Acupuncture is an effective means of controlling weight and appetite. Acupuncture releases endorphins which may help to balance out cravings. When endorphins are released the stress hormone cortisol can be neutralized. Cortisol is the hormone that can adversely affect metabolism.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine takes a whole body approach to health. The body produces and uses energy that flows in river-like meridians around the body. When that vital energy, called Qi (pronounced chee) is not balanced or if there are persistent blockages that stop the flow of Qi the body responds by developing symptoms of disease. Weight gain can be one of them. There are many root causes for weight gain: the metabolism might be impaired, glucose resistance might be a factor, early signs of disease might also be a factor. An acupuncturist or Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor will consider all factors that might have led to weight gain including lifestyle, emotional and mental well-being as well as diet.

The whole self contains the solution so having a doctor to treat the whole self is the answer. Acupuncture is a partnership in health. Some ways to support yourself in your weight loss journey are making sure you’re getting both aerobic exercise to burn fat and weight training to build muscle that will burn fat. Look at the foods you eat. Not only calories make the difference. Is the food unprocessed and organic? Do you eat whole grains and vegetables?

Measuring the stress in your life might give you and your acupuncturist a clue to your weight gain too. Breathing, meditation, yoga and stress relieving exercises might help you lose weight more easily and stop the habit of overeating or responding to food cravings.

At Whole Health we take a whole body approach. We have acupuncturists, massage therapists, meditation classes, exercise and cooking classes.

Acupuncture is based on the idea that life-force energy, called Qi (pronounced chee) is created and flows through the body, protecting from illness and pain. Qi flows along meridians somewhat like rivers throughout the body, connecting organs and different areas of the body into systems. The quality, quantity and balance of Qi or life-force energy is what determines how healthy a person is.

If you think of Qi as flowing through a river, sometimes it gets disrupted. It can get backed up or restricted by other forces that injure the body. Some potential culprits to blocking Qi are

• Physical and emotional trauma
• Stress
• Lack of exercise
• Poor diet
• Accidents
• Excessive activity

If the body is otherwise healthy these upsets are dealt with naturally and the body heals itself. However, if the upset is prolonged or excessive or the body has been weakened by surgery, injury or emotional stress, the body doesn’t heal itself. Disease sets in as the energy bogs in certain places or flows to a trickle in others.

A skilled acupuncturist can determine where the blocks and imbalances of Qi are in the body’s systems. Acupuncture is a safe and painless treatment to help Qi circulate stronger and more freely throughout the body. Most people experience a sense of well-being and lots more energy after an acupuncture treatment due to the now free-flowing energy in their body.

Acupuncture can eliminate pain, restore the balance of energy flow and increase the body’s ability to heal itself.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes acupuncture as safe and effective treatment for healing many, many conditions.

At Whole Health Centers we practice Traditional Chinese Medicine and Five Element Acupuncture.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Fibromyalgia affects two percent of the population. Of those, ninety percent seek alternative health treatments to relieve the symptoms of the syndrome. Because the syndrome has a long list of symptoms and because treatment is so individual, western doctors can only prescribe medication by trial and error. Medicine designed to manage the pain, the possible IBS, the difficulty sleeping, the headaches and jaw pain that may characterize each individual’s experience. Those ninety percent seeking alternative health treatments are likely turning from the handful of drugs they need to take to manage the syndrome.

Fibromyalgia Treatment

Oftentimes medications are prescribed to dull the pain. This is a short-term solution and does nothing to correct the problem. Pain is the indication that there is a problem in the body. Unless you address the problem, the pain is not going to go away.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine pain of any sort is the result of the disruption of the flow of Qi (pronounced  chee) in the body. The body has systems that produce and use energy and meridians where the energy flows from one part of the system to another. All systems need to be in balance for production and use and blocks need to be removed so energy flows smooth.

Fibromyalgia is a disharmony of the liver, spleen, kidney and heart systems. With a syndrome so unique, treatment should be unique. Acupuncture is a whole body treatment. Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that given a balanced mind, body and spirit, the body can heal itself. When the disruption of Qi is not addressed over a long period of time or if you are in a weakened state, Qi is restricted and pain develops to signal something wrong.

Traditionally acupuncture has been widely used in the management of pain. Acupuncture can alter the brain chemistry changing the release of neurotransmitters that stimulate or inhibit nerve impulses thereby changing information about external stimuli and sensations. In effect when patients in pain have an acupuncture treatment, their tolerance is increased.

A 2006 Mayo Clinic study showed that fibromyalgia patients can relieve anxiety and fatigue for up to 7 months with an acupuncture treatment. A 2007 Mayo clinic study confirmed the earlier results.

At Whole Health Center we treat patients with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, IBS and insomnia. If you have fibromyalgia or know someone that does, urge them to seek alternative health treatments to restore the balance in their health and their lives.

There are more than 80 autoimmune conditions currently identified. When our immune system isn’t working properly the potential to develop a chronic condition exists.

The immune system protects the body against invaders like bacteria and viruses. When we are bombarded by a foreign substance, the immune system is activated and attacks that substance, keeping your body healthy. When an autoimmune condition is present, it means your body can no longer tell the difference between your own cells, tissues, organs and hormones and the foreign substances that have invaded. Now you begin to attack yourself. That attack causes inflammation which leads to autoimmune conditions.

Autoimmune diseases are difficult to diagnose, in part because their symptoms and progression are different for everyone. Autoimmune responses may target one organ or one system in one person and another in someone else. Symptoms can come and go as autoimmune conditions go into remission then flare up, sometimes after years. Or the symptoms can be persistent. There may be symptomatic progression as the disease gets worse; sometimes the disease can become disabling.

That is why management is never a one-size fits all. Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can help with autoimmune management by working with your symptoms, your body and your immune reactions to help you manage your health.

It is believed that there is a genetic component to autoimmune diseases. Since women are more likely to develop autoimmune diseases, hormones may have a larger role in health than we know right now. Medications can help relieve symptoms but may also have side effects and cause more harm than good.

