Wintertime aches and pains — explained!

For pain increasing in cold weather,
Chinese medicine offers an explanation and relief

Does the cold air of winter flare up your joint pain? Do you find your neck, back or knees ache more in winter weather?  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms, this very real medical phenomenon is called bi syndrome. Bi syndrome relates to Western diagnoses such as arthritis and fibromyalgia, although the TCM condition is much more specific.

There are, for example, different types of bi syndrome depending on symptom presentation. Although all people with “arthritis” have pain, some may also have swollen joints, while others feel worse with cold and still others have hot, swollen joints. Bi syndrome, then can be rooted in damp, cold or heat. Cold, however, is the most common root cause of both bi syndrome and pain in general.

Why is cold so detrimental to the body? Cold hurts because it contracts an area, limiting blood flow and rendering muscles, tendons and ligaments stiff and inflexible. Cold also damages your body’s Yang energy, which empowers warmth, energy and movement in the body. Without Yang, your blood turns cold and stagnant. What happens when the blood is cold and stagnant? You guessed it – pain!

So how can you relieve cold weather pain? Acupuncture, of course, is an excellent way to dissolve stagnation, strengthen blood and open the channels that supply nourishment to every bodily cell and tissue. Moxibustion, or the external application of an herb called mugwort, also warms the body and promotes circulation. An acupuncturist uses moxibustion or “moxa” by burning prepared mugwort and holding the moxa stick over specific acupuncture points.

Internal Chinese medicine also contains an abundance of herbs to treat pain, specifically cold-related pain. Chinese herbs are among the safest forms of internal medicine. Many highly effective herbs are common household spices, such as ginger and cinnamon.

What can you do at home to build up your defenses to cold-related pain?  A lot! Start by keeping warm. When the thermostat drops, keep your feet warm with socks inside and outside the home. Wearing weather-appropriate clothing (scarves are great!) outdoors protects your body from cold invasions – which frequently use wind as a vehicle.  In TCM terms, it is possible to for cold to enter the body through the pores and settle into soft tissue and joints.  Add a few drops of warming essential oils to your bath water or massage oil to help chase away cold and promote healthy circulation (frankincense, myrrh and ginger are good examples).

Your diet also can exacerbate or alleviate pain. Ingesting cold foods, including icy drinks and raw foods, makes cold-related pain worse. Focus on foods and herbs that warm the body and promote circulation, such as chives, oregano, cinnamon, eggplant, garlic, ginger and leeks.

Other essential allies in pain prevention are exercise and stretching. A gentle hatha yoga practice goes a long way in releasing stagnation in the body and promoting blood flow. To move circulation and energy in the body, it’s not necessary to exercise vigorously. Even a moderate walk (of at least 30 minutes in duration, at least 3 times per week) is excellent medicine for soft tissue and the circulatory system.

How can we help? Heritage Acupuncture & Wellness offers acupuncture, Chinese herbology, customized stretching routines, postural assessment and correction and private yoga instruction. Please call 919-685-2938 or email at info@heritageacupuncture.com if you’d like our help with pain relief.

Copyright © 2015, Heritage Acupucture & Wellness. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Essential Oils Blends for Skin Care: Make Your Own!

 
 There’s no shortage of variety in today’s skin care market, with a dizzying array of product lines and specialty ingredients.  If you’re looking for a customized blend or want to use specific substances, essential oils offer infinite choices with ingredients ranging from the economical to the luxurious.

In general, blends consist of several different essential oils mixed with base oils. With an off-the-shelf product, you have no control over the quality of oils used or the amount. Mixing your own blends allows you to address specific concerns or use special oils that don’t make it into ready-made products – or if they do it’s in minute amounts. For example, you could indulge in an anti-aging blend of rose, frankincense and sandalwood essential oils with avocado oil. Or a wrinkle-fighting blend of rosewood, patchouli and myrrh with apricot kernel oil. You’ll love the options and the results!

These general guidelines will help you get some ideas about high quality, customized skin care products you can easily make yourself:

• Oily skin: Oily skin needs substances to astringe oil and regulate oil production. Those include essential oils of eucalyptus, ginger, neem, rosemary and tea tree. Many of these oils also have anti-bacterial qualities for deep cleansing of the skin. Blend these with such base oils as grapeseed, coconut or jojoba.
• Dry or mature skin: These skin types needs oils to moisten and nourish. Because dry and mature skin lacks optimal blood flow, essential oils like frankincense and myrrh contain powerful anti-aging and circulatory properties. Other oils that nourish these skin types include rose, helichrysum, geranium, sea buckthorn berry, carrot seed and lavender. Excellent base oils for dry and mature skin types include avocado, almond, apricot kernel and rosehip oils.
• Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin needs soothing and anti-inflammatory oils. Important choices for this skin type are lavender, helichrysum, german chamomile, neroli, frankincense, jasmine and sandalwood. You can blend these with coconut, rosehip, olive or almond oils.
• Discolored skin: Age spots take time to treat, but essential oils like frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood help boost circulation to break up the discolored spots. Add some lavender and/or helichrysum to nourish the skin and support local blood volume, which is essential for healthy skin coloration.

