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Digestion

Celebrate AHM Day with This Special Offer

 

October 24th is AHM Day (Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine)

This is the 20th anniversary of spreading the word about this beautiful traditional medicine that helps so many people in so many ways. Headaches. Bone pain from subluxations to osteopenia to scoliosis. Bowel disease like IBS and Crohn’s. Sprains and strains of tendons. Arthritis. Poor Memory. Insomnia. Infertility. Early and Late Periods. Heavy Periods. Andropause. Prostate Swelling. Acid Reflux. Cough. Covid.

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Are Lingering Sinus Issues Causing You Trouble Year Round

This month I want to discuss Phlegm and lingering issues around the ears and the lungs and the sinuses.

In Chinese Medicine, the allergies, colds, and sinus infections are in similar categories. Our food choices, our ability to digest that food, and the prolonged nature of stress are creating challenges for your sinuses. Read on to see some practical things to work on to improve your sinus health.

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Your Thyroid – Is that what the problem is?

Too Fast = Too anxious, not sleeping
Too Slow = Too Tired, can’t get going? Dry Skin? Exhaustion?
BOTH??!! = The majority of my patients have some of both indicating an imbalanced thyroid.

In my body systems approach, I explain to clients how the thyroid and the adrenal glands work together to make energy and how they are linked up to the brain and the ovaries in women, testicles in men on a feedback loop.
Menopause and andropause can create some issues in this feedback loop, turning up the volume in the whole as we age. I call this condition overdrive, if the body is tired, but trying hard to keep going and there is inflammation, and digestion issues…

So, what do you do?

1. The Thyroid can be checked in on by ordering some lab tests.
Thyroid Stimulating hormone or TSH should be at about 2. If it is less than 2, you can be going too fast or in OVERDRIVE as I call it and struggling to sleep, anxious, irritable. The lower the number, the worse it is. If it is higher than 2, your thyroid is going too slow. The higher the number, the more likely they are to recommend levothyroxine or synthetic t4. (Guess where t4 converts to t3? – remember my last blog? – 80% converts in the liver.)
You can also test FREE T3 and Free T4. Those numbers help me know if we have a liver problem of conversion or a thyroid problem or not creating enough hormone (which can also be a digestive problem of not breaking down fats).

2. Give the Thyroid what it needs.
Your thyroid also needs adequate blood flow and it needs iodine and zinc. Iodine and zinc are cancer preventative. A lot of women develop thyroid issues after having babies because the iodine and zinc start going to make milk and to the breast tissue.

3. A Great Starting Point is the Standard Process 21 day cleanse
Your thyroid will respond well to an annual cleanse which frees up the ports in the thyroid from plastics and halogens. I recommend the Standard Process Cleanse. They have several different choices and I usually tailor the choice to my client so that even for those who are reluctant to do big diet changes they get results. And I measure those results with a before and after system survey.
Worried a 21 day cleanse is too much? There are several easier, less stressful ways I like to cleanse. Email me if you want to know how to order and get a recommendation for something easier!

4. Start a treatment plan for low and high thyroid, or for autoimmune thyroid conditions.
There are herbs and nutrition protocols that lower a fast thyroid or speed up a slow thyroid. I prefer to prescribe and monitor these individually. In my experience in some the thyroid shifts very quickly. In others, it takes a longer time and we have to make sure to cleanse and support the liver where thyroid hormone converts. A guided approach can help you stay on track. Some of my clients see me for nutrition every 2 months to check back in for change.

5. Integrate your doctor prescribed Western Medicine with some additional protocols.
I love integrating Western Medicine with these protocols. It is definitely not an either/or – you can have it both ways. However, if you get tested and your doctor recommends a medication, you can definitely consult with me about a natural approach and ask your doctor to give you a little time to try to restore function before taking medication.

6. Add some Acupuncture to help regulate the body and decrease inflammation.
Acupuncture is really awesome. Acupuncture regulates the body and decreases inflammation. It also increases blood flow to the area and all by itself it helps to reduce “overdrive” the condition where the thyroid and the adrenal are going too fast. For some people, the acupuncture is just right. It feels good and relaxes them and helps to reset their system. Acupuncture treatments depend on frequency of the treatment and length of treatment. To get results with acupuncture you need to set a regular schedule and persist with it and it needs to be frequent enough to change your thyroid symptoms.

The thyroid is a complex and key piece of your puzzle, that unlocks energy and the weight that you want to be!! I love treating the thyroid with natural approaches to long term production of your own thyroid hormones. Schedule your consultation today to help support and heal the thyroid naturally.

Schedule Now!

The Liver and Gall Bladder

Your key to weight loss, less pain, fat digestion and hormone production

Oh, to be young forever! Thin. Vital. Have a healthy sex drive.

