That’s right–I’m talking about all those soaps, moisturizers, lotions, lipsticks, nail polish, perfumes, and anti-aging creams you use daily.  In the past, most of us didn’t give much thought to what we were applying to our skin. However, you’re seeing more organic, and chemical-free products on the store shelves for a reason. Many of the ingredients in the stuff you’ve been putting on your skin for years may not be so wonderful after all.

Part of the problem is that the ingredients in cosmetics and skin care products aren’t regulated by any agency. Manufacturers must list their ingredients, but for the most part, anything goes. In addition, many creams and lotions have added ingredients to enhance their absorption deeper into your skin and ultimately into your bloodstream. If you’re thinking that these chemicals are harmless because they’re only going on the surface of your skin, think again.

These are products that you use frequently and in abundance. The average woman uses about twenty products with about 200 ingredients–not just once in awhile, but every day.

If you’re not convinced, think about this: All the chemicals from soaps, shampoos, etc. are being washed down the drain and into our rivers, streams, and drinking water. In a study conducted by the EPA and Baylor University in Texas, researchers found that chemicals used in fragrances and cleaning products are polluting our waterways. They found that the chemicals not only make their way into the water, but also into the tissues of fish living in those rivers and streams.

In Chinese medicine, your Lung organ system protects the exterior of your body, especially your skin. As the guard of your exterior, your Lungs also control your immunity. Immunity is seen as a kind of protective bubble surrounding your body. When you put toxic ingredients on your skin, you’re weakening your protective bubble, negatively impacting your health, and compromising your immune system.

What chemicals exactly are posing a problem? There are many. A short list of some of the most common include:

Parabens, which are used as a preservative, are a concern because they’re considered to be hormone disruptors. This means that they can mimic estrogen or interfere with your body’s natural hormone and reproductive processes. If you check labels, you’ll find they’re in almost everything.

Mineral Oil, paraffin, and petrolatum. These bad boys are basically petroleum products that coat your skin like plastic, clog your pores, and create a toxic buildup. They can slow cellular development, actually creating earlier signs of aging–and who needs that? They are also considered hormone disruptors.

Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). SLS is found in over 90 percent of personal care products! It breaks down your skin’s moisture barrier, dries your skin out, and causes premature aging and skin irritations. SLS is also a prime offender because it easily penetrates the surface of your skin allowing other chemicals easy access, and can combine with other chemicals to become a nitrosamine, which is a known carcinogen.

Fragrance on the label of your moisturizer is seemingly harmless. However, the term “fragrance” is a red flag, because manufacturers aren’t required to label what’s in it. All kinds of chemicals can be hiding behind the fragrance door, one of the most frequent is phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors. Fragrances made from essential oils are okay.

So what can you do to clean up your skin care act? The most obvious answer is to become a label reader. However this can be a problem that’s apparent if you’ve ever looked at the label of your favorite moisturizer. There are a lot of ingredients; some are unpronounceable, most are unfamiliar.

One simple solution is to go to www.cosmeticsdatabase.com, and see how your products rate. This is the website sponsored by the Environmental Working Group, which scores thousands of personal care products. A score of a perfect zero means your eye cream is clean; if it rates a 7-10, then the ingredients are considered hazardous and you may want to consider throwing it out.

You can also buy personal care products that have very few ingredients, shop at your local co-op, or other natural foods store. Most have a good selection of effective and chemically clean shampoos, soaps, lotions, moisturizers, etc

By choosing clean, less toxic skin care products, you’re taking a small step to help clean up the environment.  You are also sending a message to the manufacturers of these items with your wallet. These companies will stop using harmful chemicals in their products if fewer people buy them.

At the airport on the way home, the light hit the floor just right as I was heading through security. I could see the damp footprints of the thousands of people who before me had walked barefoot through this same line. I ambled through the line on the sides of my bare feet, trying to come into contact with the floor as little as possible.  Unfortunately, I had to wait several minutes for the TSA guys to go through someone’s liquids, and that’s when I started to really get squeamish.

