Classic of Difficulties: Difficult Questions in Medicine, Acupuncture, and Beyond

There's more to food than just calories and macros. Figure out how to pick the best diet for you, and how to get ahead of the next big thing.

There are a lot of factors that go into understanding the perfect diet! From social to geographical, economic to cultural, join Dr. James Mohebali as he explores some of these considerations, and helps you understand how to sift through all the contradictory information that's out there about diet. On the way, we take a look at why Italians love tomatoes, how to deal with damp, muggy climates, and whether or not Mexicans are immune to hot chili peppers. Using Feng Shui, terroir, and cultural archeology, we look at some popular diets, like the ketogenic diet, and try to understand what role they can play in healing our chronic diseases and proactively maintaining our health.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Prior "Classic of Difficulties" Episode on "What is the Ideal Diet?"

Excellent Cookbooks to Help Your Search for a Culturally Rooted Cuisine
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "The Food of Sichuan"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province"
Fuchsia Dunlop's "Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China"

Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's "Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking"

Najmieh Batmanglij's "Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Cooking in Iran: Regional Recipes & Kitchen Secrets"
Najmieh Batmanglij's "Joon: Persian Cooking Made Simple"

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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Epistemology is more than a four letter word! How does the WAY we seek truth influence how we see our bodies, and our health?

In an age where science is constantly overturning what we thought we knew about the body, and new theories come out every day trying to explain new phenomena, one theory remains unchallenged. Since 1628, when Harvey published his seminal text on the circulation of blood, we have believed more or less the same thing about the heart. But what if the heart isn't a pump at all? And what if it's time that we update Harvey's ideas? In this installment, Dr. James Mohebali goes to the "heart" of the issue, and examines how our underlying beliefs about what it means to be human can color our understanding of the medicine we use. We take a stroll through epistemology, and see how the seemingly simple question of "how do we know what we know" can completely upend our relationship with our own bodies and with one another. Touching on quantum physics, imaginary plants, Chinese family altars, our relationship to scripture and our ancestors, reiki, biofield therapy, and more, we discover that there's a LOT more at stake in the "heart" question than just what a particular muscle is doing inside your chest.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Vivisection Video — https://youtu.be/n6sTWOU5d6M?t=246
"Classic of Difficulties" on Acupuncture Channels & Scripture (clip from Ep. 3) — https://youtu.be/W2aMndaLqEE
"Classic of Difficulties" Ep. 3 Full — https://youtu.be/uRyUKpB6-gw

"Parallel Botany" by Leo Lionni — https://amzn.to/3gSk1Yf

Flexner Report (PDF) — https://archive.org/details/carnegieflexnerreport
Flexner Report (Print & Kindle) — https://amzn.to/3aOdbPF

Overview of Protagoras' Life and Philosophy — https://iep.utm.edu/protagor/
Plato's "Protagoras", where he disproves Protagoras (Print) — https://amzn.to/3aOdbPF
Plato's "Protagoras" (html) — http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/protagoras.html

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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Three simple laws will change the way you think about food, whether you're keto, vegan, plant-based, carnivore, paleo, or anything in between.

There's a lot of conflicting information out there about what you should be eating. Never before has there been so much knowledge so readily available to so many different people about food. And never before have we had such tremendous accessibility to a seemingly endless variety of foods. But, on the other hand, never before have we seen so much chronic disease, and so much agricultural and chemical manipulation of food. Changing your diet can change your health and your life; but how do we know which changes to make? Starting with the three basic laws that any diet needs to abide by in order to be healthy, Dr. James Mohebali takes us through some very practical, simple steps that you can start using TODAY to change your diet and change your life.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Excellent & Authentic Chinese Cookbooks
Fuschia Dunlop's "Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking"
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's "Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking"

Persian New Year Sabzeh — http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/lentil-sabzeh/
How to Grow Your Own Sprouts —https://blog.thatcleanlife.com/how-to-grow-your-own-sprouts/

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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It's been 400 years of thinking the heart is a pump — isn't it time for a change? Let's look at the evidence, the history, and the way forward.

