine and its main constituent, Tibet medicine, are the most important parts.

Five thousand years old history of Chinese medicine has proved its implementation possibilities and usefulness not only to the Chinese, but also to all the people on the planet. In the last decades the importance of the treatment has been confirmed by the wonderful biologically active supplements that have appeared in China from Chinese cordyceps and other fungi - adaptogenas, which have no side effects, and are equal to our good usual medicines in their effect.

It is not easy to change our attitude to Eastern medicine and notice their obvious advantages compared to Western medicine. This is why we would like to break the ice of distrust towards the complementary medicine.

One has to accept the fact that Eastern medicine has existed since very old times. It is even more appropriate than Western medicine, because instead of chemical medication, biologically active supplements are used, they are not dangerous, regulate harmoniously the functions of different organs and all the systems of human organism, tune up links among them, modulate the immune and energy condition.


World Health Organization (WHO) specialists have prepared program to integrate the folk medicine into the systems of health care. The goal is to keep the authenticity of folk medicine practice, to prove the efficiency and safety.

"There is no point in idealizing Chinese medicine, and presuming that it does not need certain achievements of Western medicine, says Elvina Naumova, the director of the institute of Russian Phytopharmacology and preventive medicine. Acute inflammatory processes, diseases that typically require surgical treatment or other extreme treatment, with a view to save a human life - in these cases Western medicine is far more advanced. But we deal much worse with chronic and systematic diseases, which are considered incurable. In this case Chinese medicine can offer what we lack. The synergy of Eastern and Western medicine may become very effective when curing the modern diseases such as cancer or HIV".

The example of this unique union is health care system in China, where folk and modern medicines exist as equal partners. Curative remedies developed according to ancient formulas from natural ingredients are approved by experiments and clinical trials, certified and are produced at plants, and doctors at medical education institutions are trained to traditional treatment practices.

Official Western medicine gradually acquires the positive experience: WHO recognized acupuncture long ago, in this way having enriched the arsenal of measures intended to treat the nervous system and pains. Some of the curative preparations are confirmed by clinical trails, and are appreciated by doctors.

The integral attitude to medicine is becoming the most necessary and perspective. The fact that the East and West come closer together and the cooperation of the two cultures provides us with the uniform understanding of the world, which is the highest value not only in the Chinese but in the whole world's philosophy.

It is great that the right appreciation and care is given to Eastern medicine's integration into the official medicine of Lithuania. In this respect a great contribution of academician Jurgis Brėdikis should be mentioned. On his own initiative a course of basic Eastern medicine was started to deliver at Kaunas Medical University. Currently a lot of attention is given to teaching Eastern medicine methods to certificated doctors and to practical use.

WHO has prepared a document "Traditional medicine strategy", where it is indicated that after a huge long term research a large advantage of folk medicine was recognized in comparison to allopathic medicine: it is cheaper, more effective, and has a considerably smaller side effect... A goal to integrate folk medicine into the health care system is set.

China has one of the richest and mostly developed systems of medicine knowledge, which was recognized as an asset of the whole humankind by World Health Organization. 

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Source of the above information: Recent Achievements of Ancient Medicine by Prof. Dr. Arkadijus Gamperis,
Medical Doctor and Professor of Oriental Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania - ISBN 978-609-95273-3-8