With few exceptions, essential oils must be blended with a carrier oil. Some oils, such as cinnamon and thyme, are too strong to apply directly to the skin. And as allergic reactions are unpredictable, dab a small amount of your blend on the neck or wrist before applying to your face. If you make the blend yourself, you can test a small amount of each oil. Other essential oils, such as lavender and tea tree, usually can be used neat, but it’s always better to test first. 

Dilutions can vary depending on the age and health condition of the user, but most adults do well with a 2% dilution for skin care blends. That means 2 drops essential oil per 1 teaspoon of carrier oil or 10-12 drops essential oil per one ounce base oil. Happy blending!

Photo by Praisaeng

Aromatherapy: Clearing the Mind and the Air

If you’re just wading into the ocean of therapeutic essential oils, there’s no more rewarding first step than aromatherapy or using oils for physical and psychological well-being. Aromatherapy offers infinite benefits from making your home inviting to actually improving your health.

In many cases, there’s a lot more to aromatherapy than personal preference. In other words, just because you like an essential oil’s fragrance doesn’t necessarily mean the substance will benefit your specific needs. But with home aromatherapy, preference can take a front seat if your priority is making the house smell great.

What if you don’t know where to start? You can’t go wrong with clearing the air, especially if you’ve got cats, strong cooking smells or poor ventilation in your home. Commercial air fresheners with synthetic fragrances often clear odors by emitting toxic chemicals to mask them. Clearly, there are healthier ways to refresh your environment.

Citrus oils are excellent choices to cleanse the air while also providing antiviral and antibacterial benefits. Choose from bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lemongrass and tangerine. Sage and rosemary are great air purifiers as well. An appealing blend could consist of simply lemon with sage essential oil. Try mixing about 10 drops of essential oils with 1 cup water into a spray bottle to freshen the air. Water diffusers are an ideal way to send a fine mist of fragrant oil into a room. With water diffusers, 3-4 drops of essential oil should provide around 3 hours of aromatherapy.

Another popular use of aromatherapy is boosting the immune system – especially during cold and flu season. An excellent way to do this is with antiviral essential oils, many of which also fight bacteria as well. Aromatic antiviral oils include clove, eucalyptus, juniper, lavender, lemon and rosemary. Eucalyptus also works to clear phlegm from the lungs and sinuses. You can’t go wrong combining eucalyptus and lemon for a fresh immune-boosting blend.

Essential oils even have the ability to positively affect your mood. Frankincense, for example, is said to promote contemplation. The citruses – especially bergamot and tangerine – are uplifting to the mind. Other oils help promote relaxation and sound sleep, including ylang ylang, geranium, clary sage, marjoram, rosewood, Roman chamomile and lemon balm. Some stress-busting blends include lavender with clary sage, patchouli with tangerine and a combination of Roman chamomile, lavender and marjoram.

Keep in mind you can purchase ready-made blends from many essential oil companies. In some cases – especially if the blend includes several individual oils or expensive oils – it’s more economical to buy a blend than to purchase separate oils. It all depends how deep you want to wade into the essential oil ocean. With essential oils, you’ll benefit whether you make a modest or major investment.

Your Guide to Essential Oils by Heritage Acupuncture

What’s the most convenient way to have an herbal medicine cabinet in your home? An essential oil collection gives you an infinite number of ways to address physical, emotional and beauty concerns – all while making your home smell amazing. At Heritage Acupuncture, we use essential oils to make our treatment room smell great, to cleanse the air and to relax clients. We also include essential oils in skin care services. With these aromatic plant extracts, it’s easy to adjust a treatment for a particular skin type – whether the skin is oily, dry or sensitive.

Your choices in essential oils number in the hundreds. So where do you start learning about them? If you focus on your health and wellness needs, you can try out different oils and get an idea of their powerful effects. This four-part series by Heritage Acupuncture will explore the use of essential oils for aromatherapy, skin care and household use.

First of all, what is an essential oil? These liquids are the results of a distillation process – typically from steam or water – of the leaves, flowers, bark, roots or other parts of a plant. The result is a concentrated extract that can be inhaled, applied to the body (usually combined with carrier oils) or even, in the case of medical grade oils, ingested.

