About half of our training as acupuncturists is actually in western medicine. I like to keep up with the latest in western medicine and I pass on what I have learned to my patients. I just want them to get well and be healthier and no single type of medicine has all the answers.  One thing that I think is important especially this time of year is to take vitamin D. Many of us are low on this vitamin which is essential for a healthy immune system. In the winter our D levels drop even more. Some experts think that this is why we get sick more in the winter. Regardless if this is true or not, many ailments have been linked to vitamin D deficiency. I will never forget a patient I had who was in her early thirties and had been diagnosed with MS. I was wondering how she got this diagnosis at her age. The first question I asked her was if she takes vitamin D. She said that her level had been found to be so low that they were injecting mega-doses of the vitamin weekly. I was not surprised. Some chronic ailments like MS actually occur more in northern latitudes. Fascinating, and such an easy thing to prevent. 
On a personal note, I had a cold this winter, then a week later I got another cold. It's very unusually for me to get sick but realized that switching to cod liver oil several months before (which has varying amounts of vitamin D) probably left me deficient enough to weaken my immune system. I started taking liquid D at 2000 IU a day and so far no more colds. Coincidence? Maybe. But more and more studies are showing this connection between vitamin D and the immune system. 
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I see a lot of patients that have heart burn or acid reflux. I'm not exactly sure why this is such a problem in our current society but of course, I have a few ideas and hopeful solutions. First of all like so many other issue we need to look at our diets. Some foods are known to exacerbate this condition like spicy foods, garlic and alcohol. One of the tenants of Chinese medicine is that we should not eat large meals and that we should not eat late at night, two suggestions that I give my patients with these issues. As our portion sizes have crept up over the last 20 years so have the prescriptions for protein pump inhibitors such as Prilosec and Nexium. This class of drugs might help the condition but their side effects can be deadly, including kidney failure and higher risk of dementia. And another issue with this class of drugs is that it is very hard to stop taking them once you have been on them for a while. Another possible issue leading to this condition that is often overlooked is stress.  So all of these issues can be treated using acupuncture. And there are several Chinese herbal formulas that we carry that can be a more gentle but effective alternatives. 

We have more than one acupuncturist at the Acupuncture Center. We do not all charge the same prices and we do not offer the same specials. Because of this we do not publish our prices on our website. Please call us for prices and also to  answer any questions you might have. Often prospective patients will want to have a consultation before starting treatment and we offer this for free. You can sit down with us for 20 minutes or so and tell us in detail what is going on and ask us for our opinion as to whether acupuncture would be a good fit or not. A consultation also gives you the chance to meet us and make sure we are on the same page regarding your goals with acupuncture and Chinese medicine. At the Acupuncture Center we always want our patients to feel at home and taken care of. Our patients, literally, come first.

Hardly a day goes by without someone asking me if I think they can get off some or all of their meds. By meds I mean of course pharmaceutics. Most people do not want to be on meds, maybe because of cost, but usually because of the short and long-term side effects and the unnatural way they make them feel. This says something important about our current health care system, which is mostly drug (and surgery) centered. ​As far as getting off of your meds that is always between you and your doctor. We are not legally allowed to tell anyone to stop taking their medicines, nor would we want to. However, I do believe that health can be created, and our main goal is to make you healthier, to help you not need any artificial means to keep you healthy. Of course this starts with basic things like diet and exercise and reducing stress. All of these things we can help you with. Also, the main supplier of our Chinese herbs, Dr. John Chen, is a Chinese herbalist who also has a PhD in pharmacology. Dr Chen owns Evergreen Herbs, and his specialty is developing herbal substitutes for pharmaceuticals. So, it is possible to get off all or some of your meds when the right steps are taken first.

It seems that the holiday season starts earlier every year.  And the level of stress this time of year at least for many people is some of the highest of the year. Acupuncture can help cut your anxiety and stress level. If you have ever had an acupuncture treatment you know of the deep relaxation that results. If you haven't had a treatment before it just takes one to start the effects. There is a reason for this effect of course and, from a Chinese medicine perspective, has to do with acupuncture causing the energy in our body, the Qi, to move more smoothly. This smooth flow of Qi reduces stressful and anxious feelings in our body and as an added benefit it boosts our immune system (similarly stress and anxiety can lead to illness).  Many of my patients tell me that they become healthier overall after doing acupuncture for a while. I find this to be true of myself as well. 

Like most things with as much content and power as YouTube, there is plenty of good and bad to find there. But there are some channels for learning about health that I watch and often recommend to my patients. Most of them are not too controversial but most are on the cutting edge of alternative medicine, diet and workout physiology . Of course exercise is good for you and YouTube can be an easy and effective way to get your workout in. I do a lot of yoga on YouTube and one of my favorite channels for easy but effective yoga is the very popular Yoga with Adrian. Adrian doesn't take yoga or herself too seriously. She moves a bit slow for some but I tend to add some moves while she is talking (she doesn't know this). Doing yoga at home you don't have to worry about what the teacher or other students think of you, or if you are dressed fashionably, But there are literally thousands of yoga videos to choose from. To learn Tai Chi try the Taiflow channel. For Qi Gong I recommend my teacher Master Li Feng (Qi Gong is similar to Tai Qi).  Just try a few videos and maybe subscribe to a channel that is right for you. The variety is endless. I also watch a great deal of videos from Thomas DeLauer. This quite in shape guy is also really up on cutting edge things like diet, intermittent fasting and getting the most out of your workouts. His posts are backed up by the latest scientific research. Some other good health related channels are Dr Eric Berg and Dr Boz (not Oz, Boz). And of course you can choose from hundreds, maybe thousands, of TED talks on any subject imaginable by experts in their field. Of course YouTube can take you to some darker places if you let it, so just watch the videos you pick and don't let YouTube steer you down the wrong path. 

