Treating Asthma with Acupuncture

Asthma has become more and more prevalent. Causes can range from air pollution, to food or other allergies, to illness to insufficient Vitamin D. Some asthma is temporary (like due to respiratory illness), but most asthma is chronic and can be life threatening if not properly controlled.

Acupuncturists have been treating asthma for thousands of years, and while I don't recommend giving up your rescue inhaler just yet, there are many ways that TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) can help you need it less often, if at all.

According to TCM, there are many types of asthma. The type typically associated with illness is usually an "excess" form, where there is too much phlegm in the Lungs for the body to get rid of and you have wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest. Two other forms are due to "insufficiency" where either the Lungs or the Kidneys (or both) are too weak to properly move the air in and out of the body. According to Chinese medical theory, the Lungs take in the air (Kong Qi) and the Kidneys "grasp" the qi then send it back up to the Lungs for dissemination through the body. If the Kidneys are weak and fail to grasp the Qi you have asthma with difficulty inhaling. If the Lungs are weak and fail to disseminate, you have asthma with difficulty exhaling. Shortness of breath is also associated with the Lungs, as they are unable to pull the air in properly, but there is often a Kidney weakness present with that as well.

Asthma often appears first in childhood and can be due to any of the above causes. Any Kidney or Lung weakness is often congenital, passed down from parents with weak Kidneys or Lungs; the parents may or may not have asthma themselves, but might have symptoms like weak/injury prone lower back or knees, urinary frequency, long standing fear, trouble sleeping, poor stress management or salt cravings. Any imbalances that the parents have when the child is conceived will be passed on to the child, like DNA. Life choices, like diet, exercise, stress management will either improve or exacerbate the presentation of the passed on imbalances in the child.

Asthma can be exercise induced (often with vigorous exercise), where the strain of the exercise is taxing the Kidneys. As soon as the exercise ceases and the person recovers, the symptoms often disappear. Getting enough sleep and managing stress can often help prevent this type of asthma. Acupuncture can help support the Kidneys so that they can properly Grasp the Qi and withstand the strain of exercise.

Adult onset asthma, that is not caused by illness or environmental pollution, can sometimes be caused by long term grief. Grief and sadness affect the Lungs; while these are  normal emotions for humans to have, they are supposed to have a finite time span. When grief and sadness become chronic (like after the death of a loved one that you can't get past, or multiple losses in a short period of time), it can take its toll on the Lung Qi and can lead to asthma. People with this type of grief often stand with a sunken chest/ rounded shoulder type posture that makes it physically challenging to take a deep breath. Certain yoga poses that open up the chest can help improve breathing, like those in this blog post.

There are many Chinese herbs and herbal remedies that can be very helpful for controlling asthma, however you need to get a proper TCM diagnosis from an acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist to ensure that it is the right herbal remedy for you.

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Acupuncture and Dietary Recommendations for Pre-natal and Post-natal Health

For some women, pregnancy feels great: they have great energy, thicker hair and a certain glow about them. For other women, pregnancy can be less glamorous: constipation, hemorrhoids, carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatic pain, fatigue, insomnia, swollen hands and feet, and varicose veins just to name a few symptoms. It takes a lot of energy to create a human being and the process can really take its toll on the mother. The good news is that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine has been helping women through their pregnancies and beyond for thousands of years.

Ideally women should begin their acupuncture treatments before becoming pregnant in order to create the optimum "growth environment" for the baby. The healthier the mom (and dad) are before conception, the healthier the baby will be. Just like DNA and hereditary tendencies, any imbalances that exist in the parents can be passed on the child, so regulating the parents' Qi will benefit the baby.

Once a woman becomes pregnant, acupuncture can help with common symptoms, like constipation, hemorrhoids, nausea/vomiting, anxiety and fatigue, as well as other odd symptoms, like sciatica, chronic rhinitis, moodiness, bloating, and heartburn. Acupuncturists can also guide the mother-to-be toward blood building foods that will help nourish her body to better support the growing fetus.

