End Of Summer Health Tips

It's the end of the summer! In Chinese Medicine, this important season is known as "late summer" and it corresponds to the Earth element. In our bodies, the earth element manifests as digestion, and our stomach, spleen and pancreas.

Yellow-orange is the color of the Earth element, as as we look around at the ripening pumpkins and winter squash, corn and grains we get some idea why. Eating yellow/orange food like squash, sweet potatoes and millet is a great way to support the digestion. When digestion is weak all other organ systems are effected, so now is a wonderful time to focus on digestive health.

 If experiencing problems in this area, such as

• weight gain or loss
• bloating or gas
• difficulty digestion
• no appetite or too much appetite
• constipation or loose stools
• stomach ache
• heart burn
• slow digestion

This is a great time of year to get back on track. Acupuncture can help immensely.

Anything you can do to support your digestion will help during this time of year, including:

• Do not overeat at one sitting.
• Limit snacks. Give yourself time to digest your food before eating again.
• Whole foods such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits are easy on our body and are perfect foods to support digestive health.
• Avoid foods to which you react negatively. For some of us that may be wheat, dairy, sugar, oil.

Acupuncture can do wonders for all kinds of digestive problems; this is one of the things we've had great success with. Points on the stomach and spleen meridians (on the legs, feet and abdomen) help regulate, relax and nourish the digestion. Moxa can be applied to warm and strengthen the meridians if necessary, and the relaxing effect of a balancing acupuncture treatment is without compare.

Now is an excellent time for an acupuncture tune up or to begin treatments. 


In health,
David and Melissa Sokulski
licensed acupuncturists

Happy New Year: Year of the Dog!

The Chinese New Year starts today, February 16, 2018.

Gung Hay Fat Choy: Happy New Year!

It's the year of the Dog!

2018, 2006, 1994, 1982, 1970, 1958, 1946, 1934, 1922

Dog people are honest, loyal, and friendly. Dogs are also sensitive and can take on the issues of people around them, especially people they love most. Make sure this year is full of good self care.

Dog's energy is social and bountiful, making it a great year of opportunities, especially in business. Everyone will notice this energy and be able to take advantage of it, not just people born in dog years.

Celebrities who are born in these years include Benjamin Franklin, Prince William, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and Ellen Degeneres. You can find a more complete list here.

Welcome Year of the Dog!

Lentil Sweet Potato Chili To Warm These Cold Winter Days

It's snowing again! And soooo cold out. I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes ever, though in the winter it somehow soars even higher than usual. Lentil Sweet Potato Chili. I make this recipe at least once a week. 

The original recipe is from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's 21 Day Kickstart, which I can't recommend enough. Fantastic whole food plant based meal plans and recipes which come to you for 21 days, starting the first of the month.

Yum, look at that sweet potato! Full of beta carotene and vitamin C, plus lots of other minerals and vitamins. In Chinese medicine, its sweet taste and rich orange color let you know it's beneficial to the Spleen/Pancreas and Stomach - Earth element - and excellent for digestion and to boost energy (qi).

Here is how I make this delicious vegan chili:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach (it shrinks!) or lots of chopped kale or other chopped greens to add at end
• 1/2 -1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• red pepper flakes, optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 cups water (or you can use broth or veggie broth cubes or whatever, I just use water)
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes or 14 oz tomato sauce or small jar tomato paste, whatever you have around

Directions:

* Because I don't use oil in cooking and because I like to make things as easy as possible, I just put everything into a pot without sauteing things first, so...

1. Into 6 cups of water (or broth) as it comes to boiling, add:

• both kinds of rinsed lentils
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• sweet potatoes
• spices

2. Let that come to a boil, then cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked through, about 25 minutes, adding water and stirring as necessary so it doesn't burn.

3. Then add the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, let it come back up to boil again.

4. Finally add the greens at the very end, and cook until wilted. 

5. Taste to adjust seasonings and enjoy!

I love to eat this chili with hot sauce.

If you don't have (or don't like) sweet potatoes, it is delicious with regular potatoes as well. 

Enjoy!

~ Melissa

Cinnamon, Ginger, Onions, and Garlic Strongly Protect Us From Colds and Flu

Cinnamon sticks
maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com

As the winter progresses, the cold weather can affect our Lungs in the form of coughs, sinus issues, colds and flu. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the metal element corresponds to the Lungs. The taste that strengthens the Lungs is pungent: the spicy flavor of foods and spices like cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and onions.

