Cholesterol is SO good for you!

Cholesterol is so good for you! ❤️🥚
✨
Essential for serotonin production, sex hormones, Vitamin D, digestive fluids, (the list goes on) and there is an important reason why we are changing the way we think about fat and cholesterol. ✨

Functional medicine looks at a healthy cholesterol range of about 180-220. These numbers are really important as the standard range is 100-199. ✨

Low cholesterol (under 180) is associated with an increase in cardiovascular incidents, increase in liver cancer, increase in lung disease, increase in depression and suicides, and an increase in addictive behavior. 😕
Not sure if any of you remember the 90’s commercials, but “eggs...give em’ a break!” lol — we are changing and learning! .
.
.
#functionalmedicine #rootandstem#themoreyouknow #hormonebalance#goodcholesterol #vitamind #healthyfood#seratonin

We stand with teachers!

“You can’t feed the minds of our students by starving their schools”.

We stand with Oakland teachers!

Bitter herbs for Winter Health!

I’ve been really into bitters lately. 🌱🌿🍃
I love adding a dash of liquid bitters to my bubbly water, especially with a meal. 🥣
.
Bitter receptors have been found on dozens of tissues in the body, well beyond the digestive tract. Thousands of new studies have been instigated with this realization and we are further looking into the importance of bitter compounds. .
.
.
The current findings show that bitters are necessary in the diet in order to maintain health and homeostasis. Anthropologically speaking, bitter compounds (alkaloids) are often poisonous in nature. If an early human ate something poisonous then digestive enzymes, HCI, and immune activation were initiated to make sure we didn't die. Modern humans in America at least, have completely rid our society of bitter tastes. Evolutionary speaking, we are missing bitter compounds that we can leverage to tonify our digestive tract and support our immunity. .

So add some bitter leafy greens & bitters into your bubbly & support your digestion! 

#bitters #darkgreens #bittergreens#rootandstem #immunestrength#functionalmedicine

Helping Nausea : Peppermint vs. Ginger

Morning sickness: ginger vs peppermint 
I have a lot of people ask me about treating that stubborn nausea in early pregnancy.

Morning sickness (while it rarely hits just in the morning) can often be difficult to tackle and cause a lot of unpleasantness. Many of us think ginger as the key ingredient for relief, but for some it can make it worse! 😦

I find that we are often split into two types when it comes to morning sickness: ginger-y that crave fruit like oranges, or peppermint-y that crave saltines.

Sometimes it takes a bit of investigating as to which tastes and craving help the nausea, but figuring out which direction to go in can help ease the tummy aches. I also really do believe that morning sickness is our body’s design to get us to slow back when we are in those early and vital stages of baby making. It is hard for many of us to do, but so important to remember. 

#functionalmedicine #rootandstem#pregnancy #morningsickness #nausea

Self care is not Selfish!

I just want to send a reminder to everyone that Self Care is NOT Selfish. ❤️
.
.
It’s ok to put ourselves first to make sure that our needs are being met. .
.
Just like how you are instructed to put on your oxygen mask first 😷in the event of an airplane emergency, the same goes for self care. 🙏🏽
.
.
If you are too busy taking care of everyone else and not taking care of yourself, you will soon find that you aren’t helpful to anyone. Humans are meant to serve and help others, but in order to be of service to others we need to make sure we have the energy and strength needed for our optimal health. 🤦🏻‍♀️
.
#rootandstem #selfcare #balance#oxygenmaskfirst #functionalmedicine #acupuncture

Re-Think How You Treat Injuries

I want to talk a little about the #METH method (I really, really wish there was a better acronym), and why we should stop using the RICE method for injuries.

In this context, METH stands for MOVEMENT, ELEVATION, TRACTION, HEAT. If you have seen an acupuncturist for an injury, I’m sure you have been told to avoid ice at all cost, and there is a really good reason for it.

Inflammation isn’t always a bad thing, it is our body’s natural response and treatment to an injury. Our blood is filled with B cells and T cells that zoom in on an injury to repair tissue. Pain is our brain trying to keep us from using our sprained ankle so that we can give our body a chance to heal itself.

When we ICE we are cutting off that important blood flow, constricting capillaries, and numbing those important pain receptors. This can cause further damage and increase chances of chronic pain. 😣
.
.
.
Heat 🔥helps encourage blood to the area AND helps move blood to keep it from stagnating. 🕺🏽💃🏻
So please… a little movement and heat can be really good things for your ouchies. 

