Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective for the treatment of diabetes. Researchers from the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine conclude that acupuncture combined with moxibustion has a total effective rate of 84.78% for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The researchers also investigated the implementation of acupuncture as a standalone therapy. Without moxibustion, acupuncture had a total effective rate of 69.57%. As are result, the researchers conclude that the combined therapy produces superior patient outcomes.
Acupuncture and acupuncture plus moxibustion caused significant improvements in enteroinsular axis indicators and lipids for type 2 diabetics. Specifically, the total effective rate was determined by measurements of several clinical factors including changes in the following:

• Insulin Sensitivity Index (ISI)
• Fasting Insulin (FINS)
• Fasting Leptin (FLP)
• Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG)
• Homa Insulin Resistance Index (Home-IR)
• Insulin Secretion Index (Homa-β)
• Body Mass Index (BMI)
• HDL increases
• LDL decreases
• Total cholesterol
• Triglycerides

The acupuncture points used in the study included the following primary acupoint selections:

• BL29, Pishu
• LV13, Zhangmen
• BL21, Weishu
• CV12j, Zhongwan
• LV14, Qimen
• BL23, Shenshu
• GB25, Jingmen
• SP6, Sanyinjiao
• CV6, Qihai
• CV4, Guanyuan
• ST36, Zusanli
• DU4, Mingmen

Moxibustion was applied to acupoints CV6, CV4, ST36, and DU4. Two groups were tested with acupuncture, one with moxibustion and one without. Both groups were given acupuncture treatments at a rate of once every other day for three months. Total needle retention time for each acupuncture session was 30 minutes. Acupuncture with moxibustion achieved an 84.78% total success rate and standalone acupuncture achieved a 69.57% total effective rate. 
Hu et al. had similar findings; acupuncture combined with moxibustion was more effective than standalone acupuncture for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. This condition involves delayed gastric emptying due to diabetic neuropathy affecting the vagus nerve, which controls the movement of food in the digestive tract. In gastroparesis, the stomach takes excess time to empty its contents. This can lead to spikes in blood glucose levels. Symptoms include heartburn, nausea, vomiting, bloating, gastroesophageal reflux, poor appetite, and weight loss.
Hu et al., from the Shanghai University of TCM, used the following acupuncture points: ST36, PC6 (Neiguan), CV12. Moxibustion was added to CV12. This protocol was found more effective than adding electroacupuncture to acupoint ST36. In addition, the moxibustion protocol was more effective than injecting 1 ml of Huangqi (Astragalus) extract into each acupoint.
The findings of Li et al. and Hu et al. demonstrate that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of general diabetic concerns and diabetic gastroparesis. However, the combination of acupuncture and moxibustion increases clinical efficacy. Both research teams conclude that acupuncture combined with moxibustion is an important and effective treatment protocol for the treatment of diabetes.

References:
Li, Y. Q., Wang, Y. D., Liu, Z. C. & Xu, B. (2014). Observation on Clinical Effect of Conventional Acupuncture with Warm Acupuncture on Female type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Patients of Dual Deficiency of Yin and Yang Syndrome. World Science and Technology – Modernisation of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 16 (8).
Liu Z C, Sun F M, Zhu M H, et al. Effect of acupuncture on insulin resistance in Non-Insulin-Dependent diabetes mellitus. Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, 2004, 2(6):8-11.
Hu, Z. H., Wang, Y., Huang, J. Y., Xu, J. H., Jiang, Z. F. & Wang, S. S. (2014). Research for Optimizing the Acupuncture-moxibustion Treatment Protocol for Diabetic Gastroparesis. Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 33 (12).
He, Y. C., Liu, J. H. & Li, Y. Y., et al. (2003). Electroacupuncture treatment on 25 cases Type 2 Diabetic Gastrointestinal Dysfunction and its Short Term Treatment Effectiveness. New Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 35(2): 46.
Tong, Z. H. (1999). The relationship between Diabetes and Diabetic Gastroparesis. Bulletin of Science and Technology. 15(6): 457-461.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of osteoporotic compression fractures of the spine. Researchers tested the efficacy of a specialized form of acupuncture and found it effective for enhancing pain reduction for patients with spinal compression fractures due to osteoporosis. Acupuncture combined with medications produced significantly greater positive patient outcomes including pain reduction and improvements in activities of daily living over medications only as a standalone therapy.
Kim et al. from The Boston Spine Group at Tufts University Medical School (Boston, Massachusetts) and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) note, “Vertebral compression fractures affect at least one-fourth of all postmenopausal women. The most significant risk factor is osteoporosis, most commonly seen among Caucasian women a decade or so after menopause.” Kim et al. document that osteoporotic metabolic disorders are often treated with calcium, vitamin D, bisphosphonates, or calcitonin. They add, “Routine hormone replacement therapy has fallen out of favor because of concerns regarding adverse effects….” Kim et al. also note, “Open surgical management with decompression and stabilization should be reserved for the rare patient with neural compression and progressive deformity with neurologic deficits.”
Zhang et al. from the Suining Municipal Hospital of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) conducted a clinical trial comparing the efficacy of acupuncture combined with drug therapy versus drug therapy as a standalone protocol. They document that adding abdominal acupuncture to the regimen of care significantly reduces pain levels and improves the quality of life for patients with osteoporotic compression fractures of the spine. 
The protocol for abdominal acupuncture for the treatment of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis was innovated by Professor Bo Zhi-yun. The TCM treatment principle is to regulate the Zang-fu organs and acupuncture meridians. Acupuncture points Qihai (CV6) and Guanyuan (CV4) were needled for their ability to tonify the kidney qi and therefore benefit the bones. To regulate the spleen qi, Zhongwan (CV12) and Xiawan (CV10) were added. 
Supplementary points were added. Huaroumen (ST24) was selected for its ability to benefit the meridians and collaterals. Shuifen (CV9) was selected to ease pain by regulating meridian qi. The treatment strategy was to needle the anterior to benefit the corresponding region on the posterior aspect of the body. All acupuncture points were used to promote the generation and circulation of qi and blood and to cease pain by unblocking collaterals. Acupuncture needles were 0.22 x 40 mm. After the arrival of deqi, the needling depth was regulated to ensure a mild, painless sensation often characterized as a mild pulling or dull sensation. Results were analysed at one, two, and three week follow-up clinical assessments.
In the randomized study, a body style acupuncture group was compared with an abdominal acupuncture group. Body style acupuncture included local Jiaji and Ashi acupoints. Weizhong (BL40) and Chengshan (BL57) were also applied. Reinforcing and reducing manual acupuncture techniques were applied after the arrival of deqi.
Diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), was used as part of the medication regimen. Diclofenac is used for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. An injection of ossotide with saline was applied intravenously and daily. A calcium supplement and alfacalcidol, a vitamin D analogue, were orally administered once per day. In addition, a muscular injection of salcatonin, a calcitonin hormone found in salmon, was applied daily.
The researchers discovered that the group receiving medications had significantly greater positive patient outcomes when combined with abdominal acupuncture over body style acupuncture. However, body style acupuncture combined with medications is significantly more effective than medications as a standalone therapy. The results indicate that an integrative model of patient care produces superior patient outcomes for patients with osteoporotic compression fractures of the spine. The results indicate that medications combined with abdominal acupuncture achieves optimum results.

References:
Zhang, W., Qiu, X. Y. & Wang, J. (2015). Clinical study on abdominal acupuncture for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science. 13(4).
Lei J, Dong XJ. Research progress of conservative treatment for thoracic and lumbar vertebral compression fracture. Zhongxiyi Jiehe Yanjiu, 2013, 5(6): 320-321.
Mirovsky Y, Anekstein Y, Shalmon E, Blankstein A, Peer A. Intradiscal cement leak following percutaneous vertebroplasty. Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 2006, 31(10): 1120-1124.
Wei ZC, Cai DZ, Rong LM, Wang K, Dong JW, Jin WT, Lu HD. Treatment analysis of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. Zhongshan Daxue Xuebao: Yixue Kexue Ban, 2003, 24(Suppl 1): 130-132.
Kim, David H., and Alexander R. Vaccaro. "Osteoporotic compression fractures of the spine; current options and considerations for treatment." The spine journal 6, no. 5 (2006): 479-487.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Acupuncture and electroacupuncture relieve lower back pain due to disc herniations. Heilongjiang University of TCM researchers investigated the analgesic effects of both manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture. Both types of acupuncture successfully relieved focal lower back pain and sciatica. 
Electroacupuncture outperformed manual acupuncture in achieving the greatest number of positive patient outcomes. The total effective rate for the relief of pain was 97.5% for electroacupuncture and 89.5% for manual acupuncture in the randomized controlled trial. The total effective rate included patients with significant reductions or elimination of pain, improved lower limb reflexes, ability to resume work, and significant improvements in range of motion.
The researchers applied acupuncture to the following acupoints:

• BL31, Shangliao
• BL32, Ciliao
• BL33, Zhongliao
• BL34, Xialiao
• BL54, Zhibian
• BL40, Weizhong
• BL60, Kunlun

A manual acupuncture group was compared with an electroacupuncture group whose BL31, BL40, BL34, and BL60 acupoints were stimulated with continuous wave stimulation at a comfortable intensity level. Electroacupuncture was only added after the arrival of deqi at the acupoints. Total needle retention time was 30 minutes per acupuncture session for both groups. All patients received acupuncture at a rate of once per day for ten days. The researchers concluded that both acupuncture and electroacupuncture are safe and effective for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation pain. 
The researchers conducted a protocolized study using a predetermined acupuncture point prescription for all participants in the investigation. No customization of the acupuncture point prescription was made based on individual symptoms or differential diagnostics. This approach differs from standard clinical usage wherein a licensed acupuncturist customizes the treatment protocol based upon signs and symptoms. The predetermined acupuncture point prescription is common in research due to the efforts of investigators attempting to eliminate experimental variables.
The researchers note that one part of the investigation was to test the efficacy of needling the Bladder Foot-Taiyang acupuncture meridian for the treatment of lumbar pain. Citing a historical precedent in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles and usage, the researchers applied a modern biomedical experiment to test the ancient indication for use of Bladder Foot-Taiyang acupoints for the treatment of lower back pain. Based on the findings of the investigation, the researchers conclude that needling Bladder Foot-Taiyang acupuncture points are effective in the relief of lumbar disc herniation related pain. Moreover, the researchers conclude that the addition of electroacupuncture is more effective than using only manual acupuncture.
This investigation tests manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and TCM theory on the effectiveness of Bladder Tai-Yang meridian usage for lower back pain treatment. Using a modern randomized controlled study, investigators tested the principle of treating pain along the course of a meridian’s pathway with acupoints located on the meridian. In addition, TCM principles state that lower back pain may be treated with the application of Bladder Tai-Yang meridian points. The results confirm this ancient principle making this an intriguing study in that both clinical results and ancient TCM theory align in a modern investigation.

References:
Xiao F, Cai HB, Ren H & Tao YM. (2015). Clinical Evaluation on Analgesic Effect of Electro-acupuncture at Points of Bladder Meridian on Lumbar Disc Herniation. Acta Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology. 43(4).
Zou R, Xu Y & Zhang HX. (2009). Electroacupuncture and acupoint injection in treating lumbar disc herniation and their analgesic effects. China Journal of Orthopedics. 22(10): 759-761.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Acupuncture alleviates irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Researchers from the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine investigated the efficacy of electroacupuncture for the treatment of IBS. A comparison group in the clinical trial received oral administration of pinaverium bromide. The acupuncture treatment group demonstrated an 86.7% improvement rate. The drug group demonstrated a 50% improvement rate. 
Sixty patients were randomized equally into two treatment groups. Group one received electroacupuncture and group two received pinaverium bromide. Electroacupuncture was applied to Huatoujiaji acupoints of the back at the level of T11, T12, and L1.
The researchers note that the acupuncture prescription was developed using a traditional approach to care. They note the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principle that Huatoujiaji acupoints are located between the du and bladder taiyang channels and have the ability to regulate both of these bordering channels and respective acupoints at specific spinous process levels. For example, the spleen back-shu point of the bladder taiyang channel is located lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of T11. Likewise, the stomach-shu point is located lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of T12. In addition, the sanjiao-shu point is located lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of L1.
All three bladder taiyang channel acupoints have traditional functions for regulating the digestive system. At the same spinous process levels, the Huatoujiaji acupoints share similar medicinal actions. The same applies for du channel acupoints. They too share similar actions to Huatoujiaji points at corresponding spinous process levels. 
The acupuncture needles were inserted and manual acupuncture techniques were used to elicit deqi at each acupuncture point. The needles were 0.30 x 40 mm stainless steel filiform type and needle depth was 20 to 40 mm. Once deqi arrived, manual stimulation was applied for an additional two minutes followed by electroacupuncture of 60 Hz at patient tolerance levels for intensity. Needle retention time per each acupuncture session was thirty minutes. Acupuncture was applied once per day at a rate of five days per week for a total of three weeks. 
The medication group received 50 mg of pinaverium bromide at a rate of three times per day for three weeks. Pinaverium bromide is a gastrointestinal calcium antagonist. As a spasmolytic agent, it relieves spasms of the smooth muscle of the bowels. This medication is used for the relief of IBS for purposes of controlling abdominal pain and other bowel disturbances. Ultimately, the data shows that electroacupuncture significantly outperformed pinaverium bromide.
Jiangsu Province Hospital of TCM researchers had similar findings. Their meta-analysis of eleven trials with a sample size exceeding 950 patients demonstrates that acupuncture plus moxibustion relieves IBS. The study also revealed that acupuncture outperformed medications. The Jiangsu Province Hospital of TCM researchers concluded, “Acupuncture-moxibustion for irritable bowel syndrome is better than the conventional western medication treatment.”
Chinese herbal medicine has also been shown effective for the treatment of IBS in modern research. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published the findings of a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial noting that Chinese herbal medicine “offer(s) improvements in symptoms for some patients with IBS.” The study represents a joint effort by gastroenterologists and herbalists.

