Take Aim at a New Life

January is the time when most of us start to ponder what we want to accomplish in the new year.  What are you going to do in 2012?  Do you have a health, fitness or other personal goal?  Will you be running a marathon? Getting back in shape or going to eat better this year?  Set yourself up for success and write down a specific goal and this could be the year you will achieve it. [Read more →]

Sometime last week around 3 a.m. I woke up to the sound of a seal barking.  It to a few minutes for me to realize that it was my son coughing.  My next thought was, “Oh boy, here we go again with the croup.”  My husband and I are no strangers to croup since my oldest son typically gets it once or twice a year.   The first time he had croup he was about 18 months old and I was just finishing my advanced classes in acupuncture pediatrics.  I had studied croup and heard the audio recordings of it, but it still didn’t register in my sleep deprived and slightly panicked brain that night.   I was scared because my son was having difficulty breathing and he was making these high pitched wheezing sounds called stridor!  Before I completely panicked and took him to the ER, I called our pediatrician who, god bless her, called us back in the middle of the night.  The second she heard him in the background she knew what was going on and recommended some natural remedies for croup.

To learn more about what croup is and hear some audio recordings Click Here.  The good news about croup is the majority of the time parents can treat it at home and it rarely requires medical intervention. [Read more →]

Acupuncture has been safely used to treat a wide variety health problems in babies, toddlers and children for

Child having Acupuncture

thousands of years.   It is a safe, natural and effective treatment that works with the body and has very few adverse effects.  As a pediatric acupuncturist I can assure you acupuncture is completely safe for kids and now there is current research to support this assertion!  The first systematic review study of pediatric acupuncture safety was published in the December 2011 issue of the journal Pediatrics. It confirms that acupuncture is safe for kids when performed by a qualified practitioner.

I believe acupuncture for kids is even safer than the study findings due to the rigorous clinical training, safety standards and certifications that modern American acupuncturists go through before becoming licensed.  After reviewing the study I found that these standards were not reflected in the systematic review because much of the data for the review came out of international studies. The serious adverse events reported were mostly caused by unqualified practitioners in other countries and were due to gross incompetence.

Here are six reasons why I think acupuncture by qualified practitioners is safer for kids than the recent study findings:

Hair-fine Pediatric Acupuncture Needle

1. Only single-use sterile disposable needles are used, thus infections from needles are extremely rare!
2. The needles are hair-fine, virtually painless, and are inserted superficially into the skin so there is zero risk of puncturing a lung or other vital organ.
3. Acupuncture needles are not always used for treatment.  There are several different non-needle painless ways to stimulate the acupoints that have similar therapeutic effects as acupuncture.   Non-needle methods do not penetrate the skin so there is zero chance of any adverse reaction.
4. In babies and toddlers non-needle methods are generally used to stimulate acupoints.  Thus, fear and crying are extremely rare.
5. In kids under age 8, acupuncture needles are not retained in the body.  The needles are swiftly tapped in and immediately taken out.  Children only need to sit still for a few seconds at a time during the treatment.
6. In kids over age 8, they can generally sit still for 10 - 20 minutes with the needles in, but unlike adults the needles are smaller and inserted superficially minimizing any serious risk to the child.

In my experience the most common adverse reaction is a mild and brief discomfort (about 1 second) during insertion of the needle.  Rarely, mild adverse reactions such as temporary bruising or swelling at the needle site occur but these are uncommon due to the special techniques used in pediatrics.  In the eleven years I’ve been involved in acupuncture never has a single pediatric or adult patient caught an infection from needle insertion, nor have I seen or any serious adverse reactions.  They do happen, but are extremely rare and very unlikely if the practitioner you choose is licensed and has special training in pediatrics.

Having beautiful skin starts from the inside out. Our skin in a reflection of what we eat and drink and also the balance of our hormones. To help grow beautiful skin I recommend the following types of foods and supplements.

Water
It helps to hydrate our skin to keep is smooth and supple. Drink enough water so that your urine is clear.

Foods Rich in Vitamin A
Carrots, garnet yams, barley or wheat grasses and deep green leafy vegetables are rich in vitamin A which is essential for healthy skin and eyes.

Foods Rich in Antioxidants
Organic blueberries, raspberries, blackberries & strawberries are rich in antioxidants which protect skin from sun damage and the effects of aging.

Fish & Fish Oil
Arctic cod, tuna, wild salmon are rich in essential fatty acids which help skin cell membranes stay healthy and allows skin cells to maintain proper hydration. In addition if you have problem skin I also recommend adding a high quality fish oil such Nordic Naturals because it of its strong anti-inflammatory effect.

Nuts & Seeds
Almond, walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are rich in essential fatty acids. Brazil nuts are also a good source of selenium which is found beneficial for the skin and preventing skin cancer.

Green Tea
Green tea is rich in antioxidants which help neutralize UV damage from the sun. It has a high amount of polyphenolic flavinoids which have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. Preliminary research shows that green tea may also prevent skin cancer.

Probiotics/fermented foods
Probiotics are essential to help maintain a healthy intestinal track allowing you to properly absorb the nutrients in your foods to grow beautiful skin. According to dermatologist Dr. Cynthia Bailey, “They make important vitamins (B vitamins, biotin, vitamin K to name a few), they produce germ killing substances that keep you from getting infections, and they’re your ‘hazmat’ team removing food born toxins like mercury.”

