How to tell if you're happy...

My sister and I

You Have A Sister ! 

"People with at least one female sibling report better social support, more optimism, and better coping abilities, according to a study presented at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference. Sisters appear to encourage communication and cohesion in families."

Love it ! This morning, my sister forwarded me this article ~ 9 Signs you're happier than you think.  Now I know you can't change whether or not you have a sister but several of the other "happy signs" are within your control. Here are a few;

You're not glued to the TV

"The happiest people spend 30% less time parked in front of the tube, according to a University of Maryland study that analyzed 34 years of data from more than 45,000 Americans. They’re more likely to spend time socializing, reading, or attending religious services—habits that are linked to better moods and health."

OK, I am guilty of this one sometimes, especially when the Real Housewives on.

You keep souvenirs on display

"People who use mementos or photos to remind themselves of good times better appreciate their lives and are happier, says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, a professor of psychology at University of California, Riverside. Good memories remind you of your “happiness potential” and promise that soon you can reach it again."

This is a tip I follow, and of course some of my favorite memories are with my sister. Check out the photo : )

You make exercise a priority

"People who exercise more are less likely to be stressed and more likely to be satisfied with life, according to Danish researchers. Compared with sedentary people, joggers are 70% less likely to have high stress levels and life dissatisfaction, the study found. Couch potatoes who start moderate exercise—the equivalent of 17 to 34 minutes a day—experience the greatest happiness lift."

Another one I've got covered, though like many of you, I always feel I could do more.

You hang out with happy people

"Socializing with a cheerful person in your neighborhood increases the likelihood that you’ll be happy too, according to a new study. How often you get together matters most, say the researchers: People who live within half a mile of a buoyant buddy increase their odds of being happy by 42%. If the friend lives farther away (within a 2-mile radius), the chances drop to 22%—probably due to fewer get-togethers."

The older I get the more I make it a priority  to spend my time with people who give me joy. If you have any constantly unhappy people in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with them. Try it you'll perk up !

You stay warm with hot cocoa

"Clutching a steaming beverage—coffee and tea also do the trick—can elicit a flood of positive feelings, according to a Yale University study. This may be because people associate physical warmth with emotional warmth, say the researchers. Study subjects held cups of either hot or iced coffee; those gripping warm mugs were more appreciative of friendliness in others and also felt more generous and trusting themselves."

Yes I'm sure hot cocoa would be tasty but since tea can have so many health benefits, and a lot less sugar. I recommend the tea.

To read all 9 "happy signs" from yahoo  click here 

The Challenge Is To Change Ourselves

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves."

 Viktor E. Frankl

Chinese Medicine Is Not Just For Grown Ups

Children can benefit from both acupuncture and herbs. If your child is afraid of the needles there are other ways to stimulate points and the herbal remedies can be a healthy option. Last year a good friend of mine did a guest post on herbal alternatives for children. and just recently I published a post about Rush Medical Center, here in Chicago, which is offering acupuncture to their pediatric patients with chronic illnesses. Below are some common problems that Chinese medicine can treat in children.

From Acufinder.com
Treating Children with Acupuncture

Children respond extremely well to acupuncture treatments for many conditions. When treating children, their comfort is of the utmost importance. Treatments tend to be shorter and acupuncture points are usually stimulated gently with very thin needles or with other techniques that do not involve needles.

Needle-free acupuncture treatments may include stroking, rubbing, tapping, and pressing the acupuncture points with tools such as brushes, rollers and blunt probes.

Common childhood conditions treated with Oriental Medicine:

• Failure to thrive syndrome
• Weak constitution
• Colic, excessive night crying, temper tantrums
• Indigestion, GERD, constipation, and diarrhea
• Night terrors
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Allergies, asthma
• Cough and colds
• Eczema and hives
• Ear infections
• Bedwetting

New Study Shows Acupuncture Maybe A Potent Treatment For Depression

Many of the studies about acupuncture’s effectiveness come from Western medicine researchers trying to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine (an Eastern philosophy and practice) in terms of Western science.