References:
Sun YZ & Song J. (2014). Therapeutic Observation of Acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B2) for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 34(9).
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2012 Oct;32(10):957-60. [Meta analysis of acupuncture-moxibustion in treatment of irritable bowel syndrome]. Pei LX, Zhang XC, Sun JH, Geng H, Wu XL. Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Department, Jiangsu Province Hospital of TCM, Nanjing, China.
JAMA. 1998 Nov 11;280(18):1585-9. Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with Chinese herbal medicine: a randomized controlled trial. Bensoussan A, Talley NJ, Hing M, Menzies R, Guo A, Ngu M. Research Unit for Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney Macarthur, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Do you have trouble sleeping? Make sleep a priority by following these eight tips that will help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

You’re probably aware by now how important sleep is for good health. Inadequate sleep is a major stressor on the body and has been implicated in obesity, insulin resistance, heart disease, impaired cognitive function, and numerous other health complaints. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
It doesn’t matter how dialed in your nutrition and exercise are; if you don’t get enough sleep, your health will suffer. (7)
The trouble is, making sleep a priority—although an important step—doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll get a restful 8 hours per night. Many people can’t fall asleep at a reasonable hour, wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, or consistently wake up too early. According to a review published in 2013, an estimated one-third of the adult population reports having at least one symptom of insomnia. (8)
Luckily, there are several things you can do to improve your sleep. In this article, I’ll give you eight tips to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
1. Restrict artificial light at night
This first tip is one you’ve probably heard me talk about before: restrict artificial light at night. This means devices like computers, smart phones, and TVs, but also ambient indoor lighting. Light from all of these sources—particularly blue light—has been shown to disrupt the production of melatonin, which is the primary hormone involved in sleep regulation. (9, 10, 11)
One easy way to mitigate this effect is to install f.lux on your devices, which will automatically change the display of your computer or smart phone at night to reduce the amount of blue light it emits. However, a better option is to buy amber-tinted glasses to wear after dark, which will reduce your exposure to blue light from ambient room lighting as well. Studies have shown that these glasses are extremely effective at preventing melatonin suppression and improving sleep quality and mood. (12) Uvex and Solar Shield are two popular, inexpensive brands.
Can’t sleep? Check out these 8 tips for getting your 8 hours.
2. Try eating more carbs at dinner
Melatonin is synthesized in the brain by the pineal gland, along with serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that is also involved in sleep regulation. An important raw material for this synthesis is the amino acid tryptophan, and carbohydrates increase the amount of tryptophan available to the pineal gland. Studies have shown that eating a carb-rich meal a few hours before bed can shorten sleep onset, and higher-glycemic carbs in particular seem to have the greatest effect. (13, 14, 15) If you have insomnia, and particularly if you’re on a low-carb diet, adding some carbs at dinner could be an easy and effective way to improve your sleep.
On the other hand, high-protein meals can decrease the availability of tryptophan because other amino acids compete for transport across the blood-brain barrier and into the pineal gland. (16) However, the glycine-rich proteins found in skin and gelatinous cuts of meat don’t have this effect, and studies have shown that gelatin consumption before bedtime (say, a mug of bone broth) can improve sleep quality. (17)
3. Keep your bedroom cool and dark
You may have already discovered that sleeping in a cool, dark environment makes it much easier to get a good night’s sleep. One of the physiologic hallmarks of sleep onset is a decrease in core body temperature, which the body achieves by increasing blood flow to the skin and allowing heat to disperse into the environment. (18) If the sleeping environment is too warm, it can hinder this decrease in core body temperature and adversely affect sleep quality. (19)
It’s also important to keep your bedroom as dark as possible. We’ve already discussed how exposure to artificial light before bed can impair sleep, and exposure to even small amounts of light during the night can disrupt the circadian rhythm. (20, 21) Installing black-out shades and covering any other lights in your bedroom is one option, but an eye mask is a good alternative.
4. Manage your stress during the day
One common reason people cite for not being able to fall asleep at night is that they can’t “turn off their brain.” Is this really a surprise, considering how busy and scattered most of us stay during the day? If the sympathetic nervous system, better known as “fight or flight” mode, is consistently activated during the day, it’s unrealistic to expect that you’ll be able to switch to parasympathetic—or “rest and digest” mode—the instant your head hits the pillow.
Shifting the balance in favor of parasympathetic activation during the day by managing stress makes it much easier to fall asleep at night, and common stress-management practices such as yoga and meditation have been shown to help eliminate insomnia and improve sleep. (22, 23, 24) I also recommend a program called Rest Assured, which has breathing and movement exercises designed to promote daytime relaxation and a good night’s sleep. You can try a sample exercise (audio and pictures) here.
5. Exercise and get plenty of light during the day
Supporting your circadian rhythm by avoiding artificial light at night is important, but don’t forget to enforce it during the day, too! The most important environmental factor regulating the circadian rhythm is light entering the eye, so it’s important to let your body know that it’s daytime by exposing yourself to plenty of bright light. (25) Try to spend some time outside every day, in the morning or around lunchtime if possible. Compared to outdoor light, which usually ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 lux on a clear day, ordinary indoor light is a pitiful 10 to 300 lux, not nearly bright enough to have the strong circadian-entrenching effect we want. (26)
Exercise during the day has also been shown to improve sleep quality at night. Several studies have found exercise to be effective at reducing symptoms of insomnia, and some evidence indicates that exercise may be as effective as sleeping pills. (27, 28, 29, 30)
6. Go camping
Because the circadian rhythm is regulated primarily by exposure to light, the best way to reset your sleep schedule and get back on the right track is by exposing yourself to as much natural light as possible, with plenty of bright light during the day and no light at night. And one of the best ways to accomplish that is by going camping.
One study found that being exposed to only natural light for a few days realigns the circadian rhythm with sunset and sunrise, resulting in an easier time falling asleep and staying asleep. (31) And if you’re wondering about exposure to moonlight at night, it doesn’t appear to hinder these effects. Despite the fact that the moon can seem quite bright, moonlight is only around 0.1 to 0.4 lux. (32, 33) For comparison, a candle one meter away is 1 lux.
7. Address sleep-related issues like sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome
It’s also possible that you can’t sleep due to a health condition such as sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome (RLS). I recently wrote an article sharing several potential causes, as well as ways to address it.
But while RLS is usually easy to identify, people can suffer from sleep apnea without even realizing it. If you have excessive daytime sleepiness that you can’t figure out or you wake up frequently at night, it’s worth having a sleep study done to rule out sleep apnea as a cause. This is especially true if you are obese, have high blood pressure or diabetes, or have a history of snoring, all of which are risk factors for sleep apnea. (34) Remember, you don’t need to be overweight to develop sleep apnea, so see a sleep specialist to get tested for this common condition. (Side note: I will be discussing alternative treatments for sleep apnea in the near future.)
8. Try some natural remedies
Finally, there are several supplements that can be helpful for relieving insomnia and improving sleep. These are the supplements I’ve found helpful in my practice and are safe for most people to try, listed in descending order of what to try first. (Always check with your personal physician before starting any supplement protocol.)
Magnesium. Magnesium has calming effects on the nervous system, and several studies have found magnesium to be effective in treating insomnia and improving sleep. (35, 36, 37, 38) Many people have success with 1 to 2 teaspoons of Natural Calm before bed, while others do better with chelated forms like magnesium glycinate or magnesium taurate (400 to 600 mg). It’s important to note that magnesium may have a laxative effect, and the chelated forms are usually better tolerated by those with sensitive guts.
L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea that has been shown to have calming effects on the brain. (39) The recommended dose for improving sleep is 200 to 400 mg, taken an hour before bed if you have trouble falling asleep, or just before bed if you have trouble staying asleep. 
Taurine. Taurine is an amino acid that reduces cortisol levels and increases the production of GABA, which is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter—our bodies’ natural “off” switch. Try taking 500 mg before bed. Using magnesium taurate allows you to get both magnesium and taurine with a single pill.
5-HTP. 5-HTP is the precursor to melatonin, and the recommended dose is 50 to 100 mg an hour before bed. (Note: do not take 5-HTP if you are taking SSRIs or other antidepressants.)
Melatonin. If 5-HTP doesn’t work, you might consider taking melatonin itself. It’s more likely to be effective if your melatonin levels are low. At lower doses of 0.5 to 1 mg I believe it is safe and unlikely to cause dependence (which may be a concern with higher doses). Also, it’s worth pointing out that many people find lower doses more sedating than higher doses.


referene: http://chriskresser.com/8-tips-for-beating-insomnia-and-improving-your-sleep/
For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Twist of a needle damages cells and triggers release of anti-inflammatory chemical adenosine, US scientists find

Ever since Chinese doctors first poked their patients with sharp objects 4,000 years ago, and charged them for the pleasure, acupuncture has been shrouded in mystery.
Tradition has it that the procedure works by improving the flow of "qi" along invisible energy channels called meridians, but research published today points to a less mystical explanation for the painkilling claims of acupuncture.
The answer, according to a team of scientists in New York, follows an extraordinary study in which researchers gave regular acupuncture sessions to mice with sore paws.
After each half-hour session the mice felt less discomfort in their paws because the needles triggered the release of a natural painkiller, the researchers say. The needles caused tissue damage that stimulated cells to produce adenosine, an anti-inflammatory chemical, that was effective for up to an hour after the therapy was over.
Modern acupuncture involves inserting fine needles into the skin at specific points around the body. The needles are pushed in a few centimetres, and then heated, twisted or even electrified to produce their claimed medical effects.
Acupuncture has spread around the world since originating in China but conventional western medicine has remained steadfastly sceptical. Although there is now good evidence that acupuncture can relieve pain, many of the other health benefits acupuncturists claim are on shakier ground.
The latest research gives doctors a sound explanation of how sticking needles into the skin can alleviate, rather than exacerbate, pain. The discovery will challenge the view , widely held among scientists, that any benefits a patient feels after acupuncture are due purely to the placebo effect.
"The view that acupuncture has little benefit beyond the placebo effect has really hampered research into the technique," said Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester medical centre in New York state, who led the study.
"Some people think any work in this area is junk research, but I think that's wrong. I was really surprised at the arrogance of some of my colleagues. We can benefit from what has been learned over many thousands of years," Nedergaard said.
"I believe we've found the main mechanism by which acupuncture relieves pain. Adenosine is a very potent anti-inflammatory compound and most chronic pain is caused by inflammation."
The scientists gave each mouse a sore paw by injecting it with an inflammatory chemical. Half of the mice lacked a gene that is needed to make adenosine receptors, which are found on major nerves.
The therapy session involved inserting a fine needle into an acupuncture point in the knee above each mouse's sore foot. In keeping with traditional practice, the needles were rotated periodically throughout the half-hour session.
To measure how effective the acupuncture was, the researchers recorded how quickly each mouse pulled its sore paw away from a small bristly brush. The more pain the mice were in, the faster they pulled away.
Writing in the journal, Nature Neuroscience, Nedergaard's team describe how acupuncture reduced pain by two-thirds in normal mice, but had no effect on the discomfort of mice that lacked the adenosine receptor gene. Without adenosine receptors, the mice were unable to respond to the adenosine released when cells were damaged by acupuncture needles.
Acupuncture had no effect in either group of mice if the needles were not rotated, suggesting that the tissues had to be physically damaged to release adenosine.
Nedergaard said that twisting the needles seems to cause enough damage to make cells release the painkilling chemical. This is then picked up by adenosine receptors on nearby nerves, which react by damping down pain. Further tests on the mice revealed that levels of adenosine surged 24-fold in the tissues around the acupuncture needles during and immediately after each session.
One of the longstanding mysteries surrounding acupuncture is why the technique only seems to alleviate pain if needles are inserted at specific points. Nedergaard believes that most of these acupuncture points are along major nerve tracks, and as such are parts of the body that have plenty of adenosine receptors.
In a final experiment, Nedergaard's team injected mice with a cancer drug that made it harder to remove adenosine from their tissues. The drug, called deoxycoformycin, boosted the effects of acupuncture dramatically, more than tripling how long the pain relief lasted.
"There is an attitude among some researchers that studying alternative medicine is unfashionable," said Nedergaard. "Because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained sceptical."
Although the study explains how acupuncture can alleviate pain, it sheds no light on the other health benefits that some practitioners believe the procedure can achieve.
Josephine Briggs, the director of the national centre for complementary and alternative medicine at the US National Institutes of Health, said: "It's clear that acupuncture may activate a number of different mechanisms … It's an interesting contribution to our growing understanding of the complex intervention which is acupuncture."

reference: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/30/acupuncture-pain-relief-adenosine-mice
For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Adversity in childhood can create long-lasting scars, damaging our cells and our DNA, and making us sick as adults, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Donna is a science journalist whose work has appeared in Psychology Today, The Washington Post and Glamour, among others. Her latest book is Childhood Disrupted (2015). She lives in Maryland.

If you saw Laura walking down the New York City street where she lives today, you’d see a well-dressed 46-year-old woman with auburn hair and green eyes, who exudes a sense of ‘I matter here.’ She looks entirely in charge of her life, but behind Laura’s confident demeanour lies a history of trauma: a bipolar mother who vacillated between braiding her daughter’s hair and peppering her with insults, and a father who moved out-of-state with his wife-to-be when Laura was 15 years old.
She recalls a family trip to the Grand Canyon when she was 10. In a photo taken that day, Laura and her parents sit on a bench, sporting tourist whites. ‘Anyone looking at us would have assumed that we were a normal, loving family.’ But as they put on fake smiles for the camera, Laura’s mother suddenly pinched her daughter’s midriff and told her to stop ‘staring off into space’. A second pinch: ‘No wonder you’re turning into a butterball, you ate so much cheesecake last night you’re hanging over your shorts!’ If you look hard at Laura’s face in the photograph, you can see that she’s not squinting at the Arizona sun, but holding back tears.
After her father left the family, he sent cards and money, but called less and less. Meanwhile, her mother’s untreated bipolar disorder worsened. Sometimes, Laura says: ‘My mom would go on a vitriolic diatribe about my dad until spittle foamed on her chin. I’d stand there, trying not to hear her as she went on and on, my whole body shaking inside.’ Laura never invited friends over, for fear they’d find out her secret: her mom ‘wasn’t like other moms’.
Some 30 years later, Laura says: ‘In many ways, no matter where I go or what I do, I’m still in my mother’s house.’ Today, ‘If a car swerves into my lane, a grocery store clerk is rude, my husband and I argue, or my boss calls me in to talk over a problem, I feel something flip over inside. It’s like there’s a match standing inside too near a flame, and with the smallest breeze, it ignites.’
To see Laura, you’d never know that she is ‘always shaking a little, only invisibly, deep down in my cells’.
Her sense that something is wrong inside is mirrored by her physical health. During a routine exam, Laura’s doctor discovered that Laura was suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy and would require a cardioverter defibrillator to keep her heart pumping. The two-inch scar from her surgery only hints at the more severe scars she hides from her childhood.
For as long as John can remember, he says, his parents’ marriage was deeply troubled, as was his relationship with his father. ‘I consider myself to have been raised by my mom and her mom. I longed to feel a deeper connection with my dad, but it just wasn’t there. He couldn’t extend himself in that way.’ John’s poor relationship with his father was due, in large part, to his father’s reactivity and need for control. For instance, if John’s father said that the capital of New York was New York City, there was just no use telling him that it was Albany.
As John got older, it seemed wrong to him that his father ‘was constantly pointing out all the mistakes that my brother and I made, without acknowledging any of his own’. His father relentlessly criticised his mother, who was ‘kinder and more confident’. Aged 12, John began to interject himself into the fights between his parents. He remembers one Christmas Eve, when he found his father with his hands around his mother’s neck and had to separate them. ‘I was always trying to be the adult between them,’ John says.
John is now a boyish 40, with warm hazel eyes and a wide, affable grin. But beneath his easy, open demeanour, he struggles with an array of chronic illnesses. By the time he was 33, his blood pressure was shockingly high; he began to experience bouts of stabbing stomach pain and diarrhoea and often had blood in his stool; he struggled from headaches almost daily. By 34, he’d developed chronic fatigue, and was so wiped out that he sometimes struggled to make it through an entire workday.
John’s relationships, like his body, were never completely healthy. He ended a year‑long romance with a woman he deeply loved because he felt riddled with anxiety around her normal, ‘happy family’. He just didn’t know how to fit in. ‘She wanted to help,’ he says, ‘but instead of telling her how insecure I was around her, I told her I wasn’t in love with her.’ Bleeding from his inflamed intestines, exhausted by chronic fatigue, debilitated and distracted by pounding headaches, often struggling with work, and unable to feel comfortable in a relationship, John was stuck in a universe of pain and solitude, and he couldn’t get out.

