Dieting gurus pump out new tricks just as quickly as people fall off the wagon. But many Vancouverites are discovering a ‘new’ approach to healthy weight loss, one that is not new at all.

Acupuncture is a natural therapy discovered in China over 6000 years ago. It can aid in weight loss by suppressing the appetite, calming certain cravings, and reducing stress-related weight gain.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) take a holistic, whole body approach to health. This ancient form of healthcare works to restore the balance and flow of the body’s Qi (vital energy)

To understand TCM, you must realize it is as effective now as it was thousands of years ago. Why? Because of it’s simplicity, much like our own bodies – we are as simple now as we were thousands of years ago. Our lifestyles have changed, (thank heaven), but our physical bodies have not evolved very much.

HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE WORK?

The body is made up of a network of meridians that carry the Qi in a pattern. The Qi rises to the surface of the skin at particular points, where we gain access to it. This enables us to affect its flow, recreate the balance needed to maintain good health thereby removing the root cause of many of our problems.

HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE HELP US LOSE WEIGHT?

Restoring the balance of the flow of Qi in the stomach will help promote good digestion and suppress an overactive appetite. Emotional issues, such as anxiety and stress, both of which can lead to overeating, can be overcome.

With diet changes, many people experience cravings, which can lead to binge eating. Cravings in the body are often due to an imbalance of various body functions. Acupuncture helps to re-establish the body’s natural balance, as well as enhance these needed functions. Simply put, acupuncture can support the body to generate an efficient digestive process.

Acupuncture can reduce the cravings, calm the emotions,
and provide the balance and energy needed to succeed.

People seeking to find the root cause of their weight gain, may find simple solutions in the simplistic medicine of TCM. You can help your body regain its natural balance, and start taking steps toward true health and vitality.

True health is more than just not feeling sick. It means that you are functioning at your optimum level, that your body is in balance, your mind is alert, and your spirit is calm. What a refreshing way to start each and every day! The sooner you start, the longer you have to enjoy it and it’s NEVER too late to get started!

Wendy
604-839-9789

Some people love winter.  They stay active and keep a busy social calendar.  Others hate the cold, damp air, rain and soggy snow. The seemingly endless days of gloom have them cocooning in front of a fire or the TV.  They hibernate, are inactive and avoid human contact.

At the extreme are those who plunge into a world of depression.

This is avoidable …

TCM and Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM offers a way to reduce depression without the use of over the counter and prescription drugs.

Depression is linked to the blockage of chi energy in the body. It will cause an imbalance in your physical, mental, and emotional health. If not treated, this imbalance will cause various illnesses, including depression.  In TCM, depression is known to be a symptom of stagnation of the life force of chi. This stagnation can eventually cause the dysfunction of the major organs such as the liver, the kidneys, the spleen, and the heart. If left untreated, this will result to a vicious cycle. The stagnation will cause the depression and the depression will cause more stagnation.

When a person is depressed, there is a need to regulate the imbalanced chi. The life force or chi energy should be brought to its original state in which it flows freely.

Treatment can take place with the traditional acupuncture needles or a laser treatment device. In essence, the needles (or laser beam) are inserted and manipulated in  key points of the body to unblock the Chi energy.

As the blockages are cleared away, and the flow of chi is restored both the physical body as well as the mental and emotional energies return to normal.

If you are affected by seasonal depression, please give me a call to discuss treatment options.  604-839-9789

Seasons change and your body and mental outlook change with them in predictable ways. There is a slight nip in the air and days are getting shorter. This ushers in the harvest and the start of the dying cycle of nature.

The season of Autumn is associated with the element Metal and is a time for letting go of the old. The time for gathering fruit and vegies before the winter. Nature prepares to retreat and slow down.

TCM combines knowledge of seasonal characteristics with your health situation to balance Qi (energy) and help you adapt and thrive during the cooler and more crisp months of autumn.

This is the time associated for Lungs and Colon. The lung is the tender organ as it is the uppermost organ and susceptible to wind and cold. Your lungs have a primary influence on your  immune system.During this time you may start catching colds, sore throats, and congested sinuses. Your immune may feel weaker.

Acupuncture is a great way to bring your system back to balance if you are struggling.

