Wean Yourself Off Processed Foods in 7 Steps

By Deborah Kotz, USNews.com
Thu, Jun 17, 2010

When is the last time you tasted a peach? Really experienced its velvety outer skin, inner succulence, and stringy pulp as it slid to the back of your mouth? Ever notice the notes of almond, honey, and vanilla in the fruit’s flavor? “Every bite should be like a wine tasting,” says food writer and chef Bruce Weinstein. “The more you take away from your food, the more pleasure you’ll feel eating it.” And the fuller you’ll feel afterward. That’s the premise behind Real Food Has Curves, a new book written by Weinstein and his partner, Mark Scarbrough. It provides a 7-step plan for weaning yourself off processed foods, which have been blamed for our nation’s rise in obesity and related conditions, like heart disease and diabetes. “We feel very strongly that deprivation doesn’t work,” says Weinstein, adding that they each lost about 25 pounds by incorporating more “real” and less “fake” foods into their meals. Here’s how:

Step 1: Seek true satisfaction. Grab that peach or strawberry, examine its color, sniff it, and take a bite. Give yourself a moment to enjoy the genuine flavors. For comparison, nibble a Starburst fruit candy or a strawberry fruit roll-up. Notice that you mainly taste sweet without a lot of complexity? That’s because fat, sugar, and salt are added to processed foods to mask the metallic taste of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and other chemical additives, says Weinstein. He should know since he used to test recipes for packaged food companies and tinker with ingredients to get the appropriate taste and texture. Processed foods are also made to dissolve quickly in your mouth, he says, to get you to eat faster and in greater quantities—often leaving you full, but not satisfied. Now you know why that bag of Doritos disappears before you’ve really had a chance to taste them.

Step 2: Read labels wisely. You don’t need to spend an hour making your own marinara sauce (though the book provides a recipe using canned tomatoes, if you’re so inclined). You can also find “real” tomato sauce in the supermarket if you read labels carefully. Those containing ingredients you can buy on your own, like tomatoes, olive oil, salt, garlic, and parmesan cheese, meet Weinstein’s criteria for a real food; those that have preservatives, like BHT, thickeners like guar gum, or artificial flavors, don’t. Ditto for store-bought breads, breakfast cereals, and pasta.

Step 3: Relish what’s on your plate. This is all about devoting time to solely enjoying the pleasures of eating. Indulge in that piece of dark chocolate while sitting on a park bench, rather than while perched at your desk, catching up on E-mail. Sit down at your kitchen table for dinner, not parked in front of the TV. Eating without distractions will help you savor the tastes, textures, smells, and colors of the food on your plate.

Step 4: Wean yourself off excess salt, fat, and sugar. You’ll be doing this anyway if you’re eating fewer processed foods and restaurant meals, but you can also cook with smaller amounts of these ingredients by using natural substitutes. Strong spices like garlic, pepper, and oregano cut down on the need for salt. You can use less cooking oil if you broil instead of fry, and margarine in many baked recipes can often be replaced with smaller amounts of (yes) extra-virgin olive oil. In fact, the book contains a recipe for olive oil cookies that calls for just 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Step 5: Give your palate time to change. While it may be tough at first to skip the afternoon candy bar or fast-food fries, you’ll gradually lose your taste for excessively sweet and salty foods as your palate adapts to a variety of new flavors. And you may even find yourself opening up to new foods. “With real food’s flavor overtones and textural range,” the authors write, “everything leads to something else. If you like coffee, soon enough you’ll like red wine or mushrooms or Chinese black bean sauce, all because you find a common, mellow earthiness among them.”

Step 6: Go for high-quality foods. You don’t need to opt for only organic or produce sold at local farm stands—though both are certainly preferable—but you should look for products that contain the least amount of processed ingredients to ensure better taste and better quality. You can’t, for example, experience the nutty chewiness of the whole grain if you go for white rice instead of brown. Look for breads and pastas with whole wheat or whole wheat flour as the first ingredient to enhance their taste and nutritional content. And, of course, choose fresh produce, when possible, over canned. Frozen fruits and vegetables are preferable when fresh ones aren’t available.

Step 7: Treat yourself well by not skipping meals. Part of the enjoyment of food is allowing yourself to get hungry enough to crave your meal, but not so hungry that you’re desperate to shovel anything and everything in your mouth. This can be accomplished by eating three meals a day at fairly regular times and having a mid-afternoon snack. Some of the interesting snack choices include apple wedges with natural peanut butter or honey mustard; a few dried apricots and a handful of salted pistachios; 1 ounce of feta on all-grain crackers like FinnCrisps. And the authors, being food lovers, advocate for a daily dessert, something truly indulgent that you save for once, rather than several times, a day. “Otherwise,” they write, “there’s a hideous taste-deadening that goes on with too much sugar.”

Source: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/wean-yourself-processed-foods-7-steps

How to Treat Allergies with Traditional Chinese Medicine

by Bill Schoenbart and Ellen Shefi

Allergies occur when the body’s immune system misidentifies a normally harmless substance as a threat to the body. Common allergens (substances that produce allergic reactions) are foods, pollen, animal dander, mold, insect venom, drugs, and dust mites. An inflammatory reaction takes place in an attempt to eject this substance from the system, resulting in a variety of symptoms. A traditional Chinese medical treatment for pollen allergies, or hay fever, follows.

Causes of Allergies

Several Chinese patterns of disharmony may be involved in cases of allergies. In all cases, however, wind is part of the diagnosis, usually combining with another pathogenic influence in wind dampness, wind cold, or wind heat. Typical of patterns involving wind, allergy symptoms often occur without warning. In seasonal allergies, such as hay fever, the most common diagnosis is wind and dampness. This combination produces a sudden onset of symptoms: sneezing, itching eyes and throat, and a heavy sensation in the head with copious mucus.

Traditional Chinese medicine uses herbs, diet, and acupuncture to treat pollen allergies.

Treatment with Herbs

The treatment strategy is to repel the wind with herbs that are dispersing in nature, such as Japanese catnip (Schizonepeta tenuifolia, jing jie) and Siler divaricata (fang feng). Herbs that drain dampness are also employed in order to clear the nasal passages and sinuses; the major herbs for this purpose are Angelica dahurica (bai zhi), magnolia flower buds (xin yi hua), and Xanthium sibiricum (cang er zi). This combination is known as Xanthium Decoction. An appropriate patent medicine is Bi Yan Pian.

Typically, an underlying weakness, often a deficiency of lung and spleen qi, makes persons with allergies susceptible to allergic reactions. Lung qi is responsible for the proper function of the entire respiratory tract, including the nasal passages. Spleen qi controls the transport of fluids; when spleen qi is impaired, weakening digestive function, it can lead to an overproduction of mucus, which tends to collect in the lungs. This weakness of qi is treated with tonifying herbs that bolster lung and spleen function, such as Codonopsis (dang shen), Atractylodes (bai zhu), Poria (fu ling), and prepared licorice (zhi gan cao).

An appropriate patent medicine for this type of deficiency is Six Gentlemen Teapills. This formula also contains Pinellia (ban xia) and aged citrus peel (chen pi), which enhance the base formula’s ability to clear mucus and dry dampness. A traditional Chinese medicine practitioner may customize the formula to meet a patient’s individual needs. For example, Chrysanthemum flowers (jua hua) and Cassia seeds (jue ming zi) can be added to soothe itchy eyes, and jujube dates (da zao) can be included to enhance the overall antiallergic action of the formula.

Treatment with Diet

Diet plays an important part in controlling seasonal allergies. Sweets, dairy products, and cold foods all tend to increase mucus buildup, putting ice cream and yogurt at the top of the list of foods to avoid during allergy season. When excessive mucus accumulates in the system, allergens stimulate a much stronger allergic reaction. Soups, salads (in warm weather), vegetables, and boiled grains are all easy for the body to digest. When digestion is efficient, there is less of a tendency for mucus to build up.

Treatment with Acupuncture

Treatment plans for allergies vary greatly, and the possible results range from temporary relief to complete remission. Acupuncture frequently relieves allergy symptoms immediately. Manipulation of points around the nose, such as Yintang, Bitong, and Large Intestine 20, usually relieves the nasal congestion and sneezing as soon as the needles are inserted.
Recently, a similar but more sophisticated system of allergy-elimination acupuncture has been developed in which the acupuncture is performed while the person is exposed to the allergen. Developed by Dr. Devi Nambudripad, this technique is called Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET). The patient undergoes allergy testing to identify the allergen. Then acupressure and acupuncture techniques are used to clear the allergen while the patient is exposed to it. This treatment reprograms the body to accept the allergen without producing an allergic reaction. The effects are long-term, and the allergy is virtually eliminated.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Bill Schoenbart has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) since 1991, when he earned a Masters degree in TCM. He teaches TCM medical theory and herbalism at an acupuncture school in California, and also maintains a clinical practice.

Ellen Shefi is a licensed massage technician, licensed acupuncturist, and registered dietician. She is a member of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, the American Herb Association, and the Oregon Acupuncture Association.

Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/how-to-treat-allergies-with-traditional-chinese-medicine.htm

“In this work, we provide information about one physical mechanism through which acupuncture reduces pain in the body.
“What we found is that adenosine, a natural pain killer, is released during acupuncture and that adenosine may be the primary way acupuncture reduces pain.

“The most important observation is that acupuncture worked almost three times as long if we gave a drug that slow down the removal of adenosine.”

Acupuncture does work as it stimulates a natural pain killer, scientists find

Acupuncture works by stimulating a natural painkiller in the body that swells arteries and allows more blood to flow through, scientists have discovered.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 6:00PM BST 30 May 2010

The identification of the chemical adenosine as a central player could also make the ancient Chinese therapy even more effective at relieving pain.

Scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of simply sticking needles in mice by adding a leukaemia medication that increased their amounts of the molecule.

Dr Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester, New York, said: “Acupuncture has been a mainstay of medical treatment in certain parts of the world for 4,000 years, but because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained sceptical.

“In this work, we provide information about one physical mechanism through which acupuncture reduces pain in the body.
“What we found is that adenosine, a natural pain killer, is released during acupuncture and that adenosine may be the primary way acupuncture reduces pain.

“The most important observation is that acupuncture worked almost three times as long if we gave a drug that slow down the removal of adenosine.”

Adenosine, which also helps to regulate sleep and keep the heart healthy, becomes active in the skin after an injury to inhibit nerve signals and ease pain.

The researchers, whose findings are published in Nature Neuroscience, performed acupuncture treatments on mice that had discomfort in one paw, giving them each a thirty minute acupuncture treatment near the knee, with very fine needles rotated gently every five minutes, much as is done in standard acupuncture treatments with people.

In mice with normal functioning levels of adenosine, acupuncture reduced discomfort by two-thirds, while in those engineered not to produce the chemical it had no effect.

And when adenosine was turned on in the tissues, discomfort was reduced even without acupuncture.

During and immediately after an acupuncture treatment, the level of adenosine in the tissues near the needles was 24 times greater than before.

Once the scientists recognised adenosine’s role, the team explored the effects of a cancer drug called deoxycoformycin, which makes it harder for the tissue to remove it.

The compound boosted the effects of acupuncture treatment dramatically, nearly tripling the accumulation of adenosine in the muscles and more than tripling the length of time the treatment was effective.

Dr Josephine Briggs, director of the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in the US, said: “It is clear that acupuncture may activate a number of different mechanisms.

“This carefully performed study identifies adenosine as a new player in the process. It is an interesting contribution to our growing understanding of the complex intervention which is acupuncture.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7785824/Acupuncture-does-work-as-it-stimulates-a-natural-pain-killer-scientists-find.html

In Chinese Medicine training, we learn how to restore balance in your body when it has become imbalanced and is now manifesting pain or disease. Chinese Medicine can use needles or herbs to achieve this balance, but also includes a wide range of tools such as qi gong, tai chi, and dietary therapy. While these methods can heal disease by fixing imbalances, the main key is not allowing your body to become imbalanced in the first place. As a patient, you hold this valuable key in your hand every day. It’s called ‘the fork’.

This article covers some basic principles that will help the majority of people eat in a more balanced way, but does not paint the full picture of Chinese Medicine dietary therapy. Chinese Medicine dietary therapy is a complex practice that identifies and treats the underlying patterns of imbalance that are driving your symptoms. Yet, every human body has some basic requirements in common and Chinese Medicine dietary therapy starts with these basics in mind. It is my intent to help you choose more balancing foods based on these common energetic principles so you can create a foundation for healthy living.

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DAMP PRODUCING FOODS

Eating for balance has been a way of life for the Chinese for thousands of years. The concept of balance is ingrained in their cultural choices of what to eat and when to eat it. The Chinese diet includes well known spices such as ginger and common foods such as pearled barley. Ingredients are chosen for their medicinal value, as well as for nutrition and taste. The Chinese have long known that ginger helps with digestion and barley helps to drain dampness. Choosing herbs and spices that encourage proper digestion is easy to understand. But the Chinese diet aims for another principle unfamiliar to most Westerners, and that is: draining dampness.

DAMPNESS

Dampness is a by-product of eating foods that clog the free flow of energy inside your body. Popular foods such as cheese, yogurt, white flour, and sugar are all culprits in the formation of dampness. Dampness causes stagnation which creates blockages in the body, causing it to break down and resulting in pain and disease. Signs of accumulated dampness include mucus in the nose or lungs, digestive problems such as loose stools and constipation, excess weight, and swollen joints. Some common Western diseases that are associated with dampness include chronic allergies and arthritis. Dampness is difficult to treat once it accumulates so we want to eat in a way that prevents dampness from forming in the first place.

MEET YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

It is helpful to examine how dampness is formed. Have you ever thought about how food is processed inside your body? For over 2,000 years, the Chinese have observed the digestive process and declared proper digestion the cornerstone of the Chinese Medicine system and the foundation of good health. The digestive system is where the accumulation of dampness begins.

When food enters your mouth, it travels through your stomach and intestines. Here, energy is extracted from the food and the waste products are expelled at the other end. The food energy that was extracted becomes your essential life force, providing the fuel you need to live every day. Digestion should be an unnoticeable event. Your digestive system should be quiet and clean burning to extract the most nutrition and energy from your food. ‘Clean burning’ is likened to metabolism. If you properly metabolize the foods that you ingest, the food is efficiently used and there is no leftover residue after the waste is excreted. If the system becomes clogged, however, the energy does not get adequately separated from the foodstuffs and although you excrete wastes, there is leftover residue that sticks to various places within the body. This residue is considered ‘dampness’ and affects your body’s functions in various ways.

Accumulated dampness clogs organs such as the lungs, causing allergies or asthma. When it clogs the digestive tract, indigestion or bowel problems can develop. Damp can also be ‘hidden’ and block meridians (the channels we use in acupuncture treatment that carry life force) leading to pain and stiffness or even swollen joints. Over time, dampness can become warm and create the diseases of inflammation such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Understanding and addressing dampness is one of the keys to treating disease in Chinese Medicine. Because it is so difficult to remove once it has accumulated, you can see the importance of not letting this dampness develop in the first place.

How do we choose foods that prevent dampness, facilitate good digestion, and allow free flowing energy? Here’s where the wisdom of selecting foods based on their energetic properties comes in. This is simpler than you may imagine. Foods that can be found in any grocery store form the foundation of the healthy Chinese Medicine diet.

THE CHINESE MEDICINE DIET

What types of food does the Chinese Medicine diet recommend? Think of the typical menu you’ve seen in Chinese restaurants. The meals are built around steamed rice, cooked vegetables, and small quantities of animal protein or beans. In higher quality Chinese restaurants, the amount of cooking oils used will be low. If you skip the deep fried choices and those made with flour products (think dumplings and wheat noodles), you have the basic Chinese Medicine diet – a diet that has been created to maintain balance in the body at any age.

VEGETABLES

Have you ever noticed the quantity of vegetables on a typical plate of Chinese food? You are usually served a heaping plate of lightly cooked vegetables when you order a dish that includes vegetables in a Chinese restaurant. Vegetables play a major role in draining dampness and are packed with life giving nutrition. A variety of colors and textures create a combination that is both pleasing to the eye and to the palate. Taste and texture plays an important role in regulating appetite. A wide variety ensures satiety, so you feel full. Varied colors provide a broad array of nutrients and antioxidants to promote health and longevity. Your plate should begin with a large quantity of lightly cooked vegetables. A good guideline is to fill half your plate with vegetables. You will want to include lots of leafy greens as these are one of the most balancing and nutrient dense foods you can eat.

RICE

Rice is a balanced food which is easily digested. In my allergic patients, rice is the number one hypo-allergenic food I recommend to help them with their symptoms while undergoing allergy treatments because it is so gentle to the digestive system. White or brown rice are interchangeable depending on which one digests most easily for you. White rice tends to be more cleansing while brown rice is considered more nourishing. Rice is a ‘clean burning’ food in Chinese Medicine which also gently drains dampness from the body. Rice should fill one quarter of your plate.

PROTEIN

Small quantities of animal protein or beans are included in the Chinese diet. The animal proteins are ‘building’ foods and can be difficult to digest hence the emphasis on ‘small’. A serving size of animal protein is typically 2-4 ounces 3-4 times per week. Beans can be eaten more often as they absorb dampness and provide fiber and protein. Your protein choice should fill the other quarter of your plate.

NO COLD RAW FOOD

One food you won’t find on the Chinese Medicine diet is raw, cold food. This includes salads and chilled food, iced drinks, and frozen foods. Cold, raw foods are culprits in the formation of damp because it is difficult for your body to process them. In order for your digestive system to extract the essence of food, it must ensure the food is approximately body temperature before it can begin breaking it down. Heating the food inside your body strains your energetic resources, weakening your energy system over time. Lightly cooked vegetables and well cooked grains allow your digestive system to immediately begin extracting energy without first having to heat the food to body temperature. Even though raw foods such as those found in salads contain slightly more enzymes and nutrients, the net gain is less than that of cooked vegetables as you lose energy to the internal heating/cooking process while trying to assimilate these foods.

