Tips for staying healthy this fall!

Posted on by RoyalRoadMKE

Prevention is always best! Keep your lungs nourished and enjoy lots of pears.

Pears help moisturize dry skin and improve slow digestion. If you are coming down with a cough, add some honey to a baked pear to clear the cough and soothe your throat. Try this simple and delicious recipe: BAKED PEARS.

Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that “Wind is the mother of 1,000 diseases.”  Be sure to keep your neck protected!! If you come down with a cold notice if you’re feeling feverish and have a burning throat, or if you’re achey and have a headache.

autumn-leaves-in-wind.jpg

If you’re cold/flu has you feeling hot, eat cooling and heat-clearing foods like fresh fruits and vegetables: cabbage, dandelion, mint, chrysanthemum flowers, apples, and pears. Drink plenty of room temperature water or tea.

If your cold/flu has you feeling achey and chilled, eat warming foods that encourage perspiration. These include ginger, garlic, mustard greens and seeds, parsnips, scallions, basil, and cinnamon. Drink plenty of warm fluids such as soups and tea.

Finally, consider scheduling an acupuncture and/or moxibustion treatment at Royal Road Clinic! We can focus on warming and boosting your immunity. Learn more about Moxibustion HERE.

 

It’s time to sprout, bloom, grow, and feel renewed!

Posted on by RoyalRoadMKE

 

The philosophical principles of the Five Elements used in Traditional Chinese Medicine refer to the balance and flow of qi, yin and yang energies that occur during specific times of year. According to this philosophy, your body changes in accord with the five elements that occur with a specific season: Fire relates to summer, Earth relates to late summer, Metal relates to fall, Water relates to winter, Wood relates to spring. Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners use principles related to these elements to examine the imbalances of the body, diagnose, and treat health problems. 

bdbb3ff05e45f718cb03e29254a9e2bfSpring is represented by the following qualities: 

  • Element: Wood
  • Color: Green
  • Nature: Yang
  • Taste: Sour
  • Organs: Liver, Gallbladder
  • Emotion: Anger

Spring is thought to be a good time to detox and cleanse because it the time of year when activity returns. If we stay in winter-hibernation-mode too long, i.e. if we don’t start moving, our Liver energy stagnates causing muscle aches and pains especially on the sides of the body, irritability and anger, sighing, PMS, constipation or irregular digestion. 

Keep your Liver Qi flowing smoothly this season! 

Move your body – help your Liver flow by keeping your body moving. Try yoga or Tai Chi or go for a walk around the block and breathe in some fresh air!

Eat Greens – try to incorporate as many green vegetables into your diet, slightly cooked or sautéed is the best! 

Taste Sour – Sour flavors stimulate liver qi. Add lemon to your water, try apple cider vinegar + honey in warm water, use vinegar and olive oil for your salad dressing. 

Spring Clean – Just like your body, the energy in your home can stagnate, so it’s time to clear out space to help the flow of energy in your home.

Get Acupuncture treatments – Acupuncture rebalances the overall health of your body to help alleviate symptoms associated with Liver Qi stagnation.

Sick Care vs. Wellness Care: A Shift in How We Understand Health Care

Posted on by RoyalRoadMKE

Image result for wellnessThe mainstream medical system tends to support the idea that you only need to go to the doctor when you’re already sick. Think of this as a sick care model of treatment. It’s a good thing modern medicine has given us powerful treatments for sickness, but you don’t need to wait until you’re sick to receive care. Wellness care, on the other hand, is the model of medicine that promotes well-being through preventative care and on-going maintenance check-ups. Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture are paradigmatic examples of the wellness care philosophy.

When I treat patients with Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, they often ask how quickly they will feel better. The number of treatments will depend on how chronic or acute the case may be and how quickly the body reacts to the treatments. Most people tend to see positive results within three or four treatments. What I also like to encourage patients to consider, however, is coming in to see me before they start feeling sick, or before the symptoms become burdensome.

Shifting our perspective to a wellness model encourages us to play the long game. You should invest in your wellness before you get sick in order to prevent sickness. Some ways to invest in your health include:

  • eating a whole foods and, as much as possible, plant-based diet,
  • moving your body regularly (whether that means going to the gym, a yoga class, or for a walk around the block– it doesn’t matter, just move!)
  • visiting your acupuncturist for maintenance check-ups one to two times per season to help ward off imbalances that lead to illness.Value your health before sickness comes!