HEALTH PROBLEMS :

Lungs are most sensitive during autumn. Focus on preventing colds, coughs, sore throat etc.. People with bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, need to take precautions to minimize the impact of autumn. It is important to eat foods that build overall health to the lungs to strengthen the immune and prepare for winter.

HOW TO HELP YOURSELF:

1. Avoid drafts – keep neck, ears, wrists, and ankles from being exposed to drafts. This is likely where pathogens will invade.
2. Be Aware of dryness – there is a slow increase of wind, and cold which create dry air. This affects skin and Lungs as you turn on the heat in your house, car and office. This has a drying affect on the environment.
3. Lungs are sensitive. You need to minimize spicy food intake which irritate lungs. Therefore helping the lungs remain less vulnerable to pathogens.

Autumn weather often affects the lungs causing coughs and a dry sore throat.

AUTUMN FOODS:

Autumn foods are white in color and pungent in flavour. Choosing white foods will help relieve cough, nourish skin, relieve constipation through moistening and promoting body fluid production. Move away from eating the summer fruits and vegetables into eating more fall produce.

Some white foods are:
Turnip, almonds, potatoes, cauliflower, yams, soybean milk, garlic, onion, etc.  Check out the Autumn Food Guide  for more information.

Booking a seasonal Acupuncture treatment is a preventative approach to reducing the incidence of colds and flues. Protect yourself and your family by giving me a call today.  604-839-9789

I have been treating allergy symptoms for years in my Acupuncture practice.  The frustrating thing is that in order to keep the symptoms at bay, my patients either had to undergo yearly immune system treatments to deal with seasonal allergies, or they had to have regular treatments to keep the symptoms under control.

The FABULOUS news I have to share with you is that I have just undertaken extensive training in BIE … Bioenergetic Allergy Treatment.  I’m excited because this is a powerful addition to my Acupuncture training and the results that BIE treatments have with chronic and seasonal allergies is simply astounding.

The BIE process can alleviate allergy symptoms and your suffering.

In a Nutshell:

A lightweight device is used to transmit a low electronic frequency directly onto various points on the body (without the use of needles).  This stimulates and clears any blockages in energy. If you’ve had any type of acupuncture treatment, the principles are the same.

Many patients find immediate results. Others require several visits to detect and remove all suspect causes, particularly if an individual has many intolerances.  In extreme cases, those with severe intolerances have reported a 4 to 6 week period lapsed after their session before feeling complete relief of their symptoms.

The healing effects are long term. In most cases your intolerance to a substance is reduced or alleviated after one or two treatments. If you have intolerances to many substances you may want to come back until they are all alleviated.

Find out more information about BIE   and more about allergies and the associated symptoms.

Give me a call to book an appointment today!

604-839-9789

Symptoms of fibromyalgia commonly start after undergoing a surgery, infection, significant psychological stress or physical trauma. There also other cases wherein the symptoms can build up over time even though there’s no definite stimulating factor. Fibromyalgia is a condition that commonly affects women more than men.

Tension headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), anxiety and depression are also some of the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Today, there is still no cure for fibromyalgia. Many doctors treat the pain with medication, but even that can have little affect. Alternative therapies include exercise, relaxation, massage, and acupuncture.

Acupuncture and Fibromyalgia

There had been several studies done to determine the relationship between acupuncture and fibromyalgia. A recent Mayo Clinic test shows that acupuncture can be effective in reducing the symptoms caused by fibromyalgia such as stiffed joints, chronic pain and sleep disturbance. Acupuncture not only brings significant pain relief but it can also lower symptoms such as fatigue and anxiety.

Treatment is equally effective using needles or an acupuncture laser. Endorphins are released into the bloodstream by just gently twisting or manipulating the needles. These endorphins that were released are considered as the natural pain killer of the body. Aside from this, energy blocks can also cause pain. The flow of energy can be restored along the energy channels by removing these blocks.

The brain chemistry according to research can be altered by acupuncture thus relieving pain. The release of neurotransmitters is changed by this procedure. The nerve impulses in the brain can be stimulated or inhibited by these neurotransmitters. Sensations like pain and information about the external stimuli are relayed through nerve impulses. The patient’s pain threshold is increased in this way. Most patients who undergo a series of treatments report that the pain they felt were relieved for several weeks after the procedures.

Acupuncture is a holistic therapy that can make a big impact on your total well-being. In this way, it will let you lower your need for medications and help you go back to your normal daily activities.

