Take Responsibility

It's time that we, as a nation, learn to take responsibility for our health. We have relied too long on a system of medicine that is not meant to keep us healthy, but to keep us from dying. While that's a GREAT goal (the last I heard, dying is a BIG change from living), *I* want to be healthy, not just to survive.

We all know when we're doing something unhealthy, and occasionally, that's not a problem. Had a piece of cake at your best friend's wedding? Not a problem. Have a doughnut (or two) every morning instead of a proper breakfast? A problem. We don't need to be lectured.

What prompted this blog post was an article I read today by Dr. Mercola, citing a study done in Europe showing that living a healthy lifestyle is the KEY to preventing the diseases that are often (mistakenly) associated with aging. Diabetes, Heart Disease and cancers are not a part of the natural aging process, they are the consequences of not leading a healthy life. In the study, 23,000 Germans and their lifestyles were examined. In those leading a healthy lifestyle, (not smoking, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight) there was a 36% decreased risk of ALL cancers, a 93% decreased risk of Diabetes, and an 81% decreased risk of Heart Disease. How incredible are those results?

We are not destined to disease just because we're getting older!

But what this means is that it's time for some major reform! We are on the verge of having a national health care system, one in which all Americans will get the life-saving medications and procedures that they need to live, without worrying about the financial consequences. However, this system can't work if we are sabotaging it from the get-go. No health care system can out-repair the damage that we are doing to ourselves. We must not rely on medication to cover up the fact that we have treated our bodies poorly.

I find the European study very motivating. We CAN live disease-free. We CAN be that person in their 60s, 70s or better who takes no medications and who still goes hiking on the weekends. We CAN live lives that, while they may not be longer in years, are spent being able to do all of the things that we want to, without being debilitated by disease.

It's time we take responsibility for our own health.

Chinese herbal first aid

Today's post is about the Chinese herbal formulas that every household should keep on stock.

Disclaimer: Of COURSE if any of the below-mentioned situations happens to you, SEE A DOCTOR. These herbal formulas are NOT meant to take the place of emergency medicine. If you are pregnant or nursing, do not take the following herbal formulas without first consulting your licensed Chinese medical herbalist.

Jin Gu Die Shang Wan - This is a GREAT formula to take orally for keeping the swelling, bruising and pain associated with sprains, strains and broken bones to a minimum. First run of the season and you pushed yourself a little too hard? Jin Gu Die Shang Wan. Playing basketball and landed on someone else's foot, spraining your ankle? Jin Gu Die Shang Wan. Fell down rollerblading and broke your arm? Jin Gu Die Shang Wan. While this formula is great for treating traumatic injuries, this formula is not to be used for any other types of pains. It is only meant for acute bodily injury.


Yunnan Bai Yao - This formula goes with my family on all of our camping and backpacking trips. Yunnan Bai Yao can be used in an emergency to stop bleeding, both internal and external. So this example might be a bit extreme, but it's a proper use for this formula - if you're hiking and a member of your party falls down a cliff, and you can give them Yunnan Bai Yao to take by mouth (assuming they're conscious, of course) to help control any bleeding that you see coming from the skin, but also to help minimize potential internal bleeding. Additionally, this formula can be used topically (it usually comes in capsules that can be opened and the powdered herbs applied topically) to help stop bleeding. I've even used Yunnan Bai Yao powder to stop the bleeding of my dogs' toenails if I accidentally trimmed them too short. Anyone who has ever "quicked" their dog knows that those suckers can bleed!

Gan Mao Ling - This formula is used at the first signs of a cold. If taken promptly, Gan Mao Ling can be effective at shortening the duration of the cold, keeping symptoms to a minimum, or even keeping the cold from ever taking hold!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a disorder that is thought to be due to the impingement of the nerves, specifically the median nerve, running through the wrist. Symptoms include pain, numbness and tingling and weakness in the hand or wrist. It's not uncommon for this group of symptoms to be due to other causes, such as nerve or blood vessel impingement in the neck, shoulders or other parts of the arm.

According to Chinese medical theory, these symptoms are due to a lack of proper flow of Qi and Blood to the area, causing the area to be malnourished.
From a biomedical point of view, acupuncture can be extremely useful in treating the inflammation that's often associated with such symptoms, as well as helping to relax any muscles that may be the cause of the impingement.

Vitamin B6 has also been found to be helpful in treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and related nerve disorders. Ask your doctor or natural health care provider if this is a possible treatment for you and your symptoms.

Sugar and your Spleen

Who doesn't love sugar? Our favorite treats contain it. We crave it. (Some of us more obsessively than others) So what could be so wrong about it?