Much like the imaginary ten second rule, (it’s okay to eat if it’s been on the floor for less than ten seconds) the longer I stood barefoot in a multitude of skanky footprints, the more grossed out I got.  

It would be reasonable at this point to wonder what this post has to do with Chinese medicine.  My thinking is that this scenario is a case of damp heat and toxins meeting up with Wei Qi deficiency creating all kinds of havoc for people.  

Let me explain. Damp heat is the pattern in Chinese medicine behind a whole host of funky things that live on people’s feet, such as athlete’s foot, plantar warts, and such.  In Chinese medicine, infections like staph and strep are considered toxins.  To fight these things off, you have Wei Qi is, your defensive energy.  It surrounds your body like a protective bubble, and works much like your immune system.  So the person with weak Wei Qi who comes into contact with damp heat infections or toxins is more likely to pick up a little something when they walk through airport security.

So the question that nobody’s asking is this:  is it possible to get a staph infection, warts or athlete’s foot simply by walking barefoot on a contaminated floor?  I say yes.  I think the danger is even greater for someone with a compromised immune system, like someone with diabetes.  Think about this:  the virus for plantar warts can survive for months without a host. Also, wrestlers, swimmers, and other athletes routinely pick up these infections from hanging out in a locker room.  How is the security line at the airport any different?

So the next time you travel, wear thick socks when walking through security.  It doesn’t matter if you look like a geek with socks and sandals; you can take them off right after you put your computer and shampoo back in your carry-on.  Also, if they’re going to rifle through your carry on, ask those TSA guys glove up.  You never know whose dirty laundry they were rifling through before you. 

 Happy trails.

Here’s a list of some reasons you may be gaining weight; some may surprise you:

1. Stress.  In Chinese medicine, weight gain due to stress is considered a Liver and Spleen disharmony.  In its simplest form, it’s the result of strong emotions (stress, anger, sadness) messing up your digestion and causing that spare tire around your waist. This is one of the most common patterns I see in the clinic, especially in women.  The symptoms tend to appear as a threesome of depression or stress, out of control cravings for sugar, and weight gain in the form of belly fat.
2. Lack of sleep.  Not getting enough hours of shut-eye disrupts many of your body’s hormones, including cortisol, insulin, and adrenalin.  When these hormones get out of whack, your metabolism also takes a hit, causing unwanted weight gain, especially around your middle.
3. Digestion.  The concept of digestion in Chinese medicine is about the transformation of food into nutrients and energy.  If you’re not effectively converting your food into nutrients and energy, your body likes to turn it into fat.  Symptoms of poor digestion include gas, bloating, loose stools or constipation, heart burn, stomach aches, lack of appetite, and the feeling that your food is just “sitting”.
4. Eating the wrong food.  Okay, this isn’t an aha moment for anyone.  You know lots of sugary treats and greasy foods are going to pack on the pounds.  However, many people don’t stop and think about the nourishment value of the food they’re eating.  Overly processed foods; chemical sweeteners; preservatives; dyes; ingredients you can’t pronounce; and foods that are unrecognizable as anything that ever came out of the ground, ocean, or off the farm are all the wrong foods.  These foods aren’t nourishing, your body doesn’t know what to do with them, and they’re just adding useless calories to your diet.
5. Boredom. Yup, some people eat because they don’t have anything better to do.
6. Depleted Yang. In Chinese medicine, this is like your body having a low pilot light, which can slow your metabolism, including your digestion.  Yang is warming and transforming, and some general symptoms of deficient Yang include feeling cold much of the time, sluggish thyroid function, retaining water, getting up several times a night to…uh, pee, and fatigue.  (For more info and foods to balance Yin and Yang, go here.)
7. Dampness.  The best way to understand the concept of dampness is to think of a farmer’s field after it rains.  In a healthy field, the water will drain into the ground and nourish the crops.  However, in a damp field, the sits around and accumulates in soggy puddles.  In your body, dampness feels heavy and can produce symptoms such as loose stools, edema, yeast or bladder infections and weepy or wet looking skin rashes.  Dampness is on this list because fat tissue is considered excess dampness on your body.  The most common cause of dampness is poor digestion, but it can also be caused by living in a damp climate or working/living in a cold, damp building.
8. Lack of movement.  You knew the exercise talk was coming, but getting enough exercise isn’t just about burning calories.  Movement creates heat (remember Yang from above?), gets your digestion going, and creates flow in your body in general.  Flow is good.
9. Aging.  You can’t do much about aging. It’s a part of life, and the reality is that as you get older your metabolism slows down.  This is a bad thing and a good thing.  It’s bad because you’re trying to keep the weight off.  However, it’s good because that excess weight is also stored energy which may keep you from becoming frail as you get into your seventies and beyond. As you get older, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight without getting obese or too thin.  Most people who maintain their weight as they age tend to eat a little less and move a little more.
10. What you drink.  With the exception of water and tea, most of what you’re drinking has calories, is frequently full of sugar (alcohol is a big offender here), and if you’re slugging down a creamy Latté, is loaded with fat, too.  For some reason, many people think that if it comes in liquid form that all the fattening properties are negated.  I wish!

