Have You Ever Visited an Oriental Medicine Practitioner?

Everyone has been to the doctor, at least once in their life. And the dentist? Most know how a routine visit will unfold. But do you know what to expect from a visit to an oriental medicine practitioner?

There are variations, and different approaches, of course. But, generally speaking here is what to expect:

Session Procedure

During the first consultation, the practitioner always favors the diagnosis: its precision and will determine the effectiveness of the treatment. During the consultation, the goes through the patient’s history, and takes note of the patient’s complexion, pulse and which will reveal important clues.

Once the points have been chosen, the practitioner stimulates them using different methods. These
methods have different names:

• Acupuncture: steel, brass, stainless steel or silver needles;
• Moxas: according to the practitioner’s preference, heated herbs or suction discs are applied on the points;
• Electroacupuncture: the electronic stimulator (some also make the diagnosis);
• Laser therapy: laser stimulation;
• Acupressure: Chinese massage or acupressure, digitopuncture, shiatsu, etc.;
• Ultrasounds and light waves: devices that emit waves ranging from ultrasounds to sound and light waves.

Improvement will be noticeable after the first session or, at the most, after the fourth treatment. In order for the treatment to be effective, approximately ten sessions are recommended.

This information is an excerpt from the excellent AMCC course materials:

The Pillars of Health (131)

Have a great time at the Oriental Medicine Practitioner's office!
Sheryl-Anne

Sniffle-Free Fall

As a health professional, we are often asked, especially at this time of year, how to prevent and cure, or at the very least ease the unpleasant symptoms of colds and flus.

The first order of business: reinforce the immune system. How one goes about achieving this depends entirely on one's preferences. There exists really effective, side effect free modalities out there Some will opt for homeopathy, others for supplementation, naturopathy, vitamins, medicinal herbs. Some choose to adapt their food intake. And the list goes on.

1. Nutritionally, we know that food is fuel for the human body, and that includes the immune system. High quality proteins, vitamins and minerals sourced from high quality ingredients and in adequate amounts, are all essential. Eat an abundant and wide variety of colourful fruits and vegetables to fill up on antioxidants; add flax, walnuts or fish to get those all important omega-3s.
2. Exercise to stimulate your immune responsiveness, but don't overdo it: 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week will suffice. An overly aggressive exercise regimen will have the exact opposite effect: a weakened your immune system. 
3. Upper respiratory issues coincide with the drier indoor air, usually caused by heating. This is remedied quite simply by adding humidifiers, that have to be meticulously maintained to avoid unwanted bacteria and to preserve the indoor air quality.
4. A healthy intestinal flora will boost immunity. A regular intake of probiotics, especially if taking antibiotics, is recommended. Good bacteria can be found in unpasteurized sauerkraut, kimchi, and of course, the ever popular yogurt. Pasteurization will render any bacteria inactive, and therefore ineffective in promoting a healthy intestinal flora.
5. Getting enough sleep seems like a good idea for many reasons, but did you know it also improves immunity? So hit the sack for at least 7 hours every night.
6. A little cleanliness will go a long way in preventing the spread of colds and flus. Wash hands regularly, and cover mouth or nose when coughing or sneezing.
7. And of course, take a few days off when sick: you will get better sooner while limiting the spread of germs.

Certain supplements can help when one has a cold or the flu.

1. Ginseng
2. Vitamin C
3. Echinacea
4. Goldenseal
5. Garlic (raw preferably)
6. Peppermint essential oil
7. Licorice root (soothes respiratory tract)
8. Black elderberry

There you have it. A few good tips to heal oneself and to share during your consultations.

Health!

Sheryl-Anne 

Juicy Shortcut to Health and Vitality

Have you ever juiced spinach before? How about carrots? Apples? If you ever tried to fill a glass with the juice of any fresh produce, you know it takes a lot of produce to fill that glass. And there lies the key to juice's immense health benefits.

