Alban Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs Clinic, New York City
Archive for May, 2009
Summertime Eight Treasure Tea
May 28, 2009
In my last post, I discussed Chinese medicinal recipes for Summer. This post covers a seasonal tea which helps keep you healthy during the Summer months.
Every season has its own nature. The summer is hot and humid, which can tax our qi. As I’ve written before, Chinese medicine has always valued the importance of disease prevention. In fact, it is said that the best physician does not treat disease, but prevents disease before it occurs.
The changing of the seasons is an optimal time for promotion of health and wellness through the Eight Treasure Tea. This tea is modified seasonally to address the upcoming season’s particular nature.
Summertime Eight Treasures Tea, helps to prevent summertime colds, improve energy, and prepare the body for the change of season.
What is a summertime cold?
In Chinese medicine, illnesses such as colds, the flu, and allergies are caused by environmental phenomenon such as wind, heat, or, cold. Quite often they combine to form what is called wind heat or wind cold. Summertime illnesses tend to be wind heat and summertime damp heat. Symptoms of wind heat generally include redness at the tip of the tongue, nasal congestion, sneezing, and a slight fever, which can combine with dampness leading to joint pain and excess sweating.
The Summertime Eight Treasure Tea
During the summer, the hot and humid weather taxes our qi (commonly translated as energy, but it really has many more meanings), leaving us vulnerable to sickness. Eight Treasure Tea helps prevent this from happening. In China, people drink this tasty and refreshing tea in teahouses year round. Common ingredients include green tea plus a number of Chinese herbs such as chrysanthemum flowers, wolfberries, and others, which work together to tonify and move the qi. Special modifications for the summer include the addition of atractylodes and Job’s tears, which help tonify qi and drain dampness.
Ingredients
green tea
ju hua (Chrysamthmum)1-2 flowers
rock sugar
yi yi ren (jobes tears) 2g
bai zhu (atractalocus) 2g
gou qi zi (wolfberries) 3-4 pieces
bai mu er (Tremella Mushroom) 2 pieces
tai zi shen (Stellaria) 3 g
For optimum benefits, put a packet of this tea in a large mug at the beginning of the day. After you finish the first glass, you can add more water to the same herbs and drink several glasses throughout the day.
Photo: Larlo
Chinese Medicinal Recipies for Summer
May 26, 2009
Herbs as food, and food as medicine
Cultures all over the world use food as medicine, adding herbs and spices not only for their good taste but also for good health. Food therapy is an essential part of Chinese Herbal medicine. In addition to the tradition’s emphasis on maintaining a healthy diet, many of the ingredients in herbal formulas come from plants that are also cultivated for food, such as wheat, cinnamon, Chinese dates, wolfberries, Chinese yams, lotus plant, among others. In fact, almost all whole foods have some medicinal properties. The difference between a “food” and a “medicine” is the dosage.
Food Therapy
Chinese medicine physicians learned the value of food therapy as one of the most important ways for improving longevity, wellness, and preventing disease. Food therapy can be individualized for specific constitutions and conditions or followed by using general guidelines, particularly for seasonal eating.
Chinese physicians classified food and herbs according to their tastes and temperatures. The temperature of a food refers to its effect on the body’s temperature and not the temperature at which the food is eaten. Green tea, for example, is often prepared as a warm drink, but in Chinese medicine it is still considered to have a cooling effect on the body. In general, the taste and temperature of different foods correlates to specific therapeutic effects on the body. Foods and herbs with sweet tastes and warm temperatures tend to boost qi (energy) and blood while bitter and cold foods tend to drain heat.
Regardless of your age or health conditions, you can generally follow seasonal guidelines for healthy eating. Spring and summer seasons are yang in nature because the weather tends to be hot. To balance the heat, eat light cooling foods that nourish yin, such as fish, tofu, light soups and stir-fried fresh vegetables. Also, the heat and humidity can put a burden on our digestive system, so try to cut down on heavy greasy foods. Instead, eat more aromatic vegetables, spices, and herbs, which will help digestion.
Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine for the Summer
The following foods and recipes can be part of your summer palette. For foods that you can’t find at a general grocery store, take a trip to Chinatown, always a fun summer jaunt.
Green tea: Green tea is cool in nature and is best for drinking in the summer. (Black tea is warmer and more appropriate for winter.) Drinking this tea will help clear heat and drain dampness, not to mention the antioxidant benefit. Try adding dried sour plums. These delicious fruits have astringent properties and will prevent over sweating. If you have weak digestion, you may want to limit your green tea intake, as it can upset some people’s stomachs.
