Acupuncture Health Insights » Health Conditions

Water Metabolism and the Triple Burner

Lynn Jaffee — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:25:32 +0000

Over the years, I have seen patients in my acupuncture clinic for conditions such as bladder infections, edema, chronic sinus infections, dehydration, problems with yeast, athlete’s foot, dry itchy skin, and obesity. What do all of these conditions have in common? In Chinese medicine, they all arise from your body’s inability to metabolize water effectively.

Most of us don’t think much about water; you drink it in, you pee it out. Also, we’ve been repeatedly told to drink enough. Beyond that, what could water . . . → Read More: Water Metabolism and the Triple Burner

Sweet Dreams

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Sleep is essential to your survival as a human being. In fact, it’s likely that you can survive longer without food than you can without sleep.

The exact reason you need to sleep eludes scientists, but they do know that sleep is restorative. It supports brain function, conserves your energy, and is rejuvenating in general. You can feel its restorative effects after you’ve had a really good night’s sleep–and the lack of those effects after a couple of nights of tossing and turning without adequate . . . → Read More: Sweet Dreams

When Blood Goes Bad

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:59:01 +0000

When you read about acupuncture and Chinese medicine, frequently you will find a lot of discussion about the importance of Qi, or energy, and how its flow is vital to good health. Blood, however, is considered to be equally as important in this medicine, because it is responsible for nourishing and moisturizing every organ in your body. Both Qi and Blood flow together, but Qi is considered lighter and more active, and blood is more nourishing and concrete. For example, in your muscles Qi . . . → Read More: When Blood Goes Bad

Can You Work Too Much?

Lynn Jaffee — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:42:37 +0000

I recently read an article in my local newspaper about manual laborers in Nicaragua who are suffering from an epidemic of kidney failure that has been killing thousands. (Worked to Death? Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sunday February 19, 2012) Doctors and scientists are struggling to find the cause of this chronic kidney disease that is affecting workers throughout Central America.

One theory is that these workers are being exposed to toxic substances in the course of their work. However, those who are getting sick come . . . → Read More: Can You Work Too Much?

Cold War

Lynn Jaffee — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:28:14 +0000

Several years ago, I went on a kayaking trip in the canyon country of Utah and Arizona. Our kayaks were loaded down with camping gear, food, and far more stuff than we would ever need for a week in the wild. Fully loaded, my kayak rode a little low in the water, so when I was paddling, I was constantly sitting in about three inches of water.

About half way through the trip, a muscle in my butt seized up so badly that I . . . → Read More: Cold War

Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:54:27 +0000

As an acupuncturist, I regularly see people in pain; people with arthritis, blown out backs, sprained ankles, sciatica, headaches, and those recovering from surgery. If you’ve ever suffered from a painful condition, you know that your particular pain is unique. It can be dull and achy, sharp and stabbing, throbbing, burning, or it can feel electric. The pain may come and go or be ever-present. It may wake you at night or change with the weather.

What causes pain? There are actually a number . . . → Read More: Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Depression, Bupleurum, and Your Chinese Liver

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:38:31 +0000

In my acupuncture practice, I see a number of people who struggle with emotional symptoms, such as stress, depression, anxiety, or irritability. Jolene* is one of those people. She works long hours at her sales job, takes care of unappreciative ailing parents, and struggles to make ends meet. Essentially, her life is not going how she would like, and it makes her depressed and irritable.

Jolene comes in for acupuncture every couple of weeks, and she feels better for a while. However, the circumstances . . . → Read More: Depression, Bupleurum, and Your Chinese Liver

Acupuncture for Dizziness

Lynn Jaffee — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:32:39 +0000

Dizziness can make your life a living hell. If you suffer from dizziness or vertigo, you’re no stranger to the feeling of the world whirling around you, unsteadiness, and even nausea associated with this miserable condition. Several years ago while traveling through Europe, my husband had a bout of vertigo with nausea that literally left him crawling from the bed to the bathroom on his hands and knees for the better part of a week.

The symptoms of mild dizziness can include feeling lightheaded, . . . → Read More: Acupuncture for Dizziness

The Food Stagnation Blues

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:43:16 +0000

In Chinese medicine, they have this condition called food stagnation, in which the food you have eaten just doesn’t move. I have had food food stagnation only once, but it was memorable. It happened after a long and difficult airline flight with my children when they were small, and all the food I had eaten during that day just sat. It was like my stomach was closed for business, and the food wasn’t moving. I went out and ran a little, thinking I’d get . . . → Read More: The Food Stagnation Blues

The Need to Heal

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:27:47 +0000

About a month ago, I pulled a muscle in a big way. I had just finished a really good (hard!) weight workout and was cooling off and stretching. Suddenly, boom! A muscle between my hip and lower back had me on the floor barely able to move.

In the weeks since that initial pull, I’ve been nursing it back to health with stretching, gentle strengthening, acupuncture, and physical therapy. However, it’s not healing as quickly as I would like, and I’m beginning to get . . . → Read More: The Need to Heal