Digestion/Diet – Page 4 – Medford Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic

Sugar: Between a rock and a sweet place

Written by Ann Zimmerman on October 23, 2013. Posted in Digestion/Diet.

Written by Clark Zimmerman, LAc.

I remember a few things about childhood better than others: summer vacation, creek stomping with the neighbors and mom’s chocolate chip cookies. The cookies especially stand out. Hot from the oven, the melted chocolate making a mess of my hands, and the sweetness that lingered in my mouth and instantly widened my smile. When we were good kids, mom rewarded us with fresh cookies.

These childhood associations of sugar as a reward or as a universal expression of love, stay with most of us throughout our entire life. But sugar has its dark side. Sugar is physically addictive, operating in our brain in a similar fashion to opiates. This is why people with a sweet tooth get grumpy when they go without their sugar fix. Some science says that sugar and other sweeteners are the single biggest cause of illness in the world. It is a subject that I have been studying lately. I recently read two very well written opinions on the topic: National Geographic August 2013 issue and Mother Earth Living November/December 2013 both have featured articles on sugar. Both of these articles mention that consumption of sweeteners worldwide has dramatically increased over the past 100 years, especially in the USA. It is no surprise that during this time the incidence of sugar related illnesses has also increased.

Constipation: Whats the hold up?

Written by Ann Zimmerman on May 21, 2013. Posted in Digestion/Diet.

by Clark Zimmerman, LAc.

One of our teachers used to explain bowel function by comparing it to a sailboat traveling down a river. The boat is the stool, the colon is the riverbed, the water is the moisture in the colon, and the wind is the smooth muscle movement, or qi that propels the boat. In order to have healthy bowel movements, you need each of these factors to be functioning properly. If one or more factors is unhealthy, it can result in constipation.

The “boat” or the stool is mostly made from the food that we eat. Depending on our diet, our boats can resemble a sleek speedboat or a crude log raft. If we mostly consume a diet that is low in fiber and high in foods that are cloying and mucous producing, such as dairy products, sugars and gluten foods, we produce sticky stools that are difficult to move through the colon. (Did you ever notice the word gluten contains the word “glu”?) If we eat a diet that is high in fiber and low in foods that cause sticky stools, we are more likely to create well formed stools that move through the colon with ease.

Tea Time

Written by Ann Zimmerman on November 23, 2011. Posted in Digestion/Diet.

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