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How Not to Diet

Acupuncturists are experts in diet and nutrition. Working with an acupuncturist can help you to understand your nutritional and lifestyle needs more clearly.

How many times has each of us told ourselves we need to go on a diet? Most people I know probably have been on at least 10 diets by the time they are 30 years old. In the world of Chinese medicine, there is no such thing as a diet. There are only lifestyle choices to adjust. Each person has his or her own unique body type, genetic make-up, and family history that dictates their relationship to food and movement. There is no guidebook included at birth, so each person must find his or her way in life. Acupuncturists are experts in diet and nutrition. Chinese medicine can help us understand our own rulebook, using the wisdom of doctors who lived a thousand years ago or more.

Certainly, there are rules of thumb, such as limiting intake of sugar, wheat, and dairy products. But most people don’t realize that our cravings tell us a lot about where we need support. For instance, someone with candy cravings has different needs than someone with potato chip cravings or someone with hamburger cravings.

Ever have a broccoli craving? Truth be told, we can have a hunger for just about anything, once we get used to it. After the body has learned to get sustenance from a food, it starts asking for more. This can happen with anything from circus peanuts to kale. Most people who have switched their foods mainly to vegetables and lean protein are surprised to discover new cravings for foods they once avoided.

After creating a lifestyle that suits your individual needs, you may find that you start to crave a nice walk, a bowl of soup, or an early night. It’s all about finding where you need support and creating a structure in your life that gives it to you on a daily basis. Diet? No thank you!

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How To Balance Feelings of Fatigue

Steam rolling in to represent fatigue and finding balance

Many people suffer from fatigue. It is frustrating to go through the day, feeling like we’re carrying a load of bricks. A lot of people use coffee, energy drinks, supplements, or drugs to get through their life. Is this really living? What can we do to find a balance with all the responsibilities, worries, drama, plans, goals, dreams, and obligations that we have?

There is more to do in life than there is time. There are more books than anyone can read, more foods than we can eat, and more meetings than we can attend. When we stand in the midst of all the possibilities and obligations, we become torn. Just thinking about it can be exhausting. This is where so many of us fail to realize that it’s not how much we can do, but how well we do what we do.

Chinese Medicine puts this in terms of qi (chi). Like having a bank account, each of us has a certain amount of qi that we can spend. If we spend it all on work, there is nothing left for fun, and this is a cause of illness. And if we spend it all on fun, there’s nothing left for something meaningful. Naturally, the key is balance. When someone has been living out of balance, fatigue is the call to return to balance. It is not something to be pushed aside and ignored.

Life is full of choices and when we refuse to choose, it leads to illness. Furthermore, once someone is not well, it is even more difficult to keep up with the endlessly turning wheel. This is when our power of choice is once again put before us do we really want to check everything off our list (impossible) or die trying? That’s not much of a choice; I recommend thinking of it differently: live life from the end. When we imagine how we will see our choices today when we’re facing our last moments on the planet, it suddenly becomes obvious.

Ready to find your balance? Book your session today and combat fatigue with holistic health. Learn more about the benefits of acupuncture and holistic health.

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Acupuncture For Cancer Patients

Chinese Medicine (CM) and acupuncture are very helpful for cancer patients and those recovering from it. Many scientific studies have shown that acupuncture helps with nausea, fatigue, neuropathy, and other side effects from chemotherapy and radiation.

Acupuncture also helps with aches and pains, numbness and tingling, as well as lack of appetite. Additionally, acupuncture helps with the healing process after surgery and to build up the body’s strength and immune system in preparation for surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation.

Tumors are not new to humanity; in fact, they are older than humanity. There is evidence that suggests acupuncture and herbs can be used to shrink tumors, carbuncles, goiters, and other lumps that can form in the body. I enjoy working with cancer survivors because there is so much I can do for their quality of life.

The emotional changes a person experiences during the process are pretty amazing. The first thing I address is the fear. Fear is the biggest problem that anyone can face in his or her life. There is no doubt that it is a scary time for anyone with a cancer diagnosis. It is crucial to overcome this before a person can start their life anew. And life does go on after cancer. For many, it is better than ever.

Cancer is always an invitation to reassess what happiness means to a person. It also invites us to think about what really matters to us. Many cancer survivors will say that cancer was the best thing that happened to them because it forced them to wake up and become fully alive.

In our world, there are many ways to deal with the reality of a cancer diagnosis. There are mainstream solutions as well as alternative treatments. When we use all the tools available, there is a lot we can do to improve the outcome, and the quality of life for someone with cancer.

To learn more about acupuncture for cancer patients and other holistic treatment options, visit my services page.

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