Acupressure and Foods to Treat Morning Sickness

 

Self-Care for Morning Sickness

Thankfully, Chinese medicine has quite a bit to say about treating nausea. (Did you know it’s so effective, most insurances reimburse for acupuncture treatment of morning sickness and nausea from chemotherapy?) Some of my favorite points to use with moms during pregnancy include:

Ren-22 (天突, Celestial Chimney)

This point is located at the very base of the throat, just above the sternum.

Pericardium-6 (內關, Inner Gate)

Use your one hand to locate this point on the opposite arm. You’ll find the point between two major tendons roughly 2 inches up from the wrist crease on the inside of the forearm. The exact distance equals the width of your index, middle and rings fingers when measured across the knuckles furthest from the body.

Kidney-6 (照海, Shining Sea)

You’ll find this point in a depression just under the high point of the ankle bone on the inside of the foot.

How to Do Acupressure

It’s best to see your acupuncturist first to ensure you’re stimulating the correct point. Once you’ve got it, you’ll want to stimulate both sides. Massage gently at the point for a few minutes, using your intention to imagine you and your baby coming into harmony and alignment. Imagine all stress being released with the out breath and support coming in on the in breath. You can even couple with an affirmations like, “I love knowing my baby and I are safe.” “Every day it becomes easier to trust the process of life.” “Everything in my life takes place in perfect timing.”

Foods to Reduce Morning Sickness

Beyond self-acupressure, foods are, of course, the most effective home remedy for morning sickness. I encourage you to read the article from Karen Hurd as to why pulses (aka beans) are your best friend right now. In Chinese medicine, we have largely two patterns that fit the symptom of morning sickness. One is Spleen-Stomach deficiency (see: “Deficiency” column in table); and the other of Liver heat or stagnancy overacting on the Stomach (see: “Excess” column in table). Your acupuncturist/herbalist should be able to tell you which category better suits your needs if it’s not readily apparent to you looking at the below presentations.

Spleen-Stomach Deficiency

Symptoms of deficiency include vomiting of watery fluids (may have undigested food, no particular smell or taste), poor appetite, and fatigue.

Liver Excess Overacting on Stomach

Symptoms of Liver excess include vomiting with bitter or sour taste, sour belching, strong thirst, a feeling of restriction through the side ribs, headaches (largely one-sided), dizziness and irritability.

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Need more help?

If you need more help in getting relief, consider coming in for acupuncture. In addition to treating nausea and vomiting, acupuncture can also help relieve back pain, headaches, insomnia and depression during pregnancy.

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References

• Chinese Nutritional Therapy, Kastner (2004)
• Essential Guide to Acupuncture in Pregnancy & Childbirth, Betts (2006)
• Healing with Whole Foods, Pitchford (2002)
• “Morning Sickness,” Karenhurd.com accessed 01/17

Chinese Dietary Therapy Cookbook – Free Online Resource

Chinese Dietary Therapy: Self-Care Recipes for Health

Acupuncture is pretty magnificent when you think about it — that something we do for 20min to 1h in a day could affect how we feel during all the remaining hours! Like meditation, yoga, taiji, etc – building these small windows of self-care into our day can create profound changes over time. So, what about diet? Chinese medicine has so much to say on the subject. Some even consider Chinese dietary therapy to be its own pillar of Chinese medicine, distinct from herbal medicine, and complementary to acupuncture and qi gong practices.

Online Chinese Dietary Therapy Cookbook

To this end, I was looking up a recipe for a patient recently when I came across this cookbook: Traditional Chinese Medicine Medicated Diet Recipe Book. What a great reference! As an extension of Chinese herbal medicine (you’ll find a lot of Chinese herbs in the ingredient lists), it’s important to note Chinese dietary therapy requires a Chinese medicine differential diagnosis. Once you know you’re diagnosis, you can look up remedies under the header or “Actions/Indications/Functions” sections included with each recipe. The easiest way to do this, is run a search on the pdf for your keyword, e.g. “Lung” or “yin deficiency,” then you can skip to related recipes. As with all medicine, please consult your certified Chinese herbalist before exploring self-care options.

Sample Recipes

Walnut and sesame paste

Treats qi and yin deficiency (targets Lung, Liver and Kidney organs).

Related conditions may include: Asthma, dizziness, migraine, paralysis, constipation, premature grey hair, postpartum hypogalactia, cough, regurgitation, and beriberi.