WHAT, NO DAIRY?

Notice that there is no cheese, butter, or milk on the Chinese menu. One of the reasons is the tendency of these foods to create dampness. Even if heated, dairy’s energetic nature is cold and hinders digestion. Chinese Medicine considers dairy to be a building food, only suitable for undernourished people. This makes dairy very stagnating if you are already well fed.

CALCIUM

In a culture concerned about calcium, we have been led to believe that dairy is the only source of this bone building mineral. This is far from the truth. Foods such as almonds, salmon, leafy greens, and broccoli are high in calcium and other minerals that are equally important in the formation of strong bones. Your calcium needs will be easily met by eating several servings of vegetables per day and adding small servings of salmon and almonds to your diet each week.

SUGAR

Concentrated sweets – like soda, candy, sweetened yogurt, and energy bars – quickly create damp and are greatly over eaten in the modern diet. The flavor of ‘sweet’ is considered nourishing in Chinese dietary therapy. The majority of foods on the Chinese diet are primarily sweet. By sweet, the Chinese mean rice, animal protein, and vegetables, not concentrated sugars. If vegetables are considered sweet, you can imagine the intense sweetness of a piece of chocolate cake. The sweet flavor of rice, meat, and vegetables benefits the digestive organs. Concentrated sweets such as sugar impair the body’s ability to transform food into energy and to transport the wastes for elimination. Incompletely transformed food becomes dampness, accumulating over time to produce blockage and disease.

[Foods are considered to be made of 5 different flavors – sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and salty. Balancing these flavors in accordance with your individual body type, disease pattern, and season are all part of Chinese dietary therapy. This is a complex subject that can be explored in the book ‘Tao of Healthy Eating’ by Bob Flaws]

SEASONAL EATING

Different seasons of the year require modified cooking methods and different food choices. People naturally eat more warming, heavier foods in the winter, like soups, stews and baked foods. Conversely, in summer we are drawn to lighter, cooler types of foods that are more quickly cooked, like steamed vegetables. Varying your food choices according to seasons is a way to keep your body in sync with the natural environment. Eating warmer foods when the weather is cold and cooler foods during the warmer months keeps you healthy in all seasons.

Likewise, eating in accordance with what grows in your region will keep your body in balance. For instance, someone who lives near the equator where the weather is warm all year around would eat different foods than people who live in cold, northern climates. People in tropical regions would naturally be near tropical fruits since they grow in that type of climate. Those living in the north, say high in the mountains, would never naturally see a tropical fruit growing in their area so should probably avoid them.

One of my favorite herbal educators, Bob Flaws, says that the modern diet is a ‘recent aberration in the history of the human diet’ that has only developed over the last 50 years. Many modern food choices would not exist in the absence of fast global transportation and indoor refrigeration. If you think about it, humans evolved eating what was locally available and in season. Preservation methods evolved but these methods usually involved cooking. The modern grocery store is like having an in season garden all year; watermelons, pineapples, grapes are always available at your local grocery. But, these are foods you might never find growing in your part of the world and consuming them freely will lead to imbalances over time.

Eating local foods in season is still a common practice in many parts of the world. Indigenous cultures that produce a large number of centenarians (people living past 100 years) have been studied for their dietary practices to find the key to their health and longevity. Scientists have tried to isolate particular foods these people are eating to find the secret to their long, healthy lives. Many of these studies, however, seem to overlook the obvious fact that Indigenous people have never eaten foods grown outside their region. Additionally, when you view the diets in longevity studies through the lens of Chinese Medicine dietary therapy, there are many similarities between their food choices. Especially noticeable are the larger proportion of locally grown vegetables, rice, whole grains, an absence of sugar or processed food, and smaller quantities of protein than their Western counterparts.

This article has covered some basics regarding the Chinese medicine diet and the concept of dampness. Armed with this information alone, you can begin to make wise choices that will provide you with more years to your life and more life to your years. If you feel inspired and want to eat in a balanced way, please read Chinese Medicine Foods to Eat and Chinese Medicine Sample Meals which can help you slowly change to a more balanced way of eating and living.

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QUICK LIST

FOODS TO EAT

• Vegetables – all types (except night shades)
• Rice, Quinoa, Millet
• Rice Cakes
• Yams, Sweet Potatoes, Squash
• (Sprouted Wheat Bread – not on the Chinese diet but acceptable)
• (Sprouted Wheat Wraps – not on the Chinese diet but acceptable)
• Eggs
• Beef, Pork, Chicken, Lamb
• Wild Caught Fish
• Beans
• Rice Milk, Hemp Milk, Almond Milk (American milk substitutes)
• Seasonal Fruits (limited quantities)
• Raw Nuts and Nut Butters
• Olive Oil
• Butter (small quantities)
• Tea/Water with lemon or lime slices
• Soups

FOODS TO AVOID

• Flour products of all kinds, including breads (damp producing)
• Dairy (yogurt, cheese, milk)
• Sugar (even fruits should be limited due to their high sugar content)
• Tropical Fruits (unless you live in a tropical place – lucky you!)
• Processed Food
• Frozen food
• Spicy hot food
• Greasy food

CHOOSE GOOD QUALITY OVER COST

Quality is a top priority when choosing whole foods to include in your balanced diet. You will pay more money for better quality. However, you will be eating more whole fresh foods which are cheaper overall than processed, frozen, conveniently packaged foods. All foods in your shopping cart should be fresh, organic, non-genetically modified, and free of hormones and antibiotics. Cooking should be done with natural heat and never in a microwave. The reasons for all of this are discussed below.

WHY ORGANIC?

Organic foods are grown in good quality soil resulting in nutrient dense food with abundant life force. Commercially grown produce is grown by mega-corporations in nutrient poor soil that must be chemically fertilized, sprayed with pesticides, and picked unripe to prolong shelf life. Because it is picked before it is ripe, commercial produce is often gassed before sale to facilitate ripeness.

Pesticides found on commercial produce kill bugs by interfering with the bug’s nervous system. By disrupting communication between the bug’s nerves and muscles, the bug becomes paralyzed and dies. Pesticides can accumulate in our fat cells over time and have been associated with several neurological diseases in humans, including Parkinson’s disease. They are implicated in certain cancers, including cancer of the prostate. It is estimated that the EPA allows 71 known carcinogenic pesticides to be sprayed on our food crops.

Additionally, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides found in commercial foods create more free circulating estrogen in your body. This excess estrogen is called ‘estrogen dominance’ and is associated with reproductive cancers and excess female characteristics in men.

Commercial produce grown in depleted soil is created to look good but often lacks taste due to its poor nutrient density. Organic foods grown in rich soil usually appear smaller but are nutrient dense so you get more nourishment for your money. Eating nutrient dense food provides you with high quality nutrition, potentially eliminating food cravings because your body’s vitamin and mineral requirements are being met.

HORMONE AND ANTIBIOTIC FREE – HEALTHY ANIMAL PROTEIN

Grass fed beef is naturally raised without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones. It is higher in good fats such as omega 3’s with less of the harmful omega 6 type fats. Wild caught salmon and other types of fish are caught in the ocean rather than raised in crowded conditions and fed unnatural feed. Free range eggs are laid by chickens that have room to roam rather than penned in cramped, artificially lit, airless cubicles. The resulting food products of animals raised in humane, natural environments are superior in nutrition to their commercially raised counterparts.

WHY NON-GENETICALLY MODIFIED/HORMONE TREATED?

Genetic modification is used to create bigger, more pest resistant produce. Hormones are routinely given to factory farmed animals to force them to grow quickly. This type of tinkering with Mother Nature is not without its risks. Scientists have raised questions about the safety of GMO foods. Countries outside of the United States have labeling laws that require disclosure when food has been genetically modified. Here in America, the FDA has decided that we don’t need to know if our food is natural or man-made. The only way you know if you are eating non-GMO food is if the label states that it is non-GMO. You can read more at truefoodnow.org.

The dairy industry gives a hormone to cows called rBST (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) in order to increase their milk production. Dairy cows given this hormone suffer serious side effects including greatly shortened life spans. If you are still using dairy, look for the type free of rBST. Raw dairy is never treated with this hormone and is the only type I can recommend for those who choose to include dairy in their diets. Raw dairy digests more easily than pasteurized as the enzymes for digesting its protein remain intact.

NO MICROWAVE?

Cooking food with natural heat is how we evolved as a species. The modern convenience of microwaving food has resulted in the creation of highly processed foods in order to satisfy the demand of hectic, fast paced lives. Microwaves have become so ingrained in our society that some people have forgotten how to cook a meal from scratch. Unplug the microwave and dig out some of those pots and pans that are gathering dust under the kitchen cabinet. Heating food on the stove is faster than you think. I wondered at the effects of microwaving food while writing this article and stumbled across the following pictures comparing two plants over a nine day period. One was watered with boiled tap water and the other was watered with microwaved water. See for yourself and decide if you still want to use the microwave.

