The news the next day told of the carnage brought about by the high temperatures. The First Aid tent was overflowing with overheated and dehydrated runners, some of whom ended up in the hospital. However, the runners in the worst condition were those who had drunk too much. It’s true—there were some runners that day who followed commonsense advice of drinking lots but got into real trouble because they were grossly over hydrated.

How could that happen? Well, drinking too much water can cause an electrolyte imbalance in which the dilution of sodium in your body becomes life threatening. Marathon runners sweat heavily over the course of a 26-mile race, and lose both water and electrolytes. When a dehydrated runner drinks too much water without supplementing the necessary electrolytes, water intoxication, or hyponatremia, can occur. The symptoms of water intoxication aren’t pretty. The electrolyte imbalance causes tissue swelling, which in serious cases can lead to an irregular heartbeat, fluid in the lungs, pressure on the brain, seizures, coma, and death. The good news is, if it’s treated before the swelling causes too much damage, a water intoxicated athlete can fully recover within a couple of days.

So what does this story have to do with Chinese medicine? Well, in the past year or so, I’ve seen several patients in my clinic who in one way or another have been over hydrating. While they weren’t dangerously ill, their water consumption was enough to have a negative impact on their health.

In one instance, a woman in her early 40’s, named Jane, had what felt like a chronic bladder infection that was not responding to Western or Chinese medical treatments. Finally, she went to a clinic specializing in bladder health, and the doctor determined that her bladder was healthy, but inordinately large. Now if you’re a regular beer drinker, that may be a good problem to have, but in Jane’s case, it was causing her discomfort. On questioning, Jane reported that she drinks several 32 oz bottles of water every day. Essentially, the doctor said that drinking so much water had enlarged her bladder to the point of discomfort. Her course of treatment is to drink a lot less.

A second example of so-called water damage has occurred in a number of patients I’ve seen who struggle with chronic diarrhea—the kind that’s life-altering. Most of these patients are having episodes several times a day and can’t eat a meal without having to hit the bathroom shortly afterward. In almost every case, when I ask about water consumption, I find that these patients are drinking a lot–sometimes several liters a day. This causes their digestion to be so waterlogged that it almost completely shuts down. The course of treatment is to drink less, especially with meals, and to switch to room temperature or warm drinks. Through acupuncture, herbal medicine, and dialing back the water, these patients have seen their diarrhea go away completly or be greatly reduced.

In Chinese medicine, these are both cases of something called dampness, in which your body is unable to metabolize water effectively. In both of these instances the dampness was brought about by drinking too much water. Dampness is almost always a digestive issue, in which your Chinese Spleen gets bogged down and can’t make good use of the fluids in your body. Dampness can be the cause of a number of symptoms including diarrhea, bladder infections, yeast, poor energy, joint pain, headaches, and a feeling of heaviness. In addition, that excess roll of fat around your middle or on your thighs is also considered to be damp tissue—it’s moist and heavy—a little bit like wet sand.

There are a number of reasons you become damp. The most common include drinking too much, eating too much, eating the wrong foods (sweet, rich, greasy), stress, and living in a damp place, like England or a basement. Dampness is a drag, because like wet sand, it tends to take a long time to dry out.

The best way to deal with dampness is to not become damp in the first place. This means eating good food in moderation; getting a little exercise; saying hydrated, but not over drinking; and maintaining your weight. Being proactive against dampness also means paying attention to your digestion. Some simple ways to improve the digestive process include sitting at the table when you eat, chewing your food well, and drinking small amounts of room temperature water or hot tea with your meals.

While symptoms caused by dampness, and dampness itself can be a challenge in the acupuncture clinic, it can be resolved. Through the use of acupuncture, drying or draining herbs, Chinese food therapy, and some lifestyle tweaks, dampness can be something you talk about in the past tense.

The key here is moderation. That’s right, average, reasonable, and middle of the road. Is there anything more boring than moderation? Maybe not, but taking it easy may be just what you need for better health.

Moderation is one of the pillars of Chinese medicine. The reality is that most things that are good for you are good in small doses. When they’re overdone, those good things can deplete you physically or cause stagnation (blockages of energy, food, blood, or other substances). Below are some example and the implications of taking it too far, or not far enough, within the framework of Chinese medicine.

