Mutant Gene Linked To Uterine Fibroids

Unfortunately uterine fibroids are a common problem for women. It is a complaint I see regularly in my Chicago acupuncture office. As many as 60% of women develop fibroids by age 45. One study is now suggesting that a mutant gene is responsible. If that is the case, we have moved one step further toward correcting this problem. Read more about the study here.

A Dodger Doubter Is Converted to Acupuncture

One question that I am asked is,  "Is acupuncture a placebo?  Don't you have to believe that it will work in order for it to help?"  The answer is no! There are hundreds of studies to prove it's effectiveness, but some people need to experience it. Ted Lilly, who plays baseball for the Dodgers, is no longer  doubtful. He found that acupuncture increased his range of motion almost as soon as he got off the table and helped him return to the game more quickly. Read more here.

Instructions On How To Live A Better Life?

Do you ever feel like if you worked harder, prayed harder or meditated your way to egolessness your life would be better? There are so many instructions/preachers/life coaches (what is a “life” coach anyway?), consultants, self-help books and Yogi’s – all with ideas and instructions on how you can do whatever “it” is better/faster/deeper/smarter/cheaper.

I know that there are better and worse ways of doing things.  I’ve certainly experimented with plenty of effective and ineffective strategies. I’ve done enough dumb things to recognize that there are smarter (and less embarrassing) ways to cope.  But I get the sense that so much of what we hear and read is simply marketing that plays into our insecurities.  I think that, at the heart of many of these strategies is the unspoken, very seductive, message that, if we try harder or smarter or softer or “let it be”, we can gain control over our messy lives. Just follow these simple instructions and you can be….. (fill in your own wishes).

Maybe we just want to get our own way. We repeatedly try to bend the universe to our will and often the universe does not comply (darn!). The universe reminds us time and again that we are not in control very often and, in fact, we are sort of puny in the scheme of things. We see it all the time in nature. There is no control over whether it rains or shines. So why is it such a struggle to accept how little control we have over our own lives? I really don’t know. What do you think?

The Horn Method

If you have been to my Chicago acupuncture office, you may have seen (and I may have used) the set of glass or plastic cups that I use for “cupping” the Chinese technique that involves placing jars on the skin, suctioning out the air and creating a vacuum. This is a very helpful therapy for a wide range of conditions.

Did you know that cupping is not exclusive to Traditional Chinese Medicine? Variations  of this treatment have been used by ancient Egyptians (and in other African countries), by North American Indians, by early Greeks, and in other Asian and European countries.

Many years ago, Cupping was called the “horn method” because an animal horn was used. In North America, natives made their cupping devices by slicing off the point of a buffalo horn. Others hollowed out horns from different animals and removed the tips so that air could be suctioned out. Some believed that it was an effective method of removing illnesses through the skin that had gotten into the body but this was a treatment used for various ailments. Cupping therapy was recommended by Hippocrates whom many consider the father of Modern Medicine. In his guide to clinical treatment, he recommends cupping for angina, menstrual irregularities and other disorders.

The earliest documentation of Chinese cupping dates back three thousand years. It was recommended for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Easy Tea Drinker’s Tip to Heart Health

In completing a mega-analysis of studies that examined drinking green tea and its effects on cholesterol, researchers are optimistic. (Do I hear the applause for Traditional Chinese Medicine advice???) Although in some of the studies, participants consumed the equivalent of 18 cups of green tea daily (whoa!), experts don’t suggest that you drown yourself in green tea. More research is needed to know how much green tea to drink to improve cholesterol levels. Sources suggest consuming one to two 8-ounce cups daily. Remember, most green tea contains caffeine, so you don’t want to overdo it, especially too close to bedtime. You can also check out decaffeinated green tea. Two of my favorite green teas are Gen Mai Cha ("brown rice tea") it is a green tea combined with roasted brown rice and Jasmine which has a lighter more flowery taste to it.

Acceptance For Acupuncture As A Fertility Treatment Grows

USA Today just put out a good report about acupuncture and infertility.  They report that many women are singing acupuncture's praises and there is a growing number of celebrities using acupuncture for fertility. The writer also notes the  reluctance on the part of some doctors to include acupuncture in their fertility treatments but concludes with positive reports and comments on the increased acceptance of this treatment. Here is the story.

"I was pregnant by the third month. It was awesome," says Akin, who gave birth to her son, Hudson, in October. "He's my little acupuncture baby."

New Research: Electro - Acupuncture Can Help Alleviate Depression

Because depression is such a widespread problem, there are always ideas, treatments or solutions to coping with this disorder.  I’ve just read a study out of China that says electro-acupuncture may alleviate depression.  Electro-acupuncture is similar to traditional acupuncture except that, after the needles are inserted, they are attached to a device that generates continuous electric pulses. Using electro-acupuncture on rats, scientists were able to prevent atrophy of glial cells in the hippocampus portion of the brain. Glial cells are important to assist nervous system functioning and in supplying oxygen to the brain.  Therefore, when glial cells are protected from atrophy, depression can be mitigated.

To read more, click here

What Are Your Priorities?

 

"Action expresses priorities"

  

 Mohandas Gandhi

Food As Medicine

"A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down..."  Oh, Mary Poppins, you are sooo yesterday!  The Chinese have something much better and certainly healthier. The China Daily has a story about a restaurant that adds herbs to food in order to increase their healthfulness in a very pleasant way,  for example, cooking chicken with the herb ginseng, boiling ginger into a drink, or adding angelica to stew.  The article highlights a restaurant, the Herbal Cuisine Kitchen in Beijing, that has devoted its entire menu to foods cooked with helpful herbs. To read the article, click here.
 

Alternative Medicine Is Changing The Way The Army Treats Pain

I've previously written about the Army's increased willingness to use acupuncture as a treatment for medical conditions. Here is more good news: army doctors are now considering acupuncture, as well as other holistic treatments, for pain management.  They are trying to move away from the "take some pain-killers" way of thinking and treat each pain complaints as the complex problem it is.

"Based on 109 recommendations from an Army-led Pain Management Task Force, the Army is seeking to move away from merely dispensing pain medication to embracing a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to caring for soldiers."

To read more click here