COST

Many people complain about the cost of eating organic produce, free range eggs and poultry, and grass fed beef. Since you will be purchasing whole foods rather than fast food, pre-packaged food, or frozen food, you may actually spend less since these foods tend to be less expensive. One way to defer the cost is to ditch the vitamin supplements and choose organic whole foods instead. You will get all the vitamins and minerals you need from whole foods rather than from synthesized versions of nutrients. You could also forego dinner at restaurants and transfer the cost of an expensive dining experience to the healthy food you want to eat every day. Save money on other things but please spend money on quality food. Your health is worth every penny.

FOODS TO EAT

VEGETABLES

• All types in large quantity – half your plate in veggies
• (limit nightshades – eggplant, tomato, potato, peppers – they are inflammatory)

STARCHES

• Rice (white or brown whichever digests better for you)
• Rice Cakes (Lundberg Organic are good)
• Quinoa, Millet
• Yams, Sweet Potato
• Winter Squash

Acceptable Breads: Sprouted Wheat Bread (Alvarado Street Bakery brand is good)
Sprouted Wheat Wraps (for wrapping leftovers or making burritos)

ANIMAL PROTEIN

FREE RANGE, GRASS FED, NO ANTIBIOTICS/HORMONES

• Eggs
• Beef, Pork, Chicken
• Wild Caught Fish -a COLD food, good for warmer months
• (canned tuna is very high in mercury so don’t eat it!)
• Lamb – a HOT food for cooler months

Portions are palm-sized and eaten 3-4 times per week.

VEGETABLE PROTEIN

• Beans – fresh or canned
• Legumes such as Lentils, Split Peas
• Any type of bean that digests well for you is fine. Smaller beans are easiest to digest– seaweed makes beans more digestible. Kelp capsules can be taken with them if you don’t like to eat seaweeds or you can opt for digestive enzymes.

Portions are 1/2 to 1 cup and can be eaten more freely as they absorb cholesterol and toxins, are high in fiber, and protein and nutrient rich

I do not recommend soy unless it is the whole bean and they digest well for you. Many people rely on processed soy products for their protein. The processing creates imbalance. Protein powders made from whey or rice are a better choice if you need to supplement protein. Also, many people are allergic to soy. Soy is often genetically modified, increases estrogen in the body, and is difficult to digest in general. Tofu is fine if you can digest it but is a COLD food so limit your intake to the warmer months.

The Chinese do not recommend total vegetarianism. It is their belief that animal protein, included 3-4 times per week, will keep the blood well nourished. In Chinese medicine, your blood is the basis of energy production. When it is depleted, fatigue, sleep problems, and degenerative joint pain are common issues that can develop.

DAIRY

A very building, mucus forming food, dairy is a major culprit in allergies and asthma. It not only clogs the airways with phlegm but also blocks the channels that we use in acupuncture to balance your energy. If it clogs subtle energy channels, imagine what it is doing to the rest of your body!

Cow’s milk is meant to grow a baby calf into a bigger version of itself, a cow. Once it is big enough, it naturally stops nursing from its mother. Dairy is the lactation product of a different species. It seems unnatural for humans to ‘nurse’ cross species. As adults, we would think it quite abnormal to drink breast milk past the time we are babies so why should we drink the milk of a lactating animal?

Dairy food is so building and nourishing that the only people who would really benefit from it are those who are malnourished or emaciated. If you are a full-grown, well fed adult, dairy further builds you resulting in accumulation (read mucus and excess fat). If you do choose to have dairy, please choose RAW dairy products as cooked dairy loses valuable elements that make it digestible. If you think about it, our ancestors consumed their milk products raw for thousands of years. Pasteurization wasn’t discovered until 1864. If raw dairy was so dangerous, it would have killed our ancestors and none of us would be here today! Animals that are well cared for produce healthy milk that is safe to consume raw. (Raw milk and cheeses are available in our area at Kimberton Whole Foods in Downingtown from a reputable biodynamic local farm).

Yogurt has been touted as a health food for its pro-biotic benefits. You can get pro-biotics in pill form instead. Dr. Ohhira Probiotic 12 Plus brand is a well researched product, available at Vitamin Shoppe.

WHERE WILL I GET MY CALCIUM?

Calcium is abundant in vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fish. One cup of broccoli has more than 50% of the calcium contained in one cup of milk. A six ounce serving of salmon or sardines is equivalent to the calcium content of one cup of milk One cup of cooked collard greens or spinach are also equal to the calcium in a cup of milk. If you are eating half your plate in vegetables and including leafy greens in your vegetable choices, you will ingest all the calcium you require. Better yet, the calcium in vegetables is more easily absorbed and occurs in proper ratios to other minerals that are also important for bone health. It is important to get enough vitamin D to help you absorb more calcium. Sun exposure in warm weather is the healthiest way to produce vitamin D. Ten to twenty minutes a few times a week is all you need. Rich food sources of vitamin D include eggs and fattier fish like salmon.

MILK SUBSTITUTES

• Rice Milk (Good Karma Brand Whole Grain has the least sugar and best taste).
• Hemp Milk
• Almond Milk
• Soy Milk – NOT RECOMMENDED – see Beans above

FRUITS – SEASONAL

• Apples and Pears in the fall
• Berries in the summer

FATS

Limited consumption – fats are clogging.

• Raw Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, Sunflower seeds, etc.
• Raw Almond Butter (Woodstock Farms – this is the only non organic food I eat due to the extreme cost of organic almond butter $27.00 per jar vs. $7.00 for the non organic)
• Raw Cashew Butter
• Raw Sunflower Butter
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for cooking
• Butter (small quantities)

BEVERAGES

• Herbal Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea
• Water with Lemon or Lime – room temperature

SOUP

All types of vegetables, whole grains, meat or beans, and stock. (Avoid milk based soups)

FOODS TO INCLUDE FOR SEASONAL EATING

Eating according to the seasons will help balance your body. A balanced body processes foods efficiently and does not create disease.

Winter – soups, stews, baked yams, winter squash, well cooked whole grains, firmer, thicker vegetables, larger beans, more chicken (very warming), beef, lamb, very little fish (cooling). No raw or cold food!

Spring – spring greens, sprouts, more lightly cooked veggies, mung beans, lighter whole grains, beef, begin adding fish (cooling). Less nuts this time of year.

Summer – small amounts of raw, lighter veggies, short cooking times, very light whole grains, smaller, easier to digest beans, more fish, less read meats, even less chicken (very warming). Berries in season. Avoid greasy, overly spicy this time of year.

Fall – less raw, more cooked veggies, sturdier grains, less fish, more read meats, apples and pears in season. Avoid drying, pungent flavors like ginger and garlic.

REALITY CHECK

The Chinese Medicine diet is a practice you will want to adopt for the rest of your life. Making changes slowly guarantees your success in this endeavor. Be patient. Know that every change you make supports your body’s ability to create abundant health.

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SMALL CHANGES IN THE BEGINNING

Before instituting major changes in your diet, it is good to have a plan. Start with one item you want to eliminate from your diet then add others as you become successful at finding healthier alternatives. Pick one meal such as breakfast or lunch to begin making changes. Once that meal becomes easy, pick the next meal. Before you know it, you will be eating a diet that energizes you while providing long term benefits to your overall health.

You will need to find a good health food store. Local to my patients is Kimberton Whole Foods in Downingtown, PA. They have the best selection of organic grains, beans, produce, and free range, grass fed meats and eggs.

BREAKFAST

Cereal and milk are popular breakfast items that are usually too high in simple carbohydrates and include cow’s milk. They are also served cold. For all these reasons, they foster the creation of dampness in your body and hinder digestion.

• Oatmeal (instant or rolled oats)
• Rice milk and/or a small amount of raw sugar or molasses to sweeten
• (If you add an item, like nuts, limit it to one additional ingredient so it digests more easily)

OATMEAL AND BARLEY FLAKES RECIPE

• (oats are a little dampening but the barley flakes dry damp so the combination becomes a clean burning hot cereal)
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• ½ cup barley flakes
• 4 cups of water
• Soak overnight and heat the next morning – practically instant!

Limited Fruit

Fruit is a popular breakfast item. I do not recommend much fruit as it is a concentrated sweet. I personally consume no fruit except in season. Prior to making the switch, my energy levels would swing and I easily accumulated an external layer of water weight and fat. I have noticed a steadier energy level and have lost the layer that was covering the muscle I work so hard for at the gym! You will get plenty of nutrients and antioxidants in the extra vegetables you will be eating. You will absorb the nutrients more completely since you are switching to a clean burning diet. If fruit is consumed, it should be in season and local to your area. Fruit should always be eaten alone prior to the other foods because it digests quickly. If you combine fruit with other foods, it can ferment and hinder digestion.

Try baked apples and cinnamon in the cooler months. Dried fruit should be cooked.

Free Range Organic Eggs

Eating the whites cooked and the yolks runny is the best way to utilize all the nutrients.  Healthy animals produce healthy eggs so will not cause the bacterial issues common to commercially raised chicken eggs.

EGG SANDWICH

Scramble the eggs, toast some sprouted wheat bread and have a home-made egg sandwich for those days when you don’t have time to sit down to eat.

