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The benefits of yoga for physical health are well-known. But yoga is also a powerful ally to keep your spirits up — and an important component of any treatment for mental health.
Yoga for Anxiety and Depression – Harvard Health Publications
Click on the link below to read a very informative article about Gluten Intolerance. Many patients ask me if this is a real problem. I believe it is, and this article provides a very thorough explanation:
Warming and nourishing soup is considered a health food in Chinese medical nutrition. When you add bones and bone marrow to your soup broth, the health factor increases exponentially. This is because bone and marrow relate to the kidney in Chinese medicine terms, and the kidneys influence growth, reproduction and longevity.
The kidneys represent the foundation of life itself in Chinese medicine. One inherits essential qi — known as “jing” — from parents. Lifestyle and environment are important factors in preserving jing. Aside from marrow, other foods that augment our essential qi include royal jelly, fish eggs, sesame seeds, almonds and microalgae.
The nutritional value of jing-strengthening bone marrow gets high marks from a Western nutritional point of view as well. As the soup simmers, vitamins, minerals, collagen and proteins from the ingredients infuse throughout the pot. This means you get more bang with your buck as a small amount of marrow enriches the entire dish. Bone marrow soup nourishes not only your hair and nails, but also all the body’s connective tissue — including cartilage, ligaments, tendons and even bone.
The key to extracting the important marrow and minerals from bone is a long cooking time. Adding a splash of vinegar helps draw minerals from the bone into the broth. Here’s a basic recipe that you can tailor to your taste:
Basic Bone Broth Recipe
Depending upon your preference, take the carcass of a chicken or purchase the marrow bones of beef or lamb.Femur bones work well, as do knuckle bones and ox tail. Stick to organic meats with no added hormones or antibiotics. Trim the fat and most of the meat from the bones. If possible use kitchen scissors to break the bones into 2-3 inch pieces. This creates more surface area for the bone marrow to contact the water.
Place the bones in a pot (crockpots also work well) and cover with water. Add a couple tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice per quart of water to assure minerals extract from the bones. According to taste, you may add garlic, shallots, onions, ginger, celery, carrot, parsley or other herbs. Other tasty additions include whole peppercorns and goji berries.
Gradually bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. For chicken, cook for 12 to 24 hours; for beef or lamb, 24 to 72 hours. If you’re using a crockpot, cook for at least 24 hours on low.
Feel free to add other vegetables in the last 1 to 2 hours of cooking for taste and nutritional value. When cooking is complete, remove the bones and veggies and strain the broth through a colander. You may strain a second time through a fine sieve or cheese cloth for a clear broth. Allow the broth to cool at room temperature and skim off the fat that rises to the top.
The broth will keep for about five days in the fridge or for months in the freezer. Enjoy it as a hot snack, soup or stew base or the water portion of rice or any cooked grain.
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Looking for a seasonal winter fruit? Persimmons, in season from October through February, have a solid place at the table of Chinese dietary therapy.
Known as “shi zi,” this brilliant orange fruit has been used traditionally to clear heat, supplement fluids and nourish the lungs. Thirst-quenching persimmons benefit the complexion, especially for those with hyperpigmentation.
The jelly-like pulp of the persimmon fruit also is considered helpful to maintain arterial health by reducing clots and lowering blood pressure. As they’re a cold-natured fruit, persimmons are best for those who run warm.
In Western nutrition terms, the fiber-rich persimmon contains a healthy dose of Vitamins A, C and B6, along with manganese and potassium.
Although there are many varieties, fuyu persimmons are the most plentiful on the market. To enjoy the winter persimmon bounty, peel, slice and remove any remaining seeds before eating.
Photo credit: Kanko by Flickr
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When you walk into an acupuncturist’s office, your practitioner starts diagnosing you with just a glance. Your skin tone, body weight and temperament all provide valuable information that can inform an acupuncturist about your body’s innate strengths and weaknesses. The first conclusion an acupuncturist often reaches about a patient regards their elemental type.
The elemental types relates to the five basic elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – fire, earth, metal, water and wood. All matter and phenomena are categorized under one of these types. The color green, for example, relates to wood, an element representing the liver and gallbladder. The direction south, for example, relates to the fire element. The emotion of grief relates to metal.
In terms of human beings, certain physical traits, health tendencies and personality types define each element .The metal element, for example relates to the lung and large Intestine. Allergies, asthma and constipation are thus metal problems. Knowing your elemental type not only gives you insight into your character, it also alerts you to natural strengths and weaknesses. It’s easier to safeguard your health and utilize your gifts if you know what they are.
Read on to discover your own unique elemental constitution:
Fire: Fire people are hard to miss. They’re vibrant, passionate and energetic. The magnetic fire type is a natural salesperson and leader. Their strength lies in the blood vessels. Soft and moist skin is the mark of a balanced fire person with strong circulation. If imbalanced, the fire type may have a flushed face, overheat easily, suffer from high or low blood pressure and experience insomnia. Although social interaction comes naturally to fire people, maintaining balance for them means embracing quiet time and avoiding overexertion.
