Category: Diet

Acupuncture, Diet, General TCM, Medical, Wellness

What is the diet’s effect on our health according to TCM and Acupuncture?

by kaiwang492Leave a Comment on What is the diet’s effect on our health according to TCM and Acupuncture?

TCM and acupuncture were formed at least 3,000 years ago. TCM and acupuncture doctors applied natural phenomena to our bodies’ individual situations in both ways – physically, and pathologically. They believed that the nature of the food we eat daily, and the herbs we consume, and acupuncture we receive when we have a health problem are similar, but are on different levels. It is just like the idea that we eat when we are hungry, or put on more clothes when we’re cold, etc. Herbs and acupuncture work in the same way. We have four seasons, day and night, rainy, windy, different environmental and climate changes, and other natural phenomena. We as human beings need to compensate for what is happening around us. Diet is the main part of the compensation.

We have so many types of food to choose from. Just like everybody’s foundation of different, our body’s reactions to food are more or less different. If we eat certain “wrong” foods on a consistent, long term time frame, we are harmed. When some people eat hot/spicy food often for a long time, at a certain point, they are going to experience anxiety, bad breath, dizziness, red eyes, headaches, restlessness, sore throat, etc. People like this just think they have a health problem, but when they check in a medical setting, there is nothing wrong with them. But they know they feel different than before, and have a problem. In TCM and acupuncture theory, this is because if a person belongs to the warm/hot type, the hot/spicy food (if taken often) can only make their body hotter. The sore throat, headache, thirstiness, dry mouth, are indications of the hot type and getting hotter. If you ignore the symptoms, and continue having more of the hot/spicy food, it will affect you further. It affects the gallbladder and liver, and can cause serious health problems.

It is a good idea for us to understand how different foods affect us. The first thing we need to know about what we eat is the nature of the food, meaning our body’s reaction to the food. In general, anything hot/spicy such as peppers, cinnamon, coffee, dried ginger, lamb, walnuts, goat, chives, etc. can be harmful for us if we are the warm/hot type of person. On the other hand, anything cold-natured, such as mint, watermelon, pear, papaya, tofu, crab, etc. can be harmful if we are the cold type of person.

In our practice, we see many patients coming in with various health problems, simply because their lifestyle or diet are the opposite of what their body needs. Some patients that have gone to doctors for their problems and have received test results showing that they technically have nothing wrong with them, but they know it is not what they are normally like and want to get back to their old self. If you ask them, there is nothing really wrong with them except they have been eating certain types of food for a long time. For some patients, we only need to ask them to change their diets in the way their body needs. After a while, coupled with acupuncture treatment, they will feel better. For some other patients, if it is a more serious condition, they will need to add herbal medicine to their acupuncture treatment and diet changes.

Diet, General TCM, Healing, Wellness

You May Have To Avoid Certain Foods During Chinese Herbal Treatment

by kaiwang492Leave a Comment on You May Have To Avoid Certain Foods During Chinese Herbal Treatment

Most of the discoveries in Chinese herbal medicine were made right at the beginning of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and acupuncture over 2000 years ago. Ever since, incremental changes have been made. Back in ancient China when experimentation eventually became established rules, there were certain herbs that could not be used together, and if they were, they would become poisonous to humans. Some herbs can only be taken for a certain amount time or at a certain dosage because otherwise, they could be fatal. There were some other herbs that people had to avoid using together because otherwise their strength would be decreased.  This is not to say all herbs are so restrictive — most herbs can help people.

Ancient Chinese doctors had a spectrum of classifcation on what is considered just food, just herbs, or foods that are also herbs (or vice versa). What they understood was that food is for our normal needs, and the herbs are for our herbal normal needs (meaning to balance our body in times of trouble). Certain foods can have a detrimental effect on the absorption and activity of  the herbs. Mung beans can work either way, meaning it is a food but also an herb. But for the Chinese, everybody knows that you are supposed have mung beans more in the summertime and less or none at all in the winter. They do this because mung beans are naturally cold. They can slow our metabolism and make us feel chilly. However, the other aspect of mung beans that many people don’t know is that mung beans can also detox our bodies or lessen the capabilities of other herbs. That means if you take a Chinese herbal formula for feeling cold easily/feeling fatigued/low spirited, it’s best you don’t have any mung beans or mung bean-derived products. Otherwise, the herbal formula won’t work well for you. In the same way, radishes will easily get rid of the capabilities of ginseng. If you take a formula containing ginseng, then it will be rendered useless if radishes are eaten in the same timeframe. For teas, the effect will vary. Generally, it is better to avoid drinking teas when taking a Chinese herbal formula but if you are taking a formula for tonification/energy/feeling cold easily, you can drink red tea at the same time and it will be fine. If you are taking an herbal formula for overheating easily/hot flashes/etc. then perhaps you can have green tea too. Otherwise, it will be detrimental towards the formula.