RICE CAKE AND RAW NUT BUTTER (almond, cashew, sunflower)

Peanut butter is high on the list of inflammatory foods and is not recommended. If you choose to use peanut butter, please use the kind made with just peanuts, no added oils or sugar – bad peanut butter includes brands like Jiffy which uses highly processed, inflammatory oils and sugar.

Apple butter can be added for sweetness (the kind with just apples, no added sugar).

PROTEIN SHAKE RECIPE

• 1 Scoop Protein Powder – Whey Protein (mercola.com) or Rice Protein (no Soy)
• 1 cup Rice Milk (Good Karma Whole Grain original flavor)
• 1 Tablespoon Greens Powder (I like Superfood from herbdoc.com)
• 3 Lettuce Leafs or handful of Pea Sprouts (available at Kimberton Whole Foods)
• (Do not use clover or alfalfa as they usually contain mold)
• Blend in a high powered blender. (blendtec.com)

SNACKS

• 10-20 Raw Nuts (except peanuts)
• Rice Crackers (Brown Rice Snaps – Vegetable Flavor are my favorite)
• Rice Cakes with Hummus (try Bobbi’s Brand Hummus if you love garlic)

LUNCH

Leftover dinners can be re-created to make great lunches. Cook extra dinner, set some aside for tomorrow’s lunch. Heat it in the morning and carry it in a good thermos. It will stay hot until lunch and you will have a healthy balanced meal.

SPROUTED WHEAT BURRITO WRAPS

Start with a small amount of ground beef or black beans (do not combine beans and meat as they are difficult to digest, especially combined!). Add veggies. The wrap is your starch. You can cook the beef or beans, veggies, and rice in Mexican seasoning mix for flavor. Add some sautéed green pepper and onion for a delicious meal. Cook three days worth and you will have an easy Mexican wrap for lunch that you only had to prepare once. Eggs, chicken, fish, and beans are other ideas to fill wraps. Don’t forget the veggies!

SOUP

There are several organic soups in cans and boxes (Good brands are Wolfgang Puck Vegetable, Imagine Foods Cream of Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Potato Leek, and French Onion.)

Make them healthier by adding your own steamed veggies, rice, meats, whatever you like. You can use dinner leftovers to enhance any soup. It’s a great way to sneak in more veggies.

BUSY PEOPLE SOUP

• Start with a boxed or canned soup.
• Add any compatible cooked veggies, meats, beans, or rice from last night’s dinner.

SAMPLE SOUPS

Split Pea – Add rice and carrots
Black Bean –  Add celery, onion, and leafy greens
Vegetable – Add rice, beef, carrots, peas, leafy greens celery, onion
(sautéing the celery and onion in some butter before adding the soup and cooked items will make this taste even better).

EASY LEAFY GREENS FOR SOUP

Boxed spring greens or spinach from the salad section of the grocery store actually work well in soups. You don’t need to wash or chop them. Use about 2 handfuls per serving of soup. They cook down to almost nothing so this isn’t as much as it seems. Add the greens last as they cook in about 2 minutes.

HINT: If you plan ahead, you can cook extra veggies, meat, and grains at dinner then add these to the soups.

PUREED SOUP

Imagine Brand Creamed Soups + Extra Veggies: Can be made ahead for three days worth.
Soup + Cooked Vegetables  Blend in a high powered blender (blendtec.com)

• 1 Box of Cream of Broccoli + 2 cups steamed broccoli or cauliflower
• 1 Box of Butternut Squash + 1 cup squash or yam and 3 cups of chopped leafy greens (use the mild ones like bok choy or spinach).

(IMPORTANT: To avoid soup explosions – cook the veggies and allow them to cool. Then blend with the un-heated soup. Re-heat after blending)

SWEET DRINK FOR SUGAR CRAVINGS

This recipe provides sweetness to reduce your cravings for sugar while you are transitioning to a sugar free diet. It may seem like an odd beverage but actually tastes good.

• ¼ head of red or green cabbage
• ¼ red onion
• 2 carrots

Boil in 1 cup of water and strain. Drink the broth late in the day, sipping it over 2-3 hours. You can eat the veggies for dinner.

DINNER

Remember to cook extra for adding to soups or for tomorrow’s lunch.

PROPORTIONS

Cooked veggies should fill half your plate. Choose colorful veggies that are not too starchy as this increases your sugar intake and your waistline. Half a plate of cooked greens and carrots is a better choice than half a plate of peas, for instance. (Corn and potatoes are not vegetables!)

The other half of your plate should be divided between a protein and a starch. Easily digested grains are best, like rice, millet, and quinoa. Sweet potatoes are good in moderation. White potatoes should be minimized as they are a nightshade vegetable and add to inflammation.

HOW TO COOK DINNER

This is for people who are accustomed to microwaving frozen dinners.

Starch:
Start with a grain. White rice, millet, and quinoa cook in about 20 minutes. You can make three days worth.

Protein:
Animal Protein – electric grills are great for quick meals.
Vegetable Protein – beans or legumes, fresh or canned.
(If fresh, you will need to prepare them ahead by soaking overnight and begin cooking them first as they take the longest. Cooking time varies. Add a strip of seaweed for easier digestion).

Vegetables:
Wash and chop some fresh veggies. Put them in a saucepan and add about two inches of water depending on quantity. Steaming takes 3-5 minutes depending on the vegetable. Save the cooking water to add to soups. Most vegetables are suited for this except cruciferous types (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage).

LEAFY GREENS

Greens are the very best foods for your liver. They quell inflammation and drain dampness. Greens go well with pork, can be mixed into soups, and complement beans. They are a concentrated powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, including calcium in a combination that is hard to find in any other foods. Find a way to include them in as many meals as you can.

TASTY LEAFY GREENS RECIPE

Sample greens are: Bok Choy (mild taste), Swiss Chard (moderate taste) or Kale (strong taste). If new to greens, start with Bok Choy.

Chop the stalks and put them in about two inches of water with greens on top. Sauté grated garlic in a small amount of olive oil and toss with the strained greens. Top with grated fresh parmesan cheese (unless you are allergic to mold or dairy). Although cheese is not a recommended food, parmesan cheese has a strong flavor so you only need a little. The health benefits of the greens far outweigh the detrimental effects of the cheese. If you forego the cheese, add some sea salt to taste. As you get accustomed to greens, you will enjoy them lightly steamed with no added seasonings.

Bon Appetit!

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The Effect of Acupuncture on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women

The Effect of Acupuncture on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women, by Ouyang Gang et al: According to the TCM theory that the Kidney is in charge of bone, the authors studied the effect of acupuncture to reinforce the Kidney in 42 cases of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

In the treatment group of 25 cases, low bone mass (defined as between 1 and 2 standard deviations from the norm) was present in 16 cases and osteoporosis (M-2SD) was present in the remainder, with single or multiple fractures. In the control group of 17 cases, low bone mass was found in 11 cases and osteoporosis in 6.

The points selected were Shenshu BL-23, Guanyuan REN-4 and Taixi KID-3.

Two inch 30# needles were slowly inserted into the selected points as the patient breathed out. After needling sensation was elicited, manipulation with heavy thrusting and gentle lifting was performed for one minute. The needles were retained for 30 minutes, during which time they were manipulated once. At the end of the treatment, the needles were rapidly lifted to the subcutaneouslayer while the patient breathed in. After withdrawing the needles the points were pressed and kneaded.

The treatment was given once every other day, with 3 months constituting one therapeutic course and a ten day interval between courses. Both the treatment group and the control group were given calcium and vitamin D daily for 6 months.

A comparison of bone mineral density before and after treatment between the two groups showed improvements in both groups, but significantly better results in the treatment group (P<0.05). In the control group, the average density of 0.908g/[cm.sup.2] [+ or -] 0.072 rose to 0.913 [+ or -] 0.066, a difference of 0.005 [+ or -] 0013. In the treatment group, the mean density of 0.907 [+ or -] 0.072 rose to 0.923 [+ or -] 0.070, which represents a 0.013 [+ or -] 0.012 improvement.

The use of [acupuncture points] Dazhong KID-4, Guanyuan REN-4 and Shenshu BL-23 tonifies the Kidney and replenishes the vital essence.

In western medical terms, the authors state that use of Guanyuan REN-4 and Shenshu BL-23 has been shown to increase gonadal hormone levels which play a part in inhibiting bone re-absorption, and that the treatment may also improve the ability of the body to absorb orally administered calcium (3/02).

COPYRIGHT 2002 The Journal of Chinese Medicine
Copyright 2002 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

The Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Abstracts March & June 2002
Author: Gang, Ouyang
Publication: The Journal of Chinese Medicine
Date: Oct 1, 2002

My Commentary on Hormone Replacement (HRT) and Menopause Mayo Clinic Article

By Margaret Celli, L.Ac, L.M.T.

Menopause is the natural cessation of menstruation. On average, menopause occurs for women at age 51 but can happen in her forties or even late fifties. Some women are symptomatic, others are not. For those who do experience menopause symptoms, they can be mild to severe and include hot flashes both day and night, sleep disturbances, and irritability.

Until 2002, hormone replacement therapy was recommended both to manage menopause symptoms and to prevent long term deterioration of health from osteoporosis and heart disease. However, a large clinical trial, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) had to cease their long term clinical trials as they found the risks outweighed the benefits.

Hormone replacement therapy is now known to increase a woman’s risk of heart disease, breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots. The following statistics from a study on the effects of (HRT) are taken from the following article published by the Mayo clinic 2/28/09 “Hormone Therapy: Is it right for you”?

“The Women’s Health Initiative found that women taking the combination estrogen-progestin (Prempro) had an increased risk of developing certain serious conditions. According to the study, over one year, 10,000 women taking estrogen plus progestin compared with a placebo might experience:

• 7 more cases of heart disease
• 8 more cases of breast cancer
• 8 more cases of stroke
• 18 more cases of blood clots”

The article goes on to say that if these risks are acceptable to you, you should consider short-term hormone replacement therapy as an option in managing the symptoms associated with menopause. It also mentions a lowered risk of osteoporosis associated with hormone replacement therapy and suggests that HRT might be a short term option to help prevent loss of bone density in menopausal and post-menopausal women.

You Have A Choice!

If you are looking for a more natural way to manage menopause and prevent bone loss and osteoporosis, consider acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Studies have proven the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture in reducing hot flashes improving sleep, managing stress, regulating hormones and increasing bone density.

This article describes the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to manage menopausal symptoms.

Hormone therapy: Is it right for you?

By Mayo Clinic Staff
Feb. 19, 2009

Until 2002, hormone therapy was routinely used to treat menopausal symptoms and protect long-term health. Then a large clinical trial unearthed its health risks. What does this mean to you?
During menopause, your ovaries decrease production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. This decline in hormones puts a permanent end to menstruation and fertility, but it can also cause hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness and urinary problems.

The solution? For decades, doctors routinely eased these symptoms with hormone replacement therapy — medications containing female hormones to replace the ones the body is no longer making. And it was widely believed that boosting estrogen levels after menopause could also ward off heart disease and osteoporosis, while improving quality of life and keeping women young.

Then, in 2002, a large clinical trial called the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) reported that hormone therapy actually posed more health risks than benefits for women in the clinical trial. As the number of health hazards attributed to hormone therapy grew, doctors became less likely to prescribe it. And up to two-thirds of women on the therapy discontinued its use, often without talking to their doctors.

Today, there’s plenty of confusion about hormone replacement therapy, which is now commonly called hormone therapy. The truth is that hormone therapy is not the magical cure for aging that it was once believed to be, but it’s still the most effective treatment for unpleasant menopausal symptoms for most women. If you’re facing menopause, learn more about the benefits and the risks of hormone therapy.

What are the benefits of hormone therapy?

Estrogen remains the most effective treatment for relief of troublesome menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. It can also ease vaginal symptoms of menopause, such as dryness, itching, burning and discomfort with intercourse.

Long-term hormone therapy for the prevention of postmenopausal conditions is no longer routinely recommended. But women who take estrogen for short-term relief of menopausal symptoms may gain some protection against the following conditions:

Osteoporosis. Studies show that hormone therapy can prevent the bone loss that occurs after menopause, which decreases the risk of osteoporosis-related hip fractures.

Colorectal cancer. Studies show that hormone therapy can decrease the risk of colorectal cancer.

Heart disease. Some data suggest that estrogen can decrease risk of heart disease when taken early in your postmenopausal years. A randomized, controlled clinical trial — the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) — exploring estrogen use and heart disease in younger postmenopausal women is under way, but it won’t be completed for several years.

For women who undergo menopause naturally, estrogen is typically prescribed as part of a combination therapy of estrogen and progestin. This is because estrogen without progestin can increase the risk of uterine cancer. Women who undergo menopause as the result of a hysterectomy can take estrogen alone.

What are the risks of hormone therapy?

The Women’s Health Initiative found that women taking the combination estrogen-progestin (Prempro) used in the study had an increased risk of developing certain serious conditions. According to the study, over one year, 10,000 women taking estrogen plus progestin compared with a placebo might experience:

• Seven more cases of heart disease
• Eight more cases of breast cancer
• Eight more cases of stroke
• 18 more cases of blood clots

Based on these numbers, the increased risk of disease to an individual woman is small. However, the overall risk to menopausal women as a group became a substantial public health concern. In addition, researchers found that women taking combination estrogen-progestin had an increase in abnormal mammograms. The higher number of false-positives — signs of possible breast cancer that ultimately prove inaccurate — were probably due to estrogen, which increases breast tissue density.

For women taking estrogen alone (Premarin), the WHI found no increased risk of breast cancer or heart disease. But researchers did find that over one year, 10,000 women taking estrogen compared with a placebo might experience 12 more cases of stroke and six more cases of blood clots in the legs, plus an increase in mammography abnormalities. This last point is important, because women who take estrogen or combination estrogen-progestin therapy may need more frequent mammograms and additional testing.

Who should consider hormone therapy?

Despite the inherent health risks, estrogen is still the gold standard for treating menopausal symptoms. For women who experience moderate to severe hot flashes or other menopausal symptoms, the benefits of short-term therapy outweigh the potential risks.

Data surrounding hormone replacement therapy can be scary and confusing. But the absolute risk to an individual woman taking hormone therapy is quite low — possibly low enough to be acceptable to you, depending on your symptoms. Talk with your doctor about your personal risks.

Who should avoid hormone therapy?

Women with breast cancer, heart disease or a history of blood clots should not take hormone therapy for relief of menopause symptoms. Women who don’t suffer from menopause symptoms should not take hormone therapy for preventing memory loss or strokes. Instead, talk to your doctor about other medications you can take or lifestyle changes you can make for long-term protection from these conditions.

If you take hormone replacement therapy, how can you protect yourself from the added risks?

Recent analysis of the WHI data and other trials suggests that there are several ways to reduce the inherent risks of hormone therapy. Talk to your doctor about these strategies:

• Time it right. The risk of hormone therapy causing heart disease is not significantly raised in women under age 60. In fact, some studies suggest that estrogen may protect the heart when taken early in your menopausal years.
• Minimize the amount of medication you take. Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time needed to treat symptoms. On the other hand, don’t be scared to continue treatment as long as you have debilitating menopausal symptoms.
• Find the best delivery method for you. You can take estrogen in the form of a pill, patch, gel, vaginal cream or slow-releasing suppository or ring that you place in your vagina. If you experience only isolated vaginal symptoms, estrogen in a vaginal cream, tablet or ring is usually a better choice than a pill or a skin patch. That’s because estrogen applied directly to your vagina is more effective at a lower dose than is estrogen given in pill or skin patch form.
• If you haven’t had a hysterectomy and are using oral or skin patch hormone therapy, you will also need progestin, which is available in a pill, combination pill, vaginal gel, intrauterine device or combination skin patch. Your doctor can help you find the delivery method that offers the most benefits and convenience with the least risks and cost.

What can you do if you can’t take hormone therapy?

Women shouldn’t have to suffer through menopause. You may be able to manage your menopausal symptoms by making healthy lifestyle choices. In fact, your doctor may recommend that you change your exercise or eating habits before you try medication. If lifestyle changes aren’t providing enough relief from bothersome symptoms, there are many medications besides hormone therapy to relieve discomfort.

The bottom line: Hormone therapy isn’t all good or all bad

Clearly, hormone replacement therapy hasn’t lived up to its billing as a panacea for age-related disease. But the news isn’t all doom and gloom either.

The only way to determine if hormone replacement therapy is the best treatment for you is to talk to your doctor about your individual symptoms and health risks. Be sure to keep the conversation going throughout your menopausal years. As researchers learn more about hormone therapy and other menopausal treatments, recommendations may change. Review your current treatments with your doctor on a regular basis to make sure they’re still your best option.

Full article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hormone-therapy/WO00046

Hormone Replacement Therapy in the News:
The Women’s Health Initiative Study at a Glance

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been in the news for the past few months due to the release of findings from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) in the United States. Here’s an update and short summary of the main findings of this research:

When did the study take place?

The study began in the fall of 1997 and was scheduled to be completed in 2005. However, researchers halted the study midway on May 31, 2002 because they felt that the health risks for participants taking hormone replacement therapy outweighed the possible benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

Who took part in the study?

More than 16,000 healthy post-menopausal American women with a uterus between the ages of 50 and 79.

What form of Hormone replacement therapy was evaluated?

Participants were given a placebo or .625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen and 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate (hormone replacement therapy, estrogen plus progestin) in 1 tablet daily for an average of 5.2 years. The study was designed to evaluate the use of hormone replacement therapy by healthy women for disease prevention.

Why was the study halted?

The researchers halted the study prematurely because participants on hormone replacement therapy exceeded the boundary for breast cancer risk that was established at the beginning of the study. There was also an increased risk for heart disease for participants on hormone replacement therapy compared to the placebo group.

What are the relevant findings from this study?

The study suggests that long-term (more than 4 years) use of hormone replacement therapy increases a woman’s risk for heart disease and breast cancer. The study demonstrated no significant increased risk of breast cancer for women taking hormone replacement therapy for less than 4 years.

Who needs to be concerned?

Researchers suggest that women who have been on combined hormone replacement therapy (estrogen plus a progestin) for more than 4 years should consult their doctors about whether they need to continue on hormone replacement therapy, and address their increased risks for breast cancer and heart disease for continued use of Hormone replacement therapy.

Researchers also suggest that women taking hormone replacement therapy solely for heart disease prevention should stop taking hormone replacement therapy and consider other options.
While the study found that hormone replacement therapy does reduce the risk for fractures, researchers nevertheless suggest that women taking hormone replacement therapy to prevent osteoporosis should weigh the risks of hormone replacement therapy against the possible benefits with their doctors, and consider other, non-hormonal options for the treatment of osteoporosis.

What happens next?

The Women’s Health Initiative study of unopposed estrogen (estrogen alone) therapy for women without a uterus will continue as planned since there is currently no sign of an increased risk of breast cancer for participants. Study results will be released after the trial end in March 2005.

Sources: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/new/press/02-07-09.htm ; JAMA 288(3), 321-333; A Friend Indeed May-June 2002; www.afriendindeed.ca

Written by Kathleen O’Grady, Director of Communications for the Canadian Women’s Health Network and Editor of A Friend Indeed newsletter. Reprinted with permission from A Friend Indeed (Sep/Oct 2002).

WHI, Estrogen and Progestin trial, update (March 2004)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has instructed participants in the estrogen-alone study of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a large multi-center trial, to stop taking their study pills and to begin the follow-up phase of the study.

Researchers concluded that, with nearly 7 years of follow-up completed, estrogen-alone hormone therapy does not appear to affect (either decrease or increase) the risk of heart disease–the main question of the trial. More importantly, there appears to be an increased risk of stroke, and the NIH believes that an increased risk of stroke is not acceptable in a prevention trial in healthy women, especially if estrogen does not reduce heart disease risk.

Visit: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/new/press/04-03-02.htm
Why did the NIH stop the trial? Your questions answered: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/e-a_faq.htm

More on Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy from the Canadian Women’s Health Network!

Full article: http://www.cwhn.ca/resources/menopause/Hormone replacement therapy-glance.html

Menopause, Hormones and Chinese Medicine

By Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac., and Efram Korngold, L.Ac., OMD

Most gynecologists have a knee-jerk reaction: if it’s menopause, it’s time for Premarin. While this may be right for some women, some of the time, it is not for all women all of the time. Most women want to heed their doctors – some seek to be educated about alternative points of view. Although hormone supplementation may be useful and warranted, conventional pharmaceuticals (like Premarin, Provera, Estraderm, Estrace) are not the only or necessarily best choice. When combined, acupuncture, herbal formulas, and natural hormone creams can be of enormous benefit.

Western and Chinese medical paradigms are quite parallel in the way they describe the menopausal process. One speaks through the language of hormones and their interaction with the reproductive organs, and the other uses the vocabulary of Essence and its relationship with the Kidney. Understanding hormone supplementation with the context of Chinese medical thinking will maximize our ability to treat menopausal women effectively. Translating from West to East, steroid hormones can be regarded as Essence (jing) tonics.

The Western Vocabulary of Hormones

Derived from the Greek word ‘hormon,’ meaning to urge on, excite, or stimulate, hormones are chemical messengers disseminated via the bloodstream to regulate cell physiology. They interact with and counterbalance each other. In the follicular phase, the ovaries secrete estradiol to produce eggs. After ovulation, the space once occupied by the egg becomes the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone – about 20 mg/day. During pregnancy the uterus and placenta produce up to 400 mg/day of progesterone (pro-gestation). Progesterone can be considered a precursor hormone, meaning that it occupies the headwaters from which flow a stream of steroid hormones including cortisol, androstenedione, testosterone, and the estrogens (estrone, estradiol, estriol). The ovaries, along with the thyroid and adrenals, form an integral part of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis responsible for the fundamental regulatory processes of reproduction, growth, maturation, metabolism, maintenance of temperature and pressure, red blood cell production, and adaptation to stressors like infection, trauma, and other environmental influences.

In spite of the recognized complexities of hormonal dynamics, disturbances that occur in menopausal women are simplistically attributed to the decline of ovarian function and the consequent cessation of estradiol secretion. A complex chronological, biological, and cultural event has been reduced to a single problem: estrogen deficiency-with an apparently uncomplicated and obvious solution: estrogen replacement.

The current medical wisdom is the product of an industrially manufactured consciousness. In 1966, Searle, Upjohn, and Wyeth-Ayerst pathologized the perception of menopause, transforming it from a transitional life stage into a chronic disease process by hiring a Brooklyn physician named Robert A. Wilson to write a book called Feminine Forever, proclaiming that estrogen would protect a woman’s youth and save her from “living decay.” The book injected fear by insisting that without estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), bones would dissolve, hearts clog, vaginas shrivel, breasts sag, skin crinkle, and minds deteriorate.

Estrogen became perceived to be the miracle antidote to loss. The marketing campaign worked. Menopause is now universally and virtually unanimously treated with estrogen. Estrogen sales jumped from $17 million in 1966 to $83 million in 1976, and in 1990, sales swelled to $460 million. This in spite of the NIH Consensus Conference on Estrogen Use and Postmenopausal Women that concluded: “Given the current state of knowledge, no general recommendation, applicable to all postmenopausal women, can be made…(HRT is a) promising but unproven approach to prevention.”

The Chinese Vocabulary of Essence

While Western doctors define the problems associated with menopause as stemming solely from estrogen deficiency, in Chinese medicine estrogen, along with other hormones, is subsumed within the larger category of internal secretions known as Essence (jing). Estrogen is a kind of Essence, just like carrots are a kind of vegetable; but just as all vegetables are not carrots, not all Essence is estrogen.

In John Lee, M.D.’s descriptive definition, it is striking how easily the term Essence (jing) can be substituted for steroid: “Steroid [hormones] stabilize, energize, nurture our cells and tissues, ensure repair and replication of vital tissue, protect us against damage, and foster the genesis and development of a new life to carry on our species.” The same functions performed by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis – the capacity to grow, mature, reproduce, maintain stability, generate blood and marrow, adapt to stress, repair body tissues – are governed by the Kidney. Inherited and acquired Essence, pooled within the reservoir of the Kidney, are stored and dispensed as needed. All other organ systems live downstream from this inland sea, dependent on its supply.

When Essence is plentiful, our ability to resist disease and adapt to change is optimal. With age, fundamental resources ebb, and these capacities decline. In youth it is possible to compensate for spending more biological cash than is returned to our reserve Essence account, but as this principal diminishes over time, we become less able to push ourselves without receiving notice of insufficient funds. If throughout our lives we run the body economy at a deficit, the dearth of resources eventually catches up with us. Menopausal complaints are the outcome of deficit spending: the debt can no longer be rolled over, because there’s no longer a cushion of funds from which to draw. Menopausal problems result from the diminution of Essence and a consequent deficiency of Qi and Blood.

Stored by the Kidney, Essence is the origin of all Yin (Blood and Moisture) and Yang (Qi and Warmth). Loss of libido, stamina, hearing, and vision, lower back pain, sore hips or knees, apathy, despair, dull mindedness, memory problems, vaginal dryness and atrophy, thinning of bones, and deterioration of teeth and gums are all symptoms of deficient Essence.
When Essence becomes depleted, so do Blood and Qi, Yin and Yang. Lack of Qi produces fatigue, weakness, dull thinking, melancholy, and decreased motivation. Deficiency of Blood leads to weak vision, dizziness, night sweats, irritability, and restless sleep. Lack of Blood deprives muscles, tendons, and ligaments of sufficient nourishment and suppleness, so they become tight and inflamed, leading to muscle cramps, joint pain, and neck tension. The organism responds to this state of scarcity with anxiety and lability, for lack of Blood disrupts the smooth flow that preserves elasticity of tissue and emotional flexibility. As Kidney Essence declines, a domino effect engenders down line deficiencies that eventually impact the Liver, Heart, Spleen, and Lung.

Hot flashes are a consequence of the inability of Yin to restrain Yang, so heat flares upward uncontrollably. Yin deficiency of the Liver and Heart can trigger hyperactivity that leads to rising Heat. But hot flashes may also be a consequence of Kidney Yang deficiency, or weakened Life Gate Fire. When Kidney Yang is weak, the Spleen becomes unable to extract the necessary nutrients to generate adequate Moisture and Blood. This results in Dryness (dry eyes, skin, hair, and vagina, brittle nails, constipation, even cystitis). This in turn undermines shen-jing, the unified relationship between Heart and Kidney, Mind and Essence. Kidney Yang deficiency engenders Spleen weakness, causing symptoms such as lethargy, weakness, easy bruising, poor concentration, fluid retention, indigestion and bloating. It also leads to a weakening of the Kidney’s capacity to anchor the Qi, permitting True Yang to leave its proper place in the Lower Burner and surge upward, producing agitation, flushing and perspiration, followed by chilliness, weakness, and fatigue.

In sum, labile emotions and unpredictable surges and lapses of physical and mental energies result from the attrition of Yin and Yang Essences of the Kidney, causing the Qi of the Liver, Heart, and Spleen to become erratic and insufficient. Many women have signs of both Kidney Yin and Yang depletion. But because hot flashes, sweating, agitation, and dryness (Kidney Yin Deficient symptoms) are more attention-getting, herbs that treat Kidney Yin deficiency are often overemphasized at the expense of those that restore the true Yang of the Life Gate, an equally important goal.

Diet and Menopause

Dietary changes can be profoundly helpful. Many menopausal women become lactose intolerant and eliminating milk products can dramatically reduce symptoms of indigestion like bloating and gas. In general, high carbohydrate consumption can be problematic. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which triggers insulin production. Excessive carbohydrates lead to excessive levels of insulin which reduces the cell’s ability to respond to hormone stimulation. While foods with a sweet flavor tonify Qi and Blood and strengthen the Spleen, excess sweetness will produce dampness and stagnation. This results in feelings of heaviness, lethargy, distension, constipation, diarrhea, muscle soreness, and puffiness. Spleen Qi stagnation leads to Liver Qi stagnation, resulting in irritability, frustration, hypersensitivity, cramps, swollen breasts, mood swings, and headaches.

By reducing carbohydrate intake, one reduces the level of circulating insulin, enabling the cells to respond normally to thyroxin, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, and other hormones. This disturbed carbohydrate-insulin dynamic interferes with the liver’s ability to detoxify excess estrogen: women with symptoms of Liver Qi and Blood stagnation are likely to be estrogen dominant. These women will benefit by restricting carbohydrate consumption (grains, cereal, bread, potatoes, pasta, fruit, or fruit juice) to one meal a day, preferably dinner. Digestive aids such as pancreatin and plant-based enzymes as well as friendly intestinal microflora (probiotics) will also help to normalize the function of the Stomach and Spleen.

The Yin and Yang of Estrogen and Progesterone

The life process demands the capacity for proliferation and restraint, growth and its regulation – both are necessary for conception, gestation, birth, and development. Ordinarily estrogen is considered to be a Yin-promoting agent because it relieves conditions of Yin deficiency (hot flashes, dryness) as well as producing conditions of Yin excess (Dampness, Blood stasis). Progesterone could easily be considered a Yang agent because of its ability to enhance fat metabolism and thyroid function, as well as improving circulation of Blood and distribution of fluids.

However, in the context of developmental cycles, estrogen acts like a Yang agent because it promotes cell division and rapid growth; whereas progesterone acts like a Yin agent because it moderates growth by promoting cell differentiation and maturation. Pregnancy requires cell proliferation, differentiation, and maturation – both Yin and Yang functions. The dynamic of estrogen and progesterone can be compared to that of the sheng (engendering) and ke (controlling) sequence. In later life we are not supposed to continue to proliferate tissue at a rapid rate, grow, and accumulate mass, but rather to mature.

Because of Western medical education and research, we are aware of the benefits of estrogen and uninformed about the value of progesterone. Whereas estrogen levels decline by 50 per cent at menopause, progesterone levels can drop nearly to zero. Even though the ovaries cease producing estradiol, estriol continues to be made by the adrenal glands and in fat cells. Canadian endocrinologist Jerilynn Prior has found that athletes with low progesterone levels but high estrogen showed signs of osteoporosis, provoking her to speculate that it is perhaps progesterone deficiency, not estrogen depletion, that is the true culprit. It is also not widely known that lifelong exposure to xenoestrogens (estrogen-like compounds found in petrochemicals) destroys follicular function, preventing the development of the corpus luteum, resulting in massive estrogen dominance and profound progesterone deficiency. Excess estrogen, whether endogenous (produced by the body) or exogenous (from outside the body), creates Qi and Blood stagnation, particularly affecting the Liver and Spleen.

Phytosterols

There is no direct evidence that plants contain compounds that are the same as estrogens. Norman Farnsworth, an internationally renowned pharmacognosist, states that because plants have been used successfully to induce ovulation and increase fertility, it’s logical but not necessarily correct to infer that it must be because they contain substances that are equivalent to human and animal hormones. Yet a great variety of plant constituents are similar in their molecular structure to human steroid hormones. The implications of this are still under investigation in an attempt to explain the mechanism by which herbs affect hormones. It is speculated that herbal agents: stimulate endogenous hormone production; sensitize and/or increase hormone receptors; inhibit steroid degradation by altering the rate of catabolism in the liver (producing the net effect of more circulating hormones in the blood stream). Also, we now know that compounds such as genistein in soy and red clover occupy estrogen receptor sites, compounds in licorice can occupy receptors for cortisol, and dang gui appears to contain compounds that occupy progesterone receptors.

Herbs are complex biological substances with incompletely understood mechanisms of action, sometimes producing paradoxical, normalizing effects. Genistein simultaneously acts as a weak estrogen, anti-estrogen, angiogenesis inhibitor, and anti-oxidant. Perhaps Japanese women do not complain of hot flashes because their soy-based diet contains high levels of genistein, which buffers the loss of estrogen by binding to the same receptor sites on cells, easing the panic of the hypothalamus in response to declining estrogen. It is curious that Asian women have lower levels of estrogen and a lower incidence of estrogen-deficiency symptoms. According to Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., licorice not only mimics cortisol, but also acts as a modulator of estrogen activity, inhibiting or enhancing its effects. Many herbs are adaptogenic, enhancing the body’s self-regulatory capacities. They can affect not only the quantity of hormones circulating in the blood, but also the body’s ability to respond to those hormones. A term for describing how estrogen receptors respond to exogenous and endogenous compounds is selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM).

Natural Progesterone Cream

Natural progesterone differs significantly from Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate), properly referred to as a progestin, not progesterone. What is meant by a natural hormone is a substance that precisely matches in molecular configuration what the body itself produces. Natural has less to do with where it comes from, and everything to do with its biochemical structure. The naturally occurring plant sterol diosgenin from Mexican yams can be converted through a simple laboratory process called hydrolyzation into a steroid compound molecularly identical to human progesterone. Transdermal (topically applied) natural progesterone creams, gels, and patches do not have the side effects associated with Provera and other progestins. Possible side effects of Provera include fluid retention, weight gain, depression, fatigue, nausea, acne, migraine, breast tenderness, and spotting between periods. Unusual but possible side effects include: liver toxicity, thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, or retinal thrombosis.

Hormones taken orally enter the bloodstream from the small intestine, and go directly to the liver. Because the liver is not accustomed to receiving large amounts of hormones, it begins to break them down, leaving only a small percentage of the ingested hormone available to cells. Transdermal delivery circumvents the digestive system — cells absorb hormones more efficiently, rapidly dispersing them into the blood via capillary beds in skin and muscle. Martha Howard, M.D. says, “oral pharmaceuticals can be harmful to the liver and gall bladder. Oral administration is outmoded. Plant-derived creams fit better in the body’s receptors. I prefer transdermal delivery systems-it’s safer and more natural.”

Progesterone has a broad spectrum of action, relieving symptoms of Qi, Blood, and Essence deficiency-normalizing estrogen levels (Yin) and thyroid function (Yang)-without causing stagnation. When progesterone supplementation is inadequate in relieving hot flashes, sweating, and vaginal dryness, herbs that tonify Yin, dispel Heat, and astringe Moisture should be used.

Another option is to use a transdermal preparation marketed as a phytoestrogen cream (containing extracts of ginseng, dang gui, chaste tree berry, red clover, black cohosh, pomegranate, black walnut, borage and grape seed) that may help to relieve hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Women concerned about or diagnosed with breast cancer wonder whether they should use natural progesterone cream. A Johns Hopkins study published in 1981 found that women with low progesterone levels had a 5.4 times greater incidence of breast cancer and a 10 times greater incidence of general malignancy. This makes sense since progesterone encourages cell differentiation and malignancy is a phenomenon in which undifferentiated cells multiply. One study showed that transdermal progesterone reduced the risk of breast cancer by decreasing the rate of division of breast epithelial cells, and inhibited the estrogen-induced proliferative response in cancerous cell lines. It has also been reported that women whose breast tumor surgeries were performed in the early luteal phase (the early part of the last half of the cycle) had better outcomes. This is when progesterone is dominant and estrogen levels are relatively lower.

If hormones and Essence are virtual synonyms, then hormones can be used in the same manner as Essence-replenishing herbs. In the spirit of integrative medicine, Chinese medicine can expand its thinking and practice to include natural hormone therapy as a complementary modality.

Harriet Beinfeld, L.Ac., and Efram Korngold, L.Ac., OMD are co-authors of “Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine”, the “Chinese Modular Solutions Handbook for Health Professionals”, the pamphlet “Chinese Medicine: How It Works” and many articles. For 25 years, they have been engaged in the active practice of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and were among the first to become licensed by the State of California in 1976. Currently on the faculty of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, they have taught and lectured at medical schools, hospitals, acupuncture colleges and conferences.

Harriet Beinfeld is also the author of “Chinese Modular Solutions; Handbook for Health Professionals”, “Chinese Medicine, How It Works” and “Simple Solutions for Stress.”

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