It starts with cleansing once a year – and very specifically with cleansing the Gall Bladder.

Your Gall Bladder is a sack that stores your bile. Bile breaks down fats and should be a watery substance, but over time it can thicken until you form gall stones. Many people end up having the Gall Bladder removed for Gall Stones. However, it’s pretty easy to thin the bile.

Bile should squirt into your stomach when you eat fatty foods to break them down. Pain in the right rib side over the liver and the gall bladder and pain in the right side back between the spine and shoulder blades can be due to your gall bladder.

Fats are so critical in the body. Our brain needs adequate fat as does our myelin nerve sheath as does our hormones – it’s all about that good healthy fat.

If our bile flow is not working, then fat can accumulate in the body forming little fat deposits or lipomas. Our liver can get fatty. Guess what else your liver does? It breaks down excess estradiol helping to prevent cancer. Guess what else your liver does? 80% of your thyroid hormone converts in your liver.

So, get together with me once a year to schedule a cleanse. If your liver enzymes are elevated or your gall bladder has already been removed, there are still protocols to turn things around!

Some of my patients work with me by phone or zoom remotely. Some of my clients are on a nutrition and herbal approach without any acupuncture – so don’t let the distance stop you from reaching out for a consultation or an online appointment.

Fixing the root issue will set you up for long term health and may prevent diseases later in life!

Schedule a phone or zoom herbal/nutritional consult today! I love, love helping nip these things in the bud, shrink the waist, and get rid of embarrassing or troubling digestive symptoms! Schedule Now by clicking here.

Your Digestion Under Stress

Bloating, Constipation, Gas, and GERD

Your body is a series of systems designed to work efficiently together when you are healthy. If one of your systems becomes stressed or stops functioning properly, it can wreak havoc on the body system as a whole. When under stress, our stomach acid level lowers which can trigger some stinky gas, bloating, constipation and even GERD and Acid Reflex.

Stinky Gas and Bloating

Stinky gas can be an indicator that your proteins did not fully digest. Once in a while, not digesting well is not a big deal, but chronic stress is causing some long-term problems for people. If you do not break down protein and iron, you can become anemic and even prone to injury. Muscles and tendons can pull, or you can develop a painful hernia. All because you didn’t digest what you ate so you had no protein to support your tissues!  The stinky gas is embarrassing too.

if you catch this problem early, it’s fairly easy to correct. Here are a few things to try.

  1. Apple cider vinegar will raise your stomach acid. One teaspoon to one tablespoon before your meal in a little water can help.
  2. Deep belly breathing can help your body focus on digesting.
  3. A short, slow walk after eating can also help with digestion.

GERD, Acid Reflux and Acidic Burps

We also can have the issue of our stomach pulling up and the esophageal valve not closing completely.  This can be a b vitamin deficiency, again from poor digestion of the b vitamins in our food due to low stomach acid.

In Chinese Medicine, the stomach energy descends, so burping or hiccups are signs of that energy rising.  Many times, I will physically adjust the stomach and then restore the descending energy of the stomach with acupuncture and supplements.  When the burps decrease, you know you are healing.

You can guess that I am not a huge fan of adding tums or acid blockers long term to solve these issues.  There are ways to check if you truly have excess stomach acid.  I like to determine what is really happening to you and work to correct it for long term health.  In many cases I fix the issue quickly for people if we catch it early.

!!Did you know that acid blockers are linked to the development of cancer???  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29852782/

 

Constipation

Constipation usually indicates problems with the diet AND major issues with the liver and bile flow.  I like to start with a cleanse and a food log.  True constipation is really not moving the bowels at all for several days.  Straining is a different issue (that leads to hemorrhoids) and needs to be investigated.  When you do use the bathroom look at your stool.  Note the color, size and shape.  Is it a loose pile (weak digestion) or a thin ribbon?  This is weak digestion and an herbal formula for digestion is often amazing!  Is it a hard ball?  This is stress and again herbs are helpful!  Is it really, really dry?  This can be several problems – again looking at bile flow and the liver.

Our bile tends to thicken as we age from a watery liquid that squirts into the stomach and helps break down fats to a sludge that starts to form stones.  If we are not digesting fats, we start to have low hormones, nerve issues due to the fat in our myelin sheath and possibly dementia development as the brain is mostly fat too.

If you are experiencing digestive issues like constipation, gas or GERD, schedule your appointment today. You don’t need a consultation prior to an appointment if you have the major issue you’d like to tackle. During our New Patient Appointment, I’ll go over your health history, labs, system survey and I’ll treat what’s troubling you. Schedule Today Good Needles Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, Inc. (schedulicity.com).

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