Some great blood building foods are (grass-fed) beef, beets, spinach, mushrooms, grapes and oats. To help with constipation, adding dried figs to the diet can nourish the blood and help moisten the stools. Staying hydrated is also important. Urinary frequency typically increases with pregnancy, but since the blood volume also increases, drinking enough water is crucial (about half your body weight in ounces per day). Acupuncture can help support the Kidneys, which according to Chinese medicine regulate the reproductive system and hormones, in addition to controlling urination. Acupuncture can also help with energy levels, improve sleep quality and keep the bowels moving.

For the final weeks in the third trimester, there are acupuncture treatments to turn a baby who is breech (ideally between 35-38 weeks--after that usually there isn't enough room to turn the baby), and to encourage "ripening" of the cervix and uterine contractions which can help move a woman toward labor, when the time comes.

Once the baby is born (the "fourth trimester") the mother is both recovering from childbirth as well as feeding her new baby. The physical and emotional exhaustion of childbirth on top of the physical trauma of either vaginal or cesarean birth requires a significant healing period; add to that the life-sucking additional energy expended by breast feeding, and the emotional ups and downs, many women can feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Mothers need support, especially during this first month. Give her warm, cooked foods like soups and stews that help her regain her Blood and Qi while healing her body. Here is a nice recipe for such a soup (I recommend without the alcohol). Eating simple, nourishing foods will support the health of both the mother and the baby. For women who are having trouble producing enough milk, there are herbal remedies to help increase lactation and milk production.

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The Best Diet For Optimum Health (It's Not What You Think)

This is time of year when many people take stock of their lives and resolve to do better in the new year (to read why this is the wrong time of year for major life changes, click here). Common resolutions are to quit smoking, to lose weight, to go to the gym more, to eat better, etc. This is the time of year when "diets" reign supreme: Paleo, Vegan, Zone, High Carbs, Low Carbs, the list goes on and on. But how do you know which diet is the best one?

The short answer is no "diet" is good; what matters is how you eat all the time.

The biggest problem with the idea of "going on a diet" is that it is temporary. You eat in a particular way for a period of time to lose weight, which sometimes works, but then you return to your normal eating habits and you gain everything back. Instead, you want to think about every day eating. Eating food is not something for the short term, it is something you will do for the rest of your life, every day, multiple times per day. Eating should not be about restrictions or deprivation, but about making smart choices that will fuel your body. Start seeing your Food as Medicine.

The best way to eat is to start with eating real food, as opposed to "food-like" substances. If it was naturally grown (not genetically modified) or raised on a farm or caught in the wild, it is food. If it was created in a laboratory, it is not food. One of my favorite podcasters is Sean Croxton, creator of Underground Wellness (of which he is in the process of rebranding). He uses the term "JERF," which means Just Eat Real Food. 90% of the battle is to focus on eating foods that you can recognize. What does xanthan gum or polysorbate 80 look like? I don't know, it is not real food. Food should be one ingredient, unless you've taken many real foods and put them together, like stew or homemade bread. If purchasing foods with a label, there should ideally be 5 or fewer real food ingredients listed.

No real foods are inherently good or bad, however they might be good or bad for you. For example, some people can't eat dairy, while others can. Dairy (from a farm that has pasture raised cows) is not bad for all people, but people who tend to have a lot of phlegm or inflammation shouldn't eat dairy. People who tend toward dryness and heat, like many perimenopausal and menopausal women, can benefit from dairy because it is cooling and moistening.

So what is the right way for you to eat? The way that makes you feel the best. Have you ever noticed that after lunch slump? That usually happens when your lunch contains foods that weren't right for your body in some way. Maybe there were too many carbs and not enough protein and fat. Maybe you ate too little or too much. Maybe you ate foods that you are unknowingly sensitive to. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, feeling tired after eating means that your Spleen is too weak to properly digest the food that you just ate and it is taking more energy than should be required to deal with the food. Keeping a food log is a great way to find out which foods make you feel good, and which don't. Record what you ate and how you felt throughout the day (sluggish, tired, anxious, excellent energy, etc), logging the times of the meals and when you noticed feeling any particular way. Your body knows what is best, you just need to learn to decipher what it is telling you. Not feeling good on a regular basis can often be tied to what you are eating.

