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How I Healed
Mochi rice, hijiki with garbanzo beans, lightly steamed snow peas, miso soup, and a whole mackerel. I sat down to this meal and felt for the first time, in almost two years, that I was well. My friend from school was there and, looking at this spread, all he said was, “you have a good…
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Evidence of Lack
Modern gastroenterology presents itself as a rigorously evidence-based discipline. In reality, only 13% of its treatment recommendations are supported by what medicine itself classifies as “high quality evidence,” meaning randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In other words, 87% of gastroenterology operates on lower tiers of evidence — expert consensus, clinical experience, observational data, and patient reports. This fact was…
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The Purity of Medicine
In an age of distrust, personal experience becomes king. No one can try everything, so we have to rely on reports from others, often turning to Reddit and other platforms to discuss as much as we can. A loose screening of people takes place in these forums to decide whose words can be trusted and…
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IBS and the McDonald’s of Healthcare
In 2006, Cochrane Reviews put out a systematic analysis of herbal treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I was finishing chinese Medicine school and had entered into an apprenticeship at the time, and that Cochrane review made my future seem so bright. “Now” there is proof that some herbs work for IBS, I thought, published…
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Stopping By Going
I cannot forget a patient from 2008 who I almost refused to help. What would you think, if a patient came to you explaining that he has terrible, uncontrollable diarrhea, but only when he crosses the threshold of his front door to go outside? In other words, he has no problem at all, when he…
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War between paragraphs and words
Through obscure communications, Paragraphs formed a partnership with Symbols. This was for the purpose of mobilization. Within weeks, Paragraphs declared war on Words. Being Symbols themselves, this placed Letters under great strain. They refused the battlefield and held to neutrality, unwilling to take sides in a conflict they helped make possible. A quieter alliance formed…