As I mentioned last post I like books, and I like recommending the ones that I really find helpful. So here are 5 more:

​1. Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. This is a fairly technical book but really explains well why too many carbs in our diet is really the major reason for obesity, diabetes and a host of other health issues.
2. Simplified Tai Chi Chuan by Shou Yu Liang. Tai Chi is one of the best best ways to exercise as we age. Randomized scientific studies have shown that older people who do tai chi have a much lower rate of falling. Tai Chi is also good for the bones, arthritis and overall health. It is not so easy in this area to find tai chi classes, so why not teach yourself and then maybe you can teach others. This book will get you started.
3. Face Reading in Chinese Medicine by Lillian Bridges. A fascinating introduction to an ancient Chinese diagnostic tool. My wife is a noted face reader and it is amazing what she can tell you about yourself by looking at structures and wrinkles of the face. You will also learn about the 5 Element Theory which in integral part of Chinese philosophy. 
4. 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back by Ester Gokhale. This book is mainly about good posture, and shows how indigenous people seem to have much better posture and a lot fewer musculoskeletal problems. 
5. Keto Adapted by Maria Emmerich. This is an excellent book on the the ketogenic diet that tells you what you need to know to really make it work. The keto diet has been shown to help with many severe health problems ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer's to cancer. It is also a great way to lose weight and keep it off. 

The fact that I have over 300 books on my Kindle tells you what I think about the written word. And there are some great health-related books out there that I have found that give incredible advice to the layman. What is more important than your health? And what better way to really dive deep into a subject than reading a whole book. Here are 5 books on health that I highly recommend:

1. Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Kate Rheaume-Bleue. Talks about the little known issue that if we are vitamin K2 deficient (most of us are) the Calcium that we intake can go into our arteries instead of our bones and cause heart disease and maybe even Alzheimer's.
2. Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss. Tells how big food use scientists to manipulate the ratio of salt sugar and fat in processed food in order to achieve maximum consumption of their product and encourage addiction.
3. 3 Minutes for a Pain-Free Life by Joseph Weisberg. This book shows you how to keep your joints healthy by doing a daily 3 minute exercise routine. 
4. Big Pharma - How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre . An eye-opening book that tells the frightening tale of big pharma's manipulation of data and cooking of drug trials to make their new drugs seem more effective and safe than they really are. 
​5. Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living by Kathleen Potter. Most of us can stand to improve our posture and this book will tell you how. 

Psoriasis is considered an autoimmune disease and can be tough to get rid of. And some of the drugs that are prescribed by doctors for this condition are quite scary. They are scary because in order to treat autoimmune diseases the drugs given actually want to weaken and suppress the immune system. Of course we need a healthy immune system to stay alive, so to me this doesn't seem like a good solution even if it clears up the psoriasis. In Chinese medicine all skin conditions are treated from the inside out. We see any skin eruption as the body's attempt to eject something from the body that is dangerous to its health. In many cases and in the case of psoriasis this is inflammation. Another example would be measles sores which are used to vent out the infection in the body, to expel it. The body is very wise to do this, but of course psoriasis is not something that is pleasant. So to cure this you really must attack the inflammation. If you can reduce the inflammation than there is no need for the psoriasis eruptions. In our clinic this is done with acupuncture and some herbal formulas. Our success rate for this condition is good. 

1. xiao yao san. Probably our most prescribed formula and good for a number of things such as stress, PMS, irritability, anxiety, insomnia and fibromyalgia. Also good in general for the the liver and the blood. This formula is a tonic, meaning that it makes you stronger and healthier overall over time and can be taken for years if needed. 
2. shen tong zhu yu tong. This is our go-to formula for pain and trauma, and especially pain in the extremities.  Consists of a dozen or so herbs, mostly blood movers meaning they improve circulation. 3. balance heat. This is a formula mainly used for treating menopause, which can lead to a whole host of symptoms this formula can treat. This is not a classic formula (but is based on one called liu wei di huang wan) but is one that is formulated by our top herbal supplier, Evergreen Herbs.
4. xiao feng san. This is a great overall formula that works for a variety of things but especially conditions such as itching, rashes, Bell's Palsy, Parkinson's, psoriasis, hives and acne. 
​5.  yin qiao san. This is our common cold formula which, if taken soon after symptoms start can actually stop a cold in its tracks. If it doesn't stop the cold completely it will usually reduce the severity and length of the cold. And it causes none of the damage that antibiotics do to the microbiome. It reduces symptoms while allowing the body to 'practice' fighting a cold. Even the immune system needs to practice and taking antibiotics every time we get sick doesn't allow for this. 

These are just 5 of my favorite formulas, more to follow. Chinese herbals have been in continuous use for literally thousands of years. They can be used to treat most illnesses and diseases either as an adjunct to western drugs and treatment or standing alone. Over the past 15 years we have found through trial and error what formulas and brands of formulas work the best and that is what we prescribe.