At first, I did the rounds of doctors, the general practitioner. He told me that my labs looked fine, but to eat more oatmeal in the morning to see how I felt. My dietician in the doctor’s office told me that I was incredibly thin, and maybe to try eating more “bran” in my meals. That night, I woke up so severely bloated that I was up all night with abdominal pain.

The GI specialist was the least useful – he talked to me for two minutes, recommended a colonoscopy, an antidepressant, said I had “IBS” and sent me on my way.

It left me wondering – I know these doctors are doing their best to help me, but I don’t want medications for life, or surgery. Is this the best that modern medicine can do?

It seemed a bit pathetic, to be honest. But I was still in pain.

A chance encounter with an acupuncturist was all I needed. A simple herbal formula he gave me (not even as an herbal specialist) gave me the most regular bowel function in 28 years of life. My entire life.

I was shocked, impressed, and hooked.

The next year, I booked a one-way ticket to China to learn from mystics, monks, doctors, and healers. Anything that could help.

Another trip I had taken was to a remote part of Sichuan province, where I stayed with medical mentors, monks, and studied Chinese medicine with local doctors. Here’s a picture participating in a local religious ceremony at the monastery (outside of Chengdu, Sichuan Province):

One particular conversation with a monk who was trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine stuck with me, when I asked her about my issues.

She said something simple, that was philosophical. This is my rough translation:

“Seek lots of movement with the physical body; but keep a settled and quiet heart. Strengthen the constitution with medicinal herbs, the right lifestyle, and these Qigong practices, and you’ll live a long time.”

More time in Asia showed me that there are three pillars of healing in East-Asian forms of medicine:

1. Qigong, breathwork and somatic / energetic practices

2. Traditional Herbal formulas

3. Acupuncture

And in asia, even Physicians (MDs and pharmacists) use many of these as a FIRST-LINE treatment for both acute (serious) and chronic diseases.

So why don’t we in America?

This became my quest to understand.

Let’s be clear, there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with medication, surgery, or invasive procedures. But they typically do not fix the problem.

Truth #1: If you have a chronic health issue, modern medicine is not designed to heal – only treat symptoms.

Look, frankly, some illnesses will require medication for life. Surgery can be life-saving. I would not want to live in a world without the modern ER diagnostic equipment.

But most of the illnesses today of people in the developed world are chronic, which means that medication is mostly prescribed for life. Don’t believe me? Look at this list:

How many people do you know on medications for these… for a DECADE? A lot.

Truth #2: The root cause is (almost) never fixed by conventional medicine.

Now, medicine is fine to take.

It’s especially good at dealing with symptoms. But if you think being sick is bad, imagine GUARANTEEING you are still sick 10 years later, or still have clinical depression 10 years later, because the root cause was never fixed?

Truth #3: For many (not all) chronic issues today, practices from Traditional Chinese Medicine can treat the symptoms and the root – and there’s scientific evidence for it.

These aren’t just the ramblings of some armchair philosopher/alchemist. I have a private medical practice in Los Angeles. I’m not some random guy who reads books and teaches, I’ve spent $250,000+ (Yes, the price of an M.D.), 4+ years in a Doctoral program, and see hundreds of patients each month.

But don’t take my word for it, check out this case study of a patient of mine: Julie.