Laura’s and John’s life stories illustrate the physical price we can pay, as adults, for trauma that took place 10, 20, even 30 years ago. New findings in neuroscience, psychology and immunology tell us that the adversity we face during childhood has farther-reaching consequences than we might ever have imagined. Today, in labs across the country, neuroscientists are peering into the once-inscrutable brain-body connection, and breaking down, on a biochemical level, exactly how the stress we experience during childhood and adolescence catches up with us when we are adults, altering our bodies, our cells, and even our DNA.
Emotional stress in adult life affects us on a physical level in quantifiable, life-altering ways. We all know that when we are stressed, chemicals and hormones can flush our body and increase levels of inflammation. That’s why stressful events in adult life are correlated with the likelihood of getting a cold or having a heart attack.
But when children or teens face adversity and especially unpredictable stressors, they are left with deeper, longer‑lasting scars. When the young brain is thrust into stressful situations over and over again without warning, and stress hormones are repeatedly ramped up, small chemical markers, known as methyl groups, adhere to specific genes that regulate the activity of stress‑hormone receptors in the brain. These epigenetic changes hamper the body’s ability to turn off the stress response. In ideal circumstances, a child learns to respond to stress, and recover from it, learning resilience. But kids who’ve faced chronic, unpredictable stress undergo biological changes that cause their inflammatory stress response to stay activated.
Joan Kaufman, director of the Child and Adolescent Research and Education (CARE) programme at the Yale School of Medicine, recently analysed DNA in the saliva of happy, healthy children, and of children who had been taken from abusive or neglectful parents. The children who’d experienced chronic childhood stress showed epigenetic changes in almost 3,000 sites on their DNA, and on all 23 chromosomes – altering how appropriately they would be able to respond to and rebound from future stressors.
kids who’ve had early adversity have a drip of fight-or-flight hormones turned on every day – it’s as if there is no off switch
Likewise, Seth Pollak, professor of psychology and director of the Child Emotion Research Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, uncovered startling genetic changes in children with a history of adversity and trauma. Pollak identified damage to a gene responsible for calming the stress response. This particular gene wasn’t working properly; the kids’ bodies weren’t able to reign in their heightened stress response. ‘A crucial set of brakes are off,’ says Pollak.
Imagine for a moment that your body receives its stress hormones and chemicals through an IV drip that’s turned on high when needed and, when the crisis passes, it’s switched off again. You might think of kids whose brains have undergone epigenetic changes because of early adversity as having an inflammation-promoting drip of fight-or-flight hormones turned on every day – it’s as if there is no off switch.
Experiencing stress in childhood changes your set point of wellbeing for decades to come. In people such as Laura and John, the endocrine and immune systems are churning out a damaging and inflammatory cocktail of stress neurochemicals in response to even small stressors – an unexpected bill, a disagreement with their spouse, a car that swerves in front of them on the highway, a creak on the staircase – for the rest of their lives. They might find themselves overreacting to, and less able to recover from, the inevitable stressors of life. They’re always responding. And all the while, they’re unwittingly marinating in inflammatory chemicals, which sets the stage for full-throttle disease down the road, in the form of autoimmune disease, heart disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, fibroid tumours, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, migraines and asthma.
Scientists first came to understand the relationship between early chronic stress and later adult disease through the work of a dedicated physician in San Diego and a determined epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Together, during the 1980s and ’90s – the years when Laura and John were growing up – these two researchers began a paradigm-shifting public-health investigation known as the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.
In 1985, Vincent J Felitti, chief of a revolutionary preventive care initiative at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care programme in San Diego, noticed a startling pattern in adult patients at an obesity clinic. A significant number were, with the support of Felitti and his nurses, successfully losing hundreds of pounds a year, a remarkable feat, only to withdraw from the programme despite weight-loss success. Felitti, determined to get to the bottom of the attrition rate, conducted face-to-face interviews with 286 patients. It turned out there was a common denominator. Many confided that they had suffered some sort of trauma, often sexual abuse, in their childhoods. To these patients, eating was a solution, not a problem: it soothed the anxiety and depression they had harboured for decades; their weight served as a shield against undesired attention, and they didn’t want to let it go.
Felitti’s interviews gave him a new way of looking at human health and wellbeing that other physicians just weren’t seeing. He presented his findings at a national obesity conference, arguing that ‘our intractable public health problems’ had root causes hidden ‘by shame, by secrecy, and by social taboos against exploring certain areas of life experience’. Felitti’s peers were quick to blast him. One even stood up in the audience and accused Felitti of offering ‘excuses’ for patients’ ‘failed lives’. Felitti, however, remained unfazed; he felt sure that he had stumbled upon a piece of information that would hold enormous import for the field of medicine.
After a colleague who attended that same conference suggested that he design a study with thousands of patients who suffered from a wide variety of diseases, not just obesity, Felitti joined forces with Robert Anda, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC who had, at the time, been researching the relationship between coronary heart disease and depression. Felitti and Anda took advantage of Kaiser Permanente’s vast patient cohort to set up a national epidemiology laboratory. Of the 26,000 patients they invited to take part in their study, more than 17,000 agreed.
Anda and Felitti surveyed these 17,000 individuals on about 10 types of adversity, or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), probing into patients’ childhood and adolescent histories. Questions included: ‘Was a biological parent ever lost to you through divorce, abandonment or other reason?’; ‘Did a parent or other adult in the household often swear at you, insult you, put you down or humiliate you?’; and ‘Was a household member depressed or mentally ill?’ Other questions looked at types of family dysfunction that included growing up with a parent who was an alcoholic or addicted to other substances; being physically or emotionally neglected; being sexually or physically abused; witnessing domestic violence; having a family member who was sent to prison; feeling that there was no one to provide protection; and feeling that one’s family didn’t look out for each other. For each category to which a patient responded ‘yes’, one point would be added to her ACE score, so an ACE score of 2 would indicate that she had suffered two adverse childhood experiences.
To be clear, the patients Felitti and Anda surveyed were not troubled or disadvantaged; the average patient was 57, and three-quarters had attended college. These were ‘successful’ men and women, mostly white, middle-class, with stable jobs and health benefits. Felitti and Anda expected their number of ‘yes’ answers to be fairly low.
The correlation between having a difficult childhood and facing illness as an adult offered a whole new lens through which we could view human health and disease
When the results came in, Felitti and Anda were shocked: 64 per cent of participants answered ‘yes’ to having encountered at least one category of early adversity, and 87 per cent of those patients also had additional adverse childhood experiences; 40 per cent had suffered two or more ACEs; 12.5 per cent had an ACE score greater than or equal to 4.
Felitti and Anda wanted to find out whether there was a correlation between the number of adverse childhood experiences an individual had faced, and the number and severity of illnesses and disorders she developed as an adult. The correlation proved so powerful that Anda was not only ‘stunned’, but deeply moved.
‘I wept,’ he says. ‘I saw how much people had suffered, and I wept.’
Felitti, too, was deeply affected. ‘Our findings exceeded anything we had conceived. The correlation between having a difficult childhood and facing illness as an adult offered a whole new lens through which we could view human health and disease.’
Here, says Felitti, ‘was the missing piece as to what was causing so much of our unspoken suffering as human beings’.
The number of adverse childhood experiences a patient had suffered could by and large predict the amount of medical care she would require in adulthood: the higher the ACE score, the higher the number of doctor’s appointments she’d had in the past year, and the more unexplained physical symptoms she’d reported.
People with an ACE score of 4 were twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer than people who hadn’t faced any form of childhood adversity. For each point an individual had, her chance of being hospitalised with an autoimmune disease in adulthood rose 20 per cent. Someone with an ACE score of 4 was 460 per cent more likely to face depression than someone with a score of 0.
An ACE score of 6 or higher shortened an individual’s lifespan by almost 20 years.
Researchers wondered if those who encountered childhood adversity were also more likely to smoke, drink and overeat as a sort of coping strategy, and while that was sometimes the case, unhealthy habits didn’t wholly account for the correlation Felitti and Anda saw between adverse childhood experiences and later illness. For instance, those with ACE scores greater than or equal to 7 who didn’t drink or smoke, weren’t overweight or diabetic, and didn’t have high cholesterol still had a 360 per cent higher risk of heart disease than those with ACE scores of 0.
‘Time,’ says Felitti, ‘does not heal all wounds. One does not “just get over” something – not even 50 years later.’ Instead, he says: ‘Time conceals. And human beings convert traumatic emotional experiences in childhood into organic disease later in life.’
Often, these illnesses can be chronic and lifelong. Autoimmune disease. Heart disease. Chronic bowel disorders. Migraines. Persistent depression. Even today, doctors puzzle over these very conditions: why are they so prevalent; why are some patients more prone to them than others; and why are they so difficult to treat?
The more research that’s done, the more granular details emerge about the profound link between adverse experiences and adult disease. Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, the University of California, San Francisco, and Brown University in Rhode Island have shown that childhood adversity damages us on a cellular level in ways that prematurely age our cells and affect our longevity. Adults who faced early life stress show greater erosion in what are known as telomeres – protective caps that sit on the ends of DNA strands to keep the DNA healthy and intact. As telomeres erode, we’re more likely to develop disease, and we age faster; as our telomeres age and expire, our cells expire and so, eventually, do we.
Researchers have also seen a correlation between specific types of adverse childhood experiences and a range of diseases. For instance, children whose parents die, or who face emotional or physical abuse, or experience childhood neglect, or witness marital discord between their parents are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, lung disease, diabetes, headaches, multiple sclerosis and lupus as adults. Facing difficult circumstances in childhood increases six-fold your chances of having myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) as an adult. Kids who lose a parent have triple the risk of depression in their lifetimes. Children whose parents divorce are twice as likely to suffer a stroke later down the line.
Laura and John’s stories illustrate that the past can tick away inside us for decades like a silent time bomb, until it sets off a cellular message that lets us know the body does not forget its history.
Something that happened to you when you were five or 15 can land you in the hospital 30 years later
John’s ACE score would be a 3: a parent often put him down; he witnessed his mother being harmed; and, clearly, his father suffered from an undiagnosed behaviour health disorder, perhaps narcissism or depression, or both.
Laura had an ACE score of 4.
Laura and John are hardly alone. Two-thirds of American adults are carrying wounds from childhood quietly into adulthood, with little or no idea of the extent to which these wounds affect their daily health and wellbeing. Something that happened to you when you were five or 15 can land you in the hospital 30 years later, whether that something was headline news, or happened quietly, without anyone else knowing it, in the living room of your childhood home.
The adversity a child faces doesn’t have to be severe abuse in order to create deep biophysical changes that can lead to chronic health conditions in adulthood.
‘Our findings showed that the 10 different types of adversity we examined were almost equal in their damage,’ says Felitti. He and Anda found that no single ACE significantly trumped another. This was true even though some types, such as being sexually abused, are far worse in that society regards them as particularly shameful, and others, such as physical abuse, are more overt in their violence.
This makes sense if you think about how the stress response functions on an optimal level. You meet a bear in the woods, and your body floods with adrenaline and cortisol so that you can quickly decide whether to run in the opposite direction or stay and try to frighten the bear. After you deal with the crisis, you recover, your stress hormones abate, and you go home with a great story. For Laura and John, though, that feeling that the bear is still out there, somewhere, circling in the woods, stalking, and might strike again any day, anytime – that feeling never disappears.
There are a lot of bears out there. Chronic parental discord; enduring low-dose humiliation or blame and shame; chronic teasing; the quiet divorce between two secretly seething parents; a parent’s premature exit from a child’s life; the emotional scars of growing up with a hypercritical, unsteady, narcissistic, bipolar, alcoholic, addicted or depressed parent; physical or emotional abuse or neglect: these happen in all too many families. Although the details of individual adverse experiences differ from one home to another and from one neighbourhood to another, they are all precursors to the same organic chemical changes deep in the gray matter of the developing brain.
Every few decades, a groundbreaking psychosocial ‘theory of everything’ helps us to develop a new understanding of why we are the way we are – and how we got that way. In the early 20th century, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud transformed the landscape of psychology when he argued that the unconscious rules much of our waking life and dreams. Jungian theory taught, among other ideas, that we tend toward introversion or extroversion, which led the American educationalist Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers to develop a personality indicator. More recently, neuroscientists discovered that age ‘zero to three’ was a critical synaptic window for brain development, giving birth to Head Start and other preschool programmes. The correlation between childhood trauma, brain architecture and adult wellbeing is the newest, and perhaps our most important, psychobiological theory of everything.
Today’s research on adverse childhood experiences revolutionises how we see ourselves, our understanding of how we came to be the way we are, why we love the way we do, how we can better nurture our children, and how we can work to realise our potential.
To date, more than 1,500 studies founded on Felitti and Anda’s hallmark ACE research show that both physical and emotional suffering are rooted in the complex workings of the immune system, the body’s master operating control centre – and what happens to the brain during childhood sets the programming for how our immune systems will respond for the rest of our lives.
The unifying principle of this new theory of everything is this: your emotional biography becomes your physical biology, and together, they write much of the script for how you will live your life. Put another way: your early stories script your biology and your biology scripts the way your life will play out.
Unlike previous theories of everything, though, this one has been mind-bogglingly slow to change how we do medicine, according to Felitti. ‘Very few internists or medical schools are interested in embracing the added responsibility that this understanding imposes on them.’
With the ACE research now available, we might hope that physicians will begin to see patients as a holistic sum of their experiences and embrace the understanding that a stressor from long ago can be a health-risk time bomb that has exploded. Such a medical paradigm, which sees adverse childhood experiences as one of many key factors that can play a role in disease, could save many patients years in the healing process.
But seeing that connection takes a little time. It means asking patients to fill out the ACE questionnaire and delving into that patient’s history for insight into sources of both physical and emotional pain. As health-care budgets have become stretched, physicians spend less time interacting one-on-one with patients in their exam rooms; the average physician schedules patients back-to-back at 15-minute intervals.
Still, the cost of not intervening is far greater – not only in the loss of human health and wellbeing, but also in additional healthcare. According to the CDC, the total lifetime cost of child maltreatment in the US is $124 billion each year. The lifetime healthcare cost for each individual who experiences childhood maltreatment is estimated at $210,012 – comparable to other costly health conditions, such as having a stroke, which has a lifetime estimated cost of $159,846 per person, or type-2 diabetes, which is estimated to cost between $181,000 and $253,000.
Further hindering change is the fact that adult physical medicine and psychological medicine remain in separate silos. Utilising ACE research requires breaking down these long-standing divisions in healthcare between what is ‘physical’ and what is ‘mental’ or ‘emotional,’ and that’s hard to achieve. Physicians have been well-trained to deal only with what they can touch with their hands, see with their eyes, or view with microscopes or scans.
Just as physical wounds and bruises heal, just as we can regain our muscle tone, we can recover function in underconnected areas of the brain
However, now that we have scientific evidence that the brain is genetically modified by childhood experience, we can no longer draw that line in the sand. With hundreds of studies showing that childhood adversity hurts our mental and physical health, putting us at greater risk for learning disorders, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, depression, obesity, suicide, substance abuse, failed relationships, violence, poor parenting and early death, we just can’t afford to make such distinctions.
Science tells us that biology does not have to be destiny. ACEs can last a lifetime, but they don’t have to. Just as physical wounds and bruises heal, just as we can regain our muscle tone, we can recover function in underconnected areas of the brain. If anything, that’s the most important take-away from ACE research: the brain and body are never static; they are always in the process of becoming and changing.
Even if we have been set on high-reactive mode for decades or a lifetime, we can still dial it down. We can respond to life’s inevitable stressors more appropriately and shift away from an overactive inflammatory response. We can become neurobiologically resilient. We can turn bad epigenetics into good epigenetics and rescue ourselves. We have the capacity, within ourselves, to create better health. We might call this brave undertaking ‘the neurobiology of awakening’.
Today, scientists recognise a range of promising approaches to help create new neurons (known as neurogenesis), make new synaptic connections between those neurons (known as synaptogenesis), promote new patterns of thoughts and reactions, bring underconnected areas of the brain back online – and reset our stress response so that we decrease the inflammation that makes us ill.