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White and Black Edible Fungi Stir-fried Celery

Clears heat, generates fluids, strengthens digestion (targets Liver, Spleen/Stomach, and Lung organs).

Related conditions may include: Constipation, hypertension, and abdominal pain.

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Wasabi Fish Cooked in Sake

Tonifies and regulates qi, warms the yang, relieves cold stagnation.

Related conditions may include: PMS, cold hand and cold feet, and abdominal distention.

What are your favorite recipes?

Have a favorite Chinese dietary therapy recipe? Let us know in the comments!

Warming Foods to Tonify Yang and Dispel Cold

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Warming Foods for Colder Weather and Colder People

It’s officially winter!! You know what that means — time to adjust our diet, and lifestyle accordingly. As the bears go into hibernation, we too must turn inward to nourish our inner warmth during this period of ‘yin within yin.’ (Thankfully, our local produce shows us the way!) In addition to the warming foods listed in the table below, now is also a time to be mindful of how we hold cold in our life — both physically and emotionally. If you are prone to viral infections, this subject will be particularly relevant for you.

What is pathogenic “Cold”?

 

Just like winter cold can harden water into ice, internally cold can cause contraction and hardening of the tissues, which can result in pain and/or immobility.

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Physical Symptoms

In Chinese medicine, there are a number of causes of Cold; and depending on whether the cause is internal or external, treatment will be different. Symptoms of Cold, nonetheless, are consistent:

• low body temperature or perceived chill; preference for covers or other warmth
• lack of thirst
• cold limbs
• preference for lying down or curling up
• slower heart rate (e.g. < 60bpm)
• profuse, frequent and clear urination
• thin or sloppy bowel movement, possibly with undigested foods
• sharp pain or contraction
• decreased sexual desire and/or function

Warming foods are an easy first step towards warming the body and its tissues.

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Emotional & Spiritual Symptoms

If we are to accept the body as an integrated whole, we cannot ignore the emotional and physical aspects of Cold. To this end, I was struck by something I read recently on the body’s response to trauma. In her book, “Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma,” author Haines writes:

“When survival actions like fighting or fleeing may bring more harm or aren’t viable…, the brain and body make a third choice — the freeze response. Survivors often talk about being very still, waiting until the abuse is over, or checking out…. During this response, painkilling endorphins and opioids are released, and the person shifts from action to immobility. When survivors talk about not fighting back or being able to move, this is literal. Tense muscles become still, and breathing and heartbeats slow to barely perceptible.” (p xvii)

Sounds just like Cold at work, huh? I guess that’s why they call it the ‘freeze’ response. Not everyone faces such obvious reason to withdraw, to numb, and to harden; however, in my experience, any chronic fear, insecurity, or chronic mild trauma is enough to sway the body to turn to its comfortable safety measures. Emotionally and spiritually, I would suggest to truly thaw out internal Cold, we must cultivate a deep self-love, a faith in our resourcefulness, and a grounded orientation towards kindness in our life.

Ever feel ‘left out in the cold’ from a friendly world or a loved one?

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Foods to Warm the Body and Tonify Yang

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You may also want to be mindful of avoiding or limiting cooling foods as you increase your warming foods. Increasing qi tonic foods will also be beneficial.

Food preparation for increasing warmth

The best ways to prepare your warming foods include:

• Baking
• Boiling/simmering
• Broiling
• Cooking with alcohol
• Frying or roasting
• Grilling

Preparing stews are an ideal way to increase the yang of your foods.

Baking and broiling: Your new best friends.

Beyond food, how else is one to warm the body?

You know what I’m going to say — cultivate self-love, cultivate an unfailing orientation towards kindness, work on releasing your fears and your doubts. Let what you eat be a welcoming of more warmth into your life. Perhaps less clear, is avoid *too much heat* — like hot yoga, saunas, extra long baths, a lot of chili or pepper. As soon as you start to sweat, the body has started its cooling process — that’s not what we want here! Lastly, your acupuncturist and herbalist will have great tools to work with when it comes to warming up the body and releasing pain: Warming Chinese herbs, moxibustion, and a TDP heat lamp. If you need more help, go get it!

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REFERENCES

Kastner, Joerg. Chinese Nutrition Therapy. 2004.

Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods. 2002.