In an age where science is constantly overturning what we thought we knew about the body, and new theories come out every day trying to explain new phenomena, one theory remains unchallenged. Since 1628, when Harvey published his seminal text on the circulation of blood, we have believed more or less the same thing about the heart. But what if the heart isn't a pump at all? And what if it's time that we update Harvey's ideas? In order to move forward, Dr. James Mohebali tries to lead us through the evidence, and see what the shortcomings of our current understanding are. On the way, we critically examine the practice of empiricism & the idea of conspiracy theories, and discover the implications of and problems associated with holding on tight to our current beliefs. Between Galen, Harvey, Descartes, McDonalds hamburgers, and a father's responsibility to his family, the search for truth leads us to some difficult and deep questions, and hopefully a few answers.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Heart Blood Flow Diagram

Dr. James Mohebali on "Why Are We Talking About Rabbits" Podcast

Harvey's "On The Circulation of Blood"
Descartes' "Discourse on Method"
Dr. Tom Cowan's "Human Heart, Cosmic Heart"

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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In the final episode of this three-part series, Dr. James takes you on a tour through the acupuncture channels. We talk about the primary channels, the extraordinary vessels, and some of the classical channels that have been glossed over in the annals of time. We ask - what is an acupuncture channel anyways? On the way, Plato’s theory of recollection comes up, as well as Daoist meditation and shamanic dancing, and we ask ourselves about the special connection that babies have with their moms, and what that relationship could mean about God.

Babies - they’re cute. But why are they so bad at doing everything? Join Dr. James Mohebali, new dad and doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, as we take a deeply philosophical and unexpectedly practical look at what’s the deal with our favorite tiny humans. And, of course, try to ask some questions about their digestion.
 
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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Acupuncture Channel Chart
Large, Color-Coded Acupuncture Channel Chart

Detailed Pathway of the Stomach Channel

Eight Extraordinary Vessel Pathways, Part 1
Eight Extraordinary Vessel Pathways, Part 2

Detailed Pathway of the Ren Mai

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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In episode two of this three-part series, we talk about the foundations of Chinese medicine. Doing a deep dive into yin and yang, and five element/five phase theory, we run into some deep questions about medical ideas and their relationship to society at large. Charles Darwin makes a reprise, and, spoiler alert, Nazi Germany shows up on the scene.

Babies - they’re cute. But why are they so bad at doing everything? Join Dr. James Mohebali, new dad and doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, as we take a deeply philosophical and unexpectedly practical look at what’s the deal with our favorite tiny humans. And, of course, try to ask some questions about their digestion.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Yin and Yang
Yin Yang Basics
Yin Yang as Time of Day
Yin and Yang as Sine Wave
Original Yin-Yang Symbol (aka Original Tai Ji Tu)

Five Elements/Five Phases
Five Phase Diagram
Five Phase Table of Systematic Correspondences

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Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

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"Classic of Difficulties: Difficult Questions in Medicine, Acupuncture, and Beyond" is a new podcast and YouTube channel by Dr. James Mohebali, doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

We try to ask difficult questions from both a philosophical and a practical perspective about medicine, health, alternative medicine, and everything in between. We hope to deepen the conversation about medicine, taking it beyond the questions of "what's good" and "what's bad," instead trying to figure out what philosophies and assumptions underlie our approaches to medicine, so that we can begin to understand what's really at stake when we think about our health and wellness.

New full episodes uploaded every other Monday morning. Clips and samples from current and upcoming videos uploaded twice a week on YouTube.

Like what you're hearing? 💪Support our channel! 💪

📬 Want to hear about our newest projects? Join our mailing list

🎬 Check us out on YouTube

Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (used under Creative Commons license)

Support the Show.

Babies - they’re cute. But why are they so bad at doing everything? Join Dr. James Mohebali, new dad and doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, as we take a deeply philosophical and unexpectedly practical look at what’s the deal with our favorite tiny humans. And, of course, try to ask some questions about their digestion.

In episode one of this three-part series, we talk Western medicine vs Chinese medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) vs. Classical Chinese medicine, and, of course, Charles Darwin, Human evolution, and baby giraffes.

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COOL STUFF I MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
Why Are We Talking about Rabbits? - Podcast by John Heers and First Things Foundation

📬 Want to hear about our newest projects? Join our mailing list

🎬 Check us out on YouTube

Music Credit:
"Let Yourself Be Huge" - Cloudkicker (under Creative Commons License)

Support the Show.