Celine Dion Used Acupuncture To Improve Her Chances Of Getting Pregnant

Singer Celine Dion, 42, is pregnant with twins after years of trying to conceive, This was her sixth IVF attempt. I was happy to see that CNN reported she used acupuncture to improve her chances of getting pregnant. Not only a wonderful singer but also a smart lady! Combining acupuncture treatment with IVF is becoming increasingly popular due to the good results and continued positive research. For more information on acupuncture and IVF click here.

Congratulations Celine I hope your babies are happy and healthy.

Memorial Day

Have a Great Day!

Chinese Medicine and Diabetes

Did you know that Chinese Medicine can be very beneficial for people with Diabetes? Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help control blood sugar and diabetic neuropathies, as well as other issues that come up related to the Diabetes. To learn more read this post!

From The Portland Acupuncture Blog
by Amy Chitwood Burslem

It’s time that we knew the basics facts about diabetes and how it affects those who live with it every day. Although November is Diabetes Awareness Month, we need to be aware of our individual risks for the disease right now.

Facts about diabetes:

-You can lead a very normal life with diabetes

-Insulin is not a cure for diabetes, it is maintenance for diabetics

-Type 1 diabetes does not necessarily run in families

To keep it simple, here is a short breakdown of the types of diabetes:

Type 1: Insulin Dependent/Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults (also known as juvenile diabetes). In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas (see cute little photo at the beginning of the post) does not produce insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugars into energy needed for daily life. Type 1 diabetics need to keep their blood sugar levels carefully in check, and test their blood by pricking their finger several times a day, placing a drop of blood on a monitor, and measuring out the necessary amount of insulin they need inject into their bodies.

Type 2: This is the most common form of diabetes in the United States. With type 2 diabetes, the body is resistant to the effects of insulin, or the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal level. Type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening if blood sugar levels are not regulated. Millions of Americans are unaware that they are at risk of becoming a type 2 diabetic, and millions more have already been diagnosed.

Gestational: Pregnant women who have never had diabetes before, but who have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy have gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes affects about 4% of pregnant women. Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. This type of diabetes lasts throughout the pregnancy, and needs to be carefully controlled with diet. If not, there can be complications with the baby and possibly the birth.

Acupuncture is completely safe in for diabetes, as the needles are one time use only, and we carefully swab the points with alcohol inserting needles. Besides, these needles are MUCH smaller that the injection needles! There are acupuncture points to help control blood sugar, diabetic neuropathies, as well as help control other issues that may come up. Diabetics unfortunately often develop other autoimmune disorders, such as asthma or Crohn’s disease. Acupuncture practitioners can also recommend safe herbal formulas to control blood sugar more effectively with Type 2 diabetics.

If you are at risk for diabetes, here a few great articles and sites to look at and start taking care of yourself:

-Look into a change in diet that can help you count carbohydrates and sugars: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

-Switch from sugar, honey and other sweeteners to great alternatives- check out this post for some ideas.

- Read this article by Christine Dionese, LAc about how to prevent diabetes!

A Happy Story - Puppy's Life Transformed With Acupuncture

Acupuncture for animals is becoming more popular everyday. I don't needle animals but I do try a little bit of acupressure on my cats and they seem to appreciate it. This story comes from England and I am happy to hear that Kai the dog has had so much benefit from acupuncture.

From The UK News source The Dailymail online
By Sarah Stacey

"I’m a firm believer in the healing power of acupuncture"

When I took Kai to the park one day,’ Anthony told me, ‘I noticed a little wobble in his back legs. It got worse as the week went on. One day, he just collapsed, with his back legs doing the splits. He was only eight months old.’ Anthony took Kai to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals near Potters Bar where, after two MRI scans (costing about £2,000), Kai was diagnosed with wobbler disease (aka wobbler syndrome), a progressive condition affecting the cervical (neck) vertebrae in the spinal column. The vertebrae pinch the spinal cord, causing weakness and a wobbly gait in dogs (usually large breeds, especially great danes and dobermans) and horses.