Me & My Son

The subject of skin conditions is one that hits close to home for me. My oldest son, now age 7, started to develop eczema when he was about 3 months old. By 9 months the eczema had spread from the back of his arms to most of his body, except his trunk and scalp. I tried all the conventional medical treatments which included hydrocortisone creams, other prescription eczema creams, baths with a small amount of bleach (can you believe the dermatologist recommended that) and nothing worked. I was reluctant to continue such harsh ineffective treatment, so I took it upon myself to become on expert in Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) Treatments for treating eczema and other skin conditions.

How Can Acupuncture Help Skin Conditions?
Many inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema, hives and psoriasis are due in part to an overactive immune system response. The exact mechanisms that causes this type of skin conditions is still unknown, but many people with skin conditions may have additional immune related issues such as asthma or allergies (1). Treatments with acupuncture are effective because they help regulate the overactive immune response and reduce inflammation (2). Acupuncture can also address some of the other underlying factors for inflammatory skin conditions such as stress, hormone imbalances, food sensitivities and poor diet.

Lung/Large Intestine-Skin-Immune Connection
In TCM the lung-large intestine network governs the skin and functions roughly like the western equivalent of the immune system. This relationship between the skin and the lung network is not surprising when you consider that the skin is our first line of defense against environmental pathogens and is the largest organ in the human body! The large intestine contains gut-associated lymphoid tissue, which also has a large role in our immune defense system(3). From the TCM perspective, when the lung-large intestine network is out of balance, skin problems, allergies and/or asthma may result.

Treatment of Skin Problems
A standard course of acupuncture therapy plus herbal therapy are the first step to treating skin problems. Supplements such as fish oil, high quality probiotics, and bioflavanoids (like green tea and quercetin) are often beneficial for skin problems. Dietary changes and elimination diets are also effective if an underlying digestive issue is suspected. Gluten and dairy intolerance are often seen in inflammatory conditions so eliminating these foods is often beneficial in resolving the condition.

If you are someone you know suffers from a skin condition and they would like to see if acupuncture can help, please contact Robin at (408) 852-9659 for a complimentary consultation.

Children having Acupuncture

You’ve decided to bring your child in for acupuncture treatment and now you’re wondering what you’re going to tell them about their initial visit.  In order to help explain to your child what is involved with an acupuncture treatment we’ve got a few pointers to help you out.

Be honest with your child about what the visit is for
If your child is old enough to understand what is going on with their body, explain to them why they are coming in for an acupuncture visit.  Let them know you’ll be discussing their problem with the acupuncturist.

Tell them about acupuncture
Acupuncture helps the body heal itself.  Our bodies are designed with great healing powers, but sometimes bodies need a little help to heal and that’s what acupuncture does.  It also helps the body heal faster. [Read more →]

The last few weeks I’ve been experimenting to make the perfect GFCF banana muffins.  I also wanted to try using different flours than rice flour since it seems like every pre-packaged mix on the market has rice four in it and I want to eat a variety of grains, not just substitute one for the other.  After half a dozen attempts, I finally found the perfect combination to make delicious banana muffins with millet and sorghum flours. Here is the recipe. [Read more →]

New research has just been released which shows that acupuncture can help children who have autism spectrum disorder.  The study found that after 12 weekly treatments of acupuncture the children showed improvement in the following areas:

• social initiation
• receptive language
• motor skills
• attention span
• coordination (including better writing ability)

Healthy Halloween Ideas

Make a Peace Offering the the Goblins and Ghouls

As Halloween approaches and excitement builds for the big day, its time to bring out the parent’s bag of

Strawberry Ghosts

tricks for making Halloween healthy and fun!  Start by taking the focus off the candy and redirecting it to other fun activities.  Make a family trip to the local pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins.  Look for other family Halloween activities.  Include your children as you pull out the Halloween decorations or select new ones.  Create a unique costume for your child or brainstorm what they are going to wear.  Carving pumpkins is messy and fun!  Explore “Halloween foods” that are orange such as yams and carrots.  We like to make Halloween fries from sweet potatoes. Click here for more healthy ideas.

One great way to get rid of all that Halloween candy comes from one of my patients.   Every year she tells the kids that they must make a peace offering to the goblins and ghouls to spare their house from the fiendish foolery Halloween night.  They leave their peace offering, all the candy they collected, on the front doorstep.  When the kids wake in the morning they run downstairs to see what the Goblins and Ghouls have left them in return.  The candy magically disappears and is forgotten and is replaced by a present for each kid!

Do you have an inspired way to keep Halloween Healthy?  Please leave a comment and share your ideas.

A – Abdominal Pains, Achilles Tendonitis, Allergies, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma

B – Back Aches, Bladder or Bowel Problems, Blood Pressure, Bronchitis

C – Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Cataract, Catarrh, Circulation, Colds, Colitis, Conjunctivitis, Coughs, Cystitis

D – Depression, Dermatitis, Diarrhea, Digestive Complaints, Dizziness

E – Earaches, Eczema, Endometriosis, Energy [Read more →]