Affordable Acupuncture Restoring Balance Naturally

The seasonal fires that rage in Southern California are a threat to an already burdened respiratory system, taxed from pervasive smog.  Fire season brings with it spike visits to emergency rooms and doctors’ offices filled with youngsters breathing from nebulizers.

Chinese herbal medicine has some very helpful herbs to help assist and protect the lung during fire season.  The strategy for dry windy autumn fires is to primarily protect lung function through a delicate two-step of nourishing, while gently clearing the build-up of particulate matter and smog.  The solution is a beverage of lung cleansing and protection, featuring natural herbs from the ancient Chinese pharmacopaeia.  We’re calling this beverage blend Desert Wind.

An examination of the blend’s content reveals much about the approach of Chinese herbal medicine.  Mai men dong, Prince Seng, and licorice all have the action of increasing moisture, especially for the lungs.  Dry throat, thirst, dry cough will all be address by these herbs’ moistening qualities.  Each herb executes a distinctive action in addition to moistening.  For instance, Prince Seng is an excellent herb for shortness of breath, whereas licorice is great for cough.  No herb performs a superfluous function.   

Balloon flower, peppermint, and chrysanthemum constitute balancing influences to the tonifying effects of the above herbs.  Balloon flower has expectorant and chest-opening properties.  Plain old peppermint can ease breathing and quell allergic reactions, a function also performed by the flower chrysanthemum, the beverage gem of the phamacopaeia for warm climes.  The careful balancing that occurs through this exquisite flower, particularly between the liver and lung cannot be over appreciated.

Finally, Goji root makes a tributary appearance, from its role in a classical formula entitled Draining the White Powder.  White is the color of the lung as is autumn.  Goji root is used in this formula to stop cough and protect on deep level.

Yang-chu Higgins is a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist living in Los Angeles.

ph. 323.936.5152

In a prior post a bit was related about the seasonal quality of Chinese Medicine.  To recap, we can say that seasonal factors like cold, hot, humidity, and dryness affect one's health according to Chinese medicine.  The seasons are literal and metaphorical: the literal season of autumn and the autumn of one's life, for example.  There are other metaphorical correspondences that may or may not be literal depending upon one's beliefs.  The correspondence of dryness with west with lung with autumn may or may not be apt depending upon the specifics of geographic and individual particulars.  These correspondences considered, balancing these variables becomes the crux of Chinese seasonal medicine.

Caveats aside then, the season of summer, corresponding with fire, bitterness, the color red, the heart and south deserves proper attention.  Among the associations most tangible is the heart.  This is the king organ and it is associated with less corporeal aspects of our being, namely the emotions.  Foods that go to the heart will do good for the emotions.  Foods that come in season in the summer are naturally good for the heart.  Red foods that come in season in the summer are the quintessence of proper heart food.  Bitter foods are also correspond with the heart.  The balance between the boosting effects of red and the detoxifying effects of bitter is struck depending upon the circumstances of each patient.

In the summer one is wont to sweat.  Replenishing fluids then is important.  Chinese medicine takes a unique position regarding the consumption of water, preferring that water mostly come from food and beverages.  Water itself probably has neutral properties, doing nothing in particular other than diluting the concentration of body fluids and qi.  Fresh fruit, including cucumber, tomatoes, and summer squash, provides useful water to the body and boost qi.  Vegetable juices with juicy items like kohlrabi, celery, spinach including the stems are winners.  Many will not only provide usable water but the valuable bitter element to detox and drain excess water.    

Those who run continuously thirsty are receiving signals that their fluids are depleted.  People who tend to run hot and are particularly affected in the summer should consider active coolants, much as you would for your radiator.  Herbs like lotus pommule and a lily bulb called mai men dong are ideal because they go to the heart, imputing a clearing and calming effect.  Heavier grade coolants like American ginseng can nourish the kidneys and enhance the heart/kidney relationship, thus enhancing sleep, as well as ameliorating the effects of high stress. 

Emotional well-being can be enhanced in the summer by doing slow breathing exercises.  Since the body is most active, i.e., yang, in summer, slow or yin type breathing will help bring balance.  Simply slowing your breath to at least 12 cycles per minute will begin to register signals to the brain to slow down. 

Diet, herbs, and exercise form a big picture approach to the treatment of patients in Chinese medicine.  It is also the approach employed when balancing with seasonal influences, which will affect each person differently.  Often treatment of seasonal disorders depends on when the symptoms are active.  For example, treatment of asthma that is worse in winter is treated palliatively in winter and at its root in summer.  As for summer, its effects on the body fluids and qi can be deleterious.  Water is a poor agent for restoring either body fluids or qi, but dandy treats like chrysanthemum, lotus pommule, and American ginseng are perfect options for the season. 