Your essential oil collection could range from flowers like rose to food substances such as orange peel to resins such as amber. Their hundreds of uses include helping to alleviate aches and pains, heal the skin, relieve insomnia and reduce stress.

If you’d like to get started experiencing the healing properties of essential oils, here are a few tried and true home remedies. Note: Always check for allergies before using essential oils by applying a small amount to the skin. Many oils must be diluted in a carrier oil before application. A good user’s guide is The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood.

• Burns: Lavender is one of the handfuls of essential oils that may be applied directly to the skin without dilution in carrier oil. For minor household burns (those without an open wound), apply lavender directly to the affected area and repeat every 3-4 hours.
• Airline Travel: Are you prone to respiratory infections after flying? Open up a bottle of eucalyptus essential oil and move it slowly under both nostrils inhaling deeply every half hour or so during your flight. You will definitely fare better in the stale recycled air with this preventative measure.
• General air freshening: Here’s where your choices are unlimited. Do you like a sweeter smell? Try one of the flower essential oils, such as jasmine. Do you enjoy a citrus smell? Your choices include lemon, orange, mandarin, lemongrass and bergamot essential oils. Many essential oil companies make blends that cater to your mood or goal, whether it’s de-stressing, concentrating or alleviating depression.

You’re probably wondering where to purchase essential oils. Again, the choices are infinite and everyone’s got an opinion and/or preference. If you’d like to know our preferences, feel free to email us at info@localhost/heritage.

Join us for the next part of this series, where we’ll discuss more benefits of diffusing essential oils for aromatherapy.

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Heritage Acupuncture serves the Durham Chapel Hill RTP area and offers acupuncture, Chinese herbalism and Asian skin care services. Janet Lee, L.Ac., specializes in orthopedics and internal medicine.

Moxa: The Acupuncturist’s Power Tool

Have you ever walked past an acupuncturist’s office and detected the scent of incense? Or a burning herb? If you think something’s burning, it is!

Herbal applications come in many shapes and sizes in Traditional Chinese Medicine, ranging from topical application to internal teas. Moxibustion , an herbal preparation made from Mugwort is applied either directly onto the skin or held above acupoints. Moxa ‘s powerful effects include enhancing blood flow, relieving pain and nourishing soft tissue. Moxa strengthens the body’s vitality and strongly stimulates it’s healing capacity.

In fact, studies have documented moxa’s biochemical effects on the body to include increased production of both red and white blood cells and improvements in blood and lymph circulation.

Using moxa on acupoint Stomach 36 on the leg is a centuries-old Chinese medical treatment to boost immunity and enhance longevity.

Because of moxa’s portability, affordability and powerful results, it’s the primary healing tool for an organization called Moxafrica (moxafrica.org). Volunteers with this nonprofit treat people suffering from tuberculosis in several African countries. These treatments have helped people significantly improve their health and lifestyles by boosting strength, relieving joint pain and restoring appetite.
Check out this video from MoxAfrica:

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Heritage Acupuncture serves the Durham Chapel Hill RTP area and offers acupuncture, Chinese herbalism and Asian skin care services. Janet Lee, L.Ac., specializes in orthopedics and internal medicine.

Roll Up A Healthy Flax Wrap

As part of our commitment to your health, the Heritage Acupuncture blog will be featuring healthy recipes. This is designed to give you ideas about eating more veggies, reducing simple carbs and incorporating super foods, antioxidants and therapeutic principals into your diet. Sound complicated?

The good news is that healthy cuisine is actually fun, approachable and delicious! This tasty dish comes to us via the amazing Denise Vanderwoude of Chapel Hill, NC. It’s been adapted from William Davis’ Wheat Belly, which offers an array of delicious gluten-free cuisine.

Why are flax seeds healthy? They’re good sources of fiber, antioxidants and chock full of such nutrients as copper, manganese and magnesium. If you’re trying to reduce wheat or just carbs in general but still love the convenience of a sandwich, this flaxseed wrap is for you.

Flaxseed Wrap Ingredients:
3 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Pinch of sea salt or celery salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (plus more for greasing pan)
1 Tbsp water
1 large egg

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir in coconut oil. Beat in the egg and water. Grease a microwave-safe glass pie pan with coconut oil. Pour in the batter and spread evenly over the bottom. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes and let cool. Flip the wrap over and fill with ingredients of your choice (vegetable pate, hummus, scrambled eggs and salsa, etc.). Optional: For a sweeter wrap, swap out the onion and paprika for cinnamon. Spread with almond butter, honey and banana or the filling of your choice.

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Heritage Acupuncture serves the Durham Chapel Hill RTP area and offers acupuncture, Chinese herbalism and Asian skin care services. Janet Lee, L.Ac., specializes in orthopedics and internal medicine.