How to Stay Healthy in Winter

Just like how millions of cells make up one organism, human beings are the tiny cells that make up the universe.  We must abide by the changes of nature, instead of going against it; we must interact with the millions of organisms in the world, instead of solely paying attention to our own needs.  As long as we do this, borrowing upon the strength of nature to cure our diseases, we will naturally be healthy. 

In ancient times, living conditions were relatively poor compared to today’s; it was impossible to control the temperature of the environment, so the only way to avoid the effects of the cold was to rely on the energy of the sun, meanwhile reducing the body’s use of energy—this was done by going to sleep as soon as the sun set, and waking up as soon as the sun rose at dawn.  This kind of lifestyle habit, if put in the context of today’s society, would not be well accepted, because people must wake up early to go to work, then come home from work very late at night; then, they may watch T.V., or go online—and, depending on where you live, there may be an abundance of nighttime activities.  This is the popular lifestyle of today’s society, and no one wants, or feels the need, to change it.   

However, the lifestyle of those who lived in the ancient times is indeed the most precious lesson we can learn from them, because it was not only a convenience, it also preserved their health and led them on a path to longevity. 

Because in the winter, the sun sets early and rises late, we should also sleep early and rise late—this will help us “escape” the winter’s cold.  We must seek more exposure to the sun during the winter—this will help “dispel” the winter’s cold.  Also, we should stay in warm areas and avoid cold areas—this will “expel” the winter’s cold.  Lastly, we must not expose our skin to the cold—this will “resist” the cold.  The above four methods may be common sense, but they are key to helping us prevent sickness during the wintertime, according to “Emperor Huang’s Internal Medicine”. 

To prevent sickness during the wintertime is not that difficult, given our modern living conditions.  However, there are some additional methods that will help dispel the cold that may accidentally enter your body. 

There are many women who, in the wintertime, will dress warmly with layers on top, but only wear a thin dress on the bottom.  Although this may look immaculate and professional, it will also bring endless amounts of harm to one’s body.  An old Chinese proverb says: “Wind comes into the body through one’s neck; the cold comes into the body through one’s legs”.  Although the blood circulating through our body is always warm, many people have poor circulation in their legs because the heat in their legs is not being protected by clothing.  So in the wintertime, remember to keep your legs and feet warm by wearing warm socks, shoes and pants. 

Once winter comes, some people feel that their feet and legs are never warm, even when layering on thick blankets or wearing socks.  This is because of poor circulation, and can be easily remedied by doing the “Walking on Your Knees” exercise, or the “Standing on One Leg” exercise.  These two exercises were both described in earlier blog articles.  Another solution is to soak your feet in warm saltwater every night—this will not only improve circulation, but is also beneficial towards healing and preventing frostbite.  Also, it’s very good for circulation to take walks during the wintertime; you don’t necessarily have to walk very fast, just make sure not to shuffle, instead picking your foot up off the ground each time you take a step.  This is not only good for circulation, but also for the muscles in your legs, which are likely to stiffen in the cold winter weather.  Moreover, walking can help strengthen the functions of the liver and spleen. 

During the winter, it is also important to eat the right foods.  For those who easily get cold, foods and spices such as shrimp, ginger, garlic, pepper and curry are good because of their warm nature.   However, don’t eat too much meat—if you love to eat meat, remember to eat some hawthorn tablets to help with digestion.   Taking Liu Wei Di Huang teapills is also a good idea to balance out the body’s Yin and Yang. 

If you are a completely healthy person, but still want to reinforce your health during the winter, you should use moxa on the Guan Yuan point beneath the belly button, and on the Zu San Li point of the Stomach Meridian, once every day for 15 minutes each.  It is said that this is one of the secrets to longevity of many centenarians. 

An Interesting Herb Story - How Dodder (Bunny's seed) was found

Dodder (bunny's seed) is effective treating back pain, impotence, seminal emission, diarrhea, lumbago and insecure fetus. The following is the story how it was discovered.

A young man was hired by a farmer to look after his bunnies. Being a harsh task-master, the master warned the young man that the death of a bunny would cost him a quarter of his wages. This made the young man very nervous.

One day this young man accidently dropped a bamboo stick to a bunny and broke her spine. The bunny lay on the ground unable to move. The young man was afraid that his boss would find out, so he picked up the bunny form the ground and hid her in the field of soybean plants, where the poor bunny lay very still as if dying.

The farmer found out one bunny missing and demand the young man to find her. So the young man went to the field to bring the bunny back. To his surprise, the bunny was running around in the field. He chased after her for quite a while before finally catch her and put her back to the pen.

Then the young man intentionally broke another bunny’s back and brought her to the soybean field. A few days later, he found out that the bunny’s back had completely healed.

“How could this have happened?” he asked his father, who suffered from backache and had laid in bed for years.

“Maybe it’s the soybean plants?” mused the father.

The next day, the young man deliberately broke the back of another bunny and brought her to the field. But this time, he watched closely what the bunny ate. He found that the bunny was not eating the soybean plant at all, but rather the seed of s parasitic plant living on them. A few days later, the bunny recovered from her back injury.

The young man started to pick the seeds of this parasitic plant and decocted them for his father to drink; soon afterwards, his father’s backache was cured. The herb has been known as “Bunny’s seed” ever since.

Autumn is the Perfect Time to Care for Your Lungs

Did you know? Autumn is the time of year when the lungs are the most active, when they are in the most optimal condition.  We can take advantage of this time to nurture our lungs, to give them any necessary attention and care.  According to Chinese medicine, the lungs have two primary functions: one is to “release”, the other is to “reduce”, or to pass through.  The releasing function is expressed in ways such as sweating, coughing, and sneezing. The reducing function is expressed in two ways: one is opening the water passage within the body through the Pang Guang Meridian; the other is opening up the digestive organs and allowing waste to pass through.  However, the reducing function can only be seen and analyzed during sickness; in other words, when the lungs’ reducing function is normal and healthy, its effects can’t easily be observed—only when it is abnormal can you see any symptoms. 

Sometimes, the cause of constipation isn’t the hard, dry nature of the stool; rather, it is often because the stool is unable to make its way out.  Many people also find that they do not urinate as often as they should.  These conditions are both caused by and directly related to an abnormal reducing function. 