You can find ways to start right where you are, no matter how deep your scars or how long ago they occurred. Many mind-body therapies not only help you to calm your thoughts and increase your emotional and physical wellbeing, but research suggests that they have the potential to reverse, on a biological level, the harmful impact of childhood adversity.
Recent studies indicate that individuals who practice mindfulness meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) show an increase in gray matter in parts of the brain associated with managing stress, and experience shifts in genes that regulate their stress response and their levels of inflammatory hormones. Other research suggests that a process known as neurofeedback can help to regrow connections in the brain that were lost to adverse childhood experiences.
Meditation, mindfulness, neurofeedback, cognitive therapy, EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) therapy: these promising new avenues to healing can be part of any patient’s recovery plan, if only healthcare practitioners would begin to treat the whole patient – past, present and future, without making distinctions between physical and mental health – and encourage patients to explore all the treatment options available to them. The more we learn about the toxic impact of early stress, the better equipped we are to counter its effects, and help to uncover new strategies and modalities to come back to who it is we really are, and who it was we might have been had we not encountered childhood adversity in the first place.


This is an adapted and reprinted extract from ‘Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal’ (Atria), by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. Copyright © Donna Jackson Nakazawa, 2015.

We were invited to participate as a vendor at the Stand Down Veterans event, this is the first time Acupuncture is considered as a health alternative at the health fare in Oahu. I felt very honored and grateful.

Stand Downs are typically one- to three-day events providing supplies and services to homeless Veterans, such as food, shelter, clothing, health screenings and VA Social Security benefits counseling. Veterans can also receive referrals to other assistance such as health care, housing solutions, employment, substance use treatment and mental health counseling. They are collaborative events, coordinated between local VA Medical Centers, other government agencies and community-based homeless service providers.

I didn't know what to expect, I set up 4 chairs in a circle close to my table, this was a last minute invitation. I had no handouts or brochures. I just brought my needles. To my surprise, with in an hour my four chairs multiplied to 15 and Patrick and I were treating close to 30 people an hour. By the end of the day we treated close to 150 veterans, active duty, and family members based on the NADA ear protocol.
We were the most popular booth. There was so much interest and activity, you can imagine I was happy and glowing. The organizer of the event approached me twice and gave us very positive feedback.
Some of the participants reported instant results of feeling calmer, less anxious or stressed and the best feedback was from one general. As I placed the needles, 5 minutes later, he looks at me and says, " For real?, this must a placebo effect. I had neck, shoulder and back pain, and now it's gone." This is certainly for real!
I am fortunate for the experience and for the opportunity to express my gratitude to these wonderful folks!
They got a lot of love at the fair and I got to share that with them!

Watch this short film that chronicles the healing power of ear acupuncture.

By Michael Tierra
With his ageless axiom 'Let your food be your medicine and your medicine, your food,' Hippocrates, regarded as '˜the father of medicine' might as well be referring to kichari. This delicious mainstay of Indian cuisine consists of split yellow mung beans called dahl, and white basmati rice cooked together with ghee (clarified butter) and mild spices. In fact, kichadi may well be the most perfect therapeutic recipe of all because it detoxifies the entire system, while kindling the body's digestive fires called '˜agni.' Unlike other fasts or restricted diets, following an exclusive diet of kichadi with the addition of some steamed seasonal vegetables and fresh fruits and perhaps a few tablespoons of yogurt mid-day, supplies all the bodies' nutritional needs and will cause no nutritional deficiencies.
A yogic sage who at the time of our meeting was in his early 90's, adhered to an ascetic practices of an exclusive year round diet of kichari. He was physically fit, mentally alert and could out distance all of his younger students' speed in walking on the beach. Every ayurvedic doctor in fact all people of India are raised to appreciate the benefits of kichari to enhance the treatment of disease. Thus it is widely prescribed as the primary food in panch karma, ayurvedic cleansing therapy. It's no wonder that enjoying a breakfast of freshly prepared kichari at a Northern California retreat center, the a respected Ayurvedic doctor, Vasant Ladd exclaimed that this was not only food but also medicine.
Kichari, called Indian dahl, is served in all Indian restaurants and is a mainstay of traditional Indian households. All traditional East Indian people know that when one is weakened or sick they should eat only kichari for a speedy recovery.
The reason is simple; since it is generally recognized by systems of natural medicine throughout the world, that the majority of all diseases begins in the stomach with faulty digestion. In areas of the world were food is scarce, it would be unthinkable to treat diseases caused by inadequate nutrition with raw foods, liquid fasts of vegetable and fruit juice as these would not supply the adequate amount of protein and complex carbohydrates and would only cause more degenerative wasting. However, kichari would be ideal for such individuals, being an easily assimilated porridge of rice and beans. In the West, where food is abundant and excess is more likely to be the underlying cause of disease, raw foods and juice fasting may be more appropriate as an initial fast to eliminate and detoxify excess waste clogging the circulatory vessels and organs of the body, however as a long-term diet it creates deficiency weakness which kichari would not. Further, for most busy people, extreme fasting regimes are impractical and the bouts of incapacitating hypoglycemic episodes along the way can be a challenge. Kichari on the other hand achieves the same eliminating and detoxifying goals in a smoother, more balanced way, allowing one to continue their normal daily routine and without any of the concomitant bouts of low blood sugar. Thus kichari diet is safer and provides a more balanced, gradual approach to detoxification while maintaining adequate amounts of required complex carbohydrates and protein in the diet without causing nutritional deficiencies.
Iin India, where its indigenous medicine known as Ayurveda, is deemed '˜the mother of natural healing,' there is a millennia old tradition that if one eats only kichari for at least three weeks, it will cure all diseases. The reasons as stated are that kichari is a delicious, light and easily digestible food that supplies all one's nutritional needs while affording the internal organs the opportunity to recover from dietary excesses and/or deficiencies that are the foundation for disease.
Few of us are sufficiently in touch with how food affects our mental states and emotions. Although, increasingly individuals are recognizing the hyped feeling that comes from consuming too much sugar, the heavy, dull feeling from an excess of dairy, fats and red meat or the ungrounded , spaced and unfocussed effects from too much raw foods, vegetable and fruit juices. An entire book as been written describing the depressive state called '˜sugar blues[1]' that occurs as withdrawal symptoms from excess sugar consumption. Volumes have been written about this latter phenomenon but now there is an entire disease complex popularly known as '˜Syndrome X' which is a constellation of conditions involving possible erratic blood sugar fluctuations, high blood pressure, overweight, particularly with weight carried around the middle, abnormalities of blood lipids, particularly triglycerides and gout. Kichari ameliorates all of these physical conditions by balancing body and blood chemistry and one of the first notable experiences is a greater sense of inner calm and stress relief. For many, this can be felt in as little as three days after beginning the kichari diet.
Over three decades of clinical herbal and acupuncture practice in Northern California I and my daughter, Shasta Tierra have prescribed kichari to our patients. We have corroborated ageless Indian wisdom that an exclusive diet of kichari enables and enhances all other natural therapies and can be used with great benefit for a wide range of diseases from colds and flu, depression, diabetes, gynecological disease, cardio-vascular disease, arthritis, digestive disorders, liver disease, arthritis and cancer. Shasta Tierra, who is an acupuncturist and herbalist, working in San Jose, California is locally well known for prescribing kichari both for the treatment of disease but also to promote fitness and general health.
Many are amazed how such a simple, easily prepared dish with so many health benefits such as kichari possesses can also be so delicious and satisfying.
Kichari and weight lossAn exclusive diet of kichari for at least one to several weeks is the safest and best way to lose unwanted pounds. One respected martial arts and qi gong exponent uses kichari as his personal self healing method for healing and safe and effective weight control. He would reduce weight initially with an exclusive diet of kichari, after achieving the desired weight; he might then only eat kichari for one or two meals each day for ongoing maintenance. In this way he is able to lose and then maintain his ideal weight while continuing with his physically strenuous and demanding daily workout schedule.
Ayurveda Tridosha and Sheldon's SomatypesIn Ayurveda the human constitution is evaluated according to the three basic body types, Vata - sensitive, nerve oriented, Pitta '“ fire oriented and Kapha '“ water oriented. This is called tridosha and is the cornerstone for all ayurvedic treatment. Ayurveda teaches that each individual is naturally born with a predominance of any one or a combination of any of these three basic types and that this dominance is reflected in one's overall constitution, personality as well as their day to day climatic and dietary preferences and aversions. Thus the term '˜dosha' means '˜fault' because an imbalance of any of these is deemed the cause of disease. Ayurvedic treatment then goes on to prescribe dietary, herbal, activity and lifestyle changes that are specifically intended to restore balance or tridosha.
This ancient medical theory has its modern scientific counterpart with the more contemporary theory of somatypes developed in the 1940's by American psychologist, William Sheldon[i]. This is a respected scientific principle of physiological and psychological medicine probably with unintended marked similarities with the Ayurveda tridosha system. Sheldon corroborated three body types, endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph with human temperament types. These are described below with their Ayurvedic tridosha counterparts:
The endomorph which corresponds to Ayurvedic Kapha has a more phlegmatic, naturally rounder shaped body with a greater tendency towards stockiness along with congestive and digestive disorders. They are more prone to conditions and diseases exhibiting an excess fat, fluids and mucus. Their complexion and hair is lustrous and more oily. Temperamentally they are slower responders but with a tendency towards greater tolerance and pleasurable self-indulgence. Negatively they can be succumb to greater rigidity and '˜stuck' manners of being. The stereotype is 'the fat, jolly person.' This is indeed a stereotype and only represents a tendency.
The mesomorph or Pitta type is centered on muscle and fiery energy. Sheldon says that they are centered on muscle rather than the fat tissue of the endomorph and the circulatory system. Similar to pitta dosha, they tend to be of a more medium build with a tendency to be impetuous and quick, courageous, active, dynamic, assertive and competitive. In contrast, while the kapha individual has greater stamina and endurance for the long haul, pitta types tend towards more dynamic bold initiation and risk taking. The stereotype is: : 'type A personality,' 'jock' or 'GI Joe.'
The ecotomorph or Vata type is thinner, more hypersensitive, introverted and moody. Thus they are metaphorically compared to air with less involvement with the physical act of doing and more with the mental process of ideation. Thus ideally the vata type is more likely to be the '˜seer,' or visionary or negatively the one tending towards deranged mental states. The stereotype is the 'hypersensitive individual,' 'thin skinned.'
Correspondingly an ayurvedic doctor, will prescribe diet, herbs and lifestyle according to one's dosha imbalance. It is possible to further fine tune the basic recipe according to ingredients, proportions, consistency and spices based on one's dosha propensity. The result is the same, which is the ability of kichari to restore metabolic balance while eliminating toxins called '˜ama' and kindling '˜agni' which is digestive or metabolic life fire.

One basic kichari recipe is as follows:
1 cup split mung dal (yellow)
2 cups of white basmati rice
2 tsp of ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp of rock salt
8 cups of water (6 cups when using a pressure cooker)

This is suitable for all body types. However for those who may be more of a kapha or vata type, one may want to make a more heating version of kichari by adding:

1 inch of fresh minced ginger root
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 scant pinch of hing (asafetida)
and either red chilli or black pepper omitting or limiting the inclusion of dairy or yogurt
The pitta type on the other hand would use less warming spices and slightly more dairy and yogurt while the vata type uses slightly more warming spices with the addition of dairy or yogurt.

Method of preparation
Wash the rice and dal together to eliminate the excess starch which is done when the water runs clear. Add eight cups of water and cook the covered rice and dal until it becomes soft and tender. Saute the mustard seeds, whole cumin seeds, hing, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric together with the ghee in a separate sauce pan for a few minutes or until the aroma begins to permeated the air. Stirr the cooked rice and dal into the pan and cook until it is done. Add rock salt, and the cilantro leaves just before serving.

