The Science-Ejected Vitalism of Bridgeport Hospital 2009:

001. Bridgeport Hospital [CT] states in "Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Chinese Medicine":

"traditional Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and has changed little over the centuries [sounds scientific!!!]. As a complete system of healthcare, Chinese medicine's basic concept is that a vital force of life surges through the body (also called qi). Any imbalance to this life force can cause disease and illness, according to Chinese medicine [superstition!]. The imbalance, in turn, is caused by an imbalance in the opposite and complementary forces that make up the life force, called yin and yang. To regain balance, the belief [quite appropriate a label; better yet, 'misbelief'] is that the balance between the internal body organs and the external elements of earth, fire, water, wood, and metal must be adjusted [quite neolithic!]. Treatment to regain balance may involve: acupuncture, moxibustion (the burning of herbal leaves on or near the body), cupping (the use of warmed glass jars to create suction on certain points of the body), massage, herbal remedies, movement and concentration exercises (such as tai chi)."

Note: TCM's essential premise is that physiology is controlled by "vital force of life" = "qi" = "life force" = "yin and yang" = "belief" which their therapies influence.

002. meanwhile, such vitalism is profoundly science-ejected. Qi simply does not exist, never mind influencing it.

Note: why doesn't Bridgeport Hospital mention that [hint: $$$]?

Aren't they therein violating a premise that overarches all of modern medicine: informed consent?

Vitalism's Aliases - Vegetarian Times 2000-05 [Koontz, K. (writer) & Goode, T. (ND CCNH)]:

here, I cite a typical practice in CAM, which includes naturopathy, of equating energy with spirit with prana with chi etc., via a Vegetarian Times (2000) article:

Koontz, K. (? ?) writes in "Breath You Take":

"experts say the majority of us don't even do it correctly [it being 'breathing'!!!]. But if we did, we could vastly [!!!] improve our physical, mental, and spiritual health [huh?!?!?!...] 'breath has been used for 5,000 years as the road to consciousness', says Thomas Goode, N.D. [naturopath, by way of Clayton College of Natural Health...] many cultures associate it with energy and spirit: the Indian prana, the Chinese chi, the Japanese ki, the Greek pneuma, the Latin spiritus and the Hebrew neshamah all refer to the air we breathe, or breath itself, as well as our spirit, soul and life energy and essence [p.074]."

Note: ah, those were simpler times, THOUSANDS of years ago! Science didn't exist, and explanations were so...superstitious!!! [vitalism is superstition].

The equations / habits are typical: like the misuse of the science term 'energy' to describe the supernatural-spiritistic, and those health claims -- as New Age CAMs are wont to do -- are absolutely absurd.

I don't see any science credentials on the author's bio. page.

For the N.D.'s bio. page, click here.

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