In daily practice, there are much more complicated situations. If you found a good TCM practitioner or acupuncturist, they can tell you much more detailed information.

Diet, Wellness

Foods or Herbs for the Common Cold

by kaiwang492Leave a Comment on Foods or Herbs for the Common Cold

Almost everybody will experience a mild cold at some point in their life with the following complaints: sneezing, headaches, itchy nose, itchy throat, sore throat, poor appetite, fatigue, body ache, voice change, nausea, slight fever, sweating, etc. Some people just buy Advil or Tylenol to easen up their complaints. For some others, they just deal with it. However, without any help, the cold may last for a longer time. Some people may have learned something from their grandparents to deal with this kind of thing by having chicken soup, ginger ale, etc. There may be some other folk formulas we don’t know of. There is something that will work if you follow the rules, like in the following.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture, we categorize all conditions and diseases into different types. The reason for this is similar to how different cars need different oils or gasolines because the cars were made to be fueled with those substances. Like the cars, some herbs or foods are better as fuel for some people more than others. For the common cold, we have five basic types with different combinations or proportions of the foods/herbs.

  1. “Cold” cold – people will experience headaches, body aches, no sweating, feeling cold easily with chills, tiredness, poor appetite, voice change
  2. “Warm” cold – people will experience feeling warm easily, less or no chills, sore throat, fever, sweating, tired, poor appetite, voice change
  3. “Deficient” cold – these type of people are the ones who always have some cold-like symptoms, never really have enough energy to be very productive, and they frequently have something wrong with their health.
  4. Based on “deficiency” cold types, this category is for those who specifically feel cold year-round and can wear more clothing even in the summer than most people around them without overheating.
  5. Opposite from “deficiency” cold types, this category is for those who feel hot year-round and can wear less clothing in the winter than most people around them without feeling cold.

In TCM and acupuncture, many foods are also medicines (the line between food and medicine is blurry). It depends on what we need at the time.

For “cold” cold, the following food combinations will help either cure, easen up complaints, or make the recovery shorter. They are cilantro, scallion, fresh ginger root with brown sugar. Then the question is how much of each and how should it be prepared? First of all, you prepare these foods by slicing the cilantro (1-2 mm), scallions (1-2 mm), and fresh ginger root (1-2 mm). You’ll need a handful of sliced scallion handful, one-half of a handful of sliced cilantro, and a quarter handful of sliced ginger. Prepare to boil a pot with 2 cups of water inside. In it, you should put in 2 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar (if you have diabetes, skip this step). As soon as the water is boiling, put the ingredients into it, and turn off the heat. Cover the pot until the temperature is okay for you to drink. Drinking this twice a day or more will take care of the “cold” cold type. If it’s an emergency and you don’t have some of the ingredients, you can use more of the other ones to compensate.

For “warm” cold, you’re going to need a similar concoction but in different amounts and plus something else. Use white sugar instead of brown sugar, and add mint. Gather half a handful of sliced scallion, half a handful of sliced cilantro, and a quarter handful of sliced ginger, two handfuls of mint, two heaping tablespoons of white sugar. Prepare them the same way as above.

For “deficient” cold, use everything from “cold” cold, and either 1 gram of American ginseng or half of a gram of ginseng. For type 4, everything from “deficiency,” and add cinnamon and a spice. For the last one, everything from “warm” cold, and add watermelon juice (if it’s the summertime), banana (fall or spring) and papaya or pear juice (wintertime).

A few more words for “deficient” people: it would be a good idea to take some American ginseng. For “cold” type people, have more hot/spicy food, lamb and cinnamon. For “warm” type people, don’t eat hot/spicy food. In TCM and acupuncture, we do sometimes require patients to change their diet in certain ways according to their pattern differentiation. These were just examples, but if you have these combinations, you will definitely get a benefit from it.