Here is another one, and this one has implications for the treatment of depression. In this study, conducted at the University of New South Wales, healthy patients underwent MRI brain scans while they received acupuncture.  The portions of the brain related to “mood regulation” were affected, leading the researchers to wonder whether acupuncture would be effective treatment for depression, a mood disorder.

Acupuncture shown to stimulate the brain

From The Sydney Morning Herald
By Danny Rose, Medical Writer September 14, 2010

Acupuncture has been shown to prompt changes in the "mood regulation" area of the brain, pointing to a possible and potent treatment for depression.

The Australian-first research, conducted at the University of NSW, took in ten healthy patients who each underwent MRI brain scans while they received the ancient Chinese therapy. Dr Im Quah-Smith said it was the first study to map acupuncture-related changes in brain functioning, while the study was designed to include an extra step to boost its scientific rigour.

"This the is the first time that a whole series of (acupuncture) points have been used together and the sum effect has been measured in the brain," Dr Quah-Smith told AAP on Tuesday. "... We were interested to see if we use these points would it help any of our depressed patients? - and it would because it is working in the part of the brain that is inherently involved in mood regulation."

to read the rest of the article click here

Cupping Is A Popular Trend In Hollywood

Cupping fans continue to pop up all over Hollywood. Gwyneth Paltrow , Victoria Beckham and now Denise Richards have all shown off their tell tale marks. Last month the U.K. paper The Daily Mail published photos of Denise in Malibu, wearing a strapless maxi dress and cupping marks on her back. She gave the camera a big smile and I'm sure that is because she felt so refreshed after undergoing the ancient Chinese Medicine technique.

*To read the article and see the photos click here

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice......

Cinnamon, Gui Zhi, is one of the oldest spices around and it is mentioned frequently in the Bible as an ingredient for making holy anointed oil. even earlier, cinnamon received much attention in China. It is mentioned in one of the earliest books (approximately 2,700 B.C.) about Chinese botanical medicine.

Today, the cinnamon twig is one of the most important circulatory herbs in Chinese herbalism. Gui Zhi is made from the fine branches and twigs of the Saigon cinnamon tree, a large tropical tree. Gui Zhi, or cinnamon, warms the body and invigorates circulation. It induces perspiration and relieves muscle spasms.

With these properties, Gui Zhi is commonly used for menstrual disorders such as abdominal masses, stopped menstruation, and abdominal cramps. In addition to activating circulation, the spice has anti-clotting actions. Gui Zhi is also used for the common cold, upper-respiratory congestion, various circulatory disorders, including chest pains, palpitations, numbness and arthritis.

It should be used with caution by women who are pregnant or bleeding heavily. Some herbs are known to react with your existing medications so please consult a qualified Chinese Herbalist before taking any herb.

"Water With No Ice, Please"

For years, I have recommended drinking plenty of water - but "no ice".  I always do this, strongly advise my patients to do the same and have successfully converted my family. Whenever we are eating out, we all look up at the waiter and ask, "Water With No Ice, Please."  I'm surprised that many people are still unaware of the benefits so, when I came across this article published on the Huffington Post  website last month, I decided to link it here. The article provides a great explanation of why you ought to consider getting rid of those frozen cubes.

By Sat Hon
Founder, New York Dan Tao Center, author of "Taoist Qigong for Health and Vitality."

"When my students ask, What is the most beneficial diet for healthy living?", I reply, "Leave out the ice, 冰/bing." (Bing in Chinese means literally frozen water.) Most of the time, they are utterly puzzled by such an unexpected response. However, the best diet is the one that is free of harmful elements. In traditional Chinese Medicine, the habitual use of ice cubes in drinks is a harmful dietary custom. For digestion, our body needs the internal combustion of heat to transform the food and absorb the nutrients through our intestines. Ice, when ingested, becomes a coagulant and constricts our blood vessels and internal organs. The coldness of ice hinders the digestive process."

to read the rest of the article click here

A Fabulous Fungus ~ Cordyceps

Last month I wrote about a heist in Vancouver, Canada of a Chinese Herbal store. One of the expensive items stolen was the well known Chinese cure all cordyceps. Many of you may ask what is so special about this fungus ? Well here is Cathy with an answer for you.