There are innumerable disorders which have the common symptom of pain. You may suffer from musculoskeletal ailments, headaches, pain from diseases and pain of any kind in any part of the body.

While pain killers help in the short term, they are not an alternative for long term chronic pain conditions. Pain killers often have their own side effects which many people want to avoid.

Auricular acupuncture or ear acupuncture is an alternative remedy, which is used for alleviating pain of various kinds and even chronic conditions. The outer ear has points which reflect various parts of the body. When the correct points are stimulated by acupuncture, the pain in that area will recede. This helps in normalizing dysfunctions in the body.

How does auricular acupuncture work?

A somatotopic map, which represents an inverted fetus, shows the points corresponding to parts of the whole human body in the outer ear. This map was created by Dr. Paul Nogier in the 1950s in Lyon, France, detailing 100 acupuncture points in the outer ear. He later came to be regarded even by the Chinese as the father of modern ear acupuncture. However, the Chinese have been using auricular acupuncture for thousands of years before this. Currently the map Dr. Nogier created and the original Chinese map are used together.

When the right reflex points are stimulated with needles, you will feel the pricking sensation. You will then experience pain relief in the original pain areas as well as any referred pain you may have. As you continue acupuncture sessions the periods of remission from pain will increase till you eventually get complete relief from pain.

The kinds of stimulation used:

Usually the acupuncturist will insert four to six needles which are left in place for about 20 minutes. An alternative to needles is Laser Acupuncture.  The same therapy points are used … and you may notice a slight heating sensation.

It is not necessary that an acupuncturist needs to use needles. At times low powered lasers, or even seeds and pellets taped on the pressure point can afford the same benefits as needles.

Acupuncture is not a panacea for all ills. If you suffer from any painful condition, it is important to get a proper diagnosis and go through all the tests and investigations required. Some serious conditions are best left to conventional treatments. However, when you have a painful condition you should try acupuncture as a therapeutic treatment and for its complementary medical value.

Scientific research studies have shown the ear acupuncture affords pain relief in as many as 75 percent of the patients studied, so it is not some irrational or unproven treatment program. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine have been practices for thousands of years!

I have had extraordinary results on patients with both temporary pain and debilitating arthritic conditions. Give me a call to discuss your pain issues!  604-839-9789

.

Hypertension is a lifestyle disorder and in recent times has been associated with cardiovascular disease, renal disease, stroke and heart attacks, particularly when it is accompanied by high cholesterol levels and diabetes.

Very high blood pressure is a serious ailment, which needs immediate and conventional treatment.

However, mild to moderate cases of high blood pressure can be helped by alternative remedies. Traditional Chinese medicine uses acupuncture as one of the remedies which can be effective in treating hypertension.

How acupuncture helps hypertension:

Traditional Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and at that time there was no concept of hypertension. However, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners knew of the effects of hypertension and could help with those. Now that hypertension is a known and studied ailment, practitioners of Chinese medicine are also able to help alleviate the symptoms of this disorder. Usually acupuncturists know the points which affect blood pressure and stimulate these points with needles. This brings the blood pressure levels down.

Acupuncture also works by restoring the Qi in the body, balancing the yin and yang elements, releasing endorphins and other feel good neurotransmitters which work by relaxing the body and mind. This, in turn, has a positive and beneficial effect by lowering blood pressure.

Different acupuncture treatments:

According to traditional Chinese medicine, hypertension occurs due to various reasons, which are classified as Liver Yang Rising, Liver Qi Stagnation, and Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency. This does not refer to the physical liver, but the energy functions of the liver. Each kind of hypertension presents different symptoms and so has specific acupuncture points for treatment.

Liver Yang Rising causes red eyes, anger, dizziness and headaches. Liver Qi Stagnation is caused by stress, and its symptoms include digestive problems, agitation, anxiety, PMS and a heavy head. Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency refers to a disruption of the yin and yang balance, often caused by ageing and in the case of women, menopause.

Apart from stimulating the necessary points which are specific to each type of hypertension, auricular acupuncture, when used along with conventional acupuncture will give better results. If you have high blood pressure, then you should take acupuncture treatment several times a week and when the blood pressure comes in the normal range, then reduce the frequency of the treatments.

Does acupuncture work for hypertension?

