To The Point

Fall, 2007 #3

Welcome to the Fall issue of To the Point. Autumn is a time of life’s most natural endings. Instead of losses, we experience a period in which we reap all that we have sown during the prior months. There is a harvest and then quiet while we plan and put into place our new ideas and projects. For all of us, we get a fresh start. Therefore, it seems fitting to pack this newsletter with good news and new possibilities.

In this issue:

I am happy to say that I have finished my latest article entitled “Fertility Research Delivers Healthy Results.” It includes some very interesting new research and has been published on Acufinder.com.

Fertility Research Delivers Healthy Results

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been practiced for thousands of years. Amazingly, the first written gynecological records date back to the Shang dynasty (1500 BC- 1000 BC), but here in the U.S. and other Western countries, people are just beginning to understand and appreciate the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

It isn’t easy to compare Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine because there are profound differences that underlie the basic notions of your health, body and treatment. Western medicine often takes a more mechanistic view of people - your body may be treated as if it is a collection of machine parts rather than one whole, integrated system. Alternatively, Traditional Chinese Medicine sees individuals as personal ecosystems, with each part depending on, and influencing, all the other parts. This “whole body” approach means that treatment addresses the complete systems of your body rather than just attending to your symptoms. As a result of such a treatment strategy, most patients experience an improvement in their specific condition and also a better overall sense of health and well being.

TCM and Fertility: The Research
There are many factors that may make your conception difficult to achieve and, even after conception, you may face problems bringing your pregnancy to term, which causes frustration, upset and increased stress. However, research using acupuncture to enhance fertility is providing reason for new optimism in the struggle with this old problem. FULL ARTICLE

Brand new Acupuncture Study Reported this Week

The New York Times and other national newspapers reported a brand new study that found six months of acupuncture provides more relief for back pain than conventional treatments. The large German study of nearly 1,200 patients, published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the largest and most rigorous analysis yet of the use of acupuncture to treat back pain. Some of the patients received real acupuncture, others were needled randomly, and the control group received conventional therapy. Nearly half the patients in the acupuncture group reported significant relief, compared to just 27 percent in the conventional therapy group. But surprisingly, fake acupuncture worked almost as well as the real thing with 44 percent of patients also reporting significant relief.

Real acupuncture did reduce the need for pain medicine. Only 15 percent of patients who received real acupuncture used extra pain medication, but 34 percent of patients in the sham group and 59 percent of patients in conventional therapy needed extra pain pills.

Metal is the Chinese Element of Autumn

In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena are classified into the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. They are used to explain interactions between people and their environment. Each season is associated with one of the Elements. For autumn, the element is Metal, the energetic force that governs the health and functionality of your Lungs and Large Intestine.

Fall is the time to gather and protect our energy. It is a time of abundance, but also one of contraction. It is a time to internalize our focus, reorganize and then let go of whatever needs to be released.

Lungs are the primary influence over the immune system. So during autumn, it’s important to eat foods that strengthen your immune system, consider herbs, and protect your body from the inevitable cold.

Tips for a healthy fall season
Foods - Eat more cooked and fewer raw foods. Sour, astringent foods like lemon, lime, pickle, vitamin C, seaweed, and sourdough bread can all benefit your health. Enjoy spicy/pungent foods like onion, garlic, radish, horseradish, and cabbage. Hearty concentrated foods like root vegetables, soy products and barley are also foods for the Fall. Pumpkin, winter squash, and sweet potato are all great choices. Almonds, apples, and pears (especially Asian apple pears) are beneficial to the respiratory system.

Herbs - Astragalus is an herb that is often used to boost immunity and aid resistance to illness by increasing phagocytosis and your white blood cell count. Chinese research has shown it to have a protective effect against the common cold when taken consistently for two to eight weeks. Astragalus works best as a long-term preventive measure. It is best to take it as a tea through the cold and flu season to enhance immunity and prevent illness.

Protect - As the weather changes, it is easy to catch colds and flus. Protect the back of your neck from the winds with a scarf or collar.

The Work of Autumn is Reflection and Refocus
In this season, Nature lets go of its abundant creation of the past year in a grand final display. Leaves turn brilliant colors and drop back to the earth, enriching it to promote (nourish) the coming growth. In autumn, we can learn more about ourselves because, after a harvest, everything is bare.

Autumn marks the end of the growing season, so it becomes a natural turning inward. Outer-directed energy falls away to be replaced by reflection and then creation. Nature instructs us about the cycle of creation and letting go: Trees in autumn don’t stubbornly hold onto their leaves because they might need to wear them next year. Yet how many of us defy the cycle and hold onto what we’ve produced or collected - those decayed leaves in the form of old negativity, outdated attitudes, or fears? How can we hope for a healthy harvest next year unless we release the old, rest and start fresh with renewed focus?

The lesson of this season, more than any other, tells us to release the waste, the old, and the stale aspects of our lives in order to uncover all that is meaningful and fresh.

September is National Cholesterol Month - think better nutrition

Did you know that September is “National Cholesterol Month”? Thirty percent of Americans have borderline high cholesterol levels, which may increase the risk of heart disease, one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Since September is National Cholesterol Month, this is the perfect time to take measures to lower your cholesterol naturally.

Several Chinese herbs and herbal formulas are used to lower cholesterol levels. Shan Zha (Fructus Crataegi) also known as Hawthorn berry, has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol levels and also lower blood pressure.

Most herbal medicines are not single herbs but a blend of herbs specifically chosen for you. Please talk to your practitioner about which herbal formulas and supplements for high cholesterol and heart health are right for you.

Foods that are effective in aiding your cholesterol levels include:

  • Fiber-rich foods such as oatmeal, wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and legumes (beans, soybeans).
  • Soy products help lower cholesterol levels because of their isoflavone content.
  • Garlic, onions, avocados, salmon, almonds and walnuts are important in your diet.
  • Omega-3 oils such as flax seed oil and fish oil helps lower cholesterol. These can be found in tablet form and in walnuts, flaxseeds, beans, salmon, olive oil and winter squash.
  • Copper and chromium are minerals that have been shown to lower cholesterol levels. Copper is found in organ meats, seafood, nuts, and seeds, and chromium is in onions, broccoli, turkey, and tomatoes.
  • Green tea has been shown to be extremely effective in the fight against high cholesterol by reducing “bad” cholesterol and boosting “good” cholesterol, improving your overall cholesterol profile. Drinking green tea also seems to enhance cardiovascular health by improving the consistency of platelets in the blood.

Popular Press Continues to Discover Alternative Medicine

People magazine, in the September 24th issue, featured an interview with actor Tim Daly who will play an acupuncturist on Private practice, a new Fall show.

OK! Magazine touted acupuncture, supplements and even cupping (thanks to Gwenyth) in its August 6, 2007 issue.

Hell’s Kitchen weekly winners were treated to acupuncture as a reward on the July 2, 2007 show.

Money Magazine wrote several pages entitled “Is This Man Getting Healthier or Just Poorer? A Money-Wise Guide to Alternative Therapies.” This was published in their June, 2007, health report.

U.S. News & World Report, in their May 7, 2007 magazine, published an article entitled “Success at Last: Couples Fighting Infertility Might Have More Control Than They Think” reporting on the success of acupuncture.

If you find other articles in the coming months, please let me know.

You can contact me by:
Phone: 312-399-5098
E-mail: tcm007@rcn.com
Web site: www.tcm007.com

Thank you for your continued support and be healthy.

A Special thanks to my mother Linda Edelstein who celebrated her 61st Birthday this month and is a “contributing editor” to these newsletters. Happy Birthday Mom!