From pacherbs

By Cathy Margolin L.A.c.

Shopping at a farmers market is always a favorite activity of mine, checking out the best produce and looking for the best prices. I’d love to shop at a farmers market in Tibet where cordyceps adorns the tables. Cordyceps has a history of being the world's best fungus. But the cost may shock you. A $100.00 or more for a few ounces? Prices vary depending on quality and can be even higher.

Cordyceps ability to treat chronic diseases including diabetes, COPD, liver and kidney diseases, tinnitus and amnesia, decreased libido and fatigue have all been heavily researched. Highly prized by ancient Chinese Emperors, many athletes today use this fungus to increase energy, improve endurance, increasing oxygen capacity and boost lung function.

In China cordyceps is used as both a dietary supplement and medicine for the above mentioned conditions as well as hyperglycemia, high cholesterol, respiratory disease and heart arrhythmias. The Western world is catching on to the incredible benefits of this strange worm that metamorphoses into a fungus. Clinical studies support these long held traditions, so many in fact I can’t possibly mention them all here.  

Even world renowned Sloane-Kettering’s posted the following on their website:
 
”Several studies showed significant improvements in all respiratory symptoms at a dose range of 3-4.5 grams of Cordyceps. Improvements were in shortness of breath, cough and expectoration, and sleep.”

The original cordyceps sinensis grows only in the mountains of Tibet & Nepal (and some other parts of China.) Cited in Tibetan medical texts even before Chinese texts which date to the 4st century, cordyceps popularity has grown and is now Tibet’s number one export. Getting to the remote growing regions is not so easy. Did I mention you’ll need to climb to a least 10,000 feet above sea level and the harvesting season is very short, April until the end of June. Harvesting requires the gatherers to be on hands and knees with their faces close to the ground. The tiny cordyceps often resemble surrounding vegetation. A small knife is utilized for extraction, with extreme caution so as not to damage the larva, resulting in a loss of value. Each gatherer is lucky to collects an average of just 20 cordyceps in a day.

Cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that feeds mainly on butterflies, moths, and caterpillars. The wind spreads the spores over the soil and onto the plants, which are then either consumed by the future hosts or simply penetrate through the mouth or respiratory pores, eventually killing the insect. However, it is traditionally believed by the people of Tibet that cordyceps lives as a worm during the winter, and then in the spring undergoes a metamorphosis that changes it into a type of grass. In some areas, it is closely connected to local religion and its harvesting has been banned.

The mountain-grown cordyceps has become rare as more locals depends upon the income from its harvesting. The popularity and wealth of benefits from this fungus prompted Chinese scientists to find another way to grow mycelia strains using fermentation technology. Many experts say the laboratory grown cordyceps is chemically identical to wild grown, the benefit of course is its less expensive and widely available in Asia and I have seen it in China towns in the U.S. If you’re ever at a farmer’s market or anywhere cordyceps is for sale, don’t balk at the price of this fungus. Considering its health benefits, it’s by far the best buy in the market.

“Old age ain’t for sissies.” - Bette Davis 

Ancient Chinese Medicine May Help Chemotherapy Patients

Yale University and a company called PhytoCeutica, Inc.,  recently published a study that has great potential for people who are undergoing chemotherapy. The researcher made a drug from boiling peony root, licorice root, red dates and skullcap root, all Traditional Chinese Medicine remedies that help the gastro-intestinal tract, especially when you are suffering from diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
    They called these 4 Chinese herbs,  PHY906, and found that they were effective against  the side effects of chemotherapy administered to mice. Chinese herbs improved the mice’s symptoms of diarrhea AND simultaneously cut the cancerous tumors growth. The other significant benefits occurred when PHY906 restored the damaged intestinal linings in the mice, replenished healthy gut cells, and blocked the migration of inflammatory cells to the gut.
   

