The term Holistic Medicine refers to the view that the whole body system must be analyzed in order to properly address any one particular concern. Much in the mainstream theory of medicine works to cut the focus of treatment down to the one key factor believed to be the major player in the problem. Millions of dollars are spent finding this one key factor. Eventually someone will indeed find what they believe to be the one key factor. Usually they are the ones that have the bigger budget. But our bodies don't really work in that way. Life is complex. It is a mish mash of millions of contributing factors. We can't just look at health as a coexisting bundle of singular systems. I feel that doing so is missing the point of our wonderful complexity. Indeed we need to take account for the many variables involved in any given system and how they interplay and depend on one another. When it comes to vascular disease, we can't just blame the dreaded cholesterol. Just like every other system in our body the vascular system depends upon many different variables to remain healthy. I hope through this short article to describe other players involved in vascular disease and help the reader gain more information to protect both themselves and the people in their lives.
So what goes into creating vascular disease? The basic story goes like this... Plaque begins to build up in along the artery walls which gets to a critical point and then rips off causing a downstream blockage. This leads to death of the blood starved tissues and you have your heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, peripheral vascular disease, or something of the like. This is not good. Major debility and death often result. For the most part the mainstream focus has been on lowering cholesterol since cholesterol in part makes up the plaque in our arteries. (So does Calcium mind you, but we aren't told to lower Calcium intake now are we?) But one thing that they don't really address is why the plaque is building up in the first place! The key here is inflammation of the arterial wall. If the lining of the arteries are smooth and slippery the cholesterol will slip right on by without bothering anything. I really don't care if you have a total cholesterol of 150 or 250. If you are not inflamed you probably will not develop vascular disease.
So what then leads to inflamed arteries? The process usually begins when there is poor blood sugar balance. This sets in motion a large cascade of inflammatory processes which works to inflame not only the arteries, but the entire body. The once slick and smooth artery soon becomes rough and abrasive. At some point a small tear opens in the lining of the artery and a small pocket is formed. It is here where cholesterol begins to collect and form a plaque. But that's not all. This plaque stays there and as it builds it becomes rancid and subject to oxidative stress (damage from free radicals) which weakens it and makes for a very dangerous condition. It isn't long until that clot, or a piece thereof breaks free and blocks something downstream. The more free radical damage, or oxidative stress you have, the more likely that you will end up intimately aware of the fallout of vascular disease. So that's the short story. Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S. despite the ever increasing amounts of cholesterol lowering medications. Not much is really being done to address the increasing oxidative stress our bodies are being forced to manage, or the raging blood sugar epidemic we are witnessing in our country. Statin therapy, as much as they want you to believe, does not address the inflammation in any significant way. Much better to stick to good old fish oil and a well balanced blood sugar!
So what then can be done? How should we be managing these vascular health concerns if we decide to rethink our "need" for medication? Well to do it right you need to consider all of the factors involved:
• Blood sugar regulation
• Oxidative stress (or free radical damage)
• Inflammation
• Cholesterol (both total cholesterol and ratios)
• Hormone balance
• Poor diet/lifestyle
• Lack of cardio exercise
• And yeah, there's more
Considering all of these different pathways associated with vascular disease together makes for a much more powerful treatment protocol than treating just one alone as is seen with Statin drug therapy. For this I turn to the practitioner only formula Triplichol from a leading Nutraceutical company called Ortho Molecular Products. Triplichol contains different compounds like pharmaceutical grade fish oil, niacin and plant sterols which work to balance the cholesterol. It contains the compounds Quercetin and Grape Seed Extract to address blood vessel health. And it contains the compounds Resveratrol and Green Tea Extract which are powerful antioxidants to address any oxidative damage. You just don't find that kind of broad spectrum therapy in many other products. Along with proper diet and lifestyle modifications as well as a cardio exercise program I am confident that this approach will blow the doors off of the mainstream therapies. Remember, according to the Centers for Disease Control roughly 52% of the people who die of heart disease die with normal to low cholesterol. A lot is getting missed if you ask me. I think the numbers speak for themselves.
So call me today and ask me more about how I can help you manage your cardiovascular health and avoid the harsh medications aimed solely on lowering only one type of cholesterol. There are certainly a lot of alternatives out there for you and I look forward to helping you understand ALL of your options. Remember, you are in charge of your own health. I urge you to gather all the information that you can and make the most educated decisions possible.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wind Invasions and Other Funny Business
Ever wonder what in the world us acupuncturists are thinking when we tell you that you have some kind damp heat accumulation in your lower jiao, or that your liver qi is attacking your spleen? Well how about a wind invasion?
