Dr. Angelica Kokkalis, O.M.D L.Ac.

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel, LIVESMART, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY, 7, 2007

Acupuncture, internal med­icine, anesthesiology and even surgery were practiced in China, centuries before the rest of the world. As long ago as 2600 B.C. the study of the human body became a sophis­ticated science. The body parts and systems were identi­fied, as were the herbs that could best nourish each part and each system of the body.

Angelica Kokkalis is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.

The Chinese believed in an extensive communication sys­tem whereby body parts and systems were interconnected with meridians, through which energy and communication could flow. Fine needles, grouped in specific combina­tions, were expertly inserted into some of the eight hundred points of the body’s vast energy network. These are connective points along the meridians or channels moving the energy flow, or Qi “Chee,” in the body and its systems. One’s total wellness is physical, mental and spiritual. This approach to health seems mysterious to much of the world, but it’s been proven effective through thou­sands of years of Chinese expe­rience. Doctors were rewarded for keeping patients healthy.

During China’s first 3,000 years, in a period known as the golden age of China, more than 161,000 pieces of data were recorded. Only 36 of these entries made any reference to disease. Utilizing nature to replenish the body and letting, the body function as it was. designed is appropriately called the philosophy of regeneration — “Life replenishing life.”

A healthy body and a healthy mind brought peace, harmony and productivity. China’s golden years brought forth one of the greatest civi­lizations to ever populate the globe. A healthy nation of pro­gressive people achieved great heights in agriculture, engi­neering, industry, education and health. The Chinese made discoveries thousand of years before the western world. Iron was cast in China centuries before others learned the art. Lacquer, paper, porcelain and even matches and the umbrella were discovered centuries before other civilizations. As with many great civilizations health, prosperity and progress seemingly can not last forever. Eventually contingence and greed culminate in distraction.

For China, the peace and harmony of one of the world’s greatest civilizations ended after nearly 3,000 years. What became known as the warring states began 2,200 years ago. The philosophy of regeneration had deteriorated. Treating dis­ease, pestilence and battle wounds became the priority for doctors. Rather than utilizing herbs as foods, they were increasingly used as medicine and poultice. Treatment of symptoms became the predom­inant approach, something we call the philosophy of substitution.

During the Ming Dynasty, about 700 years ago, substitu­tion utilizing herbs reached the peak of popularity. And then during the Qin Dynasty in 1644, and during the Boxing rebellion in 1912, great distrac­tion swept through the land. Priceless artifacts, ancient doc­uments and a generation of recorded wisdom was plundered and lost. Traditions were destroyed and the golden years of China seemed to be for ever lost.

During the years that fol­lowed western medicine and its practices dominated China. Although it appeared that the traditional methods had van­ished, they were still quietly practiced, and the ancient wis­dom was preserved. The Chinese eventually realized western medicine was not the panacea it was believed to be: Upon this realization came the resurrection of traditional Chinese medicine. Today it is acknowledged worldwide that combining TCM with western medicine makes the holistic approach to optimizing individ­ual health possible. Thus, creat­ing a Ying and Yang for a new era of medicine.

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel, AG/ ENVIRONMENT, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER, 27, 2006

Five-thousand years ago in a tranquil basin of the Yellow River, a civilization was born deep in China. The people and culture that emerged from this region eventually inhabited much of the Asian continent. They had no formal religion, so instead their lives were governed by an abiding respect for nature and a fundamental reverence for the powers of creation. As they observed nature, they built a phi­losophy and patterned their lives upon the natural laws of the uni­verse. Life, along with its many challenges, is a puzzle. Rather than creating solutions, the early Chinese instead sought answers. They observed and imitated nature, a model already perfectly designed. Their philosophical base was deep and became defined to their generation. The numbers one through five have a symbolic meaning in the Chinese philosophy.