“This combination of chemotherapy and herbs represents a marriage of Western and Eastern approaches,” said lead researcher Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, something other acupuncturists and I have been promoting for years. 
 
Also, as we know in TCM, herbs work differently when combined than when used individually. The lead researcher noted this phenomenon. He said, "deletion of any of those herbs, you have a different impact on three biological endpoints." It is the combination of herbs that create the valuable healing medicinal action.
    According to Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, PHY906 is based on an 1800 year old TCM formula known as Huang Qin Tang, still is used today for treatment of diarrhea and gastro-intestinal tract  disorders.

Note: Dr. Cheng is a scientific founder of and has equity interest in PhytoCeutica, Inc., which develops traditional Chinese medicine into drugs for the treatment of cancer. PHY906 is currently only available for patients enrolled in a clinical trial. The authors caution that many herbal products claiming to be Huang Qin Tang may contain harmful or ineffective substitutes and should be avoided

Therapy For Adults With ADHD

My Mother loves blogging ! Here is a post from her blog, Life Ain't For Sissies, I thought my readers would find interesting and helpful. Enjoy !

For many children diagnosed with ADHD, the symptoms persist well into adulthood. When adults learn that these lifelong symptoms have a name, they are often greatly relieved. They have been thinking about themselves as lazy or disorganized instead of recognizing that they are dealing with a neurobiological problem.

When the adults with ADHD come into therapy, the same symptoms that gave them problems as children, present difficulties in conventional treatment. The symptoms – inattention, difficulty getting organized, easily distracted, forgetful, impulsive, difficulty waiting before they speak, interrupting, hyperactive, incessant talking, fidgety – are not always compatible with therapy. Therapy usually requires concentrating on a theme, remembering insights, keeping appointments and showing up on time, and following through with ideas from the therapeutic hour.

Then, when conventional therapy doesn’t work, both the client and therapist feel like they have failed. Therapists have adapted their methods to this disorder. Here are some ways that clinicians deal with adults with ADHD:

1. The clients are referred to psychiatrists for medication that helps the symptoms.
2. Clients are educated about the disorder and that relieves some of the low self esteem problems.
3. Therapists may suggest that they use additional supports, such as vocational counseling and other supportive services.
4. Therapists are more active than they might be with other clients.
5. Treatment includes the development of coping skills that can be used in “real life,” such as examining behaviors of lateness (“I just wanted to do one more thing before I got in my car to come here”).
6. Together, clients and therapists find alternative options and solutions to problems.

To read more, check out J. Russell Ramsay and Anthony L. Rostain’s article, “Adapting Psychotherapy To Meet The Needs Of Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” in Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training 2005, volume 42 #1 pp. 72-84. 

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New Research~Acupuncture Is Effective For Turning Breech Babies

This article from Healthcmi, gives a informative and quick overview of recent research which shows that acupuncture and moxabustion can be effective tools in turning breach babies. While these studies are new, Chinese Medicine has been used to help turn breach babies for hundreds of years.

"New research shows that acupuncture is an effective method for turning breech fetuses to the proper position for a healthy vaginal delivery. Five different randomized studies conducted by the Department of Fetal Medicine at Hautepierre Hospital in France demonstrate that needling acupuncture point UB67 (located on the 5th toe) is an effective means for turning a breech fetus. Another study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine (which includes a lead researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts) concludes that needling acupuncture point UB67 “reduces the number of breech presentations at term, thus, reducing the number of caesarean sections, and is cost effective compared to expectant management, including external cephalic version.” The latter study included stimulation with both acupuncture needles and moxibustion at acupoint UB67. Moxibustion is a technique used by acupuncturists to stimulate an acupoint with heat by burning a specially prepared mixture of the herb Ai Ye (mugwort) near the acupoint. The French study concludes that “acupuncture should be attempted in cases of breech presentation.”