So where exactly does the energy of the reducing and releasing functions come from?  This energy originates in the spleens and lungs, and is the central source of energy in our body.  This is why many Chinese medicines focus on replenishing this source of energy.  One example is the Shen Ling Bai Shu teapills—this herbal medicine not only reinforces the spleen but also replenishes the lungs and restores balance in the body, so it is the perfect remedy for a weak central energy source.  Another example is the Bu Zhong Yi Qi teapills. Its name means “Restore and Increase the Vital Central Energy”, and the medicine does exactly that.  However, the Bu Zhong Yi Qi teapills work by using the energy of the liver and kidney organs in order to restore the energy of the central source (the spleen and lungs), so this medicine is not suitable for those with a weak liver and kidney function. 

On the Lung Meridian, there is a point called Zhong Fu, meaning “central residence” because this is where the central energy of the body comes together and resides.  Therefore, it is one of the key points in treating and restoring the body’s central energy.  Another key point is the Tai Yuan point; it is the point where the Lung Meridian originates, so it has enormous effects in restoring the body’s central energy.  Either using moxa or massaging out these two points will prove extremely beneficial in restoring the body’s energy balance, and meanwhile, taking care of the lungs. 

Many people don’t want to eat medicine or drink porridge for medicinal purposes, either because they dislike the practice or have difficulties preparing it.  So they wonder if there are any other good methods to maintain and replenish the lungs.  In actuality, if the lungs do not receive harm from the exterior, no sickness will arise—so how would we go about maintaining them?  The main source of exterior harm that our lungs receive is the cold; if the body is exposed to the cold for an extended period of time, it will come into the body through the pores and do damage to our lungs.  Therefore, preventing the cold from entering our bodies is the key to keeping our lungs healthy. 

The lungs do have one threat that comes from the body’s interior—it is the excessive heat of the liver, or liver inflammation.  In Chinese Medicine, we call this “Liver Fire”.  Although this excessive heat given off by the liver is very intense, it shouldn’t do too much damage to the lungs, as long as it is controlled in time.  The Yu Ji point is a point on the Lung Meridian that, when massaged, can heal coughs and lung inflammation caused by “Liver Fire”.   

Some people do not have enough Chi in their lungs, therefore their bodies do not retain heat well, and easily feel cold.  People with this condition often find that they have difficulty breathing, or don’t always take in enough oxygen; this is because the spleen does not absorb energy well.  Because the spleen is one of the centers of our body's energy, we must treat this condition starting with the spleen.  To strengthen the spleen, you can use moxa on the Ming Men point, the Shen Yu point located near the waist, the Yuan Guan point located beneath the belly button, and the Tai Xi point located on the Spleen Meridian.  By using moxa on this acupuncture points, you will give warmth to the meridians they are positioned on and open up the stagnant pathways.  If you persist in this method, you will find that it is the best way to treat a weak spleen and lungs during the fall season. 

Another common condition occurs in people who have excess liver fire, but their lungs are not weak either; these people easily get upset, but they stifle it instead of expressing their emotion.  Because of this, they often feel like there is a huge weight inside their chest, preventing them from breathing with ease.  If you have this condition, you can massage the Lung Meridian’s Chi Ze point.  Massaging this point daily can also relieve symptoms of conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, and enuresis (bed-wetting syndrome). 

The methods above can be used according to individual body types, conditions, and needs.  However, one method that can be applied to all conditions relating to the lungs’ releasing and reducing functions is the “Making-Yourself-Sneeze” method.  This method was introduced in a previous blog entry, and can relieve such conditions as allergies, cold, stagnant or obstructed energy in the body, various skin diseases, and etc. 

Future blog: What Should You Do in Winter to Keep Yourself Fit

How to Treat Athlete's Foot

Athlete's foot, also called tinea pedis, is a fungal infection of the foot. The condition often develops between the toes and other areas of the foot. You know athlete’s foot can be really unpleasant, itching, redness, scaling, cracking... You may have tried Lamisil, Lotrimin, Terbinafine, Clotrimazole, etc. All these product works, but the fungus keeps coming back.

Now let me share a natural and easy way. Very simple, just soak your feet in vinegar - about one part vinegar and 2 or 3 parts water. The acidity of the vinegar makes it very hard for the fungus to survive. Also, a little Listerine foot soak will do much the same thing. Or you can even put a little Listerine in with your vinegar and water. Soak your feet once a week and you’ll find it very helpful.

My husband found this method in Reader’s Digest. He tried this and it’s very helpful for him. Hope it works for you too.

Now Bill Clinton is a vegan, is that healthful?

Bill Clinton’s hamburger days are behind him, he says. Former President Clinton now considers himself a vegan.

 In his interview with CNN’s Dr. Gupta, Bill Clinton says that now he consumes no meat, no dairy, no eggs, almost no oil. He's dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he's healthier than ever. “All my blood tests are good, and my vital signs are good, and I feel good, and I also have, believe it or not, more energy," Clinton said.

Clinton adapted the plant-based eating pattern out of concern for his cardiovascular system — “to avoid any food that could damage his blood vessels,” CNN says

 To watch the interview, click the following link:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/18/bill.clinton.diet.vegan/index.html?iref=allsearch

In fact, many celebs are vegetarian. To name a few: Brad Pitt, Carrie Underwood, Lauren Bush (Niece of President Bush), Josh Hartnett, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Alicia Silverstone, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire (the Spiderman),...

I didn’t know so many celebs are vegetarians until I started writing this blog today. By the way, my family of four is vegetarian family except that my daughter and I eat fish occasionally (maybe once in a month). My son was born and raised as a vegetarian. My husband has been a vegetarian since 1996. We’re all very healthy and seldom get sick.

Now the question is:  what should you eat to stay healthy if we want to be a vegetarian or a vegan?

Vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet, any healthy meal should be rich in all the following nutrients:

1. Vitamins
2. Protein
3. Calcium
4. Carbohydrates
5. Zinc
6. Iron
7. Omega-3

Okay, now let me tell you about the foods in which you could find the above nutrients

Calcium: Broccoli, dairy products, tofu, soy, fruit juice (especially orange juice)

Protein: Tofu, apart from being rich in calcium, is also full of protein. Besides tofu, lentils, peas, nuts, seeds, etc. are also rich in protein content

Iron: Once again I have to suggest the highly nutritious tofu here. Apart from that, iron is also available in plenty from rice, cashew nuts, tomato juice, etc.