The MRI scan revealed that Kai had two vertebrae compressing nerves. Anthony was told that surgery was the only option (costing about £5,500 for the first operation) but that there was ‘a high chance Kai wouldn’t make it through the anaesthetic and, if he did, he wouldn’t be able to walk for three months. They all said it was better to put him down.’By that point, Kai couldn’t even stand up to pee, but Anthony was determined to investigate alternatives. ‘Someone at the hospital told me that, rather than giving him steroids for the pain, acupuncture might help – without side effects. Last July, I took him to Richard Allport at the Natural Medicine Centre in Potters Bar [naturalmedicinecentre.co.uk].’ After just two sessions, ‘the transformation was incredible. Kai went from being almost totally disabled to running around in the park. Now he will jump two or three feet in the air for a ball. Touch wood, he has just got better and better. He still has a tiny arch in his back and a little hop in his back legs when he runs – but before, he couldn’t run.’

'The transformation was incredible. Kai went from being almost totally disabled to running around in the park. Now he will jump two or three feet in the air for a ball.'

To read the full article click here

To find out more about acupuncture for pets click here

A Chinese Wise Man Once Said...

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

Sun Tzu

An Ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is believed to have authored The Art of War, a famous and influential Chinese book on military strategy considered to be a prime example of Taoist thinking.

Doctors Using Acupuncture in Iraq During Drug Shortage

Great Information from Acufinder.com

"Iraqi doctors faced with a shortage of anesthetic drugs in a capital city hit by years of conflict have successfully used acupuncture to treat mothers during cesarean section births.
In a letter published in the British Journal, Acupuncture in Medicine, Dr. Zcherky, the senior anesthesiologist at the Red Crescent Hospital for Gynecology & Obstetrics in Baghdad, discusses 200 cases where, due to drug shortages, the hospital used acupuncture in lieu of oxytocin after cesarean births.
The results showed that in 45 percent of the women, womb contraction was deemed to be enough not to need any oxytocin, and a further 30 percent of women needed two units of the drug."

Acupunct Med doi:10.1136/aim.2010.002253

Chinese Medicinal Cocktails ???

The Vancouver Sun recently had an article that made me smile. Danielle Tatarin bar manger at the new chic Keefer Hotel in Vancouver, Canada has been mixing up cocktails with an Asian twist. Below are some quotes from her interview. Be sure to check out the original article as she even gives out one of her "ancient" cocktail recipes - The Tigers Tail. This Keefer Bar cocktail features astragalus root, a Chinese herb I often recommend in my Chicago practice to enhance the body’s immune system and energy (qi).

“Incorporating Chinese medicine into cocktails is pretty out there and some people are, like, really?” Tatarin says. “But to me it was a no-brainer. I found that the herbs used in Chinese medicine are often incorporated into teas and tinctures and that made it easy for me to work with in my cocktail formulas.”

“First thing I did back in November was go to a bunch of markets in Chinatown and pick up barks, dried flowers, etc., and start working on making bitters and tinctures to be ready for when we opened.”

“Sure, people need to relax after all the partying. I’m sure they need to boost their immune systems as well with all the flowers blooming so early,” Tatarin says, adding, “I have lots of good remedies!”

to read the entire article click here

Another Reason To Be Grateful For All My Wonderful Girlfriends

I just read a very interesting article by Gale Berkowitz which talks about how having good female friends contributes to a longer, healthier, and more vital life. Here are some excerpts about this landmark study that came out of UCLA.

UCLA Study On Friendship Among Women - An alternative to fight or flight

"A landmark UCLA study suggests friendships between women are special. They shape who we are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and help us remember who we really are.

By the way, they may do even more. Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us experience on a daily basis. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women. It's a stunning find that has turned five decades of stress research---most of it on men---upside down."

"Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just fight or flight; In fact, says Dr. Klein, it seems that when the hormone oxytocin is release as part of the stress responses in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men, says Dr. Klein, because testosterone---which men produce in high levels when they're under stress---seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen, she adds, seems to enhance it."

"In one study, for example, researchers found that people who had no friends increased their risk of death over a 6-month period. In another study, those who had the most friends over a 9-year period cut their risk of death by more than 60%.