So what can Chinese medicine offer in the battle against weight gain?  Well, we practitioners can offer up acupuncture to calm stress and anxiety, help you sleep better, and improve your digestion.  We also have a pharmacopoeia of herbal formulas to help with digestion, dampness and Yang depletion.  We can help you choose foods that best suit your unique body constitution.  And we can help you balance all of the lifestyle factors that have the potential to make you Fat.

Here’s Sharon’s post:

With the nicer weather allowing for more outdoor activities, it’s time to talk about sports injuries.  Sports injuries are most often caused by trauma (from a fall or blow) or overuse/misuse of certain muscles and the neighboring structures, including ligaments and tendons.  The acupuncturist commonly sees sports injuries such as pulled muscles, strains, sprains, shin splints, Achilles tendonitis and various manifestations of inflammation and pain that can keep the injured athlete out of the game.

Acupuncture is used effectively to reduce the pain and inflammation of sports injuries.  It has also been shown to increase range of motion and accelerate healing time.  Acupuncture can benefit sports injuries at any stage: to prevent, to treat acute pain, swelling and spasms, and to address conditions that make athletes vulnerable to re-injury.  Studies have shown that acupuncture increases blood circulation to specific areas of the body, which not only promotes healing of sports injuries but could also boost athletic performance.

A study conducted at the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in which athletes received acupuncture after running three miles revealed quicker heart rate recovery than those in the control group.

The American Journal of Acupuncture published a study that examined the effects of acupuncture on anaerobic threshold and work capacity during exercise.  Researchers found that those who received acupuncture not only had lower heart rates, but had higher maximal exercise capacity and were able to handle greater workloads at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA) than those in the placebo group.

The January 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine observed the effects of acupuncture on cyclists.  Participants were divided into three groups that either received acupuncture, sham acupuncture or no acupuncture prior to periods of high-intensity cycling.  The study revealed that the group who received acupuncture that adhered to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine had a higher performance scores and rode faster than their counterparts.

If preexisting or new sports injuries are hindering your training or recreational goals, acupuncture and Chinese medicine should be considered a viable option for a speedy recovery.  Don’t let sports injuries keep you from enjoying life!

One definition of health is the absence of disease.  This may be good enough if you’re applying for health or life insurance, but is the absence of disease accurate enough for you?  It’s not for me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about good health lately.  At the end of March, I had the opportunity to hear Alex Tiberi speak at the Great River Symposium.  The Great River is the annual acupuncture conference held in Minneapolis.  Alex is a teacher and lecturer on Oriental Medicine as well as one of the earliest pioneers of acupuncture in the United States.  At the Great River Symposium, Alex spoke on a wide variety of topics around the theme of spirituality.  He was eloquent and fascinating.

During his lecture, Alex spoke about what it means to be healthy.  He presented a list of qualities that describe good health, which I’ve been thinking about since.  His list (from my notes; apologies, Alex, if I misquote):

• No pain
• Appropriate expressive emotions
• Good sleep
• Good appetite
• No fatigue
• Good sex drive

I like this list.  However, as I said, I’ve been thinking about this list since I heard Alex speak, and I’d like to nitpick and add a few ideas of my own.