Another recipe is as follows:
2 cups of white basmati rice
1 cup split yellow mung beans
8 to 12 cups of water, depending on how soupy the resultant final product
2 tsp of ghee
1 tsp of ground cumin seed
1 scant tsp of coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
3 to 5 whole cardamom pods
1 to 2 tsp of powdered ginger
pinch of rock salt or powdered kelp
pinch of hing (asafetida)
Again this is a more heating kichari useful for individuals with a tendency to gas and bloating and weaker digestion.

Why White Rice?
Rice is universally regarded as one of the most perfectly balanced foods. The difference between naturally brown and white rice is that brown rice has all of the out skin or bran intact while white rice has been mechanically polished to remove part or all of the bran depending on one's digestive capability. Japanese Macrobiotics favors the use of brown rice but they also advocate chewing each mouthful of food 80 to 100 times. For most this is extremely impractical and overly rigid especially since many older people may not even retain all of their teeth for proper chewing. White rice has less of the whole food nutritional elements of brown rice but it is better assimilated. Further, by adding beans or other proteinaceous foods to white rice what is lost nutritionally is mostly replaced.
Basmati rice is preferred because it is the best nutritionally and the most delicious variety. It is more expensive because it yields less per acre than all other types of rice. Assuming that one is taking kichari because they are in a weakened state and must have food that is easily digested, polished white basmati rice would be the best to use.
However, recognizing that just as our outer physical body must be moderately challenged to develop one might use more whole grains such as brown rice to maintain digestive strength. The rule is that when one is weaker white rice used with kichari is best. However, to develop and maintain digestive power one can make kichari with whole brown basmati rice or a judicious mixture of both.
As an aside, in rural villages throughout Asia, people would bring their rice to the local miller. Depending on their need, they could specify how much of the bran to leave or remove in the milling process. For older people or individuals with weaker digestion, more or all of the bran is polished away.

Gourmet KichariFirst: 1/4 cups split yellow mung beans
1/2 cups of rinsed white basmati rice
1 cup of chopped or grated carrots
1 cup of chopped parsnips
1 tbsp of chopped fresh ginger.
Combine these together and cook in a stock pot covered. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
Second: 3 tbsp of ghee
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of dry roasted coriander powder
1/2 tsp of dry roasted cumin seed powder
(dry roasting is simply to put these powders onto a dry skiller until the slightly brown)
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 chopped or torn dried chili pepper
1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
Heat the ghee in second pan and then add the mustard seeds, after they begin to pop, add the onions and spices and fry until slightly brown.
Third:
Combine everything together, ideally into the second pan.
Add 1/2 tsp of rock salt
1/2 lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed
3 to 5 fresh basil leaves (or one can use chopped coriander leaves).
Serves 4 to 6 people.

The following two preparations are from Secrets of Ayurveda by Maya Tiwiri published by Lotus Press
Kichari '“ Rice and Bean mixture
8 c water
1 1/2 c white basmati rice
1/2 cup yellow split mung beans
1 tsp powdered rock salt
1/2 tsp ajwan seeds,
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp ghee.
Bring the water to a boil in a large stainless steel pot (never use aluminum or a water soluble metal when preparing food). Wash the rice and beans and add to the boiling water, along with the salt. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes. In a small cast-iron skillet, dry roast the seeds for a few minutes over low heat, until they are golden brown. Grind them into coarse pieces using a mortar and pestle or a suribachi. Heat the ghee in the same skillet and add the crushed seeds. Sizzle for 2 minutes, then pour into the rice and beans mixture. Cover and continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the kichari sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Thick Kichari '“ Rice and Bean mixture
1 tbsp dried tamarind
10 c of water
1 1/2 brown basmati rice
1/2 cup whole green mung bean
1 tsp powdered rock salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 bsp black peppercorns
2 tbsp of ghee

Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of hot water for 5 hours. Bring the 10 cups of water to a boil. Wash the rice and beans and add to the boiling water along with the sat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Rast the seeds and peppercors in a small cast-iron skillet for a few minutes or until they crackle. Heat the ghee in the same skillet and then add the crushed seeds and immediately pour into the rice and bean misture. Use a small spoon to mash the tamarind into a pulp and add, along with the soaking water and roughage, to the rice and bean mixture. Stire, cover and continue cooking on low heat for an additional 15 minutes, until the Kichari becomes a thick porridge. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the tamarind roughage from the kichari before serving.

For vata and pitta types the following is recommended:

Basmati Rice Kichari
Four servings:
1 1/2 cu white basmati rice
1/2 c yellow split mung beans
1/2 tsp powdered rock salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ghee

Bring the water to a boil in a large stainless steel pot. Wash the rice and beans and add to boiling water along with the salt. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. In a small cast-iron skillet, heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. When the seeds turn golden brown, pour the mixture into the kichari. Stir, cover and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes over low heat. Serve while still warm.
Maya Tiwiri suggests that both Vata and Pitta types may substitute equal amounts of bulgur, cous cous or jasmine rice for the white basmati rice. Vata types may also add a pinch of asafetida along with the salt.

For Kapha types she suggests the following:
Millet Kichari
Four servings:
5 c water
1 1/2 cup millet
1/c c yellow split mung beans
1/4 tsp powdered rock salt
5 fresh or dried neem leaves
1 tsp corn oil
1 tsp cumin seeds

Prepare similar to the preceeding recipes.
Following is a personal favorite recipe that admits of many variations. It was developed by my former student and herbalist Darlena L'Orange.
Spring kichari: a stew with vegetables. 1 cup of split yellow mung beans 1 cup of white basmati rice
1 tablespoon (or less) of ghee or sunflower oil 1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4/ -1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) 1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
6 inch piece burdock root (peeled and chopped) 1 parsnip sliced or turnip roughly chopped
1 bunch of dark leafy greens (kale, chard, or dandelion greens which are slightly bitter)

Ideally, the beans and rice are better cooked separately. They should both be presoaked overnight. With beans I like to add a 4 to 6 inch piece of kombu seaweed which can even shorten the soaking process to as little as two hours. Besides adding a rich abundance trace minerals that are naturally found in good quality sea vegetables, soaking and cooking beans will also shorten the soaking process.
Warm ghee or oil in a pot, add cumin, coriander, turmeric, and mustard seeds. Sauté for a few minutes while stirring regularly. Add beans and rice and stir with spices, Add 6 cups of water and salt, ginger, and burdock. Let cook until beans and rice are very soft (30-45min). Add veggies and cook another 15 min (you may need to add more water depending on the consistency you like.)
These are only a few of the many was to adjust or augment the basic rice and beans kichari. One can consider making more like a soup or porridge or a somewhat thicker stew, possibly serving with a whole wheat chapatti (flat, unyeasted wheat paddy or with the addition of a few tablespoons of yogurt. Just as the grains can be varied one can also vary the type of beans. For instance green mung can be used, or black beans.
Comparisons with other cultures that rely on a basic rice and beans diet as the foundation for healingThe fundamental combination of rice and beans, which form the basis for Kichari is also the basic therapeutic diet of many traditional cultures worldwide:

• The Chinese traditional medicine recommends congee (long cooked rice porridge) and tofu for regaining strength and for weak digestion. Often this is with the addition of various other foods and herbs according to the indications of the patient.
• The traditional Japanese diet recommends the use of brown rice, beans and miso (fermented soya bean soup) for healing.
• The Central American people and curanderos recommend that patients consume only corn and beans perhaps with steamed vegetables as their primary therapeutic diet.
• Throughout the Caribbean the basic therapeutic diet consists of black beans and rice called 'moors and Christians' by the local people.

How to make Ghee
Ghee or clarified butter is the secret of delicious French cooking. It is the clear oil with the more saturated fats removed from butter. It restores vitality, mental clarity, clears the skin and enhances digestion. All of these attributes along with its delicious buttery flavor, make it the most desirable of all cooking oils.
It is easily made in the kitchen. Simply obtain a pound or two of unsalted butter. Place it in a skillet atop a low flame. The butter will melt to a liquid and eventually the fat solids will congeal and settle to the bottom. Be careful to not burn it. After a period of time, carefully decant the clear golden butter oil (ghee) into a wide mouthed jar to which one should have a metal spoon to absorb some of the heat and prevent the jar from cracking. Discard the white fat solids.
Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and will keep unrefrigerated virtually indefinitely. One can therefore store it in a jar on or near the cooking area.

The Spices of Kichari
The three spices turmeric, cumin and coriander are the basis of Indian curry mixes. Besides adding wonderful exotic flavors to foods, these also have potent medicinal properties.

The Healing Power of Turmeric
Turmeric (curcuma longa), which imparts a wonderful yellow color to food, is one of the most potent herbs for the liver, digestive and cardiovascular systems. It is also a powerful antioxidant. Counteracting free-radical damage or oxidation implicated with the aging process and in all chronic degenerative conditions including arthritis and cancer. Think of oxidation as something akin to cellular, organic '˜rust,' with similar negative degenerating effects on the body as rust has to metals. Turmeric, which has been used for thousands of years to impart a wonderful flavor and golden color to meats, poultry, grains and vegetables, is high in polyphenols called curcuminoids that have been shown to be more effective than vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and even the OPC;s (Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins) found in grapeseed and pine bark, making it one of the most effective herbal antioxidants.
Turmeric a potent Cox-2 inhibitorInflammation implicated in osteoarthritis and a wide number of chronic degenerative conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to Alzheimer's, are caused by prostaglandins, which are produced through the cyclo-oxygenase 1 and 2 (COX-1 and COX-2) enzyme systems. Prostaglandins are known to be over-expressed in inflammation, but certain prostaglandins are beneficial and protective.
Many drugs advertised and sold for osteoarthritis are COX-2 inhibitors and the best known are celecoxib (Celebrex) and rofecoxib (Vioxx). They are considered a better and more potent version of the traditional Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. All of these relieve pain by reducing inflammation. However, they are all known to have serious long term side adverse effects especially on the liver.
Turmeric offers all the beneficial effects of the COX-2 inhibitors but it is beneficial to the liver without any of the harmful side effects of the pharmaceutical drugs. A study from the UK found turmeric able to inhibit the production of COX-2 making it a very effective and safer natural alternative for a wide variety of joint ailments including arthritis.
Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in a variety of over-the-counter drugs, most notably Tylenol. Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of calls to the Poison Control Centers across the United States. It is estimated that acetaminophen poisoning calls exceed 100,000 per year. Studies indicate that acetaminophen overdose results in over 56,000 injuries, 2,500 hospitalizations, and an estimated 450 deaths per year.
The most significant risk involving acetaminophen is acute liver toxicity. Data acquired from the U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study Group registry indicates that nearly 50% of all acute liver failure in this country is linked to acetaminophen poisoning. There have even been reported cases of acute liver toxicity in individuals whose acetaminophen dosage did not exceed 4 grams/day. Surprisingly, a dosage of 4 grams/day falls within the recommended dosage for Extra Strength Tylenol.
Turmeric and the liverPeople who suffer with joint problems are known to be chronic users of NSAIDS. In fact Tylenol (acetaminophen), the leading cause of calls to the Poison Control Centers across the United States resulting in an estimated 56,000 injuries, 2500 hospitalization and an estimate 450 deaths per year[2]. Turmeric, on the other hand, has shown some amazing results in animal studies in helping the liver eliminate dangerous toxins. When fed curcuminoids (the active compound in turmeric) animals have shown a higher than average blood levels of the enzyme glutathione S-transferase, which is the key antioxidant the liver makes to detoxify our bodies. In fact glutathione, which is naturally produced by our bodies, is the most powerful of all antioxidants. Unfortunately it is not nearly so effective when taken orally. Turmeric enhances general detoxification and liver metabolism by stimulating the flow of bile which also helps to help digest fats. It is therefore effective for the prevention and dissolution of gallstones..
I have personally found turmeric to be effective for treating gall bladder inflammation as well as acute and chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Other health conditions for which Turmeric is beneficial
It is doubtful that any organ or cell in the body would not find benefit from turmeric. The specific areas we've mentioned thus far include the joints and the liver, however, considering that turmeric helps in the digestion of fat, it is described as lipotropic, meaning that it prevents excess fat buildup, thins and emulsifies fat for easy movement through the bloodstream. As a result turmeric helps to keep the veins clear by promoting healthy levels of cholesterol and regulate blood pressure.
Cortisol is a hormone created in response to stress. Again it is implicated in a wide range of chronic degenerative conditions including diabetes. Turmeric sensitizes cortisol receptor sites which encourage this hormone to move out of the blood thus slowing signs of aging in all body tissues including facial skin. Turmeric is an effective gynecological herb that is effective for regulating and relieving pains associated with menstruation.
Turmeric and the Nerves
Turmeric has been shown to aid in the treatment of Multiple sclerosis (MS) by reducing the IL-2 protein that can destroy the myelin sheath.

The Healing properties of Cumin
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is widely used as both a healing herb and a culinary spice throughout most parts of Asia, Mexico and South America.
It can be either be ground, roasted, added to foods whole or boiled in water to treat many common ailments. It is used alone or in combination with other herbs and or with rock salt or sugar to treat many illnesses. It is commonly used as an aid to digestion and the seeds will freshen the breath which is why it is commonly added to foods. Cumin seed, like the seeds of other plants in the umbelliferae such as celery seed, have a special affinity for the urinary tract treating diseases of the bladder and kidneys. When combined with turmeric and peppercorn it becomes an effective digestive aid and immune stimulant.

The Healing Properties of Coriander
Coriander seed is an aromatic stimulant, a carminative (remedial in flatulence), an appetizer and a digestant with a beneficial stimulating the stomach and intestines. It is generally beneficial to the nervous system. It is commonly prescribed to relieve the '˜griping' effects of purgatives


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Acupuncture can become part of your regular skincare routine.