Earth: Earth-dominant constitutions are the peacemakers in their families and social groups. These loyal and predictable people crave security. They tend to have strong muscles and sturdy body types. The people-pleasing earth person loves relationship harmony and companionship. In the extreme, earth types can be worriers and even obsessive. The earth element in TCM is associated with digestive organs. These organs also have an important role in fluid metabolism. Earth types, therefore, are prone to water retention and weight gain. Achieving emotional balance for the sociable earth type means cultivating independence and making peace with solitude.
Metal: Are you meticulous and well-organized? Do your friends and colleagues consider you a person of high principals? Are you strong-willed with a strong voice? Have people sometimes considered you distant or too formal? As the metal element is associated with the lung, sinuses and skin in TCM, metal people typically have strong lungs and smooth skin. With imbalance, they’re prone to dry coughs, dehydrated skin and nasal polyps. Balancing their meticulousness with passion and their self-control with spontaneity is good therapy for a metal person.
Water: Water types are more rounded in appearance than the angular wood types. They have strong physiques and intellects. They’re original thinkers and don’t mind being unconventional or independent. Water people are naturally introspective and lovers of ideas. The kidney and bladder corresponds to the water element in TCM terms. A balanced water person exhibits a steady strength, strong bones and efficient water metabolism. A tune-up is in order if a water type has fragile bones or edema. Water people may be perceived as distant or even tough. The self-contained water personality benefits from reaching out and making emotional connections with others.
Wood: Confident and ambitious wood types are hard workers. Wood people can be bold, direct and work well under pressure. When wood types are out of balance, they can be testy, confrontational or erratic. In TCM terms, the wood element corresponds to the liver, which is in charge of maintaining tendons and muscle tissue. A healthy wood person is slender, with strong muscles and erect posture. When they’re out of balance, wood types may have chronic muscle tension and unstable joints. Wood people, who are comfortable with power and exertion, can preserve their health by staying flexible and softening their intensity.
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As a health care provider, I have seen for myself the increasingly common diagnosis of autoimmune disorders. Personally, I don’t think this is just because diagnosis is now more astute. My feeling is that this loss of self-regulation is on the rise. There are many theories behind this, but the New York Times makes an interesting connection between autoimmunity, autism and, well, parasites! The idea that our environment is overly sterile and therefore disturbs our immune system is intriguing.
An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism
By MOISES VELASQUEZ-MANOFF
IN recent years, scientists have made extraordinary advances in understanding the causes of autism, now estimated to afflict 1 in 88 children. But remarkably little of this understanding has percolated into popular awareness, which often remains fixated on vaccines.
So here’s the short of it: At least a subset of autism — perhaps one-third, and very likely more — looks like a type of inflammatory disease. And it begins in the womb.
It starts with what scientists call immune dysregulation. Ideally, your immune system should operate like an enlightened action hero, meting out inflammation precisely, accurately and with deadly force when necessary, but then quickly returning to a Zen-like calm. Doing so requires an optimal balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory muscle.
In autistic individuals, the immune system fails at this balancing act. Inflammatory signals dominate. Anti-inflammatory ones are inadequate. A state of chronic activation prevails. And the more skewed toward inflammation, the more acute the autistic symptoms.
Nowhere are the consequences of this dysregulation more evident than in the autistic brain. Spidery cells that help maintain neurons — called astroglia and microglia — are enlarged from chronic activation. Pro-inflammatory signaling molecules abound. Genes involved in inflammation are switched on.
These findings are important for many reasons, but perhaps the most noteworthy is that they provide evidence of an abnormal, continuing biological process. That means that there is finally a therapeutic target for a disorder defined by behavioral criteria like social impairments, difficulty communicating and repetitive behaviors.
pregnancy increases the risk of autism in the child. Hospitalization for a viral infection, like the flu, during the first trimester of pregnancy triples the odds. Bacterial infection, including of the urinary tract, during the second trimester increases chances by 40 percent.
Moises Velasquez-Manoff is the author of “An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases.”
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Tea has been called “The Heavenly Herb” in China. For those trying to enhance their health, there is no better beverage. Just like Chinese herbalism in general, tea drinking can be customized for your health needs. For example, if you run warm, cooling green tea is a good choice. If you’re frequently chilly, brew up some ginger tea. Those with high cholesterol can make Pu-erh tea part of their lifestyle approach to treatment.
Of course, tea is not only healthy but also delicious. Consider trying premium teas from vendors that import directly from tea groves in China, Taiwan and other tea countries. For fascinating tea information and quality tea resources, check out The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook by Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss.
Here’s an article I wrote for Yoga International on the vast topic of tea:
www.care2.com/greenliving/5-types-of-tea-from-around-the-world.html?page=1
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Read more about the military’s acceptance of Chinese Medicine; click here
