There was an article in my local paper last week about the relationship between stress and weight gain.  The gist of the article was that during the current economic crisis many people who are stressed about their financial situation turn to food as a way to cope.

Medical experts know that stress and other strong negative emotions have an impact on your body’s hormonal balance, specifically the balance of adrenaline, cortisol, and insulin.  In addition, it’s known that hormonal changes caused by stress can be responsible for weight gain around your middle, and can increase your risk for certain cardiovascular health problems.  Your doctor may describe this phenomenon as the difference between being pear shaped (good) versus apple shaped (not so good).

In Chinese medicine, this same phenomenon would be described as a Liver/Spleen disharmony, or a case of your emotions upsetting your digestion.  Your Chinese Liver is the organ system that regulates the smooth movement of everything in your body, including your emotions, circulation, menstrual cycles, and digestion.  The function of the Spleen system is to efficiently turn food into nutrients, energy, and blood—in other words, all aspects of digestion.  You know your Spleen isn’t up to par when you have signs or symptoms related to your digestion, including food cravings or a loss of appetite, constipation or loose stools, stomachaches, nausea, and weight gain.  You might think that if you’re gaining weight your digestion is just fine, thank you very much, but in reality, weight gain is a signal that your digestion is impaired in some way.

How can acupuncture or Chinese medicine help?  There are a couple of answers.  First, acupuncture is an excellent way to soothe your emotions.  It can effectively help people who are feeling stressed, anxious or depressed.  It seems odd that the insertion of a couple of needles can affect your emotions or mood, but research has in fact documented that acupuncture alters brain chemistry in a good way.

Secondly, using a combination of acupuncture, herbs, and food therapy, a practitioner of Chinese medicine can help you get your weight under control.  Not only can it help you with food cravings, but Chinese medicine is an incredibly effective treatment for digestive problems.

 If stress is impacting your health or causing weight gain, think about acupuncture.  It’s safe, effective, and organic.

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We’ve all heard the figurative term that something is a pain in the neck, but the reality of neck pain can cause sleepless nights, limited range of motion, and make your life miserable in general. There are a number of causes of neck pain, including trauma, turning and reaching at the same time, drafts, and bad ergonomics.

 

The most common cause of neck pain, however, is stress. Most people who are under a lot of stress will tell you that they carry that stress in their neck. This has been the case since caveman times, when our furry ancestors raised the hackles on their neck in threatening situations. While a cranky boss, looming deadline, or a failing relationship isn’t the same as the threat of being eaten, your body still reacts in the same way, resulting in a tight, stiff neck.

 

In Chinese medicine, your stiff neck is a classic case of stagnation. The tightness in your upper back and neck create a slowdown in the circulation (stagnation) of blood and energy in the area. In addition, as that area becomes tight, it can move upward causing headaches, tooth grinding, and jaw pain; or move downward and cause back pain and tightness.

 

The antidote to neck pain in Chinese medicine is acupuncture, which works on two levels. It can help relieve the pain and tightness in your neck, and it can also help relieve stress.

 

You should check with your Western doc if your neck pain is accompanied by confusion, fever, or drowsiness. Also, if your neck pain radiates into your arms or hands, or if you feel numbness or tingling, it may be the sign of disk involvement and should also be checked out.

 

Some things you can do on your own to relieve neck pain include:

 

-Get some heat on it. Take a warm shower, use a heating pad, warm rice bag, or a towel soaked in hot water. By putting heat on your neck, you are increasing the circulation, loosening tight muscles, and enhancing your range of motion.

 

-Increase your flexibility. After you have warmed up your stiff neck, move your head up and down as if you were nodding yes. Then slowly move your head from side to side as if you were saying no. Tilt your head, moving your ear toward your shoulder on each side. These stretches will help increase your range of motion, but remember, don’t do anything that is intensely painful.

 

-Sleep on it. Sleep on your back with a pillow under your knees. This helps you maintain the natural curvature of your spine, and will help you avoid sleeping on your side, which can aggravate a stiff neck.

 

-Hold the phone. Keep the phone off of your shoulder. If you’re on the phone a lot at work, get a headset or hold the phone with your hand.

 

-Take a break. If you’re on your computer all day, make sure you take regular breaks to get up, stretch, and walk around.

 

-Eyes forward. Make sure that your work station is ergonomically correct. This means that you shouldn’t have to look sideways to see your computer screen, look downward all day long, or be sitting in an uncomfortable position.

 

 

-Stay away from drafts. Cold air blowing on your neck can be an underlying cause of a stiff neck. Avoid sleeping in a draft, and be sure to wear a scarf on cool, cold and windy days.