Many of us tend to hold fairly unrealistic expectations of acupuncture.  The other day, I received a phone call from a patient who had a single acupuncture treatment for migraines.  I had to inform her that treating migraines required at best only 20 treatments.  This was clearly news to her.  I went on to explain some things that those who may have had "no success" with acupuncture might benefit from.

The rate at which one can expect resolution of one's problem depends on several factors: your age, how long you have had the condition, the level at which the condition exists, and your constitution or genetic predisposition.  Let's take each of these one by one.

Age:  Recently, I treated a young man of 25 for upper back pain, incurred about three months. He tweaked something lifting heavy stuff at work.  I told him that we might be able to knock out the pain in one session because he was still a spring chicken.  In Chinese medical theory, it is maintained that young people are full of energy (qi), thus the body is able to balance quickly from the impulse delivered by acupuncture.  If the patient been in his 30s, 50s, or 70s, then the prognosis would have been for more treatments commensurate with the natural store of energy possessed at that age.

Duration of Condition: Had the same 25 year old come to me and said, I've had this upper back pain for 5 years, then it would have been brazen of me to suggest, "I think we can knock this out in one session."  It is reasonable in such cases, to expect one session for each year of pain, best case scenario.  If a person of an older age reported a similar condition then some allowance would have to be made requiring more time.  Don't blame the acupuncturist, blame the qi!

Level of Condition:  This is perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Chinese medicine.  Let's continue with the case of the 25 year old... If he had reported that he had lower back pain that occurred from a work related injury, it would mean that the condition was more serious than upper back pain.  This is because the lower back is "deeper" than the upper back.  Muscle complaints are more superficial than bone complaints.  Respiratory issues are more superficial than gastric issues.  Blood and hormone issues are deeper than lymphatic issues.  The deeper the condition the longer it will take to rectify.  If, one as a congenital pathology or permanent structural damage then often the best that we can expect that acupuncture will work palliatively, meaning it will not be able to cure the condition.

Constitution:  People with conditions that relate to their genetic proclivities take more time to resolve than simple conditions that stem from a single incident, like whiplash.  Often constitutional weaknesses impacts more isolated occurrences.  For example, a person with constitutional lung weakness will be particularly susceptible to seasonal colds and flu.  If a child is treated for such weakness then she can expect to recover after about a year of treatment.  An adult, on the other hand, may never be able to fully boost their lung defenses and would consequently require on-going treatment.  A middle-aged person with the same condition would likely require more treatment. 

It is clear that multiple variables factor into the prognosis of any condition.  Chinese medicine and acupuncture in particular seeks to restore balance naturally by working with the body to restore proper function.  This is a process where the acupunctural impulse delivers as much as the body is ready to handle at any particular time.  The body's ability to receive and make the most of the impulse depends on the factors just discussed.

Best wishes in your health pursuit,

Yang-chu Higgins, Licensed Acupuncturist
323.936.5152      






        

The subject of fear around getting jabbed provoked some addled rumination for a few days.  Then, voila!  It occurs to me that some doctors of Chinese medicine don't use needles at all.  Some use something called cold laser acupuncture.  This is 100% pain-free.

There are also some Japanese applications that do not use needles.  For example, there is one Japanese doctor of acupuncture who has a book called Heal Pain on 11 Cents.  It turns out that the Japanese ten cent piece is of copper and the one cent piece is of aluminum.  The difference between the metals sets up an electrical gradient transmitted through several of the body's media, e.g., the skin's bioelectric current and the bioelectrically affected interstitium.  Any media that contains water receives a ripple effect.  On a very simple level this is similar to the work developed by the Swedish doctor Nordenstrom.

I personally have tried out the coin method using 90% silver quarters and some aluminum foil.  Some patients were surprised to feel the sensation. Others still like the jabbing, it's like popping the cork off a bottle of champagne.  I have no experience with cold laser acupuncture, so I can't speak to whether it gives that acupuncture sensation, but I can personally say that the sensation of the coins reverberated on a deep level, more strongly than a similar treatment with common needles.  I say common needles because some prefer silver or copper, but that's for another discussion.

In short, there's hope to try acupuncture, even if you aren't so keen on getting needled.  Many practitioners are very pleased with the results they get with the cold laser approach.  I guess that's doubly so for patients.  The coin approach is one you can even try at home.  You can get more sophisticated applications with a practitioner experienced in Japanese styles of acupuncture.

best bliss,

Yang-chu Higgins, Licensed Acupuncturist
Los Angeles, CA
323.936.5152

Probably no herb captures the beauty of Chinese medicine as much as chrysanthemum. Let me share a quotation from an 18th-century work, The Thoroughly Revised Materia Medica, as a means of further exploring the wonders of Chinese medicine and chrysanthemum:

Thoroughly imbued with the qi of the four seasons, it sprouts in winter, produces leaves in spring, blossoms in summer, and reaches full flower in autumn. In its fullness, it embraces the frost and succumbs to the essence of metal and water [i.e, autumn and winter respectively], thus it is able to benefit two organs, lungs and kidneys. This controls heart fire and calms liver wood; with wood calmed, the wind is extinguished; when fire is directed downward, heat is eliminated.