You could never hope to eat all that produce it takes to fill a glass of wondrous raw and living juice. Once all the fiber is removed, the nutrients are available for easy assimilation by our bodies. Now we shouldn't juice everything in our diets: we need some fiber in our daily regimen otherwise, waste produced by our metabolism won't move along as easily and blockage will inevitably occur. A raw and living foods diet will provide ample fiber to meet your bodily requirements. When we choose to juice a certain amount of fruits and vegetables from our daily intake, we can maximize nutrient intake. It just makes it easier to obtain and assimilate the recommended daily nutrient requirements from our food (hence, less need for supplementation!). Juicing allows us to get the nutrients from vegetables we ordinarily wouldn't eat by themselves or in sufficient quantities. An example of this are dark leafy vegetables. One large salad per day is what most raw foodist will have. But juice a whole pack of spinach, add some celery to that and maybe a carrot or two... Whoah! Now that's adding nutrition to a diet! It's worth making this practice an habitual one.
Do you experience some of these symptoms?

• fatigue, exhaustion, chronic fatigue syndrome
• frequent headaches
• skin problems, blemishes, acne
• brittle nails and hair
• muscular and/or joint pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia
• body odour
• coated tongue
• cardiovascular problems
• excess weight
• repetitive or chronic sinusitis
• environmental sensitivities (odors, cleaning products, etc.)
• irresistible and powerful cravings
• mood swings, anxiety or depression
• concentration and/or memory problems
• frequent colds and flus
• asthma
• insomnia or trouble sleeping
• food allergies
• constipation or diarrhea (or an alternance of both)
• flatulence and/or bloating

All these symptoms, and more still, stem from a toxic overload that the body cannot eliminate through proper channels. So, it has to improvise, so to speak! Hence, the importance to take the time to detoxify, periodically. Detoxification, like the one experienced while Juice Feasting for example, is an integral part, essential even, of any optimal health and vitality program. Detox, as it is also known, then becomes a valuable and efficient tool for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. When elimination becomes regular and through proper channels, toxins created by chemical, over-processed and acidifying foods are evacuated before they can damage or stress the digestive system, making for better bodily ressource allocation. Our body can therefore devote itself to repair, building and improving systems, without being impeded by a constant toxic assault.
Enzymes found in great quantities in raw and living foods, and made even more available and absorbable by juicing fruits and vegetables, are the catalysts of  hundred of thousands of chemical reactions in all over the entire body. They are essential to digestion, to absorption and to the production of cellular energy. Enzymes are vital to the construction and reconstruction that is continuously going on in our body.
Benefits resulting from detoxification include:

• reduced toxic load
• increased immunity
• liberation of excess weight, achieving a healthy weight
• softer, smoother skin
• healthy, functioning sinuses
• better sleep
• cravings are reduced or eliminated
• integral revitalization of all body systems
• physical, mental as well as spiritual well-being
• purified blood, balanced pH
• allergies, food and environmental sensitivities eliminated or reduced
• improved digestion, absorption and elimination
• better concentration and memory

So, get juicing! This simple to implement life practice can quite simply revolutionize your health!
Juicin' hugs,

NEW BOOK: Defeat Cancer: 15 Doctors of Integrative & Naturopathic Medicine Tell You How

Paperback, 443 Pages, $39.95

JUST PUBLISHED IN MAY, 2011!
In this groundbreaking new book, 15 of the world's most competent integrative cancer doctors invite you to explore their treatment strategies and discover their healing protocols. Why buy a book on just one treatment ideology when you can discover treatment strategies used by 15 doctorsءll inside the same book?
 
Just over a year ago, health care journalist and author Connie Strasheim set out to write one of the most important cancer books of our time. She identified 15 top cancer healers from the United States and five other countries, then spent the better part of the past year interviewing them. After the interviews, she dedicated countless grueling hours to compiling their most effective treatment methodologies into this clearly written and well-organized 443-page paperback book.

Defeat Cancer: 15 Doctors of Integrative & Naturopathic Medicine Tell You How is just the resource you have been waiting for. The book puts modern, cutting-edge treatment strategies in the palm of your hand. Interviewees included fifteen medical doctors, osteopaths and naturopaths who treat cancer either exclusively or as a major part of their practice. (Read the press release).