I hope to help you understand a bit better where we are coming from by talking today about wind invasions. After all, it is the time of year for them. By wind invasion I am really talking about colds and flu. So how does what we do for a cold differ from what you might otherwise accomplish at the drug store? Simply put, the methods and herbs prescribed for these illnesses work to both address the symptom as well as fight off the infection. And it does this with specificity in mind as to the particular type of infection. A cold pill only gets you through the week.
Now we all know the basic symptoms of a cold or flu, but not every infection will present the same. Take for example what we call a wind heat invasion. This is the type of cold that creates hot type symptoms such as fever, cough, red/swollen throat, sweats and perhaps a thick green or yellow mucus. This is in sharp contrast to the type of cold that produces chills, headache, stiff neck, and a clear runny nose as seen in a wind cold invasion. Therapy for the two in our system would be different.
Now the over-the-counter treatment for all this would generally be the same. You might reach for a cold pill containing acetaminophen for a pain killer and fever reducer, a cough suppressant even though you may not even have a cough, an expectorant to clear out the mucus and an antihistamine to help you sleep. Everything here is strictly symptom based, and often treats symptoms that you do not even have.
Now something like a flu shot is designed to build immunity to the influenza virus responsible for giving you the flu. But unless you want to inject mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, and other nasty stuff into yourself when you are trying to stay healthy, I would advise against going that route. There is just too much evidence indicating that flu shots are more dangerous than they are worth. There may be a time for them, but probably not about 95% of the time. But that is really another article.
From the Chinese Medical perspective we reach for herbs that address the particular condition of the patient. For example if there are the cold type symptoms we would prescribe warming herbs like ginger, cinnamon, and some other fun Chinese named herbs that not only warm the system, but have anti-viral properties to address the infection. If there is a heat type infection we would reach for herbs that are cooling in nature like mint for example. We can effectively treat the symptoms by balancing out heat and cold and address the infection by mixing in herbs that have anti viral and/or bacterial properties.
Overall Chinese herbal formulas are a very well balanced and safe way to address many medical conditions. The beauty of such an approach is that it allows the practitioner to take into account not only the patient, but the environment in which the patient is living. The more we can relate to what is affecting us the better we can exist harmoniously with our environment and allow for a healthier experience. Now let me be the first to admit here that it is important to look specifically and scientifically into some issues, but let me also suggest that it is equally as important to be willing and able to take a step back and simplify things a bit. Sometimes it is just easier to call it a wind invasion and treat it with acupuncture points and herbs indicated for wind invasions. There is a lot of wisdom in the Traditional Chinese approach to medicine. The actual science is wrapped up in the symbolism. You would be surprised to know all the things we can treat effectively, even when we do call them something a little odd like "Phlegm Fire Misting the Orifices," for example.
Allow yourself to have an open mind and the world becomes a much bigger place. Allow yourself to contact me and who knows how much better you may feel!
I hope to help you understand a bit better where we are coming from by talking today about wind invasions. After all, it is the time of year for them. By wind invasion I am really talking about colds and flu. So how does what we do for a cold differ from what you might otherwise accomplish at the drug store? Simply put, the methods and herbs prescribed for these illnesses work to both address the symptom as well as fight off the infection. And it does this with specificity in mind as to the particular type of infection. A cold pill only gets you through the week.
Now we all know the basic symptoms of a cold or flu, but not every infection will present the same. Take for example what we call a wind heat invasion. This is the type of cold that creates hot type symptoms such as fever, cough, red/swollen throat, sweats and perhaps a thick green or yellow mucus. This is in sharp contrast to the type of cold that produces chills, headache, stiff neck, and a clear runny nose as seen in a wind cold invasion. Therapy for the two in our system would be different.
Now the over-the-counter treatment for all this would generally be the same. You might reach for a cold pill containing acetaminophen for a pain killer and fever reducer, a cough suppressant even though you may not even have a cough, an expectorant to clear out the mucus and an antihistamine to help you sleep. Everything here is strictly symptom based, and often treats symptoms that you do not even have.
Now something like a flu shot is designed to build immunity to the influenza virus responsible for giving you the flu. But unless you want to inject mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, and other nasty stuff into yourself when you are trying to stay healthy, I would advise against going that route. There is just too much evidence indicating that flu shots are more dangerous than they are worth. There may be a time for them, but probably not about 95% of the time. But that is really another article.