Food. Eating a wide variety of foods ensures that you’re getting all the nutrients you need in your gas tank. Unfortunately, we tend to label foods as all good or all bad. Remember when we were cutting the fat out of everything? Now we’re a little smarter and know that there are good fats and not so good fats. You also know that you need fats in your diet and that you need to balance the Omega 6 fats (mostly animal based) you eat with the Omega 3′s (mostly plant based and fish) for good health.

Sugar is also one of those foods that has moved to the dark side, too. In Chinese medicine, each of your internal organs is associated with a flavor, and your Spleen/Stomach is all about sweets. According to the Chinese, you need a little something sweet after a meal to aid the digestive process. Centuries ago, this meant fennel seeds, a few dates, or some other dried fruit. That’s fine, but today, the sweets we eat after a meal are very sweet, fat laden, and only serve to bog down your digestion. In fact, when I see patients in the clinic who have severe sugar cravings, I know that their digestion needs some help.

Vitamins. Remember for a moment that the role of vitamin supplementation is only to prevent against deficiencies. Unfortunately, many of us take tons of vitamin and mineral supplements that we don’t need, and which mostly pass right through us. In addition, it’s possible that over supplementation may be throwing our body’s chemistry out of whack.

On the other hand, I see an occasional patient who survives entirely on fast food, but doesn’t take any kind of vitamin supplement at all. They may be okay just from eating at the Burger Doodle or the Quick Chick, but I’m guessing not. They’re the ones who might benefit from a really good multiple vitamin.

Sleep. You’ve heard this before…you need about eight hours a night. Some people may need a little less and others a little more. Regardless of exactly how much, you need enough sleep because your body rejuvenates and heals while you’re sawing wood. If you don’t sleep enough, over time, you’ll become depleted, which is something akin to being a walking Zombie–not enough energy, no focus, and you start to get crabby. Too much sleep and you turn into a couch potato. Your Qi, or energy, needs movement to flow effectively, and if you’re sleeping the day away, you’re creating a stagnation of energy and dampness (ahem, fat.)

Movement. This is a little like sleep. If you’re moving too much in the form of exercise, you’re setting yourself up to become depleted. For example, I have a marathoner friend who looks like a whippet, but she seems to catch every cold or flu that’s going around. At the other end of the spectrum, not moving your body sets you up for stagnation. Movement may be psychological, emotional, or spiritual in nature, too. If you’re stuck in a rut without any emotional movement, you’re a prime candidate for Qi stagnation, which can look a lot like depression. Also, too much movement in the form of change, over commitment, or stressful events can wipe you out, both physically and psychologically.

Sunshine. Who doesn’t like the feel of a little sunshine, especially here in the north country? In fact, you need a little sun on your skin each day in order for your body to synthesize Vitamin D, which boosts immunity, helps build bones, and even helps to alleviate depression. Can you overdo the sun? Of course–I have seared into my mind a vision of a woman I saw sunbathing in Hawaii years ago. It was midday, and the sun was blazing. Her skin was burnt crispy and covered with a sun rash, but she wasn’t leaving the poolside until she was sufficiently tanned.

In Chinese medicine, the sun in pure Yang–it’s hot, light, warms us up, and dries us out. And yes, a lifetime of too much sun creates a physical dryness that no amount of moisturizer is ever going to undo. This kind of dryness is considered damage to your body’s fluids, and is the cause of wrinkles, age spots, broken blood vessels, and it just plain looks bad.

So yes, the idea of moderation is boring, especially in a world that demands quick fixes and magic bullets. The reality, however, is that moderation may be just what you need.

Not long ago, this letter to the editor about teen mental health appeared in our local newspaper:

Many parents may relate to the July 5 article “Worried about a moody teen?”  An acquaintance told me recently that the severe anger of her middle son had caused problems in the family.  She decided to try alternative medicine and took him to an acupuncturist.  After one visit, the change in the 11-year-old was amazing.  A local acupuncturist told me that acupuncture in pre-adolescents and adolescents can be extremely effective.  It could be worth a try.  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Monday, July 12, 2010)

As the letter states, acupuncture can be incredibly effective for adolescents. This is true for a number of reasons.  First, for the most part, they are young and healthy.  Acupuncture tends to be far more effective for someone who is healthy and able to heal quickly, as opposed to someone in their seventies or eighties who has been ill for a long time. 

