Happy New Year !

Acupuncture May Work Better Than A Patch For Lazy Eye

The December issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology published a small Chinese study that found acupuncture worked better than an eye patch in older kids with lazy eye. Below are some excerpts from an article about the study, written by Alan Mozes for HealthDay.

~ Acupuncture may be an effective way to treat older children struggling with a certain form of lazy eye, new research from China

The 6 Most Popular Posts Of 2010

1. Flowers Used In Chinese Herbal Medicine

Long before western pharmaceutical drugs, flowers were used as herbal remedies and recorded use goes back to 500 AD. Chinese medicine for example has used flowers in herbal remedies to heal a huge variety of afflictions. Here are a few examples...

2. Doctors Using Acupuncture in Iraq During Drug Shortage

Iraqi doctors faced with a shortage of

Merry Christmas !

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday !

Want To Learn About Chinese Medicine? These 3 Books Are A Good Place To Start

Chinese Medicine Can Keep You Healthy This Winter

It is so cold here in Chicago, I am ready to move the Caribbean. A few years ago I was on vacation in Belize and spied an acupuncture office right of the beach. Maybe I should check back and see if the acupuncturist I met there needs a partner? Very tempting right now as I sit at the computer near my radiator which is not working! Anyway....

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a more temperate view

Acupuncture for Colic!

It is rare I get calls to treat infants, but a new study demonstrates the potential effectiveness of acupuncture use in this population. In a double-blind, randomized control study of infants of 36-week gestation or more with at least 3 hours of colic-related crying per day 3 times per week, found reduction in duration and severity with stimulation of acupuncture point LI4 for 2 seconds on one side and then the other for 6 sessions over 3 weeks. Longer retention and stimulation in previous studies had a more immediate effect, but this may pave the way for parental-administered acupressure at home as a viable therapy.

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Lovely, Unique & Healthy Gift Ideas From Your Chicago Acupuncturist

Blooming Tea  - It's beautiful, unique, tasty, healthy and great for parties.

                               Tea Sampler From Traditional Medicinals
- My favorite tea brand. One of the few that has good quality herbs. As many of my patients know I often recommend their ginger tea.


Eye Pillow  - I love these, and use one almost every night. This eye pillow has wonderful lavender scent. It

Acupuncture and Ivy League Softball

Former Columbia softball player Keli Leong gets to revisit her former glory on the silver screen along Reece Witherspoon in the upcoming movie "How do You Know." What does this have to do with acupuncture?  Leong is currently pursuing her master's degree in acupuncture with a goal of helping treat athletes as she was treated when playing the game. Too bad there are no acupuncture scenes in the movie!

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Insight

How often do you have a "light bulb" moment ? For me it does not happen often, but when it does it is always a defining moment. What do therapists say about it ? Find out in this post from my new favorite blog; Life Ain't For Sissies. written by my mother Dr. Linda Edelstein.

Psychologists call it insight but the feeling when it happens to you is, “AHA!”  It is a satisfying feeling of

Acupuncture Changes How The Brain Perceives Pain

The most common question asked about acupuncture is, “How does it work?” A close second is, “Is it all in your head (is it a placebo effect?)” A new study gets close to answering those questions. Researchers at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany, and their colleagues at University of Duisburg-Essen were able to locate the areas of the brain that are activated by acupuncture.  Using fMRIs (

What Are You Worried About ?

"As a rule, men worry more about what they can't see than about what they can."  Julius Caesar

Come to Northwestern Hospital's Integrative Medicine Event This Saturday

Northwestern Memorial's Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness in cooperation with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University Presents; 

 Integrative Approaches to Cancer Care: Wellness, Health and Healing
Time: Saturday, December 11, 2010: 12:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Prentice Women's Hospital Room L North (3rd Floor) 250 E. Superior St., Chicago
Price

ACUPUNCTURE WORKS !

That is the title of an article from Time Magazine. They say, “the National Institutes of Health last week assembled a panel of experts… After three days of analyzing studies and interrogating practitioners, the panel was unexpectedly upbeat. ‘It's time to take acupuncture seriously,’ said its chairman, David Ramsay, president of the University of Maryland. ‘There are a number of situations where

A Funny Video Explaining Acupuncture

An unknown colleague created this video, "But You're Not Chinese," and it has been reposted by multiple acupuncturists on Facebook. It is a little over-the-top on the part of the acupuncture bear, but quite fun anyway!

Diet Guidelines for Menopausal Women

Eat the following vegetables in amounts that are moderate and satisfying; that portion should then be eaten regularly, perhaps 4 to 6 times a week.

- Asparagus: Helps cleanse arteries of cholesterol and is useful for vascular health. Too much can irritate the kidneys. It improves the feminine principle.

- Beets: strengthens the heart, sedates the spirit, improves circulation, purifies the blood, benefit’s the liver.

- Cabbage: Green and purple varieties. Helps mental depression and irritability.

- Food to build yin: wheat germ and its oil, mung bean, mung bean sprouts, string bean, seaweed, spirulina, millet, black bean, tofu, kidney bean, barley, and black sesame seed.

- Use restraint with alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, excessive and poor-quality meat.

- Important supplements: Vitamin E, B-complex, C, A and mineral calcium.

- Adequate magnesium and vitamin D from sunshine are necessary cofactors in calcium metabolism.

- Vitamin E stimulates production of estrogen. Wheat germ and wheat germ oil are especially good sources. Whole wheat also calms the spirit and strengthens the kidney-adrenal function. Take approximately 300 I.U of vitamin E three times a day at meal times if menopausal difficulties persist in spite of a good diet.

- For Chinese herbs, dang gui (angelica sinensis) brings relief from all symptoms. Also can use motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca).

- Aloe vera gel can be useful for those who don’t feel too cold. Use 2 teaspoons gel stirred into 1 cup of water 2 or 3 times a day.

- Royal jelly can notify  feminine hormonal system. A normal dosage is just 100-400 milligrams daily.

Source: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Acupuncture Can Keep You Healthy In Cold & Flu Season

Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and cupping can all be very helpful treating colds, flu and sinus infections. If you take certain herbs or get occasional tune up treatments you often can avoid getting sick. in this article, from Acufinder.com, Diane Joswick L.A.c.  focuses on how acupuncture can remedy colds and flu.

Acupuncture for Prevention - Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can prevent

How To Have A Terrific Holiday Party ~ 5 Surefire Tips For Success

Are you a good hostess ? I try to be, but I know I'm still a work in progress. Lucky for me, and all of you reading this post. My mom has a Ph.D. and is here to help.

~We are headed into the season of social gatherings. For many people (especially those who suffer from anxiety), these get-togethers can be awkward or uncomfortable.  Hosts and hostesses hope that their guests will be comfortable

Chinese Medicine Has Solutions For Insomnia

No matter what complaint a patient presents to me, I listen for information about the two things that are vital to making anyone feel better. They are good sleep and regular bowel movements. This post, by Julie Lee, the founder of Unique Acupuncture, in Oregon, focuses on how to improve your sleep. We'll save "being regular" for another day. : )

~ One research study from the University of

Happy Hanukkah !