Tofu: Though tofu is no longer made with gypsum, a mineral that is very cold in nature, it is still a cooling food. Of course, it’s always good in a stir fry. For a variation, you might also try making yourself a tofu-based smoothie, a tasty and nourishing summer dessert.
bitter melon
Bitter Melon (Ku Gua): This melon, which, as you can tell from the name tastes nothing like cantaloupe or honeydew, has cooling properties, and is perfect for the summer months. I like to stir fry it with garlic. Aside from cooling, bitter melon has many other uses. In China, my teachers and friends said, “Eat more, it is good for the MAN!!!” In addition, the leaves can be used topically for rashes and burns.
Mung bean (Lu Dou): Mung bean is a type of green bean widely eaten throughout China. It is generally made into a sweet drink or soup for the summer time. This slightly sweet and cooling bean will help digestion and avoid heat stroke throughout the summer.
Daikon is the white vegetable in the middle
Daikon: An oblong white root vegetable, daikon is very nutritious and makes a wonderful soup. Cook it alone or with carrots, onions, and celery until the vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. It is slightly cooling and sweet, but very light in texture and taste.
Watermelon: Watermelon and watermelon juice are great for treatment and prevention of heat stroke.
Basil: While basil is slightly warm in nature, it is still good to eat in the summer months due to its aromatic qualities. Aromatic properties help digestion, which can be slightly impaired by the humidity and heat in the summer.
Mint: Mint is aromatic and cooling, which makes it a great combination for summer. It can be used for a mild summertime cold. Add it to your tea or drink alone as an herbal tea.
Lotus Root
Lotus: The lotus root is a round vegetable grown underwater. This cooling vegetable tastes wonderful added to soups or pickled.
Photos: justintabari, Sakichin, eden and josh teenytinyturkey
Acupuncture for Overactive Bladder
May 20, 2009
Overactive bladder is a syndrome characterized by the frequent, strong, and sudden urge to urinate. The syndrome can seriously disrupt your life by interrupting your work and make you avoid social situations.
Chinese medicine can help. Chinese medicine has been treating syndromes of frequent urination for over 2000 years.
Overactive bladder from the Western and Eastern Viewpoints
The precise cause of overactive bladder is often unknown. Like many other syndromes, the search for the single cause is often impossible as the condition arises from a complex interaction of causes. For overactive bladder, the name throws us off because it suggests that the bladder alone is responsible and is somehow hyperactive. The syndrome probably involved many of the organs and muscles involved in urination.
Urination is a complex action involving the nervous system, smooth muscles of the bladder, the urinary sphincters, and pelvic floor muscles. The symptoms of OB may be from any one of these functions: from the involuntary contraction of the bladder creating the sudden need to urinate, a sudden feeling of urination when the bladder is filling, although it is not totally full, or contraction of the pelvic floor muscles.
Most often, the symptoms of overactive bladder are serious, but the syndrome itself does not pose a threat to your health. But in rare cases it can be due to a growth or obstruction or a neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, strokes, and multiple sclerosis. So it is important to check in with your physician about these symptoms.
Chinese medicine offers a holistic approach to address overactive bladder. Chinese medicine views the body as an interconnected whole. Rather than examining the body to find a specific organ, muscle, or tissue that is diseased, Chinese medicine seeks to understand the imbalance of the interactions between the organs, muscles, and tissues. Once the imbalance is corrected, the root of the problem is improved and body can work to heal itself.
Chinese Medicine Imbalances of Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder is very similar to the Chinese medicine syndrome of frequent urination. This can be caused by many factors such as an injury to the pelvic floor while giving birth, congenital issues, an injury, and factors in your life, such as stress, grief, and pain.
The root of this imbalance can be in the kidneys, spleen, urinary bladder, or liver, and, more often than not, these imbalances are interconnected. Please note that while the organ names and some of the functions are the same in both TCM and Western medicine, a dysfunction of the TCM kidney, spleen, and liver does not mean a disease in the western medicine organ.
In TCM, the kidneys are said to “govern water.” In other words, the kidneys are in charge of water metabolism and urination. Just like in western medicine, the kidneys filter out the urine. But unlike western medicine, kidney qi (or energy) also contributes to the ability to hold urine in the bladder. So problems with the kidney qi may cause overactive bladder.
The functions of the kidney can be described in terms of yin and yang. The ability for the bladder to sufficiently hold urine is a yin function. When there is too little kidney yin, the bladder cannot hold urine and may result in overactive bladder symptoms, such as the frequent and sudden need to urinate, which is called urge incontinence. Weak kidney yin can also cause stress incontinence, which is when urine leaks while laughing, coughing, or sneezing. Other symptoms of kidney yin deficiency are night sweats, hot flashes, a red face, thirst, frequent nighttime urination, a rapid pulse, and a red tongue.
The spleen is also an important organ in overactive bladder. If the overactive bladder is accompanied by extreme fatigue especially in the morning, loose stools, poor digestion, and a pale swollen tongue, the imbalance may be in the spleen. Often, the spleen problem is combined with an imbalance in the liver.