Because acupuncture and TCM are a holistic health care practice they can take a whole body approach to healing and health. Based on the idea of Qi (pronounced chee), a vital energy that is produced and flows through the body to all organs and systems, treatments focused on Qi can keep you healthy and contain your symptoms. Focused on balanced energy flowing freely through your body, TCM and acupuncture will improve your overall health and lessen the symptoms of your autoimmune responses. Acupuncture and TCM can increase your energy levels, reduce inflammation and relieve the side effects of medication.

Learning what works for you is part of any disease management. That may mean trying new diets or different kinds of exercise. It may mean medication and frequent testing. Adding acupuncture and TCM into your health-care system can make everything work together, lessen your stress an allow you to live the life you want to live, even with an autoimmune condition.

Acupuncture is a whole body, natural approach to health. When one of the systems in your body isn’t working, acupuncture can balance the energy your body produces and uses. Blocks and problems producing energy are what cause the symptoms that are diagnosed as disease.

Type 2 diabetes affects the way your body gets, stores and uses energy. When food is digested it is converted into glucose (sugar) which enters the bloodstream. Your pancreas produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin moves glucose into your muscles, fat cells and liver cells.

When you have type 2 diabetes one of those systems doesn’t work properly. Either your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t respond to the glucose properly so you end up with high levels of sugar in your blood.

When you have too much sugar in your blood you can develop complications of diabetes like blindness, heart conditions, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage and the need for amputations. Type 2 diabetes has an impact on all the systems of your body and it only makes sense to take a whole body approach.

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can work in conjunction with Western medicine to improve your pancreatic function, protect your kidneys and heart and lessen the symptoms of an imbalanced body. Diet and exercise can change the amount and the way your body handles sugar.

Traditional Chinese Medicine aids in the production and the flow of Qi (pronounced chee). Qi is vital energy that protects the body from illness and provides the “fire” we use to live. Qi flows through meridians in the body and provides energy and nourishment to all organs and glands. When there is a block or an imbalance, symptoms occur.

In TCM, type 2 diabetes is known as the wasting and thirsting disease. It is caused by an imbalance of Qi and Yin. The body produces heat which both drains and consumes body fluids. Symptoms that are related to heat appear – thirst, itchy dry skin, dry mouth, swollen gums.

Having needles stuck in your body can restore balance, relieve symptoms, improve pancreatic function and control glucose levels. An acupuncturist can also determine and relieve other blockages and symptoms. Coupled with diet and exercise, many people at Whole Health not only lowered their blood glucose levels and, of course, felt better, but some have gotten off medication and gotten their levels low enough that they are no longer considered diabetic.

In western medicine that is not supposed to happen.

Our bodies are not a collection of separate functioning parts. Our bodies are a collection of systems that work together in harmony, balance and good health or they are a collection of symptoms that are out of balance and struggle to work, compensating, weakening and leaving you vulnerable to disease.

Allergies are a sign that something more may be the issue. They may occur from causes like:

• Stress
• Poor diet
• Constitutional weakness
• Pollutants
• Environmental toxins

When you are sneezing and congested, it’s a signal that your body is out of balance. The longer imbalances remain in your body the more they affect the functions of the Organ Systems. Some Organ Systems are involved in the Fire element and are responsible for producing Qi (pronounced Chee). When Qi is strong we are healthy. When your supply of Qi is inadequate you are vulnerable to foreign invaders that cause allergic symptoms.

A Doctor of Acupuncture may address the symptoms to give you some relief. But more importantly, the Acupuncturist will diagnose the underlying weakness in the Organ System. They will begin a course of treatment to strengthen the body and render the allergens ineffective.

When Qi flows the way it should through your body, your symptoms of allergies should at least be reduced if not eliminated.

Some acupuncturists combine their treatments with herbs, dietary changes, massage and/or exercise. All are aimed at getting the body to heal and balance its systems, increase the production of Qi and smooth the flow throughout the body. Acupuncture for allergies is a safe, effective, natural and drug-free choice to control or eliminate hay fever, allergies or even colds.

There is good news here. With a change in diet, exercise and overall health women can heal their bodies and still have children.

Acupuncture can help. People have been using acupuncture treatments for infertility for more than 2000 years. Acupuncture improves heals a woman’s whole body, preparing her body for health and childbearing. When used alongside other reproductive techniques, acupuncture can be the treatment that makes the difference.

Acupuncture can:

• Increase blood flow to the uterus
• Reduce stress and the hormones that are produced when the body is under stress
• Normalize the systems that control ovulation, especially for women with polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Regulate menstrual cycles
• Strengthen the relationship between the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, infertility is a result of an imbalance of Qi (pronounced “chee”). When Qi is balanced and flowing effortlessly through the body, the whole body can function better. Disease and chronic conditions occur when there are blocks in the body stopping Qi from flowing properly.

At Whole Health Center we have assisted many patients with fertility issues. Here are some testimonials from happy patients

• Three miscarriages, natural pregnancy, healthy baby
• Thank Dr Lin for helping make this miracle happen
• Letter from New Jersey – Testimonial for Dr. Wenying Lin
• Letter from a happy mother – Testimonial for Dr. Wenying Lin
• My journey with infertility started in 2006

What is the difference between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine? Besides the fact that insurance companies routinely pay for Western Medicine and rarely for TCM, there are some differences in philosophy that it would be wise for consumers to pay attention to.

For the most part, Western medicine specializes; diseases happen in isolation; individual symptoms are addressed and attended with drug therapy or surgery. The body is a separate entity from the life it lives.

As I write this, I’m thinking, “Can that possibly be a true statement?” I’ve not asked a Western Medical Doctor. So surely I’ve oversimplified.

But then I think back on my own medical history. Though it seems impossible that an entire industry and an enormous professional community believes in the separatist theory of medicine, well, the fact is, even if they don’t, they practice as if they do.

