Are You Ready to Thrive?

Read this article first, then come back here.  It's a long read, so if you're a little short on time, just read Parts 1 & 2; they are the inspiration for this post.

Now that you're back, let's get down to business!

I have a certain type of patient who comes in.  I call them my "zombies." 

They know that I call them this.

We joke about it.

But really, it's not funny.  (I'm just the sort of person to laugh rather than cry when I'm in a serious situation)  These women (it's always been women so far) come to me exhausted, depressed and cold.  They can't get enough layers of clothing to be warm.  Many of them also have digestive complaints.  When I look at them through my Chinese Medical Eye, they're pale and they have no pulse, hence the teasing about being a zombie.

There's always one thing that ties these women together:  they have some sort of a nutritional deficiency.  For some it's a consequence of a disease that makes their bodies unable to absorb the proper nutrients.  For many, it's a consequence of being vegetarian or vegan and not getting enough of the right nutrients.

It's not that I'm on a crusade to enforce a certain way of eating.  I don't care one way or another what a person's eating habits are - until those habits start effecting their health in a negative way.

People never like to hear nutritional advice.  Especially when it goes against their morals or excludes their favorite foods.  But I often find myself having to suggest some pretty extreme changes.  That they add animal products back into their meatless diet.  Or that they stop eating dairy or gluten or sugar.

And even though I'm always nervous for these talks, many times the response I get is, "I knew you were going to recommend something like this.  I think it's time to try it."

Sometimes it takes hitting bottom to realize that we've got to try something new.

And that's okay.  We can't know what will work for us until we try it, right?

We're all different.  We can eat different things and get very different results.  We can exercise different amounts and in different ways and get very different results.  The trick is to find our own set of "different" so that we can be our vibrant, energetic, lovely selves.  And be understanding of each others' "differents," so that we can all be the best that we can be.

I liked this article from Natural News (copied below) and wanted to share it with you all.  Apparently I am in the mood for some autumnal foods.  Bonus recipe at the end!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, autumn is represented by the metal element, which corresponds to the Lungs and Large Intestine. Weakness in this element shows up as ailments in the Lung and Intestines: allergies, asthma and constipation. The remedy can be found in this season's most notable food: the pumpkin or squash.

The pumpkin is round, orange and sweet. It corresponds to the earth element in the five element cycle. Earth is the mother of metal. In Chinese medicine there is a saying: when there is weakness in the child (in this case metal: lungs and large intestine), nourish the mother (in this case earth.)

Weakness in the lungs will show up as: 

• allergies
• asthma
• bronchitis
• pneumonia

Because the lungs open onto the skin, one may also see acne, eczema and psoriasis. The paired organ to the Lungs is the Colon, so weakness here will show up as constipation, diarrhea, or IBS.

In Chinese medicine, the pumpkin is known to relieve damp conditions such as dysentery and eczema. It promotes discharge of mucus from the lungs, bronchi and throat, easing bronchialasthma. (1)

Not only does the flesh of the pumpkin benefit the Lungs and Large Intestine, the seeds are especially good for the intestines, easing constipation and acting as a parasite cleanse. Known as nan gua zi, pumpkin seeds are especially known to alleviate tapeworm and roundworm. For this purpose pumpkin seeds are taken by boiling into a strong tea known as a decoction or grinding into a powder to be taken with water.

Nutritionally, pumpkins are high in beta carotene which is converted by the body to vitamin A. Beta carotene protects the mucous membranes of the body and has been shown to protect both the lungs and large intestine against cancer. (2)

Soup is an excellent way to nourish the body this time of year. The following soup can be made with pumpkin or any kind of yellow winter squash. Make sure to save and wash the seeds, which can then be salted and baked at 350 degrees until dry.

Nourishing Pumpkin Soup 

• 1 pumpkin or squash, halved, seeded, and baked face down on baking sheet at 350 until soft (1/2 hour to an hour depending on thickness of squash.)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups water

1. In soup pot, saute onions, garlic and carrots in olive oil until softened.
2. Add water, flesh of the squash scraped from the skin, maple syrup, salt and pepper and mix well.
3. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Cool and blend until smooth.
5. Reheat and serve.

Footnotes 

1. Pitchford, p.508
2. Ibid, p.313

References
Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods. North Atlantic Books. Berkeley, CA.
Bensky, Dan and Gamble, Andrew. Chinese Herbal Medicine, Materia Medica.Eastland Press, Seattle.
Shanghai College of Traditional Medicine. Acupuncture, A Comprehensive Text. Eastland Press. Seattle.