The liver is said to “govern the muscles and sinews,” which means the liver reflects the general health of the muscles in the body. Because the many different muscles are the key to having the ability to hold urination, imbalances in the liver can lead to overactive bladder. Another sign of liver involvement is when the condition is worsened by stress or anger.
A Holistic Treatment with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs
The acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment are focused on correcting the root imbalance in the body. The treatment is usually once or twice a week with acupuncture and a treatment series is usually 10-12 sessions. The treatment should increase one’s ability hold urination, decrease number of times one urinates at night, decrease urinary urgency, and create a smoother urine flow. In addition, patients can see an improvement in sexual function over the same period of time.
Acupuncture points such as Ren 4 and 6 on the lower abdomen as well as Bladder 23 and Du 4 on the lower back all tonify the Kidney. Kidney 7 can be added to tonify the yang, while Kidney 2 will be used if there is more yin deficiency with heat. Other points, such as Ren 3 and Bladder 64 can directly tonify the Bladder and help with incontinence. If the spleen is involved, Spleen 3 and 9 will be helpful. If the liver is in disharmony, Liver 5, 3, or 2 can help move the qi and open the channels in the genitals.
Chinese Herbal Formulas
Herbal formulas such as liu wei di huang tang can be used for kidney yin deficiency, while ba wei di huang tang is effective for yang deficiency. If the root imbalance is in the spleen, wu ling san or bu zhong yi qi tang can be effective When taking Chinese herbs, it is very important to get diagnosed and treated by a trained practitioner of Chinese medicine.
Research on Acupuncture or Overactive Bladder
There is some research into acupuncture for overactive bladder. In one randomized controlled trial, women with overactive bladder who received acupuncture once a week for 4 weeks saw a decrease in urge incontinence and urinary frequency.
If you are interested in finding out more about how acupuncture can help your overactive bladder symptoms, please call us at 917.887.4946 for a free consultation.
Photo: Wikipedia
Herbal Soup Tonic
May 16, 2009
In Chinese medicine, the sum of the whole is more powerful than the parts. Often herbs are combined together which make them more effective. That is why herbs are most often prescribed in combination formulas.
Chinese medicinal cooking also takes advantage of combined ingredients for more powerful effects. The tonic soup Ching bo leung, is a mild tonic and is meant to improve overall health and energy. It has 7 herbs which are combined to boost the digestive energy and overall health.
Here is how to make this delicious soup.
Ingredients:
Herbal Ingredients for the Soup
15 g yi yi ren
30 g bian xu
30g lian zi
30g qian shi
15g shan yao
30g bai he
10g long yan rou
marrow bones- optional
Directions: Place the ingredients in a large soup pot and cover with 8 cups of water or enough to cover 3 times their volume. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for 1-2 hours, until the liquid is reduced to half, season with salt or sugar to taste.
Optional: Traditionally, pork marrow bones are use. Beef bones also work well for flavor.
Photo: mswine
Acupressure for Insomnia, Jet Lag, and Relaxation
May 13, 2009
This acupressure routine helps promote sleep and relaxation. In addition, it can be used for improving concentration and reducing jet lag. Often, I will give my patients these particular acupressure points to augment the acupuncture treatments for insomnia.
Yin Tang- The Spirit Gate
Location- on the forehead, in line with the nose above the eyebrows
Stimulation- gently rub downward towards your nose
Function- helps calm the mind and relieve stress
Heart 7- Shen Men (The Spirit Gate)
Gently Massage the Heart Channel for Relaxation
Location- at the wrist on the pinky side of the hand
Stimulation- If trying to go to sleep, gently rub towards the body. If trying to concentrate or wake up, gently tap.
Function- calms the spirit and nourishes the heart. This is one of the most important points for insomnia and jet lag because the heart is in charge of the internal clock. This point will be very good for people who wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back asleep. If you gently tap this point, it can help concentration.
Pericardium 6- Nei Guan (Inner Pass)
Gently Rub PC 6 in small circles
Location- on the center line of the arm, two thumb widths up from the wrist crease
Stimulation- gently rub in a circle or straight towards the body
Function- This point has many functions. It is most famous for treating nausea and improving digestion, but it is very powerful for managing stress and helping with sleep. The pericardium surrounds and protects the heart, so stimulating this channel also stimulates the heart.
Rubbing the ears
Ear Acupuncture Model
The ear is a map of the entire body with different body parts and body organs. By rubbing the ears, you can stimulate the entire body, moving qi and helping you feel more relaxed.
Photo: Pelikanol
What is Acupressure?
May 12, 2009
Acupressure is treatment within traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine therapies influence a system of interconnected channels that run throughout our bodies. These channels do not simply lie on the outside of the body, but are more like waterways which link the upper body to the lower and the internal organs to the skin surface.