The acupuncture treatment protocol for turning breech fetuses is over 1,000 years old. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture and moxibustion at point UB67 (also known as Zhiyin, “Reaching Yin”) is used to treat breech fetuses, occipital & vertex headaches and prolonged or difficult labor. Acupuncture point UB67 is most renown for its importance in turning breech fetuses. In China, pregnant women with a breech position fetus are often instructed how to warm acupuncture point UB67 with a moxibustion stick as a home measure. Often, using acupuncture is not necessitated since the moxibustion may achieve the proper clinical results of a well positioned fetus."

*to see the original article click here

Tennis Star Uses Acupuncture For Hip Pain

Another Star Athlete Uses Acupuncture To recover from an injury ! On 8/27/10 the Associated Press reported that Kim Clijsters ,the former No. 1 ranked player, used acupuncture to help her hip which had been giving her problems on the court. The Belgian tennis player had an amazing winning streak at the U.S. Open and is currently ranked No. 3 in the world. She is now moving better, which helps her on the court and off , as she needs to keep up with her young daughter.

*To read the story click here

The Military Is Using Acupuncture As An Alternative To Painkillers

Stars and Stripes published an article last month about the Military using acupuncture as an alternative to prescription painkillers. The military seems to have an increasing interest in the many benefits of acupuncture and I hope it continues.

Read the following by Jennifer H. Svan .

Lt. Col. Dan Ferris has taken some ribbing for what he calls “the bling in my ears.” But the 44-year-old Air Force pilot doesn’t mind: What appear to be post earrings are actually tiny acupuncture needles, which Ferris said have helped ease his chronic lower back pain, allowing him to keep up a relentless flying schedule during six months in Afghanistan. He can’t pop painkillers, because fliers are limited to certain drugs and doses.

“Acupuncture helps with the pain, to the point of removing it,” Ferris said recently from Kandahar Air Field. “What else can you ask for when you have an injury? For me, it’s better than drugs.” The military is finding that Western medicine alone doesn’t always work in relieving the suffering of troops dealing with a complex range of injuries after nine years of war, from multiple concussions to backs strained under heavy packs and body armor.

As the number of prescriptions for opiate painkillers skyrockets — and more troops admit abusing those drugs — the military has been forced to look beyond conventional ways to treat pain. “This is a nationwide problem,” said Brig. Gen. Richard Thomas, assistant Army surgeon general. “We’ve got a culture of a pill for every ill.”

In June, the Army surgeon general released a report addressing the lack of a comprehensive pain-management strategy, suggesting alternative treatments including meditation and yoga. Even though some in the medical field maintain that acupuncture has never been proved effective, the Air Force sees it as one of the more promising alternatives to combat pain. The service runs the military’s only full-time acupuncture clinic at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Last year, it launched a program to train more than 30 military doctors to use acupuncture in the war zone and at their base clinics. The program will be expanded next year with the Air Force, Army and Navy combining funds for two courses to certify 60 active-duty physicians as medical acupuncturists.“I think we realized with some of the tremendous injuries these folks have ... we certainly want to find an alternative to help them out, to eliminate or reduce their use of pain medication,” said Col. Dominic DeFrancis, medical corps director for the Air Force Surgeon General.

Acupuncture, he says, has few side effects and no apparent drug interactions, and it works quickly — allowing some troops with pain to return to duty faster. “This is an effective therapy that works and should be part of our physicians’ capabilities,” DeFrancis said.

Needles for the battlefield

The Air Force training, run in conjunction with the Helms Medical Institute of Berkeley, Calif., teaches military physicians a variety of acupuncture techniques, from traditional Chinese to Korean hand acupuncture. Clinicians also are learning a type of acupuncture developed in 2001 by an Air Force doctor that’s being used in frontline hospitals and could be applied, Air Force officials say, right on the battlefield.