Foods to Clear Heat (& Cooking Methods to Avoid)

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Signs of Heat

If your Chinese herbalist or acupuncturist has suggested you have internal Heat, you might be experiencing any number of symptoms, depending on the organ(s) affected: Restlessness, irritability, delirium, itching or red rashes, thirst, dry mouth/lips, sore throat, constipation, excessive appetite, etc. Heat can be from an excess or deficiency, and can be coupled with a fluid deficiency (seen as dryness) or Damp (i.e. turbid water accumulation, seen as heaviness or discharge). For this reason it’s important to be clear on your differential diagnosis — in one case you might want to moisten at the same time as clear Heat, and in the other, you’d want to dry Damp while clearing Heat. To balance Heat, it’s important to avoid aggravating factors, which can include:

• Environmental: Do you work or live in a very hot environment? Do you sauna a lot? Go to hot yoga?
• Stress-related: Are you bottling up your stress or frustration?
• Diet-related: Do you eat a lot fried or spicy foods, or drink alcohol?
• Inactivity: Are you moving your body enough to burn off the steam?

Additionally, incorporating more foods to clear Heat is the ideal first step of Chinese herbal medicine, while simultaneously being mindful of your cooking methods.

Foods to Clear Heat

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Cooking Methods and Heat

Neutral Cooking Methods

There are few cooking methods that will not change the energy level of your foods, and/or can even further support the cooling action you’re inviting. They include:   

• Blanching
• Boiling with plentiful water, short duration
• Pickling in brine/Salting
• Steaming

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Warming Cooking Methods

While you’re increasing your foods to clear Heat, you’ll also want to limit preparation methods that contribute more heat to your foods. Some of these methods are warmer than others, for this reason I’ve got them separated here between “limit” and “avoid [where possible].”

Limit

• Baking
• Boiling, short duration
• Braising
• Smoking
• Seasoning (if spicy/warming)

Avoid

• Alcohol, cooking with
• Barbecue
• Broiling
• Frying
• Grilling
• Roasting
• Simmering for long periods

Beyond foods to clear Heat: What else can you do?

If you have Dryness, you can also see Foods to Nourish Yin and Fluids. If you have Dampness, you can see also Foods to Resolve Damp. If you find you’d like to take your dietary therapy a step further, seek out a Chinese herbalist for a formula tailored to your constitution and condition.

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References

Kastner, Joerg. Chinese Nutrition Therapy. 2004.

Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods. 2002.

Treat Low Energy with Foods to Tonify Qi

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Treat the source of low energy

In Chinese medicine what we diagnose as “qi deficiency” is essentially ‘low energy.’ It’s not the same as fatigue; but certainly a symptom of qi deficiency can be fatigue. A differential diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine depends upon accurately diagnosing the source of qi deficiency in the body, i.e. ‘which organ(s) needs help?’ This is where your acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist will listen to your concerns, take your pulse and examine your tongue. While ‘low energy’ can present differently depending on the organ affected (e.g. palpitations for the Heart, frequent urination for the Kidney, etc), the Spleen remains a key player in all cases. The Spleen is the organ in Chinese medicine that converts our food into energy and blood for the whole body. If we cannot effectively convert food to energy, our other organs cannot be supplemented.

Support Spleen Health

Now that you understand how crucial maintaining your Spleen health is, what can you do to help? It’s simple: Let the body do its job (i.e. digest), don’t overwhelm it, and nourish it with foods that are energizing for the Spleen and Stomach. Straightforward enough, right?

Let the body do its job

This one is harder for folks than one might think. When I say, “Let the body do its job,” the unspoken second half of that sentence is, “…and only that.” When you eat while you’re working, eat while you’re watching TV, eat on the run, and so on, you give your body mixed messages. Are you familiar with the “fight/flight/freeze” response? When we’re relaxed, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, and says, “Ahhh… I’m safe to sit here and let all the blood go to my belly. I can finally allow myself to digest!” It’s the I-can’t-move-after-Thanksgiving-meal effect. But, when we’re under deadline, or otherwise stressed, the body’s still in threat mode — the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, drawing all the blood from the gut to the limbs so that you can ‘RUN RIGHT OUT OF HERE!!’ In short, ‘letting the body do its job’ means just that — not telling your Spleen it should multitask, or fudge it.

Whenever I think about this, I remember a shared lunch I had with a group of monks up at a monastery in Taos, NM. As I sat there in the back of the room I couldn’t help but notice how everyone had both their feet on the floor, with their faces forward. There was no talking. No working. No running. Just eating. Wow!

