Can you feel it beginning?  The decline into winter is on its way, and if you're like me, you're starting to feel the need to start snuggling in for winter.  The weather has turned a little cooler and the rains have returned and I am ready for a hot cup of cocoa next to the fire!

According to Chinese medicine, winter is the time to rest and recuperate in order to be ready to reactivate in the spring.  Fall helps us to be ready for that long rest.

What are some things you can do to help you become ready for the winter both physically and emotionally?

• As the weather gets cooler, switch to easy-to-digest foods such as soups and stews.  Because they've been cooked, the nutrients are ready to be absorbed by your body.  This can give your body the building blocks to rebuild so that you'll be ready for spring when it comes!
• Everyone talks about spring cleaning and how it can be useful for shaking off the dust after a long winter of "hibernation," but I'd argue that "fall cleaning" is just as useful, energetically. Autumn is the season associated with the metal element.  The metal element likes for everything to have its place. 
• It is said in Chinese medicine that if you can avoid catching a cold in the late summer/early fall that you'll be healthier through the winter.  Take extra special care of yourself during this time.  Drink plenty of fluids, get lots of rest and try to keep stress to a minimum. If you do start feeling the first inklings of a cold, get to your acupuncturist ASAP to make sure it doesn't stick around.

Autumn is a season of change from the liveliness of summer to the rest of winter.  If we can recognize the importance of each of the seasons and live our lives to match, we'll be much happier and healthier!

If your immune system doesn't seem to be working right - you get sick often, you have allergies, you've been diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder, you've got a skin condition - LISTEN UP.

I'd like for you to stop and think for a second.  Have you ever considered that the insides of your intestines are actually on the outside of your body?  We are actually one long tube from mouth to rectum and our intestines protect us from the outside world, just like our skin does.  Go ahead, sit with that for a moment ;)

I find this notion absolutely fascinating because in Chinese medicine, the Lung (which is in charge of your immune system and relates to the skin) and Large Intestine are connected.  Think of them like a married couple, they exchange ideas, support each other, etc.  If one becomes unbalanced, the other can easily become unbalanced as well.  In biomedicine, the skin and intestines serve a similar purpose in keeping the bad out and letting the good in and Chinese medicine matched them up!

So what does your intestinal health have to do with your immune system?  As I mentioned above, your intestines are a barrier between you and the outside world.  If the intestines are damaged or inflamed, they can let things in that should remain out.  When these substances are allowed in, it's now your immune system's job to destroy them before they can cause a ruckus.  

If your intestines are consistently allowing in these substances, your immune system gets stuck on high alert at your gut and can't be particularly effective elsewhere. This can be a difficult pace to keep and eventually your body gets tired - leading to a malfunctioning immune system.  Here are some symptoms that can be related to poor intestinal health :

• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Allergies
• Food Sensitivities
• Catching colds often
• Digestive issues like gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea
• Acne
• Migraines

So what are some things you can do to improve your gut health to in turn improve your over all health? 

• Take Colostrum - Colostrum is the amazing part of milk that gives babies their first real boost of immune system.  It helps protect them until their own immune system becomes mature and can take over this important task.  You can get it in pill form, so it's super convenient.  What Colostrum does for an adult with a disfunctional immune system is it help to heal the intestines so they become a better barrier against the outside world.
• Drink water - Making sure you're getting enough water will help your body flush the biproducts of digestion and keep your intestines moving smoothly.  If a bowel movement sits in your intestines too long, you'll have more time to absorb things that put your body on high alert.
• Eat fiber - related to drinking enough water is making sure you're getting enough fiber so that your bowel movments can move.
• Take a probiotic - Probiotics are the good bacteria that help us digest our foods properly.  Your gut bacteria balance can be disturbed by any number of things including use of antibiotics, use of hormonal birth control medications and poor diet to name just a few.

Take the above steps to improve your intestinal health, and I'm positive you'll start noticing some improvements quickly!

A healthy immune system should be like a bubble that lives right underneath your skin.  It protects what's inside the bubble from what's outside the bubble.  In fact, your skin itself is one of our first defenses against disease and is an important part of our immune system!