During the interviews, the doctors were asked difficult and important questions that the typical cancer patient may not think to ask. To get an idea of just how comprehensive this book is, see the Table of Contents. You can also read a complete sample chapter.

Because the book exposes the treatment methodologies of 15 physicians, readers will have the rare opportunity to compare and contrast the different healing methodologies used across various medical disciplines in the treatment of cancer. Or, as author Connie Strasheim explains, "the evidence of what works best for the treatment of cancer may be silently established by the similarities, or differences, found among these practitionersҠprotocols."

We all know that doctors appointments can be brief, and in many cases, inadequate in addressing all of the questions a patient may have. After leaving the appointment, a patient's head can be spinning with all of the questions that went unanswered. Now you can sit back and relax and find the answers to some of the most difficult questions, all in your own time, on your own schedule, inside this comprehensive book. This is possible because the physician interviewees were asked specific, pre-determined, targeted questions. Additionally, each doctor was given the opportunity to share special insights which may not have been a part of the planned interview process. The result of this planned, intentional, and careful interview process is a book that contains an unprecedented amount of practical and useful informaton. This information is available to anyone who is able to sit down and readءnd for only the price of a bottle of supplements.

Each chapter of the book focuses on the treatment approach of a single physician. Fifteen physicians were interviewed, so there are fifteen chapters (meet the interviewees). Author Connie Strasheim worked closely with each interviewee, over the course of several revisions, to ensure that their particular chapter was refined, accurate and as complete as possible. This kind of focused, organized information cannot be found anywhere else in print or on the internet.

Because physicians from five countries were interviewed, the reader is able to easily move beyond local political and medical standards and gain an international perspective on cancer treatment. The physician interviewees are based out of the United States, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, and England.

Written for both patients and practitioners, this book also allows you to avoid paying an arm and a leg for the travel and medical appointment fees that you would incur to meet and talk with 15 world-renowned cancer doctors, not to mention the time that it would take to actually have appointments with 15 different healers. In fact, you will not even have to leave the privacy and security of your own home to get this information. 

The following are some of the topics which the doctors addressed in their interviews:

• Anti-neoplastic (anti-cancer) treatments targeted at lowering or eliminating cancer cells and tumors. These include everything from IPT (Insulin Potentiation Therapy) and gene-targeted therapies, to metronomic chemotherapy, mistletoe, high-dose Vitamin C, sono and photodynamic therapy, dendritic cell vaccines, and intravenous nutrients. The doctors also answer the question, ԗhat is cancer and what causes it?Լ/strong>
• How to support and heal the body during and after cancer treatments. Included is information on diet, detoxification, vitamin and herbal supplements, hormone therapies, homeopathic remedies, allergy treatments, exercise and other physical therapies, as well as additional supportive treatments.
• Factors that affect healing, including finances, lifestyle habits, psycho-emotional stress, past treatments, and co-morbid conditions. Tips are provided for patients with limited financial resources.
• How to prevent cancer in the first place, and/or keep it from returning once patients are in remission or successfully managing their cancers.
• Why medical politics have limited peopleӳ access to effective treatments, and why knowing this is essential when searching for a cancer doctor.
• Dangerous and/or ineffective approaches to cancer treatment
• Suggestions for how family and friends can help their loved ones with cancer
• The treatment outcomes that the doctors have with their patients
• Patient and practitioner challenges to healing and how to overcome these
• How to heal past trauma and psycho-emotional problems that contribute to disease, with sections such as "Roadblocks to Healing," "How Family & Friends Can Help Their Loved Ones," "The Role of Stress, the Mind & Spirituality in Healing," "Healing Regret, Resentment & Self-Righteousness," and more
• How to contact the physicians
• The book also contains a very detailed Table of Contents and a user-friendly index so you can easily navigate through the information and find the topics that are relevant to you personally. 