There are few things better than cooking the first Fall Food meal of the season.  Stews and Stuffed Acorn Squash are wintery staples around my house.  

In the Chinese medical world, it comes as no surprise that many people start craving certain foods during certain seasons.  Those who do crave with the seasons are merely listening to their bodies and going with the flow of human evolution; eat foods when they're naturally available.

Some tips for eating in the Fall and Winter are:

• Eat foods that have been warmed. I know it's tempting to eat that raw salad, but try to avoid it during the cooler months - they're difficult to digest and can cause symptoms such as gas and bloating.
• Eat foods that are "in season."  Apples, Pears, Winter Squashes, etc. are all foods that will help strengthen our bodies for the upcoming winter.
• Stews are your best friend.  The foods in stews have already been cooked, making it super easy to digest, plus there's nothing better to warm you up on those cooler nights than a steamy bowl of soup. Num!

Here is a basic, easy recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash (and don't forget to get creative and add your own ingredients to the filling!)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon (you can save the seeds and toast them, or feed them to your dog if you have one - they'll thank you!)
3. Place the halves of squash cut side up in a baking pan filled with 1/2" of water and bake for about 1 hour, or until the flesh is easily pricked with a fork.
4. While the squash is baking, prepare the filling
5. Boil rice as per instructions.
6. Once rice is cooked, add desired ingredients.  Our last stuffed acorn squash was made with a bunch of stuff we found in our refrigerator that needed to be used before it went bad - andouille sausage, mushrooms, spinach and cheese.
7. I like to scoop some of the flesh of the squash out and mix it with the filling, then put the filling mix back in the squash.
8. Top the whole thing with cheese and place in the oven until the cheese is melty.
9. Enjoy this tasty and healthy meal!

What are your favorite Fall Foods recipes?

This post comes to you on the suggestion from this post earlier this week.

I don't believe I've talked about Moxibustion in this blog, which is a bit of an oversight.  See, I'm allergic to the smoke associated with the burning of moxa (mugwort) and so didn't even think about writing about it!

Thanks, Carolyn, for bringing it up as a topic!

As I mentioned in passing above, Moxibustion is the burning of the herb Moxa.  Moxa is the western herb mugwort.  The fluffy herb can be burned several different ways:

• Loose Moxa can be pressed into a little ball shape and placed on the handle of the needle and burned.
• Loose Moxa can be pressed into a little cone shape and placed on a patch of ointment directly on the skin.  The cone is then allowed to burn until the patient begins to feel heat and then quickly removed.  In China they will allow the moxa cone to burn to the point of blistering, creating a scar.  This is called scarring moxa, and for, hopefully, obvious reasons isn't practiced in the US.
• Moxa can be purchased in a cigar-shaped stick which is then burned and held over the skin.  There are two forms of moxa sticks: green moxa, where the herb is pressed together and rolled into the cigar; and a moxa stick where the moxa has been made into a charcoal cigar.
• Loose Moxa can be burned inside a special box (a moxabox) with holes in the sides to allow smoke to exit, which is then held over the skin.

So what is the purpose of burning moxa?  Moxa is an extremely warming and moving herb so it can be used for many reasons:

• Body Aches - Pain is caused, in Chinese medical theory, by a lack of proper movement of energy.  Moxa, when burned over the area will get that energy moving and decrease the pain.
• Skin Rashes - Some skin rashes are also caused by Qi not moving properly, so moxibustion may be indicated.
• Turning a breech baby - When burned on certain points, moxa can be very successful in turning breech babies.  Many nurses and midwives even know of this technique and will recommend that their patients find an acupuncturist to get that baby in the proper position!
• Cold conditions - Okay, so this reason for using moxa doesn't have a singular biomedical equivalent, so we'll discuss it a little bit.  In Chinese medical theory, the quality of something being cold will cause its energy to move more slowly.  If that cold is inside our bodies, it will cause our Qi to move more slowly, often causing pain.  Cold can be one of the contributing factors to pain.  There are many conditions where cold can be a factor, such as menstrual cramps, digestive troubles, infertility, diarrhea and more.  Moxa, because it is both warming and moving, is perfect for counteracting the effects of cold in the body.

So, while I don't use Moxibustion in my practice because I'm allergic to the smoke, I have sent moxa sticks home with patients who could really use a little warming over their abdomens.  Sometimes there's nothing better than a hot stick of moxa in the morning!