Sometimes our bubble doesn't quite work right, which leads to 2 basic types of problems.

The first issue is an immune system that lets things into the bubble that it shouldn't.  The most common symptoms of a weak immune system is catching colds really easily and frequently.

The second issue is an overactive immune system that actually attacks things inside the bubble.  With an overactive immune system you get diseases like allergies, eczema, psoriasis, celiac disease, lupus and more.

Chinese medicine is very effective at reminding your body's immune system how it should be acting.  It calms an overactive immune system and boosts an underfunctioning one.  This not only leads to symptom relief, but prevents the symptoms from recurring.  Isn't that the dream of anyone who suffers from immune system disorders?

You're down for the count with whatever it is that's going around.  You're miserable and wondering how it is you're supposed to get restful sleep when you're so stuffed up and feverish.

If this sounds familiar, try this old therapy that really works!

Make sure you have a pair of cotton socks and a pair of wool socks (they need to be at least 90% cotton/90% wool).

Dip the foot part of the cotton socks in cold water and wring them out thoroughly.

Next, get your feet warmed up.  (If they're already nice and toasty, you can skip this part)  Soak your feet in a tub of hot water until they are nice and warm and the skin is pink.

Remove your feet from the hot water, dry them off quickly and put on the cold, wet cotton socks. 

Immediately put dry wool socks on over the wet cotton ones.

Go straight to bed, keeping your feet covered, for the night.

After about 30 minutes, if all of the steps were followed (it won't work if you don't go to bed! Sorry, lounging on the couch where you get up and down to do stuff around the house doesn't count!), you'll notice that your congestion will be relieved (often better than with medications!)!  Sick children who do this will have a MUCH easier time falling to sleep.  Some people will notice that this calms sore throats, eases earaches and relieves sinus infections as well!

Your feet should be warm and dry within about 4 hours.  If the congestion returns at that point, feel free to repeat the process to get that relief back!

Caution: This is only meant to ease symptoms associated with colds and flus.  If it's possible your illness is something else, call your doctor!

We all dread the upcoming season. Not fall.  Nope, not autumn.  Not even winter.  I'm talking about cold and flu season, here.

In Chinese medicine, the theory is that colds and flus are caused by pathogens that get into our bodies through our skin.  So you know when your mom told you not to go outside without a jacket?  Yeah... she was right!

So what are these "pathogens?"  The main invading force is the wind.  Ancient Chinese blamed the comings and goings of colds and flus on the wind.  Much like the wind is there gusting at us one second and the next it's gone, so are colds and flus. (Okay, so maybe not as quickly as seconds, but you get my point!)

Wind will then usually combine with another pathogen inside our bodies.  Here we have several options, and these tend to differ from person to person depending on how their individual bodies react to the pathogen.  These pathogens are:

• Heat
• Cold
• Phlegm
• Phlegm-Heat

If someone is experiencing a wind-heat invasion, they will have sore throat, yellowish nasal discharge, body aches and sweating.

A wind-cold invasion will tend to present with a thin, watery nasal discharge and body aches.

Wind-phlegm will be a lot like a wind-cold invasion except that the mucous will be much more profuse and thicker.

Wind-Phlegm-Heat will often present like a sinus infection with thick, profuse and yellow or even green nasal discharge.

So how does one treat a wind invasion?  This depends some on the type of invasion that you're experiencing, as is always the case in Chinese medicine, but the main thing is to get the wind out of your body.  When using acupuncture or Chinese herbs, this is often done through promoting sweating.  Remember how the ancient Chinese thought that pathogens get into our bodies through our skin?  It was believed that these pathogens made their way in through our pores, and then got trapped and made us sick when our pores that had been open to allow the pathogen in then closed.  The logical trick is then to promote sweating so that our pores will open and force the pathogen back out.  Ever wonder why a hot bath or a sit in a hot tub often makes you feel better when you're sick? Yup! You're sweating out the bad stuff!

So the next time you think you might be getting sick, see your acupuncturist and herbalist to get the right herbal prescription for getting the sick out!  Also drink plenty of nice warm fluids and consider taking a bath or two.  Your body will appreciate the help in fighting the wind!