Zinc: Tofu is here as well. Aren’t you surprised how a single food could be rich in so many different types of nutrients? Okay, apart from tofu, whole grains, especially the bran and germ of grains, are rich in zinc content.

Also, any vegetable available in the form of roots such as radishes, carrots, beets, etc., contains zinc. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach and cabbage leaves are rich in zinc as well. If you hate potatoes because of its carbohydrate content, note that it is rich in zinc too.

Vitamins: Vitamins are available in milk, soy, cereals, Tempeh, miso, etc.

Vitamin B12 is a tough one to find outside animal products, look for it in fortified products like plant milks. Some cereals, substitute meat products and a form of nutritional yeast are also fortified. Or, to make it simple, take Vitamin B12 supplements.

Carbohydrates: Do I even need to tell you where could you get carbohydrates from? They are already available in junk and sugary foods but…WAIT, since you may not want to have them, eat potatoes instead.

Finally, omega-3 fatty acids are typically found in fish, but they can also be gotten via walnuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds. There are also omega-3 supplements derived not from fish, but from algae.

Who says that a vegetarian diet cannot be as nutritious as a non-veg diet? As long as you eat a healthy and well-balanced meal, your body would definitely receive the right amount of nutrition. Moreover, being low on calorie, the vegetarian diet won’t make you fat; if anything, it would help you maintain a slim and flat stomach throughout your entire life. Ask those celebs and you’ll know for sure.

An Herbal Story – San Qi (Notoginseng Root)

     Today let me share a herbal story with you - San Qi (means 37 in Chinese) (Notoginseng root). It can help to stop bleeding; promote blood circulation, heal swelling and relieve pain.

     Long ago, there was a man named Zhang Xiao Er, who was dying due to some kind of hemorrhage disease (a copious blood discharge from the blood vessels). Anxious to save his son’s life, Zhang’s mother found a doctor named Tian, and the doctor prescribed an herb that eventually cured the disease. The doctor left the seed of the herb to Zhang before his departure, telling him to plant this seed just in case he should need it in the future.

      Zhang planted the seed as the doctor suggested, and the herb flourished just after one year. One day, when he heard that the governor’s daughter also suffered from hemorrhage, he dug out the herb and sent it to the governor, hoping to receive a reward in return. However, instead of recovering from the disease like Zhang expected, the condition of the governor’s daughter didn't improve and she died soon.

     The governor was furious and had his men arrested Zhang. After series of tortures, Zhang told the governor that Tian was the one giving him this "harmful" medicine. Therefore, believing that Tian was trying to make a fortune by providing useless and harmful medicine to patients, the governor also had Tian arrested. Tian explained that this herb did have miraculous curative effect for hemorrhage diseases, but it had to be grown for at least 3 to 7 years for the herb to be effective. Since the herb Zhang offered to the governor had only been grown for a year, it was unable to save the governor’s daughter because the herb had no medicinal value.

      In order to demonstrate the effect of the herb, Tian sliced his own thigh with a knife, and his thigh started to bleed immediately. He then grounded the herb into fine powder and took in a part of the powder, while the rest were applied onto the wound. Miraculously, the bleeding stopped instantly and the wound started to heal. After witnessing the sight, the governor believed Tian’s explanation and released him. In order to prevent any future misuses of the herb, Tian named the herb “three seven”, meaning that this herb had to be grown for 3 to 7 years before it can be used as a medicine.

The Top Three Panacea of Chinese Medicine

Many people have chronic illnesses with many symptoms; often, one feels pain from head to toe, almost as if there’s no painless spot on the body.  Although many of these chronic illnesses aren’t too serious, they drag on and never seem to go away.  At times, the symptoms may worsen, at other times they may disappear, causing the person much distress.  The solution is actually to cultivate and nurture blood within the body, as this will increase one’s chances of recovering from a chronic illness.

                So what is the easiest and fastest way to generate new blood in the body?  Chinese medicine says that the spleen and stomach are essential in the generation of red blood cells.  Therefore, if we want to have sufficient blood in the body, then we must regulate our spleen and stomach organs, making sure that they are running efficiently and are healthy.  Some people eat just a little bit of food, but become uncomfortably full or bloated, resulting in indigestion; others can’t easily absorb the food they eat, resulting in either diarrhea, constipation, an inability to produce sperm, excess production of phlegm, or a tendency to develop muscles easily.  These problems are all a result of the spleen and stomach organs not functioning properly.  Solving this problem starts with fixing the body’s physique, allowing for it to have the right conditions of a healthy spleen and stomach.  Medicine can’t be the first course of action because if there is difficulty digesting and absorbing even grains and vegetables, then there would be even more difficulty digesting and absorbing medicine. 

                Many people familiar with Chinese medicine have weak kidney systems, so they take medicine that helps replenish the kidneys.  But because these medicines are difficult to digest, often times they fail to replenish the kidneys, instead becoming a heavy burden on the spleen and stomach organs.  In this way, the medicine which is supposed to help the body actually becomes a poison to the body’s organs. 

                A lot of people also have excessive heat in their heart and liver organs, so they must take cool-natured medicines year-round to balance this.  But what they don’t know is that taking cool-natured medicines can damage the spleen and stomach the most, especially when the spleen and stomach is already weak.

                If there is one medicine on this planet that I recommend to you, in order to help solve your chronic health and blood deficiency problems, it would be a combination of Chinese yam, Job’s tears seeds, and Gorgon fruit.  This combination is highly effective, and is the most reliable Chinese medicine you can take. 

                For frail elderly people, very young children, and also people whose conditions are very severe, my frequent suggestion is to eat porridge made of those three ingredients: Chinese yam, Job’s tears and Gorgon fruit.  These ingredients may be a little bit hard to find at supermarkets, but if you look around at health food stores or herbal stores, or ask a local practitioner, you may be able to find it. 

                Many people ask, “Is it really effective to just eat porridge? Can it really promote the growth of red blood cells very quickly?” My answer to you is, if the porridge solution doesn’t work, then I’m afraid that nothing else will.  Although normal food produces energy and blood in the body, first we use the energy already present in the body to digest that food.  If the body can’t afford to use that bit of energy to digest the food, then our only solution is to use the three ingredients mentioned, because only they can directly provide us with energy and the source of blood.