For man and nature there is but one origin, a creator of peace and harmony. The first dimension, heaven, served to remind man of a divine realm beyond the tangi­ble earth, and that all things physical also have a spiritual nature. Two represents balance; the com­peting and complementary forces of Ymg and Yang, one inward one outward, one positive one nega­tive, but whole when in balance. The number three stands for heaven, earth and man. Human beings exist to live on, and of, the earth. Four illustrates variety and is exhibited by the four seasons of nature. In variety is found differences, changes and the joy of the earth. The number five represents the five elements that comprise all of the universe: fire, earth, metal, water and wood. For har­mony to exist, all five elements must be present in man, fish, ani­mals, plants, trees and flowers. In all creations the five elements are found working in constructive tandem in what is called the “cycle of quinary.”

The Chinese have believed for thousands of years that true har­mony is achieved only when bal­ance exists. To achieve harmony in their lives, the Chinese sought to master the laws of nature and the laws of universe. Because they had no understanding of an afterlife, the quality of their pres­ent life became their primary focus. The ancient Chinese summed their belief with a say­ing, “to live long and to five well.” Health and longevity were achieved outwardly through exercising and inwardly through proper nutrition and meditation. To the Chinese, health was a product of the foods they ate, the air they breathed, how they exercised their bodies and how they exer­cised their mind. The quality of their food reflected directly upon the quality of their lives. Food must be natural, fresh and wholesome. It must be in great variety, and always in balance. Herbs and vegetables, the natu­ral gifts from the mother earth, were the foods that the Chinese historically relied upon to promote health. They believed in pure and natural foods which, when eaten in proper quantities and in the right combination, kept the body nourished, bal­anced and cleansed. With thou­sands of herbs, there is an incredible variety, and as with all whole foods, herbs maintain the natural synergy and balance so vital to the human body.

A man named Shen Nan experimented with plants and herbs to understand how the body could be nourished. He studied and recorded the effects on his body of eating as many as 70 different herbs each day. Hence, he discovered the herbs as foods. Shen Nan taught his people how to identify, cultivate and utilize herbs beneficial to the body and became known as the God of Herbs. The legacy was continued by Huan Di, the Yellow Emperor. He subse­quently assembled the finest doctors to study and document the many benefits of herbs as foods.

Reproduced with permission from the Lafayette Joural and Courier, HEALTH & FITNESS, TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 2004

It’s “not voodoo; it’s another way of healing,” says Ross, who underwent surgery to mend a torn ligament in her throwing arm.

Her coach, Purdue javelin coach Rodney Zuyderwyk, says he’s confident she’ll make the U.S. team that will compete in Athens in September. This past winter, she was throwing rub­ber-tipped practice javelins in­doors further than she did at the same point in 2002.

“Everything is strong, and her technique is better than it used to be,” he says.

In 2002, Ross, of West Lafayette, became the NCAA champion with a throw of 195 feet, 8 inches, shattering the American record of 192 feet, 3 inches. Less than a month lat­er, she won the U.S. Championships with a throw of 197 feet.

“I was on fire,” says Ross, now 26 and a rock-solid 5 foot 10, 207 pounds. “I’d step onto the runway, and no one wanted to be there. After one throw at the (U.S. Championships) it was over.”

At the World Cup in Madrid in September 2002, she opened with a throw of 183 feet. On the second throw, she dropped her light arm too much, came over too hard on her left leg and felt a “pop” in her right elbow. She made two more throws and fin­ished fifth in the world.

The 2002 Purdue graduate continued to train, but sus­pected that something was wrong. Doctors found that she had torn the ligament in her throwing arm.

“I thought, ‘This is not hap­pening,’ ” she says.

In December 2002, surgeons mended her elbow with liga­ment taken from her leg. When the bandages came off, her world-class arm was withered and weak. Previous injuries to her knee and back hurt. Barely able to walk, she was depressed and withdrawn. She didn’t want to talk about it.

“I was a mess,” she says. “I felt I was losing everything.”

But ever the competitor, Ross has spent more than a year get-ting better through rehabilita-tion, throwing, weight lifting, massage, chiropractic and acupuncture.

Her strategy is simple, she says: “You visualize where you need to be, and you put all your cookies in one jar.”

“She’s gone through a pretty rig­orous rehabilitation. There’s been a slow progression, week to week,” Zuyderwyk says. “That competitive spirit is definitely what motivates her.”

Ross is $40,000 in debt and so­liciting donations to pay her ex­penses to meets in Texas and Kansas in April. A good showing there would qualify her for the U.S. Olympic Trials July 9-11 in Sacra­mento, Calif.