In the beginning, we learn that chrysanthemum is "... imbued with the qi of the four seasons." Chinese medicine and philosophy hold that each season is associated with a particular quality, i.e., "qi." Each of the four seasons is associated with an organ and an "element." In a way, an organ is interchangeable with an element or a season so long as the assignment is fixed, which is the case in Chinese medicine. "... it embraces the frost and succumbs to the essence of metal and water." Metal and water are two of the five elements that are formed as consequence of the two--the yin-yang dynamic.

The five elements are a hologram that works very much like those collapsing Russian dolls that get pulled out around Christmas. The weather, the seasons, the cardinal directions, the body, the universe, all constitute layers at which the relationships which govern the five elements take effect. The relationship of metal to water is the relationship of the lung and kidney respectively. Within five elements metal precedes water and is consequently considered the mother of kidney. This is reflected in the Yellow Emperor, "The lungs govern moving water" (fei zhu xing shui).

Chrysanthemum is sweet, bitter, and slightly cold. It affects the lung, liver, and kidney. The lung and kidney are the organs alluded to in the excerpt above. Again, "lung governs the moving of water." The Yellow Emperor states "kidneys govern water." Therefore, chrysanthemum has the dual function of working lymphatically (movement of water) and excreting.

Every flavor has a property that also corresponds to the five elements. The organ affected by the particular herb trumps flavor. For example, even though the flavor "sweet" naturally gravitates toward the spleen, chrysanthemum goes to the liver, lung, and kidney. This means that its sweetness takes greater affect in the liver, lung, and kidney than the spleen.

Every flavor has a property that can be characterized as yin or yang. Sweet is yang and bitter is yin. Yang and yin are not fixed concepts but functional descriptives. Sweet, for instance, nourishes. Whether nourishing is consider yang or yin depends on the context. Yin as a noun is substantial. Yin as an adjective describes the action of subtraction. Sugar has the action of addition so it is considered yang relative bitter, which is draining and yin in action.

Chrysanthemum is perfectly balanced in terms of flavor, functionally embracing the dynamism between yin and yang, bitter and sweet. Chrysanthemum's temperature is slightly cool. Flavor only describes functional qualities but temperature describes the thermal effect of the herbs. Cool is yin relative yang, which is warm. In summer temperatures or for individuals who run warm, cooling foods can help with irritability, restlessness, malaise, and headaches. The draining properties of bitter help to gently ease the bloating that many people feel in summer months.

So far, perhaps we've learned some of the approaches applied in Chinese herbology by discussing the wondrous chrysanthemum. In a later post, the qualities of bitter will be further elaborated in the context of summer.

best health,

Yang-chu Higgins, Licensed Acupuncturist
323.936.5152

I by no means consider myself a specialist in spider bites, insect bites, or poisonous reactions.  When I worked at Herb King in Santa Monica, however, I was keen to note the popularity of the proprietors formula for poison ivy.  It always bears to mention that Chinese medicine is a complete medical system, internal or external, physical or emotional, Chinese medicine has can benefit anyone.

Curiously, for the past two days I've received requests for something that addresses spider bites.  Although acupuncture could probably resolve such conditions relatively simply, I always have doubts about sticking needles near sensitive areas.  Finding the precise location or needle configuration is much more difficult for me than just going to herbs. 

I selected four herbs that are known to detoxify, one in particular known for being effective for venomous bites as well as cancer.  Here's the first feedback I received:
 
     after 3 applications and at most 15 minutes the spider bite drained and disappeared. thx again for the topical herbs.

We should all be thanking Chinese medicine/philosophy, which has devised a system of herbology that can adapt to a range of health-related contingencies.

best health,

Yang-chu Higgins, Licensed Acupuncturist
323.936.5152

Here's a simple summer favorite.  Just ask if you want help locating the ingredients.

Tea Instructions:

Boil ½ gallon of water. Place the lily tuber and go-ji berries into a clear drinking vessel.  Pour the hot water into the vessel.  Let sit for five minutes, stir once or twice.  While the water is still hot place the strainer bag of chrysanthemum and lotus pommule into the vessel.  Let the bag sit in the water for no more than five minutes.  Remove from the vessel.  Add two quarts of cold water.  Serve chilled.  Keep refrigerated after it has cooled completely.

Actions of herbs:

Chrysanthemum—nourishes and detoxifies, ideal for summer
Lotus Pommule—strong anti-oxidant and heart tonic, bitter, reduces hypertension, clears irritability.
Goji Berries—Nourishes blood, eyes, heart, and liver
Mai Men Dong- Nourishes heart, calms heart, nourishes stomach

 

Drink as much as you like or instead of water to ensure gentle balance of body fluids and elimination, detoxification and nourishment.

