In Traditional Chinese Medicine we use foods for their healing properties. Often when a client comes into my office I will tailor their treatment plan with diet suggestions. In the case of weight loss this component is especially important.
In this article DR. Maoshing Ni ( L.Ac., D.O.M., Ph.D.) discusses helpful foods to naturally loose weight. These suggestions along with a proper treatment plan from a TCM specialist will help you get started working towards a healthy weight.
It’s taken me a few days to feel like I’m getting back into my routine. Travel really takes a lot out of me, and definitely messes with my sense of time and normalcy. When I travel, it’s like, “sure, I’ll stay up until 3 and wake up at 7! No problem!” And despite how much fun I have, I cause my body a lot of additional stress through changed eating, exercise, and sleep. Now that I’m back, it’s time to get a handle on all of those elements of a healthy lifestyle.
To make my transition to real life a little bit easier, I decided to do two things. First, I got a massage at Healthworks with Lauren G. I haven’t had a massage in maybe two or three years, and I had somehow forgotten just how amazing they are! I told Lauren G. exactly what was bothering me, and let her get to work. The tightness in my shoulders and back melted away as I listened to soothing music and smelled the aromatherapy. I had the best night’s sleep after that! Needless to say, I am definitely going to save up (ah, student budget!) for a massage at Healthworks again.
The second thing I did was acupuncture. My friend, A., goes regularly for acupuncture, and recommended that I try a free session – so I did! I told the acupuncturist that I often have tension in my shoulders and that I have a little anxiety, and she put the tiniest of needles in strategic places on my hands, shoulders, head, and feet. And then I rested for a while and let the acupuncture do its thing. My friend describes the feeling as “a massage with the force” (ah, that’s a Star Wars reference…). The acupuncturist I saw was a part of Acupuncture Together, a nonprofit organization with a sliding scale. It’s a pretty cool place, if you’re interested in trying acupuncture.
Even though I’ve been back for a little while, and I’ve already gone to work and class, I am finally feeling ready to be living this hectic life! Plus, I know of some great ways to relax and de-stress.
Getting back into the swing of things with my favorite textbook
- Hannah
What do you do to ease yourself back into your regular rythm?
It is day Day 10 of my cleanse and I’m feeling great! It’s amazing how much you can get done in a day when you’re able to focus, aren’t feeling sluggish and don’t fill up your boredom with junk food snacks. I’m looking forward to adding back nuts and legumes tomorrow. It’s all downhill from here. I have to say that I’ve actually enjoyed the cleanse this year more than any other year. I find the preparing of my meals to actually be a de-stressing activity I look forward to at the end of my day. I savor the food I eat and my body gets to digest it properly. The dog likes it too as she’s gotten more cucumber and carrot treats in the last 2 weeks than ever! As I transition out of this detox time, I’m thinking of how I will eat post detox. I don’t want to go on a binge of junk and feel sluggish and bloated after all of this good work I’ve done. I want to keep some of the habits I’ve had while cleansing. I hope to incorporate more whole food snacks into my diet after this cleanse is over and I think that is something I can do realistically. Fresh starts feel great!
Thinking about trying acupuncture for those menopausal symptoms? Make sure they are the real deal!
Researchers say that non-invasive acupuncture, often preferred by the needle-phobic, will not have much effect on hot flashes and symptoms. In fact, in a small scientific study published in the online edition of Menopause, women with daytime and nighttime hot flashes and symptoms received laser acupuncture treatments or fake laser treatments once every two weeks over a three-month period. (Laser acupuncture (laser acupoint stimulation) is a technique that uses laser light that is applied to — but not inserted into — the skin to stimulate common acupuncture points.) Specific acupuncture points were selected from a series of 10 points and then individualized for each participant and her respective needs.
At the study’s end, no differences were seen between the groups in terms of menopausal symptoms.
Does this mean that acupuncture doesn’t work for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms? No, not at all. In fact, acupuncture has shown to be effective for alleviating hot flashes and the like. But you need real needles. If you are needle-phobic, speak a licensed acupuncturist or check out some of these wonderful links provided by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. I’ve a huge fan of acupuncture and don’t care for needles. Yet, my experience with acupuncture is that in most cases, it is virtually painless and may simply be associated with mild tingling or brief ache that quickly dissipates.
How about you? How has acupuncture worked for your symptoms?
As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a huge advocate of acupuncture. Yet, of late, there have been a lot of studies that suggest that acupuncture is ineffective for treating hot flashes. That is, until the ACUFLASH trial came along.
ACUFLASH compared acupuncture in addition to self care to self-care alone over a 12 week period. The findings? Acupuncture plus self-care reduced the mean frequency of hot flashes by 48% in women compared with 28% of women using self-care methods only. This means that 50% of women receiving acupuncture experienced a 50% or greater reduction in how often their hot flashes occurred, compared to 16% of women using self-care. Significant reductions were also seen in hot flash intensity. Acupuncture also greatly improved overall reported quality of life. The difference in this trial compared to others exploring the effectiveness of acupuncture was that practitioners were able to both follow a standard protocol and add individual aspects to it – a key to finding quality in Traditional Chinese medicine practices.
In this latest study, investigators from ACUFLASH revisited study participants at 6 and 12 months, asking them about use of healthcare providers, medication and dietary supplements, and whether or not their daily habits had changed (e.g., rest, sleep, physical activity, coffee and alcohol, tobacco use). They also were asked if they had experienced any changes in menopausal symptoms, namely the intensity and frequency of hot flashes, quality of life and well-being). Additionally, women who had initially been treated with acupuncture and self-care were asked if they would recommend acupuncture to others and/or use it again.
Interestingly, at 6 and 12 months, significant differences between the study groups were no longer present; in fact, many women who had initially experienced substantial declines in hot flash frequency plateaued out. However, women who indicated that they continued to use acupuncture after the original study ended, experienced an even larger reduction in the frequency and intensity of their hot flashes through the 12 year period.
The investigators state that expectations of positive results and increased well-being definitely play an important role in reductions of vasomotor symptoms. However, they also suggest that adding self-care to acupuncture can contribute to a faster reduction in vasomotor symptoms and improvements in quality of life (which, they say, may be related to some cognitive-related triggering of mechanisms that contribute to menopausal symptoms).
One of the most important findings of this study is that in order to be effective, acupuncture treatments should be regular; they will not impart any long-term effects.
Personally, I’m all for needling my way into the New Year. You?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine we use foods for their healing properties. Often when a client comes into my office I will tailor their treatment plan with diet suggestions. In the case of weight loss this component is especially important.