Modern cancer treatment is complicated and controversial. Can you afford to be without the wisdom contained in this book? Save yourself time and money by reading about dozens of cutting edge therapeutic approaches before you and your doctor embark on the expensive and time consuming journey of using them in your own personal treatment program. Get the information first, and make your decisions after you are educated.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

In this syndrome, the intestine is described as being hypersensitive, as the passing of the alimentary bolus (and therefore the distension of the intestinal walls) brings about painful sensations and discomfort. The results are spasmodic and uncoordinated contractions of the intestinal muscles. This disorder leads to episodes of  diarrhea or constipation accompanied by abdominal pain. IBS can cause small problems for certain people, whereas for others it can be much more serious. Symptoms may appear every day for a week or a month and then disappear, or they can persist for life. It is estimated that one school-aged child in nine has a period of symptoms similar to IBS every three months.

This intestinal disorder affects one Canadian in five, particularly women. It is a very serious functional illness and constitutes between 30% and 50% of gastroenterology consultations. Unlike more serious intestinal illnesses such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, IBS does not cause inflammation, does not alter the structure of the intestinal mucous membrane and does not increase the risk of colorectal cancer. IBS does not get worse over time and does not require surgery. However, it can seriously get in the way of professional and social activities and can impoverish quality of life. On the other hand, diarrhea and constipation can induce or worsen hemorrhoid symptoms.

Causes

• Anger and stress linked to what is “retained” in the abdomen; in women, often after sexual abuse.
• Antibiotics
• Intestinal permeability

Solutions:
Intolerances to lactose and gluten are the most frequent; tests or a food journal with a food elimination-reintroduction protocol should be undertaken. The following foods should be eliminated or  restricted: alcohol,  caffeine, artificial sweeteners (Splenda, Aspartame, sorbitol, mannitol, etc.), very fatty  foods, and excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates.

• Enzymes.
• Pro- and prebiotics.
• Enteric capsules of peppermint oil.
• NAG (n-acetyl-glucosamine).
• Eliminate allergenic food.
• Hypnosis.
• Psycho-energetic medicine, such as homeopathy or acupuncture.

This article is an excerpt from the AMCC's course: Metabolism and Nutrition (course 343).

Enzymes in Metabolism and Nutrition

Enzymes are biological compounds that are protein in nature, that are soluble in water and that catalyze biochemical reactions. They are also called bio-catalysts.
Enzymes are synthesized by living organisms from models that vary from one species to the other, but they are constant and transmitted hereditarily within the same species; some hereditary illnesses can be explained by a defect in one of these models.

Enzyme Formation
Enzymes are generally proteins. A large number of enzymatic systems result from the binding of two molecules:

• The first one is a protein and is destroyed by heat; it is responsible for substrate specificity and is called an “apoenzyme.”
• The second is not a protein and is not destroyed by heat; it participates directly in the reaction and is called a “coenzyme.” We can therefore state that:

Enzyme = Apoenzyme + coenzyme

Apoenzymes
The protein part where the active site composed of several amino acids (that assemble in the secondary and tertiary structures, but move away in the primary structure) is found.
On the active site, there are generally two sites:

• The binding site, where the substrate (the material to be transformed) and the coenzyme (also called a metallic ion) become attached
• The catalytic site, where the enzymatic action occurs.

Coenzymes
A smaller and more resistant molecule that results most often from the union of a nucleotide and a B vitamin (thiamine, flavin, pyridoxine, niacin, pantothenic acid). Sometimes it is a simple metal ion.
: A single coenzyme can bind to make apoenzymes.
[excerpt from the AMCC's Metabolism and Nutrition course manual. Register today!]

Vitamin C as an Illustration of the Orthomolecular Approach

“Vitamin C was popularized by the double Nobel-prize winner Linus Pauling.

"For example, the wild mountain gorilla (weighing from 120 to 160 kg) ingests on a daily basis between 2000 and 4000 mg of ascorbates (vitamin C) and sometimes even more. Average people in Western countries who do not take supplements consume a few dozen milligrams, while the daily recommended intake of vitamin C is 60 mg.

