Preventative Health

Spring Cleaning

We often think of Spring as being associated with house cleaning, but it is also important to cleanse the body. Removing environmental, processed food, and everyday accumulated toxins is important for maintaining overall health.  Detoxing can help speed recovery and keep our systems in good working order.  Fasting is an excellent method for detoxing.

Exercise 7 Hours Per Week?

Recently there was a study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) that concluded that women need to exercise 1 hour per day 7 days per week  to MAINTAIN weight, let alone lose weight. I have since heard on multiple T.V. and radio broadcasts about the study, and the reaction from women has not been positive, for obvious reasons. Women lead very busy lives and finding the time for 1 hour of exercise every day sounds more like burden than anything else.  So I’m writing this blog to shed some light on this study, and to clarify what the study actually concluded.

Spring Fever

The other day I was marveling at the fact that I hadn’t come down with a cold or flu all year!  To the surprise of my pride, the next morning I woke with chills, mild fatigue, and rhinitis.  Now I do see my missteps of the previous day-getting overjoyed with the sunshine and warm weather I went outside with damp hair and a lighter jacket, thus making myself more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses.  I also had a big cup of hot chocolate and later that night was walking in the cold March wind to my car returning from a concert, wearing the same light jacket.

Working Towards the Gold

The Winter Olympics of 2010 are over.  We the audience had the privelege and pleasure to observe as for hundreds of competitors, years of hard work and a lifetime of dreaming came down to a single event, movement or even a single hundredth of a second.  It was a chance to view life compressed and miniaturized right before our eyes into an intense and emotionally explosive period of days.

Your Sleep Positions Could be Causing Your Pain - Part 1

Would you believe that a good night’s sleep can make you hurt the next day?  Or make your chronic pain worse?  It can. I see many people who wake up in more pain than when they went to sleep.  There are a number of ways that your sleeping positions and habits can make you sore the next morning, or even make existing problems worse.

Here’s what can happen and what you can do to prevent it.

Why Yoga Makes You Feel Better

Everyone knows stretching and exercise are healthy ways to feel better and to get into shape. After a yoga class you feel better than when you came. This is because of something called the parasympathetic nervous system. When we do yoga, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system through stretching and breathing. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing down our bodies through muscle relaxation, calming the mind, and results in better digestion, better immunity, lower blood pressure and lower heart rate.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) Can be Treated with Chinese Medicine

In my practice I have worked with a number of patients who have this diagnosis and are trying to conceive.  I chose to write about this topic because it’s a very common condition; and one which can be positively affected by Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture for the West

I was interviewed today by a student at SUNY Albany who was doing a paper on natural healing.  At the end of a series of very well thought out questions, she asked me if there was anything else that I would like people to know about acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.  I had to pause for a moment to consider the question before beginning to answer.

Lyme Disease and Craniosacral Therapy

This has been a bumper year for ticks and that has resulted in as big a year for Lyme disease here in the Northeast.  While craniosacral therapy can’t treat or cure Lyme disease, it can definitely make a big difference in the amount of pain and discomfort you find yourself in and helps speed the healing process.

Is Chocolate Healthy for You? Here’s What You Need to Know!

There aren’t too many people that I know that don’t like or even crave chocolate. Why is this so?  Simply,  chocolate contains certain chemicals that are  known to improve mood, but research also shows chocolate to have many important  health benefits.

Some of us may have heard that dark chocolate contains “antioxidants” that are beneficial for us. But which antioxidants, how much of them, and how are they good for us?