In other medicine, did you know your digestive enzymes are first secreted through the saliva? If you have trouble digesting or absorbing nutrients, consider chewing food [until liquefied in the mouth] to be your first objective. Unfortunately, this means drinking smoothies is also not a great option for you — by swallowing your food without chewing, you’re making it harder for your stomach and intestines to do their job.

Don’t overwhelm it

This goes for quality and quantity — (1) you don’t want to give your Spleen so much food at a time that it throws its arms up crying, “No more!!!” (2) You also don’t want to slam it with heavy, greasy or fried foods that clog and tax the system. (Think about sink drains — you get to know what can go down the drain without an issue, and more importantly what can’t, right? It’s the same with your digestion.) Folks who have a tendency towards deficiency might choose to (3) eat 4-6 smaller meals throughout a day comprised of lighter foods, rather than sticking to the standard three meals a day. Lastly, raw foods are considered taxing for the digestion in Chinese medicine because they take more energy to break down. For this reason, when you want to strengthen the digestion or tonify qi, it’s important to (4) avoid any cold (physically or cold-natured) or raw foods.

Consume More Foods to Tonify Qi

If you’ve been diagnosed with a “qi deficiency” you might consider including more foods to supplement the organ affected. While the Liver is listed here, the foods listed below aren’t exactly Liver qi tonics. Liver imbalance is often rooted in qi stagnancy or blood/yin deficiency (as opposed to a qi deficiency). For this reason, the foods included here stimulate the movement of qi, thereby freeing up the Liver to function optimally. For treating blood and yin deficiency, see Foods to Treat Blood Deficiency and Foods to Nourish Yin. Lastly, you’ll notice the Heart listings are few and far between. To tonify Heart qi, look first to potential Spleen and Lung qi deficiency and/or Spirit concerns (i.e. Have you been feeling dispirited? How might you get back in touch with your heart’s calling?).

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When Food’s Not Enough

Dietary therapy is fantastic; but sometimes when the issue’s gone on for a long time food alone isn’t enough to remedy the deficiency. In this case, consult with a Chinese herbalist about a formula that’s right for you. Even without herbs, acupuncture is a great way to counter low energy for those who might otherwise be concerned with herb-drug interactions. Need help getting started? Come on in for an appointment.

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References

Kastner, Joerg. Chinese Nutrition Therapy. 2004.

Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods. 2002.

QiFood.eu

Foods to Resolve Damp and Eliminate Phlegm

Damp & Phlegm: Pathogenic fluids in Chinese Medicine

In Chinese medicine, pathogenic fluid can present as Damp or Phlegm. Typically, when the Spleen-Pancreas [Chinese medicine organ] is deficient, the body’s transformation and transportation of fluids slows and congests into Dampness. As time progresses, this Dampness can thicken and (especially when heat is added to the mix) result in Phlegm.

Symptoms and Signs of Damp and Phlegm

This pathogenic fluid can be visible to the eye or ‘invisible,’ copious or scanty. Its presentation can vary greatly, depending on which organs are affected and whether or not there is heat or cold present (if you’re not sure which you have, talk to your acupuncturist). Lifestyle also plays a large role with poor dietary choices (e.g. consumption of highly-refined foods, excessive sweets, dairy and sugary drinks) compounding problems. Symptoms may include but are not limited to:[wproto_divider style=”gap”]

Some interesting overlaps, huh?

• apathy
• bronchitis
• concentration, poor
• cough with sputum
• dizziness
• edema
• fatigue, chronic
• gallstones
• headache, dull and banded
• heaviness
• kidney stones
• manic depression
• nausea

• nodules, e.g. lipoma, adenoma, ganglia, goiter
• numbness
• obesity
• ‘plum pit qi,’ i.e. a sensation of a foreign body in the throat
• pneumonia
• rheumatoid arthritis
• sluggishness
• sputum
• stroke
• stuffy nose
• tinnitus
• yeast infections

Treating Damp-Phlegm with Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine has a multi-pronged approach to any healing: Acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary therapy and qi gong (energy work and exercise). As always, being mindful of diet and lifestyle choices is the first place we can start to effect change (see: Foods to Treat Damp below). When it comes to Dampness and Phlegm, it’s important to keep the Spleen in balance, avoiding things like eating on the run, while under stress/working, or irregular meals. Avoiding cold/frozen, raw and fried foods also help to protect the Spleen’s function. Know that Damp as a pathogen can invade the body from the outside environment; so it’s best to avoid damp conditions such as sitting on cold, wet ground.

When changing diet and lifestyle is not enough, my personal favorite for treating damp is Chinese herbal medicine. I can tell you from my own experience, they’re pretty amazing! When my knee was unexpectedly and regularly giving out a few years ago, Western medicine had no idea what the problem was. Two weeks of Chinese damp-draining herbs later, I had no more problems!)

It’s easy to get excited about the latest clinical study’s results; but some herbs, while producing great results in clinical trial, aren’t always at the top of an herbalist’s list when it comes to safe prescribing. Lei Gong Teng for Rheumatoid Arthritis is an excellent example (see: Lei Gong Teng (Radix Tripterygii Wilfordii): A Blessing or a Time Bomb?). Before starting anything, always consult with a certified herbalist first.

Foods to Treat Damp and Eliminate Phlegm

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Pitchford’s 3-F Formula for Mucus

In his opus, Healing with Whole Foods, Pitchford provides the following simple tea remedy for replacing pathologic mucus (think: frequent colds, nasal/vaginal/rectal mucus discharge, lung and colon problems, etc) present in the body’s mucous membranes with a healthy, thin and light coating, thus benefiting the entire gastrointestinal tract (p115):
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• one part fennel seed
• one part fenugreek seed
• one part flax seed
• one part nettle leaf
• one-quarter part licorice root

He recommends decocting the herbs in one and a half pints of water for every ounce of herb, and taking the tea for four weeks as an autumn tonic; or for those with chronic mucus conditions, taking it for a longer period as necessary. To decoct, add the herbs and water to (ideally) a glass, ceramic or earthenware pot; cover and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and drink half a cup two to four times a day between meals.

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References

• Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods.
• QiFood.eu
• Kastner, Joerg. Chinese Nutrition Therapy.

Sustainable Tuna Shopping Guide | Greenpeace USA

Sustainable Tuna Options

If you’re going to be eating tuna, consider visiting Tuna Shopping Guide | Greenpeace USA to view 14 brands of canned tuna sized up on sustainability and ethical practices. Overall, I was surprised by some of the results. I suppose I should not have been surprised by StarKist, Bumblebee, and Chicken of the Sea brands all coming up among the worst. (All the brands I ate as a kid!)

Tuna and Chinese Medicine

In Chinese dietary medicine (i.e. your in-house, daily medicinals), tuna (金枪鱼) is considered neutral to warming in nature. It enters the Spleen, Stomach (and Kidney channels according to some) and is considered sweet and slightly salty in property. Tuna as a medicinal strengthens both the qi and the blood. It is also high in b12, EPA and DHA. Unfortunately, however, due to its heavy metal content, tuna is not recommended for nutritional therapy.

If you’re looking for alternative blood tonics, please see my earlier post, “Foods to treat blood deficiency (and anemia).”

Mercury Levels in Tuna

Canned Tuna

Consumer Reports published data from an outside lab in 2011 showing measurable levels of mercury in every sample of canned tuna tested. As little as 2.5 ounces of any of their white (albacore) tuna tested exceeded the EPA daily limit for for a woman of childbearing age. Light-tuna also showed increased levels in the mercury department.

Younger women and children please limit your intake. It’s recommended that pregnant woman avoid tuna altogether.

Fresh Tuna

You may have known this, but it was news to this vegetarian — the tuna used in canned products are typically younger (think: smaller) fish than the larger tuna fish that’s sold as fresh or frozen. For this reason, fresh tuna will likely contain significantly more mercury than that canned. Different species of tuna will also affect the amount of mercury contained; the Environmental Defense Fund has a good chart illustrating which to avoid.

 

Foods to Nourish Yin and Fluids

Chinese Medicine Dietary Therapy

Foods to Nourish Yin and Body Fluids

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, dietary therapy is a key part of maintaining health and curbing illness. You might consider it your in-house Chinese herbal medicine. Each food is considered to have a specific action, dependent on its flavor and affinity for certain organ(s) in the body. Actions can include warming, cooling, nourishing or draining. When it comes to yin or body fluid deficiency, herbalists look to foods that can nourish and usually that are cooling in nature due to the often accompanying heat signs (e.g. irritability, constipation, red face, etc).

Causes of Dryness in the Body

There can be many causes of dryness in the body, including excess [seasonal] pathogenic dryness, or deficiency of yin, body fluids or blood. For this reason, it’s important to get a proper differential diagnosis before treating any condition. I’m including this food list for patients who have been diagnosed, and are looking to supplement their treatment plan with a smart dietary approach. If you have been diagnosed with blood deficiency, see: Foods to Treat Blood Deficiency for related content.