Growing up with relatively severe acne, my parents shuttled me from dermatologist to dermatologist, trying everything from photo facials that burnt my skin to prescription lotions that made my skin flake to extractions that exacerbated the swelling. Thousands of dollars and many years later, I still suffer from acne on a daily basis. Jaded and (sometimes literally) scarred by Western medicine, I looked to my roots and sought Chinese traditional medicine, namely acupuncture, to see if it could clear my skin, and maybe even give me a health boost beyond the face. I consulted two different Manhattan-based acupuncturists, Shellie Goldstein of Hamptons Acupuncture and Su-Jung Lee of Truing Acupuncture, to teach me about skincare beyond Western medicine. Before you decide to stick needles all over your body in the pursuit of beauty though, here are eight basic tenets to know about acupuncture, skin, and wellness.
Your tongue says a lot about you
Before my acupuncture facial with Lee began, she asked me to stick out my tongue, which is a traditional diagnostic tool. “The body of the tongue can fall on a spectrum of deeper, darker, purplish reds to a light pink,” Lee explains to Yahoo Beauty. “The tongue body reflects the overall physical systems. Bright red for instance will reflect excess heat in the system. Purples could mean there is stagnation of blood or a blockage in circulation.” By checking the tongue coating and body, the acupuncturist can confirm a diagnosis. Goldstein agrees: “According to Chinese medicine, the tongue is the visible end of a long tube that extends from the mouth to the rectum,” she writes in her book, Your Best Face Now. “Your tongue can also say a lot about your Qi,” Goldstein tells Yahoo Beauty. “The Qi is a force of energy that you can’t see, but it affects the way you look and the way you feel. Many of my patients don’t just have skin issues. They are also fatigued.” It’s all connected — and it starts with your tongue.
Acupuncture needles are not one-size-fits-all
There are more than 365 points in your body, but don’t worry — the needles don’t go everywhere. This is great news if you have a fear of needles. In her office, Goldstein presented to me a variety of needles from Japan, China, Taiwan, and elsewhere. They come in different diameters and types of metal, and the Chinese needles tend to be thicker than the Japanese needles. They are pre-sterilized, single-use, and disposable (leave immediately if your acupuncturist is re-using needles). Unlike hypodermic needles, these don’t hurt because they’re extremely thin, solid (versus hollow), and have finely tapered points. You shouldn’t really feel the needles, but you may experience a slight pinch in certain areas. It’s not an unpleasant feeling, but if you already have an aversion to sharp things, this is your warning. You may actually find it relaxing: Many people claim to fall asleep during acupuncture sessions — I know I do.
Chinese medical cosmetology dates back thousands of years
“Used by the ancient Chinese Empresses and the concubines of the Emperor, this system was designed to improve the quality of the skin, reduce signs of aging, and maintain lustrous radiance,” Goldstein explains. She mentions a text, Huang Di Nei Jing, that recommends acupuncture, facial massage, and qi gong as anti-aging and acne treatments, and explains how your diet affects your appearance. The Empress Lu Zhi of the Han Dynasty, for example, is said to have started each day with a soup made of edible jelly fungus, which was supposed to minimize facial pigmentation and freckles, reduce fat absorption, and promote gut health. And Yang Guifei, the famously beautiful concubine of Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong, had her own almond skin cream recipe.
An acupuncture facial requires needles all over your body
I was surprised when the needles went on my feet — the farthest points away from my body. Apparently, the points on your feet can affect parts of your head, whether you’re seeking treatment for chronic migraines, acne, or sallow skin. “As the tongue can reflect an imbalance in the overall physiology, so can the face and skin,” Lee explains. Treating the whole body, as well as locally on the face, synergistically improves the general health of the person.” For example, as Goldstein explains, the point on top of your foot between your first and second toes can be activated to treat wrinkles between the eyebrows and around the eyes, and to reduce and irritation in the eyes. Activating the point on the inside of your foot, directly below the ankle bone, can help treat dry lips, thinning hair, and ringing in your ears. Everyone has an individual experience with acupuncture, but the point is to restore the balance in your body.


by Noël Duan, Assistant Editor

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

New lab experiments reveal acupuncture has antidepressant effects. An examination of brain cells following acupuncture treatments uncovered important mechanisms by which acupuncture exerts its antidepressant effects. Acupuncture caused the regulation of brain cell activity associated with therapeutic results.
The researchers discovered that acupuncture exhibits regulatory effects on special brain cells in the hippocampus called neural progenitor cells (NPs). These cells contribute to the maintenance of the brain and spinal cord. A major function of NPs is in the replacement of damaged or dead cells. Injured cells activate NPs to differentiate into the target tissue. NPs vary slightly from stem cells because they are more specific and tend to differentiate into a specific type of cell.
The researchers cite numerous studies showing “that acupuncture is an effective remedy for depression and it may be as effective as antidepressant drugs.” They also note that electro-acupuncture increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus as do SSRIs (serotonin reuptake inhibitors), a class of antidepressant medications. Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are generated from neural stem and progenitor cells.
The focus of this new study was to map the precise cellular mechanisms responsible for the antidepressant effects of electro-acupuncture. Prior research shows that electro-acupuncture restores proliferation of NPs in the brain when impaired by depression. The focus of this study was a more precise measurement of specific biochemical actions.
The findings revealed that electro-acupuncture applied to acupuncture points DU20 (Baihui) and GB34 (Yanglingquan) on a stress induced rat model group regulated two major subclasses of NPs, quiescent neural progenitors (QNPs) and amplifying neural progenitors (ANPs). The researchers demonstrated that chronic unpredictable stress induced behaviors associated with depression and anxiety in the rat model group. The stress caused cell death of QNPs and “impaired the proliferation of both ANPs and QNPs” in the group. Electro-acupuncture “alleviated depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviors in the rat” group, restored proliferation of ANPs and limited cell death of QNPs. This caused a preservation of NPs in the hippocampus. 
The researchers note, “The present study revealed that chronic EA (electro-acupuncture) treatment exerted significant antidepressant effects in a rat model of depression. Further, the mechanisms underlying antidepressant effects of EA were associated with preserving the QNPs from apoptosis and ameliorating the impaired ANPs proliferation in hippocampus.” They note that the work conclusively demonstrates that electroacupuncture is “beneficial to the division of hippocampal NPs.” Further, the researchers note that these findings are consistent with other investigations demonstrating that electro-acupuncture “promotes neurogenesis in different brain regions….”
The researchers note that NPs are important in hippocampal neurogenesis and that chronic induced stress decreases proliferation of NPs and manifests in declined neurogenesis. This decrease in the birth of new brain neurons is associated with both anxiety and depression. Electro-acupuncture exhibited the opposite effects of chronic induced stress by upregulating ANPs. The researchers suggest that this is an “underlying mechanism of antidepressant-like effects of EA (electro-acupuncture).”
About the Acupuncture Points
The acupuncture points used in the study have many indications for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Acupuncture point DU20 is a sea of marrow point indicating its benefit to the brain. Traditionally, it functions to clear the senses, calm the spirit, stabilize the ascendant Yang and to extinguish Liver wind.
Many of these terms require translation into biomedical usage for the modern reader. For example, Liver wind is a term referring to disorders involving seizures, shaking, involuntary movements and other types of internal medicine imbalances. To the outside observer unfamiliar with TCM hermeneutics, the term seems unusual. However, it refers to the ability of DU20 to treat certain types of biomedical disorders including types of hypertension and its sequela. DU20 is also used for the treatment of headaches, tinnitus, vertigo, dizziness, nasal congestion, coma, shock, mental disorders, prolapsed rectum and prolapsed uterus.
Acupuncture point GB34 is traditionally used for many types of indications including lower limb and knee pain or paralysis. It commonly used for benefitting the tendons, muscles. sinew and bones. It is also used to benefit both the liver and gallbladder.

References:
Yang, Liu, Na Yue, Xiaocang Zhua, Qiuqin Hana, Bin Lia, Qiong Liu, Gencheng Wu, and Jin Yu. "Electroacupuncture promotes proliferation of amplifying neural progenitors and preserves quiescent neural progenitors from apoptosis to alleviate depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviours.”
Goldman, Steven A., and Fraser Sim. "Neural progenitor cells of the adult brain." In Novartis Found Symp, vol. 265, pp. 66-80. 2005.
Hsu, Yi-Chao, Don-Ching Lee, and Ing-Ming Chiu. "Neural stem cells, neural progenitors, and neurotrophic factors." Cell transplantation 16, no. 2 (2007): 133-150.


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

I came across a very important article on how to lessen PMS symptoms and discomfort or symptoms of menopause. It is important to treat menstruation as trauma, as an illness that requires rest. During menses, don't engage in any physical activity, no work, no exercise, no intercourse, no cold showers, or any exposure to cold.
Personally, I notice a lot less discomfort during my cycle when I rest the first two days.
Spend as much time as needed in bed, with emphasis on drinking hot broths.
We are definitely unhealthy when it comes to our reproductive cycle, let's adopt some of these principles and witness the change.


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Massage or any other hands on modalities should not be given to a woman during menstruation. Nor should a masseuse or other hands on practitioner give treatments during her own menstrual period. Elimination is a function of the skin, and if some of the menopoison is on the hands of the practitioner, it will enter the pores of the recipient's skin, which obviously is not going to help that person feel any better.
Menstruation is a house-cleaning process: female reproductive organs are meant to accept an embryo. If the ovum does not become fertilized, a reduction of the ovarian hormone progesterone occurs, and the mucous membrane and other tissues of the uterus rapidly disintegrate into a poisonous substance. Nature provides for its elimination through the menstrual flow and it is the reason menstrual blood does not clot.
Experiments in Europe revealed that when rats were injected with extractions of the tissues and glandular fluid from menstrual blood, they died within ten minutes.
Hence the name "menopoison".
It was also well known in Europe that women in menstruation could not make bread- the dough did not rise because the yeast was apparently affected during kneading by the menopoison emitted through the skin.
Massage and all other hands on therapies speed up the release of menopoison into the blood stream, and all organs are adversely affected by it.

This was an excerpt from the book  "Mirror of the Body".


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease

PREGNANCY CARE
Your body will be experiencing many health changes, and each phase in your pregnancy may present with new symptoms.  Most symptoms you experience during pregnancy are due to your underlying imbalances being exaggerated.  In essence you are entering your pregnancy with certain constitutional imbalances, and pregnancy heightens them.

It is beneficial to prepare your body for fertility and conception.  The baby draws on your essence and requires nourishment that it draws from your kidneys, the blood and digestive organs.  If these organ systems are hypo/hyper functioning, then pregnancy related symptoms arise like nausea, fatigue, heartburn, and constipation.  Acupuncture, herbs, exercise, and dietary and lifestyle adjustments can support a healthy pregnancy and in essence proper nourishment for your baby.  My suggestion is to see your acupuncturist/herbalist once a week in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy.  

FIRST TRIMESTER (conception to 12 weeks)

• Frequent, small meals, all proteins should be consumed before 2pm, vegetarian meals for dinner preferably before 6pm, snacking on fruits after 6p is fine. Include fermented foods with your meals.
  
• Soupy foods, curries, and stews.
  
• Bone broth, fish head soup, oxtail soup, seafood (baby clams, squid) soup, chicken feet soup.
  
• Red, orange, purple foods like beets, carrots, yams, pumpkin.
  
• Black mushrooms.
  
• Sesame seeds.
  
• All beans, especially black bean and adzuki beans.
  
• Leek with salmon fish head soup.
  
• Cod soup with ginger.
  
• Adzuki bean, black rice, red date with ginger soup.
  
• ½ cup black bean, ½ cup adzuki bean, 10 red dates, simmer 3-4 hrs.
  
• Hot pouch: one placed on the kidney area and the other below umbilicus. Fill a long cotton tube sock with roasted ½ c flaxseed, ½ c white rice, and dried 1oz. lavender flower. Tie the sock, should be half full. Heat the pouch 2-3 minutes and apply to parts before bedtime.
  
• Raspberry leaf tea.
  

Avoid: Cold and raw foods; extreme physical activity; stimulants (coffee, alcohol, smoking); flying.

First Trimester Imbalances:
If you had an irregular menstrual cycle with pain and discomfort, then most likely you will experience nausea in the first trimester.  High levels of HCG and progesterone hormones are being released in this phase.

Morning sickness: symptoms may include nausea, vomit, headache, dizziness, and fatigue.

• Grind lentils into powder, 2 tbsp. with rice porridge, 3 times a day.
  
•  Ginger, grapefruit peel tea, 3 times a day.
  
• Steam carp with ginger and cardamom for 30 minutes.  Eat daily for one week.
  
• Ginger, orange peel tea, add a little brown sugar.
  
• Fresh scallion with fresh ginger juice, 2-3 tbsp., 3 times a day.
  
• Avoid overeating and heavy meats.
  
• Chamomile, peppermint and fennel tea.
  
• Millet porridge with fresh ginger.
  

SECOND TRIMESTER (13 to 28 weeks)
Usually women are feeling much better in this trimester. Progesterone relaxes the smooth muscle, causing decreased peristalsis and constipation.

Second trimester imbalances:
Constipation

• Increase intake of water and iron and blood nourishing foods, beets, avocado, blueberry, red or black Chinese dates, amaranth.
  
• Be careful with iron supplements, as they can be constipating.  Floradix, a liquid iron is more beneficial.
  
• Include fiber, flax oil, prune juice, acidophilus.
  
• 2 bananas on empty stomach followed by a glass of water.
  
• ·        5-10 figs on empty stomach followed by a glass of water.
  
• Fresh apple on empty stomach.
  
• Lightly steamed asparagus and cabbage for dinner.
  
• Beet soup.
  
• Avoid carbohydrates, sugars, and most dairy.
  
• Exercise daily.
  

Avoid: stress, tension, spicy foods, fried foods and meat.

 Hemorrhoids: most of the time due to improper diet.

• Comfrey, or thorney spinach, or epsom salt sitz bath.
  
• Witch hazel pads.
  
• Freeze an aloe slice, apply gel topically.
  

Bleeding hemorrhoids

• Taro root soup.
  
• Mash fresh plums and take with room temp water three times a day.
  
• Wash area with hot water, apply a cotton ball that has been soaked in garlic juice, change cotton every hour.
  

Avoid: tensing and pushing if constipated, rich, greasy, and spicy foods.

Heartburn: Progesterone relaxes smooth muscle, relaxing the cardiac sphincter and causing heartburn.  As the baby develops in later pregnancy it pushes on the stomach.

• Eat slowly and chew food properly, avoid tension and stress while eating, reading or watching TV while eating.
  
• Peppermint, nettles and lemon balm tea.
  
• Kava tincture.
  
• Beneficial foods include papaya, sweet potato, apple after each meal.
  
• Blend daikon radish juice and take after meals.
  

Avoid: rich, greasy foods, and spicy foods.

Pubic pain: pubic symphysis joint begins to separate slightly between 24-26 weeks to allow for easier passage, and this can lead to inflammation.

• Acupuncture treatments can address this effectively.
  

Leg cramps: relates to change in blood volume and calcium/magnesium deficiency.

• Bone soup.
  
• Pure collagen.  Consult with your herbalist. 
  

Insomnia: due to overwork and stress; kidney qi and digestive function are insufficient to support healthy sleep.

• Dinner soup with lima beans, turkey and sage.
  
• Toast ¼ c amaranth until slightly brown, then steep in a cup of hot water for 5 min. sip before bedtime.
  
• Celery and beet tops tea, drink 2 hrs. before bedtime.
  
• Passionflower, chamomile tea. Consult with your herbalist.
  