#functionalmedicine #rootandstem#injurycare #sprainedankle #sprainedfoot#sprainsandstrains

Tennis Elbow ... might not be your elbow

Tennis Elbow might not be your elbow! 🎾💪🏾
.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people suffering from tennis elbow or tendonitis in the past few months, and know how tricky it is to treat. Tennis elbow can be really stubborn and I often find that the source of the pain isn’t in the elbow at all, but in the upper back and especially the neck. Our upper back and neck tension can create a cascade of pain into our arms and hands, and a good reminder to increase stretching especially in the neck. .
As you read this now, take a second to give your neck a good stretch from side to side, reach your arm behind your back and give a gentle pull on your head to the opposite side, and don’t forget to breath and allow the lungs to help circulate blood through the area of tension. .
Ahhhhhh #neckstretches #tenniselbow#tendonitis

Step Away from WebMD!

Step away from the Web MD!
.
.
.
The internet is the best place to find all of the worst possible scenarios of a hangnail. Believe me, I’ve been there, and it’s easy to fall into the internet’s trap of exaggerating an illness, pain, or just weirdness in our bodies. It can even cause unnecessary insomnia, worry, and straight up anxiety which is why I strongly encourage people to step away from the google! 💻🤦🏽‍♂️👩🏻‍💻😣

Everything in Moderation - Including Moderation

Everything in moderation including moderation
❤️
Let’s give a little shout out to #OscarWildeand his quote “Everything in moderation including moderation”. ☯️
.
I think that this quote is so right on when it comes to the mission of Eastern Medicine. It is so important to do our best when it comes to health, diet, lifestyle, wellness, yada yada, and sometimes you just gotta indulge and enjoy! There is so much in taking that break from moderation that brings us optimal health. Let’s all take some time today to not be so hard on ourselves ;) .
#balance #yinyang

Maximizing Your B Vitamins

Are you peeing yellow with your B vitamins!? While it is common for our bodies to excrete excess B in urine, it could also indicate that you just aren’t absorbing it and wasting it away! 💛
.
One important marker in your Complete Blood Count lab work is looking at your Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV). We can easily see if your blood cells are too big to absorb all that expensive B vitamin. ✔️

There is often an easy fix! While I prefer to try to get all of my vitamins in food (hard to do!), we often need the support of supplements and a food based “methylated” or “cyanocobalamin” B vitamin is what your body can actually utilize. 🥚🧀🍵

It is important that it is food based as the synergy of the ingredients is what really makes it special. This will ensure that your body has what it needs to digest and absorb. Just one of the many reasons why I love looking at functional blood chemistry!

#functionalmedicine #rootandstem#bloodwork #vitb #vitaminb #healthyeating

Rest and digest for fertility health

I’ve been talking a lot about the parasympathetic system lately, and the importance of “rest and digest” especially when it comes to fertility. I am constantly on the go and often realize that my entire day was spent in a busy “fight or flight” mode without any time for my body to really slow down. .

It’s an unfortunate cycle that is so easy to get caught up in. When we spend our day rushing and stressing all day, our body’s natural instinct is to shut down on unnecessary organ functions (like the reproductive organs) and only focus on getting you away from that “lion” 🐆 ... So the very LAST thing it will do is help you make a baby! .

Finding ways to encourage the resting and digesting in every day is important for all of us, but especially important to help conceive.

Happy Lunar & Chinese New Year : Earth Pig!

Happy Chinese New Year of the Earth Pig! 🐖🧧🌙

The Pig year is the end of the 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, and a perfect time for reflection of the past 11 years. It allows for a much needed break from the last few feisty years, and relaxation and joy is on the horizon. Yay! .

The Pig especially enjoys the company of friends and family, festivities and gatherings, and giving and receiving is abundant in the Pig year. However, the Pig isn't the best at taking care of their health so keep up that self care routine and exercise out in nature as much as possible.

#chinesenewyear #earthpig #rootandstem#imbolc #lunarnewyear

4 - 7 - 8 Breathing Technique

4-7-8 breathing technique 😯😤

.

I have a confession. Sometimes I have a really, REALLY hard time getting acupuncture 😕 It’s hard to just lay there, not doing anything. My brain is so wired to constantly do something even at rest. 💗

I have found that the 4-7-8 breathing technique has helped me tremendously! ✨Not only does it help me get into the acupuncture zone, but it helps me when I’m stuck in traffic, annoyed in a long line at the post office, and even to help me fall asleep. I especially love this mini meditation when I’m literally pinned down on the acupuncture table. 📍

This technique helps provide the lungs with more oxygen, relax the beta waves in the brain, and helps the “rest and digest” of the parasympathetic system. .

#breathing #478breathing #rootandstem #functionalmedicine #relaxation #parasympathetic

30 Chews!

30 chews! 😄🍲

A common issue I find when I look at labs is that the person’s just body isn’t absorbing food correctly. We may be eating the best and healthiest food, but that dense protein isn’t getting broken down and then overwhleming the kidneys, for example. .