The top one, two, three or four javelin throwers there will repre­sent the United States at the 2004 Olympics this fall.

“I am so ready to go,” Ross says. “I need to get out on the runway and throw.

I’ve been out so long, but I’m still Number 2 in the nation. Only one person has beaten 197 feet,” she says.

Kim Kreiner, a 2000 Kent State University graduate, had a throw of 199 feet, 8 inches in August 2003.

A native of Edinburg, Pa., Ross took up the javelin in 10th grade. At Purdue, she was Big Ten cham­pion twice and a four-time AU-Amer-ican. She always dreamed of com­peting in the Olympics.

Ross credits acupuncture for much of her recovery. She was in­troduced to it in California, where she underwent rehabilitation at the Olympic Training Center.

In April 2003, she was referred to West Lafayette’s Dr. Angelica Kokkalis.

“We have an unbelievable rela­tionship as doctor-patient and as friends,” Ross says of Kokkalis. I’ve made unbelievable progress. I feel more balanced, more centered. I’ve healed.”

Kokkalis inserts approximately 60 super-fine disposable acupunc­ture needles into various parts of Ross’s skin, at different angles. They stimulate the nervous system and its energy to release substances to the blood that kill pain and reduce inflammation.

As the needles are inserted, Ross feels heat and sensations of ener­gy movement, but no pain. She leaves feeling refreshed and re­laxed.

Kokkalis is a doctor of Oriental medicine, specializing in pain con­trol and wellness management. She has a practice at Meridian Health Care in Lebanon.

She spent years in China, learn­ing traditional Chinese medicine and formerly was director of Chi­nese medicine at the Center for Complimentary Medicine and Pain Management at St. Vincent’s Hos­pital in Indianapolis.

Speaking of Ross, Kokkalis says, “She not only was Number 1, she still is. Her recovery is a miracle.”

Ross’s Olympic dream has pro­vided a motivator like no other.

“She wouldn’t have recovered if she didn’t want this,” Kokkalis says.

A native of Greece, Kokkalis will accompany Ross to Athens if she makes the team so acupuncture treatments can continue.

Ross works out at Purdue, where Jim Lathrop is her weight coach.

She turns to Michael Tebo for massage therapy. Michael Haville is her chiropractor.

“She has put in a lot of hard work, and she has been very pa­tient,” says Zuyderwyk, who works with her almost daily. “That com­petitive spirit is what allows her to not hesitate when other people with that kind of injury would pro­tect themselves.”

Throughout, he says, “the Olympics has basically been her drive, getting ready for the Olympics … she is on track:”

As the U.S. trials get closer, she’s determined to stay focused, get plenty of sleep and concentrate on staying healthy and strong. She’s a volunteer coach at Purdue.

She says herjob as a part-time social worker with Community Ventures in Living is providing an invaluable perspective. She helps handicapped people with basic liv­ing skills.

“I’ve become more thankful,” Ross says. “Some of these people can’t get out of their chair. Some can never walk or even talk.”

She calls the last Yk years of her life “a hard road,” but she’s convinced that it all happened for a reason.

Because of her injury, she has overcome challenges, grown stronger and made priceless friend­ships.

“I have to do this,” she says.”… the competitor in me won’t die.”

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel, LIVESMART, Wednesday, September, 12, 2007

In my 25 years of experience in Chinese treatments and medicines, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to talk about the changes taking place in The People’s Republic of China.

In May 2007, I took my boys, Akis, 13, and Dennis, 11, and my friend Connie to introduce them to the country in which I spent nine years studying Western and Chinese medicines. It was not the first time I had returned to China. Five years ago, I was there to hear about the latest research in Chinese medicine at Hangzhou Zheng Jiang Zheng Jiang Yi Xue Yuan, one of the country’s largest schools of traditional Chinese medicine.

While in Beijing, I found my former school, Beijing Medical University, now called Beijing University Health and Science Center. I didn’t recognize a single building. There was a new science center, library and foreign students’ dorm. The teaching hospital had been replaced by a state-of-the-art, multilevel building.

