House Acupuncture & Herbs

A question I get asked a lot is:  “Can acupuncture help me lose weight?”  The answer is – yes!  Whether you are obese or just trying to lose a few pounds, acupuncture is very effective at controlling cravings for sugar and high fat foods that contribute to weight gain.  In Chinese medicine, a craving for sugar or other flavors such as salty chips or pizza is a sign of imbalance.  When these imbalances are corrected, you no longer have that intense craving for that food or flavor.  Acupuncture can curb addictive cravings for sugar using some of the same points used for smoking cessation and drug addiction. 

When overweight, many people can feel fatigue, depression, and loss of motivation.  This can prevent one from taking the steps needed to lose weight such as exercise and make better food choices.  Acupuncture can help with increasing energy levels, lifting depression, and regaining motivation to be more active.  If your weight gain is due to a medical problem and hormonal imbalance, Chinese medical diagnosis will be made for your particular pattern to address the imbalance

Acupuncture is not, however, a “magic pill”.  It involves a lot of commitment and hard work on your part to break through old habits.  It is a great tool to help you gain energy, motivation, and curb cravings that will help you get on the road to better health, as well as have guidance and support during that process. 

Have you checked out the new Walnut Creek Library?  There are an abundance of comfy seats and areas for reading books and magazines.  Also free internet and lots of plug ins for computers - making it an ideal work/study/read spot instead of coffee shops. They have many books on health in the non-fiction area, and if you can't find your book there, check in the separate "health and wellness" section. 

They don't carry my favorite intro-to-Chinese-Medicine-book (The Web That Has No Weaver) at the Walnut Creek location, but its easy to get it transferred, to pick it up in Walnut Creek.  They do carry a new book on Chinese Medicine and diet, Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen written by experienced acupuncturists.  A great book if you are adventuresome in food and want to incorporate Chinese herbs into your cooking for improving your health.

The drop box is pretty futuristic, and you can check out your own books without a librarian (takes some getting used to).  Don't forget to pay for parking at the kiosk in the parking garage. 

Most people don’t think about acupuncture when trying to fix problems of the digestive system, including acid reflux, nausea, diarrhea, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic gastritis, and constipation.  However, acupuncture can be very effective in helping resolve these problems.  For stress-induced symptoms, acupuncture relaxes the sympathetic nervous system to allow your digestion to function normally.  Acupuncture also can stimulate your body to resume secreting the proper amount of digestive juices and hormones, so that your food is broken down and absorbed properly.  The symptoms (pain, nausea, diarrhea) can be alleviated, while simultaneously targeting the cause of those symptoms so they do not return.  In Chinese Medicine, if the digestive system is not functioning well, good health cannot be attained.  A typical treatment for digestion usually involves acupuncture and moxibustion.  The length of treatment varies based on your specific condition, but most people notice improvements by the third acupuncture treatment.

Over the last 2000+ years, the Chinese have carefully observed what foods and practices lead to good digestive and overall health.  Here are a few tips in addition to an acupuncture treatment:

-  Do not overeat sweet, spicy, or greasy foods.
Cold foods (ice water, ice cream, frozen drinks) sap energy from the body.  Room temperature foods and drinks are best.

-  Steam or cook your vegetables and go easy on the salads – raw vegetables are difficult to digest, and will sap energy from your body over time. Eat meals at the same time everyday.

-  Eating late at night (especially after 9 or 10pm) will weaken your digestion (and make for a bad night’s sleep!)

-  Dairy can exacerbate sinus and chest congestion, as well as asthma

-  A variety of flavors helps to balance the body.  Some examples:
    sweet:  carrots, apples
    sour:    vinegar, lemon juice, plums
    spicy:   Black pepper, garlic, onion, cloves
    salty:    salt, seaweed
    bitter:    bok choy, kale, coffee

-  Eat in moderation:  stop before you are painfully full,  and drink alcohol in moderation. 

I had an interesting tidbit to share about wine.  At a recent educational seminar, the instructor was talking about the heavy metal content in wine.  He claimed that he could tell if the patient was a regular wine drinker by signature levels of certain heavy metals present in a blood test.  After looking into it I found a study from late 2008 that tested heavy metal levels in wines from 15 nations.  You can read the full article here.  

The results showed that, of all 15 nations tested, only 3 countries had wine with safe levels of heavy metals:  Argentina, Italy, and Brazil.   All the other wines tested levels 50-300 times what was considered safe.  The highest contaminations were from vanadium, copper, and manganese.  Manganese accumulation in the brain is apparently linked to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. 

Unfortunately, US and Californian wines were not included in the study.  It would be interesting to see the results of further testing, and also to find out the source of the measured heavy metals.

The big buzz word in nutrition is Antioxidants.  I'm sure you've heard about foods that are high in antioxidants such as chocolate, red wine, and pomegranates.  This study, published in Nutrition Journal, measured the antioxidant content in 3100 foods and herbs. 

Antioxidants are related to prevention of DNA damage, cell repair, prevention of cancer, etc.  Most of the findings in food are already common knowledge, but some were surprising, such as:  espresso, pecans, walnuts.  The berry category also had high levels but included some strange foods - wild dog rose and Indian gooseberry....good luck finding those. 
Spices in order of antioxidant content:  cloves, peppermint, allspice, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, saffron.  ALL spices had very high levels of antioxidants.

The MOST antioxidant-rich category of foods was....herbal/plant medicine!! They studied traditional medicinal herbs from Peru, Japan, India, and Mexico. A formula called Goshuyu-tou (or I think Goshuyuto as it is more commonly referred?) made it on the Best Of list - which is a formula we prescribe in Chinese medicine. 

The authors go on to say that foods like the fruits, nuts, chocolate, and berries have 5-33 more antioxidants than meat.  Chinese herbs, like the spices and other plant-based foods we eat, can have beneficial effects far beyond their basic nutritional value.  Like the life-nourishing effects of a good diet, Chinese herbs can be another avenue to achieve a balanced healthy lifestyle. 


 

Welcome to the House Acupuncture Blog!

I hope to provide you with useful information about acupuncture, herbs, health, and lifestyle.   Basically, I'll be posting stuff I find interesting, useful, and hopefully you will too. 

Feel free to post any questions you may have, or contact me if you'd like any specific topic addressed.  I'm new to blogging world, and am excited about sharing information and ideas about health and everything Chinese Medicine.