From the Chinese Medical perspective we reach for herbs that address the particular condition of the patient. For example if there are the cold type symptoms we would prescribe warming herbs like ginger, cinnamon, and some other fun Chinese named herbs that not only warm the system, but have anti-viral properties to address the infection. If there is a heat type infection we would reach for herbs that are cooling in nature like mint for example. We can effectively treat the symptoms by balancing out heat and cold and address the infection by mixing in herbs that have anti viral and/or bacterial properties.
Overall Chinese herbal formulas are a very well balanced and safe way to address many medical conditions. The beauty of such an approach is that it allows the practitioner to take into account not only the patient, but the environment in which the patient is living. The more we can relate to what is affecting us the better we can exist harmoniously with our environment and allow for a healthier experience. Now let me be the first to admit here that it is important to look specifically and scientifically into some issues, but let me also suggest that it is equally as important to be willing and able to take a step back and simplify things a bit. Sometimes it is just easier to call it a wind invasion and treat it with acupuncture points and herbs indicated for wind invasions. There is a lot of wisdom in the Traditional Chinese approach to medicine. The actual science is wrapped up in the symbolism. You would be surprised to know all the things we can treat effectively, even when we do call them something a little odd like "Phlegm Fire Misting the Orifices," for example.
Allow yourself to have an open mind and the world becomes a much bigger place. Allow yourself to contact me and who knows how much better you may feel!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Breakfast: Why The Morning Meal Is So Important
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Really… no kidding. Then why is it that for so many of us breakfast is perhaps the least respected? As our daily life stresses mount with work projects, getting the kids to school, and trying to squeeze in that last minute of sleep the most important meal quickly becomes a questionable meal at best. Yet we still expect the same success out of our days and thedays of our children. So why is this age old adage so accurate and what should we be feeding ourselves and our kids so that we all can get the most out of our day? I hope to answer these questions for you and perhaps inspire you to take breakfast perhaps just a little more seriously.
To understand the importance of breakfast you must first understand that our brains need a steady supply of blood sugar to work optimally. As we fast, such as when we sleep, our brains require a tremendous amount of sugar to keep us going. Since we are not eating in our sleep (hopefully!) we produce the hormone cortisol to keep our blood sugar stable. Cortisol allows us to liberate the stored sugars which we have put away from our daytime eating and use them when we aren’t getting new food. When our cortisol levels are low so is our blood sugar. And when our blood sugar is low so is our energy, and brain power! Just ask any teacher which children she thinks ate a good breakfast that morning. It is usually apparent. Many problems in the classroom (and work place?) can be traced back to the quality of the morning meal. The rub is that if we continue to disregard a stable blood sugar our cortisol levels will decline making the whole business of being awake a real mess! So how can we help to ensure that we start our day off on the right foot?
In the morning our stored sugars are at their lowest and need to be restocked. Certain foods do this better than others. The easy things to reach for are the simple carbs. They are usually quick, easy, and yummy! They can be found in most breakfast cereals, bagels, pancakes and heaven forbid doughnuts! These types of things are BAD for your day. Carbs like this create an immediate spike in the blood sugar which rapidly triggers a spike in the hormone insulin. Insulin then crashes your blood sugar down to very low levels leaving you in a low blood sugar state all over again. Often times this leaves you lower than before the meal. I’m sure you have witnessed a sugar crash. Halloween is coming guys! This kind of thing leaves your brain short on fuel and can have a tiring or foggy headed result. Not at all good for schoolwork or breadwinning!
If on the other hand you serve some ham and eggs with a side of whole grain toast you are allowing for a slow and steady raise in blood sugar with a much longer duration. This gives the brain plenty of blood sugar to work efficiently throughout longer periods of the day. Productivity and attention span go up dramatically. And there have been studies on kids who have eaten protein for breakfast vs. simple carbs having higher test scores. Long term this can lead to better schools and better opportunity for your children. And think of performance in the work place. Will promotions go to the guy who is on top of his game or the guy playing spider solitaire all day? Remember promotions mean more security for your family so this little concept is very important.
The bottom line here is that what we eat can have a dramatic affect on how we behave throughout the day. Take my advice and forget the simple carbs for breakfast. Incorporate higher protein and fiber containing foods first thing and you will be creating favorable conditions for optimum performance. Leave some sweet stuff in the mix for treats and rewards, but not as a mainstay for your morning.
Good luck, good health and happy eating!