As with everything in life, too much of anything, isn't good. When we eat a lot of sweet foods, we run the risk of damaging our Spleens. (our Chinese medical Spleen, not our biomedical, physical spleen) The Spleen is in charge of many jobs in our bodies:

• Digestion of food
• Water metabolism
• Aspects of women's menstrual cycles
• Controlling our sense of worry, or being at peace with ourselves

Those are some pretty important jobs, wouldn't you say?

A weak Spleen may result in some of the following symptoms:

• diarrhea
• extra weight
• acne
• fatigue
• lack of motivation
  
• depression
• lack of appetite
• increased sensitivity to stress
• light or heavy menstrual flows
• irregular menstruation
• vaginal discharge
  
• and may be a contributing factor in MANY more health complaints!

When we eat too much sugar, it tends to damage the Spleen, which leads us to crave more sugar, which in turn leads to more damage to the Spleen. It's a rather nasty cycle!

While I don't always recommend that people go on a no-sugar diet (except those with diabetes), I have found that it can help the Spleen regain health MUCH more quickly if people will cut out the "bad" sugars from their diets. This includes:

• Sodas (yes, even diet! The sweetness is still there and damaging your spleen!)
• Candies & Chocolate
  
• Pastries of all kinds
• Sugared cereals
• Ice cream
  
• etc. You know the kinds of things that have sugar in them.

What you may see missing from this list is fruit. Dieticians will argue that these have TONS of sugar in them, and yes, they do, but natural fruit sugar seems to react differently with the Spleen.

So how does one go about cutting sugar from their diet? Many of us have experienced the regular sugar cravings that can be strong enough to compel us to run to the store to get something sweet! How the HECK do you conquer THOSE?

Here are some tips that have worked for me and many of my patients:

• Stop eating sugar cold-turkey. This is one case where trying to wean yourself off won't work.
• Get rid of all the "bad" sugars in the house. If it's not there, it can't tempt you. You'd actually have to go out of your way to get something sweet to eat. Make sure to not be tempted by sweets at the store. KEEP them out of the house!
• Do not go grocery shopping while hungry. Hunger is often confused with sugar cravings, leading to purchases based on these cravings, not what is nutritionally needed.
  
• Have fruit around you at all times. Repeat after me, "AT ALL TIMES!" And make sure it's something completely delectable, not a grainy apple or a tasteless orange. It's got to be NUMMY. My favorite right now is a juicy nectarine with that perfect balance between sweet and sour. This "bad" sugar substitute will trick your body into thinking that it's getting the "bad" stuff and make you stop craving the sweet. Eat AS MUCH fruit as it takes to keep you from seeking out a sugary snack.
  
• If the cravings are still getting to you, put a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in an 8oz. glass of water and drink it down. It'll take about 10 minutes to take effect. I know it sounds strange, but it works! Try it!
• Know what you're going up against. The strong sugar cravings will likely last anywhere from a week to two weeks. Many people aren't aware of the addictive qualities of sugar and don't realize that it will take that long! It does. Trust me.
• Notice the positive changes that happen in your body. Use these as motivation! My patients have noticed that they feel less "foggy" in their heads. Their thinking is clearer. Some may notice changes in their weight (mostly water weight, but an important part of the Spleen becoming stronger). Less sinus congestion as well as a decrease in post-nasal drip. Notice how much CLEANER your body feels when it's not bogged down by a weakened Spleen!

This will be one of the hardest things you do in your life. Addiction of any kind is multi-faceted, including physical needs for it, emotional needs for it and social temptations.

While cutting sugar from your diet can be extremely difficult, the benefits to your health can be very rewarding! It's incredible how differently you feel about sugar when you've broken the addiction cycle. Several of my patients have even said that they no longer even WANTED sweets anymore.

Do any of you have more secrets to help stop the cravings for sugar?

Cravings

Ask the biomedical world why we crave the things that we do, and they're not really sure. Could be hormones. Could be some sort of nutrient deficiency. Could be that your mother only showed her love to you through food as a child.

Cravings are kind of a cool subject when looked at through a Chinese Medical perspective. Cravings are brought on by imbalances in our organs and emotions.

Every organ is associated with both an emotional spectrum and a flavor.

• Heart - Sorrow or joy and Bitter
  
• Spleen - Over-thinking/worry or being at peace/centered and Sweet
  
• Lung - Grief/a feeling of alienation or feeling connected with the world and Acrid
  
• Kidney - Fear/apprehension or will-power and Salty
  
• Liver - Anger/frustration or being flexible and Sour

When we experience too much of the emotions on the negative side of the emotional spectrum, this tends to damage the associated organ.

So, for example, if you tend to be a worrier, it can damage your Spleen leading to symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, fatigue and sugar-cravings.

For those who crave salt, they may have a history of being afraid or apprehensive in their lives. They may also experience symptoms such as incontinence, early aging, and low back pain.