Finally, follow the 80/20 rule: If you eat for health 80% of the time, then 20% of the time you can have some birthday cake, or chili fries, or whatever your particular "poison" might be (mine is Ben & Jerry's ice cream--pretty much any flavor). You won't feel good for a short period of time, but you will bounce back very quickly because you have a solid nutritional foundation. 100% deprivation eventually (and inevitably) leads to 100% binge eating, so allowing yourself a small treat 20% of the time gives you the pleasure of decadent food without it completely derailing your health.

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Natural Solutions for Manging Anxiety

In my many years as an acupuncturist and yoga instructor I have come to realize this truth:

Anxiety is created by spending your mental and emotional energy on things you have no control over, typically things that may or may not happen, sometime in the future.

It is a simple concept, but for people who suffer from anxiety it doesn't feel simple, it can be debilitating and overwhelming. When you are caught in the clutches of anxiety, even accomplishing the smallest tasks can feel daunting and impossible.

Many people experience anxiety as a disconnect between their head and the rest of their body; they are so caught up in their thoughts they may be unaware that they even have a body (unless they feel pain in it). In Chinese medicine, this is often an issue of the Heart and Kidneys not communicating. One of the roles of the Kidneys (the Water element) is to control the Heart (the Fire element). When the Kidneys are weak (due to chronic stress, improper diet, insufficient sleep, too much sex or exercise, etc.), they are unable to control the Heart and the Qi moves upward; it is no longer tethered or rooted by the Kidneys. You can think about it as Water unable to control Fire, where the Fire burns out of control, the heat from the Fire rises and disturbs the Spirit (linked to our emotions, our ability to think clearly and our ability to sleep). The result of this is that disconnected, ungrounded, untethered, agitated feeling that anxiety brings.

Step one to conquering anxiety is to reconnect to your physical body and to the ground beneath you.

The simplest way to do this is through your breath, something over which you do have control. Sit or lie down and close your eyes. Feel the chair or floor or bed beneath you (whatever is supporting you). Feel the parts of your body contacting that surface, and notice the parts that aren't. If you are sitting, feel your feet dropping onto the floor. Start to notice your breath moving in and out through your nose. You don't need to breathe in any particular way, just notice what is already happening. Can you feel the air moving through your nostrils? Are you breathing into your chest or your abdomen? Begin exhaling back out through your nose for a count of 4 (or even longer). Feel the abdomen expand like a balloon, filling as you inhale, and feel it gently contract as you exhale. The exhale is what connects you to the part of the nervous system (parasympathetic) that encourages relaxation, so try to exhale slowly. Continue to breathe like this for 3-5 minutes.

Practices like meditation, yoga and Tai Chi are all great ways to help you manage anxiety, and to help you understand what feeds it. For a simple yoga pose to help you reconnect to your body, click here.

Useful Supplements:

• Lavender is a very calming herb, especially when you inhale the scent. You can spray lavender on your pillow at night, place 4-5 drops of Lavender essential oil in a bath, or have dried Lavender in a sachet that you keep near you.
• Rescue Remedy, by Bach Flower Essences, is a great tincture that I often recommend to my patients and have used myself for many years. You can place 4 drops under the tongue a few times a day as needed to relieve stress and anxiety.
• Chamomile tea is also calming. There is no caffeine and you can drink it all day long.

Finally, acupuncture is a great way to reset the nervous system and help you feel more grounded and back in your body. There is a great protocol created by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) which uses 5 needles in each ear to profoundly relax the body, getting you out of fight or flight and back to feeling grounded and reconnected. Working with an acupuncturist, you can get to the root of the imbalance that is causing your anxiety and learn to manage it, or even overcome it.

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Preventing Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) with Acupuncture and Natural Medicine

For many people, Fall is a season of change: the weather is cooling, kids go back to school, the leaves are changing color. For some people, it is also a time for a shift in mood. Around October or November, especially in Northern locations, many people experience a rise in depression, irritability or feelings of being stuck. The term for this is Seasonal Affective Disorder, or (appropriately named) S.A.D.

