The basic view of health and disease in ancient Chinese medicine in essence was not different from the modern Western scientific view today. When physiological/biological balance and homeostasis are maintained the body should be healthy and disease not present. If this intricate balance is disturbed disease can manifest.

The body maintains this delicate balance by constantly communicating with all cells. Given that there are an estimated 100-200 trillion cells in the body, this is a lot of communication.

The way the body communicates all this information, delivers required nutrients, and cleans up waste products is via the circulatory and nervous systems. Blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels provide the infrastructure to send the necessary commands, nutrients, and waste from place to place to ensure that the body functions well and stays healthy. It is similar to the communication grid of a city. Roads and other communication systems provide a way for information and goods to be send from one place to the other so the whole city can prosper and function well. Acupuncture points are like the dials on a radio, fine-tuning and directing this flow in tissues or areas of the body an acupuncture point connects to.

How is this achieved? The grid of the circulatory and nervous systems is called the neurovascular system. The deep lying structures of this communication network branch off into smaller and smaller extensions the closer they get towards the skin. These blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels usually run in bundles and form critical junctures, or nodes, where they supply the skin. These nodes of fine neurovascular tissue constitute acupuncture points. Inserting a fine needle into such a node and evoking an either stimulating or inhibiting signal influences the flow of information in an either activating or sedating way (e.g. stimulating or reducing the release of a certain messenger chemical). Because physiological imbalance is usually caused by an excess or lack of certain chemicals balance can therefore be regained.

Through early postmortem dissections starting 2697 BCE, (Wang 1926), the ancient Chinese became very advanced in understanding the complexity of the various systems comprising the human body and had an astonishing comprehension on how disease is formed and health maintained. The original terminology of this ancient medical system, still used today, is clearly something no scientist can relate to unless they are trained in Chinese medicine as well. But for anyone with a full understanding of both medical systems, it is fascinating to see how thoroughly the ancient Chinese understood fairly complex physiological processes and disease in the human body hundreds (if not thousands) of years before any European civilization.

Their truly holistic view of health is stated in the Nei Jing, a Chinese medical classic written between 475-221 BCE. It says that “the key to health is for each person to maintain a balance with their environment, including weather conditions, seasonal changes, emotional and physical stress. Health requires a constancy in daily activity patterns, moderation in eating and drinking habits, not being reckless, not worrying to the point of fatigue, not being consumed by grief, remaining calm and unperturbed, and not overachieving” (D. Kendall, 2002).

This refreshing viewpoint represents a cornerstone of health and well-being that will hold true as long as humans exist. Still firmly interlaced in Chinese culture today an awareness of this simple but fundamental principle is regrettably and increasingly lacking in Western societies. The speed and stress of modern life are taking toll on health in our communities. Fortunately, this ancient medical wisdom can be shared and reintroduced through like-minded practitioners and help nourish societies back to prosperity and health.

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

“An effort by four federal agencies to limit marketing of junk food to children has provoked a fight between the packaged food industry and public health groups as intense as the cigarette wars of the 1980s”.

With a third of poor preschoolers being obese by age 5 and a $1 trillion junk-food industry intentionally marketing foods to our children as addictive as nicotine and cocaine it is about time for a change…

But is this change going to happen? Please read the full article here.

1)      Take a look at what you eat: If you want to feel better, be more productive, and loose a few extra pounds in 2012 looking at your way of eating is the right place to start.

• For general tips on healthier eating please read this earlier post.
• For loosing extra pounds, I do not recommend dieting. Dieting often causes rebound weight gain with a net-increase in body weight over several years. For most people, optimizing their diet in combination with the right type of exercise does the trick.
  • Avoiding processed foods and fructose, cutting out refined carbohydrates from your diet (or at least not eating them later in the day) and increasing your intake of lean protein or beans can make a big difference. I usually suggest a ratio of 2 parts of complex carbohydrates to 1 part of protein for every meal or snack with most carbs coming from vegetables.
  • Don’t skip meals! Eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism active. Calories are used much more efficient this way. Skipping meals also causes low blood sugar levels that make you crave and over-eat foods high in carbohydrates and fat. This also raises your cholesterol and can make you feel irritable and depressed.
  • Switching from coffee to green tea (without sugar) will make you loose weight rather than gain it (see linked articles for more information about the affects of these two substances on metabolism and digestion).
  • Consuming moderate amounts of low-fat dairy rather than cutting out dairy completely will assist this as well.
  • About fats: your body needs fats so don’t avoid fats but choose the right ones (e.g. olive oil, avocado) and watch the amounts. If you ingest too little fats your body will start to crave them (but usually not the good fats).
• If you are an emotional eater you might benefit from stress management or therapy depending on what the underlying issues are. If you are able to establish a healthy relationship to food, appreciate its nutritional value and the positive way it affects your health you might be well on your way.