Where Western medicine believes in separating specialties, symptoms and curatives, TCM looks at the body as a more holistic system. An interplay of energy and matter that is in balance and working or out of balance and dysfunctional.

To be fair, I suppose is it possible that because the Western Medicine is so entrenched in its processes, specializations and history, there’s no way out. They are locked into a compartmentalized way of healing and unweaving the entrenched beliefs or opening antiquated minds just isn’t going to happen in my lifetime. So where does that leave those of us who need medical options?

To anyone who has followed any kind of alternative or natural healing, this is not a groundbreaking concept. It’s an argument that shouldn’t need to be argued. Yet if everyone knew what we know, everyone would have acupuncturists and TCM doctors assisting us with our health. And it would be paid for by insurance.

So let’s take this one step at a time. Let’s talk about functional medicine. Here is where TCM is far ahead of Western Medicine. Recently my thyroid hormone was increased by my endocrinologist. I’m on thyroid hormone because I was prescribed it long ago – though I’ve recently found out I actually didn’t need it when they prescribed it, but I do now and will need it for the rest of my life because I’ve been taking it for so long.

Anyway, for the first time in years, with my increased dosage, I feel better. I think I feel the way I’m supposed to feel. The way a healthy person feels when they are eating right, getting exercise and are reasonably happy. When they make a change in thyroid medicine they will test you about six weeks out to see how the new dosage is working. My six-week test came back “toxic,” meaning the new dosage was too high. They wanted to lower my dosage back to where it was. I said no and asked for another test in two weeks time. Again, the test came back toxic. Again I refused to change. Functionally I feel fine. But according to the ranges I am toxic.

I began to question the normal ranges that tell me I’m in the toxic range.

Do you know how ranges are defined? Do you know that ranges increase, the sicker the population?

What? Really? Yes, really. Normal range is defined as the average of maximum and minimum tests in a geographic area. So for thyroid, the data that puts me into toxic range is the average of a compilation of testing done on other people. Never mind that I might feel good, or bad, that normal for me turns out to be not normal for anyone else.

As I pushed the nurse practitioner about ranges and just what happens when I’m defined as toxic, she began to tell me that for my particular condition, it’s actually better to be right where I am. I run less risk of my immune system getting engaged and attacking my thyroid. She gave me symptoms to look out that would signal I’ve fallen further down the toxic hole and left my med prescription where it was – where I was functioning better than I have in years. Had I not been so stubborn….

In TCM, they don’t use ranges, they look at the body as a system. They don’t separate the life lived from the body that lives it and they take into account the connection between mind, body and spirit. With TCM I wouldn’t have been given drugs in the first place. Instead they would have addressed the blocks to my energy balance. So now, I work around the thyroid issue, accepting what is for what is. But I see an acupuncturist for the blocks that created the condition in the first place. And I turn to TCM first when I need healthcare.

See KWGN’s video on “Acupuncture for Kids” featuring the Whole Health Center. http://bit.ly/children-acupuncture

The obvious issues would be how to get a child to take the needles? The rapport between the acupuncturist and the patient is critical. Making the treatment free of fear, maybe even fun, but certainly relaxing is equally critical. Building trust between the practitioner and the child is the focus. Typically the first session will center trust-building and alleviating whatever fears there may be as well as answering all of Mom and Dad’s questions.

The practitioner may use needles on a stuffed animal or Mom and Dad might offer to get a needle to assure the child that it’s painless and safe. If you’ve ever had acupuncture you will know that the hair-thin needles don’t hurt, especially the pediatric ones.

While medical doctors have not yet embraced treatments that have been working in China for thousands of years, many parents are finding out for themselves that acupuncture can help with conditions that aren’t being cured by pharmaceuticals and western medicine. As the base of people who use acupuncture as a regular health treatment grows in the United States, so there are more children who are exposed to acupuncture as a resource for health.

It’s very encouraging to see a generation of children growing up with experience and an open mind to alternative or complementary treatments. Acupuncture has shown success in treating many conditions like colic, acid reflux, eczema, ADD or ADHD, asthma, allergies, pain, acne, anxiety and a host of other conditions.

Tension headaches are the most common headaches, and generally cause infrequent mild to moderate pain, but in a considerable number of patients, tension headaches are so frequent that they require treatment. Migraine headaches, on the other hand, can be disabling and severe. Accompanying symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light.

Treatment for tension-type and migraine headaches typically consists of over-the-counter or prescription medications, respectively. The aim of the systematic reviews was to determine whether acupuncture is also an effective treatment option for these conditions.

The reviews appear in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

Acupuncture involves penetrating the skin with thin, metallic needles at specific points. It is one of the main medical treatments in traditional Chinese medicine, where it came into being more than 2,000 years ago.

Lead reviewer Klaus Linde of the Center for Complementary Medicine Research at the Technical University of Munich said the therapy is popular in his country.

“In Germany, acupuncture is frequently used for headache,” he said. “Most private health insurances, in fact, reimburse for acupuncture, although they cover only about 10 percent of the population.”

The practice has also gained popularity in the United States. A 2002 National Health Interview Survey of complementary and alternative medicine use found that about 8.2 million U.S. adults had ever used acupuncture in their lives, and an estimated 2.1 million had used acupuncture the previous year.

Brian Berman, M.D., director of the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine in Baltimore, confirmed that acupuncture is definitely becoming a more popular treatment option for Americans.

“There is more evidence coming out showing acupuncture is safe and often effective and should be considered as part of a multidisciplinary approach for chronic pain,” he said.

The first Cochrane review by Linde and his colleagues focused on acupuncture for tension headaches. The researchers evaluated 11 studies that investigated 2,317 participants. The studies compared participants who had undergone acupuncture therapy with those who had no treatment except painkillers for acute headaches, or had a sham therapy, which mimicked “true” acupuncture. Researchers followed the patients for at least eight weeks.