While earlier studies did not show a definitive result in terms of the benefit of acupuncture for hypertension, recent ongoing studies have shown the acupuncture has positive effects. When needles are put in the acupoints, then different nerve pathways are stimulated.

The very fact that acupuncture works as an anesthetic and allows a patient to have pain free surgery with the help of stimulating needles means that acupuncture is not something which can be brushed aside.

If you have mild high blood pressure and don’t want it to get worse …  call me!

If you have high blood pressure and don’t want to use drugs, … call me!

604-839-9789

I have been having enormous success in treating chronic pain with our laser unit.  In this needle-less treatment protocol I use the laser wand instead of my acupuncture needles.

I target all of the same acupuncture points with the laser wand.  The laser beam creates the same healing effect as do the needles.

Often within weeks the treatments start breaking down and dissolving calcified material in the joints which leads to even more pain relief.

If you suffer from chronic pain such as arthritis, you should consider acupuncture as an addition or alternative to pain killing drugs.  You can decide whether you prefer the traditional acupuncture treatments with the needles or the modern alternative of the laser wand.

Call now for a consultation or an appointment.

604-839-9789

Colds

though you may feel miserable, colds are a relatively harmless condition.  Symptoms include a stuffed up or runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat and maybe a cough. The symptoms are generally focused around your head and chest.

You can often feel a cold coming on by a tickling in your nose or throat a few days before the full onset.  If you think you are coming down with a cold and want to help avoid it … come in for a quick acupuncture treatment.  The treatment will help you bypass the cold entirely, or will alleviate the symptoms and shorten the life of the cold.

The Flu

The flu or influenze is an entirely different thing. It attacks your respiratory track and then entire body as well.  Symptoms include: muscle aches throughout your entire body, feeling totally exhausted, fever, headache and sore eyes.

Flus can lead to pneumonia or other complications leading to death.  This is why the medical community is so very concerned about a pandemic.  You are especially at risk if you have existing conditions such as heart disease, respiratory conditions, heart disease etc.

Though it is a challenge getting accurate statistics, according to the Wikipedia …

The B.C. government has reported 1,059 severe flu cases as of February 2, 2010. 49 of 56 fatalities were people with underlying medical conditions.

Can Acupuncture Help with the Flu?

Acupuncture is an ancient treatment system that has been helping fight the flu for centuries.  Not only can it help prevent the flu, but can also help treat the illness once symptoms have begun to appear. Acupuncture helps prevent the flu by strengthening your  immune system.

Make your appointment now … and avoid the Cold and Flu season entirely!  604-839-9789

What can you do to avoid getting a cold or the Flu?

Wash your hands regularly.

Use any kind of hand soap  (antibacterial soaps are not necessary because colds and the flu are spread by viruses NOT bacteria).

When you are out and about, avoid touching your face, specially your eyes.

It’s amazing but true! If you want to boost your brainpower and also your physical strength, start consuming Chia seeds, one of the most powerful food items you could ever imagine.

The benefits of consuming Chia seeds are manifold:

1. Chia seeds are wholesome.  When you eat them, you supply plenty of calcium and protein to your tissues.  Chia seeds are also rich in boron that helps the body ingest and use calcium.  The nutrients found in the seeds also support brain functions.

2. Chia seeds soak up huge amounts of water. Thus, they help maintain your body fluid for a longer period of time. This way you remain hydrated and retain electrolytes in your body.

3.  Chia seeds are easily digestible.  Even if you swallow them whole, their shells are broken down easily and can be digested properly.

4. Chia seeds have amazing food value. A small amount of concentrated Chia seeds can satiate the hunger pangs for hours.

5. Chia seeds have a mild flavor.  Its mild taste makes it versatile and it can be easily addes to sauces, smoothies, puddings, and anything else that you love to eat.  They won’t affect the taste of your food while adding valuable nutrients.

6. Chia seeds boost your energy level.

7. These tiny seeds are versatile and can be used in a variety of recipes.  You can replace less-healthy fat with Chia seeds in any recipe.  You can eat them raw when used in salads, spreads, fruit shakes and ice-cream. You can mix a couple of teaspoons in your juice or yogurt.

8. Chia seeds can even help you to lose your extra pounds.  Because they are so filling you consume other foods in smaller quantities.

9. They also cleanse your intestines of old junk and make you less flabby.