To understand the importance of breakfast you must first understand that our brains need a steady supply of blood sugar to work optimally. As we fast, such as when we sleep, our brains require a tremendous amount of sugar to keep us going. Since we are not eating in our sleep (hopefully!) we produce the hormone cortisol to keep our blood sugar stable. Cortisol allows us to liberate the stored sugars which we have put away from our daytime eating and use them when we aren’t getting new food. When our cortisol levels are low so is our blood sugar. And when our blood sugar is low so is our energy, and brain power! Just ask any teacher which children she thinks ate a good breakfast that morning. It is usually apparent. Many problems in the classroom (and work place?) can be traced back to the quality of the morning meal. The rub is that if we continue to disregard a stable blood sugar our cortisol levels will decline making the whole business of being awake a real mess! So how can we help to ensure that we start our day off on the right foot?
In the morning our stored sugars are at their lowest and need to be restocked. Certain foods do this better than others. The easy things to reach for are the simple carbs. They are usually quick, easy, and yummy! They can be found in most breakfast cereals, bagels, pancakes and heaven forbid doughnuts! These types of things are BAD for your day. Carbs like this create an immediate spike in the blood sugar which rapidly triggers a spike in the hormone insulin. Insulin then crashes your blood sugar down to very low levels leaving you in a low blood sugar state all over again. Often times this leaves you lower than before the meal. I’m sure you have witnessed a sugar crash. Halloween is coming guys! This kind of thing leaves your brain short on fuel and can have a tiring or foggy headed result. Not at all good for schoolwork or breadwinning!
If on the other hand you serve some ham and eggs with a side of whole grain toast you are allowing for a slow and steady raise in blood sugar with a much longer duration. This gives the brain plenty of blood sugar to work efficiently throughout longer periods of the day. Productivity and attention span go up dramatically. And there have been studies on kids who have eaten protein for breakfast vs. simple carbs having higher test scores. Long term this can lead to better schools and better opportunity for your children. And think of performance in the work place. Will promotions go to the guy who is on top of his game or the guy playing spider solitaire all day? Remember promotions mean more security for your family so this little concept is very important.
The bottom line here is that what we eat can have a dramatic affect on how we behave throughout the day. Take my advice and forget the simple carbs for breakfast. Incorporate higher protein and fiber containing foods first thing and you will be creating favorable conditions for optimum performance. Leave some sweet stuff in the mix for treats and rewards, but not as a mainstay for your morning.
Good luck, good health and happy eating!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Food Sensitivities: Humbling Yet Empowering!
I have been in private practice now for more than six years and I can’t avoid it any longer. For a long time now I have been helping people streamline their diets to suit particular disharmonies in their body based upon the nutrition of the foods, but I have done very little to screen for foods that might be contributing to the problem at hand. I have recently teamed up with Immuno-Laboratories who are leaders in food sensitivity testing. I believe this new addition to my spractice will launch me to the next level in patient care. Read on and learn some basic concepts in food sensitivity and how it is an important consideration for all health concerns.
When talking about reacting to a food it is important to understand the difference between food allergy and food sensitivity. I am primarily talking today about sensitivity. A food allergy will produce an immediate reaction which can be mild like numb lips, or mild itchiness to sever as in your throat is closing and you may die without immediate medical intervention. Peanuts and shellfish are known for these types of reactions, and people who are in this category are usually already aware of this personal reality. Sensitivity on the other hand is a much more common problem than you might think. It is thought that up to 95% of the population has some amount of food sensitivity. These types of reactions are delayed. You can literally eat something one day and not notice anything for many days later. But there is a cumulative effect that goes on with sensitivity. The idea is that more you eat of an offending food the more you will notice and suffer chronic and seemingly unrelated medical conditions.
Consider this list of potential symptoms that are directly associated with food sensitivities:
Digestion: nausea, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, belching, passing of gas,
Emotions: mood swings, anxiety, anger, depression, binge eating
Energy: fatigue, sluggishness, drowsiness, apathy, hyperactivity, restlessness
Eyes, Ears & Nose: watery/itchy eyes, ear infections, sinus problems
Heart & Lungs: irregular heartbeat, chest pain, asthma, bronchitis, congestion
Mind: poor memory/concentration, speech problems, learning disability, ADD
Muscles & Joints: general weakness, muscle/joint pain, stiffness
Skin: hives, rashes, dry skin, acne, hair loss, irritation around the eyes
Throat & Mouth: coughing, sore throat, hoarseness, sores on tongue/gums/lips
Other: excess weight, dizziness, water retention, insomnia, headaches, genital itch
Any of these sound familiar? Can you add them up and come up with one or more in each category? If so there is quite easily a food sensitivity concern for you. Finding out which foods you are sensitive to is the first step in feeling much better. If you are suffering any chronic condition I urge you to consider taking the steps to finding out what you are sensitive to in your diet. It could make a huge difference in your quality of life and may just be that one thing that finally gets you over the hump with your pain and suffering.
