Posts Tagged: Chinese Medicine

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Eating Seeds? Yes! Seed Cycling? Not so much.

July 06, 2021

What is Seed Cycling?

I remember first hearing about seed cycling over 10 years ago as a new acupuncturist. The idea of seed cycling is that you can eat different seeds at different parts of your cycle to optimize your hormone balance. Which seed depends on the unique micronutrients in each one, with certain seeds thought to balance estrogen in the follicular phase (before ovulation) and balance progesterone levels in the luteal phase (after ovulation). The concept of being able to truly use your food as medicine and take control of your own health is really appealing of course! Who wouldn’t want a DIY answer to things like irregular cycles, painful periods, or other hormonal symptoms like premenstrual bloating and acne? Not to mention a little help with fertility?

Seed cycling seems to have surged in popularity on social media, so I wanted to take some time to really dig into the research to see if this is worth doing. Also, as a practitioner of East Asian Medicine (TCM), I am excited to discuss our medicine’s view of seeds and how they’re used, as well as some information on how our medicine would approach hormonal health at different phases of the cycle. Read more

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Living With the Seasons: Spring and the Wood Element

April 12, 2021

Each of the 5 elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine has an associated season, organ, color, flavor and even emotion. You can live in greater harmony with the natural world by learning a little about each season, and it becomes easier to notice the connections between what you’re feeling and what’s going on in nature.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Wood element is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder organs and springtime.

Wood possesses qualities of movement and growth, new ideas, creativity and inspiration.

Signs your Wood Element is balanced:

– You are feeling creative, inspired and excited to start new projects and do a little planning for the future
– Your muscles feel relaxed and you’re feeling loose and flexible. Emotionally, you’re also relaxed and flexible, and the little things aren’t irritating you Read more

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Perinatal Acupuncture Research Summaries Project

January 25, 2021

Have you ever wondered what the research says about acupuncture for issues during pregnancy like back pain, anxiety, morning sickness or moxibustion for turning a breech baby? And what about safety- is there any research on this?

With so much information at your fingertips, it can be really overwhelming to tell what is based on good research or expert opinion, and what is misinformation or the casual opinion of a social media influencer. I’ve created a free guide to help you cut through all the noise and give solid, research backed information about each topic. I hope this will save you time and aggravation, and help you feel clear and purposeful in the decisions you make for yourself during pregnancy. Read more

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Late Summer and The Earth Element: Seasonal Wellness

September 03, 2020

Knowing a little about Late Summer and its associated Earth element can help you to optimize your health this time of year and ensure you’re in harmony with the season. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are actually 5 seasons and 5 elements:

  • Autumn (metal)
  • Winter (water)
  • Spring (wood)
  • Summer (fire)
  • Late Summer (earth)
Each season and element has its associated emotions, temperature, organs, flavor and even color. We’re now entering the season of Late Summer, which belongs to the Earth element. Late summer begins mid-August and goes until the Autumn Equinox on September 22nd.

Qualities of Late Summer and the Earth Element:

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Ginger Three Ways: Making Crystallized Ginger, Ginger Tea and Syrup

April 23, 2020

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, ginger is one of the most commonly used “herbs” in our toolkit. In this article, I’ll teach you what it can help with as well as some information about how it’s viewed from a Chinese Herbal standpoint. And as promised, I’ll give you a quick explanation for how to make your own crystallized ginger at home, which will also give you ginger tea and syrup. So. delicious.

As an acupuncturist and herbalist, here are the situations where I recommend ginger tea the most frequently: Read more