In traditional Chinese medical theory, when one gets sick with colds or flu it is thought that an external pathogen has invaded the system. Western medicine similarly holds that colds and flu are caused by bacteria or viruses. Each of the five tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and pungent) has a specific action. The pungent taste has the action of pushing outward and dispersing unwanted "invaders" through the skin, as evidenced by sweating.

When coming down with a cold or flu the herb to take is actually a food: scallions. Known as the Chinese herb cong bai, scallions release the pathogen by inducing sweating. Simmer scallion or other onion along with garlic and ginger and drink the broth to keep a cold or flu from going deeper.

scallions

If a cold or flu has gone deeper and has affected the muscles, the herb of choice is cinnamon, known in Chinese as gui zhi. Cinnamon is warming and can help when the person is feeling weak especially if sweating does not help them feel better. In this case, cinnamon will warm, strengthen and increase immunity.

cinnamon

Fresh ginger (sheng jiang) is also warm and releases the pathogen. Ginger is especially good if the person feels cold and is coughing. Similar to cinnamon, ginger strengthens the immunity for weaker people who are sweating without relief of symptoms.

ginger

A nice tea when feeling chilled and recovering from a cold or flu, is made by simmering a couple of cinnamon sticks and sliced fresh ginger in water for at least 20 minutes, strain and drink as needed.

If there are heat symptoms such as a sore throat or fever, switching to a cooler herb which still releases the pathogen is appropriate. One such herb is mint, or bo he. Flowers such as chrysanthemum (ye ju hua), honeysuckle (jin yin hua), and dandelion (pu gong ying) mix well with mint to cool the body and release the pathogen.

One important note: herbs such as ginseng, astragalus and bee pollen also strengthen the immune system, but these herbs have a sweet taste and will actually strengthen pathogens. They are wonderful to take as prevention, but if you end up coming down with a cold or flu, stop taking them and switch to one of the above remedies. Once the illness has passed completely, it is safe to take the sweet strengthening herbs again.

And of course acupuncture is always helpful to boost your immune system to prevent and/or recover from cold or flu.

Food is the best medicine! Eat well, drink lots of water, and incorporate these wonderful spicy tasting foods, herbs, and spices into your life!

Be well!

Melissa and David Sokulski, licensed acupuncturists

a version of this article first appeared in Natural News.

Winter And Traditional Chinese Medicine

Winter has no doubt arrived in Pittsburgh! With the temperatures below freezing for a week and counting, I think it's time to discuss winter, traditional Chinese medicine, and ways to keep warm!

Winter is the time of year which corresponds the water element. In our bodies, that relates to our Kidneys and Bladder. In five element theory, the color correspondence is black or blue, and the emotion is fear.

Symptoms which may be associated with the Water element include

• bladder and/or kidney infections
• low back pain
• knee pain
• cavities in teeth
• weak or broken bones
• infertility
• premature gray hair or hair loss
• ringing in the ears
• increase of phobias or fears

To strengthen the Water energy and keep the body in balance, it's important to keep yourself warm. Wear scarves around your neck and extra layers or scarves around your mid-section (in Japan, this is called a haramaki, or belly warmer: a tube of material which can be fashionable, which goes around your midsection to keep your abdomen and kidneys warm.)

If you are on a high raw or 100% raw food diet, you can add spices such as ginger to your juices and cinnamon to your foods. You can gently warm soups, and make sure to eat plenty of well blended food, as these meals are easier to digest. Fresh cranberries also make a nice addition to juices or purees this time of year, and help protect the bladder and kidneys from infection as well (especially if you are prone to this type of infection.)

Here is one of my favorite winter juice recipes:

Juice the following:

• 5 carrots
• 3 apples
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 inch knob fresh ginger

I usually add water to the juice, especially because this one is so sweet.

Warm miso soup is also a wonderful meal: heat the water and let it cool back down to ninety or one hundred degrees (warm to the touch.) Add scallions, sliced mushrooms, wakame (a sea vegetable), grated ginger and carrots, and miso, which is best first made into a paste with warm water and then added to the soup. Enjoy this soup warm.

In macrobiotic cooking, aduki beans and black beans are beneficial for the kidneys. Millet and winter squash are also good choices for balancing energy this time of year.

Herbs which benefit the kidneys are nettles, he shou wu (also known as Foti root), and the formula Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, or Rehmannia Six.

Now is a wonderful time of year to get acupuncture, especially if you notice any of the above symptoms. Points such as K3 and K6 on the ankle are helpful to boost the Kidney energy, as well as bladder points along the spine on the back. Moxibustion is wonderful this time of year to help add heat to the body via the acu-points, abdomen and meridians.


Stay cozy and warm!