From my point of view as a clinician I see all kinds of chronic problems where some sort of stress on the body is contributing to the root of the problem. I often write about the interaction of the adrenal glands and the stress hormone cortisol with other systems of the body such as sex hormones. Indeed when the body is stressed all kinds of nasty things can happen with your hormones for example. Chronic pain is another mainstay in an acupuncture clinic and often has its root in chronic stress to the system. It is my obligation as a practitioner of Functional Medicine to find the hidden sources of this underlying stress and fix them so that the hormone problem or the pain can be fixed as well. Without finding the source of the stress success of the therapy will often be diminished and treatment ends up being a matter of chasing the symptoms. That becomes expensive and draining and ultimately leads to failure.
The above title mentions feeling both humbled and empowered through this process. It is humbling to find out that wheat for example may be causing you harm. Our reward centers in our brain kick in and say things like, “But I love my bagels, and my muffins! What will I do without them?” But it is important to know that when we eat these foods we release natural opiates in our brain. The poison is actually rewarding the drug addict within us. So yes, it is humbling to overcome an addiction. We are addicted to the foods that make us sick. How’s that for tough luck? But this process is also empowering because it is important for us to take control of our lives. There is power in that ability. And once you start to feel the benefits there is more enjoyment in life. This is the type of thing that can change your daily experience. You will be more inclined to exercise and spend time with your family, take vacations, etc. All it takes is the courage and follow through to create the change. Allow me to help you through this process and let’s see what changes we can make happen for you!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Swine Flu: Is it really worth the worry? Or is it just a cool name?
Well another flu season is coming and we get a whole new opportunity to be told how this will be the year that thousands of people are going to come down with Swine Flu and potentially die from its deleterious effects. It is therefore vital to go and get immunized! Or is it? Haven’t we heard this one before? Could there be better alternatives to this extremely new and untested vaccine? This health care professional thinks so.
If you really look at the numbers of people who are coming down with Swine Flu and how many of those are actually dieing from it, it is all rather unimpressive. The normal flu still kills many more people than the Swine Flu variety of virus. But of course it is new and sounds cool, and makes good news that we could potentially be killed by something that makes pigs sick for heavens sake! But the reality is that Swine Flu is just the flu. And Chinese Medicine has had safe and effective remedies for things like the flu for millennia. These remedies are tried and true and come without the potentially life threatening side effects of the flu vaccines.
New developments have surfaced recently in the UK from their government Health Protection Agency that has strongly link the new Swine Flue Vaccine to a deadly nerve disease called Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS). GBS attacks the lining of nerve cells causing problems like paralysis, inability to breathe and death. In fact in 1976 there was a similar Swine Flu scare which resulted in the mass vaccination of the American population. This resulted in more people dying from the vaccine itself than the Swine Flu “epidemic.” There was also an eight fold increase in contracting GBS in those who were vaccinated than in those people who did not get the vaccine.
So what can you do to avoid the Swine Flu? Or any other flu strain for that matter? Follow these simple steps and you will be way ahead of the dangers people are so worried about:
1)Get good rest. Sleep is when we heal ourselves. Poor sleep can lead to many different health concerns including a lowered immune system.
2)Eat well. Stay away from excess sugar. It has been shown that a diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrates results in a lowered immune system.
3)Wash your hands often! This is one of the most important concepts for avoiding infectious diseases. I wash mine at least ten times per day.
4)Take immune building herbs and nutrients. The Chinese Herbal Pharmacopia has a lot of herbs for building the immune system during times of wellness. This is where the preventative medicine concept comes in. We know it is the flu season coming so build your immune system up before the flu season arrives! I carry herbal formulas for this purpose in my clinic and would be happy to ship them to where ever in the country you are located.
The bottom line here is that the media will definitely want to chase this Swine Flu story as long as they can. It is sensational! There are people getting infected by it all the time now, but in general people are not suffering any major health concerns as a result. The people who are actually dying are the very young and very old, and even then they usually have some sort of debilitating condition already. They certainly do not represent the general population. Really, the vast majority of us are going to be just fine even if we do catch the dreaded H1N1 virus. And if taking the basic precautions that I described above the chances of contracting any flu will be minimal.
And when in doubt, please consider me a valuable resource. I am happy to help you in what ever way that I can. Do not hesitate to call or write with your questions or concerns.
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