I met with Professor Han Ji Sheng, Director of the Neuroscience Research Institute of Beijing Medical University. For 42 years, he’s researched the neurochemical basis of pain relief using acupuncture. For the last 15 years, he’s also researched the clinical effects of withdrawal in the addicted. Today, he’s involved in a National Institute of Health/National Institute of Drug Abuse study on alternative therapies for alcohol and drug abuse and the prevention of cocaine relapse using electro acupuncture. He is also a visiting professor at Harvard University’s Center for Alternative Medicine.

After talking with Professor Han, I became interested in studying how to sup­press withdrawal symptoms in those tak­ing morphine and other opioids. Professor Han encouraged me to apply for a National Institutes of Health grant to support the study. Most striking on this year’s trip, howev­er, were the dramatic changes in both Shanghai, in the south, and the capi­tal, Beijing, in the north. Back in 2002, Shanghai looked almost like cosmo­politan Hong Kong. But Beijing still had a conser­vative northern look, with bicycles and vendors on the streets, and ancient narrow alleyways and parks side-by-side with apartment complexes, small shops and restaurants. It was a friendly and relaxing environment. The cost of living was quite affordable for locals and visitors, but I sensed concern about where the city was headed.

I observed that changes in politics, new laws, stricter regulations and opportunism have erupted in the last five years. I thought Beijing, as the capital, would pre­serve its cultural traditions. After all, the south had always rebelled from the north. The north was always known for being conservative and slow-to-change. But today, its economy, people, streets and buildings have changed. In my wildest dreams, 1 never imagined I would visit a modern Beijing. I would even compare it to New York City!

The streets are six-lane highways with high-end cars no more than five-years old — mostly European models made in China with names like Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen. Virtually everyone carried a satellite cell phone. New buses were everywhere, taking smart cards for payment, and featuring flat-screen TVs and air conditioning. Grand, multi-level • department stores offered name-brand products and a Starbucks coffee shop sat on every corner. Restaurants offered free drinks while customers waited to be. seat­ed; some even provided complementary manicures for the ladies. When asking for directions, I was told that every three months a new map of Beijing is needed to update its changing face.

The third week of our trip we visited Hangzhou, which I remembered as the most beautiful city in the country. But now it was nothing like what I remem­bered from five years earlier. It all looked new. What had happened to that beautiful, old city? What had happened to the coun­tryside? It was all gone. I instead saw pedestrian bridges, six-lane highways and new architecture. Along with these advances, both prices and air pollution have risen.

Overall, my trip to China was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this new world, and while there I was given a new direction in my own life.

Reproduced with permission from the Lafayette Journal and Courier, LIFE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER, 28, 2000

Doctor sees promise in combination of Chinese medicine, mainstream methods
By Amy Patterson, Journal and Courier

For the first time in 54 years, Larry E. Horton could see just how red and yellow Indiana’s autumn leaves turned this fall.

Since birth, doctors told Horton, and his parents, that his vision would be limited to dark and light images because of multiple old chorial retinal scars from ocular toxol plasmosis. His improved vision is something his general physicians, surgeons or optometrists couldn’t help him with. The scars on his eyes kept him from seeing clearly to read the hymnal in church or differentiate similar shades.

In his lifelong search for sight, Horton tapped into acupuncture, a treatment from Traditional Chinese Medicine. In January, he found Dr. Angelica Kokkalis, a Western medical doctor and Oriental doctor in private practice in Zionsville. This West Lafayette resident also has a staff position at St. Vincent Hospital’s Center for Complementary Medicine and Pain Management, where she specializes in pain control.

In her private practice, she offers Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostic tools such as tongue and pulse analysis, individualized herb medicine formulas based on diagnosis and a variety of treatment options including acupuncture and moxibustion.

“Acupuncture is a very safe system of health care when done by a well-trained practitioner,” Kokkalis said.
Seven years ago, Americans made 9 million to 12 million acupuncture patient visits, according to a Food and Drug Administration report.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, traditional medicines including herbal preparations account for 30 percent to 50 percent of the total medical consumption. In the 1990s, one third of the American adult population have used alternative treatment. That percentage is even smaller in the Greater Lafayette area, which means establishing a private practice in the area has been difficult for Kokkalis.