 

Enjoy—

Yang-chu Higgins, Licensed Acupuncturist
323.936.5152.

 

Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions.

 

“Lola” is a 35 y.o. female presenting with a barking cough, shortness of breath, and nighttime anxiety due to an inability to breathe.  The condition has been off-and-on for four months.  She is an earth/kidney constitution, meaning she gathers weight around the mid-section, craves sweets and refined carbohydrates, and retains water.  This type is classified in some schools of psychology as “viscerotonic.”

Five days before coming to the office, she had been given a Ventolin inhaler and been diagnosed with asthmatic-bronchitis.  She had also been taking a Chinese herbal formula aimed primarily at clearing excess, herbs that are cold and known biochemically to have strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects.  These had been consumed irregularly in capsule form for about two months.  About a month prior she had taken a course of antibiotics and was unwilling to take them again.

Assessment

Lola has a combination pattern of excess and deficiency, expressing in both the lungs and the spleen.  Specifically, excess in the lung is characterized by inflammation, barking cough, and the weight that accumulates about her midsection.  The deficiency is the anxiety at night, the weakness that ensues from labored breathing and coughing, and the digestive and metabolic deficiencies that can be in inferred from the accumulation of phlegm, which is present in the lungs and midsection.  The Chinese medical diagnosis is Lung Heat with Phlegm & Lung and Spleen Qi Deficiency.

If acupuncture is applied, treatment can be focused on clearing heat from the Yang-ming and Tai-yin channels.  The remainder of this discussion, however, will alternatively focus on a why the formula she was taking in addition to the Ventolin proved insufficient in resolving the root issue and why the formula prescribed for her condition was.

Treating Phlegm and Tonifying Qi

Although the inflammation contained in lungs may be biomedically defined as being viral or bacterial, Chinese medicine pays careful attention to where in the body the pathogen expresses.  Conditions of the same pathogen will be treated differently if expressed in the liver than in the lung.  In formulas that clear heat and treat toxin, one must be certain that the herbs go to the affected organ, in this case the lung.  Many formulas like Yin-chiao (Yin-qiao), which are popular for colds and respiratory conditions, work at superficial levels as the pathogen makes its way to the lung, but once the pathogen has settled in the lung itself other treatment principles become necessary.  The distinction “where not what” a pathogen is is what makes the biomedical designations of anti-viral and antibacterial meaningful but impossible to correlate with an accurate Chinese medical treatment principle.  The locus of distress determines the herbs that will be used not the specific virus or bacteria.

Formulas like Yin-chiao do not tonify qi or resolve phlegm. Although Yin-chiao is a very cold formula, which means it should affect the presence of heat (infection) in the body, it does nothing to move the phlegm.  This means that much of the wheezing and coughing will not be resolved because it is the phlegm obstructing the air passages that is causing the difficulty breathing.  Similarly, the physical taxation from wheezing, the anxiety, and gathering of weight about the center of the body, offer clear signs of qi deficiency.  Think of qi as a verb not as a noun, a designation of metabolism, assimilation, and activity.  It takes qi to breakdown a formula, to expel and metabolize phlegm, and to breathe freely.  Having a “yin” for sweets and refined carbohydrates, ensures that the central metabolic functions of digestion are in need of tonification.

There is a view within Chinese medicine that holds, when a pathogen is present, one should avoid tonification.  This central tenet must be seen within the overall presentation of the patient.  Formulas balance imbalance.  There are numerous classical formulas that exhibit tonification within an overall strategy of expelling a toxin.  In fact, implicit within these formulas is an understanding that pathogenic expulsion will not occur if the body doesn’t have the strength to expel it.   In other words, if the patient is constitutionally qi deficient or if a condition has lagged on for more than a month, one can assume that the qi is damaged enough to render clearing formulas like Yin-chiao insufficient.  This is because a straight attack cannot be made if the inside is not strong.  Such formulas also introduce coldness, which can further deplete or depress the body’s metabolism.  It doesn’t mean that such herbs are thoroughly inappropriate but ineffective if not balanced with herbs that tonify qi.  The quantity of qi tonics within an “attacking” formula is considerably less than the amount of the clearing herbs, but their function should be targeted to assist lung qi function.      

Conclusion

Lola was prescribed a formula that focused on treating qi deficiency and the pathogenic heat accumulation in the lung.  With the first bag she felt less anxiety and experienced less cough.  By the end of the second bag, she reported that her breathing was noticeably better and was coughing up some phlegm.  The case was considered resolved, though true resolution will require strengthening spleen function and expelling phlegm primarily through diet.  Her coughing and wheezing, however, stopped completely after about one week on an individually prescribed formula.