Edema: mild is considered normal due to increased body fluids.

• Carp fish soup with adzuki beans. Use 10 c of water and cook down to one cup; consume only the liquid. Can use other fish if carp is not available.
  
• Blended juice of apple, carrot, green onion twice a day.
  
• Tea from ginger skin.
  
• Coconut water.
  
• Parsley leaf tea, or jasmine tea.
  
• Watermelon rind tea.
  
• Soupy pearl barley.
  
• Stew beef for 2 hrs. in water and drink the liquid.
  
• Cook squash with vinegar until soggy, eat on empty stomach.
  

Avoid: rich foods, salty foods, lamb, garlic, alcohol, pepper, shellfish, fatty foods, greasy foods.

 Carpal tunnel syndrome: often with edema conditions.  Median nerve is being compressed.

• Acupuncture is effective in resolving carpal tunnel.
  

THIRD TRIMESTER (28-40 wks)
Imbalances can involve heart, liver, kidneys, blood and spleen.  This trimester determines your postpartum health.

Third trimester imbalances
Anemia

• Get plenty of rest.
  
• Cooking vessels should be cast iron.
  
• Bone broth soup, squid soup.
  
• Bean soup or stew, blend adzuki, black bean, and red bean.
  
• Beets, ½ of avocado daily.
  
• Blueberries, raisins, figs, red or black dates.
  
• Chicken soup with ¼ c dried goji berries, red jujube date, dang gui root, astragalus root, fresh ginger. Eat daily.
  
• Amaranth.
  
• Sweet rice porridge with red dates and pearl barley.
  
• Puree lima beans with roasted garlic and fresh basil, eat in between meals.
  
• Cook one chicken with 15 grams of dang gui in 6.5 cups of water, simmer for one hour.
  
• Lamb with ginger, jujube date, astragalus, scallions, ginseng and dang gui. Consult with an herbalist for contraindications.
  
• Moxibustion. Consult with your acupuncturist on which points to moxa.
  

Anxiety: affects every organ system.

• Proper rest, calming foods, calming activities.
  
• Exercise is important.
  
• Blend of mushrooms tea. Consult with your herbalist.
  
• Toast ¼ cup amaranth until slightly brown, steep in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes, drink once a day.
  
• Make hummus with garbanzos or pinto bean or lima bean with parsley, basil and chives.
  

UTI: bacterial infection may cause pain on urination with frequent urination.

• Drink lots of water.
  
• Drink watermelon and pear juice three times a day.
  
• Drink carrot and celery juice three times a day.
  
• Drink cornsilk tea. Consult with your herbalist.
  
• Eat squash soup for at least 7 days.
  
• Drink fresh strawberry or unsweetened cranberry juice.
  
• Empty the bladder immediately after intercourse.
  

Avoid: heavy proteins, meat, dairy products, onions, scallions, black pepper, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate.

SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS          
Preeclampsia: When a woman develops high blood pressure and protein in the urine after the 20th week (late 2nd or 3rd trimester) of pregnancy.  Symptoms include high blood pressure, swelling in the feet, legs and hands.  Women with preeclampsia who have seizures are considered to have eclampsia, which is a medical emergency.

Gestational diabetes: blood sugar levels too high causing excessive weight gain, hunger, thirst, frequent urinary tract infections.  Women tend to have bigger babies, increasing chance for a c-section.  This condition usually resolves after pregnancy.  Special attention to diet.

PUPPP ( pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy)/Obstetric cholestasis:  The rash of PUPPP begins in the stretch marks (striae) of the abdomen. The rash consists of small, red wheals in the stretch marks that grow together to form larger wheals on the abdomen. Sometimes the rash can include small vesicles. Rash can spread over the thighs, buttocks, breasts, and arms.  The rash is very itchy.  This condition is harmless to mother and baby.  It lasts an average of 6 weeks and resolves spontaneously 1 to 2 weeks after delivery.  The most severe itching normally lasts for no more than 1 week.

Bleeding during pregnancy:  If mild, it isn’t too risky.  If severe with abdominal cramping, seek medical attention.

POSTPARTUM CARE
Post delivery, the qi and blood has been exhausted and your strength to resist illness is impaired. As a new mother, you need support, be sure to reach out and allow others to nurture you. Traditionally, new mothers moved in for one month with either their mother’s home or their in-law’s home, the mother assisted in caring for the newborn, preparing meals and all the daily chores while you recover. This makes sense.

Immediately following birth, in the delivery room, have a thermos with cinnamon tea handy. It will assist in the expelling of the placenta and ease contractions after birth. In addition to the tea, eat your chicken herbal soup or chicken broth after delivery. Keeping your body warm and protected from the wind is essential. Even if you are feeling warm, wrap a shawl around your neck and wrap the belly tight with a warm shawl, and bundle up. You should not be exposed to wind. Those herbal pouches are going to serve you now, place them on the kidney area every evening. How you expend your energy during the next month will determine how quick you recover with minimal post partum symptoms and be able to nurture your new born properly.

“Sitting Month”

• Rest: your activity should be minimal.
  
• Warming foods, warm drinks, moxabustion, warm clothes.
  
• Placenta medicine.
  
• Abdominal wrap: wrap your abdomen tight with a warm shawl.
  
• General tonification treatment with your acupuncturist/herbalist.
  

Nourishing foods

• Porridge, three grain cereal: millet, quinoa, amaranth, goji berries, walnuts, soy or almond milk.
  

          Combine equal parts millet, quinoa, and amaranth. Use a ratio of 1 cup of grains to 2 cups of water. Add a pinch of salt and handful of goji berries. Cook slowly for 30 minutes. When done add walnuts and milk.

• Sweet potato porridge: ½ cup jasmine rice, 12gm Shan Yao (can get this at our clinic), 1 medium sweet potato. Wash rice and soak 30 min. Discard water and cook rice with 2 ½  cups water over low heat for 30 min. Add potato and Shan Yao cook or 30 min.
  
• Green papaya soup: 1 medium onion, 2T minced ginger, 2-3 lbs chicken with bone, 4 cups water, 2 cups green papaya cubed, 2 cups spinach.  Saute onions until tender, add ginger for 3 min. Bring water to a boil.   Add onions, ginger, chicken. Simmer 30 min. Add papaya and cook 10 more min. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add spinach.
• Seaweed soup: 1oz dried brown seaweed, 1T sesame oil, 3 cups soup stock, 2T soy sauce, 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped. Soak seaweed 30 min, take out and squeeze excess water. Saute cut seaweed in sesame oil, 2 min. add garlic and soy sauce. Saute 2 min. Pour stock in and simmer 20 minutes.
• Azuki bean soup with Ginger: ½ cup azuki beans, 3 thin fresh ginger slices, 6gm chen pi (can get at our clinic). Wash and soak beans overnight with a tsp. of lemon juice. Bring 2 cups water, beans and chen pi to boil. Cover and simmer 25 min. Add ginger and cook 25 more min.
• Herbal chicken soup: 2 chicken legs, 4 slices of ginger, 1T rice wine, salt, get your blend of herbs from the clinic (Astragalus, goji berries, dazao, dang gui, ginseng) Place chicken, herbs, rice wine and salt in a large pot. Pour water into pot to level that covers all ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer 1 hr. Drink broth and eat chicken.
• Cook duck with ginger, scallions and black beans.
  

A very important book that should be a required reading for every new mother is “Sitting Moon” by Daoshing Ni. This book address the physiological changes that occur postpartum.

Physiological changes Postpartum
Plunge in hormones. During pregnancy progesterone and estrogen increased ten fold. Approximately three days after birth, these hormones return to their pre-pregnancy state. This often results in “baby blues” in first week postpartum.
After pains. Shortly after birth, mini contractions continue spurred on by the hormone, oxytocin, which helps the uterus shrink back and expel any pregnancy materials that need to be eliminated. This usually lasts 3 days.

• Abdominal pain: boil tea with cinnamon and brown sugar.
  

Lochia. Vaginal dischage (blood and accumulated tissues) for approximately one month post partum.
Request a moxa stick from your practitioner and moxa SP1 for 10 minutes every day.
Perineal pain. Due to stretching or tearing during birth.        ·  Sitz bath with epsom salt or lavender flowers.
Breast pains due to milk coming in (1-3 days after birth) and possible engorgement.

• Obtain moxa from your acupuncturist and moxa SI1, ST36.
  
• Mastitis. This is inflammation of the mammary glands, often occurring 3-4 weeks after delivery. It results from an obstructed mammary duct and is accompanied by a bacterial infection. There is distention of the breast, swelling, redness on the surface, and fever. If the condition progresses, symptoms may include chills, fever, increase in white blood cell count, swollen and painful lymph glands in the armpits, pus and ulceration of breast.
  
• Raw cabbage leaf applied topically.
  
• Peeled raw potato applied topically.
  
• Tea from malt (sprouted oat), drink 3 times a day.
  
• Mix egg white with green onion, apply topically, change 2-3 times a day.
  
• Dandelion tea with honey, drink 3 times a day for 5 days.
  
• Combine honeysuckle, mint and licorice, drink tea and apply herbs topically.
  
• Combine cabbage, lettuce, and dandelion to make a poultice.
  

Avoid: spicy, stimulating foods, coffee, smoking, alcohol, dairy products, breast feeding.
Lower abdominal pain due to C-section

• Rosehip seed oil to reduce scaring.
  

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

White radish: 250g; scallion (including roots): 50g. Boil the two ingredients with 7cups of water to make a soup and drink 1 cup 3 times a day.
Scallion: 500 g; garlic: 250 g. Slice the ingredients into tiny bits and then add 2 liters of water, then boil.
Drink one teacup full, three times a day.

For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Gallbladder Pain Relief Recipes    For acute symptoms, 3 day fast with the following protocol.

BEET RECIPE -Treatment for Gallbladder Pain

1 large organic beet or beetroot (raw) washed (not peeled unless not organic) and finely grated
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsps flax oil

(Flax oil is by far the superior choice here as it is an omega 3 essential fatty acid, but if you only have extra-virgin cold-pressed olive oil in the house, you can substitute it temporarily.)

Take one teaspoon of mixture every hour throughout the day.
On day two and three make a fresh batch using ¼ of a large beet.
Take one teaspoon of mixture 3 to 4 times a day or more.

Make this mixture to add to your salads after the three day fast frequently or eat alone as above 2 or 3 times a week. This will keep the bile thin and moving. Note: If you cannot get organic beets, be sure to peel them. Otherwise, use the peel as well.

Lemon Water, in acute symptoms:
Juice of one lemon to 1 cup hot water many times a day for several weeks.

Green Soup Recipe for Relief of Gallbladder Pain
One bunch parsley
3 medium zucchini
½ lb. Green beans
5 stalks celery

Steam together for 8-10 minutes.
Or partially steam and boil in ½ cup water.
If you have a steamer, you retain more nutrients and flavor with that method.
Puré in a blender.

This soup provides relief from all sorts of gastric disturbances such as stomach pain, gas, and indigestion. Do not add any fat or salt to this recipe. It can be used anytime but is particularly useful as a three day fast with nothing else but water. It is both nourishing and easy to digest. You can alter the amounts to taste. More beans add more sweetness.

Flax Seed Tea Recipe in acute phase
Steep 2 Tbsp of organic flax seeds freshly ground in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Stir, and sip slowly. Drink two cups a day.

Juice diet in acute phase - Drink 3 pints a day.
Carrot (10oz.), beet (3oz.), cucumber (3oz.)
Carrot (11oz.), beet (3oz.), coconut water (2oz.)
Carrot (10oz.), spinach (6oz.)
Carrot (9oz.), celery (5oz.), parsley (2oz.)

GALLBLADDER DIET, once you are no longer in an acute phase!
HELPFUL FOODS
Beets
Cucumbers
Green beans
Carrot
Spinach
Celery
Parsley
Okra
Sweet potatoes
Vinegars all types
Garlic and onions help with liver cleansing but not processed types like flakes or powder. But some people have trouble digesting them so pay attention.
Shallots
Tomatoes - ripe
cold water fish (Tuna, herring, salmon, mackerel and sardines)
Lemons (lemon juice in the morning with hot water helps to clean the liver)
apples, berries, papaya, pears
Omega 3 oils like flax or hemp. Use these with fresh lemon juice or vinegar on your salads. DO NOT COOK flax oil.

1 tbsp. of bragg apple cider vinegar before each meal.

Limit consumption of raw foods, cooked foods preferred, hot soups blended preferred.

Avoid all fruit juices except organic granny smith apple (self-juiced is best).

AVOID THESE FOODS    
Pork, fowl, oranges, grapefruit, corn, beans, nuts, Trans fats
Hydrogenated, partially-hydrogenated oils
Margarine
Fried Foods
Saturated fats (even coconut oil until feeling better)
Red meats
Dairy products
Eggs (Research showed that eggs caused symptoms in up to 95% of patients.)
Coffee, regular or decaf
Spicy foods
Chocolate
Ice cream
Black tea
Alcohol, beer, wine, liqueur
Fruit juice
Carbonated water
Tap water
Turnips
Cabbage, cauliflower
Colas and all sodas
Oats (for some people)
Gluten -Wheat, Barley, Rye, Spelt, Kamut and any gluten-containing grains
Avoid all artificial sweeteners, sugar, preservatives, refined and bleached foods (like white flour)
Avoid smoking if possible as it can exacerbate the symptoms.
 
Your goal should get to the point where these foods do not cause distress, as they actually target the root of the problem.

DO NOT OVEREAT
DO NOT EAT UNDER STRESS
EAT ONLY FRESH ORGANIC FOODS
DO NOT EAT PACKAGED FOODS
INCLUDE A 30 MINUTE EXERCISE PROGRAM DAILY

Breast tissue is composed of fat and milk producing glands that are controlled by a monthly cycle. During the month, hormonal changes often cause the milk glands to swell and retain fluid. Small cysts may form and are especially prevalent in the lymph nodes under the armpits. Fibrocystic lumps feel like small balloons filled with fluid and seem to float when pressed. The swollen enlarged tissue is often painful.
Fibrocystic breast lumps are benign breast tissue. They are as normal in some women as menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. They are a typical characteristic of the hormonal changes we experience each month. They are generally easy to detect because they become more painful and inflamed a few days before menstruation begins, and disappearing shortly after menstruation is over.
It can be a signal that our hormones are out of balance. Excess estrogen production can cause the tissue to swell and hold water. A deficiency of essential fatty acids can also contribute.

