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Traditional Acupuncture in Bartlett, IL

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Potent Organs in Fall

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, fall is the season associated with the lung and large intestine energetic meridians. These two meridians work in a symbiotic way to control the immune system from both the inside and outside of your body.

The large intestine channel runs up the arms, across the shoulders, up the neck, over the face and ends next to the nose. As many people now know, the health of our large intestine and gastrointestinal tract overall plays a big part in our immunity. Keeping the large intestine channel warm and preventing exposure from the elements will help to keep you healthy. Cold pathogens can enter the body through the pores or nasal cavity. By wrapping the neck and shoulders with a scarf during the fall months, you can help ward off the pathogens and prevent catching a cold or the flu.

The large intestine also has the function of transporting all waste products out of the body or to other areas for excretion. The large intestine absorbs liquid and releases anything that is no longer needed. This can be food, toxins or even emotions. This helps to cleanse the body and mind.

The lungs are the paired organ system to the large intestine in TCM. The lungs have a very special kind of energy, or qi, called the Wei Qi (pronounced “way chee”). Wei Qi is similar to what Western medicine calls the immune system. Wei Qi provides a barrier that protects the body from pathogens. When the Wei Qi is depleted or low, then the body is unable to fight off infections. Strong, healthy lungs enhance the functions of the whole body. Lung health can be weakened by poor food choices, pollution, poor genetics, emotional stress, and even unexpressed emotions such as grief or sadness.

The lungs are known as the Prime Minister in TCM. They control breath and energy, while assisting the heart with the circulation of blood throughout the body. The lungs also control the skin, which breathes through the opening and closing of the pores, helping to regulate body temperature. The pores regulate body temperature both through perspiration and shivering. This mechanism is another way the lungs help to protect the body – when we perspire, we usually release toxins from the body. Fewer toxins means less chance of getting sick.

As fall approaches, it is a good idea to start focusing on the health of your lungs and large intestine. One way to do this is by getting regular acupuncture treatments. Check in with us if you’d like to schedule extra appointments this fall to support your lungs and large intestine!

Research Update: Acupuncture and Respiratory Issues

The Journal of Complementary Medicine Research conducted a study that compiled the research from multiple trials to evaluate the effects of acupoint application for asthma in adults. Eight separate studies were included in the review. The results indicated acupoint application decreased the production of immunoglobulin E and increased the amount of air people could exhale in a single breath – a common way to diagnose asthma, because lung congestion reduces one’s exhalation capacity. The review concluded acupoint application, whether it be acupressure or acupuncture, helps improve pulmonary function, while reducing the levels of immunoglobulin E and interleukins in the blood.

Respiratory issues and deaths associated with them have shot up tremendously over the past 35 years in the United States. The number of deaths from chronic respiratory illnesses jumped from 41 in 100,000 in 1980 to 53 in 100,000 by 2014. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is the leading cause of respiratory deaths, but other ailments like asthma, interstitial lung disease and pneumoconiosis are also contributors. In many cases, symptoms are merely masked or managed through the use of pharmaceuticals. But, alternatives like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can address both the symptoms and the root causes of the disease.

Traditional Chinese Medicine considers how the psyche affects the physical body, making emotional wellness just as important as physical health.

In TCM, every organ is associated with a series of properties. These associations provide clues that help the TCM practitioner locate the root of the physical problems, while guiding them through the treatments. The lungs are associated with grief and sadness, the season of fall, the color white and the pungent flavor. The energy of the lungs is very important to all aspects of human life. When the body’s energy is imbalanced, disease or illness my take root.

The lungs are known as the “Prime Minister” in TCM. They control breath and energy, while assisting the heart with the circulation of blood throughout the body. The lungs also control the skin, which breathes through the opening and closing of the pores, helping to regulate body temperature both through perspiration and shivering.

Acupuncture can be a great asset in balancing the energy of the lungs. The function of the lungs is to descend and dispense energy downwards and to dissipate it outwards.  When acupuncture points are stimulated the flow of your lung energy can greatly improve, while opening up the airways and increasing the uptake of oxygen within the cells of the whole body. Acupuncture also helps relax the muscles associated with breathing, allowing lung energy to flow properly.                  

 

Research Update: New Research Might Help Explain How Acupuncture Works

One of the theories scientists have held for many years as to why acupuncture works to alleviate chronic pain and other ailments is called the Vascular-Interstitial Theory. This theory describes the idea that acupuncture works by affecting the electrical system of the body, the network of currents conducted by our cells. Electricity is vital for sending information through the body to the brain and vice versa, as well as in order to conduct currents to the heart, which allows it to pump at the right times.

A disruption to any of these electrical currents can cause illness. The Vascular-Interstitial Theory of acupuncture suggests stimulating acupoints affects these electrical currents in our bodies, facilitating healing by allowing the transfer of blood, organic matter and electrical energy between healthy and injured tissues.

Research published in March 2018 in Scientific Reports offered a significant contribution to our understanding of the interstitium, and therefore sheds new light on the Vascular-Interstitial Theory.

Previous research on the interstitium suggested it was a layer of densely packed connective tissue lining the digestive tract, lungs, urinary systems and surrounding veins and fascia between the muscles. New and increasingly powerful microscopes now allow scientists to look inside living tissues. In this case, the authors of the research were able to look inside the interstitium for the first time, and rather than a web of densely packed connective tissue, they found the space is a network of interconnected, fluid-filled compartments. This finding may help to explain why placing acupuncture needles at specific points on the body creates healing elsewhere in the body.

In an article for The Cut, reporter Katie Heaney interviewed one of the authors of this new research, Neil Theise, a clinician and professor of pathology at NYU Langone Health and a proponent of alternative medicine. While the research paper itself did not discuss acupuncture, Heaney asked Theise to weigh in on the possible connections. Theise posited it was possible the research had implications for understanding acupuncture. The layer of skin into which acupuncture needles are inserted is the interstitium, Theise explained.

“There’s fluid in there,” he told Heaney. “When you put the needle [into an accu-point], maybe the collagen bundles are arranged into a channel through which fluid can flow.”

The research shows the interstitium is a structured and organized system in the body. It may be that stimulating true acupoints allows interstitial fluid to travel throughout the body, explaining why acupuncture has far-reaching effects, not just offering pain relief at the site where the needles are inserted. Channels of interstitial fluid may be responsible for facilitating the transfer of blood, organic matter and electricity between healthy and injured parts of the body. These findings also offer a possible explanation as to why other research has shown sham acupuncture points have some pain-relieving effects where the needles are inserted, but true acupoints go a lot further in offering system-wide relief.

As always, this research is inconclusive on its own. It will require more research to further explore the connection between the interstitium and acupuncture, but it is undoubtedly an interesting idea.

 

https://www.thecut.com/2018/03/do–we–finally–understand–how–acupuncture–works.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23062-6

https://www.graduate.umaryland.edu/gsa/gazette/February-2016/How–the–human–body–uses–electricity/

 

 

 

Healthy Foods for Fall

traditional chinese medicine foods for fall

The season of fall brings cooler weather and shorter days. As with any season, the world adjusts accordingly. Plants begin to go dormant, animals begin scrounging for food to store to get them through the upcoming winter months and humans start winterizing everything.

As fall descends on the land, it reminds us we need to start cutting back on the numerous cooling foods that are consumed during the summer months. Things like raw foods, salads, juices and fruits should be decreased because they can create too much cold in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine. continue reading »

Tired of Being Tired? Try Traditional Chinese Medicine.

There are many factors involved with fatigue. If you are overtired, Traditional Chinese Medicine might be able to pinpoint the culprit, give some extra pep and help you kick those afternoon blues.

In TCM the idea of treatment is to find the root of the problem instead of simply treating the symptoms. In the case of fatigue, there are many possible root causes to feeling tired including: stress, depression, over exercising, lack of sleep, poor diet, poor absorption of nutrients and vitamin deficiency. Of course, these can overlap and one can exacerbate the other.

In TCM, there are a few basic syndromes associated with fatigue.

Spleen Qi deficiency and dampness: This mainly comes from poor digestion and malabsorption of nutrients from an insufficient diet. Associated symptoms are a pale complexion, gas and bloating, to name a few. Dampness is excessive mucus and a feeling of heaviness in the head and body usually seen in overweight individuals. Since food is not transformed and transported well, food is not being absorbed adequately, which can lead to feeling sluggish. Treatment focuses on digestive issues and lifestyle choices to increase energy.

Blood deficiency: Similar to anemia, symptoms are pale complexion, dizziness and fatigue. Treatment focuses on building blood,herbal formulas and dietary advice.

Yin or yang deficiency: The body continually strives to achieve a yin and yang balance, as does everything in the universe. If there is an imbalance in one of these, there will be a relative change in the other. For example, if one is yin deficient the symptoms would include heat, dryness, sweating, irritability and thirst. This is seen typically in menopausal women, as the yin declines with hormone changes and normal aging.

On the other hand, yang deficiency (common in male aging and low testosterone) would have cold signs such as feeling cold, having low energy, weakness in the legs and wanting to curl up. The lower yang energy influences the balance of yin. This is so the yin is relatively higher. Treatment consists of building the deficiency and balancing your yin and yang.

In other terms, if it is a hormone imbalance, treatment would safely adjust hormone levels with safe and effective herbal formulas and acupuncture.

Shen disturbance: Shen refers to the mind and spirit. If one is stressed, angry and having anxiety, it may disrupt sleep patterns, which would cause fatigue. Unhappiness with one’s situation causes great emotional fatigue and lethargy. Feeling stuck causes stagnation in the liver channel and disrupts the free flow of energy. Treatment would include calming the mind and adjusting lifestyle choices.

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