The second reason that acupuncture works so well for adolescents goes back to Chinese medical theory.  The Chinese say that children are considered to be pure Yang.  Compared to the nourishing, cooling, substance of Yin, Yang is warm, active, and transformative.  And that’s what kids do—they transform.  They are growing and changing almost daily, and it seems that as soon as you have one stage figured out, they have moved onto the next.  This is a good thing on the healing front.  Because kids are growing so quickly, they also heal quickly.  This is both good news and bad news, especially when we’re talking about adolescents.  

The pure Yang thing can also work against kids, especially during the pre-teen and teen years. Good health, or balance, in Chinese medicine is all about smooth flow, and for the most part, our kids grow and flow smoothly.  Unfortunately, as kids go through adolescence, they begin changing even more quickly. On top of the physical growth, kids are faced with increasing stress of school and peer relationships. Then Mother Nature throws in a dark cocktail of hormones to make that transformation even more…uh, interesting.  For some kids, this sudden growth, plus hormones, plus stress creates a perfect storm that can block the smooth flow of energy and emotions, causing a wide variety of mental health symptoms.

Finally, acupuncture works for emotional health issues because it affects brain chemistry.  Researchers studying the effects of acupuncture have determined that acupuncture causes an increase in production of endorphins and other feel-good chemicals in the brain, causing a calming effect.  For this reason, acupuncture can effectively treat emotional conditions including stress, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

Many parents don’t know where to turn when their adolescent is struggling with anger or depression.  Understandably, they’re hesitant to medicate their teen, but they also know that their child needs help.

The good news is that in these healthy, ever changing adolescents, acupuncture can be a life saver, which is so aptly expressed in the letter above.  If your teen is struggling, consider giving acupuncture a try.

Memory loss can the result of a number of factors, the most common of which is your age.  However, hormonal changes, diet, stress, and simply trying to do too many things at once can also mess with your memory.

There are a couple of organ systems in Chinese medicine that are related to memory.  The first (that I can remember) is your Heart.  The Chinese Heart is home to your consciousness, spirit, feelings, thoughts, and…yes, your memory.  Memory loss is one of the hallmark signs of a Heart disharmony.

Your Chinese Spleen is the organ closely related to digestion.  Good digestion helps something called clear Yang to rise upward allowing for mental clarity.  When your digestion is funky, you may experience fuzzy thinking and memory problems, along with digestive symptoms, such as heartburn, stomachaches, low blood sugar, gas, bloating, poor absorption of foods, and diarrhea or constipation.

The Kidney system is also a player in memory.  One of the important functions of your Chinese Kidney system is how well and healthfully you will age.  As you get older, your Kidney gets weaker as a matter of course, affecting everything from your hearing to the strength of your bones, and your mental function/memory.  Along with aging, your Kidney also controls things like growth, sexuality, and reproduction.  When women go through menopause, their Kidney system is affected, which is why memory seems to take an additional hit during this time.

So the question is:  Can Chinese medicine and acupuncture help with memory loss?  There is no simple yes or no, depending on the source of the problem.  However, in many instances, Chinese medicine can help.  For some people, memory problems are directly related to the amount of stress they’re experiencing, and in others, the memory issues began as part of menopause.  For older adults who are beginning to show the signs of senile dementia, it may be too late to reverse their memory loss.

According to Chinese medicine, there are some things that you can do to safeguard your memory.  This includes:

 -Simplify your life.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed, your brain is full.  At a certain point, you just can’t hold onto any more details, so you start to forget them.

-Jettison the stress.  Stressful situations cause you to be preoccupied, making it difficult for you to remember anything except details about what’s stressing you out.  Do whatever it takes, whether it’s steps to resolve the stressful situation, or a Yoga class, meditation, taking up a hobby, or carving out quiet time to yourself.