Qi, the body’s vital energy, moves through these channels. Qi movement is essential for health. Stress can cause the qi to stagnate and stop, which can lead to a number of diseases and pain.
Acupuncture points are locations on the channels where qi tends to gather and are areas where the channels can be more easily influenced from the skin’s surface. Some points are very deep while others are more shallow, depending on the body part and symptom being treated.
Acupressure is the manual stimulation of acupuncture points and can be used to promote circulation in the acupuncture channels. Often the points are slightly sensitive. As you get more practice, it will become easier to feel the correct level of pressure.
How to use acupressure?
Acupressure can be used to prevent issues or to treat symptoms when you are experiencing them.
Because Chinese medicine is primarily concerned with preventing disease before it occurs, the best way to use acupressure is by stimulating these points every day, much like a workout or stretching. Another method is by stimulating the points only when you are experiencing symptoms.
Different from medication Chinese medicine does not just give you a pill, but rather works to treat the root imbalance of the problem. By correcting the imbalance, your body can work to heal itself and Chinese medicine will have a lasting result.
Many people ask me about the difference between acupressure, acupuncture, and Chinese herbs. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs, in general, can address deeper more entrenched imbalances. At the same time, regular daily acupressure can help correct the deeper imbalances.
The body changes slowly. It is important to be diligent. We say that it takes 100 days for the acupressure to begin to correct the imbalance.
Read more on Acupressure:
You can use these acupressure points as a self massage to help boost your energy, improve digestion, reduce pain, and prevent illness.
- Acupressure for Cramps, Digestive Problems, and Boosting Energy
- Acupressure for Nausea, Hiccups, and Acid Reflux
- Acupressure for Headaches
And check back tomorrow for an acupressure routine for insomnia, stress reduction, and jet lag.
Acupressure Workshop for Migraines, Sinus Headaches, and Allergies
May 11, 2009
The next and final acupressure class for the season will be on Sunday May 17th, 2-3pm.
This class is free but space is limited, please RSVP to reserve a seat.
Spring is here and so are allergies. Come to this free workshop, where I will teach you teaches a self acupressure routine aimed to improve your circulation and boosting your energy (qi). This will help prevent allergies and sinus headaches. This routine can be used to reduce sinus and tension headaches, migraines, nasal congestion, watery eyes, and general stress reduction.
Here is a sneak peak at what we will cover.
Where: My Office.
Imperial Healing Arts, 57 West 57th Street, Suite 1109, on the 11th floor
The building is located on the northeast corner of 57th Street and 6th Ave, directly next to the 57th St. F train stop and one block east of the N,R,W,Q stop on 57th Street.
We’re only two blocks from Central Park, so after the class you can go and enjoy the day.
When: Sunday May 17th, 2-3pm
Contact: 917-887-4946 or e-mail us.
President Obama’s Acupuncture Policy
May 4, 2009
President Obama
Last week at President Obama’s Town Hall Meeting in St. Louis, a local acupuncturist asked him a question regarding acupuncture and national health care policy.
Here is the transcript from that interaction…
–Q I’m a licensed acupuncturist and licensed massage therapist in Florissant. And so –
THE PRESIDENT: I could use one right now. (Laughter.) My back is stiff. I’ve been working hard.
Q I’ll be happy to help you. (Laughter.) And this kind of fits into what you were just talking about as far as health care. I’m wondering, as a practitioner of Oriental medicine, knowing that the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization has discovered through their studies that alternative medicine often is more cost-effective and very effective, how will alternative medicine fit in your new health care program?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, my attitude is that we should — we should do what works. So I think it is pretty well documented through scientific studies that acupuncture, for example, can be very helpful in relieving certain things like migraines and other ailments — or at least as effective as more intrusive interventions.
I will let the science guide me. We just swore in an outstanding new Secretary of Health and Human Service, Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas. (Applause.) It’s good to see that a Jay Hawk got applause on this side of the border here. (Laughter.) But she’s going to do an outstanding job. And my charge to her is, as we’re going through health care reform let’s find out what works…
–
He then goes on to discuss other aspects of his healthcare plan.
Okay, so it is not a policy…
But it is a start.
First off, he seriously answers the question instead of avoiding it or joking it off. This is very important. It shows that the President considers acupuncture as a legitimate and effective health care choice.
Secondly, President Obama actually knows, without prepping for this question, that there is evidence supporting acupuncture’s efficacy for “migraines and other aliments.” Not many people know that there is a lot of research about acupuncture. In fact, many journalists and authorities often wrongly state that there is no evidence at all. This is one well informed President!
Personally, I think President Obama should support acupuncture. Not only because I am an acupuncturist, but because he is a self described pragmatist. And acupuncture is pragmatic- it is an affordable and safe answer that solves problems.
- If you want to read more about the many uses of acupuncture, please read this article called, What Can Acupuncture Treat?
Photo: Change.gov