                First let’s discuss the benefits of Chinese yam.  Chinese yam has a stable, sweet nature, and doesn’t cause inflammation or excess heat in the body when restoring the body’s energy.  A Chinese medicine book discusses the benefits of the Chinese yam: “….strengthens the kidneys, restores the stomach and spleen, dissolves phlegm and mucus, cures dysentery, and moisturizes the skin and hair.”  Other benefits of Chinese yam include relieving cough and clearing the lungs. For medicinal purposes, it is more common to use dried Chinese yam, although there is fresh Chinese yam available at oriental markets.  At herbal stores, there are usually two kinds of dried Chinese yam: cooked and raw.  It is better to use the raw herb form. 

                Now let’s talk about the Job’s tears seeds—if you’re body tends to have what Chinese medicine calls “dampness”, or a “wet” nature, (such as if you are easily prone to water retention, edema, eczema,), then the seeds of Job’s tears is the best solution for you.  Job’s tears helps the body get rid of excess water, delivering this dampness out of the body.  Job’s tears seed has a slightly cool nature; therefore, it’s not very suitable for people who have excessive coldness within their stomach and spleen, or for people whose four limbs become cold easily.  Some Chinese medicine doctors also says that pregnant women should also abstain from using Job’s tears, because it may affect not only the body’s general fluids, but also the amniotic fluids in the uterus.  Although side effects have not been observed to date, it’s better to stay on the safe side and avoid any risks during pregnancy.

                The main function of Job’s tears is to strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness.  Meanwhile strengthening the spleen, it can also replenish the lungs; meanwhile dispelling dampness, it can also dissolve mucus and phlegm. Job’s tears seed can also help alleviate excess heat in the lungs. When used alongside Chinese yam, it is all the more effective.  It is recommended to use 50 grams of each ingredient to make porridge, to be eaten daily.   The question is, why do we have to wait until we are sick to eat this? The porridge itself isn’t necessarily a medicine—it can also be considered as a supplement, a source of nutrition and prevention for getting sick in the first place.  The porridge doesn’t taste bad or like medicine at all.  So even if you are not chronically ill, or don’t have any of the above mentioned problems, I still invite you to try this porridge.  The medicine should not be bitter, sour or taste like medicine—if it does, then that means the quality of your ingredients are not great.  For porridge, it is better to use fresh Chinese yam.

 

                Finally, let me discuss the benefits of Gorgon fruit.  Some people have diarrhea for extended periods of time; others produce too much sperm and are unable to control its outward flow from body; still others urinate too frequently at night, and can’t sleep well because of this.  For these conditions, Gorgon fruit is the perfect remedy. Gorgon fruit also has other benefits, such as stopping pain in the knee and back, enhancing vision and hearing, and when eaten long term it has the ability to promote longevity.  Although it’s a quite common food, its benefits are unusual and highly sought after.   This fruit not only has the ability to stop excess production of sperm, but also helps in increasing sperm production if needed—in general, it can regulate sperm production.  Additionally, it cures inflammation from excess dampness in the stomach and spleen and replenishes the kidneys. 

                Chinese yam, seed of Job’s tears, and Gorgon fruit complement each other perfectly, all three having miraculous effects on the stomach and spleen. However, they all have different specialties.  Chinese yam, for instance, strengthens five organs: the stomach, spleen, kidney, lung, and the liver.  The seed of Job’s tears can clear the lungs, clear excess water from the lungs, help the stomach, and expel dampness. Gorgon fruit, on the other hand, besides strengthening the stomach and spleen, can also stop diarrhea and stop excess sperm production.  Many people grind the three medicines into powder (if you’re using dry ingredients) and then add water to make it into porridge, adding jujubes (red dates) to the mix.  This can help cure blood deficiency, which is benefiting to problems such as anemia. 

                Although these medicines have many benefits, like all other medicines it is not suitable for everyone.  If you have excess heat or inflammation in the liver, stagnant or slow moving blood flow, low amounts of saliva, these three ingredients aren’t recommended for you. Also, if you feel that you don’t urinate very often, if you get easily out of breath in the cold, or are easily prone to constipation when the weather is hot, then the medicine isn’t good for you either.  When you want to put clean water into a fountain, first you must get rid of the dirty, stagnant water.  Likewise, if you want to receive the benefits of this medicine, first you must rid your body of these problems and conditions.  Otherwise, the blood deficiency will not be cured easily.  More will come in later blogs for ways to treat these problems.

Summer—the Perfect Time to Cure Winter Illnesses

In Chinese Medicine, summer is the time to cleanse your body of all the illnesses you’ve accumulated during the long winter months. Chinese medicine expert Sun Si Miao once said: “Great doctors prevent illnesses that may happen in the future; Good doctors prevent the inevitable illnesses of the near future; Regular doctors treat illnesses that are happening or have already happened.”  It is true that good doctors prevent the illnesses of the future, but there are so many possibilities of future illnesses—Chinese medicine doctors, on the other hand, pinpoint exactly which illnesses you are most likely to develop in the future, and work on those instead.  By recognizing the signs and symptoms that the body gives off, one is able to identify the origins of sickness and chase it away before the illness becomes severe or untreatable.  This is done by modifying the body’s conditions so that it isn’t the ideal environment for breeding sickness.  As a result, the body’s problems can be healed without the use of medicine.

                “Winter illnesses” refers to illnesses that easily occur in the wintertime, which are not necessarily ones that have already occurred.  The reason we can say that these “winter illnesses” are most likely to occur is because most people have, in the winter, what Chinese medicine describes as “Lack of Fire Energy”, or lack of internal bodily heat.  The most common signs of this are cold feet and hands, an aversion to the cold, and always feeling fatigued or sleepy.  This means that your body doesn’t have enough heat energy in it; when the body can’t produce enough heat energy, then the coldness is naturally born from within.  People who have this problem are constantly cold, even in the summertime, and pile on blankets and wear socks to go to bed.

                Why do winter illnesses need to be cured in the summertime then? It’s because people who have winter illnesses, more often than not, have body constitution that tend to be weak to the cold. And depending on where you live, winter may be a bitter and long season, and the outside world is frozen for quite a while; therefore, treating winter illnesses in the wintertime is like hanging your clothes to dry outside on a rainy day—the sickness won’t really go away, because of the nature of the season.  On the contrary, in the summertime when the outside environment is warm, the body will be full of internal heat as well.  Because of this, the cold can easily be dispelled during this time. 