“It should be noted that the majority of mammals synthesize their own vitamin C; when they are under the stress of disease or injury, the quantities they produce are equal to 10,000-20,000 mg per day for an adult human of average body size (taking into account body mass).

“All simians, including humans, have a genetic error that prevents them from synthesizing the enzyme L-gulonolactone oxidase. This enzyme is involved in the last stage of a chain of reactions that allow glucose to be converted into ascorbic acid. This genetic mutation is thought to have occurred approximately 25 million years ago.

“Among the other mammals that cannot synthesize vitamin C are guinea pigs and a species of Indian fruit bat (Pteropus medius).

“Orthomolecular medicine aims to correct this vitamin C deficit through the intake of quantities comparable to those synthesized by other mammals, meaning many grams per day (standardized amount according to body mass). Extracting such high amounts of ascorbic acid from natural sources would be very expensive. Adopting a diet similar to that of primates is not very compatible with modern civilization. We must therefore resort to synthetic ascorbic acid.

“It should be noted that some people believe that synthetic vitamin C is harmful or ineffective.

“Vitamin C tablets made from acerola cherries are sold in stores. This kind of vitamin C is a lot more expensive per kilo than the ascorbic acid in crystalline powder form that is obtained from other sources.”

This example can be applied to all nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, probiotics and other molecules that are biocompatible with and beneficial for health.

Did you find this article interesting? Orthomolecular Approaches (course 445) is a course given here by the College. Register now!

Living food? Vibrant food!

I'm sure by now, you all know of my passion for healthy eating, right? Especially when it comes to eating raw & living foods, I'm totally passionate! With that said, I found this little excerpt from the Metabolism and Nutrition course (that course 343, for the inquisitive) given by the College, very interesting and thought I'd share it with you.

Humanity’s great challenge: Co-existing with our food

The third millennium has begun, and, despite our vast technological progress, our survival is still highly dependent on our environment, as our cells require nutrients to stay alive. Will this change one day? Perhaps; for the moment, however, all living organisms must maintain a close and balanced relationship with their surrounding environment if they are to eat and survive.

It’s true that in North America and Western Europe, few people suffer from a lack of food. However, being truly healthy is not only a question of swallowing substances that will satiate hunger; we need to eat true food, i.e., food that is truly nourishing and that is eaten in a form that the human body can recognize. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for most products found in supermarkets. Devitalized (meaning they no longer contain living energy), the majority of these substances not only contain empty calories but are also harmful to our physical health. We often forget that these lifeless, cumbersome substances, which we still dare call food, also have a major influence on our psychological life (our emotional chemistry) and our spiritual
vitality (our “appetite” for living).

To live a happy life and have your entire existence become “sparked” by a vital current, you must first understand the major principles of living food.

“Living food” is food that, because it is fresh and in a highly vibrant state, abounds with nutritious substances. Easily assimilated, these foods leave little residue in the body and any digestive residue they do leave is easily eliminated.

Among all of the living foods, sprouts and young shoots are far and away the most alive and the most vibrant. Simple and very economical, these “newborn foods” are packed with nutrients that our bodies crave. We need to rediscover the wisdom of our seed-sprouting ancestors; we need to become reconnected to the food that keeps us alive.

So, did you like it? I sure did! And, if you want to know more, this course not only delves into the raw & living food lifestyle but also in other nutritional  trends, like vegetarianism, veganisme, Kousmine's Diet, Dr. Seignalet's regime, Shelton's Principles of Food Combining, the Mediterranean Diet, The Zone, and so much more! It also studies the anatomy-physiology of the digestive system, as well as look at several digestive physiopathologies. Very interesting indeed! But that's not all. Hop on over to the course's page on the College's site to read all about it! It's all there.

Happy reading,

Food guides: Did you know there are quite a few?

Studying nutrition over decades has given me much insight into the subject. One fascinating aspect of this are Food Guides. Did you know they vary from country to country? From one "ideology" to the other?

