An Interview with Dr Alen Liaw (MD)
17 Nov 2011 08:52:20 AM
Alen Liaw, M.D. joined IMI in November 2011 and brought his broad knowledge and experience in medical testing, adrenal fatigue therapy, immune boosting and heavy metal detoxification to the comprehensive list of services.
For this month’s Wellness News, Kevin Fung spoke with Dr Liaw about topics including his entry into the field of function medicine, aspects of heavy metal detoxification and why we don’t need botox!
Kevin Fung: Why did you decide to join IMI?
Alen Liaw: My decision to join IMI was mainly prompted by the similarities in philosophy. I’ve been a supporter of the integrated and holistic approach to medicine. I believe in the healing ability in our bodies. If you take good care of your body and give it a chance, it can do amazing things; in many cases, intervention with medication may not be necessary. IMI is an established integrated clinic that respects the innate healing ability. It is a perfect fit as far as philosophy goes.
You had been practicing convention Family Medicine and then in 2009, you received a Master Degree in acupuncture. Since when did you become interested in acupuncture and how did the Chinese Medicine philosophy impact your practice?
Chinese Medicine and acupuncture have a tremendous impact. I remember in my conventional medical training, we were taught that numbness or pain in the left arm could be a symptom of heart problems. But there was no thorough explanation on the reasons. Interestingly, Chinese Medicine, coming from a different perspective, offers an explanation in Meridians—paths through which the life-energy known as “qi” is believed to flow. A major meridian connects the heart to the inner side of the left arm.
If you look at the human body from both perspectives, you begin to see how the theories compliment each other. In Western Medicine, an organ, like heart, lung or kidney, is a vital part in our body and we have specialties dealing with each of them. Now, in Chinese Medicine, we talk about the “five elements”—“fire” represents the heart, “earth” represents the spleen, “metal” represents the lung and so forth. An organ is more than just an “organ”. By comparing the tangibles to the intangibles, you get a much better understanding in the human body and that allows you to provide the most effective treatment not only to the symptoms but also the root causes.
And that leads you to the functional medicine approach?
I believe we need to look at the entire picture—there are many factors affecting a person’s health: lifestyle, diet, and levels of heavy metals, amongst others. Functional medicine does not exclude conventional diagnosis. Medical testing is an important to it, but the emphasis is on understanding and improving the functional core of human beings as the starting point. We can identify the imbalances in our body through tests and prevent the pre-pathological dysfunctions from becoming serious chronic illnesses.
What are those pre-pathological dysfunctions? And why are we seeing a rise in chronic illness such as heart disease, cancer, or arthritis?
Pre-pathological dysfunctions can be as ambiguous as chronic pain and fatigue. That’s why very often you need tests to identify where the problem truly lies. On chronic illnesses, there are many contributing factors, as mentioned earlier. Lifestyle, stress levels from work and family, diet, environmental pollutions that lead to heavy metal overload in the body, family history, etc. You need to understand they are inter-connected and analyze the entire matrix. For example, sometimes symptoms are never manifested in a person say with high level of heavy metals, simply because he or she genetically has an excellent detoxification metabolism that effectively removes the toxic damage from the body.
How do heavy metals like mercury or lead enter into our body, especially for people living in Hong Kong?
Contaminated seafood is the biggest culprit. Pollutants get into the river and sea water and we eat the fish that live in the polluted water. Tuna is especially bad, so avoid that when possible. Then there is the air pollution. Coal-burning is a leading cause of air pollution in China. When coal is being burned, mercury is released into the air, and the rain carries the mercury into the soil and water. Dental amalgam fillings have also been linked to high mercury levels.
(Note: Recent findings show that 40% of adults and 60% of children in Hong Kong have mercury levels over the WHO-recommended standards. Dr Ho, a government official, said on RTHK's 'Backchat' show on November 19, 2003, that over 20% of local seafood tests had high mercury levels.)
What are the symptoms in a chronic, low-level exposure to mercury?
Prolonged fatigue, insomnia, confusion and poor concentration, depression, irritability, infertility, just to name a few. Some of these can be quite obscure. To assess the level of heavy metals in the system, the simplest method is hair mineral analysis. A urine assessment method is more accurate. The next step is to identify the sources of contamination and to remove them.
For patients with neurological symptoms?
Medical chelation agents may be needed. Mercury levels are recorded by urine assessments during the treatments.
Would you give our readers some health advice?
I firmly believe in regular exercise and supplements. I exercise 6 days a week—jogging 3 to 4 times, swim and play tennis once a week. When you sweat, you are eliminating toxic waste. Sauna, especially far infra-red is good for you in that respect.
In my refrigerator, I have about 10 bottles of supplements.
Drink plenty of water. That can help to flush out toxins as well.
Finally, it is important to have regular bowel movements, which is the major waste outlet for your body. I once read a novel by Paul Theroux called Millroy the Magician, it centers on the character Millroy, an eccentric obsessed with bowel movements so much so that he had palatial restroom in his home for his favourite activity! All jokes aside, we must remember that bowel hygiene is an important part of our health.
Anything else that you want to tell Wellness News readers?
Your body is amazing, so take good care of it. Many people in Hong Kong are very concerned with their appearance, but your appearance is an extension of your inner health. When you feel good, you will look good, too. There is no need for Botox! Make positive changes in your life and you’ll find health and wellness.
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Dr Liaw completed his MBBS degree from the National University of Singapore in 1988. He received training in Family Medicine and moved to Hong Kong in 1997. He has been involved in Family Medicine in private practice, treating chronic illnesses like Diabetes and Hypertension.
In 2009, Dr Liaw received a Master Degree in Acupuncture from China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (Beijing). His graduation thesis was "Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis with Acupuncture in Hong Kong." His current practice incorporates Chinese Medicine philosophy in Family Medicine.
Dr Liaw has taken further interest in Functional Medicine and believes that diet, nutrition and detoxification play important role in disease prevention. Dr Liaw has a special interest in heavy metal detoxification. He has gained board certified Intravenous Chelation Therapy from the American College for Advancement of Medicine (ACAM).