Friends are also helping us live better. The famed Nurses' Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends women had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were to be leading a joyful life. In fact, the results were so significant, the researchers concluded, that not having close friends or confidants was as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight."

Find out more about how your friends can improve your health and happiness by clicking here to read the rest of the article.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my fabulous female friends and family for the many benefits you share with me everyday. Love you all!

Have A Very Happy Mother's Day !

Love You Mom, Thanks For All Your Support

Flowers Used In Chinese Herbal Medicine

Another creative and informative article by Cathy Margolin L.A.c.

Flowering plants are smart. They know how to grab our attention and the attention of passing insects. Flowers are intentionally flaunting sex. Makes perfect sense really, since it's the flowers job to manage the reproduction of the plant. Plants produce beautiful flower petals of varying colors and shapes to advertise the sexual organs ever so masterly hidden inside. Flowers release powerful aphrodisiac scents, an instinctive incentive for insects to come in and play. Nectar and pollen are the insects' rewards and the plant benefits from the insects who carry their pollen to other plants which insures rapid fertilization and reproduction. Flowers are smarter than you might think, but there's more to flowers than just sex.

As spring weather emerges and flowers begin to bloom, you might want to consider that many flowers do much more than just look pretty. We have depended on flowers for our food supply, such as rice, wheat, corn and for clothing materials such as cotton and for medicine, continuously for thousands of years. Long before western pharmaceutical drugs, flowers were used as herbal remedies and recorded use goes back to 500 AD. Chinese medicine for example has used flowers in herbal remedies to heal a huge variety of afflictions. Here are a few examples:

Lonicerae Flower – (Jin Yin Hua) has been used in Asian cultures for colds, flu and sore throats. Recently, it was one of the four herbs in a formula to combat the swine flu and has proven its antibiotic properties successfully through years of research.

Viola Flower - (Zi Hua Di Ding) is known as the purple flower earth herb. This herb/flower has both anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effects, meaning it can treat fevers and bacterial infections. It has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy to treat snake bites because it can reduce both swelling and toxicity.

Pagoda Flower – or Sophorae flower (Huai Hua) is used to stop various bleeding disorders. Chinese medicine often uses this herb/flower in the treatment of hemorrhoids and excessive menstrual bleeding.

Chrysanthemum Flower- (Ju Hua) This common Chinese medicine herb has over 30 different specie and is a wonderful natural eye treatment for dry, irritated eyes. It’s also commonly used for high blood pressure, headaches and other aliments in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Safflower also known as Carthamus – (Hong Hua) is a red flower used to treat menstrual disorders. It’s known to invigorate circulation and help dissolve clots. Safflower has been extensively studied and found beneficial for use in patients with heart disease and joint pain. This flower also has a high success rate in treating flat warts. (Now that’s a fun herbal remedy fact!)

Magnolia Flower – (xin yin hua) How about a flower to treat nasal congestion? This flower is one of the most effective herbal remedies for stuffy noses and chronic sinusitis.

Lotus Flower – (Lian Zi Xin) I would be remiss not to mention one of the most famous flowers associated with Chinese medicine, the Lotus flower. Eight parts of the lotus plant are used for their botanical medicine qualities. The flower is known to treat bleeding disorders (i.e. bloody noses) and often used for irritability and fevers. The stamen of the lotus flower also has healing qualities. One use in Traditional Chinese Medicine is to reduce excessive dreaming.

Flowers truly have wonderful healing properties and have changed our world more than we imagine. Chinese medicine understands flowers are useful beyond just their sexual appeal of beautiful packaging. (Many more are used in Traditional Chinese medicine than I could possibly have space to mention here.)

Thank the flowering plants this spring as their diversity unfolds and they advertise their beauty. Even though flowers are beautiful to look at, don’t overlook the fact they also provide us with an abundance of natural herbal remedies.

Something Special for Expectant Mothers - A Massage

Image courtesy of Birth Balance Blog

From- workingwellresources - By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Prenatal Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Prenatal massage therapy is an area that is generating more and more research. Right now a few of my massage clients are pregnant. I thought I’d share some of the tips on prenatal massage with you that I share with them!

