Nourish Your Qi With Acupuncture This Winter

Acufinder.com has good articles for every season this one is written By: Diane Joswick, L.Ac., MSOMRecharge Your Battery this Winter with AcupunctureIf you feel tired and drained, you are not alone. "Lack of energy" is one of the top five complaints that doctors hear in their offices. According to Oriental medicine, the cold months of winter are the perfect time to recharge your battery and

Best Banana Bread & it's Vegan!

Did you know that the average banana contains a whopping 467 mg of potassium? Potassium is an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Bananas also help protect against stomach ulcers and ease constipation. Plus they are a good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. Below is a delicious and healthy recipe from my good friend Hedy, try it out.Best

Body Detoxification

Body detoxification eliminates harmful chemicals from the body that have been stored in the kidneys, liver, intestines, lymph, skin, lungs, and adipose tissue. You absorbs these toxic substances from processed foods as well as exposure to industrial chemicals such as those used in beauty products or unhealthy air.

Common symptoms that may call for detox are well known to be unexplained fatigue, dull skin or breakouts, general body aches and pains, digestive problems such as bloating, allergies or low grade infections, and bags under your eyes.

Pills, exercise and dietary advice for body detoxification are abundant and can be found on the web, at your local bookstore or even your local health food store. This is not new information and you shouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. Natural ingredients can be used, so expensive products are beneficial to the sellers, but unnecessary for a good detox. The benefits of going through a detox are obvious, but if you have ever gone through one you may remember the downside effects as your body flushes toxins through skin, bowels and urination and other mucus. You can feel symptoms similar to those of a flu. Since you are probably denying yourself sugar and coffee, for example, you may also experience signs of withdraw such as headaches, nervousness, etc.

However, don't be discouraged because there are ways to go through a detoxification program more comfortably, using the natural rhythms of the body. Using acupuncture in addition to dietary guidelines and herbal supplements can ease the symptoms and shortened the time needed to detox. Acupuncture enhances blood and lymphatic fluid circulation which is necessary to transport toxins and wastes out of the body.

For example, acupuncture can produce a natural diuretic effect which helps your body eliminate toxins through the urinary tract. This is useful for drug detox programs as well as eliminating residual medications that may have caused allergic reactions or unwanted side effects.

Acupuncture treatment can help reduce unhealthy cravings for toxic foods such as those loaded with sugars or highly processed. Once toxins are eliminated and healthy foods are ingested, your body will crave foods that are good for you and you may even find yourself repulsed by unhealthy foods. While undergoing acupuncture, you will experience improvement in the your digestive system that will result in increased energy for a better detox.

Acupuncture is also helpful during detoxification as it reduces your stress level, which often allows you to finish the detox while working and dealing with the ongoing aspects of your life. By enhancing the immune system with acupuncture you are less likely to pick up a cold or flu during the process as well.

So, consider contacting a qualified acupuncturist for help during your next detoxification. They will often have special packages or programs to fit the needs of your health condition and your lifestyle. Happy detoxing!

Is It Really A Life And Death Problem?

“If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”Dean Smith

Acupuncturists Are Headed To Haiti

I am proud to report that Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB) and Pathways to Wellness have come together to launch a relief response to the emergency in Haiti. On February 3rd Diana Fried, AWB Executive Director, and Julia Raneri, AWB Haiti Operations Manager and NADA registered trainer, will be going with a group of Doctors as the first team. They plan to organize a ground operation and get

The Element of Wood and President Obama 1 Year Later

We just marked the 1 year anniversary of President Obama's Inauguration, so everyone has been reviewing his performance during this time. It seems fitting to share a post that was written by a fellow TCM blogger (Chinese Medicine Notes) in Israel when Obama won. The post is 1 year old - see if you think that it was accurate. Yael analyzes our President by using the theory of the five Chinese

Times, They Are A Changing

My title, borrowed from Bob Dylan’s 1964 mega hit song applies again today for proponents of Traditional Chinese Medicine. A national survey, published online in the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that three-quarters of the med students (future physicians) surveyed believe that conventional Western medicine would be improved by integrating more complementary

Chinese Medicine Is Going Global !