2)      Exercise: You do not have to set aside time for hours of boring exercise in your already busy schedule. Make it fun, quick, and effective. Cardio interval training seems to be most effective for weight loss. You can do this in the gym, at home, or outside. This gives you a lot of flexibility. With 30 minutes (including 4 minute warm-up) two to three times per week you will be in great shape very quick, especially if you combine this with one day of resistance strength training. A lot of gyms also offer high-intensity cardio classes that are fun. What ever cardio exercise you do focus on high intensity types.
A word of advice though: whenever you start exercising after a longer break it is helpful to check in with a healthcare provider familiar with sports medicine and exercise therapy to make sure that you are doing your exercises properly and to avoid unnecessary injuries later on. Some people get overzealous with their New Year’s resolution and injure themselves. This can easily be avoided.

3)      Manage Your Stress: Stress interferes with the healthy functioning of virtually every organ-system in your body. It inhibits proper digestive functioning and absorption, strains our immune- and reproductive systems, interferes with proper sleep and energy production, and can cause weight gain. Proper sleep and exercise are very important in managing stress. Other effective modalities include acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and psychotherapy. For a short presentation on how stress affects your health please click here.

– Acupuncture is a physiological medicine and subject to scientific principles. It is not a believe system or primitive medical practice based on esoteric or metaphysical concepts –

De Morant popularized acupuncture in France through clinical practice, publishing papers, and writing books on acupuncture. His works were translated into other languages and published throughout Europe. Although his contribution to establishing acupuncture and Chinese medicine throughout Europe were considerable, his erroneous translations and creation of a metaphysical theory as the core concept of Chinese medicine are still taking their toll to this day.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine were studied, researched, and practiced in Europe throughout different episodes from the 16^th trough the 19^th century. The most detailed and first-hand, early account of Chinese medicine was provided by the Dutch physician Willem ten Rhijne in 1683. In his work he describes Chinese medicine as a physiological medicine based on the concepts of nerves, vessels, and blood circulation (Jing Luo). He traded information on Western medicine for an explanation of the concepts of Chinese medicine during his stay in Asia.

The creation of the term ‘Meridian’ by Soulié de Morant was not only a mistranslation unfaithful to the underlying Chinese concepts, it also reintroduced Chinese medicine to the West as something appearing more like a metaphysical concept or believe system than a physiological form of medicine explainable in the concepts of modern science. The same holds true for his translation of the term ‘Qi’ into ‘Energy’. Qi literally means ‘Vital Air’ and refers to the circulation of nutrients (including oxygen) within the body. Unfortunately, to this day, these errors have been widely promoted in the West, as noted by P. Unschuld (1998).

This misrepresentation of these basic concepts has kept Chinese medicine on the fringes of conventional care and has led to uncertainty amongst scientific communities and the general public as to how viable medical therapies Chinese medicine and acupuncture actually are. It has caused difficulties for acupuncturists across the world to explain their therapeutic approaches to patients and other healthcare providers. And in my opinion it even presents a substantial challenge for most acupuncturists to fully understand the basic concepts of their own trade.

Further, it has made it almost impossible to produce viable studies on acupuncture recognized by the scientific community. With this vague system of energy and meridians rather than a true and correct understanding of Chinese physiology (which is essentially the same as that of Western medicine) it is no wonder that no solid research can be conducted. Standardization of physiological concepts and clinical strategies is the backbone of evidence-based Western medicine today and should be the same for Chinese medicine. One, if not the most important textbook in Chinese medicine, the Hunagdi Neijing, was intended for this exact purpose. Written around 475-221 BC, it has been the fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia.

Chinese Medicine meets every scientific standard the great French physiologist Claude Bernard established as the foundation of Western medicine in 1865. It is unfortunate that almost a century later this semantic mistake causes Chinese medicine to be viewed as being metaphysically based and founded on impossible, or at best, incomprehensible, physiological ideas (D. Kendall, 2002), rather than the same physiological and anatomical concepts Western medicine is based upon.

Not only is Chinese medicine exceptionally efficient to restore health and well-being, it also offers a unique and fascinating view on human physiology and insight into bodily function that would be very inspiring to many Western medical practitioners and scientists.