Recommendation for treatment:
You will need to consider herbs to cleanse the blood and lymphatic.
Eliminate sugar, white flour, and refined foods.
Eliminate all caffeine- coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, black and green teas.
Eliminate red meat, which is a source of exogenous estrogen.
Decrease fats, especially animal fats. Replace with unsaturated vegetable oils which are high in unsaturated fatty acids.
Decrease dairy products which are sources of exogenous estrogen. Yogurt-plain and cultured milks are acceptable.
Increase foods that are high in vitamin C, E, and selenium. These are antioxidants and help increase the detoxification of estrogen.
Avoid soy products, or any type of hormone replacement therapy- including birth control pills.

Partially adopted from Herbal Healing for Women, by Rosemary Gladstar.



For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

You need an adequate supply of essential fatty acids. Begin incorporating the following foods into your diet: avocado, buckwheat, garbanzo beans, millet, miso, oats, olives, brown and sweet rice, soybeans.

Eat the following nuts and seeds (get them organic and freshly shelled): almond, hazelnut, pecan, pine nut, pumpkin/squash seed, sesame seed, sunflower seed, walnut. They are all excellent sources of essential fatty acids.

Twice a day take 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed (Bob's Red Mill is a good brand) on a large cup of boiling water and let it seep, covered for 5 minutes. Drink like a tea.

Improve quality of all oil sources; switch from refined, rancid, and hydrogenated oil to unprocessed plant sources of essential fatty acids -whole grains (unmilled, freshly milled, or sprouted), legumes and their sprouts, fresh nuts and seeds, dark green vegetables and micro-algae. Use oils rich in both linolenic and alpha-linolenic fatty acids such as flax-seed, pumpkin-seed, and chia-seed oils. Use these oils only if they are recently cold-pressed and unrefined.

Strong kidneys are very important to maintain fertility. Incorporate the following foods that are beneficial to the kidneys: millet, tofu, string bean, black bean, black soybean, mung bean and its sprouts, kidney bean and most other beans, kuzu root, watermelon and other melons, blackberry, mulberry, blue berry, huckleberry, water chestnut, wheat germ, potato, seaweeds, spirulina, chiorella, black sesame seed, sardine, eggs, cloves, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, anise seeds, black peppercorn, ginger, cinnamon bark, garlic, onions, chives, scallions, leeks, trout, salmon, parsley, wheat berry, sweet rice.

Eat Blood building foods: all deep green, red, and purple vegetables.
Incorporate at least one serving of animal protein a day, non hormone or antibiotic fed beef, chicken, turkey, or wild caught fish.

Avoid all genetically-engineered foods.

Avoid birth-control pills, antibiotics, and intoxicants such as alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee.

During menstruation, treat your body as if you were recovering from a surgical procedure, eat hot soups, light foods, avoid exercising, sexual contact, cold showers, swimming. Less activity and a lot of rest is essential for a healthy cycle.

Avoid the cold, drinking or eating cold foods is not beneficial. Food that are warm are nurturing your body. Avoid entering the cold waters especially if you are trying to conceive at age 40 plus. Avoid strenuous workouts, like jogging, weight lifting, etc. Engage in more harmonious exercises like yoga and tai chi.


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Food Remedies for Diabetes, the research below was conducted by By Clinton J. Choate L.Ac.

Clinical Report: A Food Treatment of Diabetes.
Steam 60% wheat bran and 40% all-purpose whole wheat flour; add an adequate amount of vegetable oil, eggs and vegetables. Eat at meals to relieve diabetes.

The proportion of wheat bran was decreased as the condition improved. No drugs or nutritional supplements were given in this treatment. Among the 13 diabetes cases treated, blood sugar dropped to below 140 mg/dl in 3 cases and to 180 mg/dl in 7 cases; after treatment (lasting from 5 to 90 days), sugar in the urine changed from ++++ or +++ to negative in 10 cases; but in general, sugar in the urine changed to negative within one month along with the disappearance of neuritis associated with diabetes.

Vegetable and Grain Remedies
Bamboo Shoots: Cooling. Strengthens the Stomach, resolves mucous, promotes diuresis. Add generously to stir-fry vegetable dishes or blend bamboo shoots and celery juice, warm and drink 1-2 cups a day.
Bok Choy: Cooling. Clears heat, lubricates the intestines, quenches thirst. Steam or lightly stir-fry as a side dish or blend with cucumber as a juice.
Celery: Cooling. Tonifies the Kidneys, strengthens the Spleen and Stomach, clears heat, promotes diuresis, lowers blood pressure. Combine celery, yam and pumpkin and bake to make vegetable pie or lightly boil celery juice and drink 1-3 cups daily. Can also blend daikon radish, celery, carrot, and spinach as a juice and drink one or two cups a day.
Corn Silk: Neutral, sweet. Promotes urination, affects the Liver and Gall Bladder, lowers blood sugar. Boil corn silk with watermelon peel and small red beans in water. Drink as soup for the relief of chronic nephritis with edema and ascites.
Millet: Cooling. Benefits the Stomach and intestines, promotes urination. Steam millet with yams and a few dates.
Mung Bean: Cold, sweet. Clears heat, quenches thirst, resolves edema in the lower limbs. Make soup from mung beans, barley and rice. Or soak 100mg. mung beans overnight; boil in 3 cups water over low heat; drink twice a day. Or grind mung beans into powder and take 15g powder dissolved in warm water twice a day.
Mushroom (Chinese Black or Shitake): Neutral, sweet. Strengthens the Stomach, promotes healing, lowers blood pressure, counteracts cholesterol, lowers blood fat levels. Eat fresh or soak, blending with the soaking water; heat like soup and take on an empty stomach to clear toxins from the intestines. Or bake until it appears burned on the surface; eat 10g twice a day.
Pearl Barley: Cooling. Promotes diuresis, strengthen the Spleen, clears heat. Blend barley and water, boil and drink the liquid. Or cook soupy barley and eat as a porridge.
Pumpkin: Cooling. Dispels dampness, reduces fever, particularly beneficial for diabetes. Eat a slice of pumpkin everyday it is in season. For a main dish bake a pie with pumpkin, yam and potato.
Snow Peas: Cold. Strengthens the middle warmer, detoxifies, promotes diuresis, quenches thirst. Cook snow peas, blend and drink as a juice half a cup twice a day.
Soybeans: Cooling. Clears heat, detoxifies, eases urination, lubricates the Lung and intestines. Drink plain soymilk or eat tofu to relieve heat conditions. Steam tofu, cool, add sesame oil and thin julienne slices of raw squash.
Soybean Sprouts: Cooling. Promotes diuresis, clears heat, especially in the Stomach. Boil for four hours; drink tea lukewarm. Continue over a period of one month to relieve hypertension.
Spinach: Cooling. Strengthens all the organs, lubricates the intestines, quenches thirst, promotes urination. Boil tea from spinach (including the roots) and chicken gizzard; drink 1-3 cups a day.
String Bean (Green Bean): Neutral, sweet. Kidney and Spleen tonic. Boil 50g dried string beans (with the shells) in water. Drink as a soup once a day to relieve thirst, and frequent urination. Or blend string beans, cucumber and celery as juice and drink 1 cup daily.
Sweet Potato (Yam): Neutral, sweet. Strengthens the Spleen and Stomach, tonifies qi, clears heat, detoxifies. Steam millet with yams and a few dates or cook soup with winter melon. Or mix 50g yam powder with 10g American Ginseng powder. Dissolve 15g in warm water each time; drink 3 cups a day as a therapeutic dose.
Sweet Rice (Glutinous): Warm, sweet. Used as an energy tonic. Benefits the Spleen, Stomach, and Lung. Relieves excessive urination, perspiration, and diarrhea. Cook 50g sweet rice with 60g Job's tears and 8 red dates. Eat as a side dish at meals to provide general support.
Tomato: Slightly cooling. Promotes body fluids, quenches thirst, strengthens the Stomach, cools blood, clears heat, calms the Liver. Eat one raw tomato daily on an empty stomach.
Turnip: Cooling. Clears heat, removes dampness. Boil with tops as a side dish.
Water Chestnut: Cold, sweet. Relieves fever and indigestion; promotes urination; benefits the Lung and Stomach. Boil 5 water chestnuts in water with 1 fresh mandarin orange peel. Drink as a tea to relieve hypertension. Or peel 100g water chestnuts and chew them slowly in the morning and evening.
Winter Melon: Cooling. Clears heat, detoxifies, quenches thirst, relieves irritability, dispels dampness. Particularly effective in regulating blood sugar. Make soup from cabbage, yam, winter melon and lentils. Or drink three cups of fresh winter melon juice a day. Oral administration of 50-60 ml of the juice per dose has shown good results in clinical trials.
Wheat Bran: Cool, sweet. Benefits the Stomach.

Recipes
Winter Melon Soup
6 pints (3.5 liters) vegetable broth, 3 cups chopped and peeled winter melon, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 onion, 12 Mushrooms (Chinese Black or Shitake), stems removed, 6oz (170g) tofu noodles or finely sliced baked tofu. Cook until tender (about 25 minutes) Season with 1tsp chives, 1Tbs tamari, and 1tsp peanut oil. Serves 4.

Stuffed Pumpkin
Cut the top off a small pumpkin; clean out the seeds and strings; save the lid. Fill with the following mixture:
3 cups cooked rice or barley, 1Tbs crushed, toasted sesame seeds, 2-3 sliced celery stalks, 1Tbs parsley, 1tsp thyme, 1tsp sage, half tsp. rosemary, and 1Tbs tamari
Cover with pumpkin lid and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1.5 hrs. A fork will easily go into the pumpkin when cooked. Serves 4-6.

Azuki Bean and Squash Casserole
1cup azuki beans soaked overnight, two 6-inch pieces of kombu seaweed, 1 small butternut squash, kabuchi or other winter squash.
Cover beans and kombu with water and simmer for about 1 hour, adding water as needed. Then add the cubed and peeled squash. Cook until tender (about half an hour). Stir in a pinch of sea salt or 1-2 tsp. tamari. Serves 4

Case report
Twenty-five diabetes patients were treated at the Canton College of Traditional Chinese Medicine with dried bitter melon slices; 250g dried bitter melon slices boiled in water each day. The changed levels of their blood sugar taken 2.5 hours after meals, and of their urine sugar taken 24 hours after meals, were both statistically significant. The same method has subsequently been applied to diabetic rats, and also resulted in a significant decrease in the level of blood sugar. The same report concludes that the effects of dried bitter melon are remarkably similar to those of insulin. It was also suggested that when 100g fresh clams are boiled in water with the dried bitter melon slices, the results should be better.

Animal Product Remedies
Abalone: Neutral, sweet, salty. Detoxifies; sharpens vision. Contraindicated for persons with a weak digestion. Boil 20-25g abalone with 250-300g fresh radish in water. Drink as a soup once every other day. Repeat 6-7 times as a treatment program. This is a time-honored recipe in Chinese folk medicine for diabetes.
Clam (freshwater): Cold, sweet, salty. Detoxifies, sharpens vision; acts on the Liver and Kidneys. Freshwater clam saliva is especially beneficial for diabetes. Boil 150g chives with 200g clams and suitable seasoning.
Pork: Neutral, sweet, salty. Used to lubricate dryness; benefits the Spleen, Stomach and Kidneys. Cut up 100g lean pork and boil in water with 100g Job's tears over low heat for 2 hours. Eat as a side or main dish.
In the 1846 Chinese diet classic New Collected Works of Proven Dietary Recipes, pork pancreas was used as an ingredient in several dietary formulas to treat diabetes. One recipe called for boiling a pork, beef, or lamb pancreas in water with 200g yam; season with salt and divide into 4 parts. One part is to be eaten every day for 4 days. Another instructed to cut up a pork pancreas and bake it over a low heat until dry and then to grind into powder. 3-5g to be taken in warm water at each meal. And another called to wash the pork pancreas and remove all white fat. Then cut into thin pieces; boil over low heat in water with 20g corn silk, and season with salt. One portion is to be eaten daily.

Fruit Remedies
Crab Apple: Neutral, sweet and sour. Quenches thirst; astringes, benefits the Heart, Liver, and Lung. Boil 10 partially ripe fresh crab apples in an adequate amount of water until the water is reduced by half. Drink the soup and eat the fruit to quench thirst and relieve diarrhea.
Guava: Warm, sweet. Astringent and constrictive, relieves frequent urination and diarrhea. Crush 90g fresh guavas; squeeze out the juice and drink before meals.
Plum: Neutral, sweet, sour. Produces fluids, promotes urination and digestion, benefits the function of the Liver and Kidneys.
Strawberry: Cooling. Lubricates the Lung, promotes body fluids, strengthens the Spleen. Drink 1 small glass of fresh juice daily during the summer.
Mulberry: Slightly cold. Quenches thirst, detoxifies, tonifies the Kidneys, lubricates the Lung, relieves constipation, calms the spirit, promotes diuresis. Boil mulberries as a tea and drink half a cup at a time.

Eating Guidelines to Promote Healthy Digestion
• The dining area should be clean and nicely arranged, free of foul odors, and with plentiful fresh air.
• During meals and for a least one hour afterwards an upright posture of the torso should be maintained.
• Liquids should be consumed sparingly at meals. Sipping green tea during or after meals is beneficial.
• A wide variety of seasonal foods should be included in the diet, however fruit and sweet foods should be minimized.
• Three to four light meals should be eaten at regular times each day. The largest meal should be taken at mid-day and the evening meal should be consumed at least 4 hours before bedtime. When mental or physical demands are high, natural, complex carbohydrate snacks are encouraged.

After meals some light movement, such as a stroll in the fresh air, is highly recommended. A Chinese proverb says "100 paces after each meal will allow one to live a healthy 100 years".



For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

1 part fennel
1 part dill
3 parts anise
3 parts chamomile
1/4 part catnip

1. Mix the ingredients and store in airtight container until ready to use.
2. Pour 1 cup of boiling water to 1 tablespoon of the mixture and steep covered for 45 minutes.
3. Strain and let cool.
4. Give the infant 1 tablespoon of the tea every few minutes until colic pain ceases.
5. To prevent symptoms, use 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

partially adopted from the tao of nutrition.

This is a common condition in women, characterized by painful or burning urination, unable to fully empty the bladder, fever and low backache. In men this is a more serious condition.
Women are prone to bladder infections because of the short length of their urethras. In Chinese medicine it is a condition of damp heat.

REMEDIES

1. drink watermelon and pear juice three times a day.
2. drink carrot and celery juice three times a day.
3. drink cornsilk tea.
4. eat squash soup for at least 7 days.
5. drink blended mung bean juice.
6. drink fresh strawberry or unsweetened cranberry juice.
7. empty the bladder immediately after intercourse.
   
8. cranberry tablets
   

Avoid: heavy proteins, meat, dairy products, onions, scallions, black pepper, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate.


For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease