By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
Everyone it seems has their own ideas on how to prevent the common cold. I’d like to share with you my strategy, which works for me. In fact, I haven’t had a cold in years.
In Chinese medicine, avoiding colds revolves around keeping the wei qi strong and happy. The wei qi is your defensive energy – your immune system. The wei qi are your soldiers and guards.
The wei qi seeks out or chases down pathogenic invaders, kills them, and if possible, eats them. The wei qi guards all entry points into the interior of your body. This includes the mouth and throat, nose and sinuses, lungs and stomach, lower body orifices, especially the vagina and uterus, and the pores of the skin.
A strong and happy wei qi can only be overcome by the repeated or overwhelming attacks of a virulent pestilential invader such as cholera or bubonic plague.
Here’s my recipe for strengthening the wei qi.
Get calm
Mental and physical calmness allows the machinery of the body to produce plenty of high quality wei qi. It also permits the wei qi to detect problems and to congregate en masse at the problem site.
Many scientific studies have conclusively linked chronic high anxiety to the common cold and many lost work days. Chronic anxiety diverts resources from the construction of new wei qi. It also tightens muscles for fight-or-flight, thus restricting the movement of the wei qi.
Sufficient sleep and rest is a critical requirement for calmness. When muscles and brain are relaxing is when most digestive products are manufactured, including the wei qi.
Natural mental calmness will also prevent the regular reliance on pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco, and whatever else to establish calm. Substance abuse will add an extra burden on the system, diverting immune resources away from the exterior and toward the elimination of poisons. Statistics connect substance abuse with a high incidence of common colds.
In addition, smoking will irritate the throat. A raw throat is an invitation for the cold virus and its bacterial friends to congregate in large numbers and gang up on the wei qi.
Get lean
A lean body is a streamlined, efficient body. This means that the digestive system is probably strong enough to produce high quality wei qi in sufficient quantity to fight invaders. Leanness also means that there will be less obstacles to get in the way of the wei qi as it rushes to the battlefield.
Obesity is a cause and a result of a weak digestion that underlies a weakened wei qi. In addition, the larger the fat cells, the greater the obstructions in the way of the emergency teams. The biological purpose of obesity is to facilitate hibernation during a long cold winter. Hibernation requires very little wei qi.
Get strong
Studies have shown that people who exercise vigorously have fewer colds.
Strong muscles, bones, and connective tissue are both a cause and a result of a strong digestion. A strong digestive system creates strong immune factors, which were necessary during the spring, summer, and fall months when our Stone Age ancestors were foraging and hunting daily and being exposed to exterior pathogens.
Trust thyself
The body usually knows when it’s about to be invaded by a cold pathogen, and will tell you. If you are outdoors and feel a chill, that is your body telling you to cover up or get inside right away. Shivering is your wei qi rushing to the surface to do battle.
Cold wind on the back of the neck feels bad. This pathogen is known as wind cold, and it enters from behind. On the other hand, warmth on the neck feels good.
Hot wind in the face also feels bad. This is where wind heat tries to enter the body. If it feels bad, avoid it. Conversely, the face seems to be quite resistant to cold temperature.
Chinese herbs
Once the pathogen has entered the exterior of the body – the pores and other orifices - the wei qi sets up barricades and concentrates forces at these barricade sites. At that point, our plan of action is to support our wei qi by helping it to neutralize the cold virus and its allies, and then helping the wei qi to expel the invaders.
One very famous and effective formula for defeating wind heat is known as yin qiao pian. This combination was developed several hundred years ago and is nowadays commonly used all over southern China. It successfully treats the kind of common cold encountered in warm climates, like Southern California.
As wind heat enters through the front, it will cause such unpleasantness as a sore throat, sinus swelling with sneezing, eye discomfort, and the beginning of a cough with yellow phlegm. There will be an aversion to wind and probably a slight fever or feverish feeling that predominates over chills.
When I feel the radial pulse on the wrist, I’m likely to encounter a rapid superficial pulse. The rapidity (over 72 beats per minute) indicates that heat is a factor, since heat speeds up movement. The superficial quality means that the wei qi has come to the surface of the body to do battle with the wind heat enemy.
Our herbal strategy for defeating this wind heat is to cool the heat and to help the wei qi expel the wind through diaphoresis. A diaphoretic is a substance that causes sweating. If we can neutralize the pathogenic heat while helping the wei qi sweat out the viruses, then the disease will not enter the lungs or stomach and will not cause any more problems. In other words, a successful herbal intervention will mean that the common cold will be completely prevented!
However, yin qiao must be taken at the first sign of wind heat, during the first few days. Once the wind has reached deep into the lungs or stomach, it is no longer on the surface. At this point, the herbs in the formula, whose pungent flavor will push the wind up and out, will merely spread the pathogen around, likely making the cough worse. Treating an internal disorder like lung heat requires a completely different herbal strategy, one of draining the pathogen down and out through the urine.
Because yin qiao causes sweating, it must not be taken before venturing outside, because sweating opens pores. Open pores invite in more wind. Therefore, it is recommended that it be taken before bedtime. If a person with a normal, uncompromised immune system takes this formula before sleep and sweats during the night, the problem will be gone by morning.
The classic yin qiao formula contains nine Chinese herbs, most of which are not recognizable to Westerners. Chinese formulas come in many different forms. The form I use is a tablet form, easily purchased in Chinatown and simple to take. Some brands are sugar-coated pills for children to take. I recommend the tablet form (pian) which is not coated. Four tablets before bedtime will usually do the trick. If you wake up in the middle of the night, take four more and go back to sleep.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Preventing Iatrogenic Injuries
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
http://www.drkihn.com/
The term iatrogenic means “doctor-caused.” Iatrogenic deaths are the third leading cause of death in the US. According to a study published in the well known and highly prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, Vol..284, July 26, 2000), conventional Western medicine kills more Americans every year than any other cause except for heart disease and cancer. The rate for iatrogenic mortality is nearly twice that of the number four killer, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes). According to the report’s author, Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 250,000 Americans die yearly from iatrogenic causes.
Here’s the breakdown for the year 1999:
• 12,000 deaths from unnecessary surgeries that went wrong.
• 7,000 medication errors in hospitals.
• 20,000 other errors in hospitals.
• 80,000 infections acquired in hospitals.
• 106,000 non-error negative effects of FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.
Starfield cautions that these numbers are derived from studies of hospital patient deaths only, and that they say nothing about the crippling, maiming, and other negative effects that doctors and staff inflict on their patients in and out of hospitals.
This is by no means the first report of its kind to indict the conventional medical profession, but it is the most authoritative. Another analysis, from the Boston Medical Journal, 2000, entitled “Epidemiology and Medical Error,” by Weingart et al, estimated that the US medical establishment profits yearly from 116 million unnecessary physician visits and 77 million unnecessary pharmaceutical prescriptions, adding up to $77 billion in extra costs in dollars at the turn of the millennium.
Despite a decade of promises, little has been done to fix the problem of preventable medical errors, according to a 2009 report by the Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine. "There is little evidence to suggest that the number of people dying from medical harm has dropped since the US Institute of Medicine first warned about these deadly mistakes a decade ago," Lisa McGiffert, a spokesperson for the Consumers Union, said in a statement. "That means a million lives and billions of dollars have been lost over the past 10 years because our health care system failed to adopt key reforms recommended by the IOM to protect patients."
The problem isn’t much better in the wealthy countries of the European Union. One in 10 patients are suffering extra adverse effects while being treated in European hospitals, the EU's health commissioner said in a 2008 report. The most common hospital-induced problems are healthcare associated infections, incorrect or delayed diagnoses, surgical errors and medication related errors, according to the European commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. Around one in 20 European patients catches an infection while in the hospital.
The first step in preventing these nightmares is to recognize the strengths and limitations of conventional Western medicine. The profession can be divided into two categories: Emergency Medicine and Unsafe Medicine.
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine is essentially heroic medicine. Western medicine is designed to be heavy-handed. Its true purpose is to fight nature. When nature decrees that a person must very soon lose life, a limb, an organ, a tissue, a mind, or any other structure or function, this is intolerable to us. Fortunately for the world, we have highly trained people who can use drugs and surgery to save the situation and “reverse” nature.
Reversing nature usually elicits negative effects that result from the heavy-handed intervention, but in an emergency, the tradeoff is worth it.
This branch of medicine is also adept at performing tests that monitor health situations. Emergency Medicine even includes futuristic research like genetic engineering that will someday end all medical problems, including mandatory death.
Unsafe Medicine
The other branch of conventional Western medicine should be called “Unsafe Medicine.” This segment is responsible for a quarter million American deaths every year.
In addition, it specializes in disease care. Compared to the beginning of the twentieth century, the average modern American life span is much longer than it is today, but people are getting sick much earlier. This fact illustrates an important function of Unsafe Medicine, which is to help people feel better but stay sick for decades, thereby earning huge profits for pharmaceutical companies and their “dealers,” surgeons, hospitals, and medical equipment suppliers.
Doctors and staff who practice Unsafe Medicine are trained to fill you full of doom and gloom so you will become panicky and dependent. Typically they study only disease and know nothing about health, and are notoriously antagonistic toward most forms of Safe Medicine.
There are an increasing number of Medical Doctors who practice both Emergency Medicine and Unsafe Medicine, and as a result are internally conflicted and become disillusioned with medicine.
Safe Medicine
Safe Medicine includes anything that doesn’t cause more problems. Safe Medicine usually works with nature, gently encouraging the body/mind to heal itself. Most traditions and techniques that go by the names of alternative medicine and complementary medicine would be included in this category. When safe medical techniques are applied correctly, there should be either good results or no results. And they should be demonstrated to consistently perform beyond the placebo effect.
Diligent practitioners of Safe Medicine will establish a mutually respectful relationship with you and really listen to your needs. Their methods will generally take longer to work, but the effects will be lasting and not fraught with risks. A competent safe practitioner will also recognize that it’s actually the body/mind that heals itself. All we practitioners can do is assist that process. And so encouraging self-reliance is an essential part of the healing process.
Self-reliance includes the avoidance of doctors for small things. Fundamentally, you are your own best doctor. Good mental health (much neglected in our culture) means trusting that your body can heal a small thing like a stubbed toe or a cold virus invasion all on its own or with a little help from home remedies.
Avoiding Iatrogenic Complications
First, be ready to change everything in your life that is a likely cause of disease and injury. Get as healthy as you can and stay that way.
Second, learn the difference between true emergencies and non-emergencies.
Third, see if the non-emergency situation will respond to self-treatment and rest. If your own efforts do not resolve the situation, consult a practitioner of Safe Medicine. Following is a partial list of Safe Medicine techniques and disciplines commonly found in the US, in alphabetical order:
• Acupuncture
• Ayurvedic Medicine
• Biofeedback
• Chinese Medicine
• Chiropractic adjustment
• Dental hygiene
• Fitness training
• Folk medicine
• Herbology
• Homeopathy
• Hypnosis
• Life Coaching
• Meditation
• Mega-vitamin therapy
• Natural vision therapy
• Naturopathic Medicine
• Nutritional counseling
• Physical therapy
• Psychological counseling
• Qi gong
• Tai qi
• Therapeutic massage
• Yoga
http://www.drkihn.com/
The term iatrogenic means “doctor-caused.” Iatrogenic deaths are the third leading cause of death in the US. According to a study published in the well known and highly prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, Vol..284, July 26, 2000), conventional Western medicine kills more Americans every year than any other cause except for heart disease and cancer. The rate for iatrogenic mortality is nearly twice that of the number four killer, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes). According to the report’s author, Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 250,000 Americans die yearly from iatrogenic causes.
Here’s the breakdown for the year 1999:
• 12,000 deaths from unnecessary surgeries that went wrong.
• 7,000 medication errors in hospitals.
• 20,000 other errors in hospitals.
• 80,000 infections acquired in hospitals.
• 106,000 non-error negative effects of FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.
Starfield cautions that these numbers are derived from studies of hospital patient deaths only, and that they say nothing about the crippling, maiming, and other negative effects that doctors and staff inflict on their patients in and out of hospitals.
This is by no means the first report of its kind to indict the conventional medical profession, but it is the most authoritative. Another analysis, from the Boston Medical Journal, 2000, entitled “Epidemiology and Medical Error,” by Weingart et al, estimated that the US medical establishment profits yearly from 116 million unnecessary physician visits and 77 million unnecessary pharmaceutical prescriptions, adding up to $77 billion in extra costs in dollars at the turn of the millennium.
Despite a decade of promises, little has been done to fix the problem of preventable medical errors, according to a 2009 report by the Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine. "There is little evidence to suggest that the number of people dying from medical harm has dropped since the US Institute of Medicine first warned about these deadly mistakes a decade ago," Lisa McGiffert, a spokesperson for the Consumers Union, said in a statement. "That means a million lives and billions of dollars have been lost over the past 10 years because our health care system failed to adopt key reforms recommended by the IOM to protect patients."
The problem isn’t much better in the wealthy countries of the European Union. One in 10 patients are suffering extra adverse effects while being treated in European hospitals, the EU's health commissioner said in a 2008 report. The most common hospital-induced problems are healthcare associated infections, incorrect or delayed diagnoses, surgical errors and medication related errors, according to the European commissioner Androulla Vassiliou. Around one in 20 European patients catches an infection while in the hospital.
The first step in preventing these nightmares is to recognize the strengths and limitations of conventional Western medicine. The profession can be divided into two categories: Emergency Medicine and Unsafe Medicine.
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine is essentially heroic medicine. Western medicine is designed to be heavy-handed. Its true purpose is to fight nature. When nature decrees that a person must very soon lose life, a limb, an organ, a tissue, a mind, or any other structure or function, this is intolerable to us. Fortunately for the world, we have highly trained people who can use drugs and surgery to save the situation and “reverse” nature.
Reversing nature usually elicits negative effects that result from the heavy-handed intervention, but in an emergency, the tradeoff is worth it.
This branch of medicine is also adept at performing tests that monitor health situations. Emergency Medicine even includes futuristic research like genetic engineering that will someday end all medical problems, including mandatory death.
Unsafe Medicine
The other branch of conventional Western medicine should be called “Unsafe Medicine.” This segment is responsible for a quarter million American deaths every year.
In addition, it specializes in disease care. Compared to the beginning of the twentieth century, the average modern American life span is much longer than it is today, but people are getting sick much earlier. This fact illustrates an important function of Unsafe Medicine, which is to help people feel better but stay sick for decades, thereby earning huge profits for pharmaceutical companies and their “dealers,” surgeons, hospitals, and medical equipment suppliers.
Doctors and staff who practice Unsafe Medicine are trained to fill you full of doom and gloom so you will become panicky and dependent. Typically they study only disease and know nothing about health, and are notoriously antagonistic toward most forms of Safe Medicine.
There are an increasing number of Medical Doctors who practice both Emergency Medicine and Unsafe Medicine, and as a result are internally conflicted and become disillusioned with medicine.
Safe Medicine
Safe Medicine includes anything that doesn’t cause more problems. Safe Medicine usually works with nature, gently encouraging the body/mind to heal itself. Most traditions and techniques that go by the names of alternative medicine and complementary medicine would be included in this category. When safe medical techniques are applied correctly, there should be either good results or no results. And they should be demonstrated to consistently perform beyond the placebo effect.
Diligent practitioners of Safe Medicine will establish a mutually respectful relationship with you and really listen to your needs. Their methods will generally take longer to work, but the effects will be lasting and not fraught with risks. A competent safe practitioner will also recognize that it’s actually the body/mind that heals itself. All we practitioners can do is assist that process. And so encouraging self-reliance is an essential part of the healing process.
Self-reliance includes the avoidance of doctors for small things. Fundamentally, you are your own best doctor. Good mental health (much neglected in our culture) means trusting that your body can heal a small thing like a stubbed toe or a cold virus invasion all on its own or with a little help from home remedies.
Avoiding Iatrogenic Complications
First, be ready to change everything in your life that is a likely cause of disease and injury. Get as healthy as you can and stay that way.
Second, learn the difference between true emergencies and non-emergencies.
Third, see if the non-emergency situation will respond to self-treatment and rest. If your own efforts do not resolve the situation, consult a practitioner of Safe Medicine. Following is a partial list of Safe Medicine techniques and disciplines commonly found in the US, in alphabetical order:
• Acupuncture
• Ayurvedic Medicine
• Biofeedback
• Chinese Medicine
• Chiropractic adjustment
• Dental hygiene
• Fitness training
• Folk medicine
• Herbology
• Homeopathy
• Hypnosis
• Life Coaching
• Meditation
• Mega-vitamin therapy
• Natural vision therapy
• Naturopathic Medicine
• Nutritional counseling
• Physical therapy
• Psychological counseling
• Qi gong
• Tai qi
• Therapeutic massage
• Yoga
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Preventing Heart Attacks
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
Heart attacks kill more Americans every year than any other cause. When a heart attack occurs, some heart muscle cells die from reduced or obstructed blood flow through the coronary arteries. The medical term for this is “myocardial infarction” (MI).
Many different situations can restrict the blood flow to the heart muscle and cause heart attacks, such as infectious diseases, starvation, a drug overdose, poison, and genetic abnormalities. The causes discussed here are those that are commonly encountered in the U.S. and that are mostly preventable. We will examine these factors from a Chinese medical perspective, which will give us clues about how to prevent heart attacks. Even those who carry heart disease anomalies in the genes can postpone problems for a very long time by making some important changes.
Yin excess
The heart is a pump that sends oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. When excess material – yin is material – accumulates in the bloodstream, the pump can fail. If the pump is unable to nourish itself, part of it can die.
Excessive yin can include enlarged fat cells, impacted fecal matter in the intestines, phlegm, watery discharge, fluid accumulation, and growths. Another kind of excessive yin accumulates in the inner lining of the blood vessels. In Western medicine, this excess yin is known as “atherosclerosis.” As this material builds up, it will wreak its own special kind of havoc.
When the passageways in the blood vessels become narrowed with cholesterol and other unwanted material, the back pressure on the heart will increase, causing hypertension. Eventually, the tiny arteries that feed the heart can become clogged with this debris, known as “plaque,” that has accumulated over a lifetime. Debris and clotted blood can also break off somewhere in the body and get lodged in the coronary arteries (embolism). When either event occurs, part of the heart can starve. A starved heart will stop working. An MI and possible death are the result.
Liver qi stagnation
Have you ever heard of someone who suffered a heart attack as the result of bad news or other psychological trauma? Chinese medicine explains this well with the concept of liver qi stagnation. Qi is that substance in the body (and the and everywhere else) that moves everything, including the organs, muscles, and blood. Your Chinese liver (not your Western liver) functions like the director of your movie. Liver (gan) keeps the work flowing smoothly and makes sure everyone on the set is happy and has everything they need. This includes the qi in the heart.
When the muscles that surround the heart suddenly clench, heart qi will stagnate and all work in the constricted heart could come to a halt. Blood will stagnate, part of the heart will starve and die, and the heart may stop altogether, causing an MI and death. A person who lives with chronic fear and anxiety likely suffers from liver qi stagnation. This means that an emergency fight-or-flight clenching of muscles constantly exists in the body, especially the rib cage, and often without the person being aware of it. Poor circulation of qi and blood in the chest area will make a person susceptible to this kind of heart attack.
Excess yin that blocks circulation will further contribute to stagnated liver qi and blood in the chest. Conversely, stagnated liver qi will interfere with the free circulation of yin fluids in the chest and elsewhere, increasing the incidence of plaque forming in the blood vessels.
Heart heat
Alone among all of the organs, the heart is the only one that is always working. Even when you hold your breath, your heart is still moving. This means that the heart picks up a lot of friction and thus generates heat continuously. Therefore the heart is susceptible to conditions of excess heat. A speedy heart rate – over 80 beats per minute – is one of many indications of excess heat. When we exercise, our bodies generate extra heat and so the heart rate increases. This kind of heat is normal and healthy.
However, when excessive heat enters the chest area, there exists a danger that it will cause an unhealthy and even dangerous condition that could even lead to a heart attack. This pathological heat most often enters the body as a result of the inhalation of hot gases, namely smoking. Too much smoking of any substance can speed up the heart rate so fast (“tachycardia”) that the heat can tip that tiny heart cell that governs rhythm (the sinoatrial node) into a frenzy. The result is called “ventricular fibrillation,” when the rhythm of the heartbeat is completely lost and any real pumping action ceases. With effective pumping stopped, heart cells begin to starve and die due to lack of oxygen.
Tachycardia can also be initiated by overwork compounded by the heat that results from stuck liver qi pounding against barriers in the tissues.
Prevention
Here are some steps we can all take to preserve or improve the health of the heart and avoid heart attacks for as long as possible.
• Get lean. Five to ten percent body fat for men and seven to twelve percent for women is optimally lean. Lean is clean. Excess yin originates from two sources: Food and drink. Excess liquid comes and goes easily, but excess calories from food stay around as enlarged fat cells, growths, impacted waste, and of course plaque in the blood vessels. The body is just as adept at cannibalizing plaque as body fat, tumors, and waste, if given the chance. This requires eating less calories than used until the desired leanness is reached. Herbal supplements such as Bojenmi Tea and black fungus that encourage the body to clean out plaque and cholesterol from the walls of the blood vessels can also be helpful.
• Minimize pollutants. Chemicals from food and smoke can accumulate in the blood, adding significantly to plaque buildup. Stop smoking or breathing other people’s smoke. Cook most of your own food, and buy mostly organic food.
• Get calm. Work hard to establish and maintain your piece of mind. Use calming techniques that work best for you that do not cause more problems, such as Asian philosophy, cognitive behavioral therapy, religion, meditation, yoga, taiqi, and regular exercise. Beware of using food, smoking, alcohol, and drugs/medications as a substitute for real change.
• Improve your posture. Hours spent hunched over a desk or computer screen will contract the chest muscles and decrease circulation in the heart area. Sitting and standing straight will open up the chest and help move liver/heart qi.
• Limit or quit smoking.
• Get plenty of sleep and rest. Do not overschedule or speed through your day so that you do not build up excess heat in the heart.
Heart attacks kill more Americans every year than any other cause. When a heart attack occurs, some heart muscle cells die from reduced or obstructed blood flow through the coronary arteries. The medical term for this is “myocardial infarction” (MI).
Many different situations can restrict the blood flow to the heart muscle and cause heart attacks, such as infectious diseases, starvation, a drug overdose, poison, and genetic abnormalities. The causes discussed here are those that are commonly encountered in the U.S. and that are mostly preventable. We will examine these factors from a Chinese medical perspective, which will give us clues about how to prevent heart attacks. Even those who carry heart disease anomalies in the genes can postpone problems for a very long time by making some important changes.
Yin excess
The heart is a pump that sends oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. When excess material – yin is material – accumulates in the bloodstream, the pump can fail. If the pump is unable to nourish itself, part of it can die.
Excessive yin can include enlarged fat cells, impacted fecal matter in the intestines, phlegm, watery discharge, fluid accumulation, and growths. Another kind of excessive yin accumulates in the inner lining of the blood vessels. In Western medicine, this excess yin is known as “atherosclerosis.” As this material builds up, it will wreak its own special kind of havoc.
When the passageways in the blood vessels become narrowed with cholesterol and other unwanted material, the back pressure on the heart will increase, causing hypertension. Eventually, the tiny arteries that feed the heart can become clogged with this debris, known as “plaque,” that has accumulated over a lifetime. Debris and clotted blood can also break off somewhere in the body and get lodged in the coronary arteries (embolism). When either event occurs, part of the heart can starve. A starved heart will stop working. An MI and possible death are the result.
Liver qi stagnation
Have you ever heard of someone who suffered a heart attack as the result of bad news or other psychological trauma? Chinese medicine explains this well with the concept of liver qi stagnation. Qi is that substance in the body (and the and everywhere else) that moves everything, including the organs, muscles, and blood. Your Chinese liver (not your Western liver) functions like the director of your movie. Liver (gan) keeps the work flowing smoothly and makes sure everyone on the set is happy and has everything they need. This includes the qi in the heart.
When the muscles that surround the heart suddenly clench, heart qi will stagnate and all work in the constricted heart could come to a halt. Blood will stagnate, part of the heart will starve and die, and the heart may stop altogether, causing an MI and death. A person who lives with chronic fear and anxiety likely suffers from liver qi stagnation. This means that an emergency fight-or-flight clenching of muscles constantly exists in the body, especially the rib cage, and often without the person being aware of it. Poor circulation of qi and blood in the chest area will make a person susceptible to this kind of heart attack.
Excess yin that blocks circulation will further contribute to stagnated liver qi and blood in the chest. Conversely, stagnated liver qi will interfere with the free circulation of yin fluids in the chest and elsewhere, increasing the incidence of plaque forming in the blood vessels.
Heart heat
Alone among all of the organs, the heart is the only one that is always working. Even when you hold your breath, your heart is still moving. This means that the heart picks up a lot of friction and thus generates heat continuously. Therefore the heart is susceptible to conditions of excess heat. A speedy heart rate – over 80 beats per minute – is one of many indications of excess heat. When we exercise, our bodies generate extra heat and so the heart rate increases. This kind of heat is normal and healthy.
However, when excessive heat enters the chest area, there exists a danger that it will cause an unhealthy and even dangerous condition that could even lead to a heart attack. This pathological heat most often enters the body as a result of the inhalation of hot gases, namely smoking. Too much smoking of any substance can speed up the heart rate so fast (“tachycardia”) that the heat can tip that tiny heart cell that governs rhythm (the sinoatrial node) into a frenzy. The result is called “ventricular fibrillation,” when the rhythm of the heartbeat is completely lost and any real pumping action ceases. With effective pumping stopped, heart cells begin to starve and die due to lack of oxygen.
Tachycardia can also be initiated by overwork compounded by the heat that results from stuck liver qi pounding against barriers in the tissues.
Prevention
Here are some steps we can all take to preserve or improve the health of the heart and avoid heart attacks for as long as possible.
• Get lean. Five to ten percent body fat for men and seven to twelve percent for women is optimally lean. Lean is clean. Excess yin originates from two sources: Food and drink. Excess liquid comes and goes easily, but excess calories from food stay around as enlarged fat cells, growths, impacted waste, and of course plaque in the blood vessels. The body is just as adept at cannibalizing plaque as body fat, tumors, and waste, if given the chance. This requires eating less calories than used until the desired leanness is reached. Herbal supplements such as Bojenmi Tea and black fungus that encourage the body to clean out plaque and cholesterol from the walls of the blood vessels can also be helpful.
• Minimize pollutants. Chemicals from food and smoke can accumulate in the blood, adding significantly to plaque buildup. Stop smoking or breathing other people’s smoke. Cook most of your own food, and buy mostly organic food.
• Get calm. Work hard to establish and maintain your piece of mind. Use calming techniques that work best for you that do not cause more problems, such as Asian philosophy, cognitive behavioral therapy, religion, meditation, yoga, taiqi, and regular exercise. Beware of using food, smoking, alcohol, and drugs/medications as a substitute for real change.
• Improve your posture. Hours spent hunched over a desk or computer screen will contract the chest muscles and decrease circulation in the heart area. Sitting and standing straight will open up the chest and help move liver/heart qi.
• Limit or quit smoking.
• Get plenty of sleep and rest. Do not overschedule or speed through your day so that you do not build up excess heat in the heart.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Preventing Alzheimer's Disease
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
www.drkihn.com
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes a gradual and as yet irreversible decline in memory, language skills, perception of time and space, and, eventually, the ability to care for oneself. First described by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1906, Alzheimer’s disease was initially thought to be a rare condition affecting only young people, and was referred to as pre-senile dementia. Today late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is recognized as the most common cause of the loss of mental function in those aged 65 and over. Alzheimer’s in people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, called early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, occurs much less frequently, accounting for less than 10 percent of the estimated 4 million Alzheimer’s cases in the United States.
Alzheimer's disease accounts for two-thirds of all dementia cases. The disease is two to three times more common in women, a situation not explained by the fact that women live longer on average than men.
Alzheimer’s disease is not well understood by Western science.
In the next decade or two, as researchers reverse-engineer the human brain, all will become clear. But here are some facts that we do know.
· There is a genetic propensity for the disease. Geneticists have learned that people who are carriers of specific genes are several times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s as they age.
· As the disease progresses, the brain shrinks in size. Computer graphics comparing the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and normal, healthy brains, the Alzheimer's brains are noticably smaller.
· The Alzheimer’s brain suffers from inflammation. Strong evidence supports this contention. For example, several studies report that post-menopausal women who have undergone estrogen replacement therapy to control heat flashes are far less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. It is thought that estrogen’s anti-inflammatory abilities prevent the formation of a dangerous protein that destroys brain neurons.
· The brain becomes clogged with “gunk”. The brains of patients with Alzheimer’s have distinctive formations—abnormally shaped proteins called tangles and plaques—that are recognized as the hallmark of the disease. Not all brain regions show these characteristic formations. The areas most prominently affected are those related to memory. Scientists have found that tangles and plaques cause neurons in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients to shrink and eventually die, first in the memory and language centers and finally throughout the brain. This widespread neuron degeneration leaves gaps in the brain’s messaging network that may interfere with communication between cells, causing some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
· The Alzheimer’s brain begins to malfunction like the body of a diabetes patient. Like body cells in diabetes, brain cells become resistant to nutrition and start to atrophy (shrink) and lose function.
Chinese medicine explains Alzheimer’s this way.
Any kind of dementia is seen as phlegm blocking the shen. Shen is the substance that determines behavior and resides in the heart/brain. The shen determines appropriate behavior first by collecting as much information as possible about the internal and external environment. When something blocks that information and prevents the shen from reading it accurately, behavior becomes inappropriate. A substance called phlegm will cause extreme blockage, which will lead to extremely inappropriate behavior – all of the symptomatic behavior of Alzheimer’s patients.
What are the causes of this theoretical phlegm? One cause is a damp spleen. This is a Chinese term indicating a digestive system clogged with calories, usually evidenced by excess body fat, no hunger, digestive difficulties with specific foods, and diabetes 2. Excess damp transforms into all kinds of phlegm, including the phlegm that blocks the shen. An interesting side note is that both obesity and Alzheimer’s show evidence of brain shrinkage.
Another cause is qi stagnation. Qi moves everything in the body, including fluids. When the qi gets stuck, the fluids don’t move well, and sometimes the fluids can turn to phlegm, which can block the shen. What most often stagnates the body’s qi is mental stagnation, when people are obsessing about the future or the past, which of course do not exist. This chronic worry and anxiety will tighten muscles and thus decrease overall circulation.
A third cause of phlegm is excessive heat. Heat, also known as inflammation, will dry out the fluids, especially in the upper body where heat rises to. Dry fluids do not flow well, and can transform into phlegm, especially the sticky blocking variety.
Preventative steps
First, let us recognize that most of the time, Alzheimer’s is a disease of aging with a genetic proclivity. Logic suggests that slowing the aging process – the proof of which lies in the preservation of the chromosomal telomeres – can keep those Alzheimer’s genes dormant for a very long time. So far, the only three factors known to speed up the aging process – the three things we want to avoid - are:
1. Chronic anxiety.
2. Excess body fat.
3. Not exercising on a daily basis.
Next, let us recognize that there are no “oral” preventative measures – no foods or drugs or supplements – that will forestall the development of Alzheimer’s.
From a Chinese medical point of view, we want to prevent excess heat, qi stagnation, and excess damp. This means in a practical sense that we need to stop behaving like typical Americans, to stop hurrying, worrying, and overeating. A life of hurrying will cause too much friction, which causes heat and inflammation. Too much speed, too much activity, and not enough sleep and rest will lead to all kinds of inflammatory health problems. Worrying is a habit that can be dropped completely, regardless of external circumstances. There are many means to help you stop worrying, such as Asian philosophy, religion, exercise, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Overeating directly causes excess damp. Under-eating clears out damp and restores health to the digestive system. There are many methods for backing off of food and getting lean and clean.
Then there is a common sense perspective, which mainstream science might consider “touchy-feely pseudo-science”, since it isn’t backed by studies just yet.
All living organisms must conform to an immutable maxim: Grow or die. All life is either growing or dying. A flower is either blooming or dying. A growing brain is one which is growing in size and abilities. A dying brain is shrinking in size and abilities. If an arm is unused for a long time, it will gradually become atrophied and paralyzed. If a brain is underused – not pushed to its limits on a regular basis – it will shrink and die.
What are the brain functions that are lost in an Alzheimer’s brain? They are:
· Worsening memory problems – mental deficiencies.
· Trouble with spatial direction and timing – physical deficiencies.
· Language difficulties – social deficiencies.
We must all our lives keep developing in all three areas - mental, physical, and social. I know of several older people with Alzheimer’s who seemed to be pushing the limits in one of three areas, or two areas, but none who were growing in all three dimensions when their dementia symptoms started.
In which mental/cognitive areas are you expanding? Do you read? People who read a lot are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Do you watch films that make you think? Do you play thinking games? Are you currently studying some area of history, science, or other intellectual subject? Are you learning a new art form? Are you learning to play a musical instrument? Are you studying a foreign language?
What physical abilities are you improving? Are you engaged in progressive fitness training? Strength, endurance, and flexibility can be increased at any age. Are you learning a new sport? Are you increasing your skills in a particular athletic activity? If you have injuries or other physical limitations, are you working around them anyway?
How are you improving your social skills? What social groups do you belong to? Are you making new friends? Are you keeping old friends? Are you communicating successfully with yourself? With those who are close to you? Have you used talk therapy or other means to increase your communication abilities? Are you generally transparent, easy-going, and forgiving with other people?
From my knowledge and experience, people who are constantly growing in all three dimensions remain mentally sharp past 100 years of age. Let all of us aim for that target.
www.drkihn.com
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes a gradual and as yet irreversible decline in memory, language skills, perception of time and space, and, eventually, the ability to care for oneself. First described by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1906, Alzheimer’s disease was initially thought to be a rare condition affecting only young people, and was referred to as pre-senile dementia. Today late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is recognized as the most common cause of the loss of mental function in those aged 65 and over. Alzheimer’s in people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, called early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, occurs much less frequently, accounting for less than 10 percent of the estimated 4 million Alzheimer’s cases in the United States.
Alzheimer's disease accounts for two-thirds of all dementia cases. The disease is two to three times more common in women, a situation not explained by the fact that women live longer on average than men.
Alzheimer’s disease is not well understood by Western science.
In the next decade or two, as researchers reverse-engineer the human brain, all will become clear. But here are some facts that we do know.
· There is a genetic propensity for the disease. Geneticists have learned that people who are carriers of specific genes are several times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s as they age.
· As the disease progresses, the brain shrinks in size. Computer graphics comparing the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and normal, healthy brains, the Alzheimer's brains are noticably smaller.
· The Alzheimer’s brain suffers from inflammation. Strong evidence supports this contention. For example, several studies report that post-menopausal women who have undergone estrogen replacement therapy to control heat flashes are far less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. It is thought that estrogen’s anti-inflammatory abilities prevent the formation of a dangerous protein that destroys brain neurons.
· The brain becomes clogged with “gunk”. The brains of patients with Alzheimer’s have distinctive formations—abnormally shaped proteins called tangles and plaques—that are recognized as the hallmark of the disease. Not all brain regions show these characteristic formations. The areas most prominently affected are those related to memory. Scientists have found that tangles and plaques cause neurons in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients to shrink and eventually die, first in the memory and language centers and finally throughout the brain. This widespread neuron degeneration leaves gaps in the brain’s messaging network that may interfere with communication between cells, causing some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
· The Alzheimer’s brain begins to malfunction like the body of a diabetes patient. Like body cells in diabetes, brain cells become resistant to nutrition and start to atrophy (shrink) and lose function.
Chinese medicine explains Alzheimer’s this way.
Any kind of dementia is seen as phlegm blocking the shen. Shen is the substance that determines behavior and resides in the heart/brain. The shen determines appropriate behavior first by collecting as much information as possible about the internal and external environment. When something blocks that information and prevents the shen from reading it accurately, behavior becomes inappropriate. A substance called phlegm will cause extreme blockage, which will lead to extremely inappropriate behavior – all of the symptomatic behavior of Alzheimer’s patients.
What are the causes of this theoretical phlegm? One cause is a damp spleen. This is a Chinese term indicating a digestive system clogged with calories, usually evidenced by excess body fat, no hunger, digestive difficulties with specific foods, and diabetes 2. Excess damp transforms into all kinds of phlegm, including the phlegm that blocks the shen. An interesting side note is that both obesity and Alzheimer’s show evidence of brain shrinkage.
Another cause is qi stagnation. Qi moves everything in the body, including fluids. When the qi gets stuck, the fluids don’t move well, and sometimes the fluids can turn to phlegm, which can block the shen. What most often stagnates the body’s qi is mental stagnation, when people are obsessing about the future or the past, which of course do not exist. This chronic worry and anxiety will tighten muscles and thus decrease overall circulation.
A third cause of phlegm is excessive heat. Heat, also known as inflammation, will dry out the fluids, especially in the upper body where heat rises to. Dry fluids do not flow well, and can transform into phlegm, especially the sticky blocking variety.
Preventative steps
First, let us recognize that most of the time, Alzheimer’s is a disease of aging with a genetic proclivity. Logic suggests that slowing the aging process – the proof of which lies in the preservation of the chromosomal telomeres – can keep those Alzheimer’s genes dormant for a very long time. So far, the only three factors known to speed up the aging process – the three things we want to avoid - are:
1. Chronic anxiety.
2. Excess body fat.
3. Not exercising on a daily basis.
Next, let us recognize that there are no “oral” preventative measures – no foods or drugs or supplements – that will forestall the development of Alzheimer’s.
From a Chinese medical point of view, we want to prevent excess heat, qi stagnation, and excess damp. This means in a practical sense that we need to stop behaving like typical Americans, to stop hurrying, worrying, and overeating. A life of hurrying will cause too much friction, which causes heat and inflammation. Too much speed, too much activity, and not enough sleep and rest will lead to all kinds of inflammatory health problems. Worrying is a habit that can be dropped completely, regardless of external circumstances. There are many means to help you stop worrying, such as Asian philosophy, religion, exercise, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Overeating directly causes excess damp. Under-eating clears out damp and restores health to the digestive system. There are many methods for backing off of food and getting lean and clean.
Then there is a common sense perspective, which mainstream science might consider “touchy-feely pseudo-science”, since it isn’t backed by studies just yet.
All living organisms must conform to an immutable maxim: Grow or die. All life is either growing or dying. A flower is either blooming or dying. A growing brain is one which is growing in size and abilities. A dying brain is shrinking in size and abilities. If an arm is unused for a long time, it will gradually become atrophied and paralyzed. If a brain is underused – not pushed to its limits on a regular basis – it will shrink and die.
What are the brain functions that are lost in an Alzheimer’s brain? They are:
· Worsening memory problems – mental deficiencies.
· Trouble with spatial direction and timing – physical deficiencies.
· Language difficulties – social deficiencies.
We must all our lives keep developing in all three areas - mental, physical, and social. I know of several older people with Alzheimer’s who seemed to be pushing the limits in one of three areas, or two areas, but none who were growing in all three dimensions when their dementia symptoms started.
In which mental/cognitive areas are you expanding? Do you read? People who read a lot are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Do you watch films that make you think? Do you play thinking games? Are you currently studying some area of history, science, or other intellectual subject? Are you learning a new art form? Are you learning to play a musical instrument? Are you studying a foreign language?
What physical abilities are you improving? Are you engaged in progressive fitness training? Strength, endurance, and flexibility can be increased at any age. Are you learning a new sport? Are you increasing your skills in a particular athletic activity? If you have injuries or other physical limitations, are you working around them anyway?
How are you improving your social skills? What social groups do you belong to? Are you making new friends? Are you keeping old friends? Are you communicating successfully with yourself? With those who are close to you? Have you used talk therapy or other means to increase your communication abilities? Are you generally transparent, easy-going, and forgiving with other people?
From my knowledge and experience, people who are constantly growing in all three dimensions remain mentally sharp past 100 years of age. Let all of us aim for that target.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Preventing Obesity
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index number of 30 or higher. Body Mass Index is a method of measuring a person’s fat to lean ratio using a mathematical formula that considers one’s height and weight. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 18 to 24.9 is considered normal. BMI is not the most accurate way to measure the fat to lean ratio, but it is the most convenient.
In our modern world, obesity is a dangerous condition. This eating disorder has been conclusively linked to the most deadly diseases – heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes 2, hypertension, and arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States one-third of the population is obese, up from 13 percent in 1960. From 1980 to 2000 obesity among American adults doubled, and the number of obese children and teenagers nearly tripled. Obesity has indeed reached epidemic proportions. If you are overweight, your best chance of preventing obesity lies in body fat reduction. But before we get to that, we need to understand obesity in greater detail.
The biological purpose of obesity and excess weight
For 100,000 years or more, obesity was a seasonal stratagem useful for surviving long cold winters and famines. In the late summer and fall, our Stone Age ancestors who knew they would be facing a difficult winter would eat as much as possible and get as fat as possible. Stored fat is essentially highly-concentrated energy, very necessary for sustaining life during those dark cold months when there was very little if any food to be foraged or hunted. Body fat is also a terrific insulator against the cold, as any obese person will tell you. In addition, large amounts of body fat are always accompanied by an equal proportion of stored fecal matter in the colon. This fecal matter contains ample amounts of vitamin K, which is useful for stopping bleeding. Losing blood is dangerous in wintertime. The sudden loss of blood heat can be fatal.
There was another very important purpose to carrying enlarged fat cells in the winter, one that is critical for our understanding of how to prevent obesity. Enlarged fat cells have a calming effect on the mind and body. First, just carrying an extra fifty or a hundred pounds of body weight will depress the thyroid, slow down metabolism, create fatigue, and make you want to sleep a lot. This is a good thing when your task is to hibernate through the winter, but not a good thing today when you have to work for a living and lead a busy life like everyone else.
Stored fat also calms the mind. Enlarged fat cells secrete hefty amounts of estriol, a form of estrogen. Estrogen has been demonstrated to increase the concentration of mood-calming neurotransmitters such as serotonin (of Prozac fame), dopamine, and norepinephrine. It affects their release, reuptake, and enzymatic inactivation. It also increases the number of receptors for these neurotransmitters. Estrogen also works to increase blood flow to the brain as well as decreases inflammation that is thought to contribute to hyperactive brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s During hibernation, excessive activity such as thinking and feeling will drain energy sources of the individual and the group. Imagine being shut up in a cave for six months with 20 relatives. You would not want to be too lively. Instead you and your group would stand a better chance of survival if your thoughts, senses, and emotions were dulled and sluggish.
This last fact illustrates the critical importance of improving mental health while reducing body fat. Good mental health revolves around the ability to establish and maintain mental calmness – peace of mind – regardless of external, stressful factors, and without the use of any substances, including fat cells, hormone-replacement therapy, food, drugs, or supplements.
Increasing mental calmness
Many roads lead to Rome. Here are some tried and true suggestions for improving mental health while reducing body fat. But it is important to realize that changing your external circumstances – finding the right job, the right companion, the right dwelling – is not part of the solution.
• Self-trust. Trust your emotions and your physical feelings to lead you to what you need. Self-trust is the basis for self-esteem, which is the basis for self-confidence, which is the basis for the kind of mental calmness that all animals share. Advice from the so-called experts will jerk you this way and that, keeping you off-balance, but the advice from your own self will never betray you.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy. A talk therapist does not have all the answers. Their job is simply to help you find the answers that already exist inside you.
• Calming exercises. Slow physical movements accompanied by deep rhythmic breathing calm the mind. Find a convenient class in yoga, taiqi, qigong, or something similar and put together your own routine that you can practice daily.
• Philosophy/religion. Understanding the big picture is a critical element in calming the mind. Personally, I recommend studying the philosophies of Taoism or Zen Buddhism, coming from an Oriental tradition as I do.
• Intense physical exercise. Numerous studies clearly indicate that those who engage in daily strenuous exercise have increased mental calmness as well as enhanced cognitive abilities.
Preventing obesity for most Americans – one-third of whom are officially classified as “overweight” - means understanding how to not increase body fat and how to decrease body fat. There exist many myths surrounding fat gain and fat loss. Let us briefly examine them before we move on to what really works.
The main misbeliefs about gaining body fat
1. Some foods will make you fat. There are no foods known to science that will cause fat cells to increase in volume. The term “fattening foods” was invented in the United States for the purposes of selling certain foods and marketing nutritionist books.
2. Foods that contain high percentages of carbohydrates or fats will make you fat. Neither the fat nor the carbohydrate content of any food will enlarge your fat cells. This is scientifically impossible. This belief originates in the fact that fatty and sweet (carbohydrate) tasting foods are easier to overeat, thus leading to weight gain.
The six worst ways of losing body fat.
1. Spot reducing. The muscle does not own the fat above it. There is no functional connection between the two. Body fat is simply energy storage for the entire system. It is distributed evenly up to a point so that you can carry reserve energy and still move well. You cannot perform a thousand sit-ups and expect to lose belly fat. You cannot perform a hundred triceps extensions on the pulley machine and expect to lose fat at the back of the arms. The burning you feel from these exercises is not fat being metabolized, but rather excess lactic acid and other debris from muscular contractions not being evacuated fast enough into the lymph system.
2. Aerobic exercising. It can take an hour to burn 700 calories of fat while exercising on a treadmill or other aerobic device, and 10 minutes afterward to eat 1,000 calories of ice cream as a “reward.” A 2010 study confirmed that aerobic exercise is rarely useful for losing fat for this very reason, but is useful for keeping the fat off.
3. Taking supplements. There are many supplements on the market that will decrease body fat by increasing metabolism. Most have unpleasant side effects and none represent the complete solution.
4. Eating the “right” foods. There are no foods known to science that decrease the size of fat cells. There are no known vitamins or minerals or food components that are proven to help you lose body fat. Information to the contrary is simply advertising hype.
5. Eating many small meals every day. The stated reasons for this very popular advice are that the constant processing of food in the digestive system raises metabolism, thus burning lots of calories, and that preventing hunger will prevent overeating. While raising metabolism will burn stored calories, there are other non-caloric ways of raising metabolism, such as movement/exercise, drinking hot drinks, and the consumption of black, green, or white tea.* Preventing hunger is unnatural and means that the intestines are constantly full of food and never get a chance to get clean. This will lead to physical problems down the road. The constant eating of food is unknowingly used to calm the anxious mind, instead of using the healthy and natural calming methods detailed above. The last reason that this method is a bad idea is that the endless preoccupation with food contributes to the eating neuroses so prevalent in American life, filling us with feelings of guilt and deprivation and distracting us from listening to our true eating experts, out own bodies.
6. Calorie counting. This method rightly proceeds from the scientific fact that consuming less calories (a measure of food energy) than used will decrease the size of fat cells. However, it substitutes thinking for feeling, thus undercutting self-reliance and self-esteem. Too often this method ignores the improvement of mental health, thus leading to a rapid regaining of body fat in 90% of cases. Modern corporate weight-loss systems such as Nutri-System, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig are based on calorie counting, and are increasingly recognizing the need for psychological counseling as a means for achieving and especially maintaining leanness.
The best method for preventing obesity
The best method for preventing unwanted weight gain combines calorie restriction plus resistance training plus instinct awareness.
There’s water weight, and there’s weight from unwanted matter - enlarged fat cells, blood cholesterol, and old (more than one day) fecal matter. Water weight comes and goes like the wind. There are all kinds of reasons for weight loss and weight gain due to water. Water weight can fluctuate day by day by five pounds or more. However, there is only one way to get rid of unwanted matter/energy, and that is to consume less than you use. The energy consumed by us and stored in our bodies is measured in calories. All systems that successfully reduce body fat are based on restricting calories. If you burn 2,000 calories in one 24-hour period and you eat and drink 1,999 calories in the same time period, you will lose weight that is not just water weight. What you eat and drink does not matter at all.
Calorie restriction must be combined with resistance training. If a person uses 2,000 calories per day and eats and drinks 1,500 calories per day, the body will look around for 500 calories that are not being used. In a deep hibernating winter when our ancestors moved as little as possible, their bodies would change mostly muscle, bone, and organ tissue into ready energy, figuring that lean tissue is not needed for sleeping and energy conservation, but fat is needed for warmth and sedation. This does not serve our purposes, however.
In the spring, as our ancestors began lifting more things and walking more, their bodies started building more bone, muscle, and organ strength while shedding winter weight, i.e. fat, cholesterol, and fecal matter. When you lift weights – heavy weights – your percentage of body fat loss goes way up while lean tissue loss is minimized, even coincident with calorie restriction, as long as small quantities of protein foods and micronutrients are consumed.
The last part of this successful formula is instinct awareness and self-trust. Just like all other animals on earth, the human body knows exactly when to eat, how much to eat, and what to eat. This eating expert is always with us, and is always right. The problem is that the blind worship of technology and “experts,” promoted through massive and relentless commercial advertising, has caused a situation in which this infallible instinctive advice is completely ignored, drowned out, and shouted down!
There are no monkeys that are too fat to climb fruit trees. There are no lions that are too fat to catch zebras. And there are no sparrows that are too fat to fly. There are also no epidemics of dehydration among any of these species, in spite of the fact that there are no “experts” around to tell them how much water to drink. Imagine that!
Those who are most successful at maintaining a lean body, cultivating peace of mind, and eating anything they fancy eating, are those who have dumped overboard most of the “scientific” judgments and opinions about food and eating, and who mainly trust their own bodies on the subject.
For some helpful suggestions on sharpening your eating instincts, go to Hunger Awareness Training. For an in-depth look at getting lean, go to Longevity Principle #2 – Get Lean.
*White tea is the main ingredient in Bo Jen Mi Tea.
Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index number of 30 or higher. Body Mass Index is a method of measuring a person’s fat to lean ratio using a mathematical formula that considers one’s height and weight. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 18 to 24.9 is considered normal. BMI is not the most accurate way to measure the fat to lean ratio, but it is the most convenient.
In our modern world, obesity is a dangerous condition. This eating disorder has been conclusively linked to the most deadly diseases – heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes 2, hypertension, and arthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States one-third of the population is obese, up from 13 percent in 1960. From 1980 to 2000 obesity among American adults doubled, and the number of obese children and teenagers nearly tripled. Obesity has indeed reached epidemic proportions. If you are overweight, your best chance of preventing obesity lies in body fat reduction. But before we get to that, we need to understand obesity in greater detail.
The biological purpose of obesity and excess weight
For 100,000 years or more, obesity was a seasonal stratagem useful for surviving long cold winters and famines. In the late summer and fall, our Stone Age ancestors who knew they would be facing a difficult winter would eat as much as possible and get as fat as possible. Stored fat is essentially highly-concentrated energy, very necessary for sustaining life during those dark cold months when there was very little if any food to be foraged or hunted. Body fat is also a terrific insulator against the cold, as any obese person will tell you. In addition, large amounts of body fat are always accompanied by an equal proportion of stored fecal matter in the colon. This fecal matter contains ample amounts of vitamin K, which is useful for stopping bleeding. Losing blood is dangerous in wintertime. The sudden loss of blood heat can be fatal.
There was another very important purpose to carrying enlarged fat cells in the winter, one that is critical for our understanding of how to prevent obesity. Enlarged fat cells have a calming effect on the mind and body. First, just carrying an extra fifty or a hundred pounds of body weight will depress the thyroid, slow down metabolism, create fatigue, and make you want to sleep a lot. This is a good thing when your task is to hibernate through the winter, but not a good thing today when you have to work for a living and lead a busy life like everyone else.
Stored fat also calms the mind. Enlarged fat cells secrete hefty amounts of estriol, a form of estrogen. Estrogen has been demonstrated to increase the concentration of mood-calming neurotransmitters such as serotonin (of Prozac fame), dopamine, and norepinephrine. It affects their release, reuptake, and enzymatic inactivation. It also increases the number of receptors for these neurotransmitters. Estrogen also works to increase blood flow to the brain as well as decreases inflammation that is thought to contribute to hyperactive brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s During hibernation, excessive activity such as thinking and feeling will drain energy sources of the individual and the group. Imagine being shut up in a cave for six months with 20 relatives. You would not want to be too lively. Instead you and your group would stand a better chance of survival if your thoughts, senses, and emotions were dulled and sluggish.
This last fact illustrates the critical importance of improving mental health while reducing body fat. Good mental health revolves around the ability to establish and maintain mental calmness – peace of mind – regardless of external, stressful factors, and without the use of any substances, including fat cells, hormone-replacement therapy, food, drugs, or supplements.
Increasing mental calmness
Many roads lead to Rome. Here are some tried and true suggestions for improving mental health while reducing body fat. But it is important to realize that changing your external circumstances – finding the right job, the right companion, the right dwelling – is not part of the solution.
• Self-trust. Trust your emotions and your physical feelings to lead you to what you need. Self-trust is the basis for self-esteem, which is the basis for self-confidence, which is the basis for the kind of mental calmness that all animals share. Advice from the so-called experts will jerk you this way and that, keeping you off-balance, but the advice from your own self will never betray you.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy. A talk therapist does not have all the answers. Their job is simply to help you find the answers that already exist inside you.
• Calming exercises. Slow physical movements accompanied by deep rhythmic breathing calm the mind. Find a convenient class in yoga, taiqi, qigong, or something similar and put together your own routine that you can practice daily.
• Philosophy/religion. Understanding the big picture is a critical element in calming the mind. Personally, I recommend studying the philosophies of Taoism or Zen Buddhism, coming from an Oriental tradition as I do.
• Intense physical exercise. Numerous studies clearly indicate that those who engage in daily strenuous exercise have increased mental calmness as well as enhanced cognitive abilities.
Preventing obesity for most Americans – one-third of whom are officially classified as “overweight” - means understanding how to not increase body fat and how to decrease body fat. There exist many myths surrounding fat gain and fat loss. Let us briefly examine them before we move on to what really works.
The main misbeliefs about gaining body fat
1. Some foods will make you fat. There are no foods known to science that will cause fat cells to increase in volume. The term “fattening foods” was invented in the United States for the purposes of selling certain foods and marketing nutritionist books.
2. Foods that contain high percentages of carbohydrates or fats will make you fat. Neither the fat nor the carbohydrate content of any food will enlarge your fat cells. This is scientifically impossible. This belief originates in the fact that fatty and sweet (carbohydrate) tasting foods are easier to overeat, thus leading to weight gain.
The six worst ways of losing body fat.
1. Spot reducing. The muscle does not own the fat above it. There is no functional connection between the two. Body fat is simply energy storage for the entire system. It is distributed evenly up to a point so that you can carry reserve energy and still move well. You cannot perform a thousand sit-ups and expect to lose belly fat. You cannot perform a hundred triceps extensions on the pulley machine and expect to lose fat at the back of the arms. The burning you feel from these exercises is not fat being metabolized, but rather excess lactic acid and other debris from muscular contractions not being evacuated fast enough into the lymph system.
2. Aerobic exercising. It can take an hour to burn 700 calories of fat while exercising on a treadmill or other aerobic device, and 10 minutes afterward to eat 1,000 calories of ice cream as a “reward.” A 2010 study confirmed that aerobic exercise is rarely useful for losing fat for this very reason, but is useful for keeping the fat off.
3. Taking supplements. There are many supplements on the market that will decrease body fat by increasing metabolism. Most have unpleasant side effects and none represent the complete solution.
4. Eating the “right” foods. There are no foods known to science that decrease the size of fat cells. There are no known vitamins or minerals or food components that are proven to help you lose body fat. Information to the contrary is simply advertising hype.
5. Eating many small meals every day. The stated reasons for this very popular advice are that the constant processing of food in the digestive system raises metabolism, thus burning lots of calories, and that preventing hunger will prevent overeating. While raising metabolism will burn stored calories, there are other non-caloric ways of raising metabolism, such as movement/exercise, drinking hot drinks, and the consumption of black, green, or white tea.* Preventing hunger is unnatural and means that the intestines are constantly full of food and never get a chance to get clean. This will lead to physical problems down the road. The constant eating of food is unknowingly used to calm the anxious mind, instead of using the healthy and natural calming methods detailed above. The last reason that this method is a bad idea is that the endless preoccupation with food contributes to the eating neuroses so prevalent in American life, filling us with feelings of guilt and deprivation and distracting us from listening to our true eating experts, out own bodies.
6. Calorie counting. This method rightly proceeds from the scientific fact that consuming less calories (a measure of food energy) than used will decrease the size of fat cells. However, it substitutes thinking for feeling, thus undercutting self-reliance and self-esteem. Too often this method ignores the improvement of mental health, thus leading to a rapid regaining of body fat in 90% of cases. Modern corporate weight-loss systems such as Nutri-System, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig are based on calorie counting, and are increasingly recognizing the need for psychological counseling as a means for achieving and especially maintaining leanness.
The best method for preventing obesity
The best method for preventing unwanted weight gain combines calorie restriction plus resistance training plus instinct awareness.
There’s water weight, and there’s weight from unwanted matter - enlarged fat cells, blood cholesterol, and old (more than one day) fecal matter. Water weight comes and goes like the wind. There are all kinds of reasons for weight loss and weight gain due to water. Water weight can fluctuate day by day by five pounds or more. However, there is only one way to get rid of unwanted matter/energy, and that is to consume less than you use. The energy consumed by us and stored in our bodies is measured in calories. All systems that successfully reduce body fat are based on restricting calories. If you burn 2,000 calories in one 24-hour period and you eat and drink 1,999 calories in the same time period, you will lose weight that is not just water weight. What you eat and drink does not matter at all.
Calorie restriction must be combined with resistance training. If a person uses 2,000 calories per day and eats and drinks 1,500 calories per day, the body will look around for 500 calories that are not being used. In a deep hibernating winter when our ancestors moved as little as possible, their bodies would change mostly muscle, bone, and organ tissue into ready energy, figuring that lean tissue is not needed for sleeping and energy conservation, but fat is needed for warmth and sedation. This does not serve our purposes, however.
In the spring, as our ancestors began lifting more things and walking more, their bodies started building more bone, muscle, and organ strength while shedding winter weight, i.e. fat, cholesterol, and fecal matter. When you lift weights – heavy weights – your percentage of body fat loss goes way up while lean tissue loss is minimized, even coincident with calorie restriction, as long as small quantities of protein foods and micronutrients are consumed.
The last part of this successful formula is instinct awareness and self-trust. Just like all other animals on earth, the human body knows exactly when to eat, how much to eat, and what to eat. This eating expert is always with us, and is always right. The problem is that the blind worship of technology and “experts,” promoted through massive and relentless commercial advertising, has caused a situation in which this infallible instinctive advice is completely ignored, drowned out, and shouted down!
There are no monkeys that are too fat to climb fruit trees. There are no lions that are too fat to catch zebras. And there are no sparrows that are too fat to fly. There are also no epidemics of dehydration among any of these species, in spite of the fact that there are no “experts” around to tell them how much water to drink. Imagine that!
Those who are most successful at maintaining a lean body, cultivating peace of mind, and eating anything they fancy eating, are those who have dumped overboard most of the “scientific” judgments and opinions about food and eating, and who mainly trust their own bodies on the subject.
For some helpful suggestions on sharpening your eating instincts, go to Hunger Awareness Training. For an in-depth look at getting lean, go to Longevity Principle #2 – Get Lean.
*White tea is the main ingredient in Bo Jen Mi Tea.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Preventing Chronic Depression
Mental illness is on the rise. Researchers and mental health professionals report a steady and alarming increase in incidence and severity of many forms of mental illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, senile dementia, suicide, the belief in conspiracy theories, law-breaking, and substance abuse of food, alcohol, and drugs. This increasing mental disorder is a reflection of the political disorder that the global community of humans finds itself in today.
Everyone feels unhappiness from time to time. This is a normal part of life. It is only those periods of unhappiness that allow us to recognize and fully appreciate the state of happiness or contentment. Even severe episodes of misery can be healthy if the feelings of unhappiness are appropriate to the situation and are temporary. If someone close to you dies for example, feeling acute misery is quite appropriate and natural.
When misery doesn’t go away or keeps returning, becoming a chronic problem that constantly robs you of your peace of mind, then it becomes very difficult to treat successfully. Severe depression becomes a lifelong mental habit, often rooted in childhood. Habits learned in childhood or over the course of a lifetime are tough to reverse, though not impossible. Depression itself is paralyzing and demoralizing, making effective treatment even more difficult.
There are definite actions you can take to improve your mental health and prevent it from degenerating into depression and other forms of serious mental instability. These actions are divided into four categories. All four are of equal importance:
1. Understand the Big Picture.
2. Get daily exercise
3. Use acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
4. Get counseling.
Understand the Big Picture
When you clearly see and understand the Big Picture, you cannot be depressed. The Big Picture includes all the information that pertains to a particular situation. When you have all the relevant information, your behavior will be appropriate to that situation. Depressive thinking is never appropriate behavior and is always the result of limited information and a subsequent narrow perspective.
Here are some universal truths worth exploring that will help to develop or restore your peace of mind:
[ Good follows bad and bad follows good.
[ All pain is temporary.
[ All situations are temporary.
[ Pain has a purpose – to alert you to a problem.
[ Forgiveness mainly benefits the forgiver.
[ The past and future do not exist.
[ Worrying helps no one, hurts everyone.
[ The only thing in life that you are always in complete control of is your perspective.
[ “Stress” (external factors) in your life does not cause suffering; suffering is your choice.
[ Trust yourself and your abilities in order to reclaim your personal power.
Become physically active
Depression is paralyzing. The opposite of paralysis is movement. Activating physical qi (energy) will activate mental qi. Modern studies abound showing a link between regular daily exercise and improved mental health. I’ve never seen anyone recover from depression who did not participate in a regular exercise program.
If you need to hire a trainer or a coach to get started, do so. It is well worth the investment.
Use non-injurious modalities such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas to stop mild depression from becoming severe depression.
There are many mood-altering acupoints that, when needled or massaged, will stimulate the production of feel-good chemicals in the body such as endorphins and serotonin. Acupuncture therapy unblocks qi stagnation. Severe qi stagnation can and often does cause mental depression. Regular acupuncture sessions will prevent severe stagnation of qi without causing other problems.
Chinese herbal formulas can be very useful for unblocking stagnant qi and relieving depression. One famous and elegant formula called xiao yao wan (“Free and Easy Pills”) is so effective in this regard that it is the biggest selling herbal medicine in Chinatown. Eight pills three times per day will change the way you see the world!
Explore relationships and past traumas and develop new mental habits using cognitive behavioral therapy and the services of a trained counselor.
It is safe to say that everyone in the world can benefit from psychological counseling. Counseling will help you to see and understand the Big Picture. Counseling will help you adapt successfully to our dysfunctional society. Cognitive behavioral therapy saved my life once. I myself have had seven years of weekly sessions with four different counselors. I’m still a bit loopy, but not as loopy as I used to be. In fact, I never worry about anything anymore.
Modern counseling is based on cognitive behavioral techniques. Cognitive techniques will help you confront the demons from your past by understanding them, and behavioral techniques will help you substitute destructive mental habits with constructive ones.
Carmen Lynne
Carmen is a psychological counselor who works in a clinic very near Los Angeles International Airport. I met Carmen Lynne at a weekend swing dance camp on Catalina Island in 1998. We’ve been friends ever since. She is a very special person. I would describe her as multi-talented, mature, competent, and passionate.
Below is a recent interview I conducted with Carmen on herself and her practice.
Dr. K: How long have you been here in Los Angeles? Where from?
Carmen: I have been here since 1997. I moved here from London, UK.
Dr. K: What got you into your specialty? Where did you study?
Carmen: I studied at Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana for one year in 2006-7. A friend of mine had done the course and loved it, and another friend was an actress/hypnotherapist and recommended I try this profession. As soon as I started at HMI, I knew this was the vocation for me.
Dr. K: What style of healing do you practice?
Carmen: I am a clinical hypnotherapist, and I also do cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, guided imagery, dreams analysis, Neuro Linguistic Programming, acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness meditation.
Dr. K: What do you love most about your field? About your practice?
Carmen: What I love most is when a client says to me, “Thanks, you really helped!”, because it gives me such a thrill to know that I have helped someone resolve their issue. I especially love helping people to overcome their chronic pain, and in fact I work with a medical doctor in pain management and that is my area of expertise. When someone comes in with pain off the charts and leaves with no or little pain, I feel really fulfilled.
Dr. K: You look healthy. What do you do to stay so healthy?
Carmen: I take care of myself. I nurture myself physically, emotionally and spiritually. I get adequate rest, exercise and fun and eat a good diet – all the usual things.
Dr. K: What is your philosophy regarding health or life?
Carmen: I think a good attitude is most important. I was given this wonderful, well-functioning body and I’m grateful for that and it’s up to me to take care of it as best I can. We were all given this beautiful planet and it’s up to all of us to take care of the earth as best we can.
Dr. K: What are some of your personal and professional goals?
Carmen: I would like to be able to impact a large number of people with my philosophy, either through publishing a book that’s widely read or getting on TV or something like that. I feel that I have a lot of useful experience and advice to share and help I can give people, and I’d like to be able to give it and make a positive difference in the world.
Carmen can be reached at 310-801-9097 or carmenlynne@mac.com. Visit her website at www.newhealingjourneys.com.
Everyone feels unhappiness from time to time. This is a normal part of life. It is only those periods of unhappiness that allow us to recognize and fully appreciate the state of happiness or contentment. Even severe episodes of misery can be healthy if the feelings of unhappiness are appropriate to the situation and are temporary. If someone close to you dies for example, feeling acute misery is quite appropriate and natural.
When misery doesn’t go away or keeps returning, becoming a chronic problem that constantly robs you of your peace of mind, then it becomes very difficult to treat successfully. Severe depression becomes a lifelong mental habit, often rooted in childhood. Habits learned in childhood or over the course of a lifetime are tough to reverse, though not impossible. Depression itself is paralyzing and demoralizing, making effective treatment even more difficult.
There are definite actions you can take to improve your mental health and prevent it from degenerating into depression and other forms of serious mental instability. These actions are divided into four categories. All four are of equal importance:
1. Understand the Big Picture.
2. Get daily exercise
3. Use acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
4. Get counseling.
Understand the Big Picture
When you clearly see and understand the Big Picture, you cannot be depressed. The Big Picture includes all the information that pertains to a particular situation. When you have all the relevant information, your behavior will be appropriate to that situation. Depressive thinking is never appropriate behavior and is always the result of limited information and a subsequent narrow perspective.
Here are some universal truths worth exploring that will help to develop or restore your peace of mind:
[ Good follows bad and bad follows good.
[ All pain is temporary.
[ All situations are temporary.
[ Pain has a purpose – to alert you to a problem.
[ Forgiveness mainly benefits the forgiver.
[ The past and future do not exist.
[ Worrying helps no one, hurts everyone.
[ The only thing in life that you are always in complete control of is your perspective.
[ “Stress” (external factors) in your life does not cause suffering; suffering is your choice.
[ Trust yourself and your abilities in order to reclaim your personal power.
Become physically active
Depression is paralyzing. The opposite of paralysis is movement. Activating physical qi (energy) will activate mental qi. Modern studies abound showing a link between regular daily exercise and improved mental health. I’ve never seen anyone recover from depression who did not participate in a regular exercise program.
If you need to hire a trainer or a coach to get started, do so. It is well worth the investment.
Use non-injurious modalities such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas to stop mild depression from becoming severe depression.
There are many mood-altering acupoints that, when needled or massaged, will stimulate the production of feel-good chemicals in the body such as endorphins and serotonin. Acupuncture therapy unblocks qi stagnation. Severe qi stagnation can and often does cause mental depression. Regular acupuncture sessions will prevent severe stagnation of qi without causing other problems.
Chinese herbal formulas can be very useful for unblocking stagnant qi and relieving depression. One famous and elegant formula called xiao yao wan (“Free and Easy Pills”) is so effective in this regard that it is the biggest selling herbal medicine in Chinatown. Eight pills three times per day will change the way you see the world!
Explore relationships and past traumas and develop new mental habits using cognitive behavioral therapy and the services of a trained counselor.
It is safe to say that everyone in the world can benefit from psychological counseling. Counseling will help you to see and understand the Big Picture. Counseling will help you adapt successfully to our dysfunctional society. Cognitive behavioral therapy saved my life once. I myself have had seven years of weekly sessions with four different counselors. I’m still a bit loopy, but not as loopy as I used to be. In fact, I never worry about anything anymore.
Modern counseling is based on cognitive behavioral techniques. Cognitive techniques will help you confront the demons from your past by understanding them, and behavioral techniques will help you substitute destructive mental habits with constructive ones.
Carmen Lynne
Carmen is a psychological counselor who works in a clinic very near Los Angeles International Airport. I met Carmen Lynne at a weekend swing dance camp on Catalina Island in 1998. We’ve been friends ever since. She is a very special person. I would describe her as multi-talented, mature, competent, and passionate.
Below is a recent interview I conducted with Carmen on herself and her practice.
Dr. K: How long have you been here in Los Angeles? Where from?
Carmen: I have been here since 1997. I moved here from London, UK.
Dr. K: What got you into your specialty? Where did you study?
Carmen: I studied at Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana for one year in 2006-7. A friend of mine had done the course and loved it, and another friend was an actress/hypnotherapist and recommended I try this profession. As soon as I started at HMI, I knew this was the vocation for me.
Dr. K: What style of healing do you practice?
Carmen: I am a clinical hypnotherapist, and I also do cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, guided imagery, dreams analysis, Neuro Linguistic Programming, acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness meditation.
Dr. K: What do you love most about your field? About your practice?
Carmen: What I love most is when a client says to me, “Thanks, you really helped!”, because it gives me such a thrill to know that I have helped someone resolve their issue. I especially love helping people to overcome their chronic pain, and in fact I work with a medical doctor in pain management and that is my area of expertise. When someone comes in with pain off the charts and leaves with no or little pain, I feel really fulfilled.
Dr. K: You look healthy. What do you do to stay so healthy?
Carmen: I take care of myself. I nurture myself physically, emotionally and spiritually. I get adequate rest, exercise and fun and eat a good diet – all the usual things.
Dr. K: What is your philosophy regarding health or life?
Carmen: I think a good attitude is most important. I was given this wonderful, well-functioning body and I’m grateful for that and it’s up to me to take care of it as best I can. We were all given this beautiful planet and it’s up to all of us to take care of the earth as best we can.
Dr. K: What are some of your personal and professional goals?
Carmen: I would like to be able to impact a large number of people with my philosophy, either through publishing a book that’s widely read or getting on TV or something like that. I feel that I have a lot of useful experience and advice to share and help I can give people, and I’d like to be able to give it and make a positive difference in the world.
Carmen can be reached at 310-801-9097 or carmenlynne@mac.com. Visit her website at www.newhealingjourneys.com.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Preventing Strokes
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
Stoke is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., right after heart disease, cancer, and iatrogenic (doctor-caused) accidents. Many survive the first stroke, only to suffer eventually from a fatal one.
What is a stroke?
A stroke, also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a sudden decease in the blood supply to part of the brain (an ischemic attack), damaging the area so it cannot function normally. Symptoms vary according to the site of brain damage. They include difficulty with speech or movement, paralysis, loss of consciousness, decrease of sensory ability (vision, hearing, etc.), confusion, dizziness, headaches, and loss of bowel and bladder function.
Like most medical problems, there are probably “stroke genes” that can make you susceptible to having a stroke, and as is usually the case, these genes can be expressed early or late (past 100 years of age), depending on the choices you make. According to Western medical theory, the causes of a sudden ischemic event in the brain are: a narrow or closed artery to the brain (thrombosis); a small part of a diseased blood vessel that travels to the brain (embolism), causing blockage; or a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage).
Wei Syndrome
The name for stroke in Chinese Medicine is Wei Syndrome, also known as wind phlegm. Wind is the name for sudden, unpredictable, and uncontrolled movement. As this wind enters the brain, it disturbs the normal flow of fluids, causing phlegm to form. Phlegm is sticky and stubborn, and in combination with the wind, will block blood and qi (energy) flow to the brain and other parts of the body. This blockage of blood and qi is responsible for a chronic loss of sensory and motor functions.
One reason we call it phlegm is that some of the same herbs and acupoints that remove visible phlegm in the lungs will also successfully treat this invisible phlegm. But phlegm is very stubborn and hard to get rid of, and preventing its formation in the first place is far preferable to treating it after the fact.
Phlegm, damp, wind, and fire
Let’s begin by looking at the causes of phlegm and wind. Phlegm is normally the result of excessive heat that dries and concentrates body fluids. A contributing cause of phlegm would be excessive damp, since phlegm is more easily generated from excessive fluid.
Damp is the result of a weak digestion, and is practically synonymous with food stagnation. Signs of a weak digestion and damp include excess body fat, eating without hunger, food allergies and intolerances, high levels of blood cholesterol, and hardened arteries (atherosclerosis). The latter condition can lead to thrombosis.
The more serious cause is excess internal heat. Heat will rise, and severe heat (fire) will rise suddenly into the upper body and especially the head. This fire can burst a blood vessel in the head, causing a cerebral hemorrhage. Fire and wind can also rip off part of a diseased blood vessel (phlegm), sending it to the brain and causing an embolism. The sudden rising of fire will generate wind, and the heat will concentrate fluids into more phlegm.
Heat/fire and damp/phlegm are two of three causes of high blood pressure (hypertension). People with chronic hypertension are, without a doubt, prime candidates for strokes. I recommend that you take a look at a previous article of mine titled “Preventing Hypertension” on this same blog site.
The common forms of fire that lead to strokes are liver fire and heart fire. Liver fire is evidenced by bouts of extreme and inappropriate anger, while heart fire is generated by too much activity and not enough “down time.” As such, “rage-aholics” and “workaholics” are most likely to experience a cerebral hemorrhage in their lifetimes, especially if these heat patterns are allowed to continue past the age of 40.
Many years ago I treated a patient who suffered from eyestrain as an artist. He was in his late thirties. One day while working at his easel, his wife interrupted him with something and he flew into a rage. Suddenly, a tiny blood vessel in one eye burst, causing a rose pattern in his field of vision. I used acupuncture to successfully eliminate it, but I told him that this was a warning from his body to get a handle on his rage before wind fire might someday burst a vessel in his brain and cause a stroke. I hope he took my advice.
Severe heat carried in the body for years will gradually weaken the body’s own cooling mechanisms (kidney/liver yin). When yin can longer hold down the yang (heat), the result is rising fire. This is one reason why most stroke sufferers are older. It takes years to wear down the body’s yin. Another reason is that usually only after a long time will phlegm (plaque) accumulate on the insides of blood vessels sufficiently to cause severe constriction or decomposition.
Preventative measures
1. Get calm. Don’t accept excessive anger or excessive activity as normal. Let go of worry. Get counseling for yourself or your family. Practice meditative exercises regularly, like tai chi, qi gong, yoga, or meditation. Don’t use sedatives like alcohol (bottled damp heat), nicotine (blood vessel pollution) or food (damp/phlegm) in place of the hard work required to confront your demons.
2. Avoid heavy use of stimulants that are a major cause of pathogenic heat. Caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine and the like have all been known to set off fire and wind.
3. Get lean and stay lean, but remember that the leaner you get, the less yin you will have to hold down the yang, hence the necessity of getting calm by natural means.
4. Minimize internal pollution. Guard the health of your blood vessels by getting lean, quitting a daily smoking habit, reducing blood cholesterol levels, and limiting the quantity of salts and other chemicals in your food, air, and water.
5. Monitor your blood pressure. Keep it within normal limits by natural means, if possible.
Stoke is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., right after heart disease, cancer, and iatrogenic (doctor-caused) accidents. Many survive the first stroke, only to suffer eventually from a fatal one.
What is a stroke?
A stroke, also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a sudden decease in the blood supply to part of the brain (an ischemic attack), damaging the area so it cannot function normally. Symptoms vary according to the site of brain damage. They include difficulty with speech or movement, paralysis, loss of consciousness, decrease of sensory ability (vision, hearing, etc.), confusion, dizziness, headaches, and loss of bowel and bladder function.
Like most medical problems, there are probably “stroke genes” that can make you susceptible to having a stroke, and as is usually the case, these genes can be expressed early or late (past 100 years of age), depending on the choices you make. According to Western medical theory, the causes of a sudden ischemic event in the brain are: a narrow or closed artery to the brain (thrombosis); a small part of a diseased blood vessel that travels to the brain (embolism), causing blockage; or a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage).
Wei Syndrome
The name for stroke in Chinese Medicine is Wei Syndrome, also known as wind phlegm. Wind is the name for sudden, unpredictable, and uncontrolled movement. As this wind enters the brain, it disturbs the normal flow of fluids, causing phlegm to form. Phlegm is sticky and stubborn, and in combination with the wind, will block blood and qi (energy) flow to the brain and other parts of the body. This blockage of blood and qi is responsible for a chronic loss of sensory and motor functions.
One reason we call it phlegm is that some of the same herbs and acupoints that remove visible phlegm in the lungs will also successfully treat this invisible phlegm. But phlegm is very stubborn and hard to get rid of, and preventing its formation in the first place is far preferable to treating it after the fact.
Phlegm, damp, wind, and fire
Let’s begin by looking at the causes of phlegm and wind. Phlegm is normally the result of excessive heat that dries and concentrates body fluids. A contributing cause of phlegm would be excessive damp, since phlegm is more easily generated from excessive fluid.
Damp is the result of a weak digestion, and is practically synonymous with food stagnation. Signs of a weak digestion and damp include excess body fat, eating without hunger, food allergies and intolerances, high levels of blood cholesterol, and hardened arteries (atherosclerosis). The latter condition can lead to thrombosis.
The more serious cause is excess internal heat. Heat will rise, and severe heat (fire) will rise suddenly into the upper body and especially the head. This fire can burst a blood vessel in the head, causing a cerebral hemorrhage. Fire and wind can also rip off part of a diseased blood vessel (phlegm), sending it to the brain and causing an embolism. The sudden rising of fire will generate wind, and the heat will concentrate fluids into more phlegm.
Heat/fire and damp/phlegm are two of three causes of high blood pressure (hypertension). People with chronic hypertension are, without a doubt, prime candidates for strokes. I recommend that you take a look at a previous article of mine titled “Preventing Hypertension” on this same blog site.
The common forms of fire that lead to strokes are liver fire and heart fire. Liver fire is evidenced by bouts of extreme and inappropriate anger, while heart fire is generated by too much activity and not enough “down time.” As such, “rage-aholics” and “workaholics” are most likely to experience a cerebral hemorrhage in their lifetimes, especially if these heat patterns are allowed to continue past the age of 40.
Many years ago I treated a patient who suffered from eyestrain as an artist. He was in his late thirties. One day while working at his easel, his wife interrupted him with something and he flew into a rage. Suddenly, a tiny blood vessel in one eye burst, causing a rose pattern in his field of vision. I used acupuncture to successfully eliminate it, but I told him that this was a warning from his body to get a handle on his rage before wind fire might someday burst a vessel in his brain and cause a stroke. I hope he took my advice.
Severe heat carried in the body for years will gradually weaken the body’s own cooling mechanisms (kidney/liver yin). When yin can longer hold down the yang (heat), the result is rising fire. This is one reason why most stroke sufferers are older. It takes years to wear down the body’s yin. Another reason is that usually only after a long time will phlegm (plaque) accumulate on the insides of blood vessels sufficiently to cause severe constriction or decomposition.
Preventative measures
1. Get calm. Don’t accept excessive anger or excessive activity as normal. Let go of worry. Get counseling for yourself or your family. Practice meditative exercises regularly, like tai chi, qi gong, yoga, or meditation. Don’t use sedatives like alcohol (bottled damp heat), nicotine (blood vessel pollution) or food (damp/phlegm) in place of the hard work required to confront your demons.
2. Avoid heavy use of stimulants that are a major cause of pathogenic heat. Caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine and the like have all been known to set off fire and wind.
3. Get lean and stay lean, but remember that the leaner you get, the less yin you will have to hold down the yang, hence the necessity of getting calm by natural means.
4. Minimize internal pollution. Guard the health of your blood vessels by getting lean, quitting a daily smoking habit, reducing blood cholesterol levels, and limiting the quantity of salts and other chemicals in your food, air, and water.
5. Monitor your blood pressure. Keep it within normal limits by natural means, if possible.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Preventing Tension Headaches
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
According to Chinese Medicine, there are four types of headaches commonly found in the U.S. They are caused by qi stagnation, heart & liver heat rising, liver fire, and spleen damp. A tension headache, the most common kind of headache in North America, fits into the category of qi stagnation. All of these headaches can be prevented and banished for good. Here we will focus on preventing and banishing tension headaches.
When the head hurts, it’s a message from the body demanding that we stop using the head, both physically and mentally. A headache means we didn’t listen to all the little indications from the body warning us that a headache was on the way and advising us to rest the head.
Preventing headaches requires a basic understanding of the dynamics of your particular headache pattern, and then listening to your body and picking up on those early cues so that proactive steps can be taken and pain avoided.
Let us now take a brief look at the four types of headaches. While tension headaches do not necessarily cause other types of headaches, the condition of qi stagnation which caused the tension headache, if ignored, can lead to other kinds of headaches as well as many other serious medical problems.
Afterward, we will explore some preventative actions that can be taken for qi stagnation headaches.
Qi Stagnation: one-sided headaches with dull pain (tension headache)
Accompanying symptoms:
· tight neck & shoulder muscles
· poor posture and/or chronic anxiety
Other qi stagnation traits:
· obsessive thinking and worrying
· jerky uneven movement, including driving with sudden stops and starts
· irregular menstrual cycle
· pre-menstrual symptoms
· irregular bowel movements
· shallow breathing with sighing
· stammering or halting speech
· any kind of physical ailment (the variety is endless) that is brought on or worsened by anxiety
Heart & Liver Heat Rising: One-sided headaches with throbbing pain
Accompanying symptoms:
· tight neck & shoulders
· aversion to heat, preference for cool
· irritability and impatience
· restless sleep
Other heat rising traits:
· sleep-deprived (and proud of it)
· over-scheduled (and proud of it)
· drive fast, talk fast, walk fast, work fast, everything fast (and proud of it)
· sweating easily
· reddish coloring
· recurrent sinus, eye, or ear problems
· strokes
Liver Fire: Incapacitating headaches with a need to retreat to a dark, cool, and quiet place
Accompanying symptoms:
· sharp headache pain at the top of the head or inside the head
· chronic rage that is suppressed
Other liver fire traits:
· any of the heat and stagnation symptoms mentioned above
· sudden severe eye problems (stys and conjunctivitis, for example)
· sudden dizziness, deafness, nosebleed or similar head problems
· strokes and embolisms
Spleen Damp: Frontal headaches often involving sinuses
Accompanying symptoms:
· sinus drainage
· heavy stuffy feeling in the head (“brainfog”)
· little or no hunger (but possibly a strong appetite)
· excess body fat
Other spleen damp traits:
· fatigue, low thyroid function
· a feeling of heaviness and bloat
· food allergies and intolerances
· food obsession (“right foods,” “wrong foods,” and food “remedies” for every problem)
· nausea
· swellings and growths
Often, different types of headache will be combined, in which case, a number of preventative actions must be taken.
Preventing qi stagnation headaches
Whenever muscles are kept unnaturally tight for extended periods of time, circulation is decreased. The body’s first message is muscular fatigue. The second message is muscular tightness. If these communications are ignored, the next message is pain. When the fatigue and tightness is in the neck and shoulder region, the qi will typically get stuck at the base of the skull, creating pain along one side or both sides of the head, even extending into the temple region.
Poor posture
Muscles in the neck and shoulder region tighten up from two causes, which are often combined. The first is poor posture. Poor posture is an epidemic in the U.S. People were not designed by nature to sit in chairs all day or to stand for hours on end. We are not built for hunching over while writing, computing, driving, or standing in line. The muscles that hold up the spine are small muscles whose function is to adjust for balance. When they are called upon to hold up the heavy head and upper body for long periods of time, they become overworked, chronically tight, and very unhappy.
For a while you will need to be constantly aware of your posture. Sit straight, stand tall, and walk with measured steps. Incline your head a little if necessary, but do not incline your upper body. If you have trouble seeing your work, wear glasses (or correct your vision naturally – a subject for another time and one that relates directly to neck tightness).
When you first start changing your posture, you will probably be aware of people looking at you more than before. You will stand out in a crowd. You will have to get used to this. Not being able to hide is the psychological price you must pay for preventing tension headaches. As long as you are friendly, people will see you as charismatic, not arrogant.
At the first indication of neck fatigue or tightness, stop what you are doing. If your health is more important to you than anything you are currently working on, if you really hate headaches, then you will take short breaks. The basis for good health in all living creatures is self-trust.
Neck fatigue and tightness will require you to relax your neck and back muscles for a minute or two. Sit back in the chair, relax on a sofa, or lay down for two minutes. Close your eyes and breathe. When the neck and shoulders feel refreshed, you can return to the task at hand, with good posture. At first, you may need to take a break every fifteen minutes. Gradually, as postural habits improve, your rest breaks will occur less frequently, but the need for them will never go away as long as you are sitting or standing for long periods of time.
Driving is a major cause of tension headaches. I recommend that you incline the back of your seat far enough to rest your back and even neck on the seat back while keeping your hands firmly on the steering wheel. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Don’t drive fast. It will only tense you up and endanger your life. Play some relaxing music or listen to a book on audio and leave a little early instead.
Improper use of the keyboard and mouse can also cause tension headaches, as well as wrist and elbow problems. Make sure your seat is high enough so that your elbows are higher than your wrists. This will discourage the shoulder and neck muscles from rising ever so slightly while working the forearms and wrists, thus eliminating shoulder and neck strain.
Anxiety
The second cause of tension headaches is anxiety. I use the term anxiety to cover a multitude of synonyms such as stress, dread, worry, resentment, and so on.
The emotional basis of all forms of anxiety is fear. Whenever animals and people feel fear, the natural reaction is a tightening of muscles in preparation for fighting or fleeing. Animals will tense up only for the time it takes to successfully fight or flee. People, especially those of us who live in modern anxiety-plagued cities, often feel trapped in positions from which there seems to be no successful fighting or fleeing. And so we stay tense and tight for long periods of time.
This type of qi stagnation is called liver qi stagnation because it involves stagnant emotions and obsessive thinking. It’s the responsibility of the Chinese liver (gan) to maintain spontaneous and free-flowing emotions.
Any muscle in the body can develop a pattern of chronic tension in response to chronic anxiety. When this tightness involves internal organs, the result can very serious, even life-threatening. Asthma, heart disease, stomach problems, Crohn’s disease (small intestine), colitis, irritated bowel syndrome, pre-menstrual syndrome, fibromyalgia, difficult urination, urinary incontinence, sexual impotence, infertility – the list is endless – are all conditions that are partially or wholly caused by anxiety and muscular tightness.
This is the same list of complaints, by the way, that responds well to placebo treatments and faith healing of all sorts. Trust for the procedure or the healer causes a relaxation effect and a resultant lessening of pain and other symptoms.
A very common place for Americans to tense up is the neck and shoulder region. Often, the dominate side will tense up the worst.
Eliminating anxiety as a major factor in one’s life is a huge challenge and a 6,000 year old human quest. Before that time, our forager-hunter ancestors normally lived spontaneous lives in well-fed egalitarian clans. Now, as we approach the end of this turbulent age, anxiety is at record levels all over the world and increasing. Nevertheless, it’s important not to blame the world for our internal environment, since we cannot change the world just like that, but we can change our internal environment instantly.
In a certain sense, external stress does not cause stress headaches. Not taking responsibility for our mental and physical health is what causes stress headaches.
There are a gazillion ways of replacing anxiety with calmness. Cognitive/behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation, Taoist philosophy, hatha yoga, physical exercise, massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbal formulas such as xiao yao wan, frequent breaks, slowing down, and getting plenty of sleep are just some of the prescriptions I favor that have worked for me and my patients.
But the most important remedies are awareness and breathing. If you are tensing your neck and shoulders in response to anxiety, you must tune in to your body while it is happening, so that you can stop what you are doing, relax, and breathe. Ten slow deep breathes with body awareness will relax both muscles and mind.
Until you can find the confidence that will allow you to calm the fear and turn off the overthink machine, you will want to use breathing breaks to dispel physical and mental anxiety, perhaps many times per day.
Complications from tension headaches
Many people live their whole lives with tension headaches that do not develop into anything more serious than headaches. However, there is the potential for the development of some very serious problems indeed when a pattern of tension headaches is allowed to continue.
Tumors in the head, both benign and cancerous, are usually partially or wholly the result of chronic neck tension that is not addressed. Several years ago, I treated a patient with chronic tension headaches who had been blinded by a benign tumor that was pressing on the area of her brain that enables sight. That area for sight lies just to each side of the bump that sticks out on the back of your head, called the “external occipital protuberance.”
I’ve treated patients with tension headaches whose chronically tight neck muscles managed to shut off the nerve supply to one ear, causing deafness on that side. In these cases, a course of acupuncture/acupressure treatments can perform “miracles,” but it won’t resolve the underlying problems of fear or poor posture.
There are healers who train people to see naturally and reduce or eliminate their eyeglass prescriptions. They maintain that tension headaches and squinting cause the eyes to lose focus, prompting many to wear glasses who normally would have no vision problems.
The tension trapped in the neck and shoulder region can also cause “mysterious” injuries to the arms, hands, and fingers. Qi stagnation will pinch down on the nerve and blood channels leading from the spinal column to the upper extremities, causing weakness, pain, and numbness in fingers, hands, and arms.
While tension headaches may seem common and of minor importance, they deserve our respect and attention, and will generally remain predictable and preventable.
According to Chinese Medicine, there are four types of headaches commonly found in the U.S. They are caused by qi stagnation, heart & liver heat rising, liver fire, and spleen damp. A tension headache, the most common kind of headache in North America, fits into the category of qi stagnation. All of these headaches can be prevented and banished for good. Here we will focus on preventing and banishing tension headaches.
When the head hurts, it’s a message from the body demanding that we stop using the head, both physically and mentally. A headache means we didn’t listen to all the little indications from the body warning us that a headache was on the way and advising us to rest the head.
Preventing headaches requires a basic understanding of the dynamics of your particular headache pattern, and then listening to your body and picking up on those early cues so that proactive steps can be taken and pain avoided.
Let us now take a brief look at the four types of headaches. While tension headaches do not necessarily cause other types of headaches, the condition of qi stagnation which caused the tension headache, if ignored, can lead to other kinds of headaches as well as many other serious medical problems.
Afterward, we will explore some preventative actions that can be taken for qi stagnation headaches.
Qi Stagnation: one-sided headaches with dull pain (tension headache)
Accompanying symptoms:
· tight neck & shoulder muscles
· poor posture and/or chronic anxiety
Other qi stagnation traits:
· obsessive thinking and worrying
· jerky uneven movement, including driving with sudden stops and starts
· irregular menstrual cycle
· pre-menstrual symptoms
· irregular bowel movements
· shallow breathing with sighing
· stammering or halting speech
· any kind of physical ailment (the variety is endless) that is brought on or worsened by anxiety
Heart & Liver Heat Rising: One-sided headaches with throbbing pain
Accompanying symptoms:
· tight neck & shoulders
· aversion to heat, preference for cool
· irritability and impatience
· restless sleep
Other heat rising traits:
· sleep-deprived (and proud of it)
· over-scheduled (and proud of it)
· drive fast, talk fast, walk fast, work fast, everything fast (and proud of it)
· sweating easily
· reddish coloring
· recurrent sinus, eye, or ear problems
· strokes
Liver Fire: Incapacitating headaches with a need to retreat to a dark, cool, and quiet place
Accompanying symptoms:
· sharp headache pain at the top of the head or inside the head
· chronic rage that is suppressed
Other liver fire traits:
· any of the heat and stagnation symptoms mentioned above
· sudden severe eye problems (stys and conjunctivitis, for example)
· sudden dizziness, deafness, nosebleed or similar head problems
· strokes and embolisms
Spleen Damp: Frontal headaches often involving sinuses
Accompanying symptoms:
· sinus drainage
· heavy stuffy feeling in the head (“brainfog”)
· little or no hunger (but possibly a strong appetite)
· excess body fat
Other spleen damp traits:
· fatigue, low thyroid function
· a feeling of heaviness and bloat
· food allergies and intolerances
· food obsession (“right foods,” “wrong foods,” and food “remedies” for every problem)
· nausea
· swellings and growths
Often, different types of headache will be combined, in which case, a number of preventative actions must be taken.
Preventing qi stagnation headaches
Whenever muscles are kept unnaturally tight for extended periods of time, circulation is decreased. The body’s first message is muscular fatigue. The second message is muscular tightness. If these communications are ignored, the next message is pain. When the fatigue and tightness is in the neck and shoulder region, the qi will typically get stuck at the base of the skull, creating pain along one side or both sides of the head, even extending into the temple region.
Poor posture
Muscles in the neck and shoulder region tighten up from two causes, which are often combined. The first is poor posture. Poor posture is an epidemic in the U.S. People were not designed by nature to sit in chairs all day or to stand for hours on end. We are not built for hunching over while writing, computing, driving, or standing in line. The muscles that hold up the spine are small muscles whose function is to adjust for balance. When they are called upon to hold up the heavy head and upper body for long periods of time, they become overworked, chronically tight, and very unhappy.
For a while you will need to be constantly aware of your posture. Sit straight, stand tall, and walk with measured steps. Incline your head a little if necessary, but do not incline your upper body. If you have trouble seeing your work, wear glasses (or correct your vision naturally – a subject for another time and one that relates directly to neck tightness).
When you first start changing your posture, you will probably be aware of people looking at you more than before. You will stand out in a crowd. You will have to get used to this. Not being able to hide is the psychological price you must pay for preventing tension headaches. As long as you are friendly, people will see you as charismatic, not arrogant.
At the first indication of neck fatigue or tightness, stop what you are doing. If your health is more important to you than anything you are currently working on, if you really hate headaches, then you will take short breaks. The basis for good health in all living creatures is self-trust.
Neck fatigue and tightness will require you to relax your neck and back muscles for a minute or two. Sit back in the chair, relax on a sofa, or lay down for two minutes. Close your eyes and breathe. When the neck and shoulders feel refreshed, you can return to the task at hand, with good posture. At first, you may need to take a break every fifteen minutes. Gradually, as postural habits improve, your rest breaks will occur less frequently, but the need for them will never go away as long as you are sitting or standing for long periods of time.
Driving is a major cause of tension headaches. I recommend that you incline the back of your seat far enough to rest your back and even neck on the seat back while keeping your hands firmly on the steering wheel. Keep the shoulders relaxed. Don’t drive fast. It will only tense you up and endanger your life. Play some relaxing music or listen to a book on audio and leave a little early instead.
Improper use of the keyboard and mouse can also cause tension headaches, as well as wrist and elbow problems. Make sure your seat is high enough so that your elbows are higher than your wrists. This will discourage the shoulder and neck muscles from rising ever so slightly while working the forearms and wrists, thus eliminating shoulder and neck strain.
Anxiety
The second cause of tension headaches is anxiety. I use the term anxiety to cover a multitude of synonyms such as stress, dread, worry, resentment, and so on.
The emotional basis of all forms of anxiety is fear. Whenever animals and people feel fear, the natural reaction is a tightening of muscles in preparation for fighting or fleeing. Animals will tense up only for the time it takes to successfully fight or flee. People, especially those of us who live in modern anxiety-plagued cities, often feel trapped in positions from which there seems to be no successful fighting or fleeing. And so we stay tense and tight for long periods of time.
This type of qi stagnation is called liver qi stagnation because it involves stagnant emotions and obsessive thinking. It’s the responsibility of the Chinese liver (gan) to maintain spontaneous and free-flowing emotions.
Any muscle in the body can develop a pattern of chronic tension in response to chronic anxiety. When this tightness involves internal organs, the result can very serious, even life-threatening. Asthma, heart disease, stomach problems, Crohn’s disease (small intestine), colitis, irritated bowel syndrome, pre-menstrual syndrome, fibromyalgia, difficult urination, urinary incontinence, sexual impotence, infertility – the list is endless – are all conditions that are partially or wholly caused by anxiety and muscular tightness.
This is the same list of complaints, by the way, that responds well to placebo treatments and faith healing of all sorts. Trust for the procedure or the healer causes a relaxation effect and a resultant lessening of pain and other symptoms.
A very common place for Americans to tense up is the neck and shoulder region. Often, the dominate side will tense up the worst.
Eliminating anxiety as a major factor in one’s life is a huge challenge and a 6,000 year old human quest. Before that time, our forager-hunter ancestors normally lived spontaneous lives in well-fed egalitarian clans. Now, as we approach the end of this turbulent age, anxiety is at record levels all over the world and increasing. Nevertheless, it’s important not to blame the world for our internal environment, since we cannot change the world just like that, but we can change our internal environment instantly.
In a certain sense, external stress does not cause stress headaches. Not taking responsibility for our mental and physical health is what causes stress headaches.
There are a gazillion ways of replacing anxiety with calmness. Cognitive/behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation, Taoist philosophy, hatha yoga, physical exercise, massage, acupuncture, Chinese herbal formulas such as xiao yao wan, frequent breaks, slowing down, and getting plenty of sleep are just some of the prescriptions I favor that have worked for me and my patients.
But the most important remedies are awareness and breathing. If you are tensing your neck and shoulders in response to anxiety, you must tune in to your body while it is happening, so that you can stop what you are doing, relax, and breathe. Ten slow deep breathes with body awareness will relax both muscles and mind.
Until you can find the confidence that will allow you to calm the fear and turn off the overthink machine, you will want to use breathing breaks to dispel physical and mental anxiety, perhaps many times per day.
Complications from tension headaches
Many people live their whole lives with tension headaches that do not develop into anything more serious than headaches. However, there is the potential for the development of some very serious problems indeed when a pattern of tension headaches is allowed to continue.
Tumors in the head, both benign and cancerous, are usually partially or wholly the result of chronic neck tension that is not addressed. Several years ago, I treated a patient with chronic tension headaches who had been blinded by a benign tumor that was pressing on the area of her brain that enables sight. That area for sight lies just to each side of the bump that sticks out on the back of your head, called the “external occipital protuberance.”
I’ve treated patients with tension headaches whose chronically tight neck muscles managed to shut off the nerve supply to one ear, causing deafness on that side. In these cases, a course of acupuncture/acupressure treatments can perform “miracles,” but it won’t resolve the underlying problems of fear or poor posture.
There are healers who train people to see naturally and reduce or eliminate their eyeglass prescriptions. They maintain that tension headaches and squinting cause the eyes to lose focus, prompting many to wear glasses who normally would have no vision problems.
The tension trapped in the neck and shoulder region can also cause “mysterious” injuries to the arms, hands, and fingers. Qi stagnation will pinch down on the nerve and blood channels leading from the spinal column to the upper extremities, causing weakness, pain, and numbness in fingers, hands, and arms.
While tension headaches may seem common and of minor importance, they deserve our respect and attention, and will generally remain predictable and preventable.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Preventing Prostate Cancer
By E Douglas Kihn, OMD, LAc, CPT
The prostate gland is situated at the base of the urinary bladder and supplies most of the fluid and muscle tissue that helps in male ejaculation. Prostate fluid also helps to keep sperm healthy and lively.
Cancer of the prostate gland is very common among older American men. Approximately 80% of American men who are 80 and older have prostate cancer. The good news is that it doesn’t spread very easily and is probably the least dangerous form of cancer there is. Having said that, it is still dangerous because it is a form of cancer and men do die from its spread.
More good news: Prostate cancer is preventable. It is extremely rare, for example, in older men who live in communities noted for their healthy seniors. These people in their 80s, 90s, and beyond are cancer-free because of their living habits. Four of these communities are detailed in the John Robbins book Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples, a book I would urge you all to read.
Chinese Medicine sees cancer as “toxic blood stagnation.” When the qi (energy flow) is blocked or becomes sluggish for whatever reason, material will pile up in certain areas. The wei qi (immune system) is always on the lookout for excess stagnant material, including cancer cells, that it can neutralize and turn into fuel. After all, any material that does not serve a function for the body is seen as a potential enemy and fuel source.
However, the wei qi can be weakened and hampered in its duties by factors such as muscular tightness, enlarged fat cells, and excessive heat. When excess material sits around too long, it can block the blood flow, causing pain. It can also putrefy like a dead body in a swamp. Putrefaction turns toxic (poisonous) and tries to spread. In the case of the prostate gland, the toxicity has a hard time escaping the confines of the gland itself, and so is usually contained.
Prostate cancer that is contained is almost without symptoms. When the growth presses against the urinary channel, it can cause urinary obstruction, a symptom that allows it to be confused with two other prostate problems: benign prostate hypertrophy and prostatitis. Benign prostate hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) and prostatitis are not linked to prostate cancer in a causal relationship. Neither can be shown to develop into prostate cancer. However they are all three indications of the same unhealthy habits.
The main symptoms of an enlarged prostate are frequent urination, nighttime urination, extreme urgency to urinate, difficulty emptying the bladder, and a weak urinary stream.
Prostatitis is an inflammatory condition of the prostate that is most common in men ages 20 to 50. There are two broad classes of prostatitis: nonbacterial and bacterial. Nonbacterial prostatitis is the most common form of prostatic inflammation. Its symptoms are pelvic pain, problems with urination, discomfort after ejaculation, and lower back pain. A bacterial infection in the prostate gland leads to pain and difficulty in urinating; there may be cloudy bacterial fluid or blood in the urine; and there might be a fever.
In all three situations, the causal factors are damp, heat, and liver qi stagnation.
Removing damp
In Chinese Medicine, the term “damp” denotes pathogenic material, specifically that which has entered the body through the mouth in the form of excess food. It does not relate to water drunk but rather the water that is chemically bound up with the calories in food. While foods like dairy and sugar contribute to damp, excess consumption of calories is the leading cause. Enlarged fat cells, impacted fecal matter, and neoplasm (growths) are all the result of excess calories, and are all labeled “damp.” Every bit of excess fat you carry is “damp.” The opposite of damp is lean and hungry.
Damp can cause swelling and enlargement of the prostate. Damp can also collect in the prostate for years and putrefy, causing toxic blood stagnation (cancer).
One aspect of eliminating damp means reducing caloric intake and decreasing the size of your fat cells. Removing damp is a grave challenge because, in our stressful culture it is the most common and honored form of mental sedative. The evolutionary purpose for excess consumption of food and the resulting damp is to ensure the survival of the individual through a long, harsh winter. A calm mind doesn’t expend as many calories as an active mind. A calm mind doesn’t create dissention while couped up with a dozen relatives for six months. A sedated mind wants to sleep and be lazy, not expend a large number of calories in a fruitless attempt to find food where there is none. For the same reason, heavy damp completely eliminates the hunger feeling, so that winter hibernation is not interrupted by a need to eat.
The only Americans who lose a lot of fat weight and keep it off are those who have simultaneously improved their mental health. Ninety percent of Americans who rapidly lose a lot of fat weight manage to gain it all back one year later because they ignored the development of mental calmness and found themselves leaner but “climbing the walls.”
Another method of preventing damp accumulation is regular ejaculation. The prostate is the main supplier of seminal fluid and as such is always in danger of damp stagnation. One reason that orgasm feels so good is so that men will be motivated to ejaculate frequently, thus clearing the prostate of fluid buildup. Ejaculation also calms the mind. However, an excessive amount of damp in the region, such as we find with obese men, can often prevent sufficient heat from reaching the genital region. This can make orgasm difficult to achieve.
There are many other healthy ways to increase mental calmness while getting leaner. The study of Taoist philosophy or Zen Buddhism, the performance of daily strenuous physical exercise, meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, play, laughter, hunger awareness training (when hunger controls appetite), and the conscious decision to stop worrying are some of the most common and effective methods of achieving a calm mind without the use of food, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, or prescription medications.
Removing heat
Being warm-blooded creatures, we are warm and we are attracted to heat. However, excessive heat can accumulate in the body/mind, causing a multitude of problems. Heat expands and can enlarge the prostate gland. Too much heat can irritate – burn – the prostate, causing prostatitis. Accumulated heat in the prostate can turn normal prostate fluid into a diseased swamp, which years later can turn toxic (cancerous).
Heat and movement are intimately related. Movement creates friction, which creates heat. Too much movement causes excessive heat. Americans who hurry through life, overscheduling, multitasking, rushing here and there, skipping sleep, refusing to take rest breaks when their bodies and minds demand rest breaks – all of these habits must be changed in order to prevent heat from injuring the prostate gland.
Too much movement against a barrier will also lead to excess heat. Frustration and suppressed rage are examples of blocked qi that keeps hammering against an obstruction, creating an enormous amount of friction and heat. Habitual frustration and rage can damage internal structures, including the prostate.
The conscious decision to slow down, simplify, and get lots of sleep and rest will help to prevent the collection of pathogenic heat in the prostate. Unless there is a specific reason to move fast, don’t walk fast, talk fast, drive fast, work fast, eat fast, read fast, or do anything fast. Watch everyone else hurrying around you, and realize that they are unwittingly nourishing their inflammatory conditions.
Use deep breathing and patience to counter the warming effects of frustration. Prevent resentment from forming by communicating your anger in a polite manner with those who anger you. Trust your emotions and let anger help you establish your boundaries with people. In the end, they will appreciate knowing your limits.
Regular release of fluids and feces will expel excess heat, even fever, from the interior. Therefore frequent ejaculation will help to discharge heat from the prostate. However, men with an excessive amount of heat in the system will tend to exhibit frenetic activity, including sexual activity. Too much activity increases friction and heat. In this case, care must be taken that the reproductive apparatus isn’t strained, causing symptoms such as low back or genital pain, exhaustion, or dizziness.
Removing liver qi stagnation
In Chinese Medicine, “liver” has less to do with the anatomical organ and more to do with function. Simply put, the liver acts as a manager, keeping everything flowing peacefully and harmoniously.
When the qi of the body becomes jerky, uneven, stagnated, liver is not doing its job and is unhappy. Muscles tighten up, fluids accumulate, and overall circulation is reduced. Instead of being evacuated on a regular basis, garbage starts piling up, usually in out-of-the-way places like the prostate gland. The wei qi has a tough time reaching trouble areas through all the tightness, and it fails to neutralize and consume some cells that have turned toxic. These rogue cells eventually form a colony which can become a cancerous tumor.
One very important cause and indication of liver qi stagnation is bottled-up emotions. Emotions are just information about what is going on inside. They exist for our survival and must all be honored. When mad, glad, sad, and scared are not honored, the result is injury, disease, and misery. Typically, men have no problem with mad and glad, but are uncomfortable feeling sad and scared. When people don’t believe that they have a right to feel certain emotions, they tend to tighten their muscles. Structural muscles tighten up, but also internal muscles that compose or surround organs and other structures. Chronic tightness can settle anywhere in the human body and very often without any consciousness of it happening. A common area for men is the bladder/prostate area.
Unreasonable fear, called “fight-or-flight,” can also tighten muscles in the pelvic region without the mind being aware of it. This constriction of the prostate area is also a common cause of male sexual impotence. Fear, usually the result of lack of trust in a partner, can shut down the blood supply (and everything else) to the genital region, sabotaging erections. Fear can also tighten the bladder, causing nervous urination problems where urine is blocked or incontinent in response to an anxiety-producing event.
If you worry a lot, you probably suffer from a serious case of liver qi stagnation, and are advised to work on getting rid of it. Worrying about the past or future is inherently a stagnant proposition because the future and the past don’t really exist, and so they don’t flow with reality. The only time that elicits emotions from wild animals and small children, who do not suffer from liver qi stagnation, is the moment. That is why their emotions are spontaneous and appropriate to whatever context they find themselves in.
Analyzing the past and planning for the future are noble and necessary tasks, but they involve the intellect, not emotion.
It is actually possible to decide to stop worrying and move the qi instead. This decision is only possible with the time and life experiences that allow one to glimpse the big picture.
Take another look at the above-mentioned methods (Removing damp) for increasing mental calmness and moving qi, and add to them a devotion to the improvement of physical and mental flexibility. Consider hiring a trainer who understands the importance of flexibility training and can help you put together your own routine. If you already have prostate issues, practice deep-breathing exercises that focus on relaxing the pelvic and lower back areas.
Practice letting go of issues. Don’t keep holding on to grudges. Don’t get stuck on small stuff. Keep things moving forward in a smooth fashion. Don’t talk jerky, don’t drive jerky, and don’t work jerky. Stay regular and grounded.
Prostate cancer is not difficult to understand when seen through the lens of Chinese Medicine. Unfortunately, there is no simple formula for preventing prostate cancer; just a whole lot of actions we can take that will increase our chances of avoiding it for as long as possible.
The prostate gland is situated at the base of the urinary bladder and supplies most of the fluid and muscle tissue that helps in male ejaculation. Prostate fluid also helps to keep sperm healthy and lively.
Cancer of the prostate gland is very common among older American men. Approximately 80% of American men who are 80 and older have prostate cancer. The good news is that it doesn’t spread very easily and is probably the least dangerous form of cancer there is. Having said that, it is still dangerous because it is a form of cancer and men do die from its spread.
More good news: Prostate cancer is preventable. It is extremely rare, for example, in older men who live in communities noted for their healthy seniors. These people in their 80s, 90s, and beyond are cancer-free because of their living habits. Four of these communities are detailed in the John Robbins book Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples, a book I would urge you all to read.
Chinese Medicine sees cancer as “toxic blood stagnation.” When the qi (energy flow) is blocked or becomes sluggish for whatever reason, material will pile up in certain areas. The wei qi (immune system) is always on the lookout for excess stagnant material, including cancer cells, that it can neutralize and turn into fuel. After all, any material that does not serve a function for the body is seen as a potential enemy and fuel source.
However, the wei qi can be weakened and hampered in its duties by factors such as muscular tightness, enlarged fat cells, and excessive heat. When excess material sits around too long, it can block the blood flow, causing pain. It can also putrefy like a dead body in a swamp. Putrefaction turns toxic (poisonous) and tries to spread. In the case of the prostate gland, the toxicity has a hard time escaping the confines of the gland itself, and so is usually contained.
Prostate cancer that is contained is almost without symptoms. When the growth presses against the urinary channel, it can cause urinary obstruction, a symptom that allows it to be confused with two other prostate problems: benign prostate hypertrophy and prostatitis. Benign prostate hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) and prostatitis are not linked to prostate cancer in a causal relationship. Neither can be shown to develop into prostate cancer. However they are all three indications of the same unhealthy habits.
The main symptoms of an enlarged prostate are frequent urination, nighttime urination, extreme urgency to urinate, difficulty emptying the bladder, and a weak urinary stream.
Prostatitis is an inflammatory condition of the prostate that is most common in men ages 20 to 50. There are two broad classes of prostatitis: nonbacterial and bacterial. Nonbacterial prostatitis is the most common form of prostatic inflammation. Its symptoms are pelvic pain, problems with urination, discomfort after ejaculation, and lower back pain. A bacterial infection in the prostate gland leads to pain and difficulty in urinating; there may be cloudy bacterial fluid or blood in the urine; and there might be a fever.
In all three situations, the causal factors are damp, heat, and liver qi stagnation.
Removing damp
In Chinese Medicine, the term “damp” denotes pathogenic material, specifically that which has entered the body through the mouth in the form of excess food. It does not relate to water drunk but rather the water that is chemically bound up with the calories in food. While foods like dairy and sugar contribute to damp, excess consumption of calories is the leading cause. Enlarged fat cells, impacted fecal matter, and neoplasm (growths) are all the result of excess calories, and are all labeled “damp.” Every bit of excess fat you carry is “damp.” The opposite of damp is lean and hungry.
Damp can cause swelling and enlargement of the prostate. Damp can also collect in the prostate for years and putrefy, causing toxic blood stagnation (cancer).
One aspect of eliminating damp means reducing caloric intake and decreasing the size of your fat cells. Removing damp is a grave challenge because, in our stressful culture it is the most common and honored form of mental sedative. The evolutionary purpose for excess consumption of food and the resulting damp is to ensure the survival of the individual through a long, harsh winter. A calm mind doesn’t expend as many calories as an active mind. A calm mind doesn’t create dissention while couped up with a dozen relatives for six months. A sedated mind wants to sleep and be lazy, not expend a large number of calories in a fruitless attempt to find food where there is none. For the same reason, heavy damp completely eliminates the hunger feeling, so that winter hibernation is not interrupted by a need to eat.
The only Americans who lose a lot of fat weight and keep it off are those who have simultaneously improved their mental health. Ninety percent of Americans who rapidly lose a lot of fat weight manage to gain it all back one year later because they ignored the development of mental calmness and found themselves leaner but “climbing the walls.”
Another method of preventing damp accumulation is regular ejaculation. The prostate is the main supplier of seminal fluid and as such is always in danger of damp stagnation. One reason that orgasm feels so good is so that men will be motivated to ejaculate frequently, thus clearing the prostate of fluid buildup. Ejaculation also calms the mind. However, an excessive amount of damp in the region, such as we find with obese men, can often prevent sufficient heat from reaching the genital region. This can make orgasm difficult to achieve.
There are many other healthy ways to increase mental calmness while getting leaner. The study of Taoist philosophy or Zen Buddhism, the performance of daily strenuous physical exercise, meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, play, laughter, hunger awareness training (when hunger controls appetite), and the conscious decision to stop worrying are some of the most common and effective methods of achieving a calm mind without the use of food, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, or prescription medications.
Removing heat
Being warm-blooded creatures, we are warm and we are attracted to heat. However, excessive heat can accumulate in the body/mind, causing a multitude of problems. Heat expands and can enlarge the prostate gland. Too much heat can irritate – burn – the prostate, causing prostatitis. Accumulated heat in the prostate can turn normal prostate fluid into a diseased swamp, which years later can turn toxic (cancerous).
Heat and movement are intimately related. Movement creates friction, which creates heat. Too much movement causes excessive heat. Americans who hurry through life, overscheduling, multitasking, rushing here and there, skipping sleep, refusing to take rest breaks when their bodies and minds demand rest breaks – all of these habits must be changed in order to prevent heat from injuring the prostate gland.
Too much movement against a barrier will also lead to excess heat. Frustration and suppressed rage are examples of blocked qi that keeps hammering against an obstruction, creating an enormous amount of friction and heat. Habitual frustration and rage can damage internal structures, including the prostate.
The conscious decision to slow down, simplify, and get lots of sleep and rest will help to prevent the collection of pathogenic heat in the prostate. Unless there is a specific reason to move fast, don’t walk fast, talk fast, drive fast, work fast, eat fast, read fast, or do anything fast. Watch everyone else hurrying around you, and realize that they are unwittingly nourishing their inflammatory conditions.
Use deep breathing and patience to counter the warming effects of frustration. Prevent resentment from forming by communicating your anger in a polite manner with those who anger you. Trust your emotions and let anger help you establish your boundaries with people. In the end, they will appreciate knowing your limits.
Regular release of fluids and feces will expel excess heat, even fever, from the interior. Therefore frequent ejaculation will help to discharge heat from the prostate. However, men with an excessive amount of heat in the system will tend to exhibit frenetic activity, including sexual activity. Too much activity increases friction and heat. In this case, care must be taken that the reproductive apparatus isn’t strained, causing symptoms such as low back or genital pain, exhaustion, or dizziness.
Removing liver qi stagnation
In Chinese Medicine, “liver” has less to do with the anatomical organ and more to do with function. Simply put, the liver acts as a manager, keeping everything flowing peacefully and harmoniously.
When the qi of the body becomes jerky, uneven, stagnated, liver is not doing its job and is unhappy. Muscles tighten up, fluids accumulate, and overall circulation is reduced. Instead of being evacuated on a regular basis, garbage starts piling up, usually in out-of-the-way places like the prostate gland. The wei qi has a tough time reaching trouble areas through all the tightness, and it fails to neutralize and consume some cells that have turned toxic. These rogue cells eventually form a colony which can become a cancerous tumor.
One very important cause and indication of liver qi stagnation is bottled-up emotions. Emotions are just information about what is going on inside. They exist for our survival and must all be honored. When mad, glad, sad, and scared are not honored, the result is injury, disease, and misery. Typically, men have no problem with mad and glad, but are uncomfortable feeling sad and scared. When people don’t believe that they have a right to feel certain emotions, they tend to tighten their muscles. Structural muscles tighten up, but also internal muscles that compose or surround organs and other structures. Chronic tightness can settle anywhere in the human body and very often without any consciousness of it happening. A common area for men is the bladder/prostate area.
Unreasonable fear, called “fight-or-flight,” can also tighten muscles in the pelvic region without the mind being aware of it. This constriction of the prostate area is also a common cause of male sexual impotence. Fear, usually the result of lack of trust in a partner, can shut down the blood supply (and everything else) to the genital region, sabotaging erections. Fear can also tighten the bladder, causing nervous urination problems where urine is blocked or incontinent in response to an anxiety-producing event.
If you worry a lot, you probably suffer from a serious case of liver qi stagnation, and are advised to work on getting rid of it. Worrying about the past or future is inherently a stagnant proposition because the future and the past don’t really exist, and so they don’t flow with reality. The only time that elicits emotions from wild animals and small children, who do not suffer from liver qi stagnation, is the moment. That is why their emotions are spontaneous and appropriate to whatever context they find themselves in.
Analyzing the past and planning for the future are noble and necessary tasks, but they involve the intellect, not emotion.
It is actually possible to decide to stop worrying and move the qi instead. This decision is only possible with the time and life experiences that allow one to glimpse the big picture.
Take another look at the above-mentioned methods (Removing damp) for increasing mental calmness and moving qi, and add to them a devotion to the improvement of physical and mental flexibility. Consider hiring a trainer who understands the importance of flexibility training and can help you put together your own routine. If you already have prostate issues, practice deep-breathing exercises that focus on relaxing the pelvic and lower back areas.
Practice letting go of issues. Don’t keep holding on to grudges. Don’t get stuck on small stuff. Keep things moving forward in a smooth fashion. Don’t talk jerky, don’t drive jerky, and don’t work jerky. Stay regular and grounded.
Prostate cancer is not difficult to understand when seen through the lens of Chinese Medicine. Unfortunately, there is no simple formula for preventing prostate cancer; just a whole lot of actions we can take that will increase our chances of avoiding it for as long as possible.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Preventing Hypertension
By E Douglas Kihn, O.M.D., L.Ac.
An estimated 65 million Americans suffer from hypertension, which is defined as a diastolic blood pressure reading of 140 or above, and/or a systolic reading at or above 90. This disease is sometimes referred to as the “silent killer,” because patients may notice few or no symptoms until it already has done serious damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
The causes of hypertension
Picture in your mind a blood vessel filled with blood. The liquid molecules are always pushing outward against the inside walls of the vessel, keeping the vessel from collapsing and maintaining the vessel’s structural integrity. Excessive pressure is the result of those molecules pressing too hard against the inside walls, and against the pump (the heart) that circulates the blood. This resistance places an abnormal burden on the heart, decreasing circulation to the whole body, and eventually causing dangerous events such as pump failure (heart attack), or a bursting of a vessel in the periphery, like the brain (stroke), the eye (blindness), or an artery (aneurysm). Heart attacks and strokes are respectively the number one and number three causes of mortality in the U.S.
According to the laws of physics and Chinese medicine, there are only three possible causes of an increase in pressure of any kind, in particular, pressure inside the blood vessels. They are 1) too much heat, 2) not enough space, and 3) too much material.
Translated into Chinese terminology, these chronic excesses differentiate into four syndromes:
·Excess internal heat
·Liver qi stagnation
·Spleen damp
·Accumulation of toxins in the blood
Excess internal heat
When you turn up the heat on a kettle of water, the water molecules become excited and expand against the sides of the vessel, eventually causing a venting of steam or even an explosion. Now picture that increased heat, which we will call yang excess, expanding the activity of blood molecules, causing them to press more vigorously against the inside walls of the blood vessel, thus raising blood pressure.
Liver qi stagnation
Picture a blood vessel with a band around it that can be tightened or loosened at will. When the band is tightened, the space inside is reduced. The same quantity of blood molecules is now trying to pass through a smaller space, and as they struggle, they will press more vigorously against the insides of the blood vessel. This situation of decreased space increases the pressure on the vessel and the pump behind it.
Spleen damp
“Spleen” is an old mistranslation of the Chinese word pi, which refers to the digestive process as a whole. A dry spleen is a happy spleen.
Now, take an average blood vessel. Increase the number of molecules within the walls of that vessel. This excess material will press more forcefully outward against the insides of the vessel, thus leading to increased pressure on the vessel walls and the heart. This is hypertension.
Excessive numbers of molecules (excess yin) in the body generally come from only one source – excess nutrition, that is to say, mostly excess calories - entering through the mouth and passing into the digestive system. This excess yin causes a damp spleen, which is to say, a weakened and overburdened digestive system.
Often, excess yin takes the form of cholesterol, which packs the insides of blood vessels, thus decreasing space and raising pressure. Cholesterol – fats in the blood – is really stored nutrition, calories that aren’t being used, also known to Chinese Medicine as food stagnation. We perceive a close relationship between dampness and food stagnation. The two terms are commonly interchangeable. Food stagnation is usually the result of a damp and weakened spleen.
Excess body fat is another indication of a damp spleen. This explains the close relationship between excess body fat and high blood pressure.
Accumulation of toxins in the blood
This condition is also known as “arteriosclerosis,” or “hardening of the arteries.” Fat and chemicals accumulate over time on the sides of the arteries in the form of “plaque.” This greasy substance stiffens the walls of the blood vessels, which increases resistance and pressure. Many older Americans have this condition.
Preventing Hypertension
Chronic excesses such as hyper (too much) tension are commonly caused by inappropriate choices, which in most situations are the result of American cultural imperatives.
Stop hurrying
Activity causes friction. Friction causes heat. Excess activity causes excess heat. The heart, the busiest of the internal organs, the organ that never sleeps, is in a constant state of friction and heat. Thus it is most susceptible to an increase of friction and heat. An abnormal increase of heart heat not only threatens the physical structure of the heart, but also deranges the shen (the spirit), which resides in the heart.
A chronic Increase in the friction and heat of the heart is the result of the slavish worship of speed and busyness that pervades all income levels, cultural subgroups, and civic communities in the U.S. The average full-time worker in the United States worked 1,979 hours in 2001, compared to the notoriously busy Japanese worker who worked 1,842 hours. (The Japanese have more vacation time.) The average French worker spent just 1531.7 hours on the job in that same year. Americans worked 29% more hours in 2001 than their calmer (and leaner) French counterparts.
A RoperASW study published in the May 2003 issue MONEY Magazine found that Americans would rather have more money than more free time – 57 percent to 27 percent. Another RoperASW survey from 2001 found that the top reason for Americans to consider changing jobs was money at 57 percent. More personal time clocked in at just 12 percent. More money translates as more activity – more internal friction.
Excess yang in the heart easily infects the liver, which as we know easily heats up, venting its hot and windy yang excess upwards, with such symptoms as rage, headaches, dizziness, painful eye disorders, and so on.
Don’t talk fast, walk fast, drive fast, work fast, read fast, think fast, or do anything fast unless and until you have to. Reduce friction.
Get as much sleep as you need every night. Do not catch up on weekends. When you wake in the morning, you should feel refreshed and energized.
Reserve 12 hours of the day for non-productive activities, which include sleep, rest, play, eating, and socializing.
Stop worrying
When people worry, they tighten up muscles in the body. These muscles could be anywhere in the body, including muscular organs such as the lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, uterus, genitals, and even the blood vessels themselves. Many Americans live in a constant state of anxiety. This habit is almost certain to raise blood pressure.
The only thing in life that we have full control over is our thoughts. At all times, we can actually choose what to think. We can decide not to obsess about imaginary scenarios or other people and their problems.
Always try to keep the big picture in your mind, especially when you find yourself worrying about the past or the future, which do not really exist. A big part of the big picture is the certain knowledge that problems are necessary for growth, and that without obstacles to overcome, we die.
When you find yourself tightening up in response to worry, stop what you are doing and take ten deep breathes. Shake out your body and relax all tension. Do it as many times as necessary during the day, in order to keep the body and mind relaxed.
Develop a daily exercise routine that includes deep-breathing meditative exercises such as yoga or taichi.
Stop overeating
When you overeat, you will store excess calories as fat, impacted fecal matter, blood cholesterol, and tumors. Your body counts calories and will always tell you when you are overeating. Overeating occurs when you eat past your comfort level and when you eat without hunger.
Many Americans ignore their bodies’ messages and overeat in an attempt to calm down, because they are hurrying and worrying. However, no weight control program will be successful in the long run unless it also improves mental health, which is to say, reduces hurrying and worrying. Sadly, only about 10% of Americans who lose a significant amount of weight through dieting and exercise manage to keep it off a year later.
There are four ways that food delivers calmness for people, consciously and unconsciously.
1.Fat cells secrete the hormone estriol, a form of estrogen. The various forms of estrogen have a very powerful calming effect on the human mind. Hence the more fat people carry, the more sedated they will be 24 hours a day, every day, year after year.
2.Eating is used as a completely justifiable reason to take breaks from work or other heat-and-tightness-producing activities. (Boss, I have to eat to keep up my strength!) The mere act of taking a break from activity, with or without food, is what calms and restores.
3.Food itself is very heavy and sits on top of anxiety, heat, and nausea, pushing them down. This physically sedating effect of food on the body also has a calming and euphoric effect on the mind. It can be felt by everyone and anyone who has just finished a meal.
4.Sweet, salty, and fatty flavors in foods will stimulate the taste buds, relieving peoples’ sense of deprivation and restoring a sense of calmness and satisfaction.
Minimize your ingestion of chemicals
Stop smoking. Instead, find healthy ways of getting calm. Cook most of your own meals from fresh whole food, mostly organic. Minimize the ingestion of edible food-like substances (processed food). Avoid packaged food that has health claims printed on the outside.
High blood pressure is a serious and common medical condition that leads to many other more serious diseases. However, it is entirely preventable – and curable - with some major changes in attitude and lifestyle.
An estimated 65 million Americans suffer from hypertension, which is defined as a diastolic blood pressure reading of 140 or above, and/or a systolic reading at or above 90. This disease is sometimes referred to as the “silent killer,” because patients may notice few or no symptoms until it already has done serious damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes.
The causes of hypertension
Picture in your mind a blood vessel filled with blood. The liquid molecules are always pushing outward against the inside walls of the vessel, keeping the vessel from collapsing and maintaining the vessel’s structural integrity. Excessive pressure is the result of those molecules pressing too hard against the inside walls, and against the pump (the heart) that circulates the blood. This resistance places an abnormal burden on the heart, decreasing circulation to the whole body, and eventually causing dangerous events such as pump failure (heart attack), or a bursting of a vessel in the periphery, like the brain (stroke), the eye (blindness), or an artery (aneurysm). Heart attacks and strokes are respectively the number one and number three causes of mortality in the U.S.
According to the laws of physics and Chinese medicine, there are only three possible causes of an increase in pressure of any kind, in particular, pressure inside the blood vessels. They are 1) too much heat, 2) not enough space, and 3) too much material.
Translated into Chinese terminology, these chronic excesses differentiate into four syndromes:
·Excess internal heat
·Liver qi stagnation
·Spleen damp
·Accumulation of toxins in the blood
Excess internal heat
When you turn up the heat on a kettle of water, the water molecules become excited and expand against the sides of the vessel, eventually causing a venting of steam or even an explosion. Now picture that increased heat, which we will call yang excess, expanding the activity of blood molecules, causing them to press more vigorously against the inside walls of the blood vessel, thus raising blood pressure.
Liver qi stagnation
Picture a blood vessel with a band around it that can be tightened or loosened at will. When the band is tightened, the space inside is reduced. The same quantity of blood molecules is now trying to pass through a smaller space, and as they struggle, they will press more vigorously against the insides of the blood vessel. This situation of decreased space increases the pressure on the vessel and the pump behind it.
Spleen damp
“Spleen” is an old mistranslation of the Chinese word pi, which refers to the digestive process as a whole. A dry spleen is a happy spleen.
Now, take an average blood vessel. Increase the number of molecules within the walls of that vessel. This excess material will press more forcefully outward against the insides of the vessel, thus leading to increased pressure on the vessel walls and the heart. This is hypertension.
Excessive numbers of molecules (excess yin) in the body generally come from only one source – excess nutrition, that is to say, mostly excess calories - entering through the mouth and passing into the digestive system. This excess yin causes a damp spleen, which is to say, a weakened and overburdened digestive system.
Often, excess yin takes the form of cholesterol, which packs the insides of blood vessels, thus decreasing space and raising pressure. Cholesterol – fats in the blood – is really stored nutrition, calories that aren’t being used, also known to Chinese Medicine as food stagnation. We perceive a close relationship between dampness and food stagnation. The two terms are commonly interchangeable. Food stagnation is usually the result of a damp and weakened spleen.
Excess body fat is another indication of a damp spleen. This explains the close relationship between excess body fat and high blood pressure.
Accumulation of toxins in the blood
This condition is also known as “arteriosclerosis,” or “hardening of the arteries.” Fat and chemicals accumulate over time on the sides of the arteries in the form of “plaque.” This greasy substance stiffens the walls of the blood vessels, which increases resistance and pressure. Many older Americans have this condition.
Preventing Hypertension
Chronic excesses such as hyper (too much) tension are commonly caused by inappropriate choices, which in most situations are the result of American cultural imperatives.
Stop hurrying
Activity causes friction. Friction causes heat. Excess activity causes excess heat. The heart, the busiest of the internal organs, the organ that never sleeps, is in a constant state of friction and heat. Thus it is most susceptible to an increase of friction and heat. An abnormal increase of heart heat not only threatens the physical structure of the heart, but also deranges the shen (the spirit), which resides in the heart.
A chronic Increase in the friction and heat of the heart is the result of the slavish worship of speed and busyness that pervades all income levels, cultural subgroups, and civic communities in the U.S. The average full-time worker in the United States worked 1,979 hours in 2001, compared to the notoriously busy Japanese worker who worked 1,842 hours. (The Japanese have more vacation time.) The average French worker spent just 1531.7 hours on the job in that same year. Americans worked 29% more hours in 2001 than their calmer (and leaner) French counterparts.
A RoperASW study published in the May 2003 issue MONEY Magazine found that Americans would rather have more money than more free time – 57 percent to 27 percent. Another RoperASW survey from 2001 found that the top reason for Americans to consider changing jobs was money at 57 percent. More personal time clocked in at just 12 percent. More money translates as more activity – more internal friction.
Excess yang in the heart easily infects the liver, which as we know easily heats up, venting its hot and windy yang excess upwards, with such symptoms as rage, headaches, dizziness, painful eye disorders, and so on.
Don’t talk fast, walk fast, drive fast, work fast, read fast, think fast, or do anything fast unless and until you have to. Reduce friction.
Get as much sleep as you need every night. Do not catch up on weekends. When you wake in the morning, you should feel refreshed and energized.
Reserve 12 hours of the day for non-productive activities, which include sleep, rest, play, eating, and socializing.
Stop worrying
When people worry, they tighten up muscles in the body. These muscles could be anywhere in the body, including muscular organs such as the lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, uterus, genitals, and even the blood vessels themselves. Many Americans live in a constant state of anxiety. This habit is almost certain to raise blood pressure.
The only thing in life that we have full control over is our thoughts. At all times, we can actually choose what to think. We can decide not to obsess about imaginary scenarios or other people and their problems.
Always try to keep the big picture in your mind, especially when you find yourself worrying about the past or the future, which do not really exist. A big part of the big picture is the certain knowledge that problems are necessary for growth, and that without obstacles to overcome, we die.
When you find yourself tightening up in response to worry, stop what you are doing and take ten deep breathes. Shake out your body and relax all tension. Do it as many times as necessary during the day, in order to keep the body and mind relaxed.
Develop a daily exercise routine that includes deep-breathing meditative exercises such as yoga or taichi.
Stop overeating
When you overeat, you will store excess calories as fat, impacted fecal matter, blood cholesterol, and tumors. Your body counts calories and will always tell you when you are overeating. Overeating occurs when you eat past your comfort level and when you eat without hunger.
Many Americans ignore their bodies’ messages and overeat in an attempt to calm down, because they are hurrying and worrying. However, no weight control program will be successful in the long run unless it also improves mental health, which is to say, reduces hurrying and worrying. Sadly, only about 10% of Americans who lose a significant amount of weight through dieting and exercise manage to keep it off a year later.
There are four ways that food delivers calmness for people, consciously and unconsciously.
1.Fat cells secrete the hormone estriol, a form of estrogen. The various forms of estrogen have a very powerful calming effect on the human mind. Hence the more fat people carry, the more sedated they will be 24 hours a day, every day, year after year.
2.Eating is used as a completely justifiable reason to take breaks from work or other heat-and-tightness-producing activities. (Boss, I have to eat to keep up my strength!) The mere act of taking a break from activity, with or without food, is what calms and restores.
3.Food itself is very heavy and sits on top of anxiety, heat, and nausea, pushing them down. This physically sedating effect of food on the body also has a calming and euphoric effect on the mind. It can be felt by everyone and anyone who has just finished a meal.
4.Sweet, salty, and fatty flavors in foods will stimulate the taste buds, relieving peoples’ sense of deprivation and restoring a sense of calmness and satisfaction.
Minimize your ingestion of chemicals
Stop smoking. Instead, find healthy ways of getting calm. Cook most of your own meals from fresh whole food, mostly organic. Minimize the ingestion of edible food-like substances (processed food). Avoid packaged food that has health claims printed on the outside.
High blood pressure is a serious and common medical condition that leads to many other more serious diseases. However, it is entirely preventable – and curable - with some major changes in attitude and lifestyle.
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