Acupuncture, Herbal Mixture and Chinese Medicine for Headaches

Master butcher and innkeeper Dodel is very skeptical when he first touches the Far Eastern herbal mixture that Prof. Mao has prescribed for him in addition to acupuncture. After a few days of treatment, the robust man is convinced that Traditional Chinese Medicine relieves his constant headaches, but the bills for the ""medicine,"" which his health insurance company refuses to cover, are now causing him quite a headache.

Herbal medicine is, alongside acupuncture, the most important treatment method in TCM. In China, doctors have access to over a thousand herbs. In German pharmacies, you can usually only find about a dozen teas. In Ottobeuren, however, 250 varieties of herbs are already offered. Prof. Mao and Dr. He have not yet adjusted to life as widowers in Ottobeuren. Full of longing, Dr. He tells us about his experiences. He tells him about his wife, who is waiting for him in Nanking. He hopes she will come to visit, so he can show her Germany and the beautiful Allgäu region.

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Traditional Chinese Medicine is a Far Eastern healing art whose roots go back around 10,000 years. It has been documented in writing for about 2,000 years. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the principle of yin and yang, the oldest concept in Chinese philosophy. Yin and yang represent opposing principles or forces that complement each other. When yin and yang are balanced in the body, qi, the life energy, can flow. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, people become ill when qi cannot flow. Along with acupuncture, herbal medicine is the most important treatment method in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Original title: Yin and Yang in the Allgäu | Episode 3 - Bitter Medicine

A documentary series by Adolf Grimme Award winner Andreas Pichler
© filmtank Hamburg in collaboration with ARTE