                It’s important to remember that the coldness from winter deposits itself in the body in layers, and wherever the coldness subsides, there is poor blood circulation. This is why, when the weather is especially cold or damp, people tend to feel pain in their joints, or their arthritis may act up. Likewise, if the coldness subsides in the organs, swelling is likely to develop; if it subsides in the meridians, then there will be poor blood circulation to many parts of the body, especially the feet and hands, causing not only cold feet and hands, but sometimes a numb feeling as well.

                The key to dispelling this coldness from the body is to kindle the body’s inner “fire”, or heat energy.  In order to develop one’s inner heat, one must eat foods which Chinese medicine deems as having a “warm nature”.  Some people might think, “Eating warm foods in the summer heat will make me uncomfortable and sick.”  This is true, but eating foods with “warm nature” doesn’t necessarily mean eating foods that are warm.  For example, a common remedy to coldness in the body is a tea made of brown sugar and ginger.  Both of these ingredients are warm-natured, but in the summer you would not drink it as a hot tea, but rather cool it.  However, the tea still retains its warm nature, though it may taste cool, and has the same effects on the body as it would if drank warm.  

                People who don’t sweat easily—or those that, after sweating are vulnerable to cold—can use “Yu Bing Feng San” granules, dissolved in hot water to make a bottle of liquid, then cooled.  It’s recommended to drink a bottle of this daily, because the beverage has the ability to stop excessive sweating, promote sweating if a person doesn’t sweat easily, and also prevents one from being vulnerable to coldness from the wind.  There are so many uses for this beverage, it’s really like killing three birds with one stone rather than two—there’s no harm in trying it.

                Because people are especially fond of eating cold foods and drinking cold beverages during the summertime, the digestive system organs accumulate a lot of coldness.  At this time, the body is easily susceptible to colds, especially ones that are accompanied by high fevers but no sweating.  Sweating is necessary when you have a cold, because the virus is flushed away through the skin pores.  If there is no sign of sweating, the person can take Huo Xiang Zheng Qi teapills.  However, if these are symptoms of a heat stroke, this medicine is not effective, so make sure it really is a cold before using this medicine.

                If you feel that your stomach is always cold, and even in the summertime you feel the need to eat hot foods in order to warm your body and stomach, you should take “Fu Zi Li Zhong” teapills.  This medicine also is effective for people who are afraid of wind and the cold in general.  It is also quite beneficial to use moxa on Zhong Guan, Guan Yuan, and Zu San Li .  A lot of people dislike the smell and smoke of moxa—it’s not bad for your health, but you don’t have to use it.  There are many other solutions, so it’s best to find one that you feel comfortable with and enjoy using.

                If you feel coldness on your back, use the Gwa Sha method on your back. It’s best if you soak your feet in hot water while doing this.  Afterwards, drink a bowl of hot ginger and red date tea, or pepper and Daikon radish soup.  These ingredients can be commonly found in oriental supermarkets.  

                Another effective method is making yourself sneeze, which has been described in a previous blog.  This is one of the best ways of alleviating cold symptoms and dispelling inner cold from the body.

                Many people say that they are easily cold, but when taking warm-natured medicines their bodies collect too much inner heat, the symptoms including swelling of gums and teeth and blisters on the face, and then they must take cold-natured medicine, and the cycle starts all over again.  Why does this happen? It’s because your body’s has excessive cold on the surface, and when you take warm-natured medicine, the body is like ice wrapped around fire—the outer cold is not dispelled, and you are left with excessive heat on the inside.  The solution to this is using the Gwa Sha or cupping method on the back in order to “break the ice”, then taking warm-natured medicines or foods to dispel the coldness.

                Of course, this blog is only to advise and inform you about all the solutions available—it’s up to you and your doctor to decide which, if any, to use, and which ones are most suitable to your lifestyle and body type.  There isn’t a perfect solution to anything, only ones that best suit your condition. 

Future Blog: How to keep Yourself Fit in the Season of Fall

One Spoon (Stone) to "Cure" Three Birds

First please forgive me for using the word "cure" instead of "kill".  I love birds so much and never want to harm or kill any.

I have been working on a lady patient in her 20's. She went to see me with TMJ pain with restricted motion. There are tender facial points along St6 and St7. Her pulse is thin and weak and the tongue is tender with thin coating and red spots on tip. Her face looks very pale. She experienced severe hair loss with patches. Also she experiences full mid cycle bleeding becasuse she has been taking birth control pills for years. From these symptoms, I can see that she has Qi and blood deficiency due to mid cycle bleeding and blood stagnation related to deficiency.

First I suggest that she should go see her doctor about sopping taking the birth control pills. Otherwise, in addition to the current problems, she may have a infertility issue later.  She listened and did stop the birth control pills and after a little while  her condition improved significantly. After five sessions she is no longer bleeding mid cycle and she can open the jaw wider without much pain.

When we treat a person, we have to check every aspects of their life carefully and find out the root reasons in order for the treatment to be effective.

I choose points LI4, ST6, ST7, ST43 or ST40 on Stomach and Large Intestine meridian which ran from head to extremities. Those two meridians are full of qi and blood, so stimulation of the points along the meridian can promote and generate more qi and blood.

Also I used LV2, LV3 on Liver meridian for tendon related problems and   SJ5, SJ17, SP6 for hormonal balance. She was also taking herbal formula like “Ba Zhen Wan or Gui Pi Tang” to tonify Qi and  blood.

I am really happy that she is enjoying better health without TMJ pain, hair loss and full mid cycle bleeding any more . I believe that she'll have all her hair grow back soon. More importantly, she will be able to have babies when she want to. As you can see, if you find the root cause of problem(s), you can cure them all at one time - just like curing (killing) three birds using one spoon (stone). Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine is just this magical and yet simple.

Losing Weight Should be Like an Pleasant Journey

Many people have unusually low self-esteem and low spirit just because they don’t have slim figures. Some feel that it’s merely their figures that cost them their lifetime of happiness—from marriage, family, friendship and career to affecting fate entirely.  Often times being overweight or obese takes away their joy, success and even opportunities.  This is truly a concerning matter.  Here, I will help people who are overweight use a completely new method and view a completely new idea to get rid of this invisible lock on their freedom and find back their self-esteem, beauty, and find back everything which would originally belong to us.

