Overheard in the Healthfood Store

Two friends, Linda and Jenna, who work at Rainbow Foods in beautiful downtown Juneau, Alaska, agreed to pick out a few quirky popular requests from customers and pass them along to me. [Read more →]

 The adrenal glands are walnut sized, when healthy, and sit above the kidneys.  That’s what their name means: “Ad” is Latin for above and “Renal” means relating to kidneys.  The main secretion of the adrenal glands is adrenaline, also known as epinephrine.  [Read more →]

New Research on Ginseng: Pharmacogenomics and the Yin/Yang actions of ginseng: anti-tumor, angiomodulating and steroid-like activities of ginsenosides.  Chinese Medicine 2007

Long known as a whole-body tonic (the root plant, precious for centuries in Asian countries, is shaped like a person)

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a 3000+ year old system of diagnosis and therapeutcs which works primarily in stimulating the body’s natural “vital force” (known as Qi – prnounced chee). There are several areas of TCM, including diet and nutrition, acupuncture and moxibustion (a stick of copressed mugwort which is burned and held close to the body to insert Qi into the area of distress), Qi Gong (slow breth and movement exercises) and medicinal herbs. Chinese medicinal herbs to be considered to prevent or perhaps even remedy osteoarthritis are listed below. Please consult with a qualified acupuncturist (certified from the NCCA) or Chinese herbalist.

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Health, as defined by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is balance. The Qi (pronounced chee), or vital force, will flow smoothly through all the meridians when Yin and Yang are balanced in the body. This also implies a balance between cold and hot elements, resistance to both internal and external pathogens, and neither conditions of excess nor deficiency. To treat “excessive” conditions, such as obesity or acute infections, the Licensed Acupuncturist must use “reducing” techniques. The treatment principle for “deficient” conditions is to “tonify” which means building up strength, endurance and flexibility.

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