 

-Get some acupuncture. In most cases, your stiff neck will be gone in a few days. However, acupuncture can be extremely helpful in speeding up the healing process.

You’ve got what feels like a three-alarm fire under your ribcage or at the top of your chest.  Maybe you just overindulged in a gourmet meal or knocked down a chili dog with the works.  You belch; maybe drink a little water, but the fire burns on.  That after-dinner hell you’re experiencing is most likely heartburn.

 

What causes heartburn is actually a muscle in your lower esophagus falling down on the job.  That muscle, your esophageal sphincter, usually opens to let food you’ve eaten pass to your stomach, then closes to prevent food and stomach acid from flowing back upward. However, in the case of heartburn, or esophageal reflux, the sphincter hasn’t closed properly, allowing the contents of your stomach to irritate your esophagus causing that burning sensation.

 

There are a number of causes of heartburn, including eating the wrong foods, stress, overeating, and obesity.  In addition, the esophageal sphincter tends to get weaker with age, so just being on the wrong side of 40 can make you more prone to episodes of heartburn.

 

In Chinese medicine, heartburn is frequently caused by damage from emotions (stress and anger!), erratic or unhealthy eating or drinking, and overall depletion due to aging.  In most cases, a Chinese diagnosis of a Liver/Spleen disharmony will be evident. 

 

The Liver is the organ system that is responsible for the smooth and uninhibited movement of everything in your body.  However, the Liver system is that which is most damaged by anger, stress, and unfulfilled desires.  Damage to the Liver causes stagnation, and almost always overflows and affects digestion; in this case causing heartburn.

 

The good news, however, is that there are a number of things you can do to naturally quench the fires of heartburn.  Also good news is that the irritation and damage to our esophagus can heal within a month or two, once the symptoms have subsided.

 

Some natural suggestions to help cool down heartburn include:

 

-Determine which foods are likely to cause heartburn and eliminate them from your diet.  Some common offenders include onions (especially raw), coffee, spicy meals, alcohol, citrus fruits and strawberries, mint, chocolate, and fried or fatty foods.

 

-Eat smaller meals so your esophageal sphincter doesn’t have to work overtime.

 

-Respect the laws of gravity and sit up for a couple of hours after eating.

 

-If your heartburn symptoms seem to be worse at night, try sleeping with your head elevated.  You can do this by placing the head of your bed on blocks that are four to six inches high.

 

-Try 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in a few tablespoons of water to quickly neutralize stomach acid.

 

It is also important to know when to check with your M.D.  If you have heartburn symptoms daily, suffer from a lot of belching or bloating, or if symptoms seem to be worse when your stomach is empty, get it checked out by your doc.  Also, if you have what feels like heartburn accompanied by difficulty or pain swallowing, chest pain or pain radiating to the neck and/or shoulder, vomiting, bloody or black stools, shortness of breath, or lightheadedness, get to your doctor right away.  Your symptoms may be more than simple heartburn and need to be evaluated by a doctor.

 

Vitamin D is getting a lot of press recently as health experts are finding deficiencies in this important vitamin are being linked to a number of health conditions. 

 

One of the most important functions of Vitamin D is to stimulate the absorption of calcium in your body.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets and other bone-related diseases, such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis. More recently, health experts are finding that a deficiency of Vitamin D may be more far-reaching than calcium metabolism.  The new thinking is that Vitamin D also affects the immune system, promotes anti-tumor activity, and performs other immune functions.  Deficiencies may be related to cancer, depression, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, heart disease, hypertension, and various autoimmune diseases.

 

There are two forms of Vitamin D:  D2, or ergocalciferol; and D3, or cholecalciferol.  Either form of Vitamin D may be added to foods as a supplement.  Food sources of Vitamin D include cold water fish, butter, and egg yolks.

 

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, which means that excess amounts aren’t excreted in your urine.  This also means that Vitamin D has a high potential for toxicity if you take too much. Too much Vitamin D can increase blood calcium levels, causing the development of stones and deposits of calcium into internal organs. Recommended amounts are 200-400 i.u. per day, however, many health experts believe that you can safely supplement up to 1,000 i.u. per day.

 

Vitamin D deficiency is an issue with the use of sunscreens, blocking its synthesis in the skin.  Also at risk for deficiencies are the elderly, obese, exclusively breastfed infants, those with limited exposure to sunlight, and people with absorption problems (Crohn’s or Celiac disease).

 

In northern climates, the sun isn’t strong enough to produce Vitamin D during the winter, so supplementing can be a good option.  However, during the summer, it only takes 10-15 minutes of sun exposure to make adequate amounts of Vitamin D, so get some sun, make a little D, and then put on your sunscreen.