Because we typically have less sun exposure in the Fall and Winter than in the Spring and Summer, our ability to make Vitamin D also declines and we get depressed. This is why I first recommend supplementing with Vitamin D3 (D2 is significantly less bio-available). I recommend supplementing from October until about April when the sun starts to be more prevalent again. You need more Vitamin D if you live in darker climates and less if you live in sunnier ones. Speak to your doctor about getting the correct dosage for you. For most adults in the Winter, 3000-5000 IU daily is common, especially if you tend toward seasonal depression.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, Fall and Winter are Yin seasons: cooler and darker, when the energy is gathering and moving inward. Fall is associated with the Lung, whose associated emotion is Grief/Sadness. The combination of Sadness being the ruling emotion and the cooler weather causing a slowing of Qi, or energy, flow (which can stagnate causing irritability), many people experience a lower mood during this time. To read more about the energy shift in Fall, click on one of my earlier posts, Fall Thoughts.

The key is to keep your Qi flowing, while simultaneously acknowledging the season's natural movement.

Exercise is important but it needs to be appropriate. Moderate exercise that makes you feel energized is what you are looking for. If you feel depleted after exercise it typically means you need to do less, sleep more, and/or eat better foods. You may also need to choose an easier, gentler form of exercise. However, if you tend to feel sluggish during the winter time (which is common with S.A.D.), you may need a more vigorous form of exercise. There is not one type of exercise that will be right for all people this time of year, so you need to experiment with what makes you feel best.

During colder months it is also important to eat foods that will warm the body, avoiding cold, raw or frozen foods and beverages. During the Fall, you should be eating fewer salads and more sauteed, steamed or stir fried foods. Lighter, broth based soups like miso or bone broths, or light pureed soups, like butternut squash or pumpkin are great to add to your diet this time of year. They start to build warmth while still honoring the fact that we are not in hibernation yet. You will want to save the heavier soups and stews (lentil soup, chili, beef stew) for Winter when we need the deeper warming of a slow cooked meal to battle the cold and snow of outside.

Acupuncture can be a great support during this time of year. It helps keep your Qi moving and supports your overall health. Regular acupuncture can help improve your mood and keep you physically and emotionally healthy through the Fall and Winter seasons.

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Using Acupuncture for Arthritis Pain Relief

Acupuncture is known for its pain relieving benefits, but many people don't think of it for use with managing the chronic pain of osteoarthritis (OA). In 2004 a landmark study was done that showed the efficacy of using acupuncture to relieve pain of OA of the knee, but acupuncture can be used to relieve osteoarthritis pain in any part of the body. Unlike pharmaceutical options, which can have side effects like liver or kidney toxicity or stomach damage, acupuncture is a safe, non-toxic option. The most common side effect with acupuncture is relaxation.

Chinese Medicine considers OA in the family of conditions call Bi Syndromes, or Painful Obstruction Syndromes. All pain is seen as a stagnation of energy, or Qi (pronounced "chee"). It is this obstruction in the flow of Qi that causes the joint and referred muscle pain of arthritis. There are many types of Bi Syndrome: Heat Bi, Cold Bi, Damp Bi, Wind Bi and then combinations, like Wind Cold Damp Bi or Damp Heat Bi. Each type of Bi presents with different symptoms, so each person with arthritis is treated differently according to their specific Bi condition. This is also why not all Western arthritis treatments work the same for all people. Unless you do what is right for your type of arthritis (Bi) pain, you are not going to find significant relief.