Last month I wrote about how alternative medicine has come a long way in the last decade. It seems I am not the only acupuncturist/blogger taking notice. This recent post from the Portland Acupuncture Blog by Amy Chitwood Burslem is exciting and informative. Acupuncture in the mediaThe global spread of Chinese Medicine is taking place before our eyes! Acupuncture is becoming more accepted into

Cancer Patients Add Traditional Chinese Medicine To Their Western Treatments

A survey done in Hong Kong found that more than half of the cancer patients studied combined Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine with the Western treatment they were undergoing (reported in 7th Space Interactive ).Data was collected from almost 800 cancer patients in Hong Kong. Of those, 42.9% used Western medicine practices for cancer treatment exclusively. The remaining

House Bill 65

Kentucky acupuncturists are going to Frankfort on Thursday to try and accomplish two objective:

1. Change our title from certified (CAc) to licensed (LAc) - like almost every other state in the country

2. Delete the need to notify MD if we treat patients with high blood pressure or diabetes since these are not contraindications for acupuncture

We had originally intended to ask for the practice of acupuncture without a license to be considered a felony. Despite winning certification in KY in 2006, there are still plenty of "beauty shop dry-needlers" and healthcare practitioners performing acupuncture without proper training (ahhem, DCs and PTs). Since we are under the KY Board of Medicine and prior to 2006, practicing acupuncture without a license was synonymous with practicing medicine without a license, we figured this was a reasonable request, however our representative thought removing the clause would help our case for the other 2 points.

Oh well.

If anyone out there is an activist kind of mood today, we would really appreciate phone calls to our local representatives who will be voting on this issue. To leave a message in support of House Bill 65, call 1-800-372-7181. Here is their contact info for specific representatives and thank you for your support!


Tom Burch, chair Loiusville 502-564-8100 x601

Bob DeWeese, vice chair Louisville 502-564-4334

David Watkins, vice chair Henderson 502-564-8100 x700

John Arnold Sturgis - 502-564-8100 x709

Jim Glenn Owensboro - 502-564-8100 x705

Joni Jenkins - Shively - 502-564-8100 x692

Tim Moore - Elizabethtown - 502-564-8100 x702

Ruth Ann Palumbo - Lexington - 502-564-8100 x600

Scott Brinkman - Louisville - 502-564-8100 x682

Brent Housman - Paducah - 502-564-8100 x634

Mary Lou Marzian - Louisville - 502-564-8100 x643

Darryl Owens - Louisville - 502-564-8100 x685

Susan Westrom - Lexington - 502-564-8100 x740

Addia Wuchner - Florence - 502-564-8100 x707

More About The Benefits Of Acupuncture

Here is a great article about acupuncture from the Telegraph Journal.Stick it to whatever ails youJanuary 2nd, 2010 What do Cher, Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams and Titan, the world's tallest dog, have in common? Like more than 20 million Americans and Canadians, they're on pins and needles. Acupuncture needles, that is.This therapy involves inserting hair-thin needles into

Happy Birthday Elvis !

“When things go wrong don’t go with them”Elvis PresleyThe King of Rock'n Roll he would have been 75 today.

Acupuncture Brings Relief From Hot Flashes

Hot flashes plague many women during menopause and also during breast cancer treatment because the women experience fluctuations in hormone levels. Well, it looks like acupuncture is now recognized as providing relief from this miserable symptom.The following article is worth reading and sending along to any family or friends who are being treated for breast cancer. The study with cancer

New Year News

This is more of Jing Acupuncture news, but I have officially graduated my MSN program (4.0) and plan to take my family nurse practitioner license sometime in March. Most of the research out there lately has involved acupuncture for hot flashes, chemo side effects, and pain management - I think I have covered these areas well enough for the time being. Hopefully something saucy will crop up in the new year. I do not like to engage in politics that do not relate to acupuncture on the blog, but there are certainly all sort of bills about at the moment that could impact both acupuncture and nursing that may be viable reporting subjects in the near future. In the meantime, here is a recent article about the current state of pain management in the US

Pain Management Failing as Fears of Prescription Drug Use Rise

Questions And Answers About Pet Acupuncture

I’ve been getting increasing numbers of questions about pet acupuncture. Although this is not something that I practice, I can give you some accurate answers about the procedures.Q. Do all acupuncturists do pet acupuncture?A. No. In fact, in most states you must be a veterinarian to treat pets with acupuncture.Q. Is it legitimate or some weird hoax?A. It can be very effective. And animals are a

2010 Is The Year Of The Tiger !

While celebrity watchers immediately think of 2009 as the year of golfer Tiger Woods and his woes, I want to look positively toward the Chinese Zodiac that declares 2010 as the Year of the (other type of) Tiger. For those of us in U.S., our New Year has begun. However in China, they are finishing up the year of the OX. The Year of the Tiger begins on Feb. 14th and ends on February 2, 2011.Are

Need A Memory Boost? Try Acupuncture !

Acupuncture Improves Memory and Learning CapacityBy: Diane Joswick, L.Ac., MSOM From the informative website Acufinder.comAcupuncture can significantly improve learning and memory capacity that has been impaired by hyperglycemia and cerebral ischemia, according to a new study. The study that was published in the October 2008 issue of the journal, Neuroscience Letters, reported on whether