-Eat good food.  It sounds simple, but it’s not always so easy when you’re running from meeting to meeting or getting your kids from one activity to another.  Sometimes the only solution seems to be something quick—and not so good for you.  Take the time to plan what you’ll eat, and bring it with you if necessary.  Good food is whole food, unprocessed, whole grains, lots of vegetables, and a little protein, with very small amounts of red meat, if any.  Ditch the sugar, as it messes with your blood sugar levels and can be a direct contributor to fuzzy thinking.  Remember the Twinkie defense?

-Digest that good food you’ve eaten.  Take the time to sit down and eat.  Chew your food and sit up straight.  In addition, cooked foods tend to be easier to digest, and ice cold foods and drinks bring your digestion to a halt.

-Protect your Chinese Kidney.  How?  Well, slow down, for one.  Overwork can be a direct cause of illness and depletion in Chinese medicine.  Also, excessive partying, while fun, weakens your Kidney system and sends you into your senior years in less than optimal health.

In addition to Chinese medicine, Western doctors and scientists are looking for ways to protect memory as we age.  They have been conducting research on memory and the various factors that may help slow memory loss.  Among them:

-Get moving.  Data from a study that began in the 1930’s shows that moderate exercise (as little as two times a week!) can lower your chances of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

-If you’re a smoker, quit now.  While you can’t completely undo the damage in terms of degeneration to your brain, the sooner you quit the better.

-Drink green tea.  Results from a 2006 study indicate that as little as a cup or two a day of green tea, which is packed full of antioxidants, can cut your risk of cognitive problems by 50 percent.

-Make lists.  Memory lapses can be the by-product of simply trying to do too many things at once.  At a certain point, your brain just can’t hold any more details.  Make lists of the things you want to do or remember to get rid of some of that brain clutter.

-Play mind games.  Crossword puzzles, soduku, trivia quizzes, or even learning a new skill or language can keep your brain exercised and can slow memory loss.

The good news here is that small changes can be enough to yield big results as long as you keep them up.  A few cups of green tea, acupuncture to relieve stress, exercising a couple days a week, and moderate changes in your diet can be enough to lower your risk of age related memory problems.

Here is a list, in no particular order, compiled from what we’ve learned from our patients, Chinese medicine, the scientific community, and some just plain common sense:

1)  Eat for good digestion. In Chinese medicine, your digestion is every bit as important as what you’re eating.  You can eat the healthiest foods on the planet, but if you don’t digest them well, you might as well be doing the drive through at Burger Doodle.  Slow down, chew your food, and avoid the rich and greasy chow.  Choose more cooked vegetables than raw, and go easy on the frozen foods and drinks.

2)  Laugh. It feels good, it’s invigorating, and actually releases chemicals in your brain that are good for your health.

3)  Go outside. Get in touch with the nature around you.  This is the foundation of Chinese medicine, in which the natural world is reflected in your body.  Slow down in the winter, eat new green shoots in the spring, be especially active in the summer, and check out your locally harvested produce in the fall (well, all year round.)  Know also, that extreme weather conditions have the ability to make you sick, whether it’s a dry sore throat in the fall or heat exhaustion in the summer.

4)  Quit smoking. This is a no-brainer.  It may seem obvious, but if you’re a smoker, quitting now is the single most important step you can take to improve your health and increase your life span.

5)  Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D. Vitamin D may sound like the magic supplement du jour, but D boosts immunity, helps with depression, and offers a whole host of health benefits.  And most of us aren’t getting enough. You can get your serving of D through 15 minutes of direct sunlight, or by supplementing with Vitamin D3.  Those of us who live far from the equator may not be able to get adequate D from the sun year round.  So think about supplementing if you own and use long underwear more than a few times a year.

6)  Exercise. I can’t say this enough.  It’s the fountain of youth if there were such a thing.  Physical activity keeps your heart and lungs in shape, your muscles toned, your bones strong, your butt tight, and studies are indicating that it also may slow or reduce the progression of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

7)  Exercise your mind, too. Play word games, do puzzles, or learn a new language.  The adage “use it or lose it” also applies to your mind.