• Wind Bi: Pain that moves around to different joints and is worse with exposure to wind. The joint(s) can feel stiff, achy and vague. This type of Bi is not usually seen by itself, but is often combined with other forms.
• Damp Bi: Joint is often swollen or edematous. Pain is usually achy and stiff and worse when it rains or in periods of high humidity. Your body telling you when it is going to rain is common with this condition. Damp Bi often responds well to heat treatments like Moxa. This type of Bi often combines with Wind Bi, Cold Bi and/or Heat Bi.
• Cold Bi: Fixed pain that is better with heat and worse during the winter or in cold climates. Ice will make this pain feel worse. Many times this type of Bi Syndrome is combined with Wind and/or Damp Bi.
• Heat Bi: Joint feels hot, either to the touch or internally. Joint feels inflamed and often responds positively to ice and feels worse in the warm climates or during the summer. Acupuncturists don't typically use ice for treatments since it brings cold into the body which causes stagnation (since cold contracts), but diagnostically, the response to ice can help determine this condition. Heat Bi is often combined with Wind and/or Damp Bi.

 Acupuncture approaches each type of Bi Syndrome differently according to the dominant presentation. The needles help move the Qi so it is no longer obstructed and will get rid of the Wind, Cold, Heat and/or Damp by using various acupuncture points in the body. Moxa is also used to help get rid of Damp swelling, to warm and expel the Cold and to release the Wind. 

There is one more type of Bi is called Boney Bi and that is where you see changes to the bone structure in the joint. The bone itself becomes swollen and misshapen, often causing significant limitations in range of motion in the joint. Osteoarthritis responds best in its earlier stages when bony changes are at a minimum. Once there are significant changes and visual deformations to the bones it is much harder to treat; this takes more frequent treatments, and often the use of Chinese herbal medicine, to see any positive results. The treatments won't undo the bony changes, but can relieve and help you manage the pain.

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Tech Neck: Natural Solutions to Neck Pain Caused by Use of Electronic Devices

There are many comical memes floating around the internet (see right) about the fact that we have become zombies, with our faces constantly  in our smart phones and other electronic devices. While there are many issues that can be discussed regarding this phenomenon, this post will be focused on what happens in your body when your head is directed down for long periods of time. Many healthcare professionals have coined the terms "Tech Neck" or "Text Neck" to describe this condition, which occurs when the head is forward for long periods of time. What happens, in a word: Pain.

Having your head tilted forward, even just 15 degrees, can cause a huge strain on the very small, very delicate muscles and vertebrae in the neck and upper back. Over time, these muscles actually weaken and can cause problems not only in the neck, but problems that can travel down the arms as far as the hands and fingers. Most instances of numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers is due to dysfunction in the neck.

The simplest solution is to prevent the problem in the first place by using good posture and not dropping your head forward. Practices like ballet, yoga and tai chi are great ways to practice proper posture and encourage the body to be in healthy alignment. If you can keep your head over your shoulders (and your shoulders over your hips, and your hips over your knees and your knees over your ankles) it can take the strain off of the neck muscles. For many, however, the damage is already done and they are looking for relief.

Acupuncture and Moxibustion can offer relief from Tech Neck by releasing the tension in the neck and upper back. "When there is pain there is no free flow; when there is free flow there is no pain." This Chinese Medicine statement refers to the flow of Qi, or energy, in the body. If your alignment is good, Qi flows as it should. When muscles are straining, that can cause stagnation of energy, so the free flow gets stuck. That "traffic jam" of energy is experienced as pain; the more severe  the pain, the more significant the stagnation. Acupuncture and Moxibustion free the flow of Qi, and open up the circulation in the muscles so that they function properly.

Once you are out of pain, you need to work to keep yourself aligned. Instead of holding your device low in front of your waist or even your chest, try holding it level with your eyes; if you need to hold it low, do it for very short periods of time, taking breaks to look up and relax your neck muscles.

At the end of the day before bed, lie on the edge of your bed facing upward with the base of your skull (not the base of your neck) at the edge of your mattress. Relax in this position for a few minutes to stretch out the muscles in the front of your neck, which often get tight as the posterior (rear)muscles strain and lengthen. You can adjust how much of your head leans over the side of your bed by how it feels. As long as it feels good and you aren't straining, you should be fine. Remember to inhale deeply into your abdomen and exhale slowly to experience the full benefits as you relax your neck.

For other great tips on how to keep your head where it belongs, read my previous post on Upper Back and Neck Pain. 

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