Benefits of Prenatal Massage

Pregnancy Today’s Kelly Lott, RMT, suggests that, in addition to feeling good, prenatal massage therapy can have other benefits for the mom-to-be and her baby, too. ”A study conducted by Dr. Tiffany Field at the University of Miami School of Medicine showed that massage actually reduces stress hormones in the body. Touch is vital to the mother’s physical and emotional well-being as she adapts to her new body image. Regardless of individual circumstances, a pregnant woman’s body is challenged, changed and stressed in many ways. Massage gives special attention to the mother-to-be, which in turn nurtures the new life that grows within her.”

In addition, other benefits include:

• Relieves swelling/edema in legs
• Reduces low back pain
• Relieves muscle soreness and pain in neck and shoulder area
• Gives mothers-to-be a place to be pampered, to relax and feel nurtured!
• And according to Shirley Vanderbilt at MassageTherapy.com, “Recent studies from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Fla., indicates that pregnancy massage provides more than just symptom relief for the mother. A group of 26 pregnant women were given either massage or relaxation therapy during a five-week study. In addition to experiencing a reduction in symptoms of anxiety, stress, sleep problems and back pain, the massage group had fewer complications in their delivery. Their newborns also had fewer postnatal complications. Another TRI study reported massage during labor resulted in shorter labor times for the mothers, shorter hospital stays and less postpartum depression.” (Read more from Shirley Vanderbilt on Pregnancy Massage at massagetherapy.com here.)

Cautions for Prenatal Massage

There are, however, times when expectant mothers should avoid seeking massage therapy. Because of the increased risk for miscarriage in the first trimester, it is commonly recommended to wait until second or third trimesters to explore prenatal massage. If an expectant mother is experiencing any of the following complications or conditions, she should abstain from prenatal massage as well:

• heavy discharge (watery or bloody);
• diabetes;
• contagious illness;
• fever;
• vomiting;
• unusual pain;
• preeclampsia;
• high blood pressure;
• morning sickness;
• abdominal pain;
• diarrhea;
• any malignant condition.

Additionally, areas of the body that should not be massaged include:

• skin rashes, open sores, bruises
• raised or distended varicose veins
• Points on the hand between the thumb and index finger*
• Points on the inside of the lower leg about 4 inches above the inner ankle bone*

*These are accupressure points thought to stimulate contractions and labor

Prenatal Massage Positioning

For table massage, pregnant women should not lie on their stomachs. Prenatal massage should be done with the mother to be in a side lying position, usually hugging a body pillow. Some massage therapists will also use a body cushion system that allows the mother-to-be to lay face down with her belly supported by the pillows. Pregnant women love this pillow because ti allows them to lay face down without any pressure on their bellies. However, there is some concern that this body cushion position may over stretch ligaments in the woman’s abdomen and some massage therapists (myself included) prefer to avoid the risk and use the side lying position exclusively.

For chair massage, most massage chairs have a “pregnancy bolster” which allows the expectant mother to sit in the chair without putting any pressure on her belly. The massage chairs at Working Well massage stations are designed to move the breast plate high enough to that the expectant mother’s belly is under the breastplate.

Finding a Good Prenatal Massage Therapist

Massage therapists must be certified in prenatal massage to perform prenatal massage. If you already see a massage therapist, ask him or her if they have this certification or if they can refer you to a massage therapist that does. If you are in Chicago, I, myself, am certified in prenatal massage and I also know of several massage therapists with prenatal certification I can recommend.

To find a reputable prenatal massage therapist in the US, visit the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professional’s massage locator service here. Or visit the National Massage Therapy Certification Board and search for ‘pregnancy massage.’

Read more at Suite101: Benefits of Prenatal Massage: When and Why to Get a Massage During Pregnancy

Read “12 Reasons to Administer Prenatal Massage Therapy” here.

Even Princes Get Scammed

A charity set up by Prince Charles of England that uses integrative treatments, including acupuncture, was reportedly shut down for fraud - money fraud and money laundering, not treatment malpractice. Of course, the buzz will be about "alternative" treatments rather than the fact that any administrator can have illegal business practices. However, it is a reminder to PLEASE, use trusted, licensed practitioners who have experience. To read the sordid tale,
click here