Acupuncture, Diet, General TCM, Wellness, Women's Health

Acupuncture for PMS

by kaiwang492Leave a Comment on Acupuncture for PMS

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is one of the most common complaints for many females. Most females will experience this in their lifetime once or more times. However, about 5% of them will need to seek help due to very intense symptoms. According to modern medicine, the cause is still unclear. Therefore, the treatment is basically for complaints – in other words only to relieve the symptoms. Traditional Chinese medicine and Acupuncture (TCMA) uses natural phenomena and principles to describe our body in both physical and pathological ways along with the treatments. The treatment for diseases in TCMA is according to pattern differentiation. The pattern differentiations for PMS in TCMA are: cold/yang deficiency, liver stagnation, poor circulation/blood stasis, etc. The concepts of “cold/yang deficiency,” “liver stagnation,” and “blood stasis,” are very different from what people understand nowadays. For example, “cold/yang deficiency” here means the PMS sufferer does not like the cold (i.e. cold environment, intakes, food/drinks that naturally make the body cold, or our reaction to them is cold), for this reason you can see some of these patients have an onset of PMS or make their PMS worse if they are in a cold environment, or when they eat something cold. The “liver stagnation” type means PMS sufferers will have an emergence of symptoms if they are too stressed, or the stress will make their PMS worse. If the “liver stagnation” or “cold/yang deficiency” are not treated, eventually they will turn into “blood stasis.” The “blood stasis” type means poor circulation or blockage in the vascular system. This type is basically the utmost development of the previous two types or it can occur on its own without the previous two. The symptoms of “blood stasis” will be a very painful and darker period with many clots. Sometimes, the pain can feel like needles or knives cutting into you, some people even faint and end up in the emergency room. Any factors that affect the “liver stagnation” or “cold/yang deficiency” type can affect this type in the same way too. A patient can suffer from one or two types or even a combination of all of them. In addition, there may be some other types such as: Qi deficiency or kidney deficiency etc. These types mean the patient was either born like that or it could be something else. The acupuncture treatment we need to do for “cold/yang deficiency,” is to eliminate the coldness or tonify yang. Meanwhile, patients need to avoid cold environments or cold food/drinks, and instead take warm drinks/food, etc. The treatment for this type is usually acupuncture with TDP/moxibustion or tonification methods. For “liver stagnation,” we have to regulate and soothe the liver Qi, and eliminate the stagnation. For “blood stasis,” we need to regulate the blood and eliminate the blood stasis, and promote circulation. If it is two or more types combined you will need to mix the treatments described above accordingly. In terms of Chinese medical herbs treatment, it is very similar to acupuncture, but using herbs instead. There are different herbal formulas for each type. Most of the time, the formulas need to be alternated to fit the patients pattern better, and in this way, the patients will get the most benefit from the the herbal treatment. Overall, TCMA is the simplest, best and easiest method to treat PMS. The combination of Chinese herbs and acupuncture will give patients maximum benefit and quick results. Additionally, with a diet and lifestyle change, etc. the results will be better. We have helped many PMS patients from the age of 15. We know we helped because we have many new PMS patients referred by their friends who were cured in our office before.

Acupuncture, Diet, General TCM, Wellness

Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Seasonal Allergies

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Ancient Chinese doctors knew about allergies, and passed this knowledge to future acupuncturists.

They noticed that when spring came, some people would have problems like skin rashes, sneezing, itching, runny nose, watery eyes, etc. In general, these complaints would come and go very fast just like the wind. During that time, scientists considered spring to be the wind season. Therefore, combining the factor of the time (season) and characteristics of the complaint – coming and going as fast as the wind – they named this kind of problem: wind type or wind like problems.

Although the liver is usually associated with wind problems, in this case the lungs are actually the organ related to the wind, because the material we are allergic to bothers us mainly through either the skin, nose, and sometimes the eyes. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture system, the lungs are a combination of nose, bronchial, skin, hair, partially circulatory system, partially the immune system, partially the metabolic system and the lungs themselves.

This TCM and acupuncture system was formed about 2,000 years ago and has been a key player in Modern Chinese disease prevention medicine. Nowadays, it is spreading worldwide more and more because of its effectiveness and good results through a natural way. In recent years, much more scientific research has proven that TCM and acupuncture can regulate and improve immuno function in both cellular immunity and humoral immunity. Most importantly, scientists also found they have what is called “both direction regulation,” which means if anything in the body is “higher than normal” then TCM and acupuncture can lower it until it is back to normal, vise versa.

Clinically, for patients with allergies, the common pattern could be “wind cold” sometimes combined with Qi deficiency. For “wind cold,” the complaints will be: feeling cold easily, allergies accompanied with chills, clear watery mucous from nose, sneezing, watery eyes without swelling, becoming worse in the morning or when the environment is colder. For “wind cold and Qi deficiency,” patients usually complain about tiredness and catching a cold easily and the allergy will get worse or onset more often when getting too tired, these happen simultaneously with the symptoms mentioned earlier. Of course, there are some other uncommon types too, such as “wind with poor circulation,” “wind heat,” etc. which we will not go into detail in this article.