Two large studies that investigated whether adding acupuncture to treatment with painkillers found that those patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches. Forty-seven percent of patients who received acupuncture reported a decrease in the number of headache days by at least half, compared with 16 percent of patients in the control groups.

Six studies compared true acupuncture to “fake’ acupuncture in which needles were either inserted at incorrect points or did not penetrate the skin. Overall, these studies found slightly better effects in the patients receiving the true acupuncture intervention.

“The response to acupuncture in general seems to be large and clinically relevant,” Linde said.

Berman agreed with the review findings and said patients at his clinic seek acupuncture for the relief from tension headaches and some experience good outcomes.

“I have seen some patients do very well, but not everyone,” he said. “Often, the intensity of the headaches and number of headaches are reduced.”

In a second review, Linde and colleagues examined acupuncture for migraine treatment and reviewed 22 trials with 4,419 total participants who had received a migraine pain diagnosis with or without aura.

Six studies compared acupuncture to no treatment or routine care (with painkillers) only. After three to four months, patients who received acupuncture had fewer headaches.

“The effect over no prophylactic [preventive] treatment and also compared to prophylactic drug treatment proven to be superior to placebo is clearly clinically important,” said Linde.

The Cochrane reviewers concluded that there is consistent evidence that acupuncture provides additional benefit to treatment of acute migraine attacks only or to routine care. They also concluded that for migraine patients, placing the needles in the correct points did not seem as relevant, which is contrary to what most acupuncturists believe.

“On average, the studies do not show an effect of acupuncture at correct points over acupuncture at incorrect points,” Linde said. There appeared to be some benefit of pain relief regardless of the insertion points.

The reviews disclose that Linde has received travel reimbursement and twice received fees from acupuncture societies for speaking about research at conferences. Other review authors reported a variety of honoraria and reimbursements related to acupuncture lectures and speaking engagements.

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.cochrane.org for more information.

Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for tension-type headaches. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1.

Linde K, et al. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 1.

From www.medicalnewstoday.com

WASHINGTON Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:35pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The use of acupuncture before and during surgery reduces patients’ post-operative pain as well as the need for pain-killing medication, researchers said on Tuesday.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina analyzed the results of 15 clinical trials on the effectiveness of acupuncture — a practice that originated in China of inserting thin needles into specific body points. They concluded that it is valuable for pain control in surgery patients. The 15 trials showed that patients getting acupuncture before or during various types of operations had significantly less pain afterward than patients who did not get acupuncture. These patients also required less morphine or other opioid pain medication after surgery, which reduced the side effects like nausea and vomiting from these types of drugs, the researchers said. In terms of pain-drug side effects, the acupuncture patients experienced 1.5 times lower rates of nausea, 1.6 times fewer reports of dizziness and 3.5 times fewer cases of urinary retention compared to the other patients, the study found. These findings augment a growing body of evidence on the value of acupuncture in improving the surgical experience for patients, the researchers said. For instance, the National Institutes of Health says that acupuncture has also been shown to reduce nausea after chemotherapy and surgery. “The use of acupuncture is still very under-appreciated,” Dr. Tong-Joo Gan, vice chairman of Duke’s anesthesiology department, said in a telephone interview. “Western doctors are typically not trained (in acupuncture) and they really are not familiar with how it works,” Gan said. “I think practitioners such as surgeons and anesthesiologists need to have an open mind.” He said numerous studies have looked at acupuncture to reduce post-operative pain, but many of them were not very well done. Gan said his team identified a group of well-controlled studies to judge how well acupuncture worked. “I do it all the time,” Gan said. “You give patients the acupuncture about half an hour before surgery and continue during surgery. It can reduce post-operative pain.” According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, scientists do not fully understand how acupuncture works, believing it might help the activity of the body’s pain-killing chemicals or affect the regulation of blood pressure and flow. “I think it is generally applicable to a number of different procedures,” Gan said. “In the studies, we looked at abdominal procedures, orthopedic procedures, gynecological procedures.” The research was presented at a conference of the American Society for Anesthesiology in San Francisco.

One night last week, I was with an NBC crew in Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison’s home north of Pittsburgh. He was talking about staying in one piece during the physical NFL season, and he said he owed a lot to acupuncture.

Specifically, 314 needles per session, twice a week. That’s how many he has stuck into his body, from his head to his feet … and they’re not pin-pricks either. “They’re put in there pretty far,” Harrison said. His story, and the story of other players in the NFL gutting out the season, will be told by Andrea Kremer on our NBC Super Bowl pregame show Sunday, between 1 and 6 p.m. ET.

Harrison said acupuncture has made a dramatic difference in his ability to play the game at a high level. He usually takes the 314 needles on Tuesday and Thursday nights and doesn’t feel the full result ’til two days after the sessions. “What it does is get me back to feeling as close as I can to how I felt at the beginning of the season, before I take the normal punishment of a season,” he said. He gets the treatment at his home, and several other Steelers show up to get poked along with him.

SI.com

Basically, dry mouth is a painful condition that results when the salivary glands do not function properly. While saliva is an important agent that helps in the swallowing of food, it is also a natural defense against tooth decay. Saliva plays a major role in rinsing away food particles and in neutralizing harmful acids that might attack the teeth. It helps prevent gum disease and infections of the mouth tissues. A person may have difficulty in speaking, and their sense of taste can be hindered when a lack of saliva exists.

A dry mouth condition can develop from a number of sources. Radiation administered to the head and neck region is one known cause. However, with increased uses of medications such as antidepressants, diuret­ics, antihistamines and even decongestants in society today, increasing numbers of dry mouth cases are being reported.

The results of two separate studies indicate that Acupuncture can offer help to people who suffer from this condition. Prior to trying Acupuncture, most sufferers relied on more short-term substitutes and gland stimu­lants like sucking on lozenges or chewing gum, for example.