“The whole idea of the battlefield concept was trying to develop an acupuncture technique that would be generic for all pain and that would be very rapid in terms of its effectiveness,” said Dr. Richard Niemtzow, a retired Air Force colonel who modified the method from French auricular acupuncture needles and the results of MRI studies on pain. Small needles are placed in up to five pain-control points in each ear, and they stay for three or more days before falling out. The sterilized needles are small enough to carry in a pocket, easily fit under a military helmet, and the technique is simple to apply, said Niemtzow, who’s one of two full-time Air Force acupuncturists. In the right combat situation, he says, acupuncture could replace a narcotic.

Lt. Col. Timothy Kaczmar uses battlefield acupuncture and more traditional acupuncture with bigger needles to treat patients at Kandahar Air Field’s Air Force medical clinic. A flight surgeon at the Air Force Academy, Kaczmar completed an Air Force-sponsored acupuncture course last year. ‘It’s been a wonderful tool to have as a doctor here,” he said. He most commonly sees patients with back pain, headaches, sleep disturbances and anxiety. High doses of painkillers aren’t a great option in combat, Kaczmar said. “We’re out here getting rocketed,” he said. “You don’t want to give them medication to the point where they’re groggy.” Kaczmar successfully treated Senior Airman Emilie Johnston, 24, a medical technician from Vermont, who was struggling with almost daily headaches.
“A couple days ago, I had a headache coming on to where my vision was getting blurry,” she said recently from Kandahar. “Dr. Kaczmar did ear acupuncture on me. In 15 minutes, my headache was gone. I haven’t gotten a headache since then.” Master Sgt. Jamie Gilmore has tried physical therapy, muscle relaxers, steroid injections and chiropractor visits to address the chronic pain of a bulging back disc.

On a recent summer day, she dropped into the pain center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where Dr. Ron White used the Niemtzow technique, pricking both of her ears a millimeter deep with two needles, each gold, silver and platinum. The first needles didn’t bring immediate relief, but after undergoing acupuncture every two weeks for about a year, the pain is tolerable. Gilmore, 44, has been able to resume running, CrossFit training and other physical activities. Most importantly for her, she said, “I’ve been able to cut back almost completely on prescription medication.”

*to read the rest of the article click here

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago Offers Young Patients Acupuncture

This year ScienceDaily reported that Rush Medical Center, here in Chicago, is offering acupuncture to their pediatric patients with chronic illnesses. These treatments are part of a study to find out how acupuncture might help reduce pain in children and increase their quality of life. The acupuncture is used to relieve pain, nausea and fatigue. Here are a couple of excerpts from the article.

"Treating children with acupuncture is a new frontier," said Dr. Paul Kent, pediatric hematology and oncology expert, Rush Children's Hospital. "We are looking to see if there is an effective pain management therapy we can offer that does not have the serious side effects that can be caused by narcotics and other serious pain medications."

The lack of options for pain management in children has been reported as one of the most difficult aspects of providing care to pediatric patients. Research indicates that up to 70 percent of pediatric patients experience pain and those with chronic illnesses often do not have adequate relief or prevention of pain.

"Acupuncture could be a potential solution to this dilemma of controlling pain in pediatric patients," said Angela Johnson, Chinese medicine practitioner at Rush.

*To read the full article click here

The Web That Has No Weaver

For those of you who are looking for a good place to start learning about TCM, this is a great book to read.

The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine

"Completely and thoroughly revised, The Web That Has No Weaver is the classic, comprehensive guide on the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. This accessible and invaluable resource has earned its place as the foremost authority in the synthesizing of Western and Eastern healing practices."

Enjoy Labor Day !

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience." ~ George Washington

"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." ~ Thomas Jefferson


"No labor, however humble, is dishonoring." ~ The Talmud