8)  Change the behaviors that are making you sick. You know that stress, junk food, and toxic relationships aren’t good for you.  If you want to feel good and live long, now’s the time to jettison those negatives in your life.

9)  Stand up straight! Poor posture can mess with your digestion and breathing, and can give you back and neck pain.  Stand and sit tall; your body will thank you.

10)  Get enough sleep. Your body rejuvenates, heals, and recharges while you sleep.  Go to bed with enough time to get seven to eight good hours.  Slow down before trying to sleep.  If you struggle with insomnia, get some help.  Ahem…acupuncture is pretty effective in treating sleep problems.

11)  Get regular health screenings. You can laugh all you want at your friends’ colonoscopy stories, but you had better be keeping up with your own.  Make sure you’re getting regular mammograms, Pap tests, blood pressure checks, mole screenings, etc. based on the guidelines for your age and risk factors.

12)  Calm down. The Chinese say that the emotions are the cause of 100 diseases. That means that staying angry at your obnoxious neighbor or stressing out about a nosy co-worker will only make you sick. Do whatever it takes to defuse and de-stress.

13)  Almost anything is okay—in moderation. According to Chinese medicine, a little sweetness may help your digestion, but eating a half of a cheesecake is a toxic food bomb.  In the same vein, the right amount of exercise is good for you, but too much can cause your body to break down.  Too much of anything over time can be damaging, so aim for variety.

14)  Garden. Whether it’s a stretch of your back yard or containers on your balcony, growing your own vegetables outside is beneficial on so many levels.  You’re getting the best kind of exercise, you’re connecting with nature, you’re growing your own organic food (if you lay off the pesticides), and you have the joy of going out your door to pick something you’ve grown yourself.

15)  Get in touch. Connect with your sense of purpose through journaling and self-exploration, connect with others in social situations, and connect with the divine through prayer and meditation.  In Chinese medicine, connection feeds your heart, which is the home to your soul.

16)  Eat for the long run. Eat breakfast, don’t skip meals, and get a little protein at each meal.  Try to get a variety of colorful foods into your diet each day, especially the darkly colored fruits and vegetables.  Strive for a diet made up of lots of veggies, some whole grains, a little protein, a little fruit, and small amounts of everything else (Okay, maybe not hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup, but mostly every thing else.)

17)  Just breathe. Breathing deeply opens up your lungs, oxygenates your brain for mental focus, and wards off fatigue and anxiety.  In Chinese medicine, your lungs are an important component in immunity, so strong and healthy lungs translate into a strong ability to fight off colds and flu.  Try taking a deep breath to the count of four, holding it for the count of seven, and releasing it to the count of eight.

18)  Just say no. The ability to prioritize your life and say no to some of those annoying and unimportant things you don’t want to do and don’t really have to do is incredibly freeing.  It helps decrease that stressful feeling of being overwhelmed, which can be exhausting and depleting.

19)  Cultivate compassion. By being kind to others, you’re being kind to yourself.  Kindness is embodied by generosity and service to others.  Compassion and kindness dissolve anger, annoyance, and competition—all feelings which diminish both the quality and length of your life.

20)  Cook and eat with joy. It has been said that how you approach food mirrors how you approach life.  Do you approach eating and life with joyfulness or do you worry about every little thing you do and eat?  Lovingly prepare your meals, sit down, and share them with people you love—as often as possible.

21)  Listen to your body. Your body is infinitely wise.  It knows what it needs, how to heal, and how to signal you when it’s in trouble.  Listen to those little signs; headaches at work, an upset stomach when you’ve eaten poorly, an achy lower back, or fatigue.

22)  Indulge in your passion. This is simple.  Figure out what you like to do and figure out how to do it more often.

23)  Go green. The cosmetics you put on your body and the products you use to clean your home have the ability to either enhance or harm your health.  Become savvy about what’s in your shampoos, lotions, bathroom cleaners, etc., and if the ingredients are sketchy, find cleaner, greener alternatives.

24)  Live in the moment. We spend most of our time rehashing the past or fixated on some future event.  The reality is that the only moment that’s real is right now.  Impatience means that we’re anxious to move onto the next thing—the next moment; however that next thing is a moment like this one.  Slow down and enjoy right now.