Chinese Medicine tips for Holiday season

17 Dec 2014 Your Overall Health , ,

The holiday season that starts from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and ends with the New Year.

A common holiday feast condition is indigestion – full and burning sensation, upper abdominal pain, bloating or nausea.

In Chinese medicine, indigestion is known as food stagnation. Symptoms include a lack of appetite and a bloating feeling in the stomach. The treatment principle for food stagnation is to open and move qi in the stomach so our digestive and elimination function can work optimally. Bao He Wan is a great herb formula for this.

The main function of Bao He Wan is to harmonize the stomach and reduce food stagnation. Here are the herbs in the formula:
Hawthorn Fruit
Massa Fermentata
Radish Seeds
Tangerine Peel
Pinellia Rhizome
Hoelen
Forsythia Fruit

Hawthorn fruit is excellent for reducing stagnation from meat and fatty food. Radish seed is good to bring qi downward. Orange/Tangerine Peel is great to clear stagnation and regulate qi. Hoelen is best known to reduce dampness and tonify the spleen channel. Forsythia fruit can reduce heat from food stagnation.

You’ve probably heard this before – the average weight gain during the holiday season is one pound. That is one pound that stays and accumulates year after year. While Bao He Wan works for indigestion, it won’t help to lose the weight gained over time. Balancing our diet, managing stress and exercise are still the sure way to maintain our health.

Jade Windscreen tincture for your immunity boost!

20 Nov 2014 Your Overall Health ,

Catch colds, allergic rhinitis or flu easily?

There is a famous Chinese formula called Jade Windscreen (Yu Ping Feng San) which can enhance the natural line of defense to ward off sickness. In this formula which consists of: Astragalus, White Atractylodes, Ledebouriella, we often ask patients to take the tincture who have recurrent colds. Although it is effective in treating this problem, it does take one month before any effect is demonstrated. When taking Jade Screen regularly, less severe colds occur.

In Chinese classical formula texts, Jade Windscreen can protect against invasion by exterior pathogens by strengthening your defense qi. It is commonly used to treat spontaneous sweating and increased susceptibility to invasion of exterior pathogens due to a deficiency. This formula uses a large dose of Radix Astragali (Huang Qi) to strengthen the body’s defense mechanism. There is also research which shows modified Jade Windscreen can be used for end-stage cancer patients who frequently suffer from idiopathic sweating and loss of appetite and the results are effective.

Overall, Jade Windscreen is a remarkable formula that can boost the immune system in various ways and it is recognized for its applications beyond prevention of colds and treatments on asthma and side effects of cancer treatments.

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Cold, Flu and Chinese Medicine

14 Oct 2014 Your Overall Health , , ,

Respiratory illness started early this season. Once school was back in session, many adults and kids alike had a fever, chills, body aches, extreme tiredness and coughing. For some, symptoms worsened and turned into pneumonia and bronchitis. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are very effective tools for faster recovery. They can accelerate the bodies healing process and boost its immune system.

The ideal time for treatment is as early as possible, when symptoms have just started. Some common signs include feeling off, nasal congestion, slight headache, or itchy throat.

We use acupuncture and herbal medicine to reduce fever and ease upper respiratory symptoms. When treating our younger patients who are scared of needles, herbal teas and massage are great alternatives to ease the symptoms. Cupping is also another great technique we use for coughing and chest congestion. If you have never had cupping before, it’s usually done on the person’s back along the spine. Depending on the condition of the body, you might get circle bruises that last for a few days.

Prevention is the key in Chinese Medicine. Many of our patients come in regularly for a tune up treatment to balance the body. The best time is to follow nature, with the changing of seasons, about 4 times a year. As a result, the body can adjust to daily stresses better and reduce the likeliness of getting sick. Even if your cold or flu has persisted for awhile, acupuncture and herbs can help and prevent the pathogen from going deeper into your lung and consuming your vital energy. Talk to us about our prevention protocol for cold and flu to keep you healthier and happier.

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