Lifestyle (diet and exercise) related content of interest to the general public or those that contain introductory information.
The second in a series demystifying Chinese Medicine Theory for Patients and the General Public
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) provides us with unique and illustrative ways of looking at our health and relationships between ourselves, others, and our environment. This series of articles is part of my ongoing goal of demystifying the world of acupuncture. In the first article of the series, "My Liver Is What", we discussed the liver system from a Chinese Medicine perspective.
Natalie Goldberg leads workshops using writing as a Zen practice, a way to direct attention inward. She teaches to focus on first thoughts, encouraging her writing students to stay with the immediate, the authentic, the direct experience, and to avoid analysis and explanation. This principle also applies when experiencing discomfort.
There are many things you can do to keep your immune system buzzing and prevent coming down with colds and flu. Here is just a brief outline:
1. Listen to your thoughts and watch your language. What are your beliefs about seasonal flu, so-called "swine" flu, and your susceptibility? What are your ideas about whether you need to have a flu shot to keep yourself free of illness?
The treatment of external pathogenic influences (EPI) is one of the first things traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) professionals learn. EPIs include pathogens like the common cold and flu and are most commonly caught in the autumn and spring. Symptoms usually start as neck pain for no apparent reason which then progresses to an itchy or sore throat, general malaise, respiratory symptoms like a cough and runny nose, and alternating chills and fever.
In our fast paced world we often struggle to find a balance in our diet between convenience and health. We all know the dangers of the fast food industry, high levels of salt and fat in many restaurant foods, of portion sizes being too large (particularly here in America), but we rarely question the "healthy" options we are choosing. I have many patients, for example, who eat energy bars as snacks. They are touted and marketed as "healthy" but many contain enormous amounts of calories and fat - enough to replace a meal or two in any given day.
I write often about dietary change and the health benefits of improving this arena of our lives. I write about it often not because the subject is overly complex, just that it is difficult for people to change habits. For some eating is just what they do at certain times of the day or when they are running from place to place. For others, who are on any number of diets, eating is often seen as a somewhat scientific endeavor - calories in, calories out, I "should" eat this, I "shouldn't" eat that.
We hear again and again how we must eat a balanced diet and exercise. Yet, many of us put these things on hold or we initiate change in baby steps. The truth is, health is pretty easy... You eat a generally decent diet with whole foods (see the “eat like a human diet”), you walk around as much as possible, and everything beyond that is just a bonus for your health. The problem is, we have too much food and distractions available to us, we generally are far too busy, and it is, quite literally, killing us.
A recent study published in the medical journal “Human Reproduction” found that a certain class of common household chemicals effect rates of conception in women. The chemicals in question are found in clothing, personal care products, carpets, paper wraps and more. Collectively they are known as perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). This study looked specifically at perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) which have been found to create disruptions in our hormonal system.
As an acupuncturist, I see a lot of patients who are interested in learning what action to take in order to become healthier. They ask questions about why their elbow hurts, why their digestion is sluggish, or why they suffer from chronic headaches. They want to know which specific steps they need to take in order to become healthier, and they are often surprised by my answer. I believe one of the most important steps we can take to become healthier starts with an examination of our own belief system about health, and specifically our accountability for our own health.
Many new cars today are equipped with automotive navigation systems. These systems use satellite technology to locate the car and provide directions to a location of our choice. The directions are often provided by voice prompts, which describe the path to follow in order to reach our destination. Thanks to the wonders of modern science, we receive this information immediately. The voice prompts can also inform us that we have missed a turn or even taken a wrong turn. Again, we obtain this feedback right away. We have, in many ways, become a society of immediacy.
