Honoring Menopause
In many Eastern cultures, menopause is often welcomed and honored as a time of transition for women. Many studies show that few women in Asian countries experience issues and symptoms during this transition, while in the West, we suffer needlessly!
Anxiety, night sweating, hot flashes, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, weight gain are among the most common issues that I see in my clinic for those going through menopause. In Chinese Medicine theory, it can be well managed with diet, herbs, and acupuncture with fewer risks and side effects than contemporary western solutions like hormone replacement therapy.
Kidney Yin deficiency (the common pattern found in Eastern Medicine for menopausal symptoms) can be managed with eliminating excessive sugar, poor quality meats, quitting smoking, reducing stress, and trying to not "burn the candle at both ends".
As we know now that food IS medicine, check out our blog for a yummy Menopause Miso recipe that supports both the Kidney Yin and Yang functions to help reduce unwanted menopause symptoms.
The Revolutionary Body Clock!
There is nothing I love more than when Modern Medicine catches up with the teachings of Ancient Medicine. Eastern Medicine relies on a system where specific organs self regulate at different times of the day. This body clock has been used to diagnose and treat for thousands of years, and is especially helpful with sleep issues. 🌚 ☯️
During a 15 year study of the impact of light on the health for more than one billion people, it seems that we now have substantial evidence of how our internal clocks transmit their timing information AND how our organs read time and do different tasks at specific times!!!!!!! 🤯🤯🤯
As you see in the image of the Eastern Medicine clock, each organ has a period of about 2 hours in which it is "on" and processing. Notice that the Liver time is between 1-3am. This is one of the most common times for anxiety insomnia. 😩
I call it anxiety insomnia because it seems to be a wakeful time where we spend an hour or two (or more!) laying in bed thinking about any possible stressful issue that we could possibly bring into our heads instead of sleeping. When that happens it is a sign that the Liver is imbalanced and unable to process and detox correctly. This is just one area where this helpful clock can be used in the treatment of so many issues. We can use this clock for so much thanks to the teachings of Ancient Medicine! 💪🏽🙏🏼👏🏿
Beyond the Pill - A Recommended Book!
Fabulous book by the fabulous @drjolenebrighten. So great to see my old office mate killing it with this must read #bestseller. 🌟💪🏼💯 There is so much great information in here that I would suggest it for anyone regardless of your birth control history.
💃🏻🕺🏽
#rootandstem #functionalmedicine #easternmedicine #acupuncture #acupunctureworks #labanalysis #eastmeetswest #labwork #topratedacupuncture #womenshealth #chineseherbs #herbalmedicine #6weekstoglow #health #wellness #eatwell #feelbetter #naturalglow #healthtips #bestofoakland #hormonesupport #hormonebalance
The Fifth Vital Sign
The Fifth Vital Sign: a grassroots movement toward menstrual cycle literacy. "Their mission is to use education as preventative care, encouraging individuals to make informed choices about their health. They hope that by spreading free, reproductive health information in a fair, non-judgmental manner, we will all feel more secure, safe, and alive in our bodies."
Chinese medicine has been focusing on our menstrual cycles as a major piece to the health puzzle for centuries. Coined by a dear friend of mine that was struggling with an irregular cycle, I like to call all acupuncturists and Eastern Medicine docs "womb wizards". We have so many tools to help support a natural, healthy cycle. Even if you want to stay on a birth control method that suppresses or changes your natural cycle, there is so much that we can do to help your body regulate as much as it can so that you can have a connection to this vital sign regardless of your method.
It's so great to see a movement like this getting the attention it deserves! Check out their website for more information! #MenstruationMatters
Your Health + Cannabis/Hemp
The medicinal benefits of Cannabis and hemp is quickly finding it's way into the mainstream these days which is great for a variety of health benefits! Cannabis use in Eastern Herbal Medicine goes back thousands of years. Here are some of the medical uses of Hua Ma Ren (the name for hemp seed in Chinese pinyin):
pain relief, chronic constipation, severe spasms and convulsions, gout, insomnia, headache, menstrual irregularities, itching, anemia, dry cough, just to name a few! My current favorite topical for my aches and pains: @liquidflower 🍃 I swear by this stuff!
#rootandstem #cbd #cannabis #medicinal #painrelief #cannabistopicals #plantsnotpills #functionalmedicine #easternmedicine #acupuncture #acupunctureworks #labanalysis #eastmeetswest #labwork #topratedacupuncture #womenshealth #chineseherbs #herbalmedicine #health #wellness #eatwell #feelbetter #naturalglow #healthtips #bestofoakland
Pelvic Floor Therapy!