• First, it is possible to be in ill health and not have any pain.  High blood pressure, heart disease, and even cancer—all serious threats to your health, may not produce any pain. In fact, these conditions may not produce any symptoms at all until they are very advanced. Furthermore, there are a number of symptoms, such as dizziness, tinnitus, depression, and anxiety that are not painful, but have the potential to really decrease the quality of your life.
• Beyond appropriate expressive emotions, I would add that good health or good emotional health encompasses much more.  Emotional health includes a life with meaning, joyfulness, gratitude, resilience, an open heart and loving relationships.  Moreover, emotional health means that you possess the tools to deal with the stressful situations that come your way.
• I heartily agree that good sleep is an essential component of good health.  We heal, recharge and rejuvenate while we sleep.  It’s crucial to get enough.  I would add that mental rest is an important consideration, too.  I’ve had periods in my life when I was completely consumed by some project—school, writing a book, my acupuncture practice, etc.  These were times when there was no emotional break, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that I was exhausted and not very healthy.
• Beyond having a good appetite, I would add that good digestion is also vital to being healthy.  You may have a hearty appetite and eat the most nutritious food in the world, but if your digestion is funky, it’s difficult to be in good health.  This is because your digestive process transforms food and liquids into your life energy (Qi) and blood.  Without abundant Qi, it’s difficult to be truly healthy.  So, if you’re reaching for antacids after every meal, suffer from gas, bloating, stomachaches, diarrhea, constipation, or any other unspeakable digestive ills, your health could be just a little bit better. 
• Furthermore, without good digestion, it can be hard to have really good energy.  I believe that good health goes beyond a lack of fatigue.  I say this because I have seen many patients who get through their day because they have no choice.  They’re driven by all they have to do, not good energy.  So, in a perfect world, my definition of good health includes good energy plus enthusiasm and engagement.
   
• I’m on board with Alex on the good sex drive item.  Just keep in mind that what was normal when you were twenty may not be normal at fifty. Okay, probably won’t be.  Adjust for age. 

Beyond Alex’s list of what is considered good health, I have a couple of items from my own list:

• I think that good health also includes some element of movement.  This may mean physical movement in the form or exercise or a Yoga class, however to me, movement encompasses much more.  In Chinese medicine, good health is all about flow—the flow of blood through your vessels, food through your digestive tract, and even the smooth flow of emotions.  Good health through flow is also external, in the form of your ability to change, try something new, and be flexible.  Like the element of wood, the ability to bend without breaking is a sign of good health.
• I routinely see patients who when asked, list ten or twelve prescription medications that they are currently taking.  This can’t be healthy.  I understand that there are some health conditions that are greatly helped with medications, but often one drug is prescribed to offset the side-effects of another, many drugs are prescribed out of fear or greed (statins, flu shots, etc.), and patients are routinely prescribed drugs for the rest of their lives with no alternative.  Again, this can’t be healthy.  So in my opinion, good health is taking a minimum number of prescription medications.
• Last, but perhaps most important is how you feel.  Good health feels good. You have events you look forward to.  You have things you want to do and the energy to do them.  If you have good health, appreciate it now.

You can imagine my reaction when I was first exposed to the concept of aromatherapy and essential oils many years ago.  I pretty much brushed the whole idea off as too “out there” to be of much use.  Really, how could a smell affect anyone’s health?

Last week, I was demonstrating the use of moxabustion for a cable TV show, and got a whopper of a headache.  The Chinese therapy of moxabustion is the use of burning herbs, usually artemesia, for the purpose of warming and stimulating acupuncture points.  I don’t usually use this particular technique in my clinic, and last week I remembered why.  The smell is incredibly penetrating and the thick cloying smell gave me a headache that I won’t likely forget for a long time.  Don’t think a smell can affect you physically?  Think again.