Causes of Yin and Body Fluid Deficiency

Poorly balanced diet or overwork/exhaustion may contribute to deficiency of yin and fluids in the body. In general, contributing factors may include any extensive or excessive:

PHYSICAL STRAIN

• blood loss
• chronic illness
• drug/medication use
• fever
• sexual activity
• work hours and/or evening-hours work

EMOTIONAL STRAIN

• fear
• grief
• stress
• worry

DIETARY STRAIN

• alcohol, high-proof
• coffee
• poor/irregular diet
• warming/hot foods, esp. acrid spices

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Foods to Nourish Yin

When nourishing yin, regardless of the organ affected, it is always beneficial to supplement that of the Kidney. This forms the body’s root yin. In using the below list, start with the specific food list for the targeted organ, then supplement from the Kidney list.

Kidney

• blackberries
• blueberries
• huckleberries
• mulberries
• melons, esp. watermelon

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• chlorella
• mung bean sprouts
• potato
• seaweeds
• spirulina
• string beans

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• black bean
• black soybean
• kidney bean
• mung bean
• sesame seed, black
• tofu

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• crab
• clams
• sardines

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• pork

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• millet
• barley
• millet
• wheat germ

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• eggs
• cheese

Lung

• apples
• bananas
• oranges
• peaches
• pears
• persimmons
• tangerines
• watermelon

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• string beans
• tomatoes

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• flaxseeds
• peanuts
• pinenuts
• pistachios
• tempeh
• tofu

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• clams
• oysters

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• pork

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• almond milk
• dairy products, incl. butter
• eggs
• soy milk

Liver

• plum

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• chlorophyll-rich foods
  • arugula
  • chinese cabbage
  • endives
  • green beans
  • leeks
  • dark green, leafy vegetables
  • parsley
  • spinach
  • sugar peas
• cucumber
• seaweeds
• tomatoes
• watercress

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• borage seed oil
• flaxseed oil
• mung beans
• tofu
• millet

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• gelatin

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• green tea

Heart

• mung beans

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• wheat berries
• wheat germ

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• green tea

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Foods to Supplement Body Fluids

If you run hot, stick to cooling foods that supplement body fluids and moisten dryness. If you run cool, stick to more warming foods.

Cooling <—–

• blackberries
• currants, red
• lemons
• mangoes
• mulberries
• oranges
• persimmons
• sesame seeds, white
• strawberries
• tangerines
• watermelon

(Sl. Cooling)

• plums, purple

Neutral

• dates
• plums, yellow

(Sl. Warming)

• apricots
• peaches

—–> Warming

• cherries

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Foods to Avoid

Beyond focusing on foods to nourish yin, you’ll also likely want to cut back on or avoid spicy foods or overly warm foods or beverages that can exacerbate dryness, including but not limited to:

Beverages

• alcohol, high-proof
• black tea
• coffee
• red wine

Spices

• anise
• black pepper
• cayenne
• chili
• cloves
• cinnamon
• dill
• fennel
• garlic
• ginger
• nutmeg
• onions
• rosemary
• scallions
• spearmint

Is this you? Remember: Nourishing yin and moistening dryness is not just about eating well; it’s a lifestyle shift. Think of yin as a candle’s wax. Instead of burning the candle at both ends, consider taking time to slow down and appreciate your being. (Isn’t the glow beautiful?)

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Beyond Dietary Therapy: Chinese Herbs

Once diet has been addressed, the next best thing is getting a prescribed Chinese herbal formula that addresses not only the target organ’s deficiency or excess, but also one’s constitution. While one’s Western diagnosis may be the same between two patients, their treatment may be different depending on these factors. For best results, combine herbs with diet, lifestyle changes and acupuncture.

Hot flashes are a classic sign of yin deficiency in Chinese medicine; find out what a systematic review had to say on their combined treatment approach using Chinese medicine, herbals, soy/isoflavone preparations, and body-mind therapies: Toward Therapeutics for Symptom Clusters During the Menopausal Transition and Early Postmenopause.

 

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References

Kastner, Joerg. Chinese Nutrition Therapy. 2004.

“Chlorophyll and Chlorophyllin.” Linus Pauling Institute. Oregon State U, Dec. 2005. Web. 09 January 2015.

Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods. 2002.