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Wellness

An Acupuncturist is Supposed to KEEP You Healthy!

Chinese herbs example modality

 

In Ancient China, you did not pay your Acupuncturist if you were sick!

You paid your Acupuncturist when you were well!

The Chinese culture and medicine stresses longevity.  How do we cultivate energy?  How do we stay healthy?  What foods will keep us healthy?

In contrast, Western culture seems to ask us to spend every bit of energy we have as soon as possible and to spend more than we have, all the time.  Our Western Medicine often manages disease with drugs or waits as things build to a point of disease.

Acupuncturists want to treat you regularly to keep you healthy.  Many patients “try” Acupuncture and associate it with the specific issue that brought them to the Acupuncturist.  Essentially, we apply our Western mindset to this Eastern medicine.  This is what I wanted to share with you this month.  And it was very timely, as one of my patients was questioning if she was ready to just take herbs for a while and stop acupuncture.  I explained to her, that every time I treat her, I help to prevent arthritis and to keep her eyes healthy and to allow her system to calm down and de-stress.  Seeing my patients in person, evaluating tongue and pulse, and making those adjustments to the body function through acupuncture or herbs or supplements is my job.

I hope you hire me! continue reading »

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.

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Summer Solstice

During the summer solstice your yang energy reaches its peak. It is important to harness the peak of this yang energy, because as summer shifts into fall yang energy will decline. This great abundance of yang energy will translate throughout your body because during this season you are active and growing.

According to five element theory, during the summer the organ that receives extra energy is the heart. When the seasons change so do the organs we should focus on in the body. You should focus on the heart during summer. Feed the heart heart-nourishing foods and make sure to remain active so the heart receives positive energy. continue reading »

Heart Afire: The Fire Element

The organs in Chinese medicine are more than just a physical representation. The organs include not only their physiological function, but also their mental, emotional, spiritual and elemental qualities that align with nature and the seasons. Let’s explore the heart.

The heart season is summer, and heart is considered the most yang: hot, bountiful and abundant. Yang is what is bright, moving, outward, hot and loud. Yin is what is more inward, still, dark and cooler. The color of the heart is associated with red, the climate is heat, the flavor is bitter and it’s paired organ is the small intestine (many urinary issues are due to “heart fire” heat descending). The sense aligned with heart is the tongue, and the vessels associated with heart are the tissues. The heart sound is laughing, and the emotion is joy. The heart houses what is known as the shen, which is the mind and spirit. continue reading »

Fighting Flu Season with Acupuncture

While the flu is actually not a season, we have become programmed to think of it as the months of November through March. On average, the flu hospitalizes thousands every year, especially the young and elderly. There are also a number of deaths related to the flu, mostly due to people already having compromised immune systems.

The flu, also known as influenza, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that is caused by a number of viruses. To date, there are approximately 26 to 30 different known strains of the flu virus. This is one of the reasons the flu vaccine has only mild efficacy. The flu vaccine itself, typically only covers five to seven strains of the flu.  Symptoms of the flu include fever, coughing, a sore throat, fatigue, muscle aches, pains, runny nose and watery eyes. continue reading »

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