Okay, so here’s where I own up the fact that I’ve been using essential oils in my acupuncture practice for a couple of years.  The reality is that scents can affect your brain in a number of ways.  One of the strongest triggers for memory is that of the sense of smell.  When you inhale a fragrance, the molecules stimulate the nerves in your nose, which trigger electrical impulses in the olfactory bulb in your brain.  Those impulses are then transmitted to the amygdala, the part of your brain where emotional memories are stored. 

Those nerve impulses also stimulate the limbic system in your brain.  Your limbic system is directly connected to those parts of the brain that controls things like your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, stress levels, and hormonal balance.

In Chinese medicine, smell is used in several ways.  From the very first acupuncture appointment, smelling is part of the diagnosis process.  Does a patient sweat a lot and have a strong smell?  They may have a weak Lung system that can’t control the opening and closing of the pores.  Do they have bad breath?  They may be suffering from Stomach heat.

From a therapeutic standpoint, a variety of fragrant herbs are used in the Chinese herbal inventory.  For example, mint, eucalyptus, and camphor are used for colds and flu.  In addition, there is a whole class of aromatic herbs that transform dampness (your body’s inability to metabolize fluids, causing edema, nausea, loss of appetite).  Some of those aromatic herbs include patchouli, magnolia bark, and cardamom fruit.

The Lung system in Chinese medicine includes not only your lungs, but also your entire respiratory system.  Your lungs are considered the most exterior of your internal organs, because with each inhalation, you are bringing the outside world inside your body.  In this context, scents become systemic and affect you physically as soon as they are inhaled.

So how might scents be used the clinic?  A few examples:

• The use of light and invigorating citrus scents would be used for someone who needs focus, is depressed, or has poor memory.  I often use a citrus spray to revitalize my treatment room in between patients.
• As mentioned above, eucalyptus, mint, menthol, or camphor may be used for someone who is fighting off a cold.  These scents are also helpful for nasal stuffiness, and may be helpful for people suffering from allergies.
• Some of the fragrant and flowery scents like lavender, ylang ylang, or rose evoke a peaceful feeling, and are good for calming and relaxing.
• While I personally can’t tolerate the intensity, moxabustion (artemesia) is widely used in the clinic for its penetrating, warming, and nourishing effects.

Yes, scents can affect you physically.  In a therapeutic context, the effects may be subtle.  However, the next time you’re attracted to someone because they smell really good, remember, it’s physical and your brain chemistry’s at work!

This woman also reminds me of many of my patients seek out acupuncture because their lives are stressful and overwhelming. Most understand that their stressful lifestyle is at the heart of their physical symptoms, but many are either unwilling or unable to make the necessary changes to alleviate their stress. They want me to treat their symptoms, but continue their insane lifestyle.

People, here’s an ”a ha” moment. If your habits or your lifestyle is making you sick, you need to make some changes. If you don’t, the source of your symptoms remains in place and will continue to make you sick. Simple.

That said, I’m the first person to acknowledge that making a change is not easy. In fact, it’s anything but easy. But it can be done. If you are one of those people who needs to change, here are a few tips to smooth the way:

1. Do your homework first. Research the change you’re about to make. If it’s a healthier diet, an exercise plan, or quitting smoking, find out what you need to know before C-Day, the day you begin your change. In addition, it really helps to motivate you if you get a little information on the consequences of not making your change.
2. Plan ahead. Make a plan for specifically how you’ll change it up. For example, if you’ve decided to eat healthier and cut out the Burger Doodle for lunch, decide what you’ll eat instead, and go to the grocery store. Chances are if it’s noon and you don’t have a plan, you’ll end up at the Doodle again.
3. Get a little help from your friends. Find a pal who wants to exercise, too. Or a family member who’ll tell you which foods count as vegetables. It’s a little easier to change when you have someone on your team.
4. Take baby steps. The deck is stacked against you if you decide to quit smoking, lose weight, start exercising, floss every day, and swear off ice cream all at once. Make only one change at a time, and only make changes that you feel you can stick with forever.
5. Cut yourself some slack. Realize that making a change is hard. Be gentle with yourself if you lapse. Also, rewards are a good way to celebrate your successes.
6. Give it time. It takes three to six months for a change to morph into a habit. Hang in there for at least that long.
7. Commit to being consistent. Doing a new activity only some of the time will just become less and less frequent, and will ultimately just go away. Agree to a consistent schedule. The same goes for quitting something like smoking, only in reverse. If you allow yourself a cigarette or two, you’ll ultimately just end up smoking more and more.
8. Fill the hole. If you’re quitting smoking, adult beverages, coffee, or whatever, make sure you fill the void of losing that pleasurable habit. For example, if you’re trying to become an ex coffee drinker, go shopping for some flavorable herbal teas to drink instead.
9. Remove the temptations. If you’re trying to lose weight, know that the cheesecake in your refrigerator is not your friend.
10. Do it for yourself. Only make the changes that you truly want to make. If you try to make changes based on others’ expectations or to please someone else, it will be hard to stay motivated to the end. You can do this, but it has to be because you want it.