One study reported in General Dentistry, the journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, indicated posi­tively that Acupuncture provided help for 7 radiation therapy patients with dry mouth. Each of the patients was seen once a week for 4 or 5 weeks and biweekly for several more sessions. Follow-ups done on these pa­tients up to 8 months later found reduction in dry mouth symptoms, increased saliva flow and having an im­proved ability to eat and speak.

In a separate study, this one conducted on cancer patients in Sweden and reported in the journal Oral Dis­eases, 70 cancer patients with dry mouth conditions were treated with Acupuncture. Their treatment involved 24 individual Acupuncture sessions given twice a week over a four-month period. The results of this study were very encouraging as well with researchers pointing to “significantly higher saliva flow rates” for each of their groupings of patients following Acupuncture.

Hopefully, this is not a condition that will develop for you or a member of your family or circle of friends. However, with radiation being increasingly used for cancer treatments and greater amounts of antidepressant drugs being administered in society, the possibility does exist that someone you come into contact with will complain of this condition. Wouldn’t it be nice if a suggestion to that person to try Acupuncture helped to bring relief?

Source: Acupuncture.com. “New Report Indicates Acupuncture Provides Relief for Suffers of Dry Mouth.” June 2005. http://acupuncture.com/news/drymouth.htm and Acupuncture Today. “Acupuncture for Dry Mouth.” http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27653

According to the most recent first-of-its kind study, Acupuncture was incorporated into a treatment plan and its effectiveness compared against anti-depressant drugs, which are now commonly used in ther­apy. The aim was to see how these two treatment programs compared in bringing relief from the side effects of breast cancer surgery including hot flashes, night sweats and excessive sweating. The results were pre­sented in September at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Boston, Mass.

The anti-depressant Effexor^® (venlafaxine) produced by the drug company Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has become part of the normal drug therapy treatment plan for women suffering from hot flashes. Usu­ally, hot flashes are treated with hormone therapy, however, breast cancer victims can’t receive hormone therapy as it increases the chance the disease will return.

There are many good reasons, including weight gain, nausea, constipation and fatigue, not to use the powerful anti-depressant drugs. Many women prefer not to use the drug because of additional problems it is known to present such as insomnia, decreased libido and dizziness. And, some women simply don’t want to take drugs.

The study conducted at Henry Ford Hospital’s Department of Radiation Oncology in Detroit, much, in­volved 47 breast cancer patients. Following their surgery, each was experiencing at least 14 hot flashes per week. What was discovered was that Acupuncture was equally effective in reducing the hot flashes as the anti-depressant drug, but it also provided additional health benefits.

The researchers noted that the women who received Acupuncture had an increased sense of well-being about them. They also had more energy and, in some cases, a higher sex drive than those who underwent drug treatment for their symptoms.

“Our study shows that physicians and patients have an additional therapy for something that affects the majority of breast cancer survivors and actually has benefits, as opposed to more side effects,” said Eleanor Walker, M.D. who was the lead author of the study. “The effect is more durable than a drug commonly used to treat these vasomotor* symptoms and, ultimately, is more cost-effective for insurance companies.”

Source: The Henry Ford Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology. “Acupuncture Reduces Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatment.” September 2008.
http://www.henryford.com/body.cfm?id=463358taction=detaildtref=864

* Vasomotor: Relating to the nerves and muscles that cause the blood vessels to constrict or dilate.

In Chinese Medicine, chi is known to travel on pathways in the body called meridians or energy channels. Acupuncture can be used to stimulate various points along these meridians to keep the energy flowing or to unblock the flow when something occurs to reduce its flow. The unblocking of a meridian can go a long way to restore good health to a person suffering from some malady.

In conjunction with Acupuncture, or at times when Acupuncture is either not readily available or used, there are some excellent lifestyle considerations and actions that can help to promote the healthy flow of chi. A good, solid energy foundation can be enhanced and life energy boosted by following these good lifestyle practices.

m A healthy, balanced diet is very good for promoting the proper flow of chi. Vegetables, fruits and nuts will be an important component, but meats, fish and fowl are also encouraged. Some excellent chi-fortifying foods include brown rice, carrots, onions, chicken, fish, lamb, potatoes and eggs. Herbs are also important includ­ing ginseng, nutmeg and china root. Mainly, it’s important to choose natural foods with no chemical addi­tives. Consistency in food intake is also considered important with the warning to avoid both over- and under-eating.

• Breath is an vital part of life and breathing deeply brings in more oxygen and activates chi.
• Believe it or not, bright colors in a person’s life are also excellent for chi enhancement. This includes the wearing of bright colored clothing and having colorful flowers in the environment.
• Items and activities known to be “chi robbers” should be avoided. These would include spending too much time in crowed areas, watching an excessive amount of television, talking too much or having too many negative emotions. On the other hand, pleasant and spontaneous activities that a person enjoys are known to enhance the flow of chi.

Keep the energy flowing with Acupuncture together with a healthy lifestyle that enhances chi. And, just as an acupuncturist will tailor an Acupuncture program specific to a person’s needs, so can the acupuncturist be a source of lifestyle, diet and herb suggestions specific to good health and the proper flow of chi energy through the meridi­ans of your body.

Source: Acupuncture.com. “Boost Your Chi Naturally.”
September 2008 http://www.acupuncture.cominewsletters/m_sept08/boost%20chi.htm
and “Secrets of Longevity.” http://acupuncture.cominewsletters/m_aug03/mainl.htm

RLS is considered to be a neurological disorder which causes unpleasant sensations in the legs. These include feelings of burning, creeping, tugging or even like insects crawling on the legs. Sensations can range from irritating to painful. People with RLS often have a strong urge to move about when at rest to help relieve the discomfort. Lying down acti­vates the symptoms making restful sleep difficult.

The study was conducted at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. Here, 3,433 men and women were enrolled in the Sleep Heart Health Study. Participants were asked to fill out detailed questionnaires regarding their RLS. Additionally, they were asked to provide information about any previous diagnosis of cardiovascular disease or stroke. The average age of the participants was 68. Of the participants, approximately 7 percent of the women and 3 percent of the men had RLS.