Why do people become overweight? There are many reasons, such as genetics, eating habits, body constitution and exercise habits. However, all overweight people have one thing in common: their spleen is week in absorbing and digesting the food that they eat.  This seems confusing, because one would think that this would cause a person to be underweight, not overweight.  Most people have the misguided notion that obesity is because the body’s ability to digest and absorb is too great.  Because of this false concept, often times our weight-loss goals are impossible to reach.

Some people think, “My appetite is great; I can eat anything, and I’d never be full.  This can’t mean my spleen is weak, right?” In Chinese medicine there is a saying: “When the stomach is strong, the spleen is weak.”  The meaning of this is easy to see, that is, even if you can eat, it can’t be digested. The stomach is an organ that receives the food and breaks it down, while the spleen is responsible for digesting and distributing nutrients to the body. Although at times we eat a lot, the spleen’s ability to convert food to nutrients is weak. In this scenario, it’s like a factory that bought a lot of material but can’t use it because the machines aren’t functioning properly.  The resulting products also cannot be used.  Excess fat on the body, likewise, isn’t stored nutrients from eating too much.  They are a pile of waste that can’t be gotten rid of, just like the products of a factory with broken machines.  This excess fat won’t convert into energy when you need it; rather, it will prevent you from producing energy.  Therefore, the true goal of weight loss is to rid the body of this storage of waste in the form of excess fat on the body.  This way, new energy can be produced—and not only will you be slimmer, you will have better energy and overall health. 

In the past, weight loss methods revolved around watching energy intake in the form of calories, because it was thought that reducing calorie intake and burning calories already “stored” would result in the decrease of fat.  At first glance, this method seems to make sense.  However, when looking closer, one important point is forgotten—the excess fat on the body isn’t stored calories from food, but rather waste that the body is incapable of getting rid of.  This fat can’t easily be burned, because it takes a large amount of effort on the body’s part to dispose of through the bloodstream. This is comparable to a factory’s disposal of waste products or unusable products; these unusable products must be sorted, then thrown away or recycled accordingly.  If a lot of energy isn’t available, there is no way that the body can get rid of these waste materials. 

So where does the body get this energy from?  It can only be produced from food calories.  People trying to lose weight often only eat enough to get them through the day—if this is happening, then the body will never have energy sufficient to deliver the waste products outside of the body.  True, if you starve yourself for a few days, you will definitely see weight loss as a result.  However, you will find that your skin loses its elasticity and your fat and muscle hangs limp from your body.  Additionally, you won’t have enough energy as before. This is because your body has broken down what little energy your body had left in the muscles, in order to maintain the vital organs’ functions.  In fact, you may feel thinner but in actuality the waste within your body still has not been expelled. And if this continues to happen, you will not be able to maintain the slim figure, but rather put on even more weight than before.

Is muscle really that important? Of course; muscles are responsible for the storage and distribution of the body’s energy.  If one continues to starve the body in order to lose weight, this storage will be depleted to replenish the vital organs, and there won’t be enough energy left to maintain the other functions, especially the immune system.   Therefore, if you want to build and maintain a strong, slim and healthy figure, it is important to also maintain the source of your energy—the muscles.

There is another even more serious case, and that is the result of taking medicines for weight loss, causing the body to lose weight and burn fat at an abnormal rate.  In our factory analogy, this is no different than selling the entire factory in order to get rid of the unwanted products.  These medicines, likewise, result in thyroid malfunction and considerable damage to the cardiac muscle, sometimes even leading to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa.  Once you realize that only increasing food/energy intake can result in weight loss, then these disorders won’t occur.

Now that we are aware of the factors that cause fat buildup on the body, how should we put our weight loss plan into action? There is something I want to tell everyone in advance: Once you know everything above, this is a very easy process.

First off, we need to choose to eat foods that will not cause waste buildup (fat) on our body, and will also increase energy and circulation.  In other words, it is necessary to eat a nutritious diet.  Special foods such as Job’s tears (a type of grain), Chinese Yam and Gorgon fruit can improve function of the spleen. A herbal formula called “Gui Pi Wan” can also help to strengthen the spleen . If you are a person who loves to eat meat, avoid eating at least fatty meats—just take one or two hawthorn tablets or pills after eating meat, which will help you digest it.  Often your body craves food because it lacks iron or is deficient in blood; once you have enough blood in your body, this unusual craving will gradually disappear. Don’t limit the amount of vegetables, fruits, legumes or nuts that you eat.  Remember that radish helps to relieve internal gases and to digest in general, winter melon helps empty fluids, and jujube promotes the production of red blood cells.  These three foods are extremely beneficial in the weight loss process. Avoid eating too much white rice and grain products, as well as fatty meats such as pork and poultry.  Also to be avoided are foods like freshwater seafood, candies, pastries, etc.  When on a diet, it is also important that you do not fast. Some people have specific foods that cause reactions such as bloating or indigestion—avoid these foods if you know what they are.

When feeling hungry or energy deprived, don’t turn to sweets for the answer.  This is because what the body needs is not sugar, but blood and energy.  Our bodies don’t need as much sugar or starch as we think, because these products are often hidden into the everyday foods that we consume.  Again, consume foods such as longan, jujubes, fruits, beef and nuts to replenish the body’s blood supply.

At this point, you may ask: “Any special exercise you recommend?” Jugging, walking are good one as we all know. But some overweight people have knee or ankle problems and cannot jug or walk much and some people don’t like jugging or walking, then try the exercises “walking on your knee” and “standing-on-one leg”. See our previous blogs and videos on these two exercises. As mentioned before, “walking on your knee” can help you reduce the fat around the hip and thigh area. “Standing on one leg” can help you strengthen your spleen that helps our body digest the excessive fat naturally. Try these two exercises, they are very simple to practice and yet very helpful!