The wellness of the human body depends on keeping all its elements in balance, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. The basic belief is that humans have a natural flow of energy, known as Qi, which circulates through the body on meridians. Pain and disease are the result of a disruption, deficiency or blockage of this energy. When acupuncture is selected as therapy, tiny needles are placed in proper acupoints along the meridians to help regulate the body’s energy flow.

“My sessions are 45 minutes, and I’ll take a nap every time. Two sessions ago, she came in the room and removed half of the needles before I woke up. So, I’m pretty well relaxed,” said Horton, whose insurance covers acupuncture. Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, don’t.

More than 20 acupuncture needles are placed in Horton’s body, including five needles that are inserted in the meridians around each eye.

“I’m impressed with his improvement, because I’m not the only one who thought nothing could be done,” said Dr. Marcia Monroe, Horton’s Lafayette optometrist.

“Medical establishments need to recognize that Western medicine is not a panacea, and they need to combine the best of both worlds.” said Dr. Angelica Kokkalis, who offers Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kokkalis expects that Traditional Chinese Medicine won’t be a mainstream treatment option for some time.

“It will take another generation of physicians — 30 to 40 years. Medical establishments need to recognize that Western medicine is not a panacea, and they need to combine the best of both worlds,” Kokkalis said.

That’s what Kokkalis does. Her dual career has allowed her to combine her talents as a medical and Oriental doctor.

Kokkalis lived in Greece until she received a Sino-Greek Government Student Exchange Scholarship to study medicine in China. She combined her education in conventional medicine with training in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Beijing Medical University. In 1991, she came to the United States after accepting a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center. Following the fellowship, she relocated to Minnesota, where she developed a private practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine and research in immune system reaction to organ transplantation at the Veterans Administration Medical Clinic in Minneapolis.

In addition to acupuncture, moxibustion and herbal formulas have maintained their popularity in many Asian countries, including China, Japan, India and Pakistan. If people are looking for testimony about how well Traditional Chinese Medicine can be practiced, Kokkalis says to observe how China’s population manages under one health care system.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, everything has two sides known as Yin and Yang. Yang is attributed to conditions that appear active, external, upward and exciting. Yin portrays the opposite, such as asthenic, internal, cold and inhibitive. Kokkalis said Yin and Yang theory is widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for explaining the physiological and pathological phenomena of the human body and for directing the diagnosis and treatment of a disease.

When a patient steps into Kokkalis’ office, she starts the examination with an interview, an in-depth profile. If a patient is in her office for back pain, she wants to talk about their entire lifestyle. ‘You have to treat the whole picture. It’s more than just acupuncture and nerves. It’s adjusting the diet,” Kokkalis said. “I don’t see them as back pain patients, I see them as whole.”

Since Horton started treatment with Kokkalis, he has also incorporated a complete vitamin in his diet. Every patient Kokkalis has seen in her private practice adjusts their lifestyle in some capacity. To evaluate an individual’s all-encompassing health, Kokkalis uses the tongue and pulse diagnosis. “I wish Western medicine was trained to do the tongue diagnostic because they’d save money from doing many diagnostics,” Kokkalis said. The color, appearance and mobility of the tongue are part of Kokkalis’ diagnostic routine. By looking at a tongue, Kokkalis can reveal the history of a person — did they smoke, did they have a stroke, etc. A normal tongue is light red in color, free in motion, lustrous and moist.

“It is declared by the modern research work that appearance of tongue looks like a window for seeing into internal organs of the body,” Kokkalis said.

She also relies on the pulse diagnostic as part of her patient evaluation. The quality and speed of the pulse can indicate an imbalance in the body. For example, a thin pulse is a sign that the blood is deficient and unable to fill the pulse properly.

Even though alternative treatments’ popularity is increasing, not all physicians are part of the movement. Kokkalis said the tendency to denounce Traditional Chinese Medicine is keeping her from practicing in Greater Lafayette.

“Physicians don’t have knowledge and say, ‘You can’t have it,’ because they don’t know about it,” Kokkalis said. “They should open up and do more reading. Can modern and Chinese medicine be combined? Yes. Not only can they be combined, but I believe they can enhance each other’s effects.”