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Deborah Graefer, L.Ac.
M.T.O.M.
Licensed Acupuncturist, Masters
Traditional Oriental Medicine
Graduating magna cum laude from Pacific College
of Oriental Medicine in San Diego, California in 1994, with a Masters in Traditional Oriental Medicine Debbie was
licensed by the State of California in September of the same year.
Her practice is now devoted almost exclusively
to gallbladder diseases including dietary and supplemental recommendations. She uses natural products from several
reputable companies and is in the process of manufacturing her own formulations specifically for gallbladder health.
Deborah spends her spare time perusing gallbladder and bile research studies and writing newsletters for your enjoyment
and edification. Her interest in gallbladder health was an offshoot of her nutritional studies but more importantly
from personal story that began in her childhood and followed her throughout life, leading her to the study of Chinese
medicine. Here is her story.
"I suffered from stomach aches from
early childhood. Trips to doctors had brought no results and so my mother tried some unorthodox methods such as
food combining which resulted in very strange school lunches but none the less gave me some relief. My symptoms
were general indigestion, feeling of fullness following meals or that food was sitting in my stomach for hours,
pain up high above the stomach, below the ribcage in the center and getting worse throughout the day, keeping me
from being able to fall asleep. The pain could get so severe that I would use a very hot water bottle to help to
relax it and after continual weeks of this I would eventually just stop eating for three days to get relief. Doctors
did all sorts of tests, but never any gallbladder tests. And we tried alternative therapies, many of them.
It wasn't until I was in my early 30s that I found any relief at all and that came with a Chinese formula called
Assimil-aid. I had to take a lot of it to notice a difference at first - 4 capsules before I ate and then if I
felt pain afterwards I would take another 4. But it was so amazing to feel relief from the pain that I didn't care
how many I needed to take. If I kept taking them, the pain would go away. Wow! How could it be that a simple herbal
formula could do what all the medicines couldn't? I began to research all of the herbs in that formula and ended
up enrolling in Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. I suspected that the Chinese knew something that we didn't
know. And how true is that!
What I learned about the formula as I progressed in my studies is that the herbs in that formula are more nutritive
than medicinal containing such things as cinnamon and fennel for example. The formula is designed to nourish the
cells of the digestive system, from the top to bottom, so therefore includes the liver and gallbladder, both small
and large bowel and the stomach. So if the cells are in good shape, healthy and in balance, they will do their
jobs properly, whatever the job of that particular cell is. It might be to produce HCl; it might be to signal more
or less production of Hcl. It may be to secrete more bile; it may be to secrete less bile. It may be to produce
more or less bile. It works on a different principal of most supplements which are generally replacing or taking
over function. For example, taking HCl can be helpful. Wouldn't it be better if one could teach one's body to increase
its own production? And the beauty is that the body knows better than our brains what it needs and when it needs
it. It knows where to send the nutrition, what part of the system is in need of the most help. This is the principal
of regeneration: when the body is fed the proper nutrition in the proper (ie concentrated enough) amounts, it has
the ability to correct its own imbalances.
And Chinese formulas inherently address the emotional aspects of the diseased organ as well. Digestive problems
are often accompanied by stresses of one type or another. Much of that is due to our lifestyles; some due to our
genetic or emotional makeup. Children's "tummy aches" are often connected with some emotion that they
are not able to get in touch with or communicate. Adults are often just in denial of the stress. Addressing the
stress at the same time as the organic problem is the ideal way to treat. "
The links below are to the sites of the places where she has garnered much of her professional knowledge:
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
http://www.pacificcollege.edu/
International Foundation for Nutrition and Health
http://www.ifnh.org/
Functional Blood Chemistry and
Mastering the Thyroid
Datis Kharrazian,
Postgraduate Department, University of Bridgeport
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