Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are among the most challenging conditions families face today. Characterized by progressive memory loss, cognitive decline, changes in mood and behavior, and increasing difficulty with daily tasks, these conditions affect millions of Americans — along with the loved ones who care for them. While Western medicine continues to search for a definitive cure, many families are turning to integrative approaches to support brain health, slow functional decline, and improve quality of life. At Makari Wellness, serving patients throughout Oceanside and San Diego, we offer acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine as a compassionate complement to conventional care.
How Chinese Medicine Understands Cognitive Decline
Chinese medicine has recognized disorders of memory and cognition for over two thousand years, describing them through a lens that connects the brain, the organs, and the movement of vital substances through the body. Rather than treating a diagnosis in isolation, Chinese medicine looks for the underlying pattern driving symptoms — a distinction that is especially meaningful when it comes to complex neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
In classical Chinese medical theory, the brain is known as the Sea of Marrow — nourished directly by the Kidney organ system. The Kidneys are considered the root of constitutional vitality, governing growth, reproduction, and the slow-burning energy that sustains us across a lifetime. As we age, Kidney essence naturally declines. When this decline is significant, the brain may lose its nourishment, contributing to memory lapses, mental fog, slower processing, and difficulty concentrating. This is why cognitive decline is so often seen as a condition with deep roots — one that requires strengthening the foundation, not just managing surface symptoms.
Chinese medicine also identifies a second major pathway into cognitive decline: phlegm obstructing the mind. In this framework, phlegm is not just a respiratory substance — it is a broad category of pathological fluid that, when it accumulates in the channels of the heart and brain, clouds perception, disrupts clear thinking, and disturbs the Shen (the spirit or conscious awareness). Classical texts describe this as the orifices of the heart being “misted over,” a vivid image for the fog that so many dementia patients and their families know all too well.
A third recognized pattern is blood stasis — a slowing or stagnation of blood flow through the channels that supply the brain. When blood does not move freely, the brain loses nourishment and its metabolic waste products are not cleared efficiently. Modern research into cerebrovascular contributions to Alzheimer’s disease resonates with this classical observation.
What Pulse Diagnosis Reveals
One of the more precise diagnostic tools in Chinese medicine is pulse diagnosis — reading the quality, strength, and shape of the radial pulse at multiple positions on the wrist. Practitioners trained in classical pulse methods identify specific pulse qualities that correspond to different internal conditions. A quality known as the Flowing or Slippery pulse — described in classical texts as smooth, rounded, and rolling like pearls under the fingers — is classically associated with phlegm-heat disturbing the Shen, and has been documented in connection with conditions including dementia and cognitive disturbance. This specificity allows the practitioner to tailor treatment to the actual pattern present in the individual patient, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine for Brain Health
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine offer several avenues of support for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or early cognitive concerns. Research into these approaches is ongoing, and while we do not claim to reverse or cure dementia, many patients and caregivers report meaningful improvements in mood, sleep, energy, and day-to-day function with consistent treatment.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture sessions for cognitive decline typically focus on points that support the Kidney system, calm the Shen, clear phlegm from the channels, and promote healthy circulation to the brain. Specific scalp acupuncture techniques, which target areas of the scalp corresponding to different brain functions, are often incorporated and have been the subject of considerable clinical interest in neurological conditions. Treatment is gentle, often deeply relaxing, and appropriate for older adults and those with complex health histories.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine is frequently prescribed alongside acupuncture to provide sustained support between sessions. Formulas are individualized to the patient’s pattern. For a patient presenting primarily with Kidney essence deficiency — perhaps with fatigue, low back weakness, age-related hearing changes, and slow memory — formulas that nourish the deep constitutional roots are most appropriate. For a patient whose pattern involves more phlegm accumulation and cloudy thinking, formulas that resolve phlegm and open the orifices of the mind take priority. A skilled practitioner reads the full picture — pulse, tongue, symptoms, history, and constitution — before recommending any formula.
Lifestyle and Integrative Guidance
Chinese medicine has always been as much about prevention and lifestyle as it is about treatment. Our practitioners may discuss dietary habits that support brain nourishment and reduce phlegm-forming tendencies, sleep practices that allow the Shen to rest and consolidate, gentle movement such as Tai Chi or Qi Gong that circulate blood and calm the nervous system, and strategies for managing the stress that often accompanies both caregiving and diagnosis.
What to Expect at Makari Wellness
Your first visit begins with a comprehensive intake. We take time to understand not just your diagnosis, but your full health history — your energy levels, sleep, digestion, emotional patterns, and the specific ways that cognitive symptoms are showing up in daily life. We also conduct a thorough pulse and tongue examination, which gives us direct information about your internal landscape that symptom reporting alone cannot provide.
From there, we develop a personalized treatment plan. Most patients with cognitive concerns benefit from a regular rhythm of weekly or twice-weekly acupuncture sessions, particularly in the early phases of treatment, combined with an individualized herbal formula taken daily. Over time, as patterns shift and stability improves, treatment frequency may be adjusted. We work collaboratively with your existing care team — neurologists, primary care physicians, and specialists — and are glad to communicate with other providers when appropriate.
Families often come to us at various stages: some patients are experiencing early subjective memory concerns and want to be proactive about brain health; others are further along in a dementia diagnosis and seeking supportive care alongside Western medicine; some caregivers come seeking support for their own exhaustion and stress. All of these situations are welcome at Makari Wellness. We approach each person — patient and caregiver alike — with patience, respect, and an understanding of how much is at stake.
- Comprehensive initial consultation including detailed health history and pulse diagnosis
- Individualized acupuncture protocols for cognitive and neurological support
- Custom Chinese herbal formulas matched to your specific pattern
- Scalp acupuncture techniques for brain function support
- Lifestyle and dietary guidance rooted in classical Chinese medicine principles
- Ongoing collaboration with your existing medical care team
A Compassionate Path Forward
Receiving a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia — whether for yourself or someone you love — is one of the most difficult experiences a family can face. Chinese medicine does not offer false promises, but it does offer a thoughtful, individualized system of care that has supported people through aging and cognitive challenges for centuries. Our goal at Makari Wellness is to meet you where you are, help you understand your body’s patterns, and provide consistent, skilled support that complements everything else you are doing to protect brain health and wellbeing.
If you or a loved one is living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or early cognitive concerns and you would like to explore what acupuncture and Chinese medicine may offer, we invite you to schedule a consultation at our Oceanside clinic — and take a first step toward integrative, whole-person care.