I really want to give a big shout out to Pelvic Floor Therapy. If you haven't tried it, I can't recommend it enough! Pelvic floor physical therapy involves pelvic massage, biofeedback and exercises to encourage relaxation and strengthening of the muscles of the lower pelvis. A physical therapist will use a massage-like technique called myofascial release to help stretch and release the connective tissue between the skin and the muscles and bones in your pelvic region.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help address sexual problems by improving chronic vaginal or pelvic pain and urinary incontinence. Typically several months of pelvic floor physical therapy are needed to achieve satisfactory results. While we don't practice this in our office, we all have some incredible referrals that we will gladly share. 💪🏾🙏🏼🌸
#rootandstem #functionalmedicine #easternmedicine #acupuncture #acupunctureworks #pelvicfloortherapy #pt
#massage #support #labanalysis #eastmeetswest #labwork #topratedacupuncture #womenshealth #chineseherbs #herbalmedicine #6weekstoglow #health #wellness #eatwell #feelbetter #naturalglow #healthtips #bestofoakland
Dandelion Herbal Spotlight
Dandelion herbal spotlight! ☀️Pu Gong Yin is the pinyin name for the dandelion herb that we use a ton in Chinese herbal formulas. Dandelion is truly one of my faves and we use the whole plant (dried and/or fresh) to treat and support the Liver. Dandelion is great for expelling heat and clearing fire toxicity, which can commonly manifest as clogged milk ducts, hepatitis, jaundice, sore throat, and even lung abscesses. This also is such a great herb for treating overall inflammation. Since gluten sometimes makes me feel a little inflamed after I eat it, I love to add the fresh dandelion leaves to pasta sauce for a little pasta digestion support. 🌾☀️🌱
Menopause is natural! So why is it treated like a disease?
Menopause is a naturally occurring process, so why is it treated like a disease??? ‼️⚠️‼️ 💉💊Conventional medical treatments only address various symptoms and signs associated with menopause, however, symptoms and signs are just one factor of the whole picture. 🔆 📍📚 Both acupuncture and Functional Medicine understand that symptoms are merely indications of an imbalance deep within the body, and this time of change occurs because the body chemistry is shifting. . .
Chemistry change is a natural process, and there are so many ways that acupuncture and Functional medicine can look deeper to help this change be as smooth as possible. Estrogen is similar to what we call Jing Qi. Jing Qi is like the battery that provides us with all the life energy we need to power all our functions. As we age, our Jing Qi slowly decreases. 📉During menopause, our Jing Qi is often declining a bit faster and this can cause our organ systems to get out of balance. Left untreated, the imbalances get more severe and symptoms like hot flashes/night sweats get worse. 😨
When we get acupuncture and have our labs analyzed by a Functional Medicine doc, we can see the underlying imbalance and support the bodies ability to make hormones, instead of suppressing it with hormones! 💡Over working, poor dietary habits, energetic imbalances and blockages will increase the decline of Jing Qi. Treatment to support the healing energies of Jing, provide the body with the building blocks it needs in order to nourish, heal, and regain balance. 🌀
Dr. Parker's Book Recommendation : Cystitis
I’m really enjoying my office vibes today! 🌞📚 Also two thumbs up for this book. 👍👍Have any of you read it before? 💗
It’s so illuminating and authored by a leading uro-gynecologist Dr Larrian Gillespie who is one of the only female urologists with expertise in pelvic pain.
Can Acupuncture Treat HPV and Cervial Dysplasia?
Did you know that acupuncture helps treat Cervical Dysplasia and HPV? 💗📍
Most cervical dysplasia (abnormal pap) is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and two of the types of HPV are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer. Other types of HPV cause genital warts. While there is no direct treatment for the virus, supporting your immune system is so key to help the body rid itself HPV on its own. 🌱🥦🥕💆🏽♀️💆🏻♀️💆🏼♀️
While most women clear the virus within 2 years, there is so much that you can do to support your body for this optimal outcome instead of the “watch and wait” scenario. 🤞
In Eastern medicine, we see HPV as a pathogen that causes stagnation in the Liver channel and damp heat in the Lower Jiao (lowest part of the abdomen). Acupuncture is great at helping the body circulate, break up the stagnation, and regenerate healthy cells. ✨ Herbs and supplements like Turkey Tail have been clinically shown to boost the immune system, helping to regress dysplasia. Enjoying a healthy, immune supportive lifestyle is certainly key. ✔️
Acupuncture & Women's Health
Acupuncture is AMAZING for women’s health! 💗
Also don’t you just love this pic? Yeah that’s how we view it too! 🙌🏾
✨
Acupuncture is so much more than relaxing! It has been shown to support women’s health tremendously --- we’ve seen clients for infertility, fertility enhancement, IVF optimization, to eliminate menopausal symptoms, as well as PMS, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, painful menstruation, irregular menstruation, irregular ovulation. The list goes on an on!
#womenshealth#acupunctureworks#acupunctureforfertility#acupunctureheals #menstrualcramps#ivfsupport#acupunctureformenopause#endometriosis #feelbetter#moodswings #menopauserelief
#pmssupport #functionalmedicine