If we're talking about pregnancy cravings, this tends to be a little different, since it is a healthy state, not one of imbalance. If a woman craves sour (think pickles or citrus) it is likely because her baby is growing, with Liver being the organ associated with quick growth. Remember my post on Liver being associated with wood? Think of the baby as a little seedling. Seedlings tend to change very quickly in their early stages - this is a quality of Wood energy.

If a pregnant woman craves sweet things, it's possible that her Spleen energy (or energy associated with digesting and processing foods to convert to Qi) is a bit weak due to the new, greater demand on her system. Tonify the Spleen and she should see a decrease in her sweet cravings!

As is the way of life, too much of a good thing can be bad for you. If one over-indulges in their cravings, they can further damage the associated organ. It's all about moderation!

Don't be too busy!

A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools. -- Spanish Proverb

"YES!" (I actually said that out loud when I saw this quote float across my screen on Twitter one day. Good thing only my daughter was around to hear me!)

I have so many patients who have spent their lives not paying attention to the needs of their bodies. They don't eat regular meals. They don't get enough sleep. They work too hard.

Then they experience a health crisis.

Hopefully, this is a wake up call for them to start taking care of themselves. Too often, though, it's not. They don't even allow their bodies to recuperate from their current health crisis before they're back working 60-hour weeks, barely 1 week after a major surgery. And on top of that they don't take the time to see the physical therapist as was recommended by their surgeon.

Over and over, I hear, "I don't really have time for that, I fell very behind at work, and I've got a lot of catching up to do."

If you don't take care of your health now, it won't be there, ready for use, tomorrow. You may not GET to work again, if you don't prevent your next health crisis.

Now is your chance to take care of yourself, not tomorrow, or next week, or at the turn of the new year. If you wait to make health a priority for you, you will find that so much of it has already slipped away. Not that it can't be regained - the body is INCREDIBLE at healing itself - but it will be that much more difficult to get back. Better not to lose it in the first place.

I want you to take responsibility for your health. Make YOU a priority.

Think of your health as that beautiful, chromed-out, all-original vintage car that we all drool over as we pass it on the street. It, too, was new once. Someone paid a pretty penny for it. They made the investment, and strove to keep it in original condition. Keep your health in original, mint-condition and watch everyone drool over you!

Medical Schools offering electives in Integrative Medicine

Yay! I was really excited to read this article in Acupuncture Today.

More and more biomedical schools are teaching elective courses on integrative medicine. As of November 2008, 113 of the nation's 126 medical school have such electives available! These courses are designed to bring to our future doctors information about what types of therapies their future patients are going to be using to improve their health.

Integrative medicine is the practice of combining the best of all of the medical fields (biomedicine, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, etc.) in order to get the best results for a patient with the least amount of intervention.

If acupuncture will help your back pain? Great! If not, maybe another therapy will. Maybe your only answer will be pain medications. However, let's start with something like acupuncture, massage or chiropractic medicine to see if they'll work.

If you've got pneumonia, let's not mess around with herbs (while they CAN work, they're not as effective as antibiotics), let's go straight to antibiotics, get you better, then use acupuncture and Chinese herbs to help your recovery time and address underlying deficiencies that may have predisposed you to illness in the first place.

These electives are not used to teach students HOW to use complimentary therapies, but rather when to refer to the appropriate complimentary medical specialist. Kudos to these medical schools for finally getting it. No one can be the Jack-of-all-trades healer. We WANT practitioners who are experts in their field who communicate with other experts.

It's all about the communication and knowing that there are many ways to help people thrive. We all need to help our patients find the treatments that work best for them.

Go ahead and swear!

Go Ahead and Swear! A study published in NeuroReport shows that uttering your favorite curse word helps ease pain. In this study, the participants held their hand in an ice water bath while repeating a curse word. They then held their hand in the water a second time while repeating an everyday neutral word. They reported their pain levels for each "bathing," and it was found that the participants reported a lesser pain experience while being allowed to repeat a curse word.

In Chinese medical theory this makes a certain amount of sense. Pain is caused by our Qi not flowing smoothly. Stress is caused by our Liver Qi not moving properly (Liver being related to the emotion of anger or frustration). Swearing can help release our Liver Qi, freeing it. Perhaps swearing also has an effect on not just our Liver Qi, but all of the Qi in our body. Free Qi movement equals reduced pain!

So, if you bang your thumb with a hammer, or are a pregnant woman going through labor, feel free to mutter (or scream!) that favorite curse word. You'll feel better for it!



*I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts lately, the kiddo has ceased taking naps recently, making me reconfigure our schedule and trying to figure out when to get some writing done. I hope to get back on the writing wagon now that things have settled down a bit! Thanks for being patient with us!