As the winter weather settles in, I am always grateful for the opportunity to drink a warm cup of tea. There are so many different teas available that can be quite helpful for many different health concerns, as well as being enjoyable to drink. One of our favorites is green tea. Green tea is an amazing way to stay healthy, while enjoying a cold winter day. It is full of polyphenols and catechins, two substances that are effective at promoting good health in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the health benefits of drinking green tea:
1) lower cholesterol
2) less risk of certain types of cancer
The combination of feeling both wired and tired is one that we see daily in our clinic and seems to be a current cultural trend. Many of us, especially women, tend to have trouble unwinding or being restful, even at night. The combination of symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, and insomnia are way too common.
Our culture considers success to be a measure of how much we can get done in a day or how much money can be made. This fast pace combined with the ups and downs of life’s stress has many people feeling wired and tired.
In Chinese medicine the inability to rest, to be still or to sleep well at night is a reflection of lack of YIN energy. YIN represents literally the shady side of the mountain, the Talent/Ashland side versus the sunny Medford side of the valley. Our YIN represents our quiet, still, moistening, substantial, anchoring, slower side of ourselves, versus the opposite of these qualities, which is the YANG.
Allergies: What is really bothering you?
By Clark Zimmerman, LAc.
A lot of people are mystified by their allergies. When I ask patients about their allergies, I often hear stories of congestion and irritation of varying degrees caused by hay fever, pet dander, food sensitivities, mold in the house, etc. But often times they are puzzled by the nature of the issue, and therefore have little direction for how to change the situation.
Allergies can effect so many things in the body. They can create symptoms in the skin, digestive system, immune function, ears, eyes and respiratory system. Though it usually involves doing some detective work, with dedication and direction there is a lot that can be done to treat allergies. The first step in treatment is to identify the problem. You begin with the most obvious things, examining your environment. Do you live in a moldy house, do you live with pets, are you being exposed to toxic things in your home or work place? If something is bothering you, then you need to avoid or limit your exposure to the allergen. This sounds like common sense, but we often can overlook things that are in our environment. Just as our surroundings can contribute to allergies, foods can too. Many people find that working with their diet can drastically improve chronic health problems. Foods that are common allergens include gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, and sugar. There are several ways to diagnose a food allergy. These include: blood tests, muscle testing, skin tests, elimination diets, and cleanses.