What the study found was that people with RLS were more than twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease or cerebrovascular disease. Other physical ailments or lifestyle choic­es did not change the results. The findings stayed the same regardless of body mass index, diabetes, high blood pressure, medication for blood pressure, cholesterol levels or whether or not a person smoked.

“The association of RLS with heart disease and stroke was strongest in those people who had RLS symptoms at least 16 times per month,” said the study author John W. Winkelman, M.D., of Harvard Medical School. “There was also an increased risk among people who said their RLS symptoms were severe compared to those with less bothersome symptoms.”

Dr. Winkelman wanted it made clear that this study does not show that RLS causes heart attack or stroke, just that a number of potential causes for such an occurrence exist. “In particular, most people with RLS have as many as 200 to 300 periodic leg movements per night of sleep and these leg movements are associated with substantial acute increases in both blood pressure and heart rate, which may, over the long term, produce cardiovas­cular or cerebrovascular disease.”

This study was reported to be the largest of its kind ever assembled. It has been found in numerous other studies that this condition has been helped through nutrition, exercise, as well as Chiropractic and Acupuncture treatments.

Source: The American Academy of Neurology. “Restless Legs Syndrome Doubles Risk of Stroke and Hear Disease.” Press Release. January 2008. http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=571

Professional golfer Fred Couples is one person who has used Acupuncture to keep him competing on the professional tour. This is a player who has a very free-swinging golf action but has been plagued with a series of back injuries during his career that started in 1981. Several years ago, he had such a severe bout of pain that he didn’t think he’d be able to play in a tournament he’d just flown over 13 hours to compete in. This was in Seoul, Korea. That’s when he decided to try Acupuncture.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to play today,” said Couples after the first Acupuncture session. “The work done on my back made me feel great. I had needles stuck all over me, around my mouth, on the feet and in the back.” The session lasted 4 hours. He played success­fully and had another session after his first 18 holes of the event. He was able to play all 72 holes over 4 days of the tournament and finished in 5th place. When he returned to the United States, he paid a visit to Dr. Halina Snowball, a medical acupuncturist, in Greenwich, Conn. There he had another suc­cessful treatment and finished 4th in the Buick Classic. Now, at age 48, Couples still competes on the Professional Golf Association Tour.

Another golfer who has experienced successful Acupuncture treatment is Tom Henderson, the head golf professional at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich. He is a teaching professional who spends many hours a day with his students explaining and demonstrating the strokes of the game and hitting lots of golf balls. When he developed pains in his right shoulder, he, too, turned to Dr. Snowball for help. “She has treated me with a comprehensive Acupuncture approach,” said Henderson. “She uses needles not only in my shoulder, but also in my back, neck and feet. I find it so relaxing that I usually fall asleep.” His treatment included once a week Acupuncture for 3 weeks that was supplemented with some additional physical therapy. He felt that his shoulder was 98 percent improved at that point and that he was on his way to a full healing.

It is estimated that over 30 million Americans suffer from some sort of chronic pain due to back and neck problems, headaches, arthritis and other medical conditions. People spend an estimated $20 billion annually on all sorts of products and remedies in their search for relief. Acupuncture is a rela­tively low cost method of treatment that is gaining popularity in the United States. It’s a natural heal­ing process that improves body function.

People who depend on their body for their livelihood would certainly be wise to consider Acupuncture as a means to keep them working, earning and free of pain.

Source: Acupuncture Today. “Acupuncture Sessions Keep Popular Golfer in the Swing of Things.” August 2004. http://www.acupuncturetoday.corn/mpacms/adarti‑cle.php?id=28508 and Press Release. Physiatiists Use Ancient Healing Art to Treat Today’s Aches and Pains. July 2004. http://www.onsmd.corn/filemanager/down‑loar1/5261/

Acupuncture, on the other hand, has been used successfully by many as a means of quitting smoking without drugs and the potential adverse reactions of a pharmaceutical remedy. For instance, here is what one 25-year-old had to say about his results.

“I smoked two packs of cigarettes daily. This had been going on for over two years. I’d tried nicotine gum and associated products, as well as stopping cold turkey many times. I’ve now completely stopped smoking and can’t even stand the smell or to be around it. If it wasn’t for Acupuncture, there’s one fact: I’d still be a smoker.”

An Acupuncture program to quit the habit recognizes smoking as an addiction that takes a good deal of will power and desire for the person to make it. However, the use of Acupuncture, supplemented with herbal remedies, can go a long way to help ease the process.

Leah Martino, a licensed acupuncturist, uses five different treatment points in her program. The Acupuncture points focus on helping a patient relieve tension, increase their will power, return proper bal­ance to the body, relieve withdrawal cravings and diminish the appetite. She also makes use of herbs that help to relieve stagnations in the body and reduce physical cravings.

All of this contributes to improve the overall well-being of the patient and to heighten their resolve to break the addiction. It also provides the necessary support to get them through the tough moments when their cravings are telling them to break down and have a smoke.

One 47-year-old woman talks of her success with Acupuncture: “I smoked for 30-plus years. I no longer smoke and I owe it to the Acupuncture treatment. The treatments helped me a great deal to cope with the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking. I also had breathing and stomach prob­lems which were also treated successfully with Acupuncture.”

And finally, one heart-lifting testimonial from a 46-year-old woman: “I have smoked since I was 16 and was able to kick the habit through Acupuncture and the use of Chinese herbs. I’d call it a miracle, but rather, it was the skill of my practitioner and the will to succeed. I feel very fortunate to have a man like my acupuncturist on my side.”

Smoking is one of the world’s toughest habits to break, but it can be done. And, it does not have to involve the use of drugs or be done by replacing nicotine with another substance. Acupuncture offers hope for anyone who truly wants to break free of the addiction. It starts with a bit of will power and the first visit to an acupuncturist.