By following the above method in losing weight, you’ll find that the process is easy, and you don’t have a great limitation on the foods you can or cannot eat; meanwhile, you will gain energy while losing weight, and your immune system will benefit from it as well.  This is how real, healthy weight loss should be.  One strange thing will happen—you will find that, as you become slimmer, you won’t be necessarily losing weight, but may actually put on a bit.  This is very normal, so do not be alarmed or despaired.  The increase in weight is due to the muscles being replenished and the body’s blood production increasing.  Because muscle is more dense than fat, it weighs more per area, so there may be a slight increase in weight.  Don’t be too preoccupied with the numbers you see on the scale—what’s more important is, people will notice your slimmer figure, and not only that, but also your healthy complexion and overall improvement in energy and health. Now that this has happened, it’s time to congratulate yourself for a job well done.

Now it’s time to let nature do its work.  Recall all that we discussed regarding waste on our body taking the form of excess fat. When the body is healthy enough, and can produce enough energy, then this energy will be used to get rid of all of this waste.  Once your body eliminates this fat, it means you are not only slim, but also healthy!  It is important, however, to maintain good eating habits.  As long as you do this, you will stay a slim and healthy person.

Future blog: Summer is the Time to Tackle Health Problems of Winter

Antibiotics and Childrens' Health

Recently, I have been providing treatments to several young children aged 3 to 12 years old. Although they have different complaints, the underlying reasons are related to a weak digestive system and the demand of nutrition during growth.  

When we think about children, think of the image of a tree in spring. They are constantly growing. When children grow, they need a lot of nutrition, just like a tree that requires water, sun and fertilizer. If they have a strong digestive system, the food they eat will provide nourishment, which supports their growth. Otherwise their immune system will be compromised and manifest as eczema, allergies, ear infections, and blood sugar problems.

In fact, the digestive system of a child is not as mature as an adult’s. So, as parents, we should take precautions to protect their digestion and eating habits. So, how can we do this?  First, start by making sure they are eating healthy and regularly. You can also support your child’s digestion by protecting against over-indulgence of ice cream and cold food items. Another very important, simple thing you can do to protect your child’s digestion is to limit frequent use or overuse of antibiotics.  The children I am currently treating for digestive and skin complications all suffer from the side effects of frequent use of antibiotics during their developing years.  

Young children around 4 years old generally have a fear of needles.  So instead of using needles I use ear seeds, herbs and acupressure to help balance their body and support their digestive system. Children aged 7 years and older can accept several needles, cupping, and herbal remedies. In essence, children are more sensitive in this time of rapid growth, therefore, they need a more gentle treatment.  The use of acupressure, cupping and herbal formulas are effective, yet mild enough for their sensitive constitutions. 

How to Stretch Your Legs to Improve the Health of Your Liver & Kidney System

Today let me introduce a simple exercise to help you strengthen your liver and kidney systems.

Method: See the linked video clip below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy-_A3uwd8A

Why is this exercise helpful? The answer is very simple. If you want any of your organs to be healthy and strong, you just need to channel your blood and Qi (energy) to the meridian that governs that organ. Look at the meridian chart and you can see that both the liver and the kidney meridians run along the inside face of our legs. When you stretch your legs sideways, these two meridians will feel the tension and get exercised and blood & Qi will be brought there. It is this simple.

Every one of us needs a healthy liver and kidney system. But who need this exercise the most? Certainly those who already have problems or likely will develop liver or kidney problems.

You may develop liver problems if you: 1) Easily get angry as anger hurts liver. 2) Drink too much alcohol. As most of us know, alcohol damages liver. 3) Take drugs routinely. This includes most medicines we take – prescribed or unprescribed. It has been proven that Drugs and chemicals can cause a wide spectrum of liver injury. Liver is the organ that transforms toxic chemicals into nontoxic chemicals to protect our body. Too much toxins will “overwhelm” and damage the liver. If you have any of the above three problems, please do this leg stretch exercise to keep your liver fit.

The following are signs of kidney deficiency: 1) Lower back pain (behind the kidney). 2) Knee and foot ache (especially the next day after you have sex). 3) Too much sex. 4) Loose teeth. 5) Ear ringing. 6) Hair loss. 7) Urinate too often. It’s too often if you need to get up to urinate more than twice each night.8) Night sweats. 9) Dizziness.

Look at the meridian chart more carefully, and you’ll see both the liver and kidney meridians run through the genital area. That’s why this exercise can improve your sex life. This is a natural, healthy and effective way.

Note: Be patient and don’t expect to see results tomorrow. There is an old saying: A thousand-mile trip starts from the first step. But if the first step is the right step, then it’s the last step.

Future Blog:

1.       A simple exercise to strengthen your kidney – A great Tai Chi master’s longevity secret.

80% Gynecological Illnesses Can be Treated with Regulation of Menstrual Cycle

     80% of gynecological illnesses are caused by irregular menstrual cycles.  If the menstrual cycle can be regulated, then many of these gynecological illnesses would disappear by themselves.  Ignoring menstrual irregularities is not smart, as they may cause many unforeseen problems later on in life.   Some common menstrual problems include menstrual cramps, bloating, headaches, spotting, back pain, and irregular cycles, etc.  If these problems are recognized early on and are treated without delay, they are not difficult issues to deal with. 

In treating menstrual problems there are three organs that must be focused on:  the liver, spleen and kidney.  There are two important acupuncture points that, if applied pressure to daily for a couple of minutes, may be extremely beneficial in regulating menstrual cycles and getting rid of the painful symptoms. 

1.       The “San Yin Jiao”

San Yin Jiao is, from a gynecological standpoint, a panacea.  It’s a remedy for just about any female-related illness, so it’s one whose abilities and importance we must value.  The point has a two-way effectiveness; in other words, it can act as both a channel and an absorber, and can either evoke circulation of the blood or slow it, depending on an individual’s physique.  It is very easy to find on the body, located around 7 centimeters above the inner ankle. To find the exact point, feel around the area for a spot of sensitivity. 

2.       The “Ci Liao” Point

This point is located at the base of the spine, and it is also a very important point when it comes to treating gynecological illnesses. As long as there’s a problem with the female reproductive system—no matter if it’s located in the uterus, ovaries, etc.—this spot will be sensitive when applied pressure to.  If this point is massaged frequently, the pain around the point will gradually lessen and disappear, and the corresponding illness will also go away. 

                The points above are very effective external methods in curing gynecological illness; if the body’s internal cycles are regulated as well, the results will be even better.  How to regulate these internal cycles then?  You can take herbal medicines such as Free and Easy Wanderer, or Free and Easy Wanderer Plus (ask a local practitioner about these medicines).  These two medicines are extremely helpful in getting rid of menstrual problems or illnesses causes by menstrual irregularities.  It is effective in treating 70% or more of gynecological illnesses. 