Therefore it is important for every practitioner of Chinese medicine as well as the governing organizations to realize the consequences of Soulié de Morant’s misconception so that a true integration of Chinese medicine into the Western medical system can be achieved. This would not only enable us to conduct viable research that would greatly benefit our healthcare system, it would also allow for Chinese medicine to take the place in Western societies it really deserves.

I want to share a recent article by Andrew Weil, M.D. that explores the link between modern lifestyles and emotional well-being. I hope that you will find it interesting and change-inspiring.

The article is essentially an excerpt from Dr. Weil’s new book “Spontaneous Happiness” and looks at how modern technology and a disconnect from nature affect our emotional well-being. With the headline reading “You aren’t depressed; our brains just aren’t equipped for the 21st-century life” I find this article to be a refreshing inspiration about how we are fundamentally designed to live.

Dr. Weil graduated from Harvard Medical School and gained worldwide popularity as a medical doctor emphasizing the importance of holistic medicine and healthcare. He established and popularized the field of integrative medicine which attempts to integrate alternative and conventional medicine.

For the full article please follow this link.

According to lead researcher Professor Flora van Leeuwen, Head of the Department of Epidemiology in The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, “data clearly show that ovarian stimulation for IVF is associated with an increased risk of borderline ovarian tumors and this risk remains elevated up to more than 15 year after the first cycle of treatment.”

Please follow this link for a more detailed description of the study.

If you found this post helpful or interesting please pass this information on to someone who would benefit from it.

I would love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have. Please let me know.

If you are not subscribed to this blog, it’s easy, just click here.

Specializing in the treatment of stress-related health problems I see a lot of people suffering from the effects of a busy lifestyle. It’s not uncommon for people to experience anxiety, lack of focus, fatigue, and sleep problems all at the same time. For many of them stimulants like coffee become a necessity.

While coffee provides a short-term relieve from fatigue and can help to improve focus and concentration it is absolutely contraindicated for anyone suffering from anxiety or sleep problems. Although coffee, ingested without milk or sugar, has certain health benefits I am thoroughly convinced that its impediments to health far outweigh its benefits especially if combined with sugar, artificial sweeteners, and milk.

Stress poses a definite challenge to our health and everything associated. Green tea offers a fresh and substantial alternative to coffee for people who are in need of a pick-me-up or simply enjoy the social or ceremonial aspect of preparing and drinking a hot delicious beverage.

Green tea actually lowers stress hormone levels while coffee increases them. This makes it such a particularly good beverage for our busy urban lifestyle. Green tea not only lowers your stress levels while increasing your energy levels and focus, it also promotes healthy sleep. On top of this green tea offers a myriad of health benefits that are very valuable for the busy urban warrior. If this sounds too good to be true, please check the comparison of tea and coffee in the chart below.

* This can easily be avoided by choosing a good quality tea from a trusted source. Find a good and trusted, local tea store and avoid buying online. They will happily teach you how to brew and drink your tea the right way.

If you found this post helpful or interesting I would love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have. Please let me know.

If you are not subscribed to this blog, it’s easy, just click here.

Safe and Effective Ways to Eliminate Acid Reflux

Before listing several effective tools to improve your acid reflux I want to point out that people who are already taking proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec or Prevacid should never stop taking this type of drugs cold turkey. You can experience severe rebound symptoms if you do not decrease your dose gradually. Ideally you want to gradually reduce the dose of your proton pump inhibitor to the lowest possible dose and then switch to an over-the-counter H2 blocker like Tagamet, Cimetidine, Zantac, or Raniditine. Once you have achieved this gradually wean off the H2 blocker over the next several weeks.

• Avoid drinking with your meals as this only dilutes the stomach acid and makes it weaker. If you absolutely need to drink something with your meals drink a small cup of green tea. Green tea stimulates secretion of stomach acid

• Betaine hydrochloride supplements. Taken before a meal this will help your body to digest food. It will also create a less favorable environment for Heliobacter Pylori. Take this only under the supervision of a health care practitioner

• Chew thoroughly. Proper chewing means chewing each bite 50 times. This, in combination with modifying your diet towards eating less processed foods and sugar, will improve your digestion dramatically

• Cut out caffeine, alcohol, and all nicotine products

• Use high quality, unprocessed salt, such as Himalayan salt. It provides you with chloride your body needs to make hydrochloric acid. It also contains over 80 trace minerals your body needs to perform optimally

• Optimize your vitamin D and B levels. It is easy to have your vitamin D levels checked by your doctor. The majority of Americans are deficient in vitamin D

• Take a good Multivitamin. Hypochlorhydria may lead to deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals

• Probiotics are recommended in case you are suffering from acid reflux

• Identify food intolerances/allergies

• Ginger Tea can be very helpful to improve digestion but is not recommended in people who are, according to the traditional Chinese medical system, suffering from heat in their stomach.