While there are many factors to assisting proper absorption, one of the best ways is to chew your food, lol! I know that I often eat on the go, and I really have to stop myself from scarfing down my meals. .

Cooking food is the first part of digestion, but the enzymes in saliva really help macerate it to a consistency that the stomach can truly handle, making the rest of your organs happy. It might seem easier said than done, but when you eat dinner tonight, try to do 30 chews for each bite. ✌🏽

#rootandstem #healthydigestion #functionalmedicine #easternmedicine #oaklandacupuncture #feelyourbest #healthyeating

Why I Love Cupping

As many of you know, I LOVE cupping. ❤️ It is such a great complement to end an acupuncture session. But how does it work? Cupping is a therapy of applying suction cups to areas of pain (predominately on the back, but they can be put other places too!) By doing so, this helps open up the fascia and allow for more blood flow and circulation of qi into a tight and tense area.

Cupping is used to relieve neck and back tension, reduce anxiety, increase energy, and can even be a treatment for high blood pressure. ✨The major side effect however, are the weird marks that the cups leave, but only for a few days! #cupping #cuppingtherapy #acupuncture #rootandstem #oaklandproud #functionalmedicine

Community Acupuncture at Harborside

Community Acupuncture at Harborside! ✌🏽We are thrilled to now offer sliding scale community style acupuncture at our Harborside location! ❤️

.

We offer hour long sessions from $30-60 sliding scale, every Tuesday and Thursday from 2-5. ✨

Community style acupuncture is a great way to maximize your acupuncture experience in a comfortable and affordable way, and allows us to help make acupuncture accessible to as many people as possible! #acupuncture #communityacupuncture #rootandstem #functionalmedicine #oaklandproud

How frequently should you get Acupuncture?

I often have people ask me about how many times they should have acupuncture. 📍🗓 While everyone is different and every issue can take a variety of treatments, I also believe that acupuncture is like exercise! 💪🏾

.

You can go run a mile once, or take one yoga class, but the benefits of exercise are with continued consistency. .

When you start acupuncture for the first time (or first time in a long time) we can work to get your body back in shape, and continue to keep it in shape for a lifetime! #rootandstem #acupuncture #oakland #holistichealth #functionalmedicine #easternmedicine #votedbestinoakland

Is Placebo Medicine?

Is placebo medicine? 🤔🧠💬There is some amazing research out there suggesting that the “Therapeutic experience” is very closely tied to the outcome of a treatment option. .

The Therapeutic effect relies on a patient’s relationship with their healthcare provider and studies show that when that relationship is strong, people heal better and faster, regardless of the pill or treatment they are taking. 💗

Here are some questions to ask yourself about the people involved in your healthcare team.

✨Do you feel supported by your healthcare provider?
💫Do you feel understood?
✨Do you trust your healthcare provider?
💫Do you feel that they are on your side? ✨Do they have your back? .

.

.

We are long time supporters of the self care is health care model and work hard to make you feel supported, relaxed, cozy, and understood. We have your back! #rootandstem #community #holistichealing #easternmedicine #acupuncture #trust #support #instinct #placeboeffect

Get Healthy This Winter!

Brisk days make us want to stay nourished & feeling great! 🌞

It's not too late to sign up for 6 Weeks to Glow Program for the winter season 🍁🌙-- with Lyssandra Guerra of Native Palms Nutrition + Dr. Jessica Parker of @rootandstem

This isn't just an immunity boosting program -- clients have happily and easily shifted their nutrition and lifestyle habits (feeling good about it and not feeling deprived!), they have overcome digestive issues, are balancing their hormones that affect stress, sleep, and weight... and best of all they are more in tune with their bodies and making healthier choices in ways that feel gooood to them.

This new wellness program combines Eastern Medicine, Acupuncture, Comprehensive Lab Analysis and Nutrition/Wellness. This reset will empower you to take the control back around your health 😊️

• This package includes a comprehensive health history and lab analysis through two virtual sessions with Dr. Jessica Parker -- a new component, plus an in-person acupuncture session at root + stem's offices along with suggestions on herbs to support your optimal health

• You will receive customized and expert advice and protocols (instead of the general tips you see everywhere) via three in-person sessions with Lyssandra.

• We believe in an empowered model for health, and the more tools and knowledge we have to make aligned decisions.
  

Email us to learn more and get started.

P.S. you can find the recipe to Lyssandra's magic 8 balls (spirulina chocolate truffles as pictured - YUM) on her website at http://www.nativepalmsnutrition.com/sweet-1/2016/9/16/spirulina-cacao-truffles

Food & the Brain-Gut Health

The more we connect the importance of our gut health to our mental health 🧠the closer we get to a healthier society. 💗

⬇️

Check out this fascinating study linking leaky gut in 40 similar aged children to ADHD and social impairment.

.

📷 @huffpost