Jay is now engaged in a little crutching, a lot of elevating, and waiting while his fractures heal.  This brings me to the topic of today’s post, which is how we heal, or how we help or hinder the natural healing process.

More than once, I have treated patients who have had illnesses or injuries, in which they slowed or actually reversed the healing process.  One that comes to mind is a woman who was an ultra-distance runner.  She came to me because she was training for a 100-mile race while nursing a foot injury.  She was healing just fine with a little acupuncture and rest, but felt compelled to test the foot out with a 50-mile training run, just to see how it was holding up.  The results were predictable—on race day, she started out well, but was ultimately hobbled by her injury and had to drop out of the race.

While it may seem fairly simple to just get out of the way and let your body heal, there are actually a few things you can do (or not do) to help the healing process along.  Among them:

• Get enough rest.  Your body heals while you rest and sleep.  In fact, you may feel deeply fatigued after an illness or surgery.  So grab a book, watch TV, sleep, and allow your body to use its energy to heal.
• Let the glue dry.  Allow your injury or illness to heal completely.  Resist the urge to “test” your injured limb or your ability to function at 100 percent.  You’ll be back soon enough.
• Realize that the older you are, the longer it takes to heal.  Children tend to heal before your eyes due to their expansive nature and the fact that they are growing very quickly.  As you get older, your body will still heal completely, but it takes a little longer.  Don’t compare yourself to your 12-year-old with a broken arm.
• Eat to heal.  While you’re healing, it’s even more important to eat as healthfully as possible.  Your body is using building blocks to heal based on the food you eat.  Make sure you’re getting enough protein, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits.  At the same time, if you’re laid up and worried about gaining a few extra pounds, realize that once you’re up and around, that weight will come off fairly quickly.
• Heal your spirit.  Stress, depression, boredom, fear, and frustration are all common feelings associated with illness and injury.  Recognize that these feelings are normal under the circumstances.  Talking to friends, family members, or a health professional can be extremely helpful.  In addition, finding activities that are relaxing and enjoyable (reading, old movies, learning something new) can help, too. 
• Listen to your body.  With its incredible wisdom, your body has everything it needs to heal, and will let you know when you’re good to go.  If you’re still feeling fatigued, in pain, or just not quite right, you’re still in the healing process, so don’t push too hard.  Let your body do its thing.
• Get some acupuncture.  Acupuncture can speed up the healing process, alleviate pain, and is excellent for treating stress and mood disorders.  It works by affecting brain chemistry in a number of positive ways, as well as increasing the concentration of white blood cells locally where the needles have been inserted.  While you’re healing, let your acupuncturist help—you’ll feel better and heal faster.

Take vitamins, for example.  When I ask my patients about the supplements they’re taking, more and more often, I come across people who are taking more stuff than I could carry around in a laundry basket.  We have come to think of vitamins as body insurance; substances that will keep us free from disease. This is only true, however, of diseases related to vitamin deficiencies.

Is this a bad thing?  Well, it’s a serious case of overkill.  Vitamins were initially developed during at a time when deficiencies were common.  However, that is pretty much not the case today (with the possible exception of Vitamin D).  We have better access to a variety of foods, and many of our foods are vitamin-fortified, so deficiencies are much less common today than ever before.

