Inspire the West with Ancient Wisdom
年輕中醫懸壺濟西洋

As one walks into the Evergrace Chinese Medical Clinic, you will not see the traditional Chinese herbal medicine lined up against the white walls in glass jars, neither will you smell the various ingredients the moment you step in. Instead, you will see a clean, modern clinic, walls painted in light brown, lined with Chinese calligraphy paintings of famous mountains, bottles of Chinese herbal elements made into powder form. As Ryan suggested the modern powder medicine will help the doctor to know the exact measurement and able to get the best essence out of the medicine itself as a lot of the goodness maybe lost through the traditional method of Chinese medicine making where it had to be boiled for a long period of time.

Ryan Ho, is one of the youngest Chinese Medical doctor I have met, and leads me to wonder how a young adult like him decided to an ancient Chinese profession. “Actually, my real dream was to become an author, writing novels about the love stories of ordinary people finding love as they go on their daily life. I still have that dream, but it may happen later in my life with more experiences and stories.” Ryan is from a line of great Chinese medical doctors, where his grandfather gained his knowledge from a Chinese monk as a child, and practiced wu shu at the same time. His grandfather later passed this unique medicinal philosophy to Ryan’s father, eventually practicing in Hong Kong and China.

Ryan moved to Toronto where he came to study during his teen years. At the time, both him and his mother would get sick a lot, so he experimented at home with his limited knowledge from helping out at his father’s clinic as a kid. It was the start of his new career path before he knew it. After high school, Ryan went back to Guang Zhou to study five years of Chinese medicine. “I did not really know what I want to become at the time, but as I was searching and exploring my life direction, I find that my grandfather actually influenced me a lot. Even though he has passed away a month before I was born, the books and literature which recorded his philosophy about Chinese medicine impact me to this day. He showed me the depth of the Chinese history and culture, modern day Chinese Medicine, our understanding of how the human body works and the way we practice may only capture twenty percent of the true essence.”

“After I graduated and moved back to Toronto, one of the first clinics that I started to practice at was in Chinatown. I still remember the first customer I had, who was diabetic but also faced depression. He came to see me about his eye problems. When the patient first came in, he thought I was a store clerk, and showed a lot of doubts because I looked too young to be doctor. But as we talked, I was able to not only prescribe him the medicine that which helped with his pain, I was also able to have a great conversation about life and how to live a healthier lifestyle. This led to the start of our friendship.” During that period, even with small client base and spending a lot of time waiting, Ryan was able to garner research and create relationships with the clients that he saw.

Even today, six months into the opening of his own institution, he still faces the biases of being a young doctor, but Ryan’s dedication to Chinese medicine and its positive results are starting to win the people over, holding a great reputation through word of mouth.

“I want people in the Western culture to understand that Chinese medicine is not only about taking away your pain or problems, but to teach and educate the holistic approach of having a healthy body through what we eat, rest, and exercise. People may think that it is not “scientific” as there are not enough research done on the usage and effects of the herald medicine.

“I have to admit that sometimes when specific Chinese words, terms or concepts are translated into English, it may loses its original meaning and often is misunderstood. One of my goals is to let people understand the richness and practicality of Chinese medicine as it helps us build up our own body’s system, let it be strong, self-sufficient and it will take care of itself. One of the advantages of being a young Chinese doctor, is being able to relate to the younger generation and to explain in plain terms the advantages of ancient Chinese medicine in the world they live in. In my understanding of both the Eastern traditional practices from my grandfather’s work combined with our Canadian health continuous living style, the Chinese Medicine field can be promoted and be understood for generations to come.”

以上是檢查健康狀況的基本法則。能夠乎合以上幾項的人寥寥可數，無論是生活節奏急速的亞洲地區，或是朝十晚四的加拿大人，在這個聲色犬馬的世代，要飲食清淡，「日出而作,日入而息」真的不容易，更莫説「恬靜虛無，真氣從之，精神內守」如此神仙一般的生活。或許我們可以退一步，「不求健康，但求無病」。好像很矛盾的八個字，但似乎這正是現代人的追求。

人類在地球上數百萬年，身體擁有強大的自我調節機能，當出現以下訊號，其實是身體響起警號。如果你習慣每天觀察自己的身體狀況，聆聽裡面的聲音，你會更了解自己。在你吃炸雞前、熬夜前先評估自己的身體狀態，就不至於失衡：

1. 起床後，口苦口乾（肝膽有熱，忌煙酒和夜睡）
2. 胃口差（消化功能減弱，不要勉強進食，容易消化為主）
3 .怕冷（陽氣不足，忌生冷食物，注意頸部保暖，因為頸部是人體的冷暖調節系統）
4. 舌苔變厚，變黃（習慣早上觀察舌苔，變厚變黃反映脾胃有熱，要更加注意飲食）
5. 大便黏，沖馬桶不乾淨（大腸濕熱，忌濃味食物和酒精，注意休息,睡覺最重要）
中草藥和飲食都可以調整身體的失衡狀態。不同的是，草藥有更大的偏性，而食物的偏性相對較少。

何謂偏性？可以這樣理解：喝一口熱水，身體會變暖一點(+0.1)；喝一口冰水，身體會變冷一點(-0.1)。飯的偏性是0的話，西瓜就是-10。烹調方法、產地、不同時間進食，食物作用於人體的偏性都會改變。偏性越大，越容易導致身體失去平衡。當然，中醫不是數學，比喻只能作為參考。

簡單來説，中醫就是根據這樣基本的陰陽法則，發展出一套完善的診治方法。

注重健康的你，只需要學會評估自己的身體狀況，便可活得有型而不失健康。