Treatment

The treatment involves a diet change, acupuncture, and herbs if you want a quick relief. For the diet change everyone is different, it would be a good idea to talk about this face to face with the acupuncturist, but one thing is for sure: adding more fresh ginger root juice and mung bean in your diet, avoid the cold stuff are always a good idea. For TCM and acupuncture treatment, it completely depends on the patterns that you have. The acupuncture needle could go on the face, extremities, back, stomach, depending on the situation. At times, TDP and cups need to be involved as well. However, for a few people electrical acupuncture may be better. In terms of herbs, it is more complicated, you would need to speak face to face with an acupuncturist. We started to see seasonal allergy patients in the U.S. in 1995. So far, we have helped many sufferers. For most people, after treatment they will not need to come back. We followed up with patients for five years and there was still no need for them to come back.

Acupuncture, Diet, Wellness

Acupuncture for Acid Reflux

by kaiwang492

Reflux is a common complaint people have when it comes to their stomach and digestive system; related diseases or other diseases can affect the digestive system or CNS. In Chinese medicine and acupuncture the nature of the reflux, nausea, even vomiting is about the same. Therefore, the treatment used is very similar. Here, mainly, we will focus on the condition associated primarily with digestive problems.

Generally speaking, it is very beneficial to use Chinese medicine including acupuncture for reflux, such as for GERD, digestive ulcers, stress, nerves, and associated bad food consumption. China is one of the biggest countries with the largest population in the world. Historically, fighting for food was common in the Chinese nation. In the past, Chinese people did not have enough to eat. Some people only ate one or two meals per day, most foods were so scarce that a person would eat the bark and flowers of an elm tree, Chinese grasses, and even soil. Chinese doctors realized that stress, anxiety, an irregular diet, overeating or starvation, etc. can really cause digestive and nutritional problems or diseases that include: nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, etc. That is why one of the main tasks for Ancient Chinese doctors was to develop a good system to treat these problems.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture treat reflux, nausea, vomiting, etc. differently according to the accompanying symptoms. This is called Pattern Differentiation/Individual-Based-Fit-Treatment, which is a unique part of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. In this case, the pattern-differentiations could be 1. Stomach Cold – patients do not like to take anything cold, if they consume cold things, it can worsen the complaint. The patient will also feel cold easily – 2. Stomach Heat/Fire – patient does not like to take anything warm, spicy, or hot if they do the complaint will get worse. The patient may feel warm easily – 3. Liver Stagnation – frustration or stress can make the situation worse, happy and easy situations will make the complaint better. Patients may also become irritated easily with no reason – 4. Spleen Deficiency – patients may feel tired easily, especially their extremities, or tiredness will make the situation worse. Patients even have no energy to talk. – 5. Stomach Yin Deficiency – this is similar to stomach fire/heat, except that the body is much weaker than those within the stomach fire/heat category. – There are other pattern differentiations too but the above 5 patterned categories are the main ones and they can appear separately, or at times there can be a combination of two of them or more.

For the treatment, it completely depends on the pattern-differentiation. If anyone has the same or a similar situation as the above patterns, it is a good idea for them to go to a Chinese medicine and acupuncture specialist for a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. They can help you accordingly, especially if you’ve been dealing with this situation for a while.

If your situation is far less complex, then there are some simple ways to deal with this for temporary relief. For example, a diet change will help. If you do not want to visit a specialist, you can take the following suggestions and see if they help: 1. Fresh ginger root juice – this is typically good for any stomach problems, but especially for nausea, vomiting, and reflux – 2. Avoid sweets, greasy, or very dry food 3. Avoid food that is difficult to digest such as beans, nuts, etc. 4. Eat food that is well done and not raw, with the exception of salads and juice or fruits 5. Avoid cold food, since you don’t want your stomach to serve as a stove to heat the food 6. Avoid hot/spicy food and drinks, this includes alcohol too.

In regards to acupuncture, there are many points that can help as well, even if you put pressure on them. This can sometimes give you relief too. An example of an acupoint is Pericardium 6 (PC 6, Neiguan) which is 2 units above the wrist crease between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis (these are based upon the 12 units between the crease of the wrist and the inside of the elbow). Another acupoint is Spleen 4 (SP 4, Gongsun) located at the median aspect of the foot, in the depression distal and inferior to the base of the first metatarsal bone. These are major acupuncture points that help the digestive problems we have described. Once in a while, you can put pressure on these points and it should give you some relief. Of course, there are many more acupoints that can help too.

If nausea and vomiting are due to morning sickness, then acupuncture and Chinese herbs will definitely help. If these symptoms are caused by a tumor, CNS, etc, it would be best to go to a correspondent specialist such as an Oncologist or Neurologist instead of first visiting a Chinese medicine and acupuncture specialist, even though acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help relieve symptoms too.