So what happens if you take vitamins that you don’t need?  At the very least, they’re peed out, and you’ve paid a lot of money for substances that are just renting space in your body for a couple of hours.  However, the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, can stick around in your fat, so taking too much of those can produce side-effects and have negative consequences on your health. 

I don’t have much problem with a daily multiple vitamin.  However, it has become a more common practice to select vitamins boutique-style, based on perceived needs.  For example, taking a little selenium because you’ve heard it wards off cancer, adding a daily biotin pill because your hair is thinning, and topping it off with some Ginkgo, because you can’t remember to take your other vitamins. I believe that this selective cherry-picking of vitamins creates imbalances in your body chemistry, which is not a good thing. 

This is a bit like modern drug companies taking a perfectly effective Chinese herb, distilling out the most active ingredient, and turning it into a powerful drug.  So powerful, in fact, that they have to write pages and pages about possible side-effects.  What’s been lost in the process is the synergy between all the components in the original herb that made it effective, yet gentle.

Another issue here is that there is no guarantee that any of the vitamin pills you’re taking are even digested.  Huh?  That’s right, if you’re digestion is a little slow, you just may be flushing all those vitamins right down the toilet, without even the benefit of making your urine turn yellow.  Bummer!

So does this mean you shouldn’t supplement?  Maybe, but maybe not.  If your diet is complete, with lots of colorful vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, some seeds and nuts, and a little protein, you may be just fine without taking vitamins.  If you think your diet is less than optimal, you may want to take a daily multivitamin.  Here are a couple of things to think about:

-Check out vitamins that are made from whole foods.  This means that the vitamins are actually derived from foods and act more like food in your body than synthetic substances.

-Try to find vitamins that are chewable or in liquid form.  Your chances of digesting and absorbing them are greater than pills and capsules.

-Take it easy.  A better strategy than taking a whole boatload of pills would be to eat a variety of foods that are a variety of colors.

-If you’re taking a lot of vitamins, you may have to psychologically wean yourself off of them.  Start decreasing your vitamin intake by taking them every other day, then every couple of days, and then once a week.  You won’t die; you’ll most likely be healthier.

1)  Get enough sleep. Your body rejuvenates, heals, and recharges while you sleep.  Go to bed with enough time to get seven to eight good hours.  Slow down before trying to sleep.  If you struggle with insomnia, get some help.  Ahem…acupuncture is pretty effective in treating sleep problems.

2)  Laugh. It feels good, it’s invigorating, and actually releases chemicals in your brain that are good for your health.

3)  Go outside. Get in touch with the nature around you.  This is the foundation of Chinese medicine, in which the natural world is reflected in your body.  Slow down in the winter, eat new green shoots in the spring, be especially active in the summer, and check out your locally harvested produce in the fall (well, all year round.)  Know also, that extreme weather conditions have the ability to make you sick, whether it’s a dry sore throat in the fall or heat exhaustion in the summer.

4)  Quit smoking. Okay, duh.  This may seem obvious, but if you’re a smoker, quitting now is the single most important step you can take to improve your health and increase your life span.

5)  Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D. Vitamin D may sound like the magic supplement du jour, but D boosts immunity, helps with depression, and offers a whole host of health benefits.  And most of us aren’t getting enough. You can get your serving of D through 15 minutes of direct sunlight, or by supplementing with Vitamin D3.  Those of us who live near the northern ends of the earth may not be able to get adequate D from the sun year round.  So think about supplementing if you own and use long underwear more than a few times a year.

6)  Exercise. I can’t say this enough.  It’s the fountain of youth if there were such a thing.  Physical activity keeps your heart and lungs in shape, your muscles toned, your bones strong, your butt tight, and studies are indicating that it also may slow or reduce the progression of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

7)  Exercise your mind, too. Play word games, do puzzles, or learn a new language.  The adage “use it or lose it” also applies to your mind.

8)  Change the behaviors that are making you sick. You know stress, junk food, and toxic relationships aren’t good for you.  If you want to feel good and live long, now’s the time to jettison those negatives in your life.