Food guides are not simply the result of scientific thinking; they are also the product of social, socioeconomic and political constraints. In fact, scientists, the representatives of national agri-food industries, and the politicians who represent citizens' interests’ work together to produce a food guide. There can therefore be conflicts of interest through the promotion of food families that are emphasized more than they should be. Take milk, for example, which is not essential to consumers if they get calcium from other sources.

“Governments must take into account domestic policy constraints when developing food guides: self-sufficiency, agricultural support, population distribution, the promotion of regions and resources, etc. It would be counter-productive to promote a diet – no matter how beneficial it is to health – that would require so many changes to food or cooking habits that it would have little chance of being adopted.” (Passeport santé)

We are going to look at the Canadian, American, and French guides, as well as a Vitality naturopathic food guide and two model guides that have greatly influenced many current food guides: The Willett Food Pyramid and the Zone and Omega-3 diets from Barry Sears.

Canada’s Food Guide (2007 edition)

The general scope of this new guide is similar to the old one in that it outlines four basic food groups: fruit and vegetables, grain products, milk and alternatives, and meat and alternatives. A rainbow is used to illustrate the four groups. Fruit and vegetables now take up the first section to the left.

The recommended servings have changed and servings are now established according to age and sex.

The guide generally recommends that people buy and prepare food with little or no fat, sugar or salt.

It also recommends being active by taking up a physical activity or sport, eating well, looking at food labels, and limiting consumption of Trans fat.

There are specific recommendations given for each food group.

Since the guide does not restrict any food, it can be easily integrated into daily life at home or outside the home. With the wide variety of food it proposes, the guide integrates contemporary cultural diversity and can help you discover new foods with varied flavours and textures. However, this quality of diet can only be obtained if you prepare more meals at home and only use foods that are fresh or unprocessed.

Canada’s new food guide aims to prevent obesity through general measures. The precise number and volume of servings (according to sex and age group) is a step in this direction, particularly because the number of servings of grain products has been reduced and the number of servings of fruit and vegetables has been increased compared to the previous guide.

If you'd like to learn more about the Canadian Food Guice, and others (such as the American Food Guide, the French Food Guide, Willet's Pyramid, the Barry-Sears Diet, the Anti-Aging or Vitality Food Guide, and more), then the Nutrition Basics course, given by the AMCC will most certainly fulfill all your needs!

Guided hugs,

Milk Thistle: To the Rescue of You Liver and Digestive System

Have you overindulged lately? Who doesn't, right? In those times, when feeling bloated, sluggish and generally unwell is simply not an option, milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is the perfect remedy.

Milk thistle can be used when poor food and/or beverage choices have prevailed. It is useful in all kinds of digestives woes, be it food poisoning, excess alcohol consumption, hepatitis, cirrhosis, chimiotherapy, and even jaundice. It can protect against X-Rays damages, environmental pollution, and heavy metals. Recent research suggests it also plays a role in glycemic control.

Do you suffer from one of those "morning after" headaches? Or maybe a migraine you know is related to poor liver function? Then again, milk thistle, by going to the source of the problem (ie the liver), will ease your symptoms. In detoxifying the body, it is less likely that you will need all those nasty headache medications. Most can irritate the stomach, and cause other unpleasant side-effects. Eliminate the cause, and the headache will vanish. Aaaah!!!

Here's a recipe you can try out at home, that is a liver tonic and digestive aid:
 

1/3 tsp dried chicory root powder

1/3 tsp dried dandelion root powder

1/3 tsp dried milk thistle seeds powder

Steep the powder mix in a cup of boiled water. Filter. Serve hot.

Living in our modern society, amidst all the pollution, and the nutrient deficient food supply, milk thistle is an ally not to be neglected. It will strengthen and regenerate your liver, which will then be better able to accomplish its detoxification tasks. Milk thistle will also fortify your entire body. Learn to love the prickly plant, and it will make you and your liver very, very happy!

If you would enjoy learning more about milk thistle, and other such marvels of Nature, the College offers a very complete course in Phytotherapy and Energetics.

Prickly hugs,

Article resume: Mieux-Etre Jan2011
Recipe: Natacha Imbeault - www.herbotheque.com