Help For Women With Uterine Fibroids

In my Chicago acupuncture practice I treat many women for various gynecological problems. A common one is uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are noncancerous tumors of the uterus that often occur during child bearing years. For many women the fibroids are not problematic but for some they can be painful and cause bleeding. I recently came across this article, by Jill Blakeway, M.S., L.A.c.,

Mayo Clinic Finds Ginseng Reduces Fatigue in Cancer Patients

Debilitating fatigue occurs in the majority of patients battling cancer.  So, it is nice to hear about research utilizing the benefits of Chinese herbs to relieve exhaustion among the sufferers of this disease.

In this recent study, 340 patients who were undergoing or had completed treatment for cancer received a placebo or 2000 milligrams of American Ginseng for two months. At the end of the

Holistic Strategies For Skin Care

I know that I've written endlessly on this blog about the importance of treating your body as an integrated system, every organ working in tandem with the others. Today I found a post about the benefits to your skin from adopting this point of view. In the Huffington Post, there is an article about overall strategies that will enhance the health and beauty of your skin. The first suggestion

Chinese Herbal Medicine is Popular For a Reason

Long, long before the big drug boom, herbal remedies were used to treat people’s complaints and to help them maintain wellness. In China, the recorded history of herbs goes back to 500 AD. The book, known as The Huang Di Nei Jing, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, was the first to mention Chinese Herbal Medicine and it lists 28 herbal substances and 12 prescriptions.

When we

Chinese Herbs and Colon Cancer

Researchers are discovering more and more about the properties of Chinese herbs and how they can be used for your best health. In this article from the Wall Street Journal, researchers report that a specific combination of herbs seem to bolster colon-cancer treatment. They found that tests on animals with tumors have shown that administering the herbs along with chemotherapy drugs restored

Chinese Medicine Relieves The Frustration Of Skin Conditions

I'm not sure if it's the weather, the indulgent diet during the holidays or the stress that comes along with all the merry making, but Hives and other skin disorders have been a popular complaint in my Chicago acupuncture office lately. So I'm re posting this article from Acufinder.com to give my readers some more information about how Chinese Medicine can be helpful for various skin concerns.

Food As Medicine Is Common Sense

Here in the U.S. and in most Western countries, we think of food as food and medicine as medicine; rarely linking the two. Many countries understand that food IS medicine. I found a particularly useful article in a Bangkok paper (applause for the internet) that explains food as medicine and want to share it with you.

"Traditional Chinese medicine has been practised for 5,000 years, so it's no

5 Cold Prevention & Treatment Tips

During this last month, I have had so many people coming into my Chicago acupuncture office complaining of colds, that I thought I’d post some good tips on how to avoid and treat the common cold.
Huang qi/Astragalus - I have written about this herb many times on my blog and with good reason. It stimulates the immune system; therefore it is often used to treat and prevent the common cold, sinus

Easy Tea Drinker’s Tip to Heart Health

In completing a mega-analysis of studies that examined drinking green tea and its effects on cholesterol, researchers are optimistic. (Do I hear the applause for Traditional Chinese Medicine advice???) Although in some of the studies, participants consumed the equivalent of 18 cups of green tea daily (whoa!), experts don’t suggest that you drown yourself in green tea. More research is needed to

Food As Medicine

"A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down..."  Oh, Mary Poppins, you are sooo yesterday!  The Chinese have something much better and certainly healthier. The China Daily has a story about a restaurant that adds herbs to food in order to increase their healthfulness in a very pleasant way,  for example, cooking chicken with the herb ginseng, boiling ginger into a drink, or adding angelica

Hey Honey

When bees feast on flowers, the process of making honey begins. The flower nectar mixes with enzymes in the bees' saliva and turns it into honey. Then, the bees carry the honey back to the hive where they deposit it into the cells of the hive's walls. 

Honey has many health benefits, especially if it is raw. Raw honey can be used topically and is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. 

Milk Thistle is Perfect for Spring Cleaning

The milk thistle is a flowering plant of the daisy family, so named because the leaves are splashed with a white color and the plant contains a milky sap. It has been used for over 2,000 years as a treatment to promote liver health. Milk thistle can protect the liver from intake of toxins. It also encourages the liver to cleanse itself of damaging substances, such as alcohol, medications,

Acupuncture With Jenny Dubowsky, A Massage Therapist’s Perspective

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, Owner, Working Well Massage  ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach

By the time I met Jennifer Dubowsky, I had already been happily receiving acupuncture for many years. Jenny joined our River North  Wellness Center group 10 years ago, right around the time I was opening up my own massage therapy practice. I received some treatments from

My First Experiences With Acupuncture~From Disbeliever to Passionate Convert

By Sue Shekut, Licensed Massage Therapist, Owner Working Well Massage,  ACSM Personal Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach.

I admit, I was skeptical of Acupuncture at first. I grew up in a very Western medical household and wasn’t sure if it was a legitimate treatment. (My mom was a nurse and my brother is a doctor.) I’d already had good experience with chiropractic though and I was desperate for

Colorado Rockies Pitcher Jason Hammel Turns To Chinese Medicine

Well readers, this story is as much about listening to your wife as it is about the benefits of acupuncture for sports stars. As a side effect of cholesterol lowering medication,  Rockies' pitcher Jason Hammel's arm was feeling dead and he was suffering from a lack of energy. His wife suggested (insisted on?) acupuncture, clearly a smart woman.  Read Hammel's account here...

""My wife suggested

Post-Partum Care With Chinese Medicine

*Another helpful post from the Portland Acupuncture Blog written by Amy Chitwood Burslem L.A.c.
Bringing a new life into the world is an amazing process, but the time spent in labor and delivery takes a toll on the mother’s body. After giving birth, a woman’s body is depleted, and needs to be nourished by her environment (calm, quiet and warmth) and the foods she eats. She needs to take care of

The New Year Is A Good Time To Reflect

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” ~ Confucius

Reflection is the idea that an image or idea comes back to us, such as looking in a mirror, rethinking an event, or reviewing an idea.  We have the opportunity to take a close view and to reconsider our original

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

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