9)  Stand up straight! Poor posture can mess with your digestion and breathing, and can give you back and neck pain.  Stand and sit tall; your body will thank you.

10)  Eat for good digestion. In Chinese medicine, your digestion is every bit as important as what you’re eating.  You can eat the healthiest foods on the planet, but if you don’t digest them well, you might as well be doing the drive through at Burger Doodle.  Slow down, chew your food, and avoid the rich and greasy chow.  Choose more cooked vegetables than raw, and go easy on the frozen foods and drinks.

11)  Get regular health screenings. You can laugh all you want at your friends’ colonoscopy stories, but you had better be keeping up with your own.  Make sure you’re getting regular mammograms, Pap tests, blood pressure checks, mole screenings, etc. based on the guidelines for your age and risk factors.

12)  Calm down. The Chinese say that the emotions are the cause of 100 diseases. That means that staying angry at your obnoxious neighbor or stressing out about a nosy co-worker will only make you sick. Do whatever it takes to defuse and de-stress.

13)  Almost anything is okay—in moderation. According to Chinese medicine, a little sweetness may help your digestion, but eating a half of a cheesecake is a toxic food bomb.  In the same vein, the right amount of exercise is good for you, but too much can cause your body to break down.  Too much of anything over time can be damaging, so aim for variety.

14)  Garden. Whether it’s a stretch of your back yard or containers on your balcony, growing your own vegetables outside is beneficial on so many levels.  You’re getting the best kind of exercise, you’re connecting with nature, you’re growing your own organic food (if you lay off the pesticides), and you have the joy of going out your door to pick something you’ve grown yourself.

15)  Get in touch. Connect with your sense of purpose through journaling and self-exploration, connect with others in social situations, and connect with the divine through prayer and meditation.  In Chinese medicine, connection feeds your heart, which is the home to your soul.

16)  Eat for the long run. Eat breakfast, don’t skip meals, and get a little protein at each meal.  Try to get a variety of colorful foods into your diet each day, especially the darkly colored fruits and vegetables.  Strive for a diet made up of lots of veggies, some whole grains, a little protein, a little fruit, and small amounts of everything else (Okay, maybe not hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup, but mostly every thing else.)

17)  Just breathe. Breathing deeply opens up your lungs, oxygenates your brain for mental focus, and wards off fatigue and anxiety.  In Chinese medicine, your lungs are an important component in immunity, so strong and healthy lungs translate into a strong ability to fight off colds and flu.  Try taking a deep breath to the count of four, holding it for the count of seven, and releasing it to the count of eight.

18)  Just say no. The ability to prioritize your life and say no to some of those annoying and unimportant things you don’t want to do and don’t really have to do is incredibly freeing.  It helps decrease that stressful feeling of being overwhelmed, which can be exhausting and depleting.

19)  Cultivate compassion. By being kind to others, you’re being kind to yourself.  Kindness is embodied by generosity and service to others.  Compassion and kindness dissolve anger, annoyance, and competition—all feelings which diminish both the quality and length of your life.

20)  Cook and eat with joy. It has been said that how you approach food mirrors how you approach life.  Do you approach eating and life with joyfulness or do you worry about every little thing you do and eat?  Lovingly prepare your meals, sit down, and share them with people you love—as often as possible.

21)  Listen to your body. Your body is infinitely wise.  It knows what it needs, how to heal, and how to signal you when it’s in trouble.  Listen to those little signs; headaches at work, an upset stomach when you’ve eaten poorly, an achy lower back, or fatigue.

22)  Indulge in your passion. This is simple.  Figure out what you like to do, and figure out how to do it more often.

23)  Go green. The cosmetics you put on your body and the products you use to clean your home have the ability to either enhance or harm your health.  Become savvy about what’s in your shampoos, lotions, bathroom cleaners, etc., and if the ingredients are sketchy, find cleaner, greener alternatives.

24)  Live in the moment. We spend most of our time rehashing the past or fixated on some future event.  The reality is that the only moment that’s real is right now.  Impatience means that we’re anxious to move onto the next thing—the next moment; however that next thing is a moment like this one.  Slow down and enjoy right now.