Yeah.. I said it... the F-word! The Flu! I know everyone is going through a bit of a panic with the recent swine flu news, so today I'm going to give you some natural tips to keep you and your family healthy!

1. Don't PANIC! When you stress out about getting sick, it prevents your Qi from moving smoothly. This in turn prevents your Wei Qi (pronounced "Way Chee" - your immune system) from being able to properly attack any invaders. So, in effect, when you stress out about maybe getting sick, you greatly increase your chances of doing just that! Don't do that to yourself!
2. Wash your hands frequently. It's the same old advice every time. If you wash your hands frequently, you're preventing much of the transmission of airborne disease. You don't need to use antibacterial soaps, either. The lather will lift the germs off of your skin and rinse them away down the drain. No need for the over-kill of antibacterial soaps. If you're unable to wash your hands frequently, consider using an antibacterial hand cleanser. But again, there's no need for this over-kill tactic if you have access to a sink with water.
3. Keep yourself rested. If you're rested, your body will be more ready to defend itself against flu-invaders! If you're exhausted, you can't put up the fight against germs!
4. Stay hydrated. If you're dehydrated, your Qi can't move smoothly, preventing your Wei Qi from getting where it needs to go to fight off the flu. It's like a river with no water - a boat can't move without it!
   
5. Consider getting Acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Your acupuncturist can help balance your body ahead of time to make sure you're functioning at full strength. If you do manage to catch the flu, make an appointment right away! Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can often stop the flu in its tracks! If the flu isn't completely avoided, your acupuncturist can help ease your symptoms and shorten the life-span of the flu as well as decreasing the severity of your symptoms. All of this can be done without the side effects of standard cold and flu medications such as drowsiness, foggy-thinking and over-drying or the mucous-membranes. You'll be back to your old self in no time!

The main idea here is to stay calm and be prepared. If you're as healthy as can be before an exposure to the flu, you're much less likely to succumb to its evil grips! And if you do catch the flu, make sure to follow the above advice to put your immune system in the best position to defeat this unwelcome invader!

Plum Blossom is another lesser-known technique that can be used by an acupuncturist to treat such complaints as colds, influenza and skin rashes. In Chinese medical theory, each of these is caused by a pathogen that is trapped in the body, usually just beneath the skin. To get the pathogens out of the body so that a patient no longer has symptoms, a Plum Blossom (see picture at left) may be used to gently tap the skin, opening the pores, giving the pathogen an escape route.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "It looks like a medieval torture device! You're not using that thing on me!" but I assure you, there is very little force applied to the tapping, and most people describe it as just that - a tapping sensation. Though there are needles on the head of the Plum Blossom, very rarely is any bleeding experienced.

I have found that the Plum Blossom is very good at cutting short the length of a cold or the flu. I like to use it on the upper back where the pathogens that cause cold and flu like to lurk.

When Plum Blossom is used on skin rashes, while it won't necessarily cure the cause of the rash, but it can be very useful in relieving any itching, redness or swelling in the area. To treat a skin rash, you must, address the underling cause, but it's important for a patient to get some immediate relief as well!

Is everyone around you sniffling and sneezing? Has the plague finally gotten to you too? If you're starting to feel like you're catching that cold or flu that's been going around, it's not too late to keep it from wreaking havoc on your immune system!

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs to the rescue!

While the best medicine is prevention, we all succumb to that miserable virus every once in a while. When it does finally catch up to you, consider seeing your acupuncturist! Using acupuncture and Chinese herbs, it's possible to:

* Get rid of the cold all together
* Prevent the cold from getting any worse
* Shorten the duration of your suffering
* Decrease the severity of your symptoms

There are many herbal formulas out there (you'll have to ask your acupuncturist/herbalist which one is right for the type of cold or flu that you have) that work BETTER than over the counter cold medicines. We have all suffered through the "brain fog" that decongestants leave in their wake, and we all deal it because it's worth getting some relief, but herbal formulas clear the pressure (without over-drying!) and leave you thinking more clearly!

So, the next time everyone around you is crumbling, visit your acupuncturist!