If you found this post helpful or interesting I would love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have. Please let me know.

If you are not subscribed to this blog, it’s easy, just click here.

The environment in your stomach is very acidic. The acid your stomach produces pre-digests your food. Food is only allowed to pass on into the small intestines once it is pre-digested enough. In people lacking stomach acid this process takes more time. Because the food sits longer in your stomach it starts to ferment/putrify. This process creates gasses that go up through the sphincter-muscle of the stomach into the esophagus. Because the stomach environment is still very acidic these gasses will also be acidic and irritate the lining of the esophagus. This will cause a sensation of heartburn.

In a different scenario heartburn is caused by food being forced back up from the stomach into the lower part of the esophagus. Often the cause is lack of stomach acid. The food is not digested enough so the sphincter in between the stomach and small intestines does not open. If the stomach tries to pass its contents on through force they might spill out of the top of the stomach causing acidic irritation. Both scenarios can, over time, cause hiatal hernias.

Acid reflux is usually caused by lifestyle and is a simple problem that most people remedy the wrong way. Antacids or proton pump inhibitors will neutralize the acidic irritation outside the stomach but they will also cause the stomach to produce less acid, which sets you up for a vicious cycle of increasing indigestion.

For people already taking antacids it is important to know that even if their true cause for acid reflux and indigestion is a lack of stomach acid, they can not stop taking their medication cold turkey. It is usually advised to reduce them gradually to avoid severe rebound symptoms. Otherwise the problem may end up being worse than before you started taking the medication. It is very effective to support this process through supervision of a qualified alternative healthcare practitioner.

Lack of stomach acid is called hypochlorhdyria and can lead to:

• Heartburn
• Halitosis (bad breath)
• Sense of “fullness” after eating
• Bloating/belching
• Heliobacter Pylori infection leading to stomach ulcers
• Flatulence immediately after meals
• Indigestion
• Diarrhea, and/or constipation
• Mineral deficiencies
• Vitamin B12 deficiency leading to fatigue, poor memory/concentration, depression
• Itching around the rectum
• Weak, peeled, and cracked fingernails with ridges

Common causes of hypochlorhdyria are:

• Stress
• Drinking with you meals (especially sodas but also water)
• Antacids/proton pump inhibitors
• Lack of proper nutrient absorption
• Vitamin/mineral deficiencies
• Chronic gastritis
• Certain autoimmune diseases
• Pernicious anemia
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Adrenal fatigue
• Age
• Heliobacter

If you found this post helpful or interesting I would love to hear what you think or answer any questions you might have. Please let me know.

In part 2 of this article I will discuss simple strategies to improve your digestion, curing your acid reflux.

If you are not subscribed to this blog, it’s easy, just click here.

However you turn the subject of lifestyle one cannot deny that how we live shapes our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. In an article published in Time Magazine Annie Murphy Paul, author of the book ‘Origins’, writes about phenomena going well beyond the conventional answers to ‘What makes us the way we are?’ She writes that “the nine months of gestation constitute the most consequential period of our lives, permanently influencing the wiring of the brain and the functioning of organs such as the heart, liver, and pancreas.”

According to latest research a mother’s lifestyle and environment can predispose her fetus at a higher risk to develop heart disease, diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and many other problems later in life. Pioneers in the field assert that “The conditions we encounter in utero… shape our susceptibility to disease, our appetite and metabolism, our intelligence and temperament.”

Knowing this is a great advantage. Parents are naturally concerned with providing a good future for their children. While college funds and education are certainly important, research shows that taking care of yourself during pregnancy can be one of the best investments and the most precious gift a mother can give to her child.

In Chinese medicine we value a balanced lifestyle as the key to longevity. It is interesting to see how this ancient wisdom coincides with the latest findings in cutting edge research. Acupuncture significantly reduces stress, leads to less complications during labor, and reduces the chances of low birth weight significantly. This makes it such a popular form of therapy, recommended by many gynecologists and obstetricians.

Specializing in supporting women’s health through the pregnancy cycle, this information is a fundamental part of my care.  Optimizing a couples health before conception and a well-rounded care for the mom-to-be through gestation leads to a more enjoyable pregnancy and lays the foundation for healthy and happy babies.

Help me spread these health tips. Who do you know that might benefit from this information? Please forward them this email.

If you are not subscribed to this blog, it’s easy, just click here.

I look forward to receiving your comments, questions and topic requests!