                Free and Easy Wanderer Pills, just as the name suggests, promotes energy and raises spirit, eliminating depression.  Many gynecological illnesses and reproductive problems are directly related to emotional stress and spiritual well-being. 

                What’s the difference between Free and Easy Wanderer Teapills and Free and Easy Wanderer Plus?  The answer lies in the “Plus”.  Free and Easy Wanderer Plus was created on the basis of Free and Easy Wanderer, with an addition of several herbs to reduce internal heat and relieve inflammation.

                If you find that you are easily agitated or upset, often are thirsty and like to drink cold beverages, you should take Free and Easy Wanderer Plus.  If you don’t like to drink water and are not often thirsty, it’s better to take Free and Easy Wanderer.

                In general, you should begin taking the herbs 3 or 4 days before menstruation, and stop taking the herbs temporarily once menstruation begins.  If you feel comfortable with the herbs, it’s okay to take them for an extra two days.  By taking these herbs, you will feel that your menstruation period passes smoothly and without incident. 

                There are several other medicinal regulating methods that also give pretty good results:

                Because menstruation uses up a lot of the body’s energy, after menstruation many people will feel light-headed and weak, having symptoms such as a sore back or leg pain.  This problem is easily solved.  When menstruation is just about to end, take Liu Wei Di Huang teapills.  People who easily get cold can take Shi Quan Da Bu teapills as an alternative, because this can prevent a weak body and energy deficiency. 

                If spotting occurs, it’s often because the spleen is weak or has weak circulation.  This problem can be solved by taking Bu Zhong Yi Qi teapills and eating Chinese red dates/jujubes.  During menstruation, you can also take San Qi in powder form and Ba Zhen. People who get cold easily can also add some brown sugar while taking the herbs.

                If you are not familiar with Chinese Medicine, please ask a local practitioner/acupuncturist about the herbs.  As long as you follow the above methods, I’m sure your gynecological illnesses will be solved.

Future Blog: Losing Weight Should Be an Easy Process

How to Keep Yourself Healthy During the Springtime

                When the frost melts away and the cold disappears, animals wake from their sleep and life blooms everywhere.  This kind of restoration occurs continuously during the springtime, and the vitality can be felt not only in nature, but in everyone’s body as well. This energy is better for our health than the best medicine, so we should use this energy of the seasons to cleanse our body of any chance of disease.

               During the spring, the body’s old sicknesses are the most likely to reappear.  Our immune system, when stimulated, begins attacking the focal point of infection or disease, and as a result the sickness is quickly eliminated. The energy of our immune system exists with the help of our liver, and in the springtime, the liver is the most irritable and easily provoked. During this time, people are more likely to get angry or upset easily.  The gallbladder and liver organs are related here; the liver’s internal heat—what the Chinese call “fire”—travels out of the body through the gallbladder meridian.  Because of this, many people will suddenly develop a bitter taste in their mouth from the gallbladder’s bile, as well as shoulder pain, headache on one side of the head, painful swelling of the breasts, or sharp pain in the thighs or back area.

                Though these symptoms may seem severe, they’re actually quite easy to treat. To get rid of the bile taste, take Xiao Chai Hu Tang pills; for the one-sided headache or painful swelling of breasts, take Free and Easy Wanderer Plus pills; to get rid of shoulder or leg pain take Ping Gan Shu Luo pills.            

                There is a teacher who, during the day is angry at his students, and at night around 11 or 12 (when the gallbladder meridian is most active), he feels increasing pain in his shoulders and cannot sleep.  After massaging the Tai Chong point, located on the liver meridian, the pain immediately stops and he is able to fall asleep.  It is very important to recognize these acupuncture points so that, in cases like the teacher’s, we do not need to find medicine or see a doctor, but rather rid ourselves of the pain.  The Tai Chong point is nearly halfway between the toes and the heel, on the top side of the foot in between the big toe and second toe (see attached image).  It’s not important to get exactly the right point, but feel around the approximate area and massage where you feel pain or sensitivity.

                The skin’s pores are more open during the springtime, so people may find that they get cold more easily, and therefore are more susceptible to coughs, especially coughing continuously at night. This is because coughing is the body’s method to cure itself of the imbalance of internal heat (from the liver) and external cold (from the lungs).

                A helpful tip:  

If your child suddenly develops a cold or high fever, accompanied by coughing, massage his/her  “Tian He Shui” pathway (see attached image), which is located on the inner face of the lower arm, starting at the center base of the wrist and pushing upwards towards the bend in the arm.  Do this about  5-10 minutes, right before his/her bedtime.  

Other discomforts of the springtime may include headaches that begin at the eyes, dizziness and ringing in the ears—these are all signs of excessive internal heat of the liver.  To allow the internal heat to escape the body, you must open up the gallbladder meridian (recall that the gallbladder meridian is the channel by which the liver’s internal heat travels out of the body).  To do this, apply pressure along the gallbladder meridian, which starts at the base of the neck and extends all the way to the pinky toe.  (For a better picture of this and other pathways, see the attached images)  You can also apply pressure along the San Jiao meridian, which essentially is the gallbladder meridian but in the arms instead of the legs. You can also massage the Xin Bao meridian or the Pang Guang meridian, which helps dispel external cold and uses your body’s natural energy in order to get rid of the sickness stored in the body.

Some people find that they easily get muscle cramps during the spring; others have a tendency to develop diarrhea, and still others feel sleepy or fatigued often.  This is another case of the liver’s excessive internal heat, but this time also combined with a weak spleen organ. When the liver is too active, most of the body’s blood flows along the liver meridian; this causes the spleen meridian to be weaker.  This is because the spleen is responsible for delivering the body’s blood and energy to various parts of the body. If the liver is receiving too much of the body’s blood supply, the spleen naturally begins to malfunction and tire.  This is treated with Free and Easy Wanderer pills, Shen Ling Bai Shu pills, Chinese red dates (jujubes), or porridge made of Chinese yam and Job’s tears seeds.  All of the following have the ability to promote the generation of red blood cells, so that the spleen will be restored and the imbalance between the liver and spleen will disappear. 

Next blog: Most Gynecological Illnesses can be treated with Regulation of Menstrual Cycle