Sources: Acupuncture.com. “Stop Smoking Support Program?’
http://209.85.141.104/custom?q=cache:OR9YldgVGull:acupuncture.com/conditions/stopsmoke.htm+quit+smoking&h1=en&clnk&cd=2&g1=us and
Stop Smoking Testimonials.http://www.acupuncture.com/testimonialsismokingl.htm and http://www.acupuncture.com/testimonialsismoking2.htm,
http://www.acupuncture.com/testimonialsismoking3.htm.

Researchers in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, England were curious as well. In addition to wanting to know, they also wanted to find out if people’s reasons had changed from a similar query back in 1988. The information assembled came from a survey of 9,408 British Acupuncture patients. Some of the demographics, reasons for treatment and who paid for the office visits are quite interesting.

The first finding of the study is that women are more likely to visit an Acupuncturist than men – 74 percent of the patients were women. Their average age was 51 years, and 87 percent of the patients had received Acupuncture at least once before. Of note is that 95 percent paid for treatment out of their own pocket.

The most common problem reported, with relief for symptoms being sought, was for muscu­loskeletal issues at 38 percent. This was followed by psychological concerns at 11 percent, general (unspecified) at 9 percent, neurological problems at 8 percent, and gynecological/obstetric prob­lems at 8 percent. An additional 5 percent of the patients said they were seeking treatment for their own “general well-being.”

As for what prompted them to become an Acupuncture patient, a self-referral was most com­mon with 39 percent of the visits falling into this category. However, 78 percent of the patients surveyed said they had discussed their problems or symptoms with a doctor.

The study results compared to 1988 were quite limited, but researchers did point out that the number of people seeking help for musculo skeletal problems had dropped significantly. To the researchers, this indicated a wider case mix (a greater variety of reasons for people seeking treat­ment) than among patients from 20 years ago.

Acupuncture brings over 5,000 years of help and treatment knowledge to bear on numerous conditions. Help can be only a single treatment away or achieved through a series of visits over a specified time period. Solutions are drug-free and generally quite painless. Whatever the symp­toms, there is a good chance there is a solution waiting with a visit to an acupuncturist.

Source: Chiro.org. “Patients Seeking Care from Acupuncture Practitioners in the UK: A National Survey.” March 2006.
http://www.chiro.org/acupuncture/ABSTRACTS/Patients_Seeking_Care.shtml

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) causes inflammation and swelling of joint linings. It results in a painful condition for people who suffer from it and may even lead to some deformities over the long-term. Research efforts in the past have put more attention onto solutions for osteoarthritis where actual degeneration of bone joint tissue occurs.

Recently, 25 subjects participated in a study in Seoul, Korea, to determine if Acupuncture could be considered as an effective treatment to provide symptom relief and pain management for RA patients. Researchers were mainly associated with the Colleges of Korean Medicine at Sangji University and Kyung Hee University.

Each of the RA sufferers were given a series of 14 Korean Acupuncture sessions over a period of 6 weeks. Several known assessment tools were used to determine a person’s amount of joint tenderness, amount of joint swelling, morning stiffness and general quality of life.

What was interesting in this study was that each person received a type of Korean Acupuncture that was tailored to their own needs. Their individualized programs each involved five principles used in Sa-am Acupuncture, one of Korea’s most traditional approaches. RA is considered to be a problem of overheat and excessive dampness in Acupuncture terms, so the points chosen to treat were to assist with heat control, water balance in the body and for dampness control.

Acupuncture needles were generally inserted into the more unaffected side of the body where less RA pain was present. If pain was equal in both sides, needling was done on the left-hand side for men and the right-hand side for women. Needle manipulation usually lasted for about 20 minutes.

The results of the study were considered to be statistically significant in that 48 percent of the par­ticipants showed improvements over their initial measurements. Patients had a reduction of pain, less joint swelling and a higher quality of life. Some of the patients were also taking medication for their condition. There was no significant difference between those taking medication and those who did not. Researchers felt that Acupuncture alone could bring about positive results without the potential for harmful drug interactions or side effects.

Researchers said that no adverse effects of any kind were reported in the study. The Acupuncture delivered in this pilot study was completely safe and well tolerated by all participants. Continued investigation into RA pain management with Acupuncture is definitely warranted. The results of this study were published in the May 2008 issue of Clinical Rheumatology.

Source: Acupuncture Today. “Acupuncture Improves RA Symptoms.” June 2008.
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacmdat/article.php?id=31734&MERCURYS1D=2675fff4711ed6b85865985c722981f8

bring a new life into their family.

A survey was recently undertaken to determine if Acupuncture is a complementary approach to improve the success rate of in vitro fertilization. The study was undertaken at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Integrative Medicine. Eric Manheimer of the Center and colleagues conducted a systematic review spurred on by the fact that Acupuncture has been used in China for centuries to help regulate the female reproductive system.

With this in mind, the review team analyzed the results of seven different clinical trials of women who had undergone in vitro fertilization. They wanted to see if pregnancy results were improved through the use of Acupuncture. The study looked into the data of some 1,366 women. The comparisons were drawn between those women who had received Acupuncture treatment within one day of embryo transfer and those who did not. Assessments were made against those who had either received sham Acupuncture or no additional treatment.

The reviewers found from their analysis that Acupuncture, given as a complement to in vitro fertilization, increased the odds of achieving pregnancy over sham treatment or no treatment at all. The researchers said the results indicated that one additional pregnan­cy would result for every 10 women who received Acupuncture. While the researchers did indicate that more study needs to be done into this area, the findings did show an increased pregnancy rate of 10 percent with Acupuncture.

The results of this study were published recently on-line by the British Medical Journal.

University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Integrative Medicine is one of two schools that shared in a $1.1 million grant in 2005 to examine the role Acupuncture plays in improving pregnancy rates among couples who try in vitro fertiliza­tion. The center received $400,000 of that grant money from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Science Daily. Press Release, “Acupuncture Shows Promise in Improving Rates Of Pregnancy Following IVF.” February 2008. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210085601.htm and Acupuncture Today. December 2005. http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=30260

Acupuncture has a lot to say about why a lateral (towards the side of the body) ankle injury occurs and how it can be prevented. Of course, a contact sport athlete could take a dramatic blow to a joint area and receive acute damage from the exter­nal event. However, in the case of many strains and twists that athletes experience, a course of Acupuncture treatments could contribute to changing the internal ori­gins of injuries making the ankle stronger and healthier and less susceptible to get­ting hurt.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) there are a number of pre­existing factors that contribute to ankle sprains. These have to do with an inade­quate flow of qi (also known as “chi,” the energy of life) to the area, reduced blood flow to the ankle, blood stagnation in the joint, the invasion of external pathogens and the susceptibility to environmental factors of dampness, cold and heat. Each of these can contribute to the development of a chronic problem in the area. This disrupts the circulation of qi and blood to the specific location and increases sus­ceptibility to injury.

Acupuncture helps the recipient to counteract the accumulated events in life that reduce the follow of qi and blood flow to the ankle. Simply the acts of living, working and playing can have a negative effect on the body that needs to be cor­rected. For instance, long hours of standing can cause overstraining. A weakness may develop in the case of a prolonged illness or lack of proper nourishment to the area and can give rise to tendon and bone weakness. Additional factors which can affect the area, especially for athletes are the subjecting of the ankle to dampness, wind, heat and cold during competition.

Each of these accumulated conditions can be helped and rehabilitated with Acupuncture. Treatments with Acupuncture enrich the ankle area with a healthy flow of qi and blood supply. An athlete who takes these measures will have a much better chance of avoiding ankle injury. This will enhance enjoyment of the activity and also could prolong a person’s athletic career.

Source: Acupuncture Today. “Management and Prevention of Lateral Ankle Sprains.” March 2004.
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=28420

Here is a case report of one person who experienced relief from an RLS treatment. Her name is Sylvette Hickey, and she works in the medical profession as a Registered Nurse. This report is about her success with Acupuncture.

Her account begins by stating that she’d been having on-going problems with RLS for several years. Uncomfortable feelings in her legs at night were the first symptoms she noticed. She said that the condition became so painful that it was impeding her sleep.

“I remember trying to sleep with my legs propped up along the wall. Sleeping in a sit­ting position was another of my ‘poses.’ When neither worked, I would pound on my legs with my fists to try to alleviate the discomfort,” she reported. Over-the-counter medica­tions like Advil^® and Tylenol^® were also used frequently.

It was at this point, looking for solutions, that she turned to Acupuncture.

Actually, Ms. Hickey was already receiving some Acupuncture to help her with back pain. She was very satisfied with how these treatments had been significantly helping her back.

“I asked Steve (my acupuncturist) if treatments could help my condition (RLS), and he suggested I try a few sessions. Imagine my utter shock when after the first treatment I slept like a baby,” she said.

Her success with sleep continued following her treatments. For one year after she said that her RLS remained under control. Now, she gets an occasional treatment if it ever flares up again. In the meantime, she has also continued to educate herself about RLS and the effects of the disorder.

“Anyone who suffers from RLS should see an acupuncturist…give it a try,” she says.

Source: Acupuncture.com. Case History. www.acupuncture.com/testimonials/r1s.htm

According to statistics provided by the American Heart Association (AHA) in a “2007 Update on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics,” cardiovascular disease accounted for 36.3% of all deaths in the United States in 2004. The AHA says that some 80 million US adults have cardiovascular disease. Statistics say that nearly 2,400 people die in the US each day as a result.

An interesting evaluation of these statistics over these past 150 years and how the rate of death increases have correlated to changes in food intake and lifestyle was recently presented in a booklet by chiropractor Kurt W. Donsbach, DC. One study pointed out in the materials shows heart failure sta­tistics collected from 1855 to 1985 in the area of Yorkshire, England.

From the years 1855-1900 the death rate from heart failure was only 1 in 22,000 people. From 1900-1925, the figure rose to 5 deaths per 22,000. From 1925-1985, that death figure jumped to 35 per 22,000 people. Understanding some of the changes that occurred during these years and taking a look at lifestyles and food intake today can provide some very enlightening insights into making well­ness lifestyle choices.

Two significant changes occurred around 1880: 1) The introduction of bleached white flour which replaced whole wheat flour in most households who could afford it, and 2) Machine-made cig­arettes were introduced around this time and were enjoyed by about 80% of the male population. These two factors likely accounted for the increase in heart failure from 1 to 5 deaths per 22,000.

The next major change occurred after 1925 when American homemakers began replacing lard with oil, and margarine became a substitute for butter. By the 1950s it was standard procedure to use hydrogenated margarine, shortening and liquid oils like corn and canola in place of lard and butter. Donsbach points out that it was during this period that deaths from heart disease increased most dra­matically.

Two additional negative factors affecting the health of our population are the reduction of mag­nesium and vitamin E in our daily diets, both of which contribute to general heart health. Magnesium reduction occurs in two ways: One is through the use of bleached white flour and the other is drink­ing soft water. Hard water generally contains a higher concentration of minerals in general but notably a greater quantity of magnesium. Finally, wheat bread is a reasonably good source of vitamin E, yet bleached white flour is basically stripped of this health-producing vitamin.

Certainly exercise and wellness activities can go a long way to producing a healthy body, but
knowing this interesting historical perspective can shed some light on good heart health choices. Wise
choices include no smoking, the use of wheat flour, a careful look at oils and margarines and making
sure that adequate levels of magnesium and vitamin E are included in the diet. For persons with ques‑
tions about health and diet, a consultation with an alternative medical practitioner such as a chiroprac‑
tor or an acupuncturist about a comprehensive healthy lifestyle would be an excellent place to begin.

Source: The World Chiropractic Alliance. “Teaching Patients about Heart Health.” January 2008. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2008/jan/e.htm