“Professor Geeta Nargund, head of reproductive medicine at

She said there was increasing evidence that the standard method of IVF used in Britain, which involves stimulating the ovaries with high doses of drugs to produce large numbers of eggs for harvesting, was damaging to women’s health and caused chromosomal abnormalities to resulting embryos, a newspaper reported.”

For the full article recently published in a British newspaper please click here

“Women may make new eggs throughout their reproductive years—challenging a longstanding tenet that females are born with finite supplies, a new study says. The discovery may also lead to new avenues for improving women’s health and fertility.”

To read the full article recently published in National Geographic click here.

This is a really interesting article I wanted to share.

Scientists studying a four-herb combination discovered some 1,800 years ago by Chinese herbalists have found that the substance enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with colon cancer.

Read it here.

I certainly promote a diet that consists of mostly local, fresh, and non-packaged foods. For those of you who are not quite there yet Fooducate is a step in the right direction. Created by dieticians and concerned parents Fooducate is fun and easy to use. It grades your food, tells you what’s good or bad about it, and gives you alternatives.

You can learn more at http://www.fooducate.com/

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 critical junctures, 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 or organs. 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.

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