Immune Boosting Ginger Tea

Winter is the time to seek inner warmth for our mind, body and soul. Internal and external balance occurs by adjusting ones health through eating, exercising and other factors affecting each season. Fresh ginger root tea is an easy way to help us achieve inner warmth, strength and balance during the winter season.

Ginger tea to boost your immune system and help combat cold symptoms.
You'll need:
1) 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root grated or chopped up
2) 1/4 fresh lemon
3) 1-2 tablespoons of honey

Place ginger in a pot with about 4 cups of cold water. Bring it to a boil then turn off the heat, cover and allow it to sit for about 20 minutes. Add freshly squeezed lemon and honey before serving. For an extra kick add just a pinch of cayenne powder. Drink 1-3 times a day as desired. Enjoy!

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety

In my South Loop acupuncture practice we use Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture for depression and anxiety. This can include symptoms of:

1) Fatigue, lack of motivation, irregular appetite
2) Feeling sadness for unknown reason
3) Constant over-thinking
4) Worrying, anger, panic attacks
5) Poor sleep, restlessness 

Acupuncture points for depression will be used during your session and may include other acupuncture therapies like Chinese Herbal Medicine.

Depression can happen for different reasons, sometimes it may be related to:
1) Genetic material passed down from your family
2) Develop from internalizing unwanted emotional stress over time  
3) Happen seasonally especially in winter when the days are shorter and colder.

Experiencing long term depression or anxiety can take its toll on your personal and social life, as well as your overall health and well being. Western medicine can offer some treatment for depression but often medication can leave you with other unwanted symptoms. Acupuncture for depression and anxiety is a safe and effective treatment.

“Does acupuncture work for depression?” In a research article, Commentary on the Cochrane Review of Acupuncture for Depression it states “a subgroup of participants with depression as a comorbidity experienced a reduction in depression with manual acupuncture compared with SSRIs”. "When patients used antidepressants in conjunction with acupuncture the results are very promising in reducing both the symptoms and severity of depression."

Acupuncture can also be a safe and effective alternative to antidepressants for women during pregnancy. In some circumstances using acupuncture in conjunction with psychotherapy can be a healthy addition to working through severe depression or trauma. 

In Eastern medicine when your feeling depressed your energy can be low, you can feel a lack of motivation and fatigue, this can be associated with stagnant qi. This qi or energy can become build up within the body causing episodes of anxiety and/ or irritability. 

Cupping Therapy

In my South Loop acupuncture clinic, cupping therapy has become popular ever since the 2016 Rio Olympic Athletes were seen using it to ease their muscular pain. Cupping has been used for thousands of years, although acupuncture needles are the most commonly thought of modality in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), other tools or modalities are used as well.

Cupping in acupuncture:

Glass cupping:
Also called fire cupping, these thick warm glass cups are attached to the skins surface to create a suction/ negative pressure by introducing heat briefly to the inside of the cup just before applying it to the skin. Glass cups can also be moved around the skins surface to treat a larger surface area.

Plastic cupping:
The plastic cups are made from a hard durable plastic and comes in a variety of sizes. They’re placed onto the skin where a small device attaches to the top of the cup and can be used to pump the air out of the cup to create the suction affect. These cups are left in there position and cannot be moved around the skin.

Acupuncture Cupping Benefits

1) Warming and promoting circulation of blood and fluids
2) Diminishes swelling and pain.  
3) Muscular pain in the neck, back, shoulders, hips and legs.
4) Alleviates respiratory symptoms related to congestion, coughing and asthma.

Cupping may also be used to eliminate toxins stored in the muscle and fat tissue of our body.

What does Cupping Acupuncture Feel Like?

Most patients describe the feeling as suction cups or pressure on the skin that is warm and pleasantly comfortable. After cupping there may be a bruise at the local area, this is normal and will disappear within a few days. Multiple treatments may be needed depending on the amount of discoloration that appears after each treatment. Benefits are achieved when discoloration no longer surfaces during the cupping treatment.

Inducing Labor Naturally

Acupuncture for induction is used in my South Loop acupuncture office. It can be used to address any stress you’re feeling and begin inducing labor naturally. Your baby is unaware of due dates and time, instead he/she is busy developing and preparing for its new life. Acupuncture for cervical ripening and labor induction can boost your chance for a natural vaginal birth. Acupuncture to induce labor is an effective way to begin the process of gently moving things along.

Acupuncture is safe and can be useful at anytime during the pregnancy, most seek it out when they past their due date. I highly recommend most patients begin treatment at the beginning of their pregnancy or at the beginning of their last trimester for the best success rate at natural labor induction. This will allow any symptoms your experiencing to be addressed, like:
1) Swelling and discomfort
2) Back pain, hip and pelvic pain
3) Anxiety
While gently strengthening your body to prepare for birth. It may even help to: 
1) Decrease the pain during contractions
2) Shorten the average labor
3) Reduce recovery time
For some expectant moms, you may be experiencing discomfort in the last trimester and trying to deliver your baby on time can become very stressful. Acupuncture can help!

An article from WebMD, “Can Labor Be Induced Naturally?”, states a small research study from the University of North Carolina found 70% of women who received acupuncture went into labor on their own. Also the women who had acupuncture were less likely to deliver by cesarean section.

The Cochrane Library published an article “Acupuncture for the induction of labor” and it showed evidence of a change in cervical maturation for women receiving acupuncture. See the full article here: http://www.cochrane.org/CD002962/PREG_acupuncture-for-induction-of-labour

Many patients can go into labor 6-48 hours after their treatment. In some cases multiple treatments may be necessary. Acupuncture points for general relaxation are done in addition to points beneficial for acupuncture induction. Mild electrical stimulation may be added for further stimulation and promotion of labor. Acupuncture is a safe and effective choice that gently and naturally encourages your body toward the onset of labor.

Other helpful articles:

http://www.webmd.com/baby/inducing-labor-naturally-can-it-be-done

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002962.pub3/abstract;jsessionid=B67F99BA00

How Does Acupuncture Work

Traditional Chinese Medicine includes acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. They are apart of a system that restores balance and builds the body’s life force or energy known as Qi. Acupuncturists recognize particular pathways called “meridians” through which this energy circulates. There are 14 meridians within the body and they each correspond to a different organ and when ailments arise these meridians become unbalanced creating illness, disease or pain in the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine disease is the result of an imbalance or blockage in the body’s natural energetic flow. Such imbalances manifest in physical, emotional and psychosomatic stress related disorders. 

Acupuncture needling is one of a number of energy balancing techniques used to treat these imbalances. Also included, are various techniques like Chinese Herbal Medicine, moxibustion, gua sha, massage and cupping. These techniques are used to direct your body’s own natural energy to areas that are unbalanced. Some Western medical studies have done research, supporting the theory that acupuncture works by activating the central nervous system, each time a needle is placed within the body small signals may be sent through the central nervous system to the brain stimulating the release of serotonin and endorphins. 

What Does Acupuncture Do

Acupuncture works by treating the symptoms your experiencing and also works on a much deeper level to address the source of your symptoms. This is how acupuncture is able to treat so many conditions like, depression, anxiety, infertility, peripheral neuropathy, back pain and shoulder pain to name a few. It works on treating both internal and external symptoms, issues you have been dealing with for years, weeks or days. It can be used alone or along with your